Chapter 9 Sorry

Gu Yanjing stood in the dark night, watching Qiao Yuxian’s playful deceit. A cool breeze blew by, and although it was only the beginning of September, there was an air of desolation and melancholy. "I’m injured, I can’t get up. He hit me." Qiao Yuxian’s voice was soft and delicate, inexplicably charming to the ears. Gu Yanjing walked over to her. "I didn’t injure you at all." Shang Chen frowned as he watched her act, thinking: Who would believe such a small trick, who is she performing for. Trying something like this in front of Mr. Gu could only lead to disaster. Mr. Gu hated noise the most. Then he saw Gu Yanjing walk up to them, bend down to take Qiao Yuxian’s arm, and help her up. Shang Chen: "!" Gu Yanjing looked at her leg: "Where are you hurt?" Shang Chen: "!!" Though his voice was emotionless, Qiao Yuxian still felt quite delighted and raised her eyebrows slightly. She extended her right hand in front of him and said, "The back of my hand, it hurts." Shang Chen clenched his fist; it was from when she had punched his arm just now. The back of your hand hurts, what do you mean lying on the ground. Gu Yanjing glanced at her, noticing she wore makeup, changed her lipstick, and her perfume was stronger. Went out to meet someone at night, wearing makeup, and perfume. He took a look, his gaze landed on the back of her hand. The light was dim, making it hard to see clearly, but it seemed to be a bit red. He said, "Don’t just sit on the ground in the future." "He tripped me." Qiao Yuxian pointed at Shang Chen and said. "When did I trip you?" Shang Chen gritted his teeth and said. "Just now." Qiao Yuxian said. "You..." Shang Chen wanted to say more, but Gu Yanjing suddenly looked over, he immediately shut his mouth and lowered his head without speaking. Gu Yanjing withdrew his gaze and said to Qiao Yuxian: "Go back." After saying that, he turned and walked into the villa. Qiao Yuxian followed him, took two steps, then turned back to throw Shang Chen a very smug expression. Let you show me attitude in the living room at night, now I frame you. Be angry, go ahead, I’m doing it on purpose. Qiao Yuxian backed away while antagonizing Shang Chen. Just as she was feeling smug, a cold voice suddenly sounded behind her: "Qiao Yuxian, walk properly." Qiao Yuxian was startled, feeling like a mischievous kid caught by a parent. She quickly turned around, obediently following Gu Yanjing into the villa. Shang Chen kept watching them until they entered the villa, standing in the yard with his hands clenched tightly. After a while, Meng Yan emerged from the darkness, standing beside Shang Chen. Shang Chen said: "Who exactly is this woman. Why is Mr. Gu so lenient with her." Meng Yan glanced at the enraged Shang Chen, paused, and decided to provoke him a bit. He used an incredibly calm and relaxed tone and said, "No one else, it’s... our Miss Gu." The night was silent, even the chirping of bugs on the lawn seemed to vanish. A green leaf suddenly drifted down, spinning past Shang Chen’s eyes, fluttering to the ground. Time seemed to stretch out, after a while, Shang Chen suddenly turned his head like a resurrected corpse, looking at Meng Yan. That moment, Meng Yan worried that he’d twist his neck. "What did you say! Whose wife?" His voice wasn’t loud, but each word was heavily emphasized. The dark face gradually contorted. Meng Yan felt he might have gone too far, lightly coughed and said: "You’ll get used to it." After saying that, he left first. Shang Chen was left standing alone in the yard, staring at the now illuminated villa. He thought Mr. Gu would be single for life, and suddenly he has a wife, and one that could infuriate... Get used to it... how is he supposed to get used to this! ... Inside the living room. Qiao Yuxian was about to head to her room as soon as she entered the living room, but Gu Yanjing called out to her. "Does your hand still hurt?" Gu Yanjing intended to expose her lie, to make her behave herself. Unexpectedly, she stopped, immediately covered her hand pitifully and said: "It hurts." Gu Yanjing: "......" "It really hurts." Qiao Yuxian emphasized again, "What should I do?" Gu Yanjing was silent for a moment, then said two words: "Apply medicine." Upon hearing those words, Qiao Yuxian immediately ran upstairs. Gu Yanjing watched her go upstairs and run into her room. He lightly frowned, just about to look away, when Qiao Yuxian came out of the room again, ran downstairs, and stood in front of him. In her hand, she held the ointment he had asked her to take in the morning and handed it to him. Gu Yanjing glanced at the medicine in her hand, then looked up at her. Qiao Yuxian smiled, her eyes sparkling, "You apply it for me." Gu Yanjing pursed his lips, "Apply it yourself." "I don’t know how." Qiao Yuxian