Chapter 530 The Last Meeting On the last day of 2055, the midday sun was as warm as a layer of cotton, shining through the gaps in the camphor trees on the roadside, casting faint spots of light on the asphalt road.
Gu Ximan was wearing a beige down jacket, holding three bulging gift bags in her arms, and her fingertips were gripping the bag strings, her fingers were a little white from being squeezed. It was because of nothing else - she was the only one in the Gu family who could come to the Luo family openly. Her identity as a person who had just been discharged from the hospital was like a thin protective shell, but she was also extremely nervous in her heart.
There was no way. Before Gu Luo's affairs with Luo Shuning and Luo Shuhe were completely resolved, there was an irreconcilable gap between the two families.
Since Gu Feng will bring Gu Luo home on New Year's Day, which is tomorrow, the first day of the new year, Gu Ximan came alone today to scout the way, and it is also to give the two families the last buffer time.
To be realistic, tomorrow, Gu Luo's life or death will be decided.
Following the address, Gu Ximan arrived at the Luo family's house. She stood in front of the door, took a deep breath, adjusted her expression, and gently pressed the doorbell.
The sound of "ding dong" spread in the quiet corridor. She subconsciously retracted her toes, her eyes fell on the house number, and then quickly looked away, hiding her uneasiness.
As the saying goes, when two countries are at war, they do not kill envoys.
But he is in the right, so even if he kills you in anger, it would be in vain.
After a few seconds, the door opened with a click.
Luo Shuling was wearing a light yellow home dress, her hair casually tied back with a rubber band, revealing her smooth forehead. When she saw Gu Ximan, her eyes lit up instantly, and her face wore the same carefree smile as usual:
"Xiao Man! You're finally here!"
She reached out to take the gift bag, filled her arms with it, and shook it deliberately, her tone excited: "Is there my favorite strawberry chocolate in it?"
"Well... you'll know when you tear it down."
Gu Ximan was infected by her smile and her tension eased a little, but her steps were still light. When she entered the room, she subconsciously glanced at the living room - Luo Liang was sitting alone on the light gray L-shaped sofa, covered with a dark gray cashmere blanket, holding a glass in her hand.
The floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room had half of the gauze curtains drawn, and the sunlight filtered in, casting a warm spot of light on the carpet, but it did little to dispel the chill in the air.
Even with Luo Shuling around, the TV still broadcast meaningless soap operas.
"Where are Sister Ning and Sister He?" Gu Ximan lowered her voice, pulled on the corner of Luo Shuling's clothes, and glanced around.
She didn't dare ask too loudly, for fear of upsetting Luo Liang, and her fingers were unconsciously pinching the cuffs of her down jacket.
Luo Shuling put the gift bag on the low cabinet in the entrance hall, dusted off her hands, and said casually as if she was saying "What are we eating today?"
"They are still in the house. I guess they didn't sleep well last night and haven't come out yet."
She said this, but a subtle complexity flashed across her eyes, which was quickly covered by a smile. She pulled Gu Ximan to the living room and said, "Come in and sit down. I'll get you some snacks. There are potato chips and dried fruits that you like."
Gu Ximan was pulled by her to the sofa. She paused, her body unconsciously straightened, and said in a thin voice:
"Hello, Aunt Luo."
She didn't dare to look directly into Luo Liang's eyes. Her gaze fell on the cashmere blanket on Luo Liang's knees. The blanket had dense patterns, just like the tension weighing on her heart at the moment.
Luo Liang raised his eyes and looked at Gu Ximan's face. There was no emotion, and his voice was as flat as if he was talking about the weather:
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine now... Thank you Aunt Luo for your concern." Gu Ximan immediately sat up straight, placed her hands neatly on her knees, and kept her back straight, like a student who was called on by the teacher to answer a question at school.
She stopped talking after she finished speaking, and the living room fell silent in an instant. The only sound was the ticking of the wall clock and the occasional bird calls outside the window, which seemed particularly awkward.
Gu Ximan's fingers pinched the corner of her clothes even harder. She felt extremely embarrassed and could only pretend to watch the soap opera with its illogical and nonsensical plot.
Because of the estrangement between the two families, she is now afraid of Luo Liang when she sees him.
Luo Liang was still holding the glass, stroking the wall slowly, his eyes fixed on the window. It was unknown what he was thinking. His whole body seemed to be wrapped in an invisible layer of ice, which made Gu Ximan even breathe more lightly.
Fortunately, Luo Shuling came running back moments later with a large bag of snacks and a bottle of orange juice in her arms. She placed it on the coffee table in front of Gu Ximan with a clatter, "Eat it! I hid this dried mango on purpose at the top of the snack cabinet so Shu Ning and the others wouldn't find it."
She deliberately raised her voice when she spoke, as if to break the silence in the living room, and reached out to open a pack of sandwich cookies for Gu Ximan and handed it to her.
Gu Ximan took the biscuit and took a small bite. The sweet and buttery taste spread in her mouth, but it had no flavor.
As she chewed, she secretly glanced at Luo Liang from the corner of her eyes, and couldn't help but think wildly: If Aunt Luo knew that my brother was not only with Sister Ning and Sister He, but also with me, Sister Ling, and Xuexue... she would definitely be furious and would kill Gu Luo directly...
