These few days, Gu Li kept smiling and laughing happily as though she had eaten too many sweets. Even Gu Zhun harbored some doubts about whether his sister went bonkers.
"Sister, what's wrong with you? Are you mentally unwell?"
"Nonsense!" Gu Li denied playfully. She broke out into another silly smile and went on to do her own things.
Was it because she was getting married?
These past few days, Zhang Heng was still staying in Gu Zhun's house. The reason why Zhang Heng did not return home was purely because there were too many people living in the Zhang family mansion. It was not convenient for them to do it at night. Furthermore, it was really awkward.
Gu Zhun pondered about it and said: "Seriously... Don't you feel awkward when sister is at home?"
"Hehehe." When they talked about this, Zhang Heng touched his head and kept quiet. It was clear that he did not know how to answer and was instead, stumped by Gu Zhun.
"Can I be rest assured this time around?" Gu Zhun decided to mention the uneasiness in his heart. Other than Zhang Heng, his sister was also someone he depended on heavily and was his closest kin. Gu Zhun didn't even know that Gu Li started dating a new boyfriend. How could he let his sister get married without any worries?
"If it bothers you, I can help you investigate."
"Zhang Heng..."
"Leave it to me!"
Zhang Heng sent a few people to follow Gu Li and found out that she went to a coffee shop after she ended work these past few days.
All these private detectives took clear photos. From these pictures, Zhang Heng could clearly see that there were some transactions going on in this coffee shop. As for whether it was a dirty deal or not... that remained unknown.
If the person whom Gu Li met was the fiance she was about to marry... why would this fiance give money to Gu Li? He even gave so much? Was it a bride price? No, it shouldn't be... During this period of time, Gu Li never brought her 'beloved' home even after she revealed the shocking news about getting married. Wasn't that strange? Shouldn't he give the dowry to Gu Zhun instead? Even if he doesn't give it to Gu Zhun, shouldn't he give it to Gu Li's parents?
Why did he hand Gu Li such a large sum now?
Could it be that...
This fiance was a wealthy young master, but he was ugly? Maybe his family pressured him to get married but there wasn't any girl who was willing. Thus, he decided to use money and ensnared innocent girls to be his wife in name?
That shouldn't be...
It shouldn't be so... exaggerated right? Wasn't this a silly cliche that only appeared in countless romance novels?
Zhang Heng repeatedly looked at the photographs lying on the table and let his thoughts wander. He didn't even respond when Gu Zhun called him.
Without a choice, Gu Zhun had to call Zhang Heng again: "Hey, hey... What's up with you? Recollect your thoughts and pack up. We're about to get off from work."
"Ah..." It was as though Zhang Heng had just woken up from a dream after Gu Zhun called him repeatedly.
He must inform Gu Zhun about this.
"Gu Zhun, hold on for a moment."
"What's the matter?"
Zhang Heng placed the photos in front of Zhang Heng. When Gu Zhun lowered his head to look at the photos, he was roughly able to guess the reason why Zhang Heng had been absentminded.
"Sister..." Now, this made Gu Zhun more worried.
Why did the man give his sister such a huge sum? His sister was just a normal office worker, so it was impossible for her to know a rich man... Even if she did... and married into the family... would his sister be able to gain happiness? There would always be demanding elders that would make things hard for their daughter-in-law... just like the Zhang family. It was alright if this man truly loved his sister and his sister loved him. These problems would not be an obstacle for them. After all, wealthy families would more or less have their own set of problems that normal families didn't have to face.
But based on these photos, the man that his sister found doesn't seem to truly like her. It looked like he had some difficulties so he had to use money to bribe his sister...
Was that really the case?
If that was so, why did his sister agree to such things? Wasn't this simply ridiculous?
"This won't do! I have to look for my sister." Gu Zhun took his bag and rushed out but he was stopped by Zhang Heng the moment he turned to leave.
"Gu Zhun, calm down a little."
"How can I remain calm?!" Gu Zhun flung away Zhang Heng's hand that was holding onto his elbow and his eyebrows furrowed deeply. Gu Zhun's appearance revealed that he was very angry.
How can he remain calm when it came to such things?
Calm down? How can I calm down? Don't joke around!
"Tell me, how can I calm down?!" For the first time, Gu Zhun used all his strength and did something that was out of his character. He seemed to have lost his rationality. He faced Zhang Heng and yelled at the person who loved him and whom he loved. His face flushed from yelling so angrily.
"I know you are very anxious right now and you really want to know the truth... but if you anxiously rushed to look for sister Gu Li, it still wouldn't solve anything."
Zhang Heng grabbed Gu Zhun's hand and placed it on Gu Zhun's chest: "Search yourself. What is sister Gu Li like in your mind?"
"What is my impression of her..."
What is my impression of my sister... ? Zhang Heng, what do you mean by this?
Gu Zhun recalled that ever since his parents got divorced, his sister worked hard to bring him up. Now his sister was was almost thirty years old... His sister really invested a lot in him over these ten years. She was the one who taught him the ways of the world... It was impossible for his sister to be unaware and casually hand over her lifelong happiness to a man who didn't even love her.
