When Su Xingci learned that her father, whom she had not seen in five years, was coming to visit, she excitedly went to find her boyfriend so she could share the good news with him.
But she accidentally overheard their conversation.
Her father, Su Yuanshan, spoke teasingly.
“Yuanhang, it’s not easy for us to see each other after so long. Why didn’t you bring that girlfriend you’ve been dating for three years over so your big brother can meet her?”
Su Xingci, who had just reached the doorway, was startled. She nervously bit her lip.
Five years ago, something had happened to her family. Her father had arranged for her to go to the countryside under the identity of a sent-down educated youth, and had asked his much younger sworn brother, Gu Yuanhang, to look after her.
Su Xingci, the eldest daughter who had been pampered her entire life and had never done any hard labor, could hardly endure the hardship of working in the countryside.
It was Gu Yuanhang—her nominal uncle—who took meticulous care of her and stayed by her side through the most difficult days.
In that unfamiliar environment, Gu Yuanhang was the only person around her whom she knew and who treated her well. Their age difference was small, he was handsome, and he was gentle with her.
So when he asked her to date him, Su Xingci happily agreed.
The only regret was that Gu Yuanhang was afraid her father would be furious if he found out, so they decided to keep their relationship secret from him—and from everyone around them.
Now that their relationship was stable and her father had even come to visit personally, surely they could finally tell him the truth.
Even if her father really got angry, she wouldn’t break up with Gu Yuanhang.
Thinking of this, the corners of Su Xingci’s lips lifted. She was in a good mood as she wondered how she would comfort her father afterward.
But the next words made her wonder if she had misheard.
“No need. She’s nothing more than a toy to relieve my boredom. We’re not going to get married anyway. What’s the point of bringing her here?”
The man’s voice remained indifferent, but Su Xingci felt a chill run through her entire body.
Her body staggered slightly, and she accidentally bumped into the wooden door, knocking open the door that had only been left ajar.
“Ci?”
A delighted voice rang out.
Su Yuanshan hurriedly stood up and quickly came over to steady her.
“You’re already a grown woman. How can you still be so careless? You nearly fell walking on flat ground. How am I supposed to stop worrying about you?”
As he spoke, Su Yuanshan pulled her inside and sat her down beside him. His voice was full of affection.
“I originally wasn’t supposed to come for a few more days, but I was too worried about you, so I changed my train ticket. Ci, did you miss Dad? Surprise!”
Su Xingci raised her head and stared straight at Gu Yuanhang across the room.
Yet he had his head lowered and didn’t even give her a glance of explanation.
“Ci?”
When she didn’t answer, her father asked again worriedly.
“Dad, I’m surprised!”
Of course she was surprised.
Who would have thought that after three years of secretly dating, Gu Yuanhang actually regarded her as nothing more than a toy—and had never even considered marrying her?
“In the blink of an eye, our little Ci has grown up so much. Old Su, you’re about to become a father-in-law. Why don’t you pick someone from the army?”
A man in his forties who was sitting nearby teased him with a laugh.
“Don’t go making random suggestions.”
Su Yuanshan glared at him before looking affectionately at Su Xingci.
“My Ci already has a boyfriend. Oh, right, Ci, Dad will be staying for a week this time. Why don’t you bring your boyfriend over so Dad can meet him? I need to give him a proper background check. If his character isn’t good, or if he has some white-moonlight or ex-girlfriend lingering in his heart, that’s absolutely not acceptable.”
“Oh, Old Su, I didn’t know you were so fashionable. You even know all these trendy terms young people use nowadays? Looks like anyone who wants to become your son-in-law will have to submit his entire romantic history for investigation. Are you sure you still want to marry your daughter off?”
Su Yuanshan immediately became unhappy.
“Who says she has to get married? If she can’t find anyone, I’ll support her for the rest of her life! My daughter isn’t afraid of not being wanted. Besides, I can afford to support her!”
He turned back toward Su Xingci, his voice softening as he asked tentatively,
“Ci, what exactly happened? Tell Dad. Did you have a fight with your boyfriend? It’s okay. Tell Dad who he is, and I’ll stand up for you! If he dares bully my Ci, I’ll beat him until he’s begging for mercy!”
Su Xingci didn’t answer.
Her body had gone rigid as she stared motionlessly at Gu Yuanhang diagonally across from her.
From the moment she entered, the man hadn’t looked at her even once. He simply kept his head lowered, tapping his fingers against the table as if he couldn’t care less about anything happening around him.
The atmosphere in the room became increasingly strange because of Su Xingci’s silence.
Following his daughter’s gaze, Su Yuanshan frowned.
“Ci, why are you looking at your Uncle Yuanhang?”
He paused before turning to Gu Yuanhang.
“Yuanhang, you and Ci are close in age. These past few years, I asked you to look after her, didn’t I? You should know who her boyfriend is, right? This girl is actually keeping secrets from her own father.”
Everyone turned to look at Gu Yuanhang.
His tapping fingers stopped.
He raised his head, his face devoid of any smile. His brows were tightly knitted as he looked at Su Xingci, his eyes carrying an unmistakable warning.
Su Xingci’s heart gave a painful squeeze.
A warning?
What right did he have to warn her?
He had treated her sincere feelings as nothing more than entertainment, and now he expected her to cooperate with him and put on an act?
Why should she?
Su Xingci curled her lips into a cold smile.
Meeting Gu Yuanhang’s gaze head-on, she clearly uttered two words.
“He’s dead.”
Everyone in the private room stopped breathing for a moment.
The atmosphere became unbearably tense.