said these three words confidently. After speaking, she grabbed Gu Yanjing’s sleeve and pulled him over to the sofa. She made him sit on the large sofa while she sat on the single sofa next to it, then forcibly stuffed the ointment into Gu Yanjing’s hand. Gu Yanjing looked down at the ointment in his hand. After a few seconds, he took a cotton swab and alcohol from under the coffee table and applied the medicine for Qiao Yuxian. First, he applied it to the area bruised last night, and then to the reddened back of the hand from tonight. He lowered his gaze as he applied the medicine. Qiao Yuxian had a smile on her lips, watching him. Gu Yanjing’s eyelashes were long, not curled, and hung straight down. They weren’t dense, much like him—faint and light, yet exceptionally beautiful. His skin was cold and fair, his eyelids seemed a bit thin, and upon closer inspection, you could vaguely see a bit of blue veins. Because he was looking down, you could see a narrow double-eyelid line. His lips were a little pale, always lightly pursed, giving off an unapproachable feeling. As desolate as snow, a chill that permeates the heart. "Still looking." Gu Yanjing did not raise his eyes, his voice as cool as ever. Qiao Yuxian’s lashes fluttered briefly, slightly snapping back to reality, then she smiled, "You’re good-looking, of course, I want to look a little longer." Gu Yanjing said nothing, finished applying the medicine, threw away the cotton swab, looked at her, and suddenly asked, "Qiao Yuxian, who did you go out to see tonight?" Qiao Yuxian was taken aback. "Someone you like?" Gu Yanjing asked. Qiao Yuxian frowned, looking at him puzzlingly. Seeing her expression, Gu Yanjing’s gaze lingered on her lips for a moment. Qiao Yuxian touched her own lips, her fingertips stained with a bit of lipstick. She looked at her fingertips, then at Gu Yanjing, suddenly understood. She chuckled, but the laughter didn’t reach her eyes, "Gu Yanjing, you didn’t think I put on makeup to meet a man tonight, did you?" Listening to her slightly cold voice, Gu Yanjing kept silent. Seeing his silent consent, Qiao Yuxian bit her lip, almost wanting to bite him, "You..." She shifted a little on the sofa, then leaned back into it, arms crossed, looking at Gu Yanjing, "I did wear makeup. But... there are many reasons girls wear makeup. When in a good mood, we’ll do it, when going out shopping, meeting friends, when we see makeup we like, when we randomly want to... We wear it whenever we want." Gu Yanjing looked at her somewhat fierce expression. "Girls also wear makeup when meeting someone they like, but not to please anyone. It’s because meeting someone we like makes us happy, and that’s just one of many situations." Qiao Yuxian said, "What kind of stubborn thinking do you have, so old-fashioned and feudal. It’s disrespectful." Gu Yanjing lowered his eyes, rubbed his fingertip slightly. Qiao Yuxian looked at him for a few seconds, then added, "In the future, don’t think that of me, or any other girl. Understand?" Gu Yanjing lifted his eyelids to look at her. "Do you understand?" Qiao Yuxian stared at him, eyes compelling. Gu Yanjing was silent for two seconds, "Hmm." Qiao Yuxian nodded in satisfaction, her nod not even complete when she heard Gu Yanjing say, "Sorry." Although his voice was still cold, faint, without much emotion or warmth, seeming somewhat unaccustomed, it conveyed sincerity. Qiao Yuxian was stunned again. Gu Yanjing seemed like someone untouched by the mundane world. He always appeared lofty, untouched by dust, a born king. Qiao Yuxian never expected him to apologize. In her preconception, Gu Yanjing was the type who, even if wrong, would never apologize. "It’s okay." Qiao Yuxian replied, "Just don’t have that mindset in the future." Wrong is wrong; although she wasn’t quite used to his apology, that "Sorry" was what he owed her. Neither of them spoke again, sitting quietly for a while. Qiao Yuxian thought for a moment, then decided to explain. "Gu Yanjing, I went out to see friends." Their acquaintance was too short, the time they really spent together probably didn’t even add up to twenty-four hours. Not knowing each other well, forming doubts was inevitable. "Legally, we are husband and wife. I won’t be seeing other men outside." She finished, paused, and continued, "I won’t abandon you." Gu Yanjing: "......" "You don’t need to worry about being abandoned." Qiao Yuxian said with a smile, "I’m not that kind of heartbreaker." Gu Yanjing’s gaze turned a bit sharp, then after a few seconds, he said, "You should go to sleep." Qiao Yuxian snuggled deeper into the sofa, not wanting to move, further burrowing into it. Gu Yanjing’s gaze grew even colder. Qiao Yuxian sighed, got up, and headed upstairs. Why does it feel like I’ve somehow acquired... a dad?