Eating (We're eating!)
The mornings after Frost's Descent are crisp and cool. The white frost clinging to the grass and vegetation resembles tiny diamonds. After the sun rises, it turns into endless mist, leaving behind a damp trace.
The woman in sportswear quickly walked along the roadside vegetation, heading south, glancing back every now and then.
Soon, another woman appeared where she had passed. Her eyes were hesitant, and she jogged after her, stopping in front of the abandoned old warehouse of Xingzi Building and peering inside through the half-open door.
Tools lay scattered haphazardly, covered in dust; cobwebs swayed in the wind; dilapidated windows creaked; and the air was thick with the smells of decay and earth.
Looking around, it didn't seem like anyone had passed by. The person twisted their fingers and muttered to themselves, suddenly feeling a sense of fear. Just as they turned to leave, they heard a faint sound of a tree branch snapping behind them.
"Who is it?" She turned around abruptly, and the person who had been watching her all the way stood behind her, his pupils gleaming with a sinister light, calmly taking a step forward.
"Miss Shen was looking for me?"
"Gu Nan!" With both old and new grudges combined, Shen Manman clenched her fists. "You dare come back?"
Gu Nan scoffed indifferently, strolling slowly with a disdainful look in her eyes: "Why wouldn't I dare? But Miss Shen, it wasn't easy for you to escape back to the country from Walbus."
"You!" Shen Manman's eyes were red. "It was clearly you who led us there."
"But you're the ones who bombed the base." Gu Nan leaned against the door with a faint smile, her eyes filled with cruelty.
She had long witnessed Walbus's despicable nature. No matter how close a friend was, he would turn on her faster than flipping through a book when it came to interests. The base that the Shen family destroyed was practically Walbus's stronghold. The Shen family's lavish spending wiped out Walbus's faction in Ulm overnight, and those separatist forces began to emerge. The Walbus family could never return to its former glory.
How could Valbus tolerate such an insult? His hatred for the Shen family must have already surpassed that for her.
During her time in North America, Jin Yan had mentioned to her several times in jest that the Shen family was constantly consolidating its overseas operations, even though the Lu family was suppressing the domestic market, yet they were abandoning overseas markets.
The reason is simply that Walbus spent a lot of money.
"It seems everyone was right, you are indeed insidious, vicious, and cunning."
"Thank you for the compliment." Gu Nan looked into the distance, her gaze wandering.
"My brother has evidence of your plot against Lu Yu. Since you dare to come back, you'd better pray to Buddha." Shen Manman shouted angrily, and strode past Gu Nan.
After taking only two steps, Gu Nan slowly turned around.
He drew out the words: "There's evidence, why don't you show it to him? Is it because you're kind-hearted?"
Shen Manman clenched her fists even tighter, and if you listened closely, you could even hear the bones cracking.
Ignoring the overwhelming hatred in Shen Manman's eyes, Gu Nan crossed his arms and looked her up and down, his voice slow and flat: "You guys tried, but he completely ignored you."
Shen Manman turned around abruptly, letting out two heavy snorts through her nose.
She caught her breath, stretched out her slender white fingers in front of Gu Nan, and sneered, "What's it to bully me? You wait and see, my brother won't let you get away with this."
"You seem to trust Shen Ming quite a bit."
"Otherwise, I'll trust you? It's all because of you that our Shen family has ended up like this. I was blind to trust you back then. Lin Haoyu has committed countless evils and is utterly depraved. You are ten times more despicable than him."
Gu Nan scoffed ambiguously, "Walbus hates the Shen family, so he cut off the Shen family's overseas development. Shen Ming's wild and nonsensical remarks caused the Shen family to lose credibility domestically. What does that have to do with me?"
"You were the one who assured him that the Lu family's traceability system would cause problems during the bidding process!"
"Shen Ming even assured me he would keep me safe. Let me guess, when did he get in touch with Walbus?" Gu Nan circled Shen Manman slowly with her arms crossed, then suddenly leaned closer. "Miss Shen, are you unaware of this?"
Surprise flashed across Shen Manman's face quickly. She moved her arms and adjusted her posture to conceal the unexpected loss of control.
Gu Nan understood: "Miss Shen, you are very lucky. You have parents who love you and a brother who cherishes you. No matter what you do, they will always stand behind you. But they protect you too well, which gives me an easy opportunity to get close to you. You shouldn't blame me, you should hate your brother."
"You're trying to stir things up? I know in my heart whether my brother is good to me or not."
Gu Nan smiled and shook her head: "Shen Ming knew long ago that my target was Master Wan. If he truly loved you and protected you from the world's injustices, he wouldn't have let you get close to someone like me." Her tone changed sarcastically, "But you had to get close to me, otherwise how could you give him the opportunity to fall out with Master Wan? Do you think I'm the one who caused the Shen family to end up like this?"
"Isn't that so?"
"It was your good brother who wanted to use me to bring down the Lu family, to help me produce evidence that Master Wan and Lin Jianye colluded to set fire to the Yun Jian Villa, and to push the Chu family into the spotlight. If he hadn't miscalculated in Ulm, the Shen family would probably be in charge of Beicheng now."
“My brother is capable, so why can’t he compete for the top spot in the North City?”
“He is indeed capable of playing his own game on my chessboard.” A rustling sound came from outside the door. Gu Nan glanced back at the dilapidated gate, lowered her eyes slightly, but still spoke loudly.
"So, it's normal that he failed. Back then, I deliberately gave Wan Ye a tip about the batch of computer cases that Lu Yushi was working on with Xingzilou. Unfortunately, Wan Ye was timid, but your brother was very accommodating, and sure enough, the shipment failed to pass through customs. The computer cases were my way of surrendering to your brother, as were the internal data of the fourth-generation Tianyu Intelligent System. Your brother also recorded my visit to the Shen family on the last day, right?"
Looking up, he indeed noticed something unusual on Shen Manman's face.
Gu Nan said calmly, "Do you know why I went along with him and admitted that I stole Lu's internal documents, even though I knew he was recording me?"
She didn't give Shen Manman a chance to speak, and answered her own question: "Isn't he just looking for evidence of my betrayal of Lu Yu? Of course I have to give it to him, otherwise how can he trust me, and how can I convince him that there will definitely be problems with the bidding? He thinks he has the evidence, and if I go back on my word, he will pull out the recording to force me to comply."
"So, you pretended not to know, but you never intended to make a move at the bidding meeting from the very beginning!" Shen Manman subconsciously raised her voice.
Gu Nan slowly raised her eyes: "What are you resentful about? I didn't go to Ulm as you wanted me to."
"According to what we mean? You were the one who lured us into fighting Walbus." Leaning forward, he seemed to want nothing more than to kill the person.
“If you don’t intend to silence me, I can’t do it either.” Gu Nan turned to look at the door, her voice ethereal. “Of course I’m not innocent. I have no say in what happens to me in the future, but your brother is the most ruthless one. You shouldn’t hate me.”
Shen Manman bit her lower lip tightly and said hatefully, "I will definitely let Lu Yushi know what kind of person you are."
But then Gu Nan called out to the door, "Did you hear that?"
"You deliberately lured me here to listen, and when I said I couldn't hear you, didn't that disappoint you?"
Shen Manman stared in astonishment at the man who stepped in from behind the door, then looked at Gu Nan in fear, suddenly remembering her brother's words.
Gu Nan is a madman.
"I tipped off Master Wan and Shen Ming in advance, which led to the mining machine being seized. I also instructed Chen Li to demand more compensation. The Tianyu system data and all those other trivial matters that caused you trouble were all done by me."
Still feeling it wasn't enough, her nails dug into her flesh, Gu Nan's voice was very calm, as if she were talking about an insignificant little thing: "Back then... the person who made a deal with Lu Yuanzhi, released a fake path for the money to disappear, and led you to the chairman's door of the group, was... me."
It left you speechless and unable to defend yourself, causing you to suffer from insomnia for seven long years.
"What else do you want to know? I promise everything I've said today is the truth."
Using her aunt's ring to force her to return to China, Lu Yushi must know more than she imagined.
The air was silent. Lu Yushi just looked at her without speaking immediately. Gu Nan seemed to have had enough of the oppressive atmosphere and said, "I'm fed up with this feeling of being out of control, and I don't want to guess your thoughts like a headless fly. We'll stay here today, and no one will come over. If you want revenge, go ahead and do it."
