10 – Tender Affection in His Eyes
Gu Yuan was looking at her phone.
Le Meng’s coquettish voice reached her ears, and Gu Yuan’s hand holding the phone gave a slight tremble.
She felt a bit numb from the saccharine tone.
Gu Yuan shot Le Meng a disdainful glance. “Cut it out, get in the car. Girls like you who whine like that—I could take out ten with one punch.”
Le Meng stared at her in disbelief.
“Yuan-jie, you don’t love me anymore!”
Gu Yuan ignored her. Chi Yu was massaging her shoulders at the moment, and his technique was quite good—very satisfying indeed.
“Yuan-jie, you’re abandoning a friend for a lover!”
Le Meng accused, her expression visibly wilting as she reluctantly took the passenger seat.
She shot Chi Yu a vicious glare.
Damn it, you rotten bastard. Once Yuan-jie doesn’t need you anymore, I’ll skin you alive, drain your blood, dry you out, and turn you into a specimen—then flog your corpse every single day!!
Le Meng cursed Chi Yu in her heart the entire ride.
Chi Yu massaged Gu Yuan the entire ride.
Gu Yuan rarely felt so relaxed, closing her eyes to rest. When she came back to herself, she realized that she—someone usually so guarded—was leaning against his chest, having nearly fallen asleep.
“Sister, we’ve arrived.”
Chi Yu called her awake in a soft voice.
Gu Yuan looked into his eyes and thought she glimpsed a tenderness like flowing water, but perhaps it was just an illusion.
She paused briefly, gave a slight nod, and rose with a composed expression. The driver opened the car door for her.
They had arrived at the Gu family villa.
The villa was now draped in white mourning cloth.
A steady stream of guests paying their respects flowed through the entrance, and some noticed her car.
Gu Yuan wore a long black dress, and she hadn’t forgotten to pin a white flower to her chest—perfectly proper and courteous, with nothing anyone could fault. But the moment she curved her lips into a smile, her entire demeanor proclaimed one thing—
She thrived on chaos.
Perhaps because they’d heard she’d reclaimed Lanyue Media and shown her strength, or perhaps because she’d invited certain people who had grudges against the Gu family, the crowd was no longer standing aloof as they had at yesterday’s celebration. Instead, they came forward to speak with her.
“Miss Gu, shall we go in together?”
Several people who’d received her invitations walked over to greet her, shaking hands with smiles and exchanging glances of barely concealed schadenfreude.
“Thank you for the invitation.”
The Gu family’s competitor wore a solemn expression as he gripped her hand gratefully. “If not for your invitation, I might have missed this chance to pay my respects to Brother Gu. When I heard of his death, I was simply devastated…”
—Devastated enough to set off firecrackers.
“You flatter me.”
Gu Yuan spoke with a smile, then raised her hand in a gesture of invitation. “I’m touched that you could set aside past grievances to come honor Fourth Uncle. If he knows of this in the afterlife, he’ll be deeply moved…”
—Moved enough to burst out of his coffin.
And so, Gu Yuan and her companions walked into the Gu residence wearing expressions of “profound grief.”
The Gu family’s servants braced themselves as if facing an enemy.
They couldn’t stop them, and they couldn’t not stop them.
The real problem was—they couldn’t stop them anyway!
The crowd filed in one after another, heading to the memorial hall to pay respects to Gu Zhi. The man who had been lively and full of energy just yesterday was now nothing more than a black-and-white photograph surrounded by funeral wreaths.
Inside the hall, people took turns offering incense.
From among those waiting in line came hushed murmurs: “I heard Gu Zhi was killed by a professional assassin. Was the killer caught?”
“No. Word is they might still be in the capital. The whole city is on high alert—everyone’s on edge…”
“Why would an assassin target Gu Zhi?”
After the question was raised, few answered. Either they didn’t know, or they had their reasons to stay silent.
Chi Yu was gazing at Gu Zhi’s portrait.
Gu Yuan stood beside him, noticing his gaze, and asked casually, “What, have you met Gu Zhi?”
Author’s Note:
On July 15, 2021, the story of Gu Yuan and Chi Yu begins. Will you join us~