A contemptuous laugh slipped through his lips. He straightened his clothes and stood up, still dignified and impeccably composed. Before Chi Xue could react, a deep, cold voice descended like a basin of icy water poured from the crown of her head to the soles of her feet.
“I forgot. Given my current relationship with Miss Chi, there are some things that should not happen.”
When he finished speaking, his dark eyes fell coldly upon her. At that moment, Chi Xue lay on the bed almost naked and utterly disheveled, her entire body flushed with heat, while his gaze remained so rational and contemptuous that it nearly bordered on indifference as he looked down at her.
At that moment, Chi Xue felt utterly humiliated, almost wanting to find a crack in the ground to crawl into. She knew he was deliberately humiliating her.
Chi Xue bit her lip and watched as the man picked up his coat and disappeared from view.
The water in the bathroom was bone-chillingly cold. Chi Xue leaned against the wall, feeling her body temperature gradually fall. As time passed, she even began to feel cold. Her vacant eyes finally blinked, and her slender hand reached for the phone on the washstand.
“Hello, Lan Bei, could you come pick me up...?”
Chi Xue did not remember when she had left. She only remembered staggering outside to find the sky dark and starless, heavy black clouds gradually gathering overhead. Thunder and rain roared, while enormous raindrops pounded against the ground with terrifying weight.
When Lan Bei’s car arrived, she was leaning against a stone pillar outside the marble relief gate of the Gu residence. Her raven-black hair was soaked by the rain and plastered against her pale little face, creating a beauty that was somehow almost frightening.
After turning off the engine, Lan Bei was out of the car in barely two steps. Seeing her like that made his heart clench. He strode over on his long legs, then wrapped his long arms around her and pulled her into his embrace.
“Xiao Xue?”
He called softly, unmistakable heartache covering his cold, stern brows. When the person in his arms showed no reaction, he took two steps in one and carried her to the front passenger seat. His handsome peach blossom eyes, usually so striking, were now filled with nothing but coldness.
He wished he could charge inside and beat Gu Cishen to death, but he could not.
Getting into the car, starting the engine, and shifting gears happened in one fluid motion. The black Bentley sped away through the pouring rain.
The Gu residence.
At four in the morning, the night that should have been tranquil had been disturbed beyond peace. The crystal chandelier in the living room shone as brightly as daylight. Old Master Gu wore golden silk pajamas, exuding nobility from head to toe, while the hand gripping his cane trembled slightly. Yet when he looked at Gu Cishen, there was less severity in his gaze and more disappointment.
“She said... she took the child, and it was before she went to prison?”
The Old Master’s voice trembled slightly.
“Yes.” Gu Cishen’s handsome face was lowered halfway, his voice flat. “She said it wasn’t mine.”
“So you let her walk out into the rain in the middle of the night?!”
Gu Zheng’s voice rose by two degrees at last, his cane striking the floor with loud thuds. “Why didn’t you think about how deeply Xiao Xue loved you before she went to prison?! With Xiao Xue’s temperament, even if someone held a knife to her neck, she would never say a single bad word about you!”
Gu Cishen’s gaze shifted slightly, his thin lips pressed tightly together.
Gu Zheng continued, “How could she possibly betray you? You have always been the one who wronged her! You good-for-nothing bastard!”
This time, Gu Cishen unusually remained silent. His expression only grew darker and darker. Old Master Gu let out a cold snort. “If you are still even remotely intelligent, you should have someone properly investigate what happened before Xiao Xue went to prison. Ask the people at the police station and see whether you can find out what happened to Xiao Xue during those three years inside.”
As he spoke, he picked up his teacup. “Is Shen not the Police Chief there now? Have him find a way.”
And so...
Early the next morning, a clean-cut youth wearing a blue-and-white striped shirt over a white T-shirt and cropped casual suit trousers... no, a man, was lying on the sofa in Gu Cishen’s office, yawning.
His hair was somewhat tousled, yet exceptionally fresh and neat. The first rays of morning sunlight spilled across his face, bathing him in warmth.
“I say, President Gu, President Gu, why exactly did you insist on contacting me and cultivating our relationship so early in the morning?”
Shen’s attractive eyes were half closed, and he looked as though he had not fully woken up.
Gu Cishen sat in the swivel chair behind his desk. The hand holding his fountain pen paused slightly, but he did not look up. “Are any of the prisoners who were with Chi Xue three years ago still around? The police officers from back then would also do.”
At the mention of Chi Xue, Shen abruptly sat up, instantly wide awake. With disbelief and a hint of teasing, he said, “What? You managed to remain cold-blooded and indifferent while she spent three years in prison, and now you suddenly care?”
The moment he finished speaking, he felt two bone-chilling gazes turn toward him. Gu Cishen’s thin lips moved slightly. “Shen, I hear you have been getting rather close to the newly popular young male actor Fu Yeran lately.”
“…………”
He naturally knew what Gu Cishen was referring to. Recently, Fu Yeran had ended up at the police station because of some fan-related issue. Somehow, a scandal had spread claiming that the two of them had a romantic relationship. Some fans had even formed a pairing for them and urged the two to come out of the closet as soon as possible.
This man really was viciously sharp-tongued. The corner of Shen’s eye twitched, and he conceded defeat.
Yet he still could not resist saying, “Hasn’t your scandal with Xia Mian remained at the top for ages? Besides, Fu Yeran is going to work with Chi Xue on 《Cicada》, a production under everyone’s watchful eyes.”
He paused as he spoke. “Tsk, I hear there are quite a lot of kissing scenes.”
Gu Cishen glanced at him, his expression unreadable. Apparently unwilling to continue the topic, he merely said, “Find out whom she came into contact with during the three years before she went to prison, and whether anything happened in between.”
Shen lowered his head and thought for a while, his expression turning serious. “The police officers from three years ago have already been replaced twice. The prisoners who were with her should either have been released or executed by now. This task is going to be rather difficult.”
“Investigate it.” The man’s voice was cold and hard, leaving no room for refusal.
“You got it!” Shen rubbed his hands together and agreed with a beaming smile. Then, as though remembering something, he asked, “Have you really never developed feelings for Chi Xue?”
“No.”
After a moment of silence, Gu Cishen gave his answer.
Shen curled his lips. “Then why have you kept that room in the old residence for so long? Ask yourself honestly: are you really not Deceiving oneself and others?”
The hospital.
When Chi Xue woke up, her head felt heavy. Her eyelids moved, and it took her a long while to adjust to the sunlight filtering in through the window.
Images from the previous day surfaced in her mind at the worst possible moment. Chi Xue bit her lip, and the shame in her heart had not faded in the slightest. It was just that... her reaction yesterday had been far too abnormal. It was almost as if... as if it resembled Gu Cishen’s state when she had first seen him five years ago...
Could it be...
Chi Xue’s heart suddenly jolted as she remembered the bowl of tremella soup Aunt Wu had handed her.
Her thoughts were interrupted when the hospital room door suddenly opened with a click. Lan Bei entered carrying breakfast from Rongji. His black windbreaker carried the chill from outside, and his figure was tall and striking.
Seeing that she had sat up, he set out the breakfast and asked in a low voice, “You’re awake?”
“Mm...”
Chi Xue answered, feeling somewhat guilty.
As expected, the man’s expression was unusually ugly. His already resolute features were rigidly set, and his sword brows were slightly furrowed. “What happened last night?”