“Yes, I’m Gu Nianzhi. And you are?” Gu Nianzhi also carefully surveyed Dou Qingyan. Although Gu Nianzhi already knew the woman’s name, she hadn’t introduce herself when she came over to call away Huo Shaoheng earlier. As a matter of fact, Dou Qingyan hadn’t looked at Gu Nianzhi the entire time. Anyone would be unhappy to be so blatantly ignored, and Gu Nianzhi was no exception.
Dou Qingyan smiled, revealing her perfect pearly teeth. “I’m Dou Qingyan and this is my home.” She reached out to place both arms on the arm rests, her position assuming the stance of a queen. Suddenly Gu Nianzhi felt as though she were a little palace servant.
Gu Nianzhizhi frowned as she got up from the soda and sat down on side of the L-shaped sofa beside to them in order to get away from the regal aura that Dou Qingyan was imposing. “Hello, Miss Dou.” Gu Nianzhi nodded respectfully, “The buffet service for your family banquet is quite nice. I like the food and drink.”
Dou Qingyan wasn’t quite satisfied with the title, “Miss Dou.” She narrowed her eyes but brightly responded, “Actually it was my brother and sister who planned this;!it has nothing to do with me. I just came back today and still have jet lag!”
Gu Nianzhi smiled and didn’t say anything more. She took out her phone and proceeded to look through her email.
Dou Qingyan stared coldly at her for a while, then suddenly asked, “Shaoheng is your guardian? He’s been taking care of you for six years?”
Gu Nianzhi sighed internally when she realized Dou Qingyan wouldn’t leave her in peace. She put away her phone and looked up calmly. “Huo Shao used to be my guardian, but I’m an adult now and have no need of one.”
“Really?” Dou Qingyan looked skeptical. “You’ve just turned 18, so you were only 12 when he started caring for you?”
“Yes, Huo Shao saved me and afterwards I grew up with him.” Gu Nianzhi didn’t bother hiding anything: if this woman wanted to pry then Gu Nianzhi would be happy to indulge her.
Dou Qingyan’s heart dropped and grew embittered when she looked at Gu Nianzhi’s exquisite face— the combination of youthful invincibility and beauty frustrated her. “You’ve been with Shaoheng for so long. Do you know how many girlfriends he’s had?” Dou Qingyan leaned forward to whisper to Gu Nianzhi like they were close friends sharing secrets.
Gu Nianzhi was dumbstruck for a second; she hadn’t expected Dou Qingyan to suddenly ask such a personal question. She kept silent for a bit and finally smiled. “That is Huo Shao’s personal business, I’m not sure. You should go and ask him if you want to know so badly.”
“You don’t know? Even you don’t know?” Dou Qingyan’s elation was grossly apparent and her voice trembled as she asked, “Has he been single the last six years?!”
Gu Nianzhi was upset by the woman’s exaggerated passion. Lady, I really don’t know what to tell you! She thought exasperatedly.
Dou Qingyan confirmed her suspicions when she saw that Gu Nianzhi was quiet. She excitedly leaned against the sofa and rubbed between her brows with her fingers while muttering, “Had he felt the same way as I had? Did he regret it?”
After Dou Qingyan’s round of excitement, she began to see Gu Nianzhi is a more caring way. She nudged closer to her. “Nianzhi, can I call you that?” Dou Qingyan asked kindly as she smoothed Gu Nianzhi’s hair. Gu Nianzhi instantly felt chilled to the bone. She didn’t understand where Dou Qingyan’s “caring” attitude suddenly came from.
“Nianzhi, even you don’t know if Shaoheng had any new girlfriends, even though you’ve always been with him—so that means he doesn’t have one, right?” Dou Qingyan held Gu Nianzhi’s hand— she was determined to get the information out of the girl.
Gu Nianzhi could feel her smile grow stiff as she used all her strength to pull her hand away from Dou Qingyan. She managed a terse smile as she stressed her words. “I really don’t know if Huo Shao has a girlfriend or not, so I don’t dare misinform you. If you want to know, I think it’s better you ask him yourself.”
