Money is not always all-powerful. Despite throwing out the most tempting conditions, Huo Junxian still couldn't take over the club. The boss was hesitant and afraid to offend her, constantly speaking good words to her, hoping she would come to play often in the future.
Huo Junxian smiled and said it was okay. She didn't buy the club, and she didn't get angry. Her thoughts were hard to fathom. Was she really planning to invest crazily in this club, or was she testing the person behind the club?
Gu Siyu came out of the bathroom and stood in the corridor, enjoying the breeze. She smoked one cigarette after another; sometimes this stuff could alleviate the pain.
When Huo Junxian came out, Gu Siyu finished rinsing her mouth, and the two went to a nearby restaurant for dinner.
"Don't buy it." Gu Siyu cut the steak with a knife and fork. People in the restaurant spoke in hushed tones, and the band played a soothing tune, Rain fell outside.
"Hmm?" Huo Junxian looked at her.
Thinking about how to explain, Gu Siyu felt distressed when Huo Junxian spent money recklessly, especially because she had no need to do so.
"I won't go to that club anymore," Gu Siyu said.
Huo Junxian raised an eyebrow, making a soft sound of acknowledgment.
Gu Siyu said, "Don't waste your money. Use it for other investments. Earn a lot of money every day. Isn't that good?"
"Because I like money. It's hard for me to see you losing money. You should invest in something profitable, make a lot of money, be smart, and be the strategic young lady. I'm begging you, okay."
Huo Junxian thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.
There had to be someone who compromised. Gu Siyu cut the steak forcefully, turned her head, and with red eyes, said, "Why is the music played so sadly? Is it like this in high-end restaurants?"
Huo Junxian raised her hand to signal the conductor to come over and changed to another lively rhythm, Vivaldi's Violin Concerto in F Minor, "Winter."
"This is good." Gu Siyu fed herself a piece of steak.
As they listened, it seemed like the rain outside was getting heavier.
The restaurant provided umbrellas for customers. Gu Siyu took a black umbrella and, with it open, they strolled along the street. Raindrops splashed on their pants, and both of them ended up with wet cuffs. Huo Junxian wore leather shoes, and after walking a few steps, Gu Siyu squatted down, lifted her shoelaces from the water, and tied a bow for her.
When she stood up, Huo Junxian handed her a handkerchief. Gu Siyu asked, "Don't you have tissues?"
"Use this for now," Huo Junxian said.
"I don't think it's just 'for now.'" Gu Siyu wiped her shoulder and tucked the handkerchief into her pocket. The two continued walking along the street.
The rain gradually turned into a storm, and their umbrella nearly flipped. Seeking shelter, they found a nearby milk tea shop. Customers were rushing inside, and only two seats remained.
Two guys rushed ahead, but Gu Siyu entered first, placing the umbrella on the table and claiming a seat without much courtesy. She let Huo Junxian sit there.
The two guys stared at her actions dryly. Gu Siyu raised an eyebrow, and they dared not say much. Gu Siyu ordered a large bucket of fruit tea. Having just eaten, they couldn't fit in more food, so they shared the tea, one using a straw, the other a spoon.
Their seats faced the window. Inside the noisy shop, with the band playing, they couldn't hear the rain. Gu Siyu took out her earphone case and gave one to Huo Junxian.
Listening to popular songs she found while browsing videos, the tunes were both sad and melancholic. Because they weren't well-categorized, a sad love song could suddenly transition to a trendy upbeat track.
Gu Siyu looked at Huo Junxian's reflection in the glass. Huo Junxian seemed to enjoy it, occasionally tapping her fingers on the table. Gu Siyu glanced at Huo Junxian several times, and Huo Junxian did the same. They locked eyes through the glass window.
Rain, oh, rain, keep falling for a bit longer. Preserve this beautiful moment.
Like all the girls in love in the city, they held an umbrella together, hoping the road would get longer, and the rain would fall longer. Without saying it aloud, their hearts were silently pleading.
At half-past nine, the milk tea shop changed shifts, and customers gradually disappeared. The fruit tea on the table was almost finished, with a few pieces of uneatable lemon remaining.
They didn't stay longer. They called the bodyguard to bring the car, and as they left, the rain still showed no sign of stopping. Gu Siyu got into the car and handed the umbrella to a girl running in the rain.
The car drove to the residential area. It was the same area where Gu Siyu lived. After going upstairs, they showered and went to bed. With the rain outside, the cold air had crept in, making both of them feel chilly. At night, their bodies were tightly pressed against each other.
