Chapter 42: How Important She Is to Him

He wished she could share her worries with him, yet he knew there was nothing he could do.

And she felt so stifled in this house.

She had thought she could walk into his heart, only to discover his heart was locked to her, blocked by someone else.

She even felt a bit envious of Siyun; what kind of person could make him so unable to forget? Whether it was guilt or self-reproach, Siyun was simply the one he could not let go of.

Lín āyí looked at the two of them. They were fine this morning, so why was it that when they returned in the evening, neither of them was speaking?

"Ask Bai Xu how Zihan is doing."

She finally spoke.

How was Zihan? He was still a bit puzzled.

After Cheng Li left the hospital, he went to the bar to check on Zihan. Seeing her lying on the sofa, fast asleep, he actually felt like laughing.

"What on earth did you do to her? She's acting like she's heartbroken."

Bai Xu asked curiously.

"She wasn't even in love, so how could she be heartbroken?"

"Doesn't she like you? She's been throwing herself at you like this, and you still don't know?"

"I don't know, and I don't believe in her 'liking'."

"Why don't you believe it?" As Bai Xu finished speaking, his phone rang. "Why did you think to call me?"

Bai Xu saw it was Gu Die calling and felt quite happy. He didn't call him often; whenever he did, there was always something up.

"How is Zihan?"

Bai Xu was so startled he shuddered. Gu Die knew Zihan had gotten drunk because of Cheng Li?!

"Oh! Her! She's doing great!"

"He says she's doing great."

Hearing Bai Xu's answer, Gu Die relayed it to Liuli.

Bai Xu wondered who this guy was talking to!

"Give me the phone."

Gu Die handed the phone to her.

"Zihan, she..."

"Sister-in-law, she really is doing great! She's sleeping like a pig right now." Hearing Liuli's voice, Bai Xu hurriedly shouted, "Don't you worry, Cheng Li is here, isn't he!"

As soon as Bai Xu mentioned Cheng Li's name, Cheng Li rushed over to cover his mouth, but he had already let it slip.

"Is Cheng Li there? Then I can rest easy."

Liuli was a bit happy that Cheng Li would still go to check on Zihan.

It seemed he wasn't completely indifferent to Zihan after all.

"Sister-in-law, what do you mean by that? Are you not at ease with me?"

"You? You're alright, I suppose."

"Sister-in-law, I don't like hearing that! By the way, how is your health?"

"I'm doing just fine."

"Then I can rest easy. Gu Die, take good care of my sister-in-law!"

Gu Die heard everything Bai Xu said, even without the phone on speaker.

Liuli's ears felt like they were going to be deafened, and with a 'beep', she hung up the phone.

"I'm going upstairs first."

Liuli handed him the phone.

Gu Die followed her upstairs.

Lín āyí found the scene amusing. How could he, the Young Master Gu, have such a pathetic moment?

He was like a wilted wolf, following behind a little rabbit.

After Liuli finished her shower and came out, she heard someone shouting from downstairs.

"Sister-in-law!"

Bai Xu had actually brought Zihan back.

Liuli had hoped that with Cheng Li there, the two could cultivate some feelings, but Bai Xu really knew how to ruin things.

"She's mostly sobered up!"

As soon as Zihan heard this, she covered his mouth.

Although she had drunk hangover soup after waking up, her head still felt very uncomfortable.

"Are you looking to die?"

"Gu Die already knows, what are you still afraid of?"

"What? Cousin knows?"

"Yeah! He even called me just now to ask about you!"

"Then did he say anything?"

"He didn't say anything at all. I don't know if that's good or bad! You're on your own! I'm leaving!"

Having delivered her back to the Gu Family, Bai Xu could leave with peace of mind.

"Sister-in-law! Goodbye!"

This person calling "sister-in-law" over and over was truly annoying.

Liuli felt like her ears were going to grow calluses from those two words.

"Zihan, how are you?"

Liuli asked.

"I'm fine, just drank too much. What about you? Why did you faint?"

Seeing Liuli come downstairs, Zihan ran up to her. She had been terrified when Liuli fainted earlier.

"I've been afraid of rain since I was little. Whenever I get caught in the rain, I get a fever. I don't know why."

Liuli sighed. She also wanted to be like others and like the rain.

"I see. It's all my fault. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have gotten sick."

Zihan felt a bit guilty. Liuli clearly knew she couldn't get caught in the rain, yet she still rushed into it to help her.

"What's this? We're friends, aren't we?"

Liuli smiled. Zihan felt that no one's smile was more beautiful than hers.

"Then it's a deal, we'll be friends for a lifetime!"

"Okay."

Liuli nodded.

"Did my cousin say anything?"

Zihan asked cautiously, fearing she might hear a bad answer.

"Him? Say what?"

Liuli was a bit confused.

"Just... about me getting drunk, did he say anything?"

"He doesn't know you were drunk, does he?"

"That's good."

Hearing that he didn't know she had been drunk, Zihan felt completely relieved.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, Zihan felt something bad was about to happen.