Lu Yushi's gaze fell on what was behind her; Shen Manman was still in a daze.
"The Shen family is just waiting to see me get my comeuppance, they won't..."
"When will you decide to give up on taking action at the bidding conference?"
Without a lilting voice or discernible emotions, Gu Nan stood still, still trying to discern any change in his emotions from that calm, expressionless face: "Perhaps I never intended to take action in the first place."
Shen Manman: "You're talking nonsense."
“If you want to curry favor with Shen Ming, he won’t believe you if you don’t show enough sincerity. Why did you stop at the last minute?” Lu Yu asked the second time, slowly revealing his stubbornness.
Time seemed to stand still as Gu Nan's gaze became fixed on Lu Yushi's face.
Lu Yushi: "What are you thinking about?"
Gu Nan, instead, forced a smile that wasn't exactly flattering: "I'm wondering how likely you are to repay evil with kindness."
"What?"
Gu Nan seemed to suddenly detach herself from her own world, still not answering Lu Yushi's initial question: "If I take action, what will you do?"
Lu Yushi stared at her without saying a word.
Feeling the intense gaze above her, Gu Nan lowered her head, her heart almost stopping.
Her pride wouldn't allow her to bow her head, and she couldn't bring herself to apologize to Lu Yu face to face when they were alone. So, she used a little trick to lure Shen Manman over, pretending to vent her emotions and recount her past shameful acts.
Even now, I still can't hide the filth in my heart.
She's still gambling.
She dared not imagine the best outcome, and the worst outcome would be that Lu Yushi hated her to the extreme. Even so, in order not to leave any room for gossip and to prevent the Shen family from succeeding, she would never do anything to Shen Manman in front of her.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Lu Yushi's right hand, which was hanging by his side, clutching a file folder. A glimmer of hope rose in her empty heart. Taking a break from her extremely busy work at least proved that it shouldn't be the worst outcome.
Lu Yushi flipped the kraft paper file folder over and over, their eyes meeting, before handing it to him the next second.
She hesitated before taking it, then looked up in confusion.
Lu Yushi gestured for her to open it.
With her long, slender fingers wrapped in a sealing rope, Gu Nan pulled out the document. The first page was filled with dense text, which she scanned quickly. Her confused gaze suddenly narrowed, and the "whoosh" of the pages turning became increasingly rapid, as if she wanted to imprint every word on the document into her mind in an instant. She folded the last page, as if she had used all her strength, and stood stiffly in place. Her stubborn perception shattered, and her blood froze.
Looking up, I was overwhelmed with shock, confusion, and helplessness.
My throat felt like it was stuffed with cotton. I opened my mouth several times before finally finding my voice: "You..."
Completely unaware of his loss of composure.
"You knew all along?"
The backup plans in the document are extremely detailed, so detailed that they almost disregard whether the bid is successful or not.
My heart pounded in my chest, a dull, suffocating pain.
Gu Nan evaded her gaze haphazardly. She was the one who brought Shen Manman here to help her finish this charade, yet now she found Shen Manman's presence an eyesore. Normally, she would have swaggered back and mocked Shen Ming's ignorance, never expecting Lu Yushi to be so accommodating to her.
Right now, things are still a mess between her and Lu Yushi, Shen Ming is a clown, and she doesn't know how much better she can be.
The atmosphere gradually froze, and Shen Manman seemed to have reached her limit, so she ran out.
The sound completely disappeared. Gu Nan swallowed silently, lowered her head, and whispered, "I'm sorry."
Countless losses and exploitation, an apology seems insufficient to make up for it. Gu Nan took a deep breath and stammered, "If I had known, I should have been honest with you from the beginning and told you sooner."
Lu Yushi interrupted her: "Do you dare?"
The rest of the words stuck in her throat. Gu Nan stared at the ground with a disappointed look in her eyes and replied, "I dare not."
If Lu Yushi hadn't taken out that ring, she wouldn't have returned to China before finding her aunt.
After all that trouble, Lu Yushi was right in front of her, yet she hesitated to ask. She was afraid that in Lu Yushi's eyes, her honesty would seem like she had ulterior motives.
Before Lu Yushi could speak, he said, "That ring belongs to Wan Tangli. I always feel that some of your expressions are very similar to hers."
“You know me…”
She trailed off, and Lu Yushi waited a while before interrupting her impatiently: "Or are you tired of living? Go and use your life to seek justice for the Xue family."
Gu Nan bit her lower lip and didn't refute.
Lu Yushi glanced at her, composed himself, and said seriously, "After Wan Tangli was brought home by the young master of the Wan family, she lived a secluded life in the Wan family and rarely appeared in public. However, Master Wan attended the Wan family's wedding banquet that year, so I guess she must have changed her appearance, which is why she didn't attract Master Wan's attention. She gets off work at five o'clock, so you can make an appointment to meet her."
After saying that, he turned and left.
Gu Nan opened her mouth, but ultimately didn't utter a sound.
She took a taxi to Wan Tangli's workplace and sipped her coffee from noon until sunset. Finally, she saw a familiar figure at the entrance. Surprised, she pulled out the portrait that the female student had asked the old man to deliver when she was in North America. The gradually fading memories in her mind overlapped with it. She stood up in a daze, holding onto the table, and blurted out.
"Auntie."
Wan Haitang paused, looked her up and down, calmly sat down in the chair opposite her, and asked, "Gu Nan?"
Gu Nan was both surprised and delighted: "You've seen me before?"
His excited expression was immediately dampened by a bucket of cold water.
“Young Master Lu showed me the photos.” Wan Tangli casually placed her handbag on the table, ordered coffee from the waiter, leaned back in her chair, and said frankly, “He has told me almost everything. Feel free to ask me anything, but I don’t remember much about what happened before, so I don’t know if I can help you.”
Gu Nan kept stroking the edge of the portrait. If the appearance was only 50% similar, the body language, behavior, and communication habits would not lie, and there was an overwhelming sense of familiarity: "I want to try hypnotizing you."
Noticing Wan Tangli's raised eyebrows, Gu Nan explained, "I know this sounds presumptuous, but..."
“It’s alright,” Wan Tangli nodded, gesturing for the waiter to place the coffee beside her. She took a sip and casually joked, “Your young master Lu wanted to hypnotize me and restore my memories on our first meeting. I was surprised that the supposedly stern and unsmiling head of the Lu family would be so kind. Turns out, his true intentions were not what they seemed.”
Gu Nan was stunned. Suddenly, she remembered the day when the chat box had been ignored for hours.
Do you want to come over now, or would you like me to talk to you about something else?
At the time, she felt guilty, but now, thinking back on it carefully, Lu Yushi might not have been referring to the confiscated computer case.
"But I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. I lived abroad for a long time and came into contact with hypnotists and mental health experts. I really can't remember."
"I'd like to try it, is that okay?"
Wan Tangli smiled and said, "Of course, it's not good to refuse Young Master Lu's special request. However, I do feel a certain affinity for you, and I hope you can get what you want."
Gu Nan nodded, and the two went to a nearby hotel together.
Hypnosis is not bound by any particular form. Wan Tangli has a straightforward personality, and I leaned back on the sofa as she got to the point.
Looking at the sleeping person, Gu Nan held her hand, gently called her "Auntie," and, just like when she was a child, slowly rested her head in the crook of her arm, looking up at her face.
Time ticked by, and as she leaned forward on the back of the chair, she didn't see Wan Tangli wake up, but instead an uninvited guest.
The urgent knocking seemed to break the door in two. Gu Nan glanced at Wan Tangli, who was frowning frequently in her sleep, and opened the door in a few quick steps.
The visitor's expression was grave: "Where is Tang Li?"
Gu Nan hesitated before asking, "Young Master Wan?"
“Miss Gu, Tang Li is worried about the Lu family behind you and doesn’t want to antagonize you, but I can’t care about that. Tang Li is my wife. Even if I lose the entire Wan family, I will not let you hurt her.”
Gu Nan's gaze lingered on Young Master Wan's face, as if scrutinizing his features, or perhaps observing his character through his handsome appearance. She asked bluntly, "You don't want her to regain her memories."
"If having memories is more painful than losing them, then why bother trying to remember them?"
“You’re right.” Gu Nan stepped aside to let the person in, then leaned against the wall, staring blankly at the ceiling, and murmured, “But I haven’t seen her with her memories for 18 years.”
