Though the words trailed off, the color had completely drained from Zhuang Wan’s face.
Realizing she had stepped out of line, the third aunt slapped herself lightly on the cheek twice. “Don’t take it to heart, Xiaowan! Our Qingwu and Gu Yi are true, genuine siblings—there won’t be any messy problems like that!”
Once the mahjong game wrapped up, Lin Lan presented Zhuang Wan with a set of ruby jewelry as a first-meeting gift.
Noting that it was getting late, Gu Yi escorted Zhuang Wan out the door.
Sensing her subdued mood, he asked softly, “What’s wrong?”
Zhuang Wan got into the car and clicked her seatbelt into place. “Are you really that close with your sister?”
“Mm. Isn’t it completely normal for a brother and sister to be close?”
“For her eighteenth coming-of-age ceremony, you bought her a yacht.”
Gu Yi brushed it off casually. “Fu Qiang’s sister got an entire island for her birthday from him. This is nothing.”
Even so, Zhuang Wan remained agonizingly bothered by it.
“Still, today your third aunt…”
“Xiaowan.” Gu Yi interrupted her gently. “I’m dating you with marriage in mind. Stop overthinking, alright? When your birthday comes around, I’ll buy you whatever you want.”
Though still somewhat unsettled, Zhuang Wan kept her thoughts to herself.
By the time Gu Yi dropped Zhuang Wan off and returned home, the third aunt and the others had already cleared out their mahjong setup.
Sitting in his car, he smoked a cigarette while watching his third uncle chew out the third aunt: “Look at what you did! Spouting such nonsense right in front of that young girl today!”
“What nonsense did I speak? Gu Yi used to dote on Qingwu like she was his own heartbeat! I’m not the only one who misunderstood. If Gu Yi suddenly wants to get married now, it’s definitely because he feels that relationship violates moral and ethical boundaries—he finds it disgusting! He’s terrified of the Gu family being pointed at and cursed behind our backs!”
“And you think Yun Qingwu’s intentions are so pure? Just now during mahjong, I caught a glimpse of her sitting on the sofa crying!”
“…”
Whatever followed, Gu Yi could no longer hear.
He tilted his head back to gaze up at the third-floor window, the fingers holding his cigarette trembling ever so slightly.
Crying?
He tapped open her WeChat profile, intending to message her, but after hesitating for a long while, he ultimately pressed the screen dark.
Yun Qingwu had been assaulted by baby Qiao Qiao’s sour candy.
Tears of absolute betrayal had streamed down her face.
Yet paradoxically, she found the aftertaste rather addictive, so she swapped one of her room’s plush toys with Qiao Qiao for an entire pack of those candies.
Before drifting off to sleep, she overheard Lin Lan and Gu Jian discussing plans to go abroad down in the hallway.
Their domestic business had been handed over entirely to Gu Yi, but a branch office overseas had run into some complications, requiring the couple to travel abroad for a spell—a trip that had been scheduled half a month in advance.
The mere thought of not seeing Lin Lan for an extended period left a hollow ache in her chest.
Gu Yi had been living independently for years; back when their relationship was good, he used to come home frequently, but ever since his birthday, his visits had dwindled to almost nothing.
The domestic staff always left for the night as well.
Imagining this sprawling villa left completely empty at night except for her, she couldn’t help but recall the endless, silent nights of her childhood spent in that very same quiet mansion.
In the dead of night, she woke up feeling deeply unwell.
Her skin prickled with a relentless, crawling itch, and her body trembled uncontrollably.
Her skin hunger had flared up again.
She wanted to go find Lin Lan for a hug, but it was far too late, and she didn’t want to disturb her rest. Gritting her teeth, she scratched fiercely at her itchy skin and hugged a body pillow to force herself back to sleep.
Sunday arrived, and Yun Qingwu didn’t lazily drag herself out of bed until midday.
Eager to avoid worrying Lin Lan, she pulled on long sleeves to conceal the scratch marks scattered across her arms.
Having missed breakfast, she came downstairs just as the household was preparing lunch.
Shortly after the meal, as she was messaging Wu Yuxuan to coordinate a shopping trip, Gu Yi suddenly slid a photograph right under her nose.
Glancing briefly at the shock of red hair in the picture, she lazily lifted her eyelids. “What?”
“A marriage prospect I picked out for you.”
Yun Qingwu’s thumb froze mid-text. She raised her head to look at him.
She searched his face for any trace of a joke, but found none.
He was entirely serious.
“Brother, you’re telling me to go into an arranged marriage?”
Gu Yi met her gaze with absolute calm. “Yes.”
“Yes?” Yun Qingwu laughed.
“Can I say no?”
“No.”
Ha.
How wonderfully decisive.
She remembered when she was a freshman in high school, the daughter of the neighboring villa had attempted suicide after being strong-armed into a political marriage.
Back then, she had been scared to tears.
Gu Yi had wiped away her tears while murmuring, “Little princess, what are you crying for?”
“With me here, nobody will ever force you into a marriage of convenience. You’ll get your heart’s desire and end up with the person you love most.”
Yet she never imagined that two years ago, when the Gu family business faced a major crisis, neither Lin Lan nor her husband had ever suggested putting her through an arranged marriage—yet here was Gu Yi proposing it now.
Though she had already resolved to let go of her feelings for him, emotions weren’t a glass of water you could just splash away without leaving a trace.
She needed time to thoroughly wipe the slate clean.
