Inside the parlor.
Everyone sat around a long rectangular table, their expressions complex and their thoughts varied.
Xu Linyue and Dong Man exchanged a glance, their mutual gaze solidifying their shared resolve to call off the engagement.
Opposite them sat Gu Baichuan and Gong Mieshuang, smiling as they babbled entirely about the deep-rooted friendship between the two families over the years, as well as the bond between Xu Nansheng and Gu Hongyu, who had grown up together since childhood.
Xu Nansheng sat between her parents and her older brother, her gaze falling upon Gu Beiyan directly across from her.
Today, he was still wearing his classic outfit of a white shirt paired with black dress trousers. The shirt buttons were done up to his collarbone, leaving the top button unfastened. The Adam’s apple on his slender neck protruded remarkably, appearing a size larger than that of ordinary men.
Perhaps, just as Qi Yue had joked, once she crossed the threshold into womanhood, it felt as though the door to a new world had been swung wide open; while she felt fine looking at anyone else, facing Gu Beiyan invariably caused improper, lingering scenes of intimate entanglement to flash shamelessly through her mind.
Especially that Adam’s apple, she had sucked on it just that morning, and now that he sat so close, she almost fancied she could still detect the faint trace of the red mark she had left behind.
Noticing her gaze, Gu Beiyan looked over toward her. The moment their eyes collided, Xu Nansheng guiltily looked away, lowering her head to nervously fiddle with her left thumb.
At the table, Gong Mieshuang was talking about how deeply devoted Gu Hongyu was to her and how much he cared.
“Our boy Hongyu is simply spoiled rotten by me; he was just temporarily muddle-headed, which is why he did something to wrong Sheng Sheng.
Look here, after all these years, when have they ever had a falling out or a quarrel that didn’t clear up within three days? I’m sure Sheng Sheng still holds our Hongyu in her heart.”
Dong Man wore a chilling expression. Before she could speak, Xu Jingze, seated at the very far end, chimed in first.
“Second Aunt, yesterday’s debacle could hardly be brushed off as a simple falling out or quarrel, could it?
Sheng Sheng has been held in the palm of our hands since she was little, and she has never suffered a humiliation like the one she faced yesterday.”
Gong Mieshuang forced a smile, attempting to gloss over the matter lightly, but Dong Man had no intention of letting it go.
“Second Madam Gu, as I see it, let’s just call this engagement off once and for all.
The children aren’t willing, and matters of the heart cannot be forced.”
If this dragged on any longer, the rumor mill outside would claim that Xu Nansheng was hopelessly in love with Gu Hongyu, couldn’t live without him, and was stubbornly determined to marry him no matter what.
Yet only the two families knew, when had it ever been anything other than the Gu family brazenly showing up on their doorstep to offer humble apologies and beg for forgiveness?
In the past, they could tolerate accepting the other side’s apologies time and again because Sheng Sheng still had feelings for Gu Hongyu. But this time, it was no longer just a matter of a simple apology.
With a stunt like yesterday’s, their Xu family couldn’t afford to lose face like that, let alone Sheng Sheng.
Xu Linyue’s attitude was equally resolute, firmly insisting on canceling the match.
Across the table, both sides went back and forth, their stances unwavering.
Beneath the table, Xu Nansheng felt something brushing lightly against her ankle.
It was very faint, yet possessed a powerful presence.
Puzzled, Xu Nansheng lifted her chin and directed her gaze toward the man sitting directly opposite her.
He was listening earnestly to the others’ dialogue, his jawline cleanly chiseled and sharp, his facial features exquisite yet stern. A cold edge emanated from his deep, prominent brow ridges, radiating the absolute authority of someone accustomed to commanding from above, leaving no room for anyone to act presumptuously.
His hands resting upon the tabletop were broad, the tendons clearly defined beneath his pale, cool skin, the sort of textbook anime hands that anyone would praise upon seeing.
His fingers were slender, his wrist bones prominent, adorned with a vintage retro watch that lacked ostentatious luxury yet possessed immense style, echoing the mature composure of the man himself.
Uncle?
That was impossible! How could the uncle ever do something like this?
Especially right in front of all these people…
“Meow.”
Sūrou scampered out from beneath the table, wagging its tail, and Xu Nansheng forced a bitter, self-deprecating smile.
Good grief, she must have completely lost her mind to actually imagine that her uncle was secretly flirting with her beneath the table!
“Sheng Sheng, what do you think?”
Gong Mieshuang’s words yanked Xu Nansheng back from her embarrassment into reality.