Young Master Wan didn't spare a single glance; his eyes were filled with anxiety as he hugged Wan Tangli and called out to her softly.
Gu Nan glanced at her casually and said, "She's just asleep."
"What right do you have to hypnotize Tang Li!" Young Master Wan was full of resentment. Although he couldn't match the oppressive aura Lu Yushi exuded when he was angry, he still made people afraid to look him in the eye.
Gu Nan silently looked away, her voice filled with melancholy: "No wonder she hasn't regained her memory for so long; it turns out Young Master Wan has been interfering all along."
"If anything happens to Tang Li, I won't let this go," Young Master Wan said angrily, "no matter who you are."
After saying that, he put his right arm around Wan Tangli's knees, supported her back with his left hand, carefully carried her in his arms, and strode out the door.
In the instant their bodies intersected, Gu Nan said calmly, "Don't worry, I only asked her some questions, I didn't try to bring back those bad memories."
"That would be best." He kicked open the half-closed door.
Gu Nan watched the two figures until they completely disappeared from sight, then lowered her head to tell her aunt the good news.
Auntie, I've found my aunt.
I remember the day she left North America, her aunt held her hand and repeatedly told her that if her aunt had forgotten everything and started a new life, she should not disturb her too much.
After editing and rewriting the text in the chat box, Gu Shuping quickly replied.
[If he doesn't remember, he doesn't remember. Since Young Master Wan truly cares for her, it might not be a bad thing if he doesn't remember.]
After a while, Gu Shuping, still concerned, sent another message: [Is Lu Yushi alright?]
Gu Nan's eyes softened: "He's fine."
I put away my phone, slid down the stairs along the handrail, hailed a taxi to Xuncheng, and didn't want to waste a single minute on the way.
He had only three thoughts on his mind: to get the videotape as soon as possible, to bring his aunt back, and to see Lu Yushi.
Such a wonderful person must be hers!
The abbot of Xingyin Temple was leading everyone in their daily practice when he saw Gu Nan rushing in. Thinking something serious had happened, he instructed the abbot to arrange the remaining procedures and led Gu Nan to the guest hall next door.
As soon as the door closed, Gu Nan couldn't wait to ask, "Master, is there an abandoned courtyard in the temple with crabapple trees, a few simple pieces of furniture, no statues, and it's chained up during the day?"
The old abbot frowned, hesitating to speak: "From what you've said, it sounds like the West Garden. That place was sealed off many years ago due to safety concerns, and later, because there were too many hidden dangers, it was completely sealed off."
"Take me to see it."
The courtyard is not on the main mountain, but separated by a long iron suspension bridge. The old abbot pointed to the other side and said, "That's it."
Considering the abbot's advanced age, Gu Nan did not ask to accompany him. He quickly crossed the iron chain bridge, unlocked the door, and the rusted hinges made a strange "creaking" sound, scaring away a dozing wild cat.
Gu Nan raised her hand and waved away the dust floating in the air, then looked up.
The crabapple tree in the courtyard was much thicker than the late-blooming pear had described. The golden crabapples swayed in the wind, and some ripe fruits fell onto the broken tiles, rolling all the way to the broken rafters, stirring up dust that scattered in all directions, and then fell down the crooked beams.
Underfoot, weeds covered every inch of the land.
The pungent fragrance of fresh grass masked the acrid dust.
Gu Nan stared intently at the purlins and gently pushed open the door, thankfully only tearing a few spider webs.
The gray-black spider quickly disappeared without a trace along the wall, and the remaining users had also left. Gu Nan rubbed the wall, searching for the mechanism her aunt had mentioned, while carefully watching the beams that could collapse at any moment.
The old, dilapidated room would shake at the slightest breeze, and my palms were soaked with cold sweat and covered in mud.
For a full half hour, Gu Nan had thoroughly examined all four walls, but still couldn't find the hidden compartment Wan Tangli had mentioned. Gu Nan squatted by the wall, deep in thought. His aunt had amnesia, and the information obtained through hypnosis might be inaccurate. Therefore, if they wanted to find that videotape, they could only wait for his aunt to regain her memory.
She hesitated, resting her chin on her hand, when suddenly she heard a hurried sound in the distance.
"Gu Nan!"
Looking up at the sound, Su Di's eyes first caught sight of the falling broken tiles. In the nick of time, Su Di rushed to Gu Nan's side and pulled her out of the dilapidated hut without saying a word.
Before she could even regain her footing, Sudi, hands on her hips, angrily shouted, "Are you trying to get yourself killed? What kind of place is this? The buildings could collapse at any moment, and you're sitting here so calmly. Aren't you afraid of being crushed to death?"
Gu Nan turned her head to look at Ji Yuanyu, who was jogging up behind her, and asked in surprise, "Why are you guys here?"
Sudi: "My senior brother said you came to Xuncheng and asked me to take care of you." She looked around and said sarcastically, "It's not easy to find a place like this to die."
"Who's trying to kill themselves?" Gu Nan said, pursing her lips.
"Then what are you doing here?"
"Visiting the rooms for the lonely." Gu Nan turned around. There was a half-broken tile where she had been sitting, and a look of disappointment flashed across her face.
Sudi rolled her eyes: "Could you please put some effort into your lies? Are you leaving or not?"
Gu Nan sighed and said, "Let's go."
The midday sun filled every corner of the room, and the blue bricks gleamed with a grayish-brown hue under the light.
She glanced one last time at the empty house, turned away with regret, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw something behind the broken tiles and in front of the table corner that seemed to have been hit and had a brick corner sticking up. She immediately turned around and rushed into the house.
"Hey!" Sudi instinctively reached for her arm, only to watch helplessly as the hem of her clothes slipped from his palm.
Gu Nan didn't have time to explain. She dug out the cracked blue bricks along the curled edge. Dust flew everywhere, but she didn't care about the choking smell. She rolled up her sleeves and hurriedly dug down. After scooping out a clod of soil two layers high with blue bricks, a rusty iron box came into view.
With a joyful expression on his face, Gu Nan forcefully pried open the iron box, peeked inside, and closed it with satisfaction.
Sudi and Ji Yuanyu exchanged a glance, took out a wet wipe and handed it to Gu Nan, asking, "What's this?"
"Honey." Gu Nan quickly wiped her hands, holding the box in a good mood. Her gaze swept over the two of them, landing on the woman's handbag that Ji Yuanyu was carrying. She teased, "What's going on between you two?"
Ji Yuanyu averted his gaze and coughed lightly, covering his mouth.
Sudi awkwardly tossed her hair: "Let's go, this house looks like it's about to collapse."
Gu Nan smiled knowingly at Su Di.
Sudi retorted, "We're fine, but you and my senior brother are the ones who're really not on good terms."
As she spoke, as if suddenly remembering something, she abruptly turned her head, a smile hidden in her eyes: "You've been gone for more than half a year, and everyone thought my senior brother was single. Now that the Lu family is powerful, there are many people who want to marry him."
Gu Nan shrugged: "Are they prettier than me?"
Sudi: "..."
"Can I fight this?"
Ji Yuanyu: "..."
Does Lu Yushi pay any attention to them?
After being asked three questions in a row, Sudi was left speechless.
"Are they as good to me as they are to me?"
Sudi finally found her voice, took out her phone, and gestured to Gu Nan with her chin: "I don't know if it's good for them, but soon you'll be just like them."
The chat box from a couple of weeks ago contained a very brief conversation between the two people.
"Senior, the teacher asked about your girlfriend."
I don't have a girlfriend.
Gu Nan: My fist has hardened.
Sudi raised an eyebrow, smiled smugly, and said, "How about it?"
Gu Nan shrugged: "It's fine."
Seeing Gu Nan's nonchalant expression, Su Di became suspicious. She only wanted to tease Gu Nan and didn't intend to sow discord between Gu Nan and her senior brother. She glanced at Gu Nan's expression and whispered, trying to salvage the situation: "My senior brother didn't mean it that way."
"I don't know what you mean, but I'm going to apply for a charity award for him." After being tricked by her for so long, Lu Yushi silently accepted the loss and even contacted Wan Tangli for her. Gu Nan kept talking, "From now on, when everyone comes to Xingyin Temple, they can just worship Lu Yushi."
Sudi: "..."