He knew her feelings inside out, yet deliberately chose this exact method to twist the knife.
She had once read a line online: The person who understands you best knows precisely how to inflict the most devastating wound.
At this moment, she understood that sentiment profoundly.
“Why?”
Gu Yi turned his head away, refusing to meet her reddening eyes. “Xiaowan cares deeply about our relationship. If you have a boyfriend, she’ll feel more at ease.”
“I’m doing this for your own good. It’s time you started dating anyway. If this one doesn’t suit your tastes, I’ll introduce someone else.”
Yun Qingwu let out a cold, sharp laugh, reaching out to snatch the photograph from the table. “Fine. Don’t go regretting this.”
Before she could finish her sentence, the photo was snatched right out of her hand.
It was Lin Lan.
“Gu Yi, have you lost your mind?!”
Ripping the photograph instantly into shreds, Lin Lan whirled around and cupped Yun Qingwu’s face in her hands. “Sweetie, don’t listen to a word he says!”
“Your uncle and I aren’t dead yet! In this house, it’s not his place to call the shots. I am your legal guardian!”
“Our sweetie can be with whoever she pleases—no arranged marriages for you.”
A hot prickling sensation hit Yun Qingwu’s eyes, and she threw her arms around Lin Lan.
How profoundly fortunate she was to have crossed paths with Lin Lan in this lifetime.
“Auntie, don’t cry, I’m not even crying.”
She offered a soft murmur of comfort, but seeing Lin Lan still leaking tears, she decided to tease her instead: “Can I really be with anyone? What if I like girls?”
“Huh?”
Lin Lan was so startled she forgot to cry entirely.
After a stunned pause, she nodded solemnly. “Even if our sweetie likes girls, that’s completely fine. As long as our sweetie is happy, Auntie is happy.”
“What’s wrong with girls? Girls are soft and sweet-smelling—aren’t they infinitely better than smelly men like your father and your brother?”
Gu Yi: “…”
Having suddenly caught stray friendly fire, Gu Jian poked his head out from the study. “Wife, I take a bath every single day, I don’t smell.”
With a look of utter disgust, Lin Lan glared at him. “I’m comforting my daughter, scram.”
Abruptly cowed, Gu Jian pulled his head back like a turtle into its shell. “Right away, dear~”
Amused despite herself, Yun Qingwu chuckled. “Auntie, I’ve got a shopping date with Xuanxuan, I’m going to go change my clothes and head out.”
“Go ahead. Just pretend your brother was having an epileptic seizure today, don’t let it weigh on your mind.”
“Got it~” Pressing a quick kiss to Lin Lan’s cheek, Yun Qingwu trotted lightly upstairs.
Gu Yi had doted on her for so many years; she refused to believe that falling in love could utterly warp him into an unrecognizable stranger who completely disregarded whether she lived or died.
Therefore, this so-called arranged marriage was nothing more than an excuse he had manufactured to piss her off and push her away. He wanted her to grow thoroughly disillusioned and give up on him.
Yet in truth, he had vastly overestimated his standing in her heart—she wasn’t some lovesick fool.
She had already made up her mind to let go.
He had completely overcomplicated things for no reason.
Since he didn’t actually intend for her to go through with an arranged marriage, she was going to do it out of sheer spite!
Why should she dance to whatever tune he called?
Changing into a fresh outfit and applying a full face of makeup, Yun Qingwu walked back downstairs and knocked on his bedroom door. “Brother, go ahead and set up that meeting with the marriage prospect. I’m free this afternoon to meet him.”
Pulling the door open, Gu Yi frowned. “Are you serious?”
“Of course. Even though I only glanced at that photo for a second, I feel like I’ve fallen head over heels! He’s my absolute ideal type!”
Gu Yi: “???”
He had merely thrown out the idea of an arranged marriage to ruffle her feathers; he never in his wildest dreams expected her to actually agree to go.
He had deliberately picked a flashy red-haired punk she wouldn’t stand, so why was she leaping at it?
“Qingwu, don’t act out of spite.”
Seeing his darkened expression filled Yun Qingwu with immense satisfaction. “I’m not spiteful at all. You were right, it’s about time I started dating. Hurry up and schedule it with the other side—if I don’t get to lay eyes on my marriage prospect by six o’clock this evening, I’m going to tell Zhuang Wan that you’re in love with me.”
Hearing that threat, Gu Yi became even more certain she was throwing a temper tantrum.
“Yun Qingwu, I am your brother. I don’t ever want to hear you say something like that again.”
“Got it, heard it loud and clear, both ears heard it~” Chanting as she skipped down the stairs, Yun Qingwu called back, “Hurry up! If I don’t see the guy before six o’clock, face the consequences.”
Yun Qingwu had been spoiled rotten; whatever she said she would do, she followed through on.
Desperate to avoid letting things spiral past the point of no return—and figuring she wouldn’t actually take a fancy to some random matchmaking candidate anyway—Gu Yi pulled out his phone and fired off a text message to a specific number.
Half an hour later, Yun Qingwu received the location and time details from Gu Yi.
After hanging out and grabbing snacks with Wu Yuxuan, she strolled into the designated café right as the clock approached their meeting time.
She had merely intended to go through the motions to put on a show, but the moment she stepped inside and laid eyes on the occupant of that corner booth, she froze dead in her tracks.
No wait—she must have walked through the door backward or something!
Otherwise, how on earth could she possibly be looking at Ji Siming sitting right there?!