Chapter 21: Her Heart Is Slightly Soft 21

She seemed to hear someone calling her from behind.

As she turned, a strange man flung himself into her arms; before she could cry out, her mouth was covered.

"Yi Ruan, I'm Gu Yunzhen."

Gu Yunzhen hadn't planned to come, but Gouwen was boring, and the pretty girl Qin Geng had told him about wasn't his type at all.

Sitting there, he felt irritable and couldn't help coming to see her.

Even just catching a distant glance would have been nice, yet he never expected to run into her halfway.

Yi Ruan valued her life, so she let him hold her, but right now she desperately wanted to push him away—a visceral repulsion.

"Can you let go of me?" she said, lowering her voice.

He released her, awkwardly averting his gaze.

"What are you doing here?" he asked curiously. "Shouldn't you be in Wildgoose Cloud Hall?"

Could it be that she and Fu Qiwei had a fight, so she came out?

She couldn't be bothered with him; the book said Gu Yunzhen was a true underworld prince—not to be provoked, and she couldn't afford to offend him, so why couldn't she just avoid him?

So she walked toward the campus, with him trailing behind, occasionally saying a couple of words, but making no further moves on her.

Gu Yunzhen walked and said, "Yi Ruan, how could you accept Fu Qiwei? He's such a pervert—how can you be with him?"

She replied coolly, "If I'm not with him, does that mean I should be with you?"

"Of course, you'd be so happy with me," he said, stepping in front of her with a grin. "Yi Ruan, you should smile more—you look especially beautiful when you do."

The woman's face was cold, her eyes icy, a look that said she wanted to kill him; after staring at him for a while, she said coldly, "Shut up."

Seeing her attitude, he felt a bit disappointed, but you have to eat what you like until you're sick of it, and to get the person you like, you'll stop at nothing.

Gu Yunzhen still wore his carefree expression as he said, "How could he bear to let you come back alone? If it were me…" I definitely wouldn't let you walk home alone at night.

She turned, pointed at him, her willow-leaf brows slightly furrowed, a finger jabbing his face, and said in a mildly angry tone, "Shut up!"

Fu Qiwei had told her to wait for him to return; she'd come out only because she felt bored.

She pushed open the wooden gate of the small courtyard; the servant bowed slightly and said, "Young Madam."

Gu Yunzhen stood in the courtyard, watching her walk into the pavilion as the servant turned on the light for her.

At that moment, Rong Wei was trimming her beloved flowers.

"Madam, we've checked—there's indeed some resemblance."

The old man beside her quietly reported to the noblewoman.

Rong Wei let out a soft scoff. "I told you, she looks so familiar."

What about us?

"No need. Once she finds out, she'll naturally leave Qiwei. Besides, I'll also tell her about Qiwei's affairs."

Rong Wei laughed unrestrainedly. "Yi Ruan? Tsk, tsk, how pitiful."

The lights in the room came on.

Yi Ruan took a medical kit from the wardrobe; the English labels looked high-end. Fortunately, she was a graduate of a prestigious university, otherwise she wouldn't know which bottle to use.

In the bathroom, after slipping off her long dress, she gazed at her shapely reflection and applied the ointment bit by bit; the bruise on her shoulder was already fading from sight.

Time passed slowly; Gu Yunzhen squatted in the courtyard, holding a red rose, plucking its petals—one, two, three—and dropping them one by one onto the ground.

He absentmindedly counted, murmuring, "Do you like me?"

"I don't like you."

"I like you."

She came out in her pajamas, opened one side of the wardrobe, and found only the clothes she usually wore at home.

She casually picked out a dark‑blue liquid‑look long dress; the crossed dark‑blue straps across her chest were sexy yet still elegant. She glanced at the scrape on her wrist, wondering what to do if Huo Zongting noticed it.

So she decisively took it off and changed into a sleek, long‑sleeved black gown—simple yet still elegant.

After twirling in front of the full‑length mirror, she went downstairs feeling delighted.

