Chen Tao left, Teddy was indulging in sleep, and the house became quiet as if only the non-speaking furniture remained. Gu Siyu and Huo Junxian, the two lively individuals, one on the upper floor and the other on the lower floor, drew a clear boundary as if neither was willing to actively intrude into each other's territory.
When it was time, Huo Junxian went to the kitchen to cook and clean, still the same beautiful and mature wife. Gu Siyu lay on the upper floor, contemplating how to continue. Should she become a useless person and let Huo Junxian take care of her? Or should she trouble her and test her patience?
But Huo Junxian was a patient person.
At first, she acted like a fool, sometimes bouncing around, asking Huo Junxian to accompany her, and other times climbing onto the bed, attempting to force love on Huo Junxian. Huo Junxian always smiled and called her cute, even cooperated with her acting, saying she was so afraid.
Now, when she caused trouble with Huo Junxian, Huo Junxian might think she needed to be tamed. Just think about it... it was so damn funny.
This was the consequence of provoking a crazy beauty!
There was no good outcome.
Gu Siyu sighed and pounded the bed with force, buried in the pillow.
Uncomfortable, so uncomfortable, really uncomfortable.
What should she do!
At mealtime, Huo Junxian took a dining bell, stood in the living room, shook it, and Teddy immediately woke up. Teddy came down from upstairs to the second floor, knocked on Gu Siyu's door, and called out to the person inside.
Gu Siyu propped herself up with her arms, opened the door, and Teddy was still squatting outside. He stuck out his tongue at her, then ran downstairs. Gu Siyu, wearing ill-fitting shoes, walked downstairs in a messy manner.
Huo Junxian made pancakes and meat soup. She separately warmed up a portion for Teddy, who sat between her and Gu Siyu, wearing a bib. As it got colder, Huo Junxian even put a coat on Teddy. It looked cute and obedient.
During the period from dawn to night, the two hardly spoke. In the afternoon, Gu Siyu didn't go upstairs. She sat on the sofa, playing with her phone, messaging He Xiao to ask how things were. He Xiao's involvement in this matter was innocent, and Gu Siyu felt guilty towards her.
To be on the safe side, she planned not to go into business with He Xiao anymore. But she was afraid that suddenly taking back the money might affect He Xiao, so she hesitated for a long time before asking He Xiao for her opinion and listened to He Xiao's arrangements.
After sending the message, He Xiao didn't reply, but it was Duan Jiayang who responded to Gu Siyu. Duan Jiayang told her not to worry, give He Xiao some time to calm down, and said she would go check on He Xiao. She constantly reassured Gu Siyu not to worry.
Gu Siyu replied with a "okay" but still couldn't completely relax.
After a brief conversation, Duan Jiayang suddenly said something inexplicable: [He Xiao will like you. It's quite puzzling.]
Whether it was a sigh or a doubt, it sounded sharp in Gu Siyu's ears. She replied ambiguously: [Maybe I sincerely treat her well.]
Duan Jiayang entered the typing state and quickly went silent without sending any messages.
Gu Siyu: [That day, you anticipated that something would happen and ran back alone, leaving her alone there. It was quite ruthless, considering she had considered you a good friend for so many years.]
Duan Jiayang: [If you truly treat her well, you shouldn't have involved her. Wasn't this incident caused by you? I really had something that day; I genuinely considered her a friend.]
Gu Siyu: [Then, take good care of your friend.]
Being sarcastic left the other person speechless, and the conversation ended.
At night, Teddy was sleepy, and no matter how much they called him for dinner, he wouldn't wake up. Huo Junxian carried Teddy upstairs and took a bath herself, cleaning up before coming to the living room, wearing a thick nightgown.
Gu Siyu knew she would come over but pretended not to notice. She put her phone down, gaze fixed on the TV in the living room, playing a plot that no normal person would watch.
