Chapter 41
My hatred for her did not dissipate, so I agreed to her, and I agreed very straightforwardly, but I never... never said that I didn't love her.
I will live well for a hundred years.
Li An leaned against the old-style railing of the balcony and looked at the newly built residential area in the distance. That residential area seemed so out of place in the town full of bungalows.
I heard that the housing prices here are tens of thousands per square meter. For people in this town, this amount of money is unimaginable. Naturally, the people living here are all rich people.
In order to build that community a few years ago, the developer gave relocation compensation to all the people in that village, and was willing to spend a lot of money.
So she should be living a good life now, at least she has enough food and clothing.
She suddenly spoke softly, "You know what? Children don't understand death without anyone teaching them. Their understanding of death often comes from their teachers' explanations.
"Only when the first relative in the family passes away will they truly experience what death is."
"I let her feel it once. At the age when she was most dependent on her mother, before she grew up, I let her experience what it meant to be heartbroken."
"Human emotions are very complex. Love and hate can coexist at the same time. I don't know how much these two emotions weigh on her heart, but I know that as long as I am by her side, she will never forget this pain."
"For others, the pain that is occasionally remembered will reappear in her heart every day. This wound will bleed intermittently, and she will spend the rest of her life in constant pain and entanglement."
How could she bear to do that? Because of her selfishness, she would live an uneasy life.
Feifei stood up from the old rattan chair, walked to the railing, followed Li Mo's gaze towards the neighborhood, and asked softly, "So what are you going to do next?"
Li An was silent for a long time before he uttered two words: "Guard her."
There is a cake shop at the crossroads of the town. The price list on the glass door reads: Tiramisu costs 20 yuan a piece, which is more expensive than all the breakfasts in the breakfast shops in town.
The old lady originally wanted to buy some small cakes for her grandson, but when she saw the price, she shook her head, took the basket, and continued walking towards the vegetable market with her hands behind her back. She decided it was more cost-effective to buy some sauce-flavored cakes for a few dollars.
Feifei didn't know how many times she saw customers slip away from the door. She turned around and looked at Li Mo who was wiping the cake mold in the kitchen. "Sir, how can we buy something else in our store? No one here can afford it."
"How about selling some buns, steamed buns, or even cheap old-fashioned egg cakes? At least we can get some business."
Li An paused and said, "But I remember that as a child, I only liked to eat delicate cakes like tiramisu and mousse. I was tired of egg cakes when I was little and didn't even want to see them."
"But the store has no business now..." Feifei swallowed the words back when they came to her lips. There is a word in the human world that is particularly suitable for adults nowadays. Yes, it is called love brain.
The cake shop opens in the small town day after day, and the expensive desserts in the window are not bought by anyone but the price will not be reduced.
At first, the people in the town would discuss the price list. Because the price was too high, everyone was saying that the cake was not good, but no one actually bought one to try it.
Most of them actually hope that this store will go bankrupt, because then their children at home will not be greedy and their mothers will not have to beat their children to scare them.
But the strange thing is that no one came to buy cakes, but the cake shop did not go bankrupt. Later, gossips spread. They all speculated that the owner might be a rich second-generation who appeared out of nowhere, otherwise why would he stay in such a money-burning hole and refuse to move.
One summer night, a few drunk young men wandered to the door of the store and happened to catch a glimpse of Li Mo who was decorating flowers through the glass.
The warm yellow light made her silhouette hazy, and her figure, with her long hair tied up and her white apron unable to hide it, appeared in front of the young men.
The next day, the photo of the beautiful cake shop manager was circulated wildly among adolescent boys. But those who came out of curiosity.
All I saw was an empty workbench and a tightly closed kitchen door. The waiter Feifei had hung a notice saying "The owner is temporarily out of the store." She no longer had the typical smile she wore when customers came.
Some people with bad intentions went to peek again and again, but were told by the clerk every time that the manager was not there. Gradually, people gave up the idea, and only the small town bad boy who still wanted to soar to the top would go to the store from time to time.
The street lights at the intersection lit up one after another, and the lights from the cake shop stretched the lonely shadow of the road pole very long. Gu Yuan was unaware of the changes in the town, and these discussions and malicious words could not spread into the community.
Although they are people from the same place, they seem to be divided into two worlds by an invisible chasm.
Perhaps God couldn't bear to see her do stupid things anymore, so one ordinary afternoon, he gently placed her figure, which he had hidden in his heart for many years, in front of the cake shop.
Su Mo held Gu Yuan's fingers and shook them gently, her pigtails swaying with the movement: "Mom, the shop in the square doesn't have old-fashioned cakes. Let's go to this cake shop and have a look."
She tilted her little face up and acted coquettishly towards her mother. Gu Yuan squatted down and pinched the tip of her daughter's nose: "I was wondering why you insisted on getting off the car just now, you little liar. You also said you saw a good friend, and that your good friend was at the door of the cake shop."
Su Mo stuck out her tongue and snuggled into her mother's arms. Gu Yuan sighed. Even so, she still wanted to make her daughter happy. Her eyes swept over the faded price list at the door of the store. Even the words "Tiramisu" had faded to light brown.
He looked around again, frowning slightly: "The cake shop here doesn't look clean."
Before he finished speaking, the little one in his arms started to twist and turn, "Let's go and have a look. I really want to eat it."
Gu Yuan finally compromised: "Okay, if there is nothing you want to eat, don't be angry again today."
Su Mo stood on tiptoe and kissed her mother on the cheek, then extended her pinky finger: "Pink."
Gu Yuan bent his little finger and hooked it around his daughter's fingertips, shaking it: "I'll keep my word."
At last, he gently tapped Su Mo's forehead and said, "Little guy, you are so smart."
