Leaving the Twilight Club, the cold wind funneled down her neck, making Jiang Yousheng shiver. Once they were in the car, Gu Beichen pulled her into his arms. “What’s this? Are you angry?”
It had been a year. The thorns on Jiang Yousheng’s body had long been plucked clean by him; she no longer held an ounce of temper in his presence.
“No. They were only telling the truth.”
Gu Beichen let out a soft chuckle and leaned down to kiss her.
“Can we wait until we’re home… not here.”
But Gu Beichen didn’t stop. His heavy, rough kisses made her skin sting. He pressed a deep mark into her ivory neck. Just as the passion intensified, the moment was shattered by the shrill ring of a phone.
“Beichen, I’m scared…” a delicate, sweet voice pleaded from the other end.
Gu Beichen pulled away from her instantly. “Mumu, don’t be afraid. I’m coming right now.”
He hung up and glanced at Jiang Yousheng. Where was the cold, noble air he usually wore? In contrast, Jiang Yousheng looked a mess; her dress had been torn in the fray.
“Take a taxi back yourself. Something happened to Mumu.”
With that, Jiang Yousheng was abandoned on the roadside. It seemed Su Mumu truly was his “white moonlight”—his one true love.
A sudden torrential downpour made it impossible to catch a ride. She ended up walking for an hour, her feet rubbing raw until they blistered and bled. She had never known such hardship growing up; even during the year Gu Beichen kept her, things had been fine. This was the first time he had simply thrown her away.
She returned to the house that was once their marital home—a place they never lived in while married, but where he had settled her after the divorce.
Stepping inside, she heard the sound of laughter. Gu Beichen was wearing an apron, cooking porridge; the air was thick with its fragrant scent. Su Mumu was pressed close to his side, standing on her tiptoes to wipe the sweat from his brow, her eyes curved into sweet, beaming crescents.
It was as if the rest of the world had ceased to exist for them.
Jiang Yousheng stared blankly at the scene, her already numb heart twisting into a knot of pain once more.
“Miss Jiang.”
Hearing the door, Su Mumu looked at her with a hint of triumph, leaning further into Gu Beichen’s embrace. “Beichen, is Miss Jiang angry?”
He patted her shoulder gently, murmuring an assurance: “Don’t be afraid.”
His gaze fell on Jiang Yousheng, flickering with a momentary pause, but his attention quickly snapped back to Su Mumu.
“Oh, I almost forgot you two were already divorced.” Su Mumu clung to his arm, her tone tinged with a whine. “Why is she still living here? I don’t want to see her.”
Gu Beichen said, “Mumu, go finish your porridge like a good girl.”
He casually tossed a towel at Jiang Yousheng. “Dry yourself off.” Then, he led her toward the bedroom.
Moonlight slanted through the window, silhouetting his tall, upright figure. He carried the scent of a recent shower mixed with a faint, domestic warmth. His sexy Adam’s apple moved as he spoke, his shirt collar slightly open to reveal his collarbones and a firm chest.
Jiang Yousheng stared at him helplessly, wanting to slap herself into clarity.
Gu Beichen suddenly reached out, scooping her into his arms and burying his chin in the crook of her neck, tilting his head to kiss her throat.
“How did you get so disheveled?” His voice was gentle. He was always gentle with her—even when he had told her, with that same soft tone, that she could choose to be his secret mistress.
Aside from the fact that Jiang Yousheng no longer spoke to him with her old arrogance, they had actually gotten along quite well this past year. Gu Beichen still spoiled her as he always had. She could buy any bag, car, or jewelry she wanted; the cards were hers to swipe.
The only difference was that when outsiders mocked and belittled her, he remained indifferent. And the moment Su Mumu returned, everything changed.
Jiang Yousheng couldn’t read his mind, but she knew there was no benefit in crossing him. She chose to be submissive. “It rained on the way back. I forgot an umbrella.”
Gu Beichen paused for a beat, then resumed kissing her. In these matters, Jiang Yousheng had no room to struggle; she let him have his way. Looking at his collarbone, she thought of Su Mumu waiting outside, but after a moment of hesitation, she wrapped her arms around him anyway.
Suddenly, Gu Beichen stopped. “You need to move out for a few days.”
Jiang Yousheng froze, staring at him blankly for a long time. As if offering a reward, he kissed her lips and looked at her with a light smile.
“Mumu is sick and needs someone to look after her. If you stay here, she’ll be unhappy.”
Jiang Yousheng forced her lips into a smile, trying to mask the hollow ache of disappointment. She was naturally beautiful, and her smile was infectious, accented by a tiny mole near the corner of her mouth. Under the moonlight, she was a vision one couldn’t look away from.
“Gu Beichen, let’s end this.” Her hands slid from his shoulders, her voice sounding utterly exhausted.