A plot where the male lead was a young intellectual in the village, and urban women fell in love with him. All the village women were blind to the point of wanting to marry him. When love became complicated, they engaged in various entanglements, and eventually, a large group of people became pregnant, took college exams, and whoever went to whose family as a successor. Someone still had to endure the mother-in-law's beatings.
The entire plot was nonsense.
Huo Junxian stood in front of her, blocking her line of sight. Gu Siyu didn't look away. Huo Junxian pulled the string of her nightgown, revealing black fabric that loosely covered her chest.
Gu Siyu tilted her head back, and Huo Junxian's lips approached hers, kissing her lips, biting them one by one, almost taking Gu Siyu's breath away. Gu Siyu leaned back, panting.
Huo Junxian once again caught her hand and pressed it against her chest, saying, "it's cold."
Some say they undress faster when they're cold.
It's as if body temperature can surpass everything, warmer than anything else.
Initially, Gu Siyu didn't respond to her. It wasn't until Huo Junxian kissed her chin that she firmly grabbed Huo Junxian's chin and forcefully kissed her back.
Clearly, when they applied the ointment earlier, both of them were stimulated, but at that time, it wasn't dark yet, so both chose to endure.
Huo Junxian lifted Gu Siyu's leg to examine her injury, making sure her swelling had subsided. Satisfied with the progress, she moved on to the next step. One was silent, the other transformed from being reserved to talkative, both exerting effort like in a fight, trying to make the other compromise.
Every sentence was whispered into Gu Siyu's ear as if fearing she wouldn't hear. Huo Junxian poured out everything, pleasant and unpleasant, extremely unpleasant, exposing all kinds of true nature.
Gu Siyu, Gu Siyu, Gu Siyu...
Her soul was almost shattered by Huo Junxian's calls. Her cold heart was repeatedly warmed by her, warmed to the point of boiling. Gu Siyu was truly grateful that she had changed her name early and secretly.
Otherwise, she might have lost herself because of Huo Junxian's words, and she wouldn't have the heart to change her own wretched name. It was terrifying how Huo Junxian could be like this...
Gu Siyu flipped over, taking control of Huo Junxian and glaring at her with her eyes, warning her not to go further. She had suppressed her.
Huo Junxian's forehead was soaked with sweat, her thin lips moved, and when she exhaled, she blew Gu Siyu's hair, looking somewhat submissive, even a bit pitiful as she said, "Gu Siyu..."
"You're really shameless," Gu Siyu stared at her fiercely, showing no mercy. She knew that Huo Junxian's mouth and face were good at disguising.
These two phrases were repeated back and forth.
The battle ended, and the two of them huddled on the sofa.
...
Gu Siyu was sleeping with her eyes closed, and Huo Junxian's hand rested on her waist as she whispered, "A bit crowded."
Gu Siyu thought, how could it not be crowded, unless they slept head to toe. Otherwise, how could they fit on the sofa?
She turned over, facing away from Huo Junxian. "This way, it's not crowded."
Huo Junxian probably felt it was indeed not crowded and didn't say anything more. She moved her body, and Gu Siyu felt her hand slipping down to her waist, trying to cuddle with her.
Finally, she forcefully hugged her small abdomen, insisting on sleeping close to her.
Huo Junxian's lips approached her neck and kissed her.
Gu Siyu couldn't understand why Huo Junxian, a rich young lady, a well-bred woman, could be so shameless and unrestrained.
...
In daily life, Huo Junxian was a very gentle and refined person. When the day broke, just as the sky turned pale, Gu Siyu got up and had just finished putting on her clothes when she heard a melodious sound of a piano. She listened carefully, and the sound came from the upstairs music room.
The music room was large, not yet fully decorated. In the entire room, there was only a white piano. The white floor made the room seem very chilly. In this huge house, Huo Junxian sat in front of the piano, holding a cigarette between her fingertips. Gu Siyu, who had been with her for a long time, saw her touching a cigarette for the first time. However, she didn't smoke it. She lit the cigarette with her right hand, watched the smoke rise, and then blew on the cigarette, placing it on the piano stand.
