CM | Chapter 25

At noon, Gu Yao and Zhu Shengxi went out together. Zhu Shengxi drove, while Gu Yao sat in the passenger seat browsing the internet.

What kind of gift should she choose for Li Huiru?

That really had Gu Yao stumped.

Over the past year, her impression of Li Huiru had actually not been very good. Li Huiru might be the kind of homey little woman often seen in TV dramas, attentive to her husband and daughter, but she was not the sort of mother who could truly make Gu Yao open her heart.

Gu Chengwen was a big name in business, Zhu Shengxi was even more formidable, a younger generation talent who had already surpassed his predecessors, and Gu Yao herself was a career woman, sharp and capable. Only Li Huiru was simple, so simple she was even a little foolish, obviously three slick operators paired with one old princess.

However awkward this family setup looked, it was just there.

Just as Li Huiru could not guess Gu Yao’s thoughts, Gu Yao likewise had no idea what Li Huiru liked. Her understanding of Li Huiru was also rather superficial.

For example, Li Huiru set aside four hours every day to practice calligraphy and gongbi painting. The time was basically after her afternoon nap. Two afternoons each week, a master’s student from the art academy came to teach Li Huiru, and she learned the basics from him. As for the mornings, sometimes Li Huiru would go to the yoga studio in the neighborhood to work out, sometimes she would go to the dentist, or chat and drink tea with the other wealthy wives in the compound.

So the range of birthday gifts Gu Yao could imagine was limited to those personal hobbies of Li Huiru’s, like brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, or yoga clothes? She couldn’t exactly send her a membership card to a dentist’s clinic, could she?

Gu Yao scrolled online for a while, but got no inspiration at all. Somewhat frustrated, she let out a sigh.

Her sigh caught Zhu Shengxi’s attention, but he had no sympathy whatsoever.

First came a soft laugh, then he said, “Can’t think of what to buy?”

Gu Yao put down her phone and turned to look at him weakly. “Do you have any ideas?”

The curve of Zhu Shengxi’s thin lips carried a trace of smugness. “I’ll take you somewhere, and you’ll definitely be able to pick something.”

Gu Yao eyed him suspiciously. “Why are you so sure?”

The car came to a red light. Zhu Shengxi turned his head. “Want to make a bet?”

Gu Yao agreed readily. “Sure. If I can’t pick one out, then from now on I’ll leave all gift matters to you.”

Zhu Shengxi raised a brow. “On the other hand, if you do pick something, then…”

He stopped halfway through.

Gu Yao was curious, so she pressed, “Then what? Do you want something yourself? I remember your birthday is next month.”

After a beat, Gu Yao added, “The last time you had a birthday was before my accident, and I don’t even remember what I gave you. What about this time?”

Just then, the light turned green.

Zhu Shengxi started the car again and said, “The best gift, I’ve already received.”

Silence fell.

Gu Yao was utterly startled and stared at him.

Zhu Shengxi glanced over and asked, “What is it?”

Half joking, half serious, Gu Yao said, “You rarely say sweet things. Did you do something sorry to me? Come clean. Confession gets leniency, resistance gets severity. You know Queen Gu is very scary when she’s angry.”

Zhu Shengxi gave a low laugh. “What sweet thing did I say?”

Gu Yao said, “You just said the best gift you’ve already received.”

“Oh,” Zhu Shengxi said, lifting his brows in deliberate surprise. “You thought I was talking about you?”

Gu Yao: “…”

As they spoke, another red light appeared.

Zhu Shengxi hit the brakes and turned his head.

Sunlight reached in from Gu Yao’s side window. Even through the tinted glass, it was still a little dazzling. That sliver of light fell on Zhu Shengxi’s hair, his forehead, his cheeks, and even tinted the depths of those dark eyes gold. His eyelashes looked almost transparent.

Gu Yao admired him silently until she saw those lashes flutter once, and then warmth brushed her lips.

He pecked at her lips, lingering and rubbing against her with clear reluctance, until that warmth spread from the corner of her mouth and her lips were left numb and tingling.

Only then did he let out a soft sigh. His voice was low and deep. “I’ll treasure this gift for the rest of my life.”

The smile at the corner of Gu Yao’s mouth widened.

What Tian Fang, what executives, what “Jiangcheng Gene,” and that bottomlessly disgusting Xu Shuo, they could all get lost.

None of that mattered.