Ji Yuanyu pursed his lips, hesitating to speak: "That day at the Platinum Club, Master Wan actually didn't want our courtyard."
Gu Nan asked, puzzled, "Huh?"
"Master Wan did initially intend to take action against the New Times, but soon Lu Yushi's assistant came over and angered Master Wan with just a few words. When he left, he forbade me to tell you that the story about the small courtyard was a lie I made up."
Gu Nan paused for a moment, then looked away from the left and right: "Great, I got a small courtyard for free. Consider it my wedding gift to you two."
The more she thought about it, the more her nose stung. In a nonsensical manner, she whispered, "The one from Leshan shouldn't be sitting either. Get up and let Lu Yushi sit down."
He quickened his pace down the mountain: "I have something to do, I'll go first, we'll talk later."
Sudi called out from behind, "Where are you going?"
"Ask your senior brother why he doesn't have a girlfriend."
That being said, Gu Nan's destination on her frantic run was not the Lu family. Back at the hotel, she spent a great deal of time exporting the video footage and contacting all the newspapers and online marketing accounts she could reach, submitting the evidence to the relevant departments.
After doing all this, before going to find Lu Yu, she first went to see the Lin family.
The journey took half an hour, but the news spread online, and many reporters were already waiting in front of the Lin family's house for one last interview before Lin Jianye was taken away.
Gu Nan patted the young man holding the camera and asked, "Come with me? I'll show you some more interesting stuff."
Guy: ?
"Are you leaving or not? If not, I'll find someone else."
The young man made a quick decision: "Let's go."
The two of them went around the side gate one after the other and walked through the bamboo garden, easily avoiding the servants.
The young man exclaimed, "It's really beautiful."
While speaking, he quickly took a few photos to serve as evidence of Lin Jianye's extravagance.
Gu Nan glanced at the low pavilion where she often sat in the distance. She had never noticed the fragrance of grass and the beauty of flowers before, but now, as she passed by, it seemed that she could not find another beautiful scene. She guessed that it was the pleasure of her great revenge that was about to be fulfilled.
Turning the corner of the small door, she heard the sound of cups and saucers shattering on the floor inside the room, which pushed her inner elation to a climax.
She gestured for the young man to find a place to hide, then straightened her back and strode into the main hall.
A clear, resonant voice said, "Patriarch Lin, how have you been?"
The Lin father and son turned their heads simultaneously, Lin Haoyu frowning: "Yan Yi?"
Lin Jianye narrowed his eyes, his face grim: "Who exactly are you?"
Gu Nan scoffed, "Looks like he's not too stupid after all."
As she spoke, she slowly removed her veil, hooked her index finger around the veil to form a strip, tied her hair in a few quick movements, and under Lin Jianye's gaze, walked unhurriedly to the nearest chair and sat down. Her gaze fell on the emptiness outside the door, and she said softly, "Lin Jianye, I've come to seek justice for my grandfather, my father, and my whole family."
Lin Haoyu stared intently at him, completely unaware of the sudden change in his father's expression beside him.
"Are you Gu Nan? I've seen you with Lu Yushi before. Did Lu Yushi send you?"
Gu Nan let out a disdainful snort: "You've managed to live a carefree life in the Lin family for so many years by stealing and robbing, but you've never been able to gain a foothold in Beicheng. Lu Yushi..." She glanced in the direction of the young man and changed her words, "Oh no, even if my boyfriend were blind, he wouldn't consider you his rivals."
She had no interest in arguing with Lin Haoyu, and her gaze slowly drifted to Lin Jianye's pale face as she reminded him, "Patriarch Lin."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"What, haven't you had a chance to watch the video yet?" Gu Nan took out her phone and said in a gentle tone, "It's alright, I can watch it with Patriarch Lin. Let's see how you colluded with Master Wan, the Shen family, and the Chu family to betray your own people and burn your master, who raised you from childhood, alive. Let's see just how heartless you are. Not only did you burn down the Cloud Villa, but you also went to great lengths to create accidents. Patriarch Lin, do you still remember how my uncle got into a car accident? And the horrific scene after my aunt's husband fell off the cliff, Patriarch Lin, aren't you afraid when you dream about it at midnight?"
"What nonsense are you spouting?" Lin Haoyu jumped up from his chair, pointing his finger at Gu Nan's nose and yelling, "What exactly do you want? My dad likes chess, and our family has never mistreated you, Yan Yi!"
"Mistreated?" Gu Nan laughed for a long time as if she had heard the biggest joke. However, her voice was not happy at all. Instead, a hint of hatred could be seen in her red eyelids. She suddenly turned her head and looked directly at Lin Jianye, asking, "Did my grandfather ever mistreat you?"
She didn't give Lin Jianye a chance to think or evade the question. She gritted her teeth and suppressed the tears welling up in her heart, pretending to be relaxed as she said, "I don't know if my memory is accurate. If I've said anything wrong, Patriarch Lin can remind me at any time."
"When you were eight years old, your parents died. Your aunt treated you badly, and you didn't even have a cotton-padded coat to wear in the dead of winter. My grandfather took pity on you and gave your uncle a large sum of money. He took you home, took you as his apprentice, and provided you with the same food, clothing, and daily necessities as my father. He never favored one of you over the other. He taught you to read and write and taught you how to make straw. My father never felt resentful because of the care my grandfather gave you. My grandmother pitied your background and loved you like her own son."
Overwhelmed with emotion, she saw no remorse on Lin Jianye's face and lowered her voice: "Lin Jianye, I'll just ask you one question: during those years in my family, did you suffer even the slightest grievance?"
She lived in the Cloud Villa since birth. She was pampered by her grandparents, loved by her parents, spoiled by her uncle, and cared for by her aunt. At that time, Lin Jianye treated her very well and was meticulous in everything he did, leaving no room for criticism.
She even had doubts when her aunt said that Lin Jianye set the fire.
How can someone suddenly seem like a completely different person?
They became ruthless and hideous.
"After more than twenty years together, how could you do this to me?"
The Lin family's gate was forcibly broken open, and a large number of reporters swarmed in.
One recording device after another was pushed forward with all its might.
"Lin Jianye, are you afraid of retribution for your years of doing good deeds?"
"Lin Jianye, why did you set fire to the Yunjian Villa?"
"Lin Jianye, have you ever regretted harming your own master?"
The deliveryman squeezed through the crowd to Gu Nan's side, observing her expression before handing the equipment to her.
"Are you Mr. Xue's granddaughter?"
Before she finished speaking, half of the reporters surrounding Lin Jianye crowded in front of Gu Nan.
The room was noisy. Gu Nan stood quietly with her head down. After a moment, she raised her hand to signal everyone to be quiet and slowly said, "I have a few more questions to ask Lin Jianye."
The press conference staff exchanged glances and tactfully made way for each other.
"Has my grandfather ever wronged you?"
Gu Nan took a step forward.
"Has my father ever wronged you?"
She asked questions at each step.
"Have we, as a family, ever wronged you?"
Forced back into his chair, Lin Jianye glared at him and gave an irrelevant answer: "You know I like playing chess, so you approached me using Yan Yi's identity."
Apart from the young man, all the reporters looked surprised. The mysterious and reclusive Yan Yi was rumored to be an elderly man, or at least a middle-aged man with rich experience. The woman in front of them looked so young, which was very different from their imagined image.
"I should say that I knew you liked playing chess, so I practiced chess diligently, and only with the identity of Yan Yi could I get close to you."
Lin Jianye clenched his fist, his face contorted with resentment, and gritted his teeth: "Yun Ting, was it you?!"
"I've gone to great lengths to let everyone see your true colors."
The sound of gasps could be heard all around.
"Yun Ting!"
"Yunting only gives out 50 admission tickets a year?"
"Anyone who wants to interview that scoundrel Lin Jianye, make way, I want to interview Teacher Yunting."
"Hey, doesn't she look familiar to you guys?"
"Mr. Xue's granddaughter naturally resembles Mr. Xue in appearance."
"No, let me think... I feel like I've seen this somewhere before."
Someone slapped their thigh: "Five years ago!"
"Lu Yushi's fiancée?"
"And it's related to the Lu family?"
"Would the Lu family even consider such scum?"
The room was filled with the chatter of conversation. Lin Jianye yelled, "Get out, all of you!"