Then, she began to play.
The music went from gentle to climax, from soft to rapid.
She sat in front of the piano, playing with great concentration.
Her hair was tied up, leaving only a strand on the side of her face that fluttered gracefully with her movements.
The black evening gown on her body made her look graceful, to the point that when the melody became a bit mournful, Gu Siyu felt she was expressing sadness.
Huo Junxian kept her eyes closed all the time, and it was unclear what emotions she was feeling.
Gu Siyu leaned against the door and listened. She didn't go inside, just quietly listened. She heard Huo Junxian sigh a few times. She hadn't learned the piano, so she couldn't recognize the piece, but she could only roughly think, "It sounds beautiful. She really can do everything."
Indeed, there were people like her. Just looking at her appearance, she was enchanting and beautiful, but when the superficial layer peeled off, she made people reluctant to approach.
After the piano piece ended, Huo Junxian prepared to go out, taking Gu Siyu along.
Gu Siyu didn't know where Huo Junxian was going. Seeing the bodyguards packing two suitcases, her first reaction was that Huo Junxian wanted to imprison her, taking her to an unfamiliar place. Before getting on the car, she struggled a bit, but her efforts were futile under the control of the bodyguards.
As the car drove out of the city, when it stopped, Gu Siyu refused to get off. In the end, unable to resist her, Huo Junxian got off first. She took a bunch of flowers from the bodyguard before leaving.
Chen Tao stayed in the car with Gu Siyu. He didn't follow them, pushed open the car door himself, leaned against the car, lit a cigarette, and smoked with a sigh. "Mr. Huo is a very good person."
Gu Siyu furrowed her brows, looking up at him, slowly reacting. Huo Junxian had brought her to the cemetery.
She asked Chen Tao, "What day is it today?"
Chen Tao glanced at her and said, "It's Mr. Huo's death anniversary. This is a cemetery, can't you see?"
Indeed, she couldn't see. The cemetery was built too grandly, and besides, Gu Siyu had no relatives or reasons to visit such places. Today was her first time in a cemetery.
"I heard her playing the piano this morning," Gu Siyu said.
Chen Tao said, "That piano was custom-made for her by Mr. Huo. Originally intended as a birthday gift, but it was not delivered to her before Mr. Huo unexpectedly passed away. When the piano was ready to be delivered to her, it happened to be at Mr. Huo's funeral."
Gu Siyu remained silent.
Chen Tao sighed, "In this life, there are always some regrets that make people deeply emotional, no matter how long the experience lasts. Mr. Huo is also a unfortunate person."
"I think everyone faces difficulties in life. I feel it's not that bad," Gu Siyu replied.
Chen Tao intentionally said this, hoping to make Huo Junxian sound more pitiful, so that Gu Siyu would soften her attitude. However, when Gu Siyu responded, her gaze retracted, appearing indifferent.
However, Chen Tao had no idea that Gu Siyu's heart had softened in the morning, otherwise, no one could have forced her onto the car today. She could have easily banged her head on the car, causing herself to bleed, just to prove a point.
The more one cares, the more one's heart aches for someone, and the more one must make oneself appear indifferent and calm.
In this world, everyone is constantly putting on a performance, every moment. For example, looking out of the window, you might think she is calmly watching the wind with no emotions. Her eyelids are half closed, and everything seems peaceful. But in reality, her heart may be in chaos, hesitating on whether to get off the car or stay inside. You might think she is as steady as a mountain, but the dust on the ground is like flames in her eyes, and she is afraid, always feeling that taking one more step will lead to irreparable disaster.
Gu Siyu is not a big fan of literature. After dropping out of school, she rebelliously tore apart textbooks and never had the patience to read books again. However, when it comes to Huo Junxian, she becomes sentimental, very sentimental.
She even often can't help but act like a poet with a limited vocabulary.
Chen Tao opens the car door again, "Do you want to go over and take a look?"