The weather didn't clear up afterward. It kept raining continuously. Returning from the club, Huo Junxian didn't like going out much. She persuaded Gu Siyu not to go out, taking advantage of the changing weather. It rained a lot outside, and Huo Junxian "reasonably" kept Gu Siyu tightly in her embrace.
Gu Siyu could feel Huo Junxian tightening her embrace once again, leaving her only a small space, confining her to that small space. Now that they didn't have a pet, they mostly huddled in bed, doing nothing.
Huo Junxian, as if playing with a toy, re-tied Gu Siyu's wrists to her own. Shortly after, she bound their feet together.
Gu Siyu never resisted or struggled.
"I really want to lock you up," Huo Junxian put her hands on her waist, lips touching her ear. "I really want..."
As she spoke, she unintentionally revealed more, "I really want you to only see me, only kiss me, only belong to me, tightly possessed by me."
The rain tapped on the window. Huo Junxian pulled the curtain shut, leaving only the two of them in the room.
Huo Junxian promised she wouldn't actually lock her up, but in her mind, she had played out this scenario many times. She placed this person on the bed.
Then she sealed all doors and windows, leaving only her, visible only to her.
The two couldn't feel the love anymore. The possession and resistance had turned into a frenzy, like a couple who had been in love for a long time, sharing the same bed but dreaming different dreams. Still, they longed to return to the old days, but because of a little friction, they quarreled fiercely.
Gu Siyu went to the balcony to hang some clothes. Huo Junxian followed her. Gu Siyu, facing away, arranged the hangers and felt Huo Junxian's gaze on her feet. Huo Junxian asked if she wanted to run. Gu Siyu answered no, and Huo Junxian suggested sealing the balcony.
"I feel like you don't love me," Huo Junxian suddenly said.
Gu Siyu felt uncomfortable. Her chest tightened, making it hard to breathe. She ran into the room, gasping for air. Huo Junxian quickly went over, patting her back gently. Later that night, she insisted on taking her to the hospital. After a thorough examination, they found no health issues.
Huo Junxian didn't give up finding out who helped Gu Siyu leave. Unbeknownst to her, the person who assisted Gu Siyu was downstairs.
It proved the saying: The most dangerous place is the safest place.
At night, Gu Siyu told Huo Junxian that she wanted to do it. She bit Huo Junxian's ear, teasing her.
They indulged in each other for a long time, understanding each other well, entwined passionately.
Gasping for breath, both lay on the bed. Sleep came more profoundly than usual. Gu Siyu struggled to sit up, but Huo Junxian felt her body move twice. Gu Siyu kissed her on the forehead, patted her shoulder to reassure her, and Huo Junxian slowly fell asleep again.
Gu Siyu sorted the trash bin, organized the house a bit, making the surroundings less chaotic and dirty.
She was busy for a long time, also giving herself time to think. When she returned to look at Huo Junxian, her emotions had calmed down, and her breathing had become steady. Huo Junxian, sleeping with a frowning face, sensed the absence of the person on the bed. Her expression turned unpleasant, and her face wrinkled.
These days, Huo Junxian probably didn't look at her with joy. It was just because of this entanglement that she tightly clung to her, feeling that possession brought happiness.
Gu Siyu reached into her pocket, pulled out a piece of paper, crumpled one corner of it repeatedly, and finally stuffed it back. Placing the pillow under Huo Junxian, she stood by the bed without moving her legs for a long time. Her phone in her pocket lit up.
Ye Qinghe: 【No time to dawdle.】
Gu Siyu went to open the door, but it didn't open despite several attempts. The sound was a bit loud, and she peered through the door crack, discovering a chain on the doorknob.
She genuinely had no idea this was here. She hadn't paid attention to it every morning when she woke up. She tried a few times but couldn't open it. Ye Qinghe eventually came up to open the door for her. Ye Qinghe glanced at the chain, smiling, "You still play this?"
Looking inside, Gu Siyu quickly closed the door. Ye Qinghe reached for the chain, planning to loop it around a couple of times. Gu Siyu extended her hand to stop her, taking the chain and tucking it into her pocket.
"Lock this room; you have more time then," Ye Qinghe suggested. "She's binding you, and you can take the opportunity to retaliate against her."
"As long as there's enough time to escape," Gu Siyu said, her hands in her pockets. "There's no need for anything else."
Ye Qinghe looked at her and coldly said, "If you get caught again, it'll be your own fault."
Gu Siyu just nodded.
Coming down from upstairs was smooth. She didn't see the bodyguards who usually roamed around here. They were vigilant, especially when the two of them rested.