Or the most cruel one is being cut into pieces.
The more she thought about it, the more frightened she became. She even slowed down her chewing of the biscuits. Some biscuit crumbs fell on her knees. She quickly reached out to wipe them off, looking even more embarrassed.
Luo Shuling noticed her discomfort and deliberately tried to find a topic to talk about: "Xiao Man, did you get enough rest after being discharged from the hospital? I've already downloaded that new game you said you wanted to play last time. We can play a few games with Shu Ning and the others later."
"Okay...Okay."
Gu Ximan nodded quickly, taking the opportunity to answer to relax a little.
She picked up the orange juice, unscrewed the lid and took a sip. The cold liquid slid down her throat, but it did not suppress the nervousness in her heart.
She still wanted to ask about the current situation of Luo Shuning and Luo Shuhe, but Luo Liang was sitting next to her, like a silent iceberg, so she didn't have the courage to speak.
The sunlight slowly moved across the carpet, and the warm spot of light moved a little towards the sofa and fell at Gu Ximan's feet, but it didn't make her feel much warmer.
The living room was still quiet, with only Luo Shuling saying a few words occasionally and Gu Ximan responding softly. Luo Liang never spoke again, just sitting there quietly, making this birthday, which should have been lively, feel indescribably depressing.
...... .......
Time flies.
The evening glow filled the Luo family's living room. The aroma of sweet and sour pork ribs wafting from the kitchen mixed with the freshness of squirrel mandarin fish, circled around the entrance, but failed to dispel the gloom in the house.
Luo Shuling took the birthday cake out of the refrigerator. The heating in the house was turned on very high, so she let it cool down half an hour in advance so that the temperature would not be too cold.
"Shu Ning, Shu He, it's time to eat!" Luo Shuling shouted into the room.
However, both rooms were silent and there was no response.
She shrugged helplessly, turned around and went to the kitchen to get the dishes. The porcelain spoon hit the edge of the bowl, making a crisp "ding-dong" sound, which was particularly conspicuous in the quiet room.
Gu Ximan sat at the dining table, clenching her chopsticks tightly in her hand, her eyes drifting towards their room from time to time.
After a while, all the dishes were served. The sweet and sour spare ribs were shining red with oil, the squirrel mandarin fish was wrapped in sauce with crispy fish skin, and even the stir-fried seasonal vegetables were neatly arranged. However, Luo Shuning and Luo Shuhe's seats were still empty.
Luo Liang sat down at the main seat, and without any extra movements, he picked up a piece of mandarin fish with his chopsticks. He made no sound while chewing, and his expression was as calm as if he was having an ordinary dinner.
She didn't care why her two daughters didn't come down, nor did she look at Gu Ximan. She just ate by herself. She picked up the food quickly and took each bite neatly, as if the food in front of her was not a carefully prepared birthday meal, but just an ordinary home-cooked meal.
Gu Ximan became even more restless and shifted her butt on the chair.
She secretly glanced at Luo Liang, and seeing that he was not looking at her, she winked at Luo Shuling and moved her lips, "Don't they want to eat?"
Luo Shuling shook her head at her, mouthed something in reply, then picked up a piece of pork ribs and put it in Gu Ximan's bowl, whispering: "Eat it, it won't taste good if it gets cold."
“........”
Seeing that the situation had become so serious, Gu Ximan took a small bite of the ribs. The sweet and sour sauce spread in her mouth, but she couldn't taste anything. It was like chewing cotton.
She swallowed it and poked at the rice again, feeling confused.
At this moment, Luo Liang put down his chopsticks, picked up the silk handkerchief on the table, and gently wiped the corner of his mouth with an elegant movement.
She raised her eyes to look at Gu Ximan, her tone flat and without any fluctuations: "Xiaoman, I just got out of the hospital. Are you sure you are okay?"
Gu Ximan smiled innocently, knowing that she was pretending to be sick to delay time, and Aunt Luo must have seen through it.
She nodded quickly, her voice a little tense. "It's really okay! The doctor said it's recovering very well and doesn't need to be taken care of anymore."
Luo Liang didn't answer. He folded his handkerchief and placed it on the edge of the table. His fingertips rested lightly on it. He spoke again. His tone was still calm, but it was like a stone hitting Gu Ximan's heart:
"I'm planning to send Shu Ning and Shu He to England to study with Chen Yue. You can tell Gu Luo when you get back that you'll see them for the last time tomorrow."
"boom--"
It was as if fireworks exploded in Gu Ximan's mind, and her whole body froze in her chair.
She stared blankly at Luo Liang, her heart filled with turmoil: Send him to England? One last time?
Is this to completely separate the stinky brother from the sisters?
You clearly told me to choose between the two before, why don’t you even give me the chance to choose now?
Aunt Luo is too cruel...
She was stunned for a long time, the only sound in her ears was the "thumping" of her own heartbeat.
Luo Liang's words were like ice spikes, piercing her heart and making her feel pain. She wanted to say something, to beg for mercy, but her throat seemed to be blocked and she couldn't utter a word.
It took her a long time to react. Her blurry eyes fell on Luo Liang's calm face. She nodded mechanically. Her mind was blank, with only the words "the last time" circling in her mind.
....... .......
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