"Lin Jianye, a life for a life. What's the use of pushing the Wan family out? You, the Shen family, and the Chu family, none of you will escape."
From the crowd, someone shouted, "The police are here!"
Everyone quickly made way.
"Thump." Lin Jianye fell off the chair to the ground, his deeply lined old face filled with hatred.
Gu Nan looked down at his limp body, leaned down slightly, and whispered in his ear: "After you go in, please pass on a message to Master Wan. Since he was unwilling to report the Shen family as I requested, now that the Shen family has lost power, let him guess how long it will take me to completely destroy the Wan family."
"Why!" Lin Jianye suddenly stood up, pushed everyone away, and staggered while grabbing the armrest of his chair. The situation was hopeless, and he was too lazy to pretend to be kind. "Why can you be born into a wealthy family? Why do you all have a smooth life from birth, while I have to go hungry and cold, living in other people's homes and having to live at their mercy?"
“Master, hehe,” he sneered as he backed away, “You treated me like your own son, so why did you make your father the head of the next generation?”
Gu Nan looked completely bewildered: "What did you say?"
"You want me to congratulate him on completing his apprenticeship? Dream on!"
Lin Jianye angrily swept his gaze across everyone present: "You've all seen my skills, and in every way they're inferior to my senior apprentice's!"
"Character."
A woman's voice came from behind. Everyone followed the sound and automatically made way for her. Gu Shuping looked straight ahead and said, "You are narrow-minded and arrogant. You always complain that your master is strict with you, but you are lazy by nature. If it weren't for his daily advice, you wouldn't have your skills now. You are ungrateful and even want to harm our whole family."
Gu Nan stood up: "Aunt?"
"You only remember your master's strictness, but do you still remember the cotton coat he draped over you when he took you away on the street? Do you remember how he ran around for your studies? When you were bullied at school, did he ever stand idly by?"
The questions fell to the ground, but Lin Jianye remained silent. Before he was taken away, several sharp-eyed reporters quickly asked him a few questions.
Suddenly, a surprised voice came from the crowd.
"I remember now, it was at the charity gala a while ago..."
Someone's eyes immediately lit up: "The actual controller of Xingzi Building!"
"Miss Gu, is everything Chen Li said true?"
"Miss Gu, does that mean that Yan Yi is you, Yun Ting is you, and you are still the actual controller of Xingzi Tower?"
"Are you able to manage so many roles?"
"Miss Gu, I heard that you are now Mr. Lu's girlfriend. May I ask whether you were pretending five years ago, or whether you and Mr. Lu broke up back then and have now reconciled?"
“You’re so young… Oh, Miss Gu.”
Before all the reporters could surround them, the young man led the two away.
Gu Shuping's brows relaxed, and she looked at Gu Nan with affection: "Nan Nan, you did it."
Gu Nan nodded emphatically, pursing her lips: "It's just that Auntie doesn't remember."
“Alright, if she regains her memory in the future, we'll go see her. If she doesn't remember, it's not a bad thing either. I've heard that the young master of the Wan family treats her very well. Let bygones be bygones. I'm planning to go back to Xingyin Temple to tell everyone this good news. Will you come with me?”
Gu Nan held her aunt's hand and rubbed it, then exhaled, "I'm not going. I have more important things to do."
"good."
The online buzz spread faster than expected. She closed the car door, watched her aunt leave, and her phone kept buzzing with new message notifications.
There were messages from Su Di, Ji Yuanyu, Ye Xu, and Su Wanting with tears streaming down her face. Jin Yan's three question marks stubbornly sat in a corner. After Meng Qing's congratulations, He Wu sent a whole screen full of messages expressing his admiration.
There were so many more messages below, but even after scrolling to the bottom, I still couldn't find the one I most wanted to see.
Gu Nan paced back and forth, trying to come up with an idea.
Half a minute later, she navigated to the nearest bar, pushed open the door, and could still hear a lively discussion inside about Lin Jianye's ingratitude. Without looking to the side, she walked towards the private room and ordered the bottle with the strongest alcohol, regardless of the taste.
The waiter was puzzled, but he obeyed and opened the bottle cap without saying a word.
Gu Nan took off her coat, unbuttoned her shirt, and poured the contents onto her clothes.
The waiter was so startled that he backed away, unsure whether to cover his clothes with his hands or try to stop the bottle. He frantically tried for a while, but to no avail. He cautiously asked, "Are you... still conscious?"
"I couldn't be more sober," Gu Nan said with a dignified smile after finishing the bottle of wine. "Get a hairdryer."
After drying the clothes until they were half-dry, Gu Nan lowered her head to sniff them, put them on with satisfaction, and called out, "Check, please."
"3080, would you like to scan the code or..."
"How many!"
With tears in her eyes, she paid the bill, muttering to herself the whole way. Standing downstairs at the Lu family's building, staring at the familiar car, she felt utterly overwhelmed. Shi Nian'an's presence here would severely limit her performance.
But if she doesn't go inside soon, her 3080 will evaporate completely.
After pacing around the doorway for three minutes, I chose the 3080 over the option of having less room to maneuver.
Upon entering, everything went smoothly as expected. Neither Shi Nian'an nor Lu Yuanjing were downstairs. The nanny smiled and pointed her towards the study.
Facing the closed study door, Gu Nan took a deep breath, slowly exhaled, and staggered to push the door open with his left arm behind his back.
There was no warm greeting or concern as expected, not even a perfunctory glance. Lu Yushi simply raised his head and calmly lowered it, his gaze lingering on her face for no more than 10 seconds.
Gu Nan: ?
"Hi, boyfriend." As she stumbled and staggered toward Lu Yu, her left hand, hidden in her pocket, kept fanning the inside of her coat to try and dispel the smell of alcohol.
I could deeply understand a saying from Lu Yushi's calm and composed face.
The harder you try, the more heartbroken you become.
Undeterred, I lowered my head to take a sneeze, almost choking on the smell of alcohol.
Lost your sense of smell?
Why are you ignoring me?
"Have you been drinking?" Lu Yushi asked casually, glancing at the computer screen.
Gu Nan nodded, mimicking the drunkard's manner.
"Then go back and rest."
"Huh?"
Before the questioning tone had even faded, Lu Yushi suddenly looked up.
In a flash, Gu Nan immediately grabbed her head and pretended to be drunk, asking in a drawn-out tone, "Why won't you admit that I'm your girlfriend? Don't you like me anymore?"
Lu Yushi: "Hmm."
Gu Nan's pupils dilated: "Hmm?"
Don't like it? She doesn't believe it!
The seeds of regret are sprouting; 3080 has already been spent, can't be wasted.
She slipped, then playfully wrapped her arms around Lu Yushi's neck, sliding down with the momentum until she was almost curled up in his arms. Only then did she blink her eyes and ask pitifully, "Why don't you like it?"
The only space between the chair and the desk was filled, making it impossible for Lu Yushi to work. He simply removed his hand and looked down at the person in his arms: "Don't you know what you're doing?"
Once you cheat the first time, you'll do it countless times.
She closed her eyes and groaned, "My head hurts."
Before she could receive any help, the moment she closed her eyes, Lu Yushi lifted his leg and used force to half-lift and half-carry her onto the table.
His voice was flat: "If it hurts, go back and rest."
...
Gu Nan chuckled speechlessly, looked up, still pretending to be completely dazed, and leaned into Lu Yushi's arms without saying a word.
Halfway there, I was mercilessly blocked by an arm.
He gritted his teeth and forced out three words: "Lu Yushi!"
Then he immediately blocked the sound in his mouth.
With a wronged expression, she placed her hands on the arm blocking her way, stared expectantly into Lu Yushi's eyes, and apologized in a gentle voice: "I'm sorry, it was all my fault before. I caused you a lot of trouble, and I always misunderstood you and lied to you. I was wrong, please don't be angry."
Her apology echoed in the quiet room.
Lu Yushi looked away, glancing left and right but refusing to look at her.
Gu Nan said, "I'm apologizing, you have to listen!"
An arm could block her body, but it couldn't block her soul. With swift eyes and hands, she reached out and turned Lu Yushi's head, forcing him to look at her: "You're the best. I've already apologized, please forgive me!"
Lu Yushi squeezed out a meaningless sound from his throat and simply closed his eyes.
After trying for a long time, there was no progress.