The car drove through two more intersections. The radio began broadcasting the news, and just happened to mention the recently much-discussed “Jiangcheng Gene” and its boss, Zhu Shengxi. It then brought up the news that Zhu Shengxi had gone to Lixin Orphanage to donate his charity the other day. The program’s specially invited expert quickly launched into an analysis based on these tidbits, praising him on the surface while criticizing him underneath, saying this was just the usual routine of businessmen, and so on.

Gu Yao listened with a frown. Zhu Shengxi glanced at her, changed the station, and said, “Don’t worry, his words won’t affect me.”

Gu Yao said, “Are the experts who go on these shows all like this now, talking to themselves, full of themselves, thinking they can understand the whole world?”

“They’re all just trying to make a living. If they have nothing of substance to say and no gimmick, who would invite them onto the show?”

A second later, Zhu Shengxi changed the subject. “Since you’re also kind of an expert, based on the psychologist’s analysis, what kind of entrepreneur am I?”

Gu Yao found that funny. “At your age, with your experience and education, the fact that you have the achievements you do is really a miracle. Looking at all of Jiangcheng, I’m afraid there isn’t a single person your age who can surpass you. Most importantly, you’ve never looked down on your past just because of your success now. You haven’t forgotten your roots, and because you’re from Lixin, you haven’t severed yourself from your past history. Without your support all these years, it would be really hard for Lixin to keep running.”

Zhu Shengxi was very modest. “After all, I came out of there, so that counts as half my home. But compared with Uncle Gu, I’m still far behind.”

At that, Gu Yao suddenly remembered something. “Oh, speaking of which, I don’t think I’ve ever gone to Lixin with you?”

The car slowed down at that moment, turned into a side road, and stopped steadily less than a few dozen meters later in front of a boutique.

Gu Yao looked out the window. The storefront was exquisitely and tastefully decorated. It looked understated, but anyone with a keen eye could tell the items inside were worth a fortune.

Zhu Shengxi switched off the engine and asked, “Are you interested in Lixin?”

Gu Yao said, “Just curious. You don’t seem to bring it up much either.”

Zhu Shengxi didn’t answer. He went around the car, took Gu Yao’s hand, and the two of them crossed the small road together.

When they reached the entrance, the boutique owner immediately came out smiling. She was a middle-aged woman with a slender build, dressed in a dark skirt suit, a row of branded bracelets on her wrist, her hair permed, her skin well maintained, but with slightly prominent nasolabial folds. Coupled with the weariness she couldn’t quite hide in her eyes, it was obvious at a glance that she had been through a great deal when she was young.

“Mr. Zhu, long time no see. And this is…”

Zhu Shengxi said calmly, “This is Mr. Gu’s daughter, my girlfriend, Gu Yao. This is the owner here, Emma.”

Emma immediately looked at Gu Yao in surprise, her enthusiasm doubling. “Oh my, I’ve heard so much about you, Miss Gu. Please, come this way. May I ask what you’re planning to pick out today?”

But before Gu Yao could speak, Zhu Shengxi said first, “Has the qipao Mr. Gu ordered before been finished?”

Emma hurriedly said, “It’s done. It just arrived this morning. Oh, it was nearly too late. I spent the last half month worried sick and kept催ing them over and over… Oh, I’ll go get it now. Please wait a moment, both of you!”

As she spoke, Emma walked inside.

At that moment, Gu Yao also looked around the shop. There were many styles, all women’s clothing, Chinese styles on one side and Western styles on the other, arranged by color.

She casually picked up a piece and felt the fabric and the subtle pattern on it. It was pure hand embroidery, the tailoring was meticulous, and it was definitely not cheap.

Zhu Shengxi walked over beside Gu Yao and asked in a low voice, “See anything you like?”

Gu Yao didn’t answer. Instead, she asked, “My dad ordered a qipao here as a gift?”

“Mm.” Zhu Shengxi rested one hand on Gu Yao’s waist and guided her toward a low cabinet nearby. “Let’s look at the finished piece later. We can also pick out a matching piece of jewelry here. Auntie will definitely like it.”

The low cabinet displayed quite a few antique jewelry pieces, mostly silver, and all of them were set with gemstones. They should all have been left over from the Republic of China era.

Gu Yao quickly chose a ring and a pair of earrings. Although the rubies on them were not quite pigeon-blood in color, they were still top-grade. Their style was not flashy either, more like the taste of the wealthy ladies and heiresses of the Republican era, not something born of the demimonde.

