Сhарter 9: Ultimatelу, Sеlfish Thoughts Рrevailеd
Тhе mаn’s jаw wаs clеnсhеd tightly, his еyеs dark and hеаvy.
Аfter еnduring соuntless соld shouldеrs frоm Shеn Zuihuаn,
аn асtion thаt had оnсe been cоmmonрlaсе fоr hеr many уears аgо hаd nоw beсomе almost а luхurу in his еуes.
Gu Сhangce rеmаinеd silеnt.
Gu Тang’s eyеs wеrе alsо filled with tеnsion.
She fеаrеd thаt her fathеr, in а moment оf weaknеss, might rеvеаl the truth tо hеr mother,
causing her mother tо revеrt tо thаt mеlаnchоlic, frosty, аnd jadе-like dеmeаnor.
She didn’t want that…
She still wanted to grow closer to her mother.
Gu Tang opened her bright, sparkling eyes, black as grapes,
and timidly, with a hint of pleading, called out, “…Father.”
Gu Changce’s fingers tightened slightly around the jade chopsticks in his hand.
He lowered his eyes, his lashes trembling faintly.
In the end, he said nothing, only speaking softly to Shen Zuihuan, “Thank you, Madam.”
Hearing this, Gu Tang finally breathed a sigh of relief.
At the very least, it meant her father wouldn’t tell her mother the truth for now.
Reassured, she climbed down from her stool again,
throwing herself into Shen Zuihuan’s arms and rubbing her soft, fair cheeks against her mother’s knees.
With a deliberately childish, milky voice, she playfully demanded that Shen Zuihuan feed her the porridge.
How could Shen Zuihuan bear to refuse such an adorable, coquettish little girl?
A smile immediately curled at the corners of her lips.
With her slender, jade-like hands holding the white porcelain bowl, she spooned red date and rice porridge into Gu Tang’s mouth, one scoop after another.
As she fed her,
she stole glances at the man beside her, who was pursing his thin lips tightly.
He was being unusually quiet, Shen Zuihuan thought.
Why had Gu Changce become so distant now?
She was used to his usual carefree, irreverent demeanor,
and his sudden silence felt strangely unfamiliar.
The meal was eaten with each of the three lost in their own thoughts.
It wasn’t until Shen Zuihuan, lost in thought, fed Gu Tang an empty spoonful
that Gu Tang’s pitiful cry of “Mom~” broke the long silence.
Shen Zuihuan snapped back to reality,
only to hear Gu Tang looking at the empty bowl and saying, “…Mom, it’s all gone.”
Despite her small size, she had quite an appetite.
Such a large bowl—Shen Zuihuan herself couldn’t guarantee finishing it in one go.
But feeding Gu Tang, she had managed to scrape the bowl clean.
Hearing this, the man also looked up at her.
Shen Zuihuan forced an awkward smile, her lips twitching slightly.
For a moment, she felt as though her earlier furtive glances had been laid bare before the father and daughter.
She placed the white porcelain bowl on the dining table.
To cover her embarrassment, she reached out and ruffled Gu Tang’s fluffy little head.
Softly, she asked, “Is there anything else you’d like to eat, Tangtang? Mom will get it for you.”
Gu Tang puffed out her little bun-like cheeks, pretending to think for a moment.
Truthfully, she was already somewhat full,
but she didn’t want to leave her mother’s side and still wanted her mother to feed her.
After all, if she missed out on such a good thing once, who knew if there would be another chance?
She lowered her head, slightly turning her body to avoid Shen Zuihuan’s gaze, and rubbed her slightly bloated little belly.
Just as she was about to ask her mother to serve her the nearest dish,
she saw her father tap the table lightly twice with his knuckles.
In a deep voice, he said, “If you’re full, stop bothering your mother. Go sit properly on your own stool.”
Hearing this, Gu Tang immediately felt displeased. What did he mean by “bothering her mother”?
She loved her mother the most!Her little mouth moved slightly, about to say something.
Then she heard Gu Changce say, “Look how chubby you’ve gotten!”
Gu Tang: !
Those words were like a knife to her heart!
Heaven knows, Gu Tang hated nothing more than being called fat.
Once, when her classmate Jiang Zhimiao was thoroughly annoyed by her, he had mentioned it.
Gu Tang chased him around beating him up for several days.