Sure enough, Gu Die was behind them.

He hadn't known before, but now that he was here, he knew.

"Cousin? Why are you here?"

Zihan asked. Her question made Liuli laugh. If he wasn't here, where would he be? This was the Gu Family home! And this was his room.

It was just their bad luck that they happened to be standing at the doorway.

"Where else would I be?"

Gu Die asked coldly in return.

"You? My brain is slow, I don't know what I'm saying. Liuli, I'm going back to my room."

"Stop."

Zihan tried to tiptoe away, but he called her out, scaring her so much she didn't dare move.

"Learned how to drink?"

"So what if I drink? I'm not a minor."

Zihan said, unafraid of death.

"Do you want me to send you abroad and let you tell your dad yourself?"

"Don't, please, I only had a little."

"Is that so? Who taught you?"

"Can I say?"

"Speak."

"You!"

Bai Xu couldn't keep anything to himself. Just now, as soon as Zihan woke up, he had said two words to her and ended up chatting about the time Gu Die got dead drunk.

It was a good thing she heard him tell it; now it could serve as her shield.

Gu Die was silent for a moment.

As soon as Liuli thought of him getting drunk last time, she thought of him calling out Siyun's name.

The good mood she had just arrived in was gone.

"Zihan, go back to sleep quickly."

"Okay, I'm leaving!"

Hearing Liuli's words, Zihan fled like she was flying. With Liuli backing her up, she wasn't afraid of him.

Gu Die and Liuli lay on the same bed, so close, yet feeling so far apart.

They had been so loving just this morning, so how did they return to the way they were before, or even colder?

Liuli tossed and turned, unable to sleep, so after Gu Die fell asleep, she snuck into Zihan's room.

"Liuli, what are you doing? You scared me!"

Zihan was just about to close the door when she bumped into Liuli, causing her to shudder.

"I couldn't sleep, so I came to chat with you."

"Come in!"

Zihan pulled her onto the bed.

"What's wrong? Is there something bothering you?"

"Mm."

Liuli nodded.

"Then tell me about it, let me see if I can help you solve it."

"Zihan, I just don't understand what kind of person Gu Die really is."

"You want to say, does he really love you, right?"

Zihan guessed her thoughts immediately.

"Maybe. I feel like he doesn't love me that much, or perhaps I'm not in his heart at all."

"Why?"

"Do you know who Siyun is?"

Liuli knew the answer as soon as she saw Zihan's expression.

"The position Siyun holds in his heart, perhaps no one can ever replace it."

"Liuli, it's not like that. I think it's more about guilt. You know, when they were that young, what did they know about love?"

"But even when he was drunk, he called her name. It's also a name I can't mention in front of him."

"Liuli, Cousin is sincere to you. I've never seen him be like this with any girl. Because of a word from you, he can get angry or happy. Even if he's cold to you sometimes, he's just pretending. Can't you see? His eyes are full of you."

She could feel a little bit of that, but it was very blurry.

"Also, you'd better not get too close to the Shen Family."

"Everyone says that. I'm curious, why?"

"Siyun is from the Chu Family. The Chu Family only has one daughter, so naturally, they hold her in the palm of their hands. Besides, the Shen Family and the Chu Family are family friends; the relationship between the two families goes without saying. Not just the Shen Family, you should also stay away from the Chu Family."

As Zihan spoke, she leaned her head on Liuli's shoulder, and Liuli listened quietly.

"Chu Siyun and Shen Zeyan were betrothed since childhood. Have you seen the ring Zeyan wears on his hand? That is their future engagement ring. After Siyun's accident, he has worn it ever since. He has worn it for so many years; you can imagine how important she is to him."

"I always thought he was married. So, he was waiting for her."

"But the Chu Family, the Shen Family, and the Gu Family have all been looking for her for so many years, yet there is no news of her."

Sometimes, fate is just like that, always going against you.

"Mr. Chu has long wanted to tear my cousin to pieces. The Shen Family and the Chu Family have sent people to assassinate my cousin countless times. It's a good thing he has a long life, otherwise, you wouldn't be able to see him!"

Zihan felt that talking about this was too stifling, so she made a joke.

"So, actually, every time he goes out, there are many people watching him from places you can't see, and there are also many people you can't see protecting him."

"The person protecting him is Gù lǎoyé, right?"

"Yes. Uncle always pretends not to care about him, but the person who cares about Cousin the most has always been him. Every time Cousin goes out, Uncle sends people to protect him without him finding out. Otherwise, how could they have survived until now?"

"Uncle actually isn't as bad as others say, and neither is Cousin."

"I know."

"As long as you know!"

Zihan said, hugging her.

"Liuli, my head is full of Cheng Li right now, it's so annoying!"

"You didn't really fall in love with him, did you?"

"How would I know? Maybe!"

"Then the speed at which you fall in love is too fast, isn't it? Will you fall out of love just as quickly?"

Liuli joked.

"Am I that kind of person?"

"I don't know about that. How many days have we known each other?"

"Are we still friends or not!" ===== CHAPTER 43 =====