Chapter 6
Chapter 6
“Lu Zhiyuan, his name is Gu Ziyu!” Gu Ci twisted open the bottle cap and gave Gu Ziyu the cherry juice because he also liked to drink it. This habitual action was both indulgent and sweet. When Lu Zhiyuan looked at Gu Ziyu again, he felt that this little guy was a bit annoying.
Gu Ziyu made up his mind to play the role of a cute child and once again showed a sweet smile, naively and cutely shouting, “Hello Big Brother!”
Gu Ci, “…”
For the first time, Lu Zhiyuan looked at the cute little guy seriously. He was white, tender, and very likable. “Little guy, I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before.”
Gu Ziyu smiled with his peach blossom eyes bent. “Big Brother, our eyes look exactly the same.”
“It’s a bit similar!” His eyes were like his, but his face shape was like Gu Ci’s. Lu Zhiyuan felt a strange sense of familiarity. “By the way, Gu Ci, did you come to see me for something?”
“Li Jiang, why don’t you take Ziyu around for a stroll first.”
“Yes, sir!” Li Jiang was obedient and led Gu Ziyu out.
Lu Zhiyuan looked at her with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile. “Miss Gu, you certainly know how to direct your people.”
“Aren’t you uncomfortable wearing that outfit?” Gu Ci asked.
Lu Zhiyuan was still wearing his snow-white racing suit, which was very restrictive. He said, “Wait for me.”
He went into the dressing room intending to change into some casual clothes and come back out. But when he looked in the mirror, he saw a teenager whose hair was soaked with sweat and whose whole body was covered in perspiration from just finishing the race. Lu Zhiyuan looked a bit frustrated. Was this the scary-looking guy he had just shown Gu Ci? Did she want him to change clothes because she was disgusted with him?
Lu Zhiyuan took a deep breath and went into the bathroom.
Gu Ci walked around the living room casually. Lu Zhiyuan had become famous at a young age and had a bold and unrestrained personality. But the decoration of his home was minimalist in a cool style. The wall cabinet in the living room was full of racing models and his trophies. Gu Ci curiously looked at each award certificate. He was a championship reaper.
Suddenly, she saw a familiar box, a small plastic silver box containing a broken electronic watch. It was the birthday present that Gu Ci gave to Lu Zhiyuan when he was fifteen.
That day, she was surrounded by people outside the campus and Lu Zhiyuan helped her out. He shamelessly demanded a reward, and Gu Ci coldly bought him a twenty-dollar electronic watch on the side of the road.
That night, she was left alone at home. The nanny said that Gu Wenliang and Lu Man had brought Gu Chuyun and Gu Yaozu to the Lu family’s third young master’s birthday banquet.
The digital watch was actually a birthday present that Lu Zhiyuan had asked for.
Underneath the box was a stack of greeting cards, all the cards that Gu Ci gave him when they were children. These inconspicuous items were placed together with his championship trophies, appearing abrupt yet unique.
“Idiot!” An indescribable tingling sensation attacked Gu Ci’s heart. Even after so many years, she still couldn’t figure out why Lu Zhiyuan liked her.
And he had liked her for so many years! But why didn’t he tell her?
Unrequited love is an endless journey with no destination, with flowers blooming and withering along the way, unnoticed by anyone.
From the time she was released from prison to their marriage, and even until Lu Zhiyuan’s death, she had never heard him say “I love you”. She even suspected that Lu Zhiyuan liked someone else and just used her as a substitute.
But who would risk their life for a substitute!
“Don’t touch my things.” Lu Zhiyuan’s voice, accompanied by a hint of cold wind, came from behind. Gu Ci turned around and put down the electronic watch. Lu Zhiyuan had taken a shower and changed into a white casual outfit, even blow-drying his hair. He came out looking fresh and neat.
“This is what I gave you!” she said.
“Are you planning to take it back?” Lu Zhiyuan asked.
Gu Ci took a deep breath, feeling puzzled and confused. Lu Zhiyuan was always so hot and cold, unpredictable, and she couldn’t figure him out. Gu Ci laughed lightly and said, “If you say one more thing, I’ll take everything back.”
Lu Zhiyuan was silent. He clenched his fists and then released them. He took out a can of cherry juice that she liked from the fridge and changed the topic very naturally.” Do you want some juice?”
“Sure!” Gu Ci suppressed a smile, and Lu Zhiyuan handed her the cherry juice. “Why did you come to see me?”
Gu Ci didn’t beat around the bush. “Can Ziyu and I stay at your place for a while?”
“No.” Lu Zhiyuan blurted out, and the living room fell silent. His expression was unclear.
Gu Ci was surprised. After she was released from prison, she struggled to survive alone. Lu Zhiyuan wanted her to stay with him at his place and went to great lengths to create all kinds of conditions to make her agree. Why did he refuse when she proposed living together now?
Was it because the 20-year-old Lu Zhiyuan didn’t love her like the 25-year-old Lu Zhiyuan did? Or was it because men like women who play hard to get, and don’t like women who take the initiative?
“Okay, I understand.” Gu Ci put down the juice and didn’t say any more. She looked at Lu Zhiyuan steadily, full of nostalgia and reluctance, as if she had encountered him countless times in her dreams.
The sudden separation made her heartache, but it also made her realize one thing – life is unpredictable.
Real goodbyes didn’t play out like they did in movies. It’s just a peaceful morning, and someone is forever left in yesterday.
Her eyes were too sad, and Lu Zhiyuan felt inexplicably sad. He liked Gu Ci’s smile.
Whenever she smiled, his heart would bloom, and he would silently hold it out in front of her, hoping she would smile for ten thousand years more.
He couldn’t bear to see Gu Ci sad.
Lu Zhiyuan stood up and blocked her in front of him, with a hint of panic in his eyes that was difficult to detect and disappeared in an instant. “I have a house in Binjiang, you can go live there anytime.”
Gu Ci looked at him silently.
“Guanlan Wan also has a villa.” Lu Zhiyuan said when she remained silent, “You don’t like it? Then where do you like, I can buy it for you.”
Gu Ci chuckled and asked, “You can move mountains and part seas for me, but you won’t let me live with you, right?”
“Gu Ci, do you… know something?” Lu Zhiyuan looked uneasy and glanced at the box on the wall. He calmed down and explained, “I’m sentimental and also a collector. Don’t think too much.”
Gu Ci’s heart sank, and she felt cold all over. This was what it felt like to be rejected by someone she loved. She loved the Lu Zhiyuan five years from now, and forgot that the one in front of her was the twenty-year-old Lu Zhiyuan.
“Lu Zhiyuan, do you like me?”
Lu Zhiyuan looked directly into Gu Ci’s eyes, as if trying to see deep into her soul. His eyes were tumultuous, but they quickly returned to calm. He used all his strength to suppress his racing heart and said, “No.”
Being rejected after confessing one’s feelings was such a humiliating experience. It felt as though it shattered all of her courage.
“From childhood to now, I gave you six cards and a digital watch, and you collected them all beside your first championship trophy. You’re an athlete who avoids sugar and fruit juice, but there’s always my favorite cherry juice in the fridge, even though I’ve never been to your house. And now you’re telling me that you don’t like me?” Gu Ci chuckled, “So you have a split personality, and the one who likes me is another person. Did I guess correctly?”