At a villa near Hung Hom, Gu Bingwen sat on a black leather sofa, a cigar between his fingers and his brows tightly furrowed.
At forty-five, he was in what was arguably the prime of a man’s life.
He kept himself in excellent shape and wore a perfectly tailored suit, his hair combed neatly into place. Yet at this moment, his expression was grim.
He never would have imagined that his usually soft and delicate-looking daughter could be so stubborn and fierce once she set her mind to something.
“That poor boy from the mainland is nothing but a shop assistant at a jewelry store. Apart from having a decent face, what else does he have going for him?”
Gu Bingwen let out a cold snort and slammed his cigar onto the coffee table.
“She was willing to die over someone like that? She’s completely disgraced the Gu family!”
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
“Even if she didn’t want Ah Xuan from the Li family, there are plenty of outstanding young men from wealthy families in Hong Kong. Have I ever mistreated her? How did things have to come to this?”
“Bingwen.”
A gentle voice came from beside him.
Gu Bingwen looked up and saw his second wife, Yang Huijuan, carrying a plate of sliced fruit. She walked over and carefully set it on the coffee table.
She had taken excellent care of herself, and traces of the beauty she had possessed in her youth could still be seen in her features.
“Have some fruit,” she said softly.
Gu Bingwen said nothing.
Yang Huijuan didn’t seem bothered. After setting down the plate, she walked behind him and placed both hands on his tense shoulders, gently massaging his neck as she spoke in a soothing voice.
“Bingwen, don’t work yourself up too much. The eldest young miss is still young. It’s easy for someone her age to lose her head over love.”
“Starting today, I’ll eat vegetarian food and pray for the eldest young miss. Tomorrow, I’ll go to Wong Tai Sin Temple again to offer incense and pray for the Bodhisattva to bless her and let her wake up soon…”
“That’s enough!”
Gu Bingwen impatiently cut her off.
“Stop with all this nonsense. What good will praying to gods and Buddhas do?”
Yang Huijuan’s hands paused for a moment before continuing to massage his shoulders. The corners of her lips curled upward in a barely perceptible smile.
Just then, the telephone in the living room suddenly rang.
The nanny answered it. After listening for a couple of seconds, her expression became excited as she looked toward Gu Bingwen.
“Sir is here. What? The eldest young miss is awake? All right, all right! I’ll tell Sir right away!”
Gu Bingwen, who had been sitting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them.
Before the nanny had even finished speaking, he sprang to his feet and strode toward the door without so much as a word to Yang Huijuan.
Yang Huijuan stood where she was, watching his back disappear through the doorway.
A moment later, she heard a car engine start.
The sound gradually faded into the distance.
The gentleness on her face slowly disappeared, replaced by a dark and sinister expression.
Suddenly, she swept her hand across the coffee table.
The carefully arranged plate of fruit crashed to the floor. The delicate bone-china plate shattered into pieces, sending fruit rolling everywhere.
“Second Madam…”
The nanny standing in the corner jumped in fright and immediately fell silent.
Yang Huijuan shot her a cold look.
“What are you standing there for? Clean it up.”
“Yes, yes…”
The nanny hurriedly crouched down to clean up the mess.
Yang Huijuan turned toward the staircase, the corner of her mouth twitching slightly.
That wretched girl.
She really does have a stubbornly strong life.
Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital, VIP Ward.
After a series of examinations, Gu Wangshu finally understood what had happened.
She was indeed still alive.
Only, this body no longer belonged to her.
The doctor told her that it was now 1987.
Ten years.
She had died in Hong Kong in 1977.
And now, a full ten years had passed.
She was now Gu Xihe—her cousin, the daughter of her second uncle, Gu Bingwen.
From the doctor’s examination, along with the fragments of information she’d heard from Ming Lan and Wen-jie, she was able to piece together what had happened.
Two days ago, Gu Xihe had taken an overdose with her boyfriend after her parents forced her into an arranged marriage.
Her boyfriend had regretted it and called for help, allowing him to survive. Gu Xihe had also narrowly escaped death, but she remained unconscious for two days and had only just awakened today.
As for Gu Wangshu…
She had no idea why, but when she opened her eyes, she had found herself inside this body.
And the real Gu Xihe…
That foolish girl had probably truly left this world.
All for a man.
She had thrown her life away for him.
Gu Wangshu lay on the hospital bed, staring out the window at the sky gradually darkening outside. Her heart was filled with complicated emotions.
The doctor was standing nearby, explaining the examination results to Ming Lan.
“Mrs. Gu, although Miss Gu has regained consciousness and there are no major problems with her bodily functions, the prolonged lack of oxygen to her brain, combined with the effects of the medication, has caused some degree of damage.”
“Based on our preliminary communication just now, we’ve also noticed that Miss Gu is showing signs of partial memory loss…”
Just as Gu Bingwen pushed open the door, he happened to hear the last part.
“Partial memory loss? What happened?”
His authoritative voice echoed through the ward.
Gu Wangshu turned her head toward him from the bed.
Ten years.
She hadn’t seen her second uncle, Gu Bingwen, in ten years.
He hadn’t changed much, although compared with the past, the imposing presence of a man in power was much stronger now.
Gu Bingwen walked up to the bedside and studied his daughter carefully.
“Qianqian, you don’t recognize your father anymore?”
Gu Wangshu looked at the man who was both familiar and unfamiliar to her, her emotions tangled.
After a moment, she slowly spoke, her voice still weak from her recent ordeal.
“I recognize you.”
Ming Lan hurriedly explained, “Bingwen, the doctor said Qianqian’s memories are confused right now. She seems to remember only some things from when she was in her early teens. She’s forgotten everything from the past few years.”
“From when she was in her early teens?”
Gu Bingwen frowned.
“What else do you remember?”
Gu Wangshu leaned against the pillow and looked at Gu Bingwen, her gaze gradually becoming deeper and more guarded.
She decided to continue with the lie.
For now, it was the best way to conceal her true identity.
“I remember…”
She paused before speaking softly.
“This is Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital. I’ve been here before. Back then, I came here to visit my grandfather when he was ill.”
Her grandfather, Gu Shiyong, had indeed spent some time at Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital when he was seriously ill. Back then, Qianqian had often been brought by Ming Lan to visit him.
“What else?”
“I also came here to visit…”
Gu Wangshu paused deliberately.
“My cousin.”
Gu Bingwen froze.
Her cousin? Gu Wangshu?
That had been ten years ago.
At the time, his father, Gu Shiyong, had been seriously ill and hospitalized. His niece, Gu Wangshu, had come to Hong Kong from Beijing and stayed there for a while.
In the end, she had died here.
“What is going on?”
Gu Bingwen turned to the doctor, his gaze sharp.
The doctor adjusted his glasses before explaining.
“Mr. Gu, medically speaking, this is known as retrograde amnesia. Under normal circumstances, a patient loses memories from a period immediately preceding the onset of the condition. The more recent the memory, the more likely it is to be lost. Older memories, such as childhood experiences or deeply ingrained events from the distant past, are often preserved instead.”
“I also tested her just now. Miss Gu still remembers the knowledge she learned in the past and the languages she speaks. In other words, this shouldn’t affect her ability to live a normal life in the future.”
Gu Bingwen fell silent for a moment, his expression easing slightly.
Perhaps forgetting was a good thing.
If she had forgotten him, forgotten that poor boy, and forgotten all those unpleasant arguments, then they could simply start over.
“Doctor, may I speak with you outside?”
Gu Bingwen gestured for the doctor to step outside.
Ming Lan cast a worried glance at her daughter before following them out.