Ye Qinghe said, "This place is mostly filled with mistresses kept by the bosses. Those men wander around the community all day long, and the mistresses have to keep their heads down. They've been annoyed for a while. I've received complaints these days, scolded the property management on the phone a couple of times, and they went to mediate."
They got into the car smoothly.
Gu Siyu sat in the back, holding her phone. Ye Qinghe first took Gu Siyu to a club, but she didn't want to go in. Ye Qinghe didn't quite understand and changed to wait for someone else in a different place. Gu Siyu needed assistance in handling various visas for her trip abroad.
It didn't take long, and they spent about ten minutes in the new location. Ye Qinghe called someone to accompany her on the plane. Gu Siyu had never been abroad and couldn't speak much English.
Gu Siyu kept her head down, looking at her phone. She noticed there were cigarettes on the table, so she lit one.
The night before, the two of them had argued, and Huo Junxian had brought up the issue of her identity, curious about why her information had become a blank slate.
Huo Junxian had searched for her ID in her pocket, comforting and coaxing her to show it. Gu Siyu couldn't find it because she had already handed her ID over to process the documents.
Now, Gu Siyu took out her ID, fingers pressing on the new name. When Ye Qinghe looked over, she raised her hand and stuffed the ID into her pocket.
"You can't even show it to me?" Ye Qinghe lifted her hand, with a cigarette pinched between her fingertips. Her wrist adorned a sparkling jade bracelet, making her delicate wrists appear slender. She swayed it a bit with a touch of show-off, "A gift from my sister."
"Duan Xiqian?" Gu Siyu asked.
"Qi Yuanhan."
Ye Qinghe was exceptionally beautiful, exuding a fairy-like charm. She had a captivating allure, drawing anyone who saw her. Speaking of her "sister," she would smile even more enchantingly, her lips carrying a hint of smoke, presenting herself like a captivating enchantress.
Judging solely by her demeanor and appearance, one would be inclined to pamper her.
The woman she liked, however, leaned towards coldness. One exuded fiery passion, while the other was icy and cold. In a sense, they complemented each other well.
Gu Siyu acknowledged with a sound. Her fingers were tucked into her pocket, holding a small dog tag. She didn't understand why she took this—perhaps it was the first gift from Huo Junxian, a memento from that silly dog.
When leaving, people always wanted to take something away.
Especially for someone as greedy as her.
Humans were such creatures. They had to exhaust every emotion, entangling it with various people and matters, only to finally part ways when they couldn't stand each other anymore.
Whenever asked about it, others would inquire: Why not break up?
The answer was always that they were deeply in love at the time. Every faint glimmer of hope was considered a chance to reconcile, desperately trying to grasp it.
Very deep love.
So deep that parting without dignity was the only option.
Parting must be entangled and painful.
Gu Siyu wanted to lie down and have a good sleep. Tortured to this extent, repeatedly procrastinating, unable to take a step, all because she couldn't let go.
Her hands were empty, wanting to reach out and embrace something. Holding it tightly in her arms, it was almost forgotten how to feel the warmth of an embrace because it had been pressed too tightly. She almost forgot what it felt like.
It was so oppressive that they couldn't truly love each other.
This was just too tiring.
Gu Siyu bit on the cigarette, lifted her chin, and exhaled the smoke. The smoke drifted into her eyes, obscuring her vision. She couldn't see anything clearly.
After a few seconds.
Two women passed by on the opposite corridor. They curiously looked into the window. Gu Siyu puffed the smoke in bursts, as if she had seen Huo Junxian's figure, not daring to look closely, hastily getting up.
When the people on the other side looked inside again, there was no one in the private room. Only the ashtray on the table and the unfinished cigarette butt pressed into the ashtray remained.
Of course, the people on the other side were not Huo Junxian.
The night was gentle, no wind, no rain. The entire city sank into an eerie quiet.
Ye Qinghe drove, and Gu Siyu sat in the back. She hadn't spoken since they left the club. The shadow on the glass window kept retreating with the speed of the car.
Ye Qinghe drove slowly. Nobody knew they knew each other, let alone the powerful force behind Ye Qinghe. No one could guess that Gu Siyu was sitting in her car.
The car moved slowly, and Ye Qinghe thought of something. She said, "Actually, I've seen you since I was a child."
"Hmm?" Gu Siyu raised her eyes.
"I have a pretty deep impression of you," Ye Qinghe said. "Back then, my sister hadn't passed away yet. I went to see her, and she bought me an ice popsicle, also gave you one. You didn't want to eat it and kept it until the popsicle melted, leaving only a stick. You sat there crying, saying you wanted to save it for tomorrow, but why couldn't you keep it?"
