Chapter 23

Extra: Everyday Little Sweet Moments

“Awoo, Mama, hug!”

The little one wiggled his feet, arms wide open, huffing and puffing as he ran toward me.

However-

Someone, relying on his long legs, scooped me up into his arms in one swift motion, making the little one burst into tears with a loud wail.

“Gu Xuchen! Your son is crying!”

“Just let me hold you for a little while.”

Gu Xuchen stubbornly refused to let go, sounding extremely aggrieved: “You haven’t hugged me in so long.”

Me: …

They say men are different before and after marriage.

That saying-

Turns out to be true.

After being out of touch with Gu Xuchen for three months, I was busy with work. I finally got a chance to sleep in, only for it to be interrupted.

“Who is it?”

I was honestly about to lose my mind, grumpily grabbing my phone, but the string of zeros after the transfer notification instantly woke me up.

Fifty-two million.

Truly-blinding-my eyes.

Terrified, I rushed to the bank to check, afraid it was a system error or someone was using my account for something shady.

“Miss, we’ve already checked. This is your betrothal gift.”

“Betrothal gift?”

I was stunned on the spot.

At that moment-

An answer was about to leap out of my heart.

The staff member nodded slightly, looked up at me, and asked softly, “Would you like to return it?”

Me: …

Return it?

After three months-

It was the first time Gu Xuchen had reached out to me. My fingertips brushed the counter; that short minute felt like a century.

Actually-

After reading Tan Bai’s apology letter, I had already wanted to find Gu Xuchen, but I just couldn’t bring myself to swallow my pride.

Maybe-

I used to be too straightforward, and now I have very little courage left.

“Return it.”

“Hm?”

The staff member was stunned for two seconds.

I took a deep breath, looked at her, and said softly, “Please add a note: dowry.”

The next second-

The staff member chuckled, nodded.

When I left the bank that day, a light rain was falling, but I felt a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.

A few meters away-

Gu Xuchen was wearing a white shirt, holding a black umbrella, walking toward me.

“May I escort Miss Ye home?”

He stopped in front of me, just like before, tilting the umbrella toward me, as if unsure of my answer, a little nervous, and asked again:

“May I take you home?”

“Okay.”

I looked up at him, my heart trembling. Knowing I was never one to play coy, I walked straight under his umbrella: “But I need to eat first. I’m hungry.”

“Ah?”

Gu Xuchen looked at me in surprise, stunned for a few seconds, then immediately said, “You can have whatever you want.”

Me: “You choose.”

Gu Xuchen: “Barbecue?”

Me: “Don’t want it.”

Gu Xuchen: “Steak?”

Me: “Don’t want it…”

Honestly, I could feel myself starting to act spoiled, but Gu Xuchen wasn’t annoyed at all, patiently asking.

“Sichuan pickled fish?”

I stopped walking, looked up at him, and pouted: “Let’s have that.”

The next second-

I clearly heard Gu Xuchen’s soft laugh. Acting proud, I sped up, and he kept close behind.

From that day on-

It felt like Gu Xuchen and I entered a dating mode. Just like he said, he wanted to share many things with me, until I was interested.

But-

What he didn’t know was, what interested me were his pale lips, his pure gaze, and how he was cold in public but tried to hold my hand in private, got rejected several times, and looked so aggrieved.

Back then-

Watching him tirelessly search for topics, I was moved, and gradually started chatting with him, even talking about the misunderstanding during my internship.

“Why did you think I’d do something like that?”

Gu Xuchen looked so aggrieved.

I looked at him and described his attitude at the time truthfully.

He lowered his eyes.

He went quiet in an instant.

We tacitly skipped over that topic, but I later heard that Gu Xuchen added several more supervisors to make sure there wouldn’t be any mistakes in the interviews.

“Ugh, the sour smell of love.”

My best friend complained helplessly.

I held the bouquet of roses Gu Xuchen gave me, carefully trimming the stems and leaves, and said softly:

“Does it look good?”

