Lan Bei was driving home when, halfway there, Xiao Xue’s phone rang.
There was no name attached to the number, only a landline number, but Xiao Xue recognized it at once. Her long lashes trembled as if she were hesitating. In the end, she bit her lip and pressed the answer button as though she had made up her mind.
The voice on the other end was somewhat hoarse, carrying an indescribable air of age. After a long silence, it finally spoke. “Xiao Xue… I heard… you’re back?”
“Mm.”
Xiao Xue pressed her lips together, her willow brows unconsciously knitting. She had always respected and cherished Old Master Gu, and she was even grateful that he had extended a helping hand to her back then. It was just that, at the time, she had not known that the so-called helping hand would drag her into an even deeper abyss.
It was impossible to say that she did not resent him.
“Xiao Xue, I know… that good-for-nothing wronged you! I never thought things would develop this way… During those years you were inside, I sent people to see you, but you refused to meet anyone from the Gu family. I often wondered whether I had made the wrong decision back then…”
Gu Zheng’s muddled voice was tinged with guilt and remorse, and his spirits seemed even more diminished than before. Xiao Xue’s eyes stung, and she let out a soft sigh.
“Dad… Mr. Gu, I don’t want to bring up the past again, nor do I care to pursue who was right or wrong.”
“Then…” Gu Zheng hesitated on the other end. After a long while, he finally asked softly, his voice carrying a hope and yearning he had never shown before, “Are you still willing to come back and see this old man?”
Endless silence swallowed the night. She glanced anxiously at Lan Bei and struggled inwardly for a long time before softly answering with a single word: “All right.”
Lan Bei took her back to change clothes, after which she drove to the Gu residence herself. Lan Bei neither asked further questions nor said anything. He had always been considerate like this, respecting every choice she made.
It was already deep into the night when she arrived at the Gu residence. The Gu Family Old Residence was brightly lit, and Butler Zhang had been waiting outside the main gate for quite some time. When he saw her arrive, he led her inside along the familiar route. Xiao Xue merely nodded with a smile and said nothing.
Along the way, Butler Zhang hesitated several times, seeming to want to speak, but ultimately remained silent. The reason was that the Mrs. of the house now… no, Miss Chi seemed to have completely transformed from head to toe, becoming an entirely different person.
After changing her shoes at the entryway, Xiao Xue stood dazed for two seconds before stepping into the hall. Old Master Gu sat on an antique, ornately carved leather sofa, both hands resting on his cane. His appearance was almost no different from three years ago.
When he saw her approach, his stern, cold eyes brightened slightly, and a hint of gentleness appeared in his brows. “Xiao Xue, you’re here!”
Xiao Xue curled her lips politely and sat somewhat distantly on a sofa to the side. Aunt Wu brought over the tremella soup she had just prepared, but her words made Xiao Xue frown.
“Mrs., this was your favorite before you left. Old Master specifically instructed me to prepare it for you.”
“Aunt Wu, don’t call me Mrs. anymore. Just call me by my name.”
The moment she finished speaking, she heard a sound from outside the door. Her gaze instinctively turned toward it, and her heart suddenly missed a beat.
Gu Cishen stood tall and straight, his suit draped over his forearm. Two buttons of his white shirt were undone, and one long, clean hand was skillfully loosening the tie around his neck. When his dark eyes looked over, his well-defined fingers paused.
Remembering the humiliation he had inflicted on her that afternoon, Xiao Xue suddenly sprang to her feet. Her pretty face turned colder, yet she still looked politely toward Gu Zheng. “Old Mr. Gu, it’s too late today. I’ll be leaving first.”
The man’s sword brows drew together slightly at her words, and he looked at Gu Zheng with an insightful gaze. No wonder Gu Zheng had made the unprecedented call asking him to return to the old residence today. So it was to bring the two of them together again.
Gu Cishen curved his thin lips, but there was no smile in it. Sometimes, he truly could not understand why Old Master was so pleased with Xiao Xue as his daughter-in-law.
Gu Zheng glanced at the man who had gone straight upstairs. His expression darkened, but he still patiently said to her, “Have some of this tremella soup. It looks like it’s going to rain soon. I’ll have Aunt Wu prepare a room for you.”
Xiao Xue clenched her palm, unwilling to become entangled any further. She simply drank a few mouthfuls of tremella soup, then rose again and said, “There’s no need to trouble yourselves. I drove here myself, so I can go home.”
She was about to leave when she suddenly felt dizzy. Her body seemed to become weak and powerless all at once. Outside, thunder rumbled dully, drawing closer and closer until it became a deafening roar.
Seeing this, Aunt Wu hurried over to support her. “Mrs.—Miss Chi, it looks like there’s going to be a heavy storm outside. You’re not feeling well, so you should rest for a while before deciding anything.”
Supported by her, Xiao Xue felt the strange sensation in her body growing stronger. She stopped forcing herself and allowed Aunt Wu to help her upstairs. After turning right, Aunt Wu stopped at the room beside the study. Xiao Xue froze for a moment, and before she could react, the door opened.
Her gaze followed the opening door, then seemed to solidify in the air. Xiao Xue stood rooted to the spot as countless memories were awakened once more.
Her room was exactly the same as it had been three years ago. Not a single furnishing or ornament inside had been moved. Even the roses she had casually picked from the small garden and placed beside her bed were still there, though they had already withered.
Her gaze shifted and landed on the enormous Wedding Dress photograph hanging on the wall. Gu Cishen’s profile was handsome and refined, his sideburns as sharp as if cut by a blade, yet he refused to bestow even the slightest bit of tenderness upon her with his gaze.
He had actually… not thrown away this photograph.
A flicker passed through Xiao Xue’s eyes. She thought perhaps this had been Old Master’s arrangement, and an indescribable dejection briefly settled in her heart.
“You good-for-nothing!”
Gu Zheng’s furious voice came from the adjacent study, followed immediately by the sound of something shattering. Aunt Wu hurried over nervously, and Xiao Xue instinctively followed. The study door was open, and the moment her gaze fell inside, her heart suddenly clenched.
Gu Cishen’s tall, slender body leaned crookedly against the window. His handsome face hung half lowered, with one side concealed in darkness. Only the blood-red smear on his pale, resolute jaw stood out glaringly.
Aunt Wu had always doted on the Gu family’s only Young Master. Seeing this, she hurried forward to smooth things over. “Sir, whatever the matter is, it can be discussed calmly. This… this violence…”
Her voice trembled as she spoke. She raised her head to look at the expressionless man. The shocking wound was still bleeding, yet he acted as though nothing had happened.
The expensive blue-and-white porcelain cups on the floor had been smashed to pieces, and tiny specks of blood stained the sharp fragments.
For some reason, Xiao Xue’s heart inexplicably tightened.
“Is there anything else? If not, I’m leaving.”
The man suddenly spoke, his voice frighteningly indifferent. He paid no attention to the wound, merely raising his well-defined fingers to wipe it carelessly before straightening his tall frame.
The anger that had just begun to subside in Gu Zheng flared up again. He picked up another teacup beside him and was just about to throw it when Xiao Xue suddenly spoke. “Dad, which room am I staying in?”
As expected, Gu Zheng’s hand stopped in midair. He stared at her in disbelief and asked hesitantly, “You… what did you just call me?”
Xiao Xue’s lashes trembled lightly. Gu Cishen’s dark eyes narrowed as he looked over, his expression inscrutable. In truth, she did not know why she had inexplicably helped him just now, or why she had used such a foolish method when she clearly knew he would dodge the second time.