Gu Yao touched the pattern on the earrings, then held them up to her earlobe to compare. “How about this set?”

Zhu Shengxi said, “Pretty.”

At that moment, Emma came out, carrying a qipao wrapped in a dust cover. It was deep blue with hand-embroidered dark floral patterns.

Gu Yao knew at a glance that it cost at least six figures.

She stepped forward and examined it carefully. It matched the jewelry she had just picked out almost perfectly, clearly showing that the father and daughter’s tastes had converged.

Gu Yao was very satisfied. “Emma, please wrap the qipao and those two pieces of jewelry over there together. We’ll take them with us later.”

Emma froze. She was just about to speak when Zhu Shengxi stepped forward and said, “No need, just wrap the jewelry. Mr. Gu will have someone come pick up the qipao later.”

Emma immediately agreed and happily went to the counter to pack everything up.

Gu Yao looked at Zhu Shengxi and raised a brow. “My dad’s coming over?”

Zhu Shengxi said, “Not necessarily, but even if Uncle Gu doesn’t come, he’ll personally deliver this gift to Auntie’s hands.”

Only then did Gu Yao react. “Right, after all, he ordered it…”

Zhu Shengxi smiled faintly, then pointed at the clothing racks and asked, “Since we’re already here, do you want to pick a few things you like and try them on?”

Gu Yao turned back and thought, fair enough.

She quickly went to the racks and casually picked out a few styles that had made a good first impression.

Emma came up with quick eyes and quick hands. Each time Gu Yao picked something up, she took it from her, removed the hanger, and, very tactfully, offered advice.

Gu Yao added two more items based on Emma’s suggestions, then turned to look at the quiet Zhu Shengxi.

“Give me some input too?”

Zhu Shengxi stood there with his arms crossed, his chin slightly lowered and his brows faintly furrowed. His cheeks seemed to draw in a little, as if he wasn’t too pleased with the things Emma was holding.

Then he lifted his chin and pointed at a light blue dress.

“I think this one works.”

Emma immediately took it down, but Gu Yao seemed a little resistant. “Blue?”

Zhu Shengxi smiled. “Just try it on.”

Gu Yao shrugged, then walked into the fitting room.

Emma hung the clothes up one by one inside, then quickly drew the curtain and went out.

Gu Yao started trying them on, one after another, but they all seemed ordinary.

There was a mirror in the fitting room, and anything she thought looked unsatisfactory, she took off and hung back up on the spot.

Until only the last two were left, one black and one light blue. Both were Western-style fitted slim dresses. The fabric clung to the body, and any slight flaw in the figure would show immediately. They were exactly the kind of design Gu Yao disliked.

After hesitating for a few seconds, she didn’t know what got into her, but she took the light blue one down and put it on.

Who would have thought that once she put it on, the effect would be amazing? The fabric pressed against her skin and felt wonderful to the touch, and it wasn’t as revealing as she had imagined. The cut looked simple, but it outlined the strengths of her figure just right.

Gu Yao stared at herself in the mirror for a long time, until Zhu Shengxi’s voice suddenly came from outside the curtain.

“How is it?”

Gu Yao turned around and pulled the curtain open. “See for yourself.”

As soon as the curtain opened, Zhu Shengxi was caught off guard. He had been leaning against the opposite wall, and the moment he saw the woman standing before him, he first froze, then light flickered in his eyes.

The two of them looked at each other for several seconds without saying anything.

Zhu Shengxi showed no expression, but he quietly drew in a breath, his gaze fixed on that expanse of blue.

Only when Gu Yao asked, “How is it?” did Zhu Shengxi step away from the wall and walk forward two steps. “The zipper on your back isn’t pulled up.”

Gu Yao gave a soft “oh” and turned around, presenting the small patch of pale skin revealed through the gap to him.

Zhu Shengxi gently pinched the zipper pull and slid it all the way up. Then both of his hands settled lightly on her shoulders. With a little pressure, he looked up toward the mirror in the fitting room.

Their eyes met again in the mirror.

Gu Yao raised a brow. “From the way you’re looking at me, I take it you’re very satisfied.”

Zhu Shengxi tugged at the corner of his lips, his voice extremely low. “Let’s go with this one.”

Gu Yao bit her lip and smiled, turning around to say, “Okay, then I’ll change out of it first.”

