The employees of the Culture and Tourism Department worked overtime until very late before leaving.
As soon as they came out, they saw Gu Yun Ci standing under the corridor, holding an unlit cigarette between his fingertips, the air pressure around him even heavier than the night.
Everyone looked at him, then at Bai Ci Xian, and left with a soft chuckle behind their hands.
Bai Ci Xian walked over, "Brother Yun Ci, you haven't left yet?"
Gu Yun Ci nodded slightly, his gaze drifting inadvertently toward Meng Shu Tang, who was walking toward the car wrapped in a trench coat.
Seeing this, Bai Ci Xian masked the sadness in her heart, "Our department will work hard and strive to complete the proposal by next week."
Gu Yun Ci nodded, "That would be best."
After saying this, he turned and sat inside the car.
Meng Shu Tang had a slight fever and felt weak; she could not drive, so she walked toward the subway station.
Before she reached the station entrance, a Rolls-Royce pulled up to the roadside unhurriedly, and the car window rolled down an inch, "Get in."
Hearing the man's voice, Meng Shu Tang bent down slightly, and upon confirming it was him, she hesitated.
The man was driving with one hand, and seeing her hesitation, he said, "At this hour, even if you take the subway, it won't be easy to hail a taxi after you get out of the station."
Meng Shu Tang thought it was true, so she did not hesitate any longer, opened the car door, and sat in the back row.
The car started, and the man saw her flushed face through the rearview mirror, "Do you have a fever?"
Every time she had a fever in the past, she looked just like this.
Her small face was flushed, listless, and as docile as a cat.
"Do you want to go to the hospital?"
Meng Shu Tang shook her head, "The medicine Assistant Qin gave me includes fever reducers, so there is no need."
The man remarked, "Qin Zheng is quite thoughtful."
Meng Shu Tang pursed her lips and said nothing.
Back home, the two did not have any extra words; they exchanged polite goodnights and went upstairs separately.
The next day.
Saturday.
After breakfast, Meng Shu Tang went to the West City Antique Pavilion to organize the provenance of the collection.
Seeing that she was ill, Zhang Ma said, "Young Madam, one cannot work like this; if you are sick, you must rest."
"Rest for a day first, and don't go out until your fever breaks."
Given Bai Ci Xian's hatred for her, the proposal should be finished by next week.
She had almost finished the designs for the cultural and creative ornaments, and she planned to find Lu Shen Yang next week.
The work at the West City Antique Pavilion could only be done on Saturdays and Sundays.
Fortunately, Gu Yun Ci did not force her to organize it on weekdays; otherwise, she would be spread too thin to manage.
Just as Zhang Ma was about to say something else, Gu Yun Ci walked over and passed between them, "Let her go."
Zhang Ma said, "President Gu, the Young Madam is ill."
Gu Yun Ci replied, "People eat grains and cereals, who doesn't get sick?"
"Besides, I paid the fees, and if she doesn't go to work, the project will fall through."
Meng Shu Tang did not listen further and left with a stack of provenance files.
She was fine when she left, but perhaps because she caught a draft while taking the subway, by the time she reached the West City Antique Pavilion, Meng Shu Tang felt waves of cold and heat, her cheeks began to burn, and her mind felt dizzy and muddled.
She stood among a row of dark wood curio shelves, flipping through the rubbings of artifacts and provenance dossiers one by one, the sunlight falling on her profile through the window lattice, making her expression look focused and calm.
But this state only lasted for half an hour before Meng Shu Tang's body began to feel weak, and she could only stand steadily by holding onto the shelves.
Yet, after resting for only a moment, she forced herself to perk up and checked the provenance records word by word, fearing a mistake.
But the next second, everything went black before her eyes, and she collapsed.
Before losing consciousness, she only felt a force catch her from behind.
Whether it was an illusion or not, she smelled the cold breath of the man and even heard his complaint, "I told you not to push yourself, but you had to be stubborn. Now look at you..."
But Meng Shu Tang felt this was all a hallucination.
How could he possibly appear here? The West City Antique Pavilion had always belonged to her memories alone.
When she woke up again, she was at the West City Villa.
With an IV drip in her hand, she could not move, so Meng Shu Tang turned her eyes to look out the window.
A few lonely stars hung in the night sky, and in the distance, the outline of the verdant mountains stood vaguely.
Meng Shu Tang's gaze lingered there for a long time.
The West City Villa could be considered the love nest for her and Gu Yun Ci!
After they were married, they would come here to stay for a period every year.
Gu Yun Ci here was gentler, better at coaxing people, and more clingy than he was at Shallow Bay.