“But, I’m too scared to ask.” Dou Qingyan found Gu Nianzhi to be extremely adorable and mature and couldn’t help sharing her feelings with her. “He was so good to me in the beginning and everyone envied me. I always thought we would be together forever, but who would have known…” Dou Qingyan trailed off.
Gu Nianzhi’s heart sank. Although she didn’t want to believe He Zhichu’s words, what Dou Qingyan was saying made her anxious. “Huo Shao was very good to you in the beginning? When was this? How was he good to you?” Gu Nianzhi blinked her shiny and innocent eyes at Dou Qingyan: she made it seem as though she wanted to have a heart to heart.
Dou Qingyan smiled shyly and said, “This was already six or seven years ago; he was really good to me back then. When we went out, he would always hold my hand like he was scared I’d get lost. When we went out for dates, he made all the plans and I just had to show up, or…” Dou Qingyan continued to be immersed in her reminiscing while Gu Nianzhi’s expression grew dark. She couldn’t help interrupting Dou Qingyan and asked, “You said that you… had lived together before?”
“Yes!” Dou Qingyan said as she took out her phone. “See, I still have pictures from back then.” She opened the photo gallery and swiped through it excitedly with Gu Nianzhi.
Initially, Gu Nianzhi had still been dubious and hadn’t been inclined to believe the woman at all. However, she gawked as soon as she saw the photos on Dou Qingyan’s phone. There were indeed many photos of them together. Huo Shaoheng looked very young, even younger than when Gu Nianzhi first met him six years ago. He was fresh-faced and handsome, his hair worn casually with a bit of a natural curl, unlike the short and clean style he sported now. The photos of them taken at home were very beautiful. There was Huo Shaoheng laughing in the kitchen as he held a bunch of grapes with one hand and plucking a single fruit off with the other to feed Dou Qingyan. She, in turn, looked up at Huo Shaoheng with a smile, adoration glittering in her eyes. There was another one of Huo Shaoheng reading in a wicker chair under the sun, a cup of tea on the small wooden table beside him. Dou Qingyan wore a white loose fit sweater, sitting on the ground against his leg, holding a Persian cat. Huo Shaoheng’s other hand was resting on Dou Qingyan’s head, and her eyes crinkled into a cheeky smile. Lastly, there was a more revealing photo of them in bed. The selfie showed Huo Shaoheng was in a white T-shirt, nestled in the white pillow and sheets, eyes closed in a deep sleep. Dou Qingyan wore a pale green silk slip with lace trim and lay beside him with one hand propped under her chin as she watched the sleeping Huo Shaoheng. The love in her eyes was unmistakable.
Seeing these pictures, Gu Nianzhi’s breathing stopped for a moment. All the voices in the room grew mute in her ears, and she couldn’t hear anything from the outside world anymore. Only the sound of her heartbeat remained as it beat in steady aches. She was completely rigid but attempted to keep her composure. She finally returned to normal after a few moments. The other sounds in the room became audible to her once again, and Dou Qingyan was still telling her about the wonderful past between her and Huo Shaoheng. As if watching from afar, Gu Nianzhi heard her own voice coldly ask, “Since you and Huo Shao were so good together, then why did you break up?”
Dou Qingyan froze. “Why did we break up?” She repeated the question and frowned for a long time before finally saying slowly, “Oh, we separated because of a misunderstanding. You wouldn’t understand…”
“Of course I wouldn’t understand if you didn’t tell me.” Gu Nianzhi’s voice was crisp and icy, “But you don’t have to bother telling me, you just have to make sure to explain to Huo Shao clearly.”
“There’s no way to explain.” Dou Qingyan shook her head helplessly, “You really don’t understand, what we had… Oh, there’s no easy to explain a misunderstanding… So what if I even explained? I love him so much, why does he need me to explain?”
“I don’t think there are any misunderstandings that can’t be explained.” Gu Nianzhi’s jealousy had reached its tipping point and she couldn’t help sneering at Dou Qingyan, “If you think it’s not possible to explain, then it’s either not a misunderstanding, or there’s a problem with your ability to express yourself. That’s a congenital intelligence deficiency, there’s no drug that can treat you for that, and there’s no way around it.”