She spoke without hearing any response from behind. Seeing Gu Siyu on her phone, she asked, "Are you still texting her?"
"No," Gu Siyu replied. "I don't deserve to."
Regarding the things Ye Qinghe mentioned, Gu Siyu couldn't recall them. She had many things she couldn't afford to eat when she was a child, and it wasn't possible for her to remember everything vividly just because she missed one. She said, "Now I can afford to buy popsicles."
After some thought, she added, "Your sister was the best person I ever met, but I didn't cling to her like a fool."
However, Huo Junxian, who couldn't be considered a fool, made her cling to her, made her afraid.
She thought, real light must come with a dazzling dizziness.
When you wanted to get close to seek warmth, you had to raise your hand to shield your eyes. You had to tightly squeeze your arms while making demands and, at the same time, feeling a great fear.
At the airport, Gu Siyu got out of the car, and Ye Qinghe didn't accompany her down. She lightly tapped her fingers on the direction pad.
Ye Qinghe said, "Someone will pick you up over there."
"Okay."
Gu Siyu climbed the stairs.
"Hey."
Ye Qinghe called her again, and Gu Siyu turned to look at her, asking, "What's the matter?"
Ye Qinghe blinked, made a wiping face gesture, and said, "Wipe your tears. You look as ugly as when you were a child."
"Oh."
So, talking about her childhood was a hint.
She just didn't realize it.
Gu Siyu sluggishly wiped her face with her hand.
She went through security to board the plane.
However, the security personnel wouldn't let her pass. They repeatedly scanned her with a device, claiming there was something in her necklace. In that instant, Gu Siyu understood. She opened the dog tag and found a small device inside.
The security personnel said, "It's a tracker. Many dog owners use this."
Gu Siyu took the tracker out and threw it into the trash. After standing for a while, a janitor came to collect the garbage, taking the small tracker with it.
She boarded the plane, but it wasn't that smooth. In the VIP lounge, she unexpectedly encountered Duan Jiayang. They faced each other, and Duan Jiayang asked her where she was going.
Gu Siyu's departure this time wasn't smooth at all. Her heart was racing all the way. Duan Jiayang suddenly became clever, realizing where she was going. She looked behind Gu Siyu but didn't see Huo Junxian.
Her eyes slightly widened. "Are you going abroad? Is Huo Junxian not going?"
Gu Siyu took a step forward, exhaled heavily, and said in a low tone, "I don't have time to talk to you right now. If you dare to talk about today's events, we'll become enemies. I'll hit you every time I see you, and we can never be friends again."
"Really, never be friends again."
It wasn't the arrogant and threatening tone she used before. Her voice was hoarse, and the words were not very clear.
The plane's announcement sounded, and she walked towards the boarding gate.
...
It was already dawn. Huo Junxian lay on the bed.
Beside her was emptiness, and the warmth had long cooled.
The sunlight outside fell on her eyelashes. The disheveled hair clung to her face, and there was a faint bite mark on her protruding collarbone.
Someone had opened the window early, letting the sunlight in, as if deliberately waking her up from her dreams.
Just like people couldn't keep their eyes open all the time, they also couldn't keep their eyes closed when they were awake.
Winter had passed early, and the seasons had cycled several times. It was time to stop living in dreams.
Huo Junxian lay for a long time, until the knocking sound came. Chen Tao had arrived early. He received an anonymous message last night, saying that Huo Junxian was alone here. The message was probably sent because they were afraid she wasn't safe, asking him to come and keep an eye on her.
Chen Tao knocked on the door. "Miss, representatives from the charity organization are here."
No response came from the room. Chen Tao continued, "It was arranged by Miss Gu Siyu."
After a few minutes, the door opened.
Two people wearing charity logo clothes stood outside, a man and a woman. The man glanced at the person who opened the door and quickly lowered his head. The woman said, "Are you Miss Huo? Well, your friend donated some items to us, and we've come to pick them up..."
"Donated items?" Huo Junxian was dressed neatly, every button on her shirt meticulously fastened. She squinted her eyes, looking extremely gloomy. Her words were fast and devoid of warmth, her body emanating a chilling aura.
"Yes." The charity staff took out a list, signed with the name "Gu Siyu," and listed various items. Many things—specifically, a lot of things.
Gu Siyu followed through with her promise to donate the items before leaving.
Really true to her word.
Huo Junxian refrained from uttering the word "go away," but the charity staff assured her, "Don't worry, we won't make a mess. We'll deliver these items to the children."
Huo Junxian leaned against the door, staring stiffly as the staff moved the items, carrying boxes out of the room one by one.
Dirty.