Gu Yun Ci was cold on the outside but warm on the inside; everyone around him, including Zhang Ma, said he was cold.
But for some reason, over these three years, Meng Shu Tang felt more of his warmth.
One winter, they came to the West City Villa for a vacation.
On the second day after they arrived, they encountered a once-in-a-century blizzard.
The mountain roads were blocked, and the two were trapped in the isolated house.
There were no servants and no signal, and Gu Yun Ci, who had never done any manual labor, clumsily washed his hands to cook soup for her.
Once, he handed a roasted honey sweet potato to her lips, and she took a bite; the sweet fragrance spread over the tip of her tongue.
He sat beside her and reached out to tuck the shawl that had slipped off her shoulders, "Are you cold?"
She shook her head and continued knitting the wool in her lap.
He glanced at it and raised an eyebrow, "Is that for me?"
She nodded, turned, and wrapped the scarf around his neck, "Do you like it?"
Gu Yun Ci lowered his eyes to look, took her hand, and kissed her fingertips, "I like it."
"Gu Yun Ci," she called him softly.
"Hmm?"
"They all say I am just a vase who only knows how to fiddle with worthless beads. They say I am not worthy of you."
He was silent for a moment, then lowered his head and pressed a light kiss on her forehead.
"What do they know?" His voice was as gentle as water, "My Mrs. Gu doesn't need to come from a noble family, and she doesn't need to know how to play music, chess, calligraphy, or painting."
"Just staying by my side is enough."
Later, he said again, "It's a good thing this snow blocked the mountain," he lowered his head, his nose brushing against hers, his tone lingering, "This way, you can only be mine."
Later still, he coaxed her to bed, and when their passion was at its peak, he panted and told her, "In this life, I will never let you suffer a single grievance."
The heavy snow blocked the mountain for a full half-month.
For those fifteen days, they stayed at the West City Villa.
With their days and nights reversed, eating and sleeping together, life was peaceful and lazy.
Later, the mountain was unblocked.
Gu Yun Ci left early because of work, and she stayed behind to tidy up and finish the scarf.
Afraid she would be lonely, Gu Yun Ci had Zhang Ma come over to keep her company.
And at this moment.
"Young Madam, why didn't you turn on the lights!!!"
Accompanied by the sound of the door opening, Zhang Ma's voice rang out, as if two voices from different times were overlapping.
"Look at this, the medicine has finished dripping, and your hand is about to have blood backflow."
Zhang Ma pulled out the needle and pressed it for Meng Shu Tang, "You feel better now, right? You slept for three whole days. You can't work like this in the future; no matter how healthy a person is, if they work non-stop, they will collapse."
Meng Shu Tang also felt that her body was much better; after pressing for three minutes, Zhang Ma let go.
Meng Shu Tang propped herself up to sit, "When did my fever break?"
Zhang Ma said, "President Gu said your fever broke on the first day of the IV drip."
That meant that after the fever broke, she had slept deeply for two more days.
"Zhang Ma, let's go back to Shallow Bay!"
"It's dark, it's the same if we stay here."
It wouldn't snow in late autumn, but if there was a heavy rain or something and it got blocked for another month or half-month, all her work would be ruined.
"I'm not used to sleeping here, let's go back!"
Zhang Ma listened to her, "Alright."
She went out to pack, "Young Madam, call President Gu and ask him to send someone to pick us up."
"It's pitch black, we can't walk out of here by ourselves."
"Alright," Meng Shu Tang picked up her mobile phone, saw that the battery was full, and dialed.
The call was answered after a short delay.
Bai Ci Xian's sweet, coquettish voice came through, "Brother Yun Ci is taking a shower, what do you need?"
Meng Shu Tang felt a tightness in her heart, then said calmly, "Zhang Ma and I need to return to Shallow Bay, please ask him to send someone to pick us up."
Bai Ci Xian said, "I'll call Qin Zheng and have him go pick you up."
Meng Shu Tang replied, "Alright."
Thirty minutes later, Qin Zheng appeared at the West City Villa.
As soon as Meng Shu Tang got into the car, she smelled the perfume Bai Ci Xian often used.
She looked down and saw the scarf in the car; it was the one she had knitted for him stitch by stitch back at the West City Villa.
She picked it up and stuffed it into her bag.
Seeing this, Zhang Ma asked, "Young Madam, what are you doing with that?"
Meng Shu Tang smiled faintly, "You'll know in a moment."
Back home, she took out the scarf and cut it into rags, "Zhang Ma, haven't you always complained that the rags at home aren't good? These are useful and very absorbent."
Zhang Ma was stunned for a moment, then placed the rag in a conspicuous spot.
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