Who knew that just as she finished speaking, Zhu Shengxi caught her hand. “Wear it out.”

Gu Yao said nothing, only standing there.

Their distance was as close as could be, her hand tangled in his fingers.

For a moment, it almost seemed as if she saw a deep world in the eyes of the man before her, where clear lakes lay still on the surface, while undercurrents shifted in the depths. The water shimmered brightly above, but below it was bottomless.

She had dreamed of those same eyes that night.

Thinking of that, Gu Yao said, “Oh right, I suddenly got a little curious. What was your room like when you were at Lixin before? Was it one person to a room? Do you have photos?”

Zhu Shengxi’s expression didn’t change. “Given Lixin’s conditions, how could there be single rooms? There are photos, I just happened to take a couple the last time I went back.”

As he spoke, he took out his phone, swiped a few times, and handed it to Gu Yao.

Gu Yao took it and looked. It was a room with not much light. The window was very small and directly faced the door. Four bunk beds stood in the four corners of the room, and two sets of cabinets sat against the wall between two of the beds. It was more or less the layout of a college dorm, plain and unremarkable.

And unlike the cramped room that looked like a storage space she had dreamed of that day.

Gu Yao handed the phone back to Zhu Shengxi.

Zhu Shengxi asked, “Why did you suddenly ask about this?”

Gu Yao frowned, confused. “Actually, I dreamed about you the night before last.”

“Dreamed of me at Lixin?”

“If I go by the photo, maybe not. In the dream, you were probably sixteen or seventeen. You were in a very small room. As soon as you opened the door, there was a desk. The desk was right under the window, and one step to the side was a single bed, unbelievably small. You were leaning against the desk, smoking.”

After hearing the description, Zhu Shengxi looked somewhat dazed, then smiled. “I know where you’re talking about. After I got into high school, I moved out of Lixin and found a low-rent place a little closer to school. The rent was very cheap, and I could afford it by doing part-time work.”

Only then did Gu Yao understand. “I remember you said we met at the high school, right?”

“Mm.”

“I went to your low-rent apartment back then?”

“Mm, you came often.”

Silence fell.

Gu Yao murmured, “So that’s how it was.”

Then suddenly, a touch of warmth appeared by her ear. Zhu Shengxi gently tucked the loose strands there behind her ear.

Then he said, “Looks like you’ve already remembered some things from before.”

Gu Yao sighed. “It’s just a dream. Other than this, I got nothing.”

“Don’t rush. Take it slowly.”

As he spoke, Zhu Shengxi led Gu Yao outside.

Gu Yao said, “So that’s how it is. You started smoking when you were in high school. Did you drink too, besides smoking? Did you get into fights and cause trouble? Were you a delinquent?”

She fired off several questions in a row. Zhu Shengxi listened and let out a low laugh, answering rather casually, “Yeah, I was.”

“Then what about me?”

“You were always an outstanding student, a backbone of the grade, top in both conduct and academics.”

“Then how did I end up hanging around with you?”

“Mm… maybe you were curious about the delinquent world, or maybe it was out of sympathy?”

“But over the past year, I don’t think I’ve seen you smoke. You don’t even have the slightest smell of tobacco on you.”

“A year ago, you had just barely gotten your life back. Your body was weak, and I had to take care of you often. I was afraid the smell of smoke would make you uncomfortable, so I quit.”

Quitting smoking should have been a painful thing, but he said it as lightly as if it were nothing.

Gu Yao shook her head in disbelief.

Seeing that, Zhu Shengxi asked, “What, you don’t believe me?”

Gu Yao said, “No, I just think your change was huge, really inspiring. A delinquent turned young business tycoon, and you were even selected before as one of Jiangcheng’s Top Ten Outstanding Young People. You’re truly the perfect model of a rebellious youth turning good.”

A second later, Gu Yao asked, “What caused such a big change in you?”

By then, they had reached the outer room, where Emma was packing the jewelry at the counter.

Zhu Shengxi stopped, his brows and eyes lowered. Then he pulled Gu Yao closer by the hand and whispered in her ear, “What do you think?”

Gu Yao shrank her neck a little, just about to speak, when the boutique door opened.

A woman walked in. Zhu Shengxi lifted his eyelids and just happened to see her, the smile on his face vanishing instantly.

Gu Yao turned back to look and was also stunned.

The visitor was none other than Du Tong, cold-faced and as indifferent as water.