“Mhm, it looks great~ really great~”

My best friend rested her chin in her hand, raised her brows, and gave me a mischievous grin:

“Are you two poisoned or something? He hasn’t even signed the divorce papers, you’re still husband and wife, so why are you suddenly acting all innocent and starting to date again? If you have this much energy, why not…”

I felt inexplicably shy.

To be honest, at first, I enjoyed it too. But as time went on, every time I looked at Gu Xuchen’s cool and refined face, I just wanted to pounce on him.

Especially when…

I discovered that he had bought all my art books, and never missed a single signing event.

When I found out,

He was a little embarrassed, holding my hand, trying to explain something.

Honestly,

With that obedient look of his, I really couldn’t resist, but I didn’t want to be too forward either.

But,

I knew,

I was only pretending to be reserved, but he really was.

Hugging, holding hands-

Just these two things were already a challenge for him. He was obsessed with buying me things all day, collecting every luxury brand, yet I still hadn’t truly gotten him.

…

From dating to marriage,

Gu Xuchen seemed to be leading me through every step, each detail perfect, the sense of ceremony maxed out.

The day both families sat together at one table-

“Dad, Mom.”

Gu Xuchen’s face flushed red, probably from nerves. He sat beside me, his hand trembling a little: “Let me toast you.”

I glanced at him and whispered, “President Gu, nervous?”

Gu Xuchen pressed his thin lips together, as if trying to comfort me, and reached out his hand to me.

I chuckled, slapped his palm, and naturally stood up to toast Gu’s mother. Gu’s mother looked calm, silently gazing at me, then handed me a jade bracelet and said softly:

“May you grow old together. May your life be harmonious and beautiful.”

“May you have children soon!”

My mom chimed in immediately.

Gu’s mother was stunned for a moment, then couldn’t help but laugh.

My mom was very forthright, introducing our hometown, and before long she and Gu’s mother were chatting away, getting more and more animated, completely ignoring the rest of us.

The atmosphere suddenly became lively.

My dad insisted on drinking with Gu Xuchen, and by the end he was tipsy, which made me laugh out loud.

Later,

Gu Xuchen held a wedding for us.

Wedding photos, candy, dresses, emcee…

All kinds of tedious details, we experienced together. It was exhausting, but brought a kind of happiness I’d never felt before.

…

On the wedding night,

A heavy rain fell, misting the air with humidity.

Gu Xuchen took off his suit jacket and sat on the bed, his black and white eyes looking at me. I pretended not to notice, slowly taking off my earrings in front of the mirror.

“It seems to be quite late already.”

Gu Xuchen hesitated, finally speaking.

I lowered my eyes, my voice soft: “Oh.”

Gu Xuchen’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he picked up the glass of water on the table, took a sip, and said gently, “Mrs. Gu, shouldn’t we get some rest?”

“Mrs. Gu?”

I raised my brows.

His face gradually turned red: “Calling you Mrs. Gu isn’t too much, is it?”

I stifled a laugh, raising my brows: “Oh.”

Gu Xuchen slowly stood up, hesitated, then walked over to me, standing behind me and playing with my hair.

“Aren’t you tired?”

I took off my necklace, smiled and stood up, turning to look at him: “Aren’t you going to rest yet?”

A cool, fresh scent lingered in the air.

Gu Xuchen’s breathing grew heavier, his gaze burning as he looked at me. Suddenly, he placed both hands on the dressing table, trapping me between his arms, leaned in close, and whispered:

“Not tired.”

The next second,

He kissed me, a little urgently.

I was startled, then slowly wrapped my arms around his neck, until the morning after the rain.

…

“Mrs. Gu, good morning.”

“Mmm, I want to sleep a little longer~”

I lifted my eyelids and saw him smiling, looking refreshed. I grumbled and burrowed under the covers.

The next moment,

He hugged me, lay down beside me, rubbed my head, and said gently, “Alright, I’ll stay with you.”