The uncle who had been joking moments ago froze. Su Yuanshan was stunned as well, the smile on his face becoming completely rigid.
After a long moment, he finally asked in a hoarse voice,
“D-Dead? Ci, don’t scare Dad. That’s not something you can joke about! What happened? When did it happen?”
Su Xingci’s face was expressionless.
She didn’t look at her father. Her gaze remained fixed on Gu Yuanhang.
At last, she saw shock flash across his face.
“Three months ago.”
“He died in an accident.”
Her voice was even calmer.
“There wasn’t even a body left.”
Gu Yuanhang’s expression visibly darkened.
But Su Xingci felt a strange sense of satisfaction.
She continued in an eerily calm voice,
“By my calculation, there should already be a meter of grass growing on his grave.”
“Ci!”
Su Yuanshan shot to his feet and grabbed his daughter’s hand.
“Knock on wood! It’s a holiday! Don’t talk about death! And what nonsense about grass growing on his grave? Don’t say things like that!”
Looking at his daughter’s pale, tiny face, he was heartbroken.
Five years had passed since he’d last seen her, and she was much thinner than he remembered.
Her once-beautiful, softly curled hair had been simply braided into two long braids, with the stray bangs held back by two black hair clips.
She was no longer wearing expensive Western-style dresses either, but a simple cotton-and-linen plaid shirt.
At first glance, anyone who didn’t know her might have mistaken her for a girl who had grown up in the countryside.
Having no choice but to send his daughter away to the countryside to suffer, Su Yuanshan had already felt guilty enough.
Now she had suffered this heartbreak on top of everything else.
His heart felt as though it were being twisted by a knife. He wished he could bear all of her suffering in her place.
“That man simply wasn’t blessed enough to have our Ci. He wasn’t worthy of you! Good riddance! It’s better that he’s dead. At least he can’t hurt you again!”
He cursed the nonexistent man with his mouth while gently patting his daughter’s back to comfort her.
“It’s okay, Ci. Dad believes there’s someone even better waiting for you. If not, we’ll choose someone from the army. Every one of the soldiers under my command is a fine young man. And if that doesn’t work, there are all those boys you grew up with in the military compound. Dad will introduce them to you one by one!”
The uncle surnamed Zhao finally recovered and quickly tried to smooth things over.
“Exactly, exactly. When one relationship ends, another begins. Old Su, don’t worry. Ci is still young.”
He pointed at Gu Yuanhang.
“If you ask me, distant water can’t put out a nearby fire. Yuanhang is a pretty good choice! Old Su, he’s your sworn brother, so you know him inside and out. You two get along well, and he’s always treated Ci well. Wouldn’t that be perfect?”
The moment those words were spoken, Su Xingci noticed Gu Yuanhang’s fingers tighten around the lighter in his hand.
“Old Leader, don’t start playing matchmaker.”
Gu Yuanhang finally spoke, his voice filled with helplessness.
“I’ve always regarded Ci as my own niece.”
*His own niece?*
Su Xingci sneered inwardly.
Yes, a “niece” he could casually hold in his arms and kiss for half the night before throwing her away once he grew tired of her.
She was just about to mock him when Su Yuanshan beat her to it.
“No!”
His refusal was firm and immediate—so quick that it came even before Gu Yuanhang’s.
Uncle Zhao was stunned.
“Why not? I think it’s a great idea! It would make the family even closer!”
Su Yuanshan shook his head.
He glanced at Gu Yuanhang, then at his daughter, before letting out a sigh.
“First, Yuanhang and I are brothers. If they got together, the family generations would be completely messed up.”
He paused, his tone turning serious.
“More importantly, Yuanhang already has someone in his heart.”
Su Xingci’s mind went blank with a sudden *buzz*.
She turned toward her father in disbelief, unable to believe that he actually knew.
Su Yuanshan continued in his usual tone,
“Besides the one he’s been keeping hidden, he also has another woman he can’t forget—his white moonlight. Oh, right. I think her name is Bai Miaomiao. She should be coming back to the country soon.”
“He has both an ex-girlfriend and a white moonlight. Do you really think I’d push my daughter into a fire pit?”
Bai Miaomiao!
Su Xingci stared at Gu Yuanhang in disbelief.
His fingers were gripping the lighter so tightly that his knuckles had turned white.
The indifference on his face had disappeared completely.
Instead, his expression was tense and expectant, with even a trace of panic.
Su Yuanshan continued firmly,
“My son-in-law doesn’t need to have money or power. But there absolutely cannot be another woman in his heart! I will never let my Ci suffer that kind of humiliation!”
Every word stabbed painfully into Su Xingci’s heart.
So her father knew everything.
He knew that Gu Yuanhang had another woman he could never forget.
No wonder Gu Yuanhang had been afraid to tell her father about their relationship.
It turned out her father had known all along that he would never allow his daughter to marry a man whose heart belonged to another woman.
But Gu Yuanhang had been the one who approached her first.
She had even asked him whether there was anyone he couldn’t let go of.
He had said no.
He had told her that he wanted to find a simple, steady girl and live an ordinary life with her.
He had said he liked her innocence and purity.
Su Xingci had believed him.
And once she fell in love, she was trapped for three whole years.
For three years, she had kept their relationship hidden from everyone—including the father who loved her most.
She had thought that as long as she loved him enough and tried hard enough, one day she would be able to warm his heart.
Now, looking back, the whole thing was nothing but a joke.
The secret he had kept for three years wasn’t because he wanted to protect their relationship.
He had simply been waiting for someone else’s return.
Bai Miaomiao was coming back.
And the toy he had used to relieve his loneliness…
It was time for her to be discarded.