She blinked in confusion, asking a beat too late, “Huh? What?”
Gong Mieshuang smiled, and just as the words reached her lips, Gu Beiyan spoke up ahead of her.
“She’s asking whether you still want to be with Gu Hongyu, and if this marriage arrangement is going to continue.”
His tone was completely flat and matter-of-fact, yet gentler than usual.
“What are you daydreaming about to be this spaced out? Did you not sleep well last night?”
Xu Nansheng: “…”
Did I sleep well or not, don’t you know?
The deadpan seriousness with which he carried himself always made Xu Nansheng feel as though she and her uncle had been engaging in illicit affairs the previous night.
Scolding him inwardly while wearing a breezy, playful smile on her surface, she replied, “It’s nothing. I was just wondering, since it was clearly Gu Hongyu who cheated, why are Uncle Gu and Auntie here playing the roles of apologists and trying to persuade me?
Could it be that the person who was supposed to marry me yesterday and stood me up was actually Uncle Gu or Auntie?”
Her single remark left both Gu Baichuan and Gong Mieshuang instantly lost for words.
Indeed, the one who cheated was Gu Hongyu, and the one who failed to show up for the engagement was also Gu Hongyu. Yet with Gu Hongyu absent, it was his parents running here to exhaust their breath trying to make excuses. What sort of logic was that?
“He must have gone out to buy a peace offering for you, Sheng Sheng. Look, you and Hongyu grew up together side by side. With all these years of shared history, it’s not something that can just vanish overnight. Auntie knows very well that you still care for Hongyu in your heart.
He was just being foolish yesterday, and your uncle and I have already severely reprimanded him. He knows he was wrong now, won’t you please forgive him?”
Gong Mieshuang wore an ingratiating smile, her expression brimming with maternal warmth as she reached out to take Xu Nansheng’s hand, only for Xu Nansheng to naturally and seamlessly step out of reach.
Her voice was sweet, ethereal, and light, her tone utterly casual.
“Forgive? Forgive what?”
“Why, what happened yesterday…”
“Forgive him for his infidelity, for hooking up with another woman while in a relationship with me, or forgive him for his repeated deceptions, treating me like an utter fool for his own amusement?”
She picked up the coffee cup on the table, took a shallow sip, and set it back down.
“Auntie, my mom is right. Matters of the heart cannot be forced. Look at this, he couldn’t even show up for an in-person apology, which is no different from not showing up at his own engagement banquet yesterday. His stance couldn’t be any clearer.
Since he’s bent on pursuing his true love, why should I stubbornly force the issue and insist that he marry me?”
The moment her voice fell, Gu Hongyu appeared at the parlor entrance, flanked by his true love, Liang Xueqing.
Liang Xueqing wore a simple pink cotton dress, her long hair draped loosely over her shoulders, embodying the gentle, delicate type of girl-next-door.
Her eyes were red and swollen, marking her as someone who had just been weeping. Crystal-clear tears welled up within her eye sockets, painting a picture of heart-wrenching fragility.
Between the two of them, their ten fingers were tightly intertwined, with Gu Hongyu gripping her hand hard as he pulled her further into the room.
“Xu Nansheng, it was my fault for not showing up to the engagement yesterday and causing you to lose face. But just like you said, matters of the heart cannot be forced. I love Qing’er, and she loves me. You wedging yourself in the middle does no good for anyone. Let’s just call this engagement off here and now. We can still be friends in the future.”
The man who had come to offer humble apologies spoke with righteous arrogance, shifting the blame entirely onto Xu Nansheng as if she were the unreasonable one who had forcefully torn them apart and stubbornly demanded that Gu Hongyu marry her.
Xu Nansheng let out a light, cynical scoff, and just as she opened her mouth to snap back, a dull thud echoed as Liang Xueqing abruptly dropped to her knees without warning.
“Xu Nansheng, I’m begging you. Hongyu and I are truly and deeply in love, won’t you please show some mercy and grant us your blessing?
I really didn’t mean to make you lose face yesterday; it was simply that the thought of losing Hongyu was too agonizing to bear, and my unstable emotional state is what triggered the car accident. I truly didn’t mean to block him from coming to find you.
I even tried to let go, tried to step aside and give you both my blessing, but Sheng Sheng, I just can’t do it. I love Hongyu, and I wouldn’t be able to survive without him. Don’t blame him, if you want to blame someone, blame me! Blame me for loving him too much, blame me for being unable to live without him.”