Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Ye Xuan looked up and quickly glanced at her, a hint of sarcasm finally appearing at the corners of his lips. “She’ll reveal how much is in Uncle Gu’s fortune in court? Are you serious?”
Gu Nianzhi finally looked at Ye Xuan with a frown. “Ye Xuan, how can you talk about Gu Yanran like that? She’s your master, after all. This is so not your style…”
Ye Xuan had grown up and been educated abroad, so he wasn’t very good at Mandarin and could only speak and write at a basic level. Gu Nianzhi’s speech was full of internet slang, so Ye Xuan didn’t understand it. “What master? What style? Can you repeat that in English?”
Gu Nianzhi was speechless. She raised her chin with arrogance. “Sorry, my English is poor. I can only speak Mandarin.”
Ye Xuan snickered. “Yeah, your English is not good, but you can go to Germany to fight a lawsuit in English. Gu Nianzhi, you are actually kind of what Gu Yanran said about you—you open your mouth, and it’s full of lies.”
Gu Nianzhi was very disgusted by anyone speaking positively about Gu Yanran, especially so when they also happened to insult her as well. She hated that even more.
Without another word, she turned away and left. This time she left very quickly and also guarded against Ye Xuan reaching out to grab her arm, so she had already walked a few steps away by the time Ye Xuan noticed.
He nearly jogged after her and panted, “Gu Nianzhi, Gu Nianzhi, don’t have such a terrible temper… Listen to me, I really have something to tell you!”
Gu Nianzhi said impatiently, “You already wasted so much of my time and even said I’m the type of person to be full of lies. So what can you even say to a type of person like me? Hurry up and get back to your master’s side. Don’t piss me off, or I’ll call the police and have them arrest you.”
Ye Xuan was tall and long-legged, so when he started running, he was able to quickly get in front of Gu Nianzhi and stop her. He said somewhat frantically, “Gu Nianzhi, let’s chat. Let’s go to the Starbucks by your campus, ok?”
Gu Nianzhi squinted and studied him carefully. “Ye Xuan, do you really have business with me? You’re not here to plead Gu Yanran’s case?”
“I haven’t even spoken with you before, so what can I say to plead Gu Yanran’s case?” Ye Xuan’s frown deepened. “Don’t misunderstand me.”
Gu Nianzhi replied, “You know exactly what you did. It’d be hard for someone to not misunderstand.” Gu Nianzhi spoke truthfully but was also quite curious about why Ye Xuan had come in the first place. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have spent so much time dealing with him.
Also, she could tell that Ye Xuan’s attitude had certainly changed a lot from before.
In the past, Ye Xuan was at Gu Yanran’s side and looked at Gu Nianzhi like she was a stranger, so he only listened to whatever Gu Yanran said.
But when he looked at Gu Nianzhi now, there was a trace of warmth in his eyes, and he no longer looked cold and impatient like before.
Not only that, but Ye Xuan was one of Gu Yanran’s confidants, so if Gu Nianzhi could get some information from him, it would help her preparation for the lawsuit. Gu Nianzhi followed Ye Xuan to the Starbucks near her dorm.
It was noon, so there were very few people in Starbucks, and several of the workers sat together to gossip, covering their mouths and giggling.
They looked up to see a man and a woman come inside, so a female worker instantly walked over to ask with enthusiasm, “What can I get started for you today?”
Gu Nianzhi had just had a cappuccino at He Zhichu’s, so she didn’t actually want to have another coffee. However, because they were chatting there, they had to order something. Gu Nianzhi said, “Give me a slice of hazelnut cake, the kind with no added sugar.”
Ye Xuan ordered a Colombian black coffee. The coffee and cake were quickly served. They sat near the window with no one else around, so it was the perfect place to talk.
Ye Xuan used a small spoon to stir his coffee and looked down to say, “Gu Nianzhi, you really don’t remember me?”
Gu Nianzhi rolled her eyes at the ceiling. “Ye Xuan, when are you referring to? If it was a while back, then yeah, I remember you. You’ve always been at Gu Yanran’s side.”
“Not a while back, but many years ago…” Ye Xuan looked up at her, but in her features he couldn’t see an inkling of that blurry face from his memories at all.
