Chapter 23: Eighteen Years Without Her

Chapter 23: Chapter 23: Eighteen Years Without HerShen Yanchen was in the study, busy with Gu family’s affairs. After finishing a phase, he checked the time and saw it was already 2 AM. Rubbing his temples, he put his things away, turned off the lights in the study, and walked out. Arriving at his bedroom door, he placed his hand on the doorknob but stopped the action of opening it. He paused, turned around to look at another door in the darkness. At this hour, she should be sound asleep, right? With that thought, he walked over, gently twisted open her door. She didn’t lock it, perhaps it was not in her habit to do so. He frowned instead. When she lived with Gu Moming, did she have no sense of precaution at all? He carefully stepped inside, the moonlight outside the window casting a brighter glow on the snow. By the moonlight, he walked to the bedside. On the large bed, she was lying on her side, wrapping the quilt tightly around herself, like a cocoon, with only a small part of her head exposed. Her breathing was steady, her sleeping posture cute and well-behaved, just like when she was a child. But compared to the way she used to be casual in front of him when she was little, now she was extraordinarily cautious. This was what had changed over the past eighteen years. Raising his hand, he touched her cheek, gently brushed away the stray hair on her face. Maybe it tickled, she scrunched her nose and turned her head, continuing her deep sleep. S~eaʀᴄh the novёlF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Her delicate, adorable appearance reminded him of when she first followed him at the age of three. At night, she slept in his arms just like this, her small body tightly curled up in his embrace, calling out all day long, "Brother Yan Chen, I’m hungry." "Brother Yan Chen, I want to go out and play." "Brother Yan Chen, will you always give me good food?" ... He gazed at her with full of heartache, touching her small face gently. She must have had a hard time in the Gu family too, who only treated her as a servant. After going to Italy with Gu Moming, she must have continued to be bossed around by him. Lacking nutrition as a child, whenever Gu Moming needed blood, the Gu family never considered whether her body could endure it and directly drew her blood. They didn’t even bother to give her anything to replenish her blood afterward. Being tormented like this since childhood, it’s no wonder she’s so thin and small. He wished so much he could make up for all the deficiencies of these eighteen years. In the past, he wanted to take her away but lacked the capability. Now that he had the capability, he had lost the right... She slept sweetly, making even the cold night seem more serene. Reluctantly, he removed his hand from her smooth face and left her bedside. Thinking that she was by his side, even his sleep became more restful. He would find a way to regain her, no matter who she held in her heart now. He didn’t want to extend the eighteen years of losing her any longer. The next day, same as yesterday, he dropped her off at that corner, through the alley, across the traffic lights, to the gallery. Most of the students had returned to school, and more people came to visit the gallery. Gu Qimiao really enjoyed this atmosphere, working with considerable dedication. For lunch, she and Sister Mei had wontons at a small shop outside. This was a school area, so there were plenty of places to eat. After being abroad for a long time, having a bowl of small wontons felt very satisfying. Last night, she had already told Shen Yanchen that he didn’t need to pick her up today. She originally planned to go find Gu Moming at six o’clock. But at half-past five, he had already arrived at Zihua Lane in his extremely flashy, bright-red Ferrari, then called to ask for Gu Qimiao’s exact location. Gu Qimiao knew his car was eye-catching, and recently Shen Yanchen had been picking her up in that ridiculously expensive Rolls-Royce, which had already caused people to gossip. If today they saw her with another man driving a luxury car, they would probably say even more that she was the type of woman who relied on men to survive. So she asked for Gu Moming’s address, packed up her things, and walked in that direction.