Instead of trying to make Lu Yu laugh, she looked at his tightly closed eyes, which were so close to hers, and instead managed to vent her anger.
She toned down her drawn-out tone, her eyes clear and bright: "Yes, I was wrong, I'm sorry, but the fault isn't entirely mine. You found the necklace when we first met at the Platinum Club. You knew I valued that necklace very much. If you hadn't hidden it and had just told me that the necklace belonged to you, would I have... would I have bothered you like this?"
Although it was a defense, the words were not false.
She had been searching for the necklace's owner for over a decade, and was too grateful to even think of taking advantage of her.
"Instead of bothering me, why are you bothering Shen Ming?"
“I,” Gu Nan retorted, speechless, “at least you won’t lose any of this.”
"Have I ever told you to speak to me face to face? If you had spoken properly, I might have agreed to help you, but you just had to..." Lu Yushi turned his head away.
Gu Nan's arrogance lasted less than two minutes before Lu Yushi spoke, immediately breaking his composure and quickly admitting his mistake: "I was wrong."
Lu Yushi still didn't give her a good look, dodged her grip, and continued to stare at the computer screen.
Once again ignored, Gu Nan had been the most obedient she had ever been in her life, and she was unwilling to give up halfway.
"You did say that, but I'm not a mind reader. What if I reveal my identity to you and you turn around and collude with the Shen family? I'll regret it then. In the end, it's because you didn't tell me. If you had told me earlier, I would never have chosen to take advantage of you."
Lu Yushi laughed angrily: "Should I have said so earlier? What should I have said earlier? Did you give me a chance? When have you ever come to me without a reason? I'm asking you, who is hacker N?"
Gu Nan obediently raised her hand, fidgeting with her fingers: "Me."
"Whose apprentice is Su Wanting?"
Gu Nan silently raised her right hand again, which she had halfway down.
Where were you the day I asked you to come to my house?
"Accompanying Shen Manman to dinner and watch movies."
"You're so busy, I need to bump into you to find you."
Suddenly remembering the kick she gave Lu Yu in the shin when she was chased by Valbus to the entrance of Rose Manor, she felt guilty and forgot that she was pretending to be drunk.
"No, back then..."
"The next time I heard from you was when you were locked in a cold storage. I managed to get there in time. Even while you were unconscious, you didn't forget to cause me trouble. After dealing with the Tianyu System, I learned that you were going to be discharged from the hospital. I rushed over as fast as I could, only to hear that you were going to leave with Wan Yi and never come back."
Gu Nan listened as Lu Yushi relentlessly criticized her. His accusations were all genuine, but his anger seemed less real and more like an overflowing sense of grievance.
Once indulged, it's impossible to stop.
“You cut off all contact, left the country without a word, and came back to attack me. Gu Nan, do you even have a heart?”
Gu Nan stared into Lu Yushi's eyes and belatedly realized that if Lu Yushi had lured her back to China with her aunt's ring, then the day he brought her home must have been to talk about Wan Tangli.
He was just too angry to talk to her, and her erratic behavior only made Lu Yushi even more displeased.
Now it dawned on her that she had been misunderstanding the real reason why Lu Yushi was angry.
She always predicted the development of things from the opposite side of Lu Yushi, but she forgot that Lu Yushi had never denied their relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend.
From the perspective of an enemy, cutting off contact is perfectly justifiable.
However, if it's a couple, and one of them silently throws away their SIM card and goes abroad, the other's anger is not hard to understand.
"I……"
“Hypnotist J is you, Yan is you, hacker N is you, and the actual controller of Xingzi Tower is you,” Lu Yushi sneered. “What, I heard there’s also a Yun Ting identity. Should I thank you for not using Yun Ting’s identity to cause me trouble?”
Gu Nan lowered her head and listened to the scolding without saying a word.
Lu Yushi had given her the cold shoulder before. She remembered that at first, when Lu Yushi deliberately gave her the cold shoulder, she would feel fear in her heart, and that sense of oppression had shaken her resolve several times.
However, after being reprimanded by Lu Yushi face to face for so long today, she felt that Lu Yushi was just an ordinary adult male among millions of people, and even the best temper could not withstand repeated and endless betrayals.
It was just a few light criticisms, nothing more. There was no intimidating threat whatsoever.
"I know I was wrong."
She tentatively clung to Lu Yushi's arm, and when she wasn't pushed away, she took advantage of the situation and moved forward little by little until she was almost straddling his lap, leaning forward to lightly peck at the corner of his mouth.
I hate people who try to analyze my inner thoughts, and I don't even realize how uncomfortable it is when I say it.
“I know Lin Jianye has Master Wan backing him up. The power dynamics in Beicheng are complex, and the Shen family has close ties with Master Wan. If I want to investigate the evidence from back then, the only way is to get close to you, to enter your circle, and only then will I have a chance to get close to the Shen family. At first, I only wanted revenge, but I never expected that I would… fall in love with you, so…”
"So in your assumption, we will eventually end up as enemies to the death."
Gu Nan immediately denied it: "No, I'm sorry for dragging you into this, but I really never thought of doing anything to you. I just want to go abroad after this is over and then compensate you for Xingzi Building."
She pledged her loyalty, but the person opposite her looked even angrier.
"Where's your mistress? Leave a card and go." Lu Yushi pushed her away and turned to leave.
Gu Nan was left alone at her desk, hesitant to speak.
Even people need to sleep; our relationship is so pure.
She silently clenched her fist and slammed it on the desk, thinking to herself, "I don't believe I can't be coaxed."
Pushing open the door, she didn't see Lu Yushi, but instead bumped into Shi Nian'an, whose eyes were red. The moment their eyes met, Shi Nian'an raised her hand to beckon her over, hugged her tightly, and gently patted her back.
“I’ve heard about it. Good child, you’ve had it so tough. From now on, this is your home. If anyone dares to bully you, just tell Auntie, and Auntie will stand up for you.”
Gu Nan's nose stung with tears, and she scratched her forehead in distress: "There really is one."
Shi Nian'an instantly became alert: "Who!"
Gu Nan struggled out of Shi Nian'an's arms and straightened her learning attitude: "Auntie, I did something wrong and made Lu Yushi angry. Can you teach me how to make him happy?"
"Sigh," Shi Nian'an instantly relaxed, her brows unfurrowing. She waved her hand and said, "What's wrong or not? You two are a couple. He'll just back down a bit and it'll be over. Why apologize? You're so much younger than him. What can't you forgive? You're such a grown man. How can he wait for you to coax him? No way, I'm going to find him."
"Hey...no." Gu Nan shook her head firmly. She was in the wrong first, and forcing Shi Nian'an to forcefully interfere with Lu Yushi's anger would only push Lu Yushi further away from her, no matter how you looked at it.
"how?"
Gu Nan smacked her lips: "This is a big deal."
Shi Nian'an paced back and forth for a while, then suggested, "How about I make him some soup? I've made shredded pork soup a few times, and he quite likes it."
Gu Nan immediately made the decision: "Okay, this soup is the one."
An hour later, Gu Nan used a spoon to shovel the unknown brown liquid in the soup bowl, rubbing her chin thoughtfully: "If I bring this bowl up, will he think that I'm not going to coax him anymore and might as well poison him?"
Shi Nian'an burst out laughing.
"How about we change to something else?"
"Good idea."
After working until dark, the nanny stood at the kitchen door, hesitant to speak, "Madam, what's for dinner...?"
Gu Nan expressionlessly poured the contents of the bowl into the trash can.
He deceived himself by saying, "I've never been to the kitchen."
Walk out straight and honestly.
A silent, prolonged wail—this is outrageous!
Statistically speaking, it should have succeeded at least once by now.
Shi Nian'an comforted him, "Just have the maid prepare it and bring it up. He can't keep nagging forever, can he?"
At the dinner table, Lu Yushi demonstrated through his actions that he could.
After Gu Nan was ignored for the second time, Shi Nian'an couldn't help but ask, "Nan Nan is talking to you, what's your attitude?"
Lu Yushi glanced at Gu Nan but didn't say anything.
Shi Nian'an scolded, "Stop eating."
Before Gu Nan could react to that glance, she saw Lu Yushi put down his chopsticks and leave.
They've left?
Gu Nan was filled with questions. No, is this right?
Belatedly realizing, wait a minute, will Lu Yushi suspect that she and Shi Nian'an are talking nonsense?