He once thought that the blurry face had been Gu Yanran’s, but now he could only say that it was his own wishful thinking. But was this Gu Nianzhi the little girl from long ago?
“May years ago?” Gu Nianzhi frowned. “How long ago?”
“For example, over ten years ago?” Ye Xuan asked tentatively, “Do you know how to swim?”
“Yeah, I can swim pretty well.” Gu Nianzhi recalled how she swam in and out of the Blue Hole several times to rescue Huo Shaoheng and Zhao Liangze. She giggled with her lips pressed together. “I can also rescue people from the ocean, so would you say I know how to swim?”
“Oh?! You remember it!” Ye Xuan’s gloomy face suddenly lit up. “Eleven years ago, you rescued me from the ocean!”
Gu Nianzhi was speechless as she thought, Bro, are you overthinking this? Eleven years ago? She had only been eight years old! Of course Gu Nianzhi didn’t remember what happened when she was eight, but she still studied Ye Xuan and asked, “What is your age?”
“Oh? What does that mean?” Ye Xuan didn’t understand such formal speech at all.
“I meant to ask how old you are. I was only eight years old 11 years ago. How could I have saved a grown man like you?” Gu Nianzhi propped her face up with both hands impatiently and glanced out the window. “Speak quickly if you have something to say. I’m really busy and still have classes in the afternoon.”
“I’m only three years older than you, so I’m 22 this year. Eleven years ago, I… accidentally fell into the ocean, and you saved me,” Ye Xuan said cautiously but squinted to study Gu Nianzhi. He really couldn’t see any similarities between her and that slightly chubby girl from all those years ago.
Gu Yanran’s eyes even seemed a bit similar to that little girl’s, while Gu Nianzhi’s were too big. Although they were pretty… it was hard to imagine that the little girl with small eyes and thin brows would grow up to have such huge eyes.
Gu Nianzhi couldn’t stand listening to him anymore. She threw down her fork and crossed her arms as she stated coldly, “What do you mean? Even if I rescued you 11 years ago, so what? What are you trying to say?”
Ye Xuan immersed himself in his memories, looking at the black coffee in front of him as he murmured, “You rescued me, but ended up becoming very ill. Uncle Gu didn’t let me see you and said you were sick, and he would contact me once you were better. Afterwards, I was sent to boarding school in the United States and never saw you again.”
At that time, Uncle Gu didn’t even tell him who had rescued him and only said it was his daughter. Ye Xuan didn’t know his daughter’s name or even her age.
Now that he thought about it, it was a little strange.
Ye Xuan shook his head and tried to put this thought at the back of his head before immersing himself in the memories again.
At the time, he woke up from a coma and found himself in a hospital. A handsome man in a white coat told him that his daughter had rescued him, but because she rescued him, she became ill and may have suffered sequelae—a condition that is the consequence of a previous disease or injury. The man asked if Ye Xuan was willing to be by her side for the rest of his life and take care of her.
Ye Xuan was a resolute person. When he found out that the man’s daughter was sick because she rescued him, and she may have suffered sequelae, his heart wrenched. Without another question, he agreed to that man’s request.
The man’s attitude toward him became much more relaxed. He even patted his head and said, “I was only testing you just now. Uncle Gu is very happy that you can agree to this request, but I don’t need you to take care of my daughter. I only want you to help her a bit if she needs it in the future.”
At the time, Ye Xuan insisted, “The director of our orphanage taught us to be honest and do as we say. Since I’ve promised Uncle Gu this, I will be sure to do it.”
“You’re still young.” The handsome man wearing a white coat patted his head with a sigh. “You don’t even understand what this promise means. But I’m glad that you’re happy.”
The man never thought Ye Xuan would keep this demanding promise.
However, he kept it in his heart the entire time, and very soon after that he was sent by that man named Gu to attend boarding school in the United States. He majored in computer technology and minored in finance.
Aside from Uncle Gu and Gu Yanran, no one else knew that he was a computer whiz and was also an expert with financial planning.
Gu Nianzhi listened carefully. The handsome man in the white coat must have been her father, Gu Xiangwen… Gu Nianzhi’s eyes began to water. She tried her best to suppress her emotions and discreetly pressed the audio recording button on her phone to begin recording.