Considering the deceased, Gu Siyu thinks she should.
Chen Tao takes her up, and at the entrance of the cemetery, just as Gu Siyu is about to climb the steps, her gaze catches Huo Junxian. She stops in her tracks.
In this weather, the cold wind has been blowing, making these upright tombstones seem even more desolate. There is no one else in the cemetery, only Huo Junxian, alone in mourning.
Huo Junxian's black coat is blown open, flowers are placed on the ground, her hands gripping the tombstone, and her posture is not perfectly straight. There's a moment when it seems like she's about to kiss the tombstone.
She caresses the edges of the tombstone, lips pursed, as if whispering secrets to her father. The wind blows, tousling her hair and making her look disheveled.
Gu Siyu's hands are in her pockets. Leaning against a nearby evergreen tree, the leaves are blown towards Huo Junxian, wrapping around her feet. Huo Junxian lowers her eyes to the ground, picks up the leaves, and holds them in her palm, looking at them for a long time.
Long enough for her body to grow cold and her nose to feel the sting of the wind.
Huo Junxian puts the leaves in her pocket, a faint smile on her lips. She takes one last look at the tombstone and turns, walking out of the cemetery step by step.
Gu Siyu doesn't go to pay her respects. When Huo Junxian comes down and gets into the car, sitting in the back, playing with the leaf, Gu Siyu uses the remote to adjust the display randomly.
Chen Tao asks Huo Junxian with concern, "How was it today?"
"Hmm, I found a leaf, it fell from the sky," Huo Junxian treasures it, a pampered person like her shouldn't be so childish, but she feels it fell from the sky, a gift from her father.
Gu Siyu leans to the side, fingers randomly pressing on the remote. She almost says something but stops herself. The leaf clearly fell due to the wind, just happened to land at her feet. If she had stood there a bit longer, a pile of leaves could have fallen. It had no significance.
Sometimes coincidences are also a kind of gift.
That's how Huo Junxian sees it. She turns the leaf over, looking at the veins on the back, sniffing it, detecting a faint scent of green apples.
"He liked to eat apples. I didn't bring any for him today, maybe he's blaming me."
"No, you forget, Mr. Huo had a toothache during that time and couldn't eat apples. How could he blame you?" Chen Tao says.
"Hmm."
The two of them fall silent, each engrossed in their own thoughts. At one point, Gu Siyu glances at the window and realizes they're on the highway, not heading back.
Gu Siyu starts to panic. She turns her head to look at Huo Junxian, who has stopped playing with the leaf. She adjusts the massage function on the seat and closes her eyes to rest.
"Huo Junxian," she calls out.
Huo Junxian doesn't respond. She calls again.
In the front, Chen Tao replies, "Miss wants to take you out to relax. Isn't Christmas coming up? Just treat it as a festive outing."
"Christmas?" Gu Siyu recalls receiving an apple from a male student in high school, barely considering it a Christmas celebration.
Since then, she hasn't paid much attention to this holiday.
Chen Tao shouts a few times, telling her not to disturb Huo Junxian, and Gu Siyu reluctantly wakes her up.
"Gu Siyu, I'm sleepy," Huo Junxian blinks.
Gu Siyu ignores her, angry with Huo Junxian, wanting to break free from her but unable to resist listening to her voice.
She can't help but hate Huo Junxian. What exactly does this woman want?
Gu Siyu remains motionless. Huo Junxian hugs her, even though the seat has everything one needs to rest comfortably. It would be much more comfortable for her to lie down. But she insists on sticking to Gu Siyu, clinging to her tightly.
Gu Siyu is held tightly by her, unable to break free. Huo Junxian sleeps against her, as if being cute and unwilling to let go.
Gu Siyu is furious but can't do anything. What does this woman really want?
-----------------------
Translator's note: I think she only really wants someone to love her genuinely. Sigh... You can't really force someone to love you.
TO BE CONTINUE...