Just as she stepped out of the pavilion, she saw Gu Yunzhen sitting on the ground counting petals.

"Gu Yunzhen," she said, looking down at him with an indifferent gaze, her tone light and breezy, as if she were used to being nonchalant.

He lifted his head, smiled at her, and said, "What's up?"

As the saying goes, don't strike a smiling face; his grin was so bright she couldn't bring herself to be cold, yet she remained aloof, asking, "Do the flowers have a grudge against you?"

"No, no," he said, quickly standing and tossing the flower stems to the ground, explaining, "Fallen petals aren't heartless; they turn into spring soil that better protects the flowers."

She couldn't be bothered to say more and headed straight for Wildgoose Cloud Hall.

Xia Cao and Shen Guanming arrived; Shen Guanming said he'd sent a big gift for Old Master Fu, requesting that Fu Qiwei personally receive it. With no choice, Fu Qiwei had the servant pick them up.

She and Gu Yunzhen entered Wildgoose Cloud Hall one after the other.

Gu Yunzhen casually took a glass of red wine from an attendant's hand and stayed by her side, asking, "Yi Ruan, do you drink alcohol?"

The woman's peach‑blossom eyes flicked at the wine in his hand. "I don't drink alcohol."

She never liked alcohol; she preferred tea and was willing to try any kind.

To be honest, before, even though she was just an outsider to the story, she rather liked Gu Yunzhen, felt especially sympathetic toward him, liked a married woman—she could only watch from afar, a futile effort, and once even thought the author went overboard, forcing the Yi Ruan–Fu Qiwei pairing too hard.

Now that she's truly become the female lead, she actually feels a bit averse to such behavior.

"Yi Ruan, do you like candy?" he said, his pocket full of sweets, simply because he knew she had low blood sugar.

Without waiting for her reply, he muttered to himself, "Eat less sugar when you're idle—you're not smart to begin with; it'll just make you dumber."

After a moment, the corners of his mouth turned up in a smile, his eyes and brows glowing with amusement. "But Yi Ruan is a girl; eating a little candy is fine—I don't mind if you're a bit slow."

She frowned slightly. "Gu Yunzhen, I'm a married woman—please show some self‑respect."

She didn't want to deal with him, but she dared not let anyone see them together.

Therefore, she avoided any major actions or arguments with him.

Gu Yunzhen seemed to have figured that she was afraid others would suspect them, so he deliberately moved closer. "Aruan, do you still remember when we used to blow the sea breeze together at the seaside? You said you liked the sea," The closer he got, the nearer, almost speaking in her ear, his voice very pleasant, "You said, you also like me."

She turned sideways, raised her hand, and slapped him.

The slap was just right, happening to strike his face squarely, and the onlookers glanced over.

Her eyes held an aloof, icy, bone-chilling gaze.

That slap was clean and neat, almost without thought.

Gu Yunzhen's head was turned to the side by the slap.

She turned and left, her figure noble and coldly arrogant.

It took him a moment to come to his senses; he pressed his tongue against the slapped side of his face, which felt numb.

She, so heartless, so fond of Fu Qiwei?!

Filled with mingled grief and indignation, suppressing his anger, Gu Yunzhen left Yan Yun Hall without looking back.

Among the onlookers, some were frightened, some tried to get close to Gu Yunzhen, but after just one glance they dared not look again.

Wei Nanxing personally witnessed that scene, watching the woman walking toward them.

She swore, she had a new understanding of Yi Ruan.

As it turned out, she was not the sort of pampered wife who hides in Fu Qiwei's embrace to bully others.

She was a proud, unparalleled woman.

That slap was both swift and beautiful.

Thank you: Chaka Salt, Princess Karenka, Yun Jin, book friend 4026735513, Qianqian+Beibei=Guai Guai, Song Ran Na, Balawula black as lacquer, Guan Shi Er, the invincible Princess Yao Yao of Shang, etc. who voted, Thank you mud (●°u°●)」