Sister... She must be hiding something from him... Even if he asked his sister now, she definitely wouldn't tell him... but what was she hiding?
Gu Zhun calmed down and gradually thought things through.
"What you said was right..." Gu Zhun calmed down. He placed his hands down and lowered his head. Currently, he was like a downcast puppy that had just been scolded by his owner. Gu Zhun muttered an apology: "Zhang Heng... I'm sorry... just now, I yelled and shouted at you... Sorry..."
Zhang Heng pulled Gu Zhun into his arms and sweetly said: "Silly, you don't have to apologize."
You mean the world to me. I am willing to accept everything about you unconditionally.
You mean the world to me. Thank you for accepting everything about me, even my temper.
"Let us continue to observe for a period of time."
"Alright... Let's go home."
"Yes, let's go."
Gu Li did not return home even after they got back. Gu Zhun and Zhang Heng decided to prepare dinner and wait for Gu Li to get off from work before eating together.
After a while, the house phone rang.
Gu Zhun picked up the call and asked: "May I know who you're looking for?"
"Is this Miss Gu Li's friend? I am from XX delivery and there is a package that requires Miss Gu Li's signature."
"Delivery? ... Alright, I will go downstairs and get it."
Gu Zhun hung up the call. From the exchange during the conversation, Zhang Heng was roughly able to guess the contents of the call.
"I will go downstairs to receive a package."
"Okay."
After a while, Gu Zhun came back with a package. Zhang Heng took the package and saw the product details. It was actually blank invitation cards.
"It's true that she is getting married... but why did sister hide it from us and not bring her boyfriend home? After all, they are getting married..."
Before Zhang Heng could reply, Gu Li opened the door and walked into the house.
"Oh! The both of you came home first?" Gu Li put down her bag and coat, "I'll cook dinner. The both of you should be hungry."
"Sister, we cooked dinner already. We were just waiting for you to come back and have our meal together."
"Oh, the both of you did? That's really nice."
Zhang Heng took the package and walked towards Gu Li. He handed the package to her and said: "Sis Gu Li, there is a package for you that contains invitation cards. Shouldn't you give us an explanation as to why you're hiding your fiance and not bringing him home to meet us? Do you have any difficulties? You simply just said that you're getting married... yet you did not bring him home to meet the family."
Gu Li took the package and smiled awkwardly. It was as though a time traveler had passed by the living room, and accidentally flipped a switch and stopped the flow of time. The entire atmosphere became strangely silent.
An awkward silence descended.
"Sis! Are you... actually unwilling to marry that guy?! Do you have some difficulties that are forcing you to marry him?!
"...I ...I ... No, there isn't... I really love him... it's just..."
Gu Zhun was slightly unable to understand his own sister. Why did she hide it from him? He was her most beloved little brother...
"It's just... It still wasn't the right time to tell you guys about it..."
"What do you mean?"
Gu Li eyes darted around uncomfortably and intended to continue hiding it from them. However, she was unable to bear Zhang Heng and Gu Zhun's eyes on her. She had chills from being stared at by them.
"Do you guys really want to know?"
"Yes!"
Gu Li walked back to her room and retrieved a precious photo album stored at the bottom of the cabinet. She turned it one page at a time and showed it to Zhang Heng and Gu Zhun.
The first half of this album showed a blissful family of three. It was a photo of Gu Li and her parents. At that time, Gu Zhun was not born yet so he wasn't in the picture. When it came to the second half of the album, it showed a family of four after Gu Zhun's birth.
"Zhang Heng, didn't you accompany Gu Zhun and leave this city for a period of time to look for our parents? Zhang Heng, I am grateful that you're willing to put aside your company and everything else to accompany Gu Zhun to trace his past and solve his misunderstanding... I am really thankful for what you did..."
As she spoke, Gu Li started to choke up.
Perhaps, she still longed to see her parents even till this day. Moreover, she was about to get married and felt the stirrings more intensely.
"I am getting married next month... I hope that they can attend my wedding but I don't know if they would be willing to or not... However, I had no way of contacting them..."
Gu Zhun was even more baffled: "How is this related to not bringing your fiance home to meet us...? As long as you wish for it, I would definitely welcome them to attend your wedding."
Gu Li grinned and said: "Hehehe... I was afraid that you would be unwilling so I kept it from you guys. During this period of time, I was actually busy with this matter. I asked him to look for my parents and intended to bring them to live in this city for a period of time. After all, they live quite a distance away from here."
"So..."
"So the reason why I did not have the time to bring him back was because I am the only one doing the wedding preparations during this period of time. Sorry about that."
Zhang Heng took out those 'transaction' photos from his pocket that had been taken previously: "How are you going to explain these pictures?"
"Oh that... He was just worried about me. He insisted on giving me the money so that I wouldn't have to worry about finances and could prepare the wedding with ease. I've already deposited all of the money into a card."
"What..."
"So all along..."