"Aunt?"
"Don't worry about him," Shi Nian'an said as she served food to Gu Nan. "Try it."
I cried out in my heart, "Don't mess with me!"
Having no appetite, she picked up the remaining food from her plate, stood up, and said, "I'm done eating."
As she spoke, she secretly reached for the plate of custard buns, but before she could grab one, two pairs of eyes, like ghosts, fell on her hand.
...
"hehe."
I simply carried the plate upstairs.
She bent her knuckles and knocked on the door, but the person inside ignored her.
It doesn't matter, she can push it away herself.
She pushed the plate in front of Lu Yushi in a fawning manner, put her hands behind her back, and said in a strange voice, "I've already admitted my mistake, why are you still so unforgiving?"
"Am I being unreasonable?"
Gu Nan shook her head frantically: "No, my boyfriend is the best in the world."
She tentatively took Lu Yushi's hand, and finding no resistance, she immediately went further, fiddling with her cufflinks with one hand and pulling on Lu Yushi's collar with the other, forcing him to look down at her: "How long are you going to stay angry?"
Lu Yushi did not answer.
Gu Nan is like an unkillable cockroach.
Ignore me? I have plenty of strength and means!
His fingertips, which were fiddling with the cufflinks, paused for a moment, then quickly pulled them off. His other hand was not idle either; his fingers deftly began to unbutton the top white button, moving down step by step, his eyes fixed on Lu Yushi's reaction.
When it was the fourth one, Lu Yushi raised his hand and pressed it down.
Gu Nan was stunned for a moment, then grabbed Lu Yushi's chin: "Lu Yushi! If you keep doing this, I won't coax you anymore."
"If you're not going to coax me, then go downstairs." Lu Yushi said expressionlessly.
"You think I'll just go down because you tell me to? I won't!"
Lu Yushi glanced at her, then raised his hand to close the notebook, along with the latest message he had received.
"You said it yourself."
"Huh?" Before the drawn-out tone could be fully uttered, it was blocked back in her throat. Gu Nan's mind was a beat slow, and she let Lu Yushi take what he wanted. She stared at his lowered eyelashes in a daze, wondering if he had coaxed her or not.
"hiss."
Gu Nan was bitten on the lip, not too hard, and she came back to her senses, staring blankly at the person in front of her.
Lu Yushi smiled enigmatically: "You still have a chance to back out."
"Don't go back on your word, eat!"
The poor custard bun could only blame itself for not being yellow enough and not having grown arms and legs yet. When it wanted to leave, it couldn't. It was bullied by two people until it rolled on the ground, and no one showed it a shred of pity.
Gu Nan, in a daze, clung to Lu Yushi's neck, letting him do whatever he wanted.
She didn't remember how she moved from the study to the bedroom. All she knew was that before she fell into a deep sleep, she thought she would go and show off to Ye Xu that she now had a wealth of practical experience.
So much so that he spent the next day lying in bed doing nothing. It wasn't until the morning sunlight of the third day peeked through the curtains that Gu Nan touched the spot next to him with his eyes closed; it was ice cold.
She opened her eyes, furrowing her brows, unable to understand.
She could guess that Lu Yushi wasn't really angry, but was just making an excuse to wait for her to coax him. But his sudden and open dinner with her was definitely unexpected, and having dinner with her for two days in a row was even more unexpected.
Lost in thought, I suddenly heard the doorknob click.
Gu Nan quickly covered herself with the blanket and pretended to be asleep.
The footsteps stopped in front of the bed. Gu Nan couldn't understand and wondered to herself, why was she pretending to be asleep? Isn't it strange that she suddenly woke up now?
"Still not awake?"
The right opportunity to wake up has arrived, and Gu Nan shrinks back, pretending to be a quail.
"Wan Yi woke up two days ago and didn't see anyone. I was thinking of going with you today, but since..."
The blanket fell in a perfect parabola through the air. Gu Nan couldn't wait to get up, her eyes shining: "Wan Yi is awake?"
"You're awake?"
Gu Nan grinned at Lu Yushi with a forced smile, not in the mood to argue with him. She put her arm around Lu Yushi's waist, pulled him over, and kissed his shoulders perfunctorily.
Her voice softened: "Lu Yushi, you're the best."
Lu Yushi covered his lips with his hand and coughed lightly: "Get dressed."
The jubilant cheers continued from the room into the car. Gu Nan's excitement was beyond words, and four words flashed through Lu Yushi's mind.
— Jumping up and down.
He sat and watched her for a while, his gaze complex: "Aren't you tired?"
“I’m happy,” Gu Nan said, counting on her fingers as she recounted her past with Wan Yi. “Although we haven’t known each other for long, we’ve been through so much. Do you remember the underground boxing gym in Xuncheng? That’s where we met. Actually, he’s pretty good at fighting,” she said, then carefully corrected herself, “but he can’t beat me. He doesn’t realize it, though. In doubles matches, he always felt like he was protecting me. You have no idea how difficult it was for me. I had to make him feel like he was protecting me while also having to focus on fighting my opponent. Everyone else was fighting 2v2, but I was fighting 1v3. That day, I accidentally got carried away and knocked down the Xuncheng champion. When Wan Yi saw that, he thought, ‘The Xuncheng champion is so unreliable?’ He immediately signed up for the competition and ended up getting beaten really badly.”
Gu Nan laughed so hard she almost fell over as she spoke.
Lu Yushi listened expressionlessly, thinking how right it was to make the choice to take advantage of the person beforehand.
Gu Nan chatted happily the whole way, completely unaware that the expressions of the people around her were somewhat subtle.
Pushing open the door, that joy finally materialized.
"Wan Yi!"
Wan Yi, having lost the apple, cried out with tears in her eyes, "Nan Bao!"
Lu Yushi: "Ahem."
Nothing could stop the two from running towards each other, and they didn't even attract each other's attention halfway.
"How are you feeling? Is there anything else that's bothering you?"
Wan Yi shook his head dismissively: "No, all my parts are doing their jobs properly."
Gu Nan felt relieved and immediately started cursing: "Are you stupid? Why did you rush up there without asking for help? I asked you to come and save me, not to go and die. You had to go and die right in front of me. Do you know how hard it is for me? If it weren't for me watching over Platinum Jue for you, you would be penniless when you woke up. I would have to support you."
Wan Yi retorted, "Don't you have any conscience? If I hadn't faked my death to trick you into leaving and opened the gate, would you have been able to come out of the cold storage?"
Gu Nan paused for a moment, then looked back at Lu Yu with a warning look in her eyes, telling him not to make a sound. She continued, following Wan Yi's words, "Isn't it because you're stupid and didn't know to find more people?"
Wan Yi followed her gaze and looked back, smacked his lips, and announced the end of the war: "Wait a minute, I remembered something else."
Gu Nan let out a snort through her nose: "What?"
“You said Lu Yu took his anger out on you and punched you several times, but he said he only punched you once, that time in the underground boxing ring.”
"Um?"
"You said you weren't going to the North City Boxing Gym because he had people waiting for you there. How come he didn't know about this?"
"Well……"
"You still say that about him..."
Gu Nan rushed over and covered Wan Yi's mouth, confused: "When did you two settle your accounts?"
Wan Yi ground his back teeth and said slowly and deliberately, "The day before yesterday! You were lying to me after all."
“Lu Yushi.” Gu Nan turned around and blinked pitifully.
She's the one who's been appeased by herself!
Lu Yushi crossed his arms, looking relaxed: "Miss Gu, is this how you publicize your boyfriend?"
Before the words were finished, a familiar male voice came from the corridor.
"sister in law!"
One wave subsides only for another to rise.
Lu Yushi glanced at the boy who ran in from beside him, looked at Gu Nan, and asked, "Why did he call you sister-in-law?"
Gu Nan didn't even have time to look at the boy who ran in and He Xiao behind him before asking, "Why did he call me sister-in-law?"
"I don't know." He Xiao wished he could cut open his stomach to prove his innocence. He had received the news the day Wan Yi woke up and was ordered by the man in front of him to come and visit him today. He Wu had been perfectly normal the whole way.
"Didn't you promise me that as long as I could get out of the cold storage, you would become my sister-in-law?"
He Xiao's eyes were filled with something I dared not look at.
He Wu was incredibly brave.
"I swear to God, I did not agree!"