These were her belongings. How could they be dirty?
But this was what she herself had said.
Was Gu Siyu retaliating against her?
When the staff reached the last box, they checked it and didn't move it, saying, "This one is not on the list; it seems to be something Miss Gu left for you."
"Move it away," Huo Junxian said expressionlessly.
However, when the staff went to move it, she chased after them, grabbing the box and saying, "Don't touch it, don't touch it. I told you not to touch it. Put it down."
Huo Junxian sat in the room until the afternoon. The room was empty, with no objects to block the light. The entire room became transparent, and sunlight poured in at an angle, casting a patch of light and shadow.
When she stood up, her legs were sore. She opened the curtains completely. The room was now empty and bright. The sunlight came in diagonally, and outside the window, the weather was clear. The trees below had lost their green color after a few days of washing.
Only then did she come to her senses about what had happened. The room was empty, with only her left. Today, the sun had come out, and she received a receipt. Gu Siyu had donated everything.
They lived in this house, and the boxes were never opened. She stubbornly believed that Gu Siyu should come back with her, so she restrained herself from helping her pack, and Gu Siyu was lazy and didn't bother to tidy up.
Originally, she had always remembered that "dirty."
When Huo Junxuan went to see the last box, she opened the lid and found it in a mess, clearly not the things she had packed and returned to Gu Siyu. It might be what Gu Siyu had arranged during the few months she lived here.
LEGO, glass bottles, paper cutting, books, soap.
Looking at it, there seemed to be no connection, but there was one commonality: roses.
A well-constructed rose with LEGO blocks, glass bottles filled with soap-carved eternal roses, and many paper cuttings formed into floral patterns. Perhaps due to clumsy hands, the cuttings didn't show a clear shape, but the paper was colored with crayons to become pink. Even the books were a complete collection of flower cultivation, with only the pages about roses folded up.
Huo Junxuan had repeatedly asked Gu Siyu the same question, "When you ran away, did you ever think of me?"
Gu Siyu said, "I did, I've been thinking about you all the time, every moment."
Huo Junxuan didn't believe it.
For a runaway, how much truth could there be in their words?
An empty house, the person was gone, and there was nothing left.
Huo Junxuan felt it was very unfair.
She tried everything to find Gu Siyu, but couldn't find her.
She asked someone to trace Gu Siyu's belongings, but the charity organization had already distributed Gu Siyu's things to various welfare homes.
Later, she learned a bit about Gu Siyu's situation. After leaving the juvenile detention center, Gu Siyu was sent to a welfare home. However, due to her age and past criminal record, no one dared to approach her. She had no friends in the welfare home, kept to herself, and had run away from the welfare home. Since then, she had been living alone, and the welfare home occasionally sent her some daily necessities.
Even if Huo Junxuan wanted to recover those things, they were now tainted with the scent of others. She wanted to say it was cruel, but the words stuck in her throat.
Her hands were empty.
Ah.
It was because she had disregarded the consequences and called Gu Siyu "dirty."
How could Gu Siyu be dirty?
She walked repeatedly, and Huo Junxuan's search had become numb. She both hated and missed this person; she was on the verge of collapse.
Huo Junxuan went crazy again, obsessively comparing and replicating the day before Gu Siyu left. She discovered that she no longer had anything of Gu Siyu's, and she was forced to detach herself from this cycle.
She spent money recklessly; since Gu Siyu was afraid she would spend money extravagantly, she went on a mad spending spree. She even went to the police station to report a scam, claiming she had been deceived and asking them to find Gu Siyu.
But it seemed that there was no information about Gu Siyu in this city. She would not be fooled again; this person would not appear again.
She once thought that having nothing meant losing Xiao Yu, losing Gu Siyu. Now, it became clear that having nothing meant everything had turned to nothingness.
She also knew and understood, even if she didn't want to admit it, even if it was twisted, at the moment of bearing the consequences, she vividly realized.
She had hurt Gu Siyu.
Even if it was just a word, "dirty," it could pierce a person's heart, and even with an apology, saying sorry, it would still be heartbreaking.
Huo Junxuan was very sad.
Gu Siyu's departure had left her heart riddled with holes.
--------------------
Author's Note:
I'm going abroad, and I feel so painful.
Writing this kind of plot is really heart-wrenching.
I'm sorry to make you all feel sad on Labor Day.
Translator's note: Ack... This chapter makes me uncomfortable. Sigh... Even me, if someone calls me "dirty," I would secretly cry miserably. Who wants to be called dirty? No one does, including myself. Ugh... it's better for them to temporarily separate; their relationship is too abnormal.
TO BE CONTINUE...