She gritted her teeth and glared in that direction, but as soon as she met her father’s stern expression,
she immediately backed down.
…She had been raised single-handedly by Gu Changce since childhood, and due to her mischievous nature, she had received her fair share of beatings.
So, deep down, she was somewhat afraid of him.
—A true man knows when to yield and when to stand firm.
Gu Tang resentfully ground her slightly itchy back molars.
She could only climb off Shen Zuihuan with a pout and sit back properly on her own stool.
Meanwhile, Shen Zuihuan also looked toward Gu Changce.
She thought to herself,
No matter how much this man changes as he grows older,
his sharp tongue is something he’ll never shake off.
She still remembered last year when a distant cousin had visited their home. He was handsome and refined,
his words and actions proper and impeccable.
All the young ladies in the entire household liked him.
Shen Zuihuan, entrusted by her aunt, was asked to entertain this cousin well and ensure he didn’t feel neglected.
As a result, she and this distant cousin had grown quite close for a time.
But Gu Changce insisted on following her around every day, badmouthing the cousin.
It annoyed her to no end.
Later, however, she did discover that the cousin wasn’t a good person after all.
He had secretly carried on with a maid sent by the family to take care of him and even gotten her pregnant.
But that was all in hindsight.
Shen Zuihuan stared blankly at Gu Changce.
He seemed to sense something and lifted his clear, sharp eyes.
As soon as their gazes met, he casually looked away.
Shen Zuihuan:…
This was already the second time she had been caught peeking.
She wished she could dig a hole and bury herself.
Earlier, she had been so busy feeding Gu Tang that she hadn’t eaten much herself.
Picking up the white porcelain spoon, she realized the bowl in front of her was empty.
Just as she was about to casually eat something to fill her stomach,
a faint clinking sound of bowls and dishes came from beside her.
Following the sound, she saw Gu Changce pushing his bowl of porridge toward her.
The man lowered his eyes, not looking at her.
But his voice was slightly tense: “Eat mine.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Zuihuan felt a rush of blood to her head.
Although they were now husband and wife,
Shen Zuihuan still couldn’t quite adjust to such intimate gestures.
Her lips trembled slightly.
Then she heard the man across from her softly explain, “This bowl of porridge hasn’t been touched yet.”
Only then did Shen Zuihuan reach out, bring it before her,
and take small sips.
Gu Tang noticed something strange about her father today.
Usually, he ate very quickly. After dinner, he would hurry to his study to handle military affairs.
Sometimes he would also go to the training grounds to practice swordplay.
But today, he had already spent nearly an hour at the dinner table,
and her father remained seated upright on the rosewood stool, unmoving.
Resting her chin on the table,
her eyes shifted between her stern-faced father and her mother, who was lowering her head to sip the rice porridge.
It seemed she understood something.
She began to lower her head and cover her mouth, quietly giggling.
After finishing dinner, Shen Zuihuan rinsed her mouth with the clear tea brought by the maid and wiped the corners of her lips with a handkerchief.She then bid farewell to the father and daughter.
At noon, she had broken into a sweat.
Without bathing, she still felt sticky all over.
After Shen Zuihuan left, Gu Changce also stood up.
His long legs strode forward as he prepared to leave.
But just as he reached the doorway, he was suddenly tugged by the sleeve by his little girl.
Gu Tang blinked her big eyes and asked him, “Father, Mother came to have dinner with us tonight!”
Hearing this, he lowered his gaze and frowned, looking down at her.
Patiently waiting for her next words.
Gu Tang continued, “This is the first time Mother has had dinner with me…”
She shook his sleeve while lowering her head to act coquettishly.
“Father, don’t tell Mother about what happened before, okay~”
Gu Tang’s personality took after his—she rarely ever backed down.
In the past, when she disliked studying or bullied classmates, he would chase her all over the courtyard.
Yet she never willingly admitted fault.
But now, with reddened eyes, she pleaded with him, “…Don’t tell her, Father.”
Gu Changce opened his mouth.
His eyes darkened with complexity.
He didn’t want to deceive Shen Zuihuan, so he struggled to restrain himself.
But when his gaze inadvertently fell on the trace of lipstick left on the edge of the white porcelain bowl, selfish thoughts ultimately prevailed.
The man’s voice was low and hoarse as he slowly spoke, “…Alright.”