After separating the first child from Lu Lei and his wife, Gu Feng drove Luo Liang towards the moat.
The streetlights here are dimmer than elsewhere, but the moonlight is exceptionally bright, like a thin veil spread across the river. A gentle breeze carries the dampness and the chill of early winter.
The car was parked by the roadside, and the two walked along the gravel path to the riverbank—it was here that they met again after many years apart, and now this small riverbank has become an irreplaceable sacred place in each other's hearts.
Luo Liang took out a cigarette case from her bag; the metal case gleamed coldly in the moonlight.
Her fingers were a little stiff, and it took her two tries to light the lighter. The pale blue flame illuminated the corners of her reddened eyes.
Gu Feng stood beside him and lit a cigarette. The two of them stood side by side, gazing at the river. The red dot of their burning cigarettes flickered in the night, and the smoke rings they exhaled were instantly dispersed into fine mist by the river breeze.
Children are always a parent's Achilles' heel.
Lu Lei's words just now weighed on Luo Liang's heart like a stone, but after the river breeze blew all the way, Luo Liang's emotions gradually calmed down.
She exhaled a smoke ring, the smell of smoke mingling with moisture filling her nostrils, her voice softer than when she was at the stadium:
"Who do you think is a better match for Xiao Luo?"
Gu Feng took a deep drag of his cigarette, the hissing sound of the burning tobacco was particularly clear. He slowly exhaled the smoke, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly: "I don't want to lie to you, I'm more inclined towards Shu He."
He turned to look at Luo Liang, the moonlight falling on her face, clearly showing the fine lines at the corners of her eyes: "Of course, this is my selfish reason. This kind of thing can't be ambiguous. If we drag it out on both sides, it will only delay the development of all three children. It's better to have a short pain than a long one."
"Then let Xiao Luo and Shu He get engaged directly?" Luo Liang tightened the cigarette between her fingers, her knuckles turning white, and ash fell onto the river surface.
Gu Luo's image flashed through her mind instantly—on the concert screen, he was wearing a white coat, his skin was so fair it looked like it had been bathed in moonlight, his eyes were incredibly bright, and he was also exceptionally talented.
Should we really force decisions to be made for a child like this?
"No!" Gu Feng shook his head hurriedly, stubbing out his cigarette on the stone wall. "This matter must be handled carefully. Shu Ning is a fiery girl, just like Aya when she was young. Once she's made up her mind, nothing can change it. If we forcefully intervene, she might get stuck on it, and if something really happens, how can we face Aya?"
"Then what should we do?" Luo Liang closed her eyes in anguish.
Aya's passing is a permanent scar in her heart. Her avoidance of her three nieces over the years has become an irreparable debt. Now, she is even caught in a dilemma regarding Gu Luo's love life.
Gu Feng didn't say anything more, but simply lit another cigarette.
Actually, he harbored a ridiculous idea—to have Xiao Luo keep both sisters by his side.
But he dared not say it. Luo Liang would never accept such a thing, especially since Shu Ning was a public figure; if it got out, it would ruin her.
He looked at Luo Liang's slender figure under the moonlight and recalled the gentle-eyed boy backstage at the concert who was holding Tang Xiaoxiao.
Such a child, who should have grown up properly, has instead been caught up in this emotional vortex.
"Smoke less... This is the last one tonight." Gu Feng stubbed out his cigarette and pulled Luo Liang into his arms.
Her shoulders were stiff, and her back still felt the chill of the night. Since Aya's death, the graceful and gentle heiress had disappeared, replaced by an icy female boss who devoted herself to her work. Cigarettes and alcohol became her only way to relieve stress.
But he remembered that Luo Liang had said when she was a child that her biggest wish was to be a teacher, to stand on the podium and look at the children's smiling faces.
Luo Liang leaned against Gu Feng's chest, listening to his steady heartbeat, and her emotions gradually calmed down.
The river breeze picked up again, and Gu Feng pulled Luo Liang's coat even tighter.
He knew this matter couldn't be rushed, but Lu Lei and his wife's words were like a warning bell, reminding them that they couldn't let things continue unchecked.
Under the moonlight, their shadows stretched long, and the gentle sound of the moat's flowing water told of the worries and helplessness of parents hidden in the mist.
As Gu Feng gazed at the full moon in the sky, he couldn't help but think—Xiao Luo must be struggling a lot right now, right?
He's so sensible, but he just didn't want to hurt anyone, which is why he kept putting it off.
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