Lu Yushi gave a half-smile: "Oh."
He Wu didn't think there was anything wrong. He glanced at Wan Yi, then turned to Gu Nan and said, "Aunt Xue Li said she has guests today and will come to see Brother Wan Yi later."
Wan Yi waved his hand dismissively: "It's nothing, I'm about to be discharged, no need to come over."
He Wu nodded, finally having the chance to ask the question that had been troubling him for the past six months: "Why are you all so kind to Aunt Xue Li?"
"Ask your sister Nan," Wan Yi said, "I'm just cannon fodder."
Gu Nan's smile faded slightly: "Because I'm a good person."
The group chatted for a while before the doctor came over to tell them to do some tests. Wan Yi felt that he had almost fully recovered, so he didn't ask them to stay. He made a promise to have dinner together after he was discharged from the hospital. After saying that, he gave Gu Nan a special look.
Gu Nan didn't receive the signal; only Lu Yu subtly took Gu Nan's hand, his dark eyes seeming to be asserting his dominance.
Having finally waited for Lu Yushi to take the initiative, Gu Nan didn't care about anything else. She not only shook his hand back but also rubbed it lightly against his palm.
Wan Yi: ?
"Let's go." The two turned around side by side.
Wan Yi muttered to himself, then reminded her, "Nanbao, contact her by phone."
Lu Yushi turned around: "By the way, change how you address me."
Gu Nan: "Lu Yushi?"
"I don't like it."
Gu Nan: "Okay then."
Wan Yi: ? ?
My nose feels red.
As they left the hospital and got into the car, Lu Yushi asked the same question.
"Is Xue Li from back then?"
Gu Nan sighed. Years ago, Xue Li's daughter died of asthma. In order to protect her, she gave up the grave she had prepared for her daughter herself and let her aunt cut off her daughter's bones, turning her three-tenths resemblance into eight-tenths, and covering the other two-tenths of her face with burns.
She silently moved to Lu Yushi's side and buried her head in his chest.
Lu Yushi's eyes softened again and again. He raised his hand to hug her and whispered, "Could Xue Li have already guessed it?"
"No, she doesn't remember."
"Hypnosis?"
“Yes, that day she said she didn’t want to live with such heavy memories, and asked me if it was possible for me to do so.”
Lu Yushi suddenly realized: "You learned hypnosis because of her."
Gu Nan stared at him: "Luckily, I learned it."
Fortunately, no one spoke out.
Is it fortunate that Xue Li was able to forget the past, or is it fortunate that she had the identity of J, and met the person in front of her?
"What are your plans for the afternoon?" Lu Yushi asked, breaking the silence in the car. He had found Gu Nan's chattering annoying when they arrived, but now that he saw her quietly hugging him, looking heartbroken, he felt a pang of pity.
"I made an appointment with Ye Xu," Gu Nan sighed. She had too many identities and had to confess to each one. She didn't dare to imagine what the scene would be like when Wan Yi heard the news. The more she thought about it, the more her head ached. She lazily patted Lu Yushi's shoulder and said, "You're still the best."
They understand each other implicitly.
Even when I get angry, it's mostly to prevent her from feeling guilty.
"Is it hard for her to accept?"
Gu Nan shook her head. Back then, Ye Xu could curse the big boss she had never met eight hundred times a day. Then one day she suddenly found out that the person she listened to her rants about every day was the big boss...
Thinking of this, he suddenly sat up straight: "Wait a minute, I'm the one being scolded, so why is she so self-righteous?"
He got off the bus with his back straight and a defiant look on his face.
Upon seeing Ye Xu's forced smile and squinting eyes, Gu Nan chickened out.
"Come here, Nan Nan."
“A dangerous aura.” Gu Nan casually threw a set of punches, but it didn’t intimidate Ye Xu.
"Tell me, is my boss a brain-dead, mentally challenged, insane, trashy, stupid, and incompetent fool?"
Based on her intuition, Gu Nan decided to nod first.
"Heh," Ye Xu ground his molars, "You've got guts, you can take being insulted like this?"
"Hehe, let's talk this out. Swearing is wrong, especially since that's your boss," Gu Nan said, becoming more and more confident. Yes, she was the boss!
With a stern face, he said, "Manager Ye, how could you insult the boss?"
Ye Xu nodded with a cold smile: "You admit it."
Gu Nan tilted her head back and said, "Yes, I'm your boss."
"Okay, let's put this aside for now." Ye Xu beckoned a girl over, "Wan Ting, come here."
Su Wanting jogged over, glanced timidly at Lu Yu behind her, and grabbed Gu Nan's arm: "Master, you haven't taught me how to play chess in a long time."
Gu Nan: "Let's put aside the chess game for now. Don't you feel the intense fighting spirit right now?"
Ye Xu slowly clenched his fist: "Teacher Yan Yi, shall we chat for a bit?"
Gu Nan swiftly hid behind Lu Yushi, grabbing his arms with both hands and only peeking out with her head sticking out.
"calm!"
"I was wondering at the time why Yan Yi's autograph was so similar to your handwriting!"
Gu Nan said matter-of-factly, "You asked me if it was signed by Yan Yi, and I said yes, right?"
"Gu Nan!" Ye Xu was about to fight Gu Nan to the death as he bypassed Lu Yu. "You didn't say you were Yan Yi, did you?"
Gu Nan circled around Lu Yushi: "You didn't even ask me if I was Yan Yi... Hey, I think you really need to calm down right now."
"I can't calm down." Ye Xu uttered each word clearly.
After being circled twice, he directly confronted Lu Yu head-on.
"Young Master Lu, I used to be afraid of you. But now, you should be afraid of me."
Lu Yushi: "What do you mean?"
"When couples argue, they always have arguments. As her only and most important friend, you know, whether I advise you to reconcile or separate when you two argue is entirely up to you, Mr. Lu."
Lu Yushi nodded.
Seeing that the situation was not going well, Gu Nan grabbed Lu Yushi's arm and shouted, "Lu Yushi, you need to distinguish between friend and foe, and remember who your wife is!"
Ye Xu watched Lu Yushi's reaction with satisfaction, but before her triumphant smile could bloom, she saw Lu Yushi slowly turn back to look at Gu Nan, his deep eyes showing a protectiveness she had never seen before.
"I won't argue with her." One day of silence is enough.
No matter how big the problem becomes in the future, it will never be bigger than the problem before.
Seeing Ye Xu's discomfiture, Gu Nan grinned and patted Lu Yushi on the shoulder: "Good brother!"
"Gu! Nan!"
Lu Yushi smiled slightly: "Wan Yi will be here soon, Miss Ye..."
Ye Xu hesitated for a moment, then grabbed his bag and rushed out: "I have something to do, I'm leaving now."
Su Wanting looked around and then ran out the door after her.
Gu Nan was completely bewildered: "What's going on?"
Lu Yushi gently patted her head, his meaning unspoken.
"Her? Him! The two of them? When did this happen? How come I know nothing about it?"
Lu Yushi slowly picked up the drink in front of her and took a sip: "Didn't you run away? Of course you wouldn't know."
"Who are you kidding? He's only been awake for two days!"
Lu Yushi said meaningfully, "A lot can be done in two days."
Gu Nan belatedly realized: "You knew all along that Wan Yi had woken up, but you deliberately kept it from me!"
Lu Yushi said frankly, "Yes, otherwise how would I know how many bad things my girlfriend said about me, causing him to misunderstand me so deeply?"
"Uh..." Gu Nan hooked Lu Yushi's chin, her eyes darting around, and asked, "Lu Yushi, are you jealous?"
"You're only just realizing this?"
Gu Nan hugged his face and kissed him, whispering, "To make it up to you."
Lu Yushi pondered this for a moment with feigned seriousness, then said, "Not enough."
Gu Nan pecked at the corner of his mouth: "How about this?"
Lu Yushi shook his head again.
After three attempts, Gu Nan's patience ran out. She put her hands on her hips and was about to leave: "Fine, if it's not enough."
Lu Yushi pulled the person back and laughed out loud: "Is that all the patience you have?"
You can't bully me.
"Why?"
"Because... I am your fiancée."
Her breathing quickened, and she kissed the corner of Lu Yushi's eye, slowly moving downwards.
The hazy moonlight illuminated their intertwined figures; she grasped her light, responding to the surging love.
"Close your eyes."
—The End.
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