Su Mo dragged her mother into the shop, but she felt her mother's steps getting heavier. She thought her mother had changed her mind and didn't want to buy her a cake anymore, so she gritted her teeth and used all her strength to finally pull her in front of the counter. The air in the shop was filled with the sweet aroma of cream.
After settling her mother down, Su Mo went straight to the glass cabinet and stood on tiptoe to look at the cake inside: "Boss, is this an old-fashioned cake?"
Li An was standing in front of the operating table wearing a pale apron. She had been in a daze for a while.
When the familiar figures appeared at the door of the store, Li Mo was a little stunned. She had really grown up a lot and could now coax the little girl.
Feifei, thinking there was a guest, walked out of the lounge, but the moment she caught sight of Gu Yuan, she froze, stepped back, and locked the door.
Su Mo, who didn't get an answer, asked again: "Boss, old-fashioned cake."
Li An came back to his senses: "Yes, I'll get it for you."
Without moving, he bent down and took out an old-fashioned cake from the depths of another glass cabinet, the wrapping paper trembling slightly between his fingers.
Su Mo happily took the cake and turned around again, but when she turned around, she found that her mother was pale and staring at the manager.
"Mom?" Su Mo tugged at the corner of Gu Yuan's clothes in confusion.
Gu Yuan's shoulders trembled violently, as if she was dragged back to reality. She strained her lips to reveal a smile: "Do you want to eat anything else? You can buy some more today."
Su Mo cheered after getting unlimited sweets and immediately ran to choose other cakes, completely unaware of the tense atmosphere between the two adults behind her.
Behind the glass counter, Li An was wiping the countertop, her movements becoming increasingly stiff. Gu Yuan's eyes never left her. After a long silence, he finally spoke: "How many years has your store been open? I drive by here so often that I remember it, but I can't remember when it opened."
"Seven years ago." Li An looked up at her.
Gu Yuan said, "That's an old store." His voice was unusually calm.
While they were talking, Su Mo stood on tiptoe and quickly selected the second cake. She trotted over with her trophy in her arms and pointed to another cake in the glass cabinet: "Boss sister, I want this one too."
Li Mo responded, lowered her eyes and packed the cake slowly, while Gu Yuan stopped looking at her and started looking at his daughter.
It was not until Li An handed him the paper bag that he silently took out his wallet, pulled out a few banknotes and placed them on the glass cabinet. Without waiting for Li An to speak, he turned around and pulled Su Mo out.
The moment the door opened, Gu Yuan suddenly paused and said calmly, "I wish the store manager a prosperous business."
Feifei in the lounge did not listen to what the two said, but when she sensed the store door closing, she opened the door and walked out, thinking that things were starting to turn around.
However, when he came out, he saw Li Mo with a pale face and a few red bills lying quietly on the glass cabinet.
Feifei's heart sank, but she didn't want to get involved in the affairs between Gu Yuan and the adults. No matter what, it was fine.
At two in the morning, the lights in the cake shop finally went out. Feifei had been sent away by Li An long time ago, and she was the only one left.
After the rolling shutter closed, she heard the crisp clicking of a lighter coming from the corner of the street.
The street lights cast mottled shadows on the asphalt road. A black car was parked quietly by the roadside, the windows reflecting the moonlight.
A slender figure was leaning against the car, a scarlet cigarette butt flickering, and a small amount of ash fell on the hem of the black cashmere coat.
Gu Yuan raised his head and exhaled smoke skillfully. Countless cigarette butts were scattered at his feet, and there were dark red lipstick marks on the filters.
Li An walked up to him and looked at Gu Yuan's fingers: "When did you learn to smoke?"
Gu Yuan crushed the cigarette butt and relit one, the cigarette glowing red in the darkness. "It's been a long time, longer than you've been running this shop."
Then both of them fell silent again. In the dead silence, Gu Yuan threw the cigarette butt to the ground.
She pulled the man over and pressed him against the cold car body, making a dull thud.
The wind carried the smell of tobacco from Gu Yuan's body. She said bitterly, "I found out today that you've run a cake shop here for seven years, but you didn't come to see me. I was planning to never see you again and completely forget you."
As he spoke, he got closer and closer to Li An, and his warm breath sprayed on Li An's face. Li An smelled the smell of alcohol again.
"But as I tossed and turned in bed, I became angrier and angrier. Why am I the only one suffering?"
"Do you know how long thirteen years is? Why are you willing to make me wait for so long?"
"I thought you were married and had children, so I couldn't bother you anymore."
Gu Yuan smiled bitterly and said, "I'm not married. Su Mo is my adopted child."
"Even if...even if I get married, so what? Why can't you take me back? Don't you even have the courage to do this?"
Li An's back was pressed against the cold metal, but the sharp pain was nothing compared to the dull pain in his heart.
She thought that not seeing him would make Gu Yuan feel better, until she met those red eyes and found that was not the case.
She was wrong again. Gu Yuan's questioning and sobbing made her heart ache.
She put her arm around Gu Yuan's shoulders and repeated over and over again: "I'm sorry."
"Seven whole years, don't you want to see me?"
"think."
As soon as the word "think" came out, Gu Yuan couldn't control her tears. She knew why she didn't dare to meet her but still forced her.
The mother said that she bullied her too much, but when it comes to the person she loves, she will unknowingly act unreasonably and make unfounded arguments.
"My mom said I bullied you too much, but I just wanted to make you feel good. When I found out you'd been running the store for seven years without seeing me, I wanted to make you feel good even more."
"It's all right, anything is fine, as long as you want it."
Gu Yuan: "Don't be so patient in the future. I want you to repay me for all your debts."
Lin An kissed her, and Gu Yuan responded silently. Her kiss made Lin An feel more at ease than her words.
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