Chapter 109: Windbreaker Tightened, Obsessive and Possessive

The words that reached his lips, Lu Shenyang forced himself to swallow again; he smiled and rubbed her hair, "It's nothing, I just wanted to say that I will always stand by you, protecting you and Xin Xin."

Meng Shutang only felt that he was a bit overly gentle today, like in childhood, a little bird flitting into his arms.

Gu Yunci stood quietly not far away, watching Lu Shenyang embrace her, watching the adoration in Lu Shenyang's eyes.

His heart felt as if a hand had clenched it tightly, a suffocating pain to the extreme; he wanted to leave this place, but his legs were as if bound with sandbags, so heavy he couldn't move.

Meng Shutang looked at Lu Shenyang and slowly withdrew from his arms.

Lu Shenyang, fearing she might fall, gently supported her arm with one hand; the two chatted and laughed as they walked home.

Gu Yunci watched the warm scene before him; every smile and every movement of Meng Shutang cut into his heart like a steel blade, slowly tearing it apart.

Gu Yunci's pain reached its peak, yet he could not utter a single sound.

On such a fine rainy night, with such an ambiguous atmosphere, the heavens were kind; Lu Shenyang must have confessed.

Looking again at Meng Shutang's bird‑like, clingy posture, she would certainly have agreed.

Lu Shenyang escorted Meng Shutang back home; Li Xiuyun, seeing that it was him, invited him in and gave him a cup of warm tea.

It was too late; he sat for a while and then left.

After he left, Gu Yunci came to the entrance of the apartment building; he also wanted to go up, to be a bit closer to Meng Shutang.

But he lacked that courage; he knew clearly that he no longer had the right to do so!

He exerted all his effort to repent, yet he could not turn back even once.

He just stood there downstairs, staring blankly at the building's entrance.

After an unknown amount of time, the lights in the upstairs rooms went out one by one, yet he remained standing there, like a pine tree.

Suddenly the door opened; the man lifted his gaze, meeting a pair of clear eyes that rippled like water.

Meng Shutang, wearing white cotton slippers and a light pink nightgown, appeared at the doorway carrying a trash bag.

Seeing him, she also was startled.

She tossed the trash into the nearby bin and turned to go upstairs.

"Tang Tang." Gu Yunci gripped her wrist.

Rain droplets clung, the night wind was cold, carrying the chill of late autumn, seeping into his bones.

Gu Yunci opened his umbrella and approached, unbuttoned his windbreaker, yearning to firmly wrap her in his arms.

But he no longer had such a chance.

"I've said it before, Lu Shenyang is not just a brother to you.

He just confessed, you agreed, didn't you?"

Startled, Meng Shutang turned around, "What nonsense are you spouting? He's just my brother."

She truly regretted joking with him that morning at Zhonglin Dasha; if Lu Shenyang really heard it, how embarrassing!

"What?"

"Lu Shenyang didn't confess?"

Gu Yunci's sword‑shaped eyebrows twitched slightly, he didn't press further; as another gust of night wind blew, he smiled faintly and firmly wrapped her in his arms.

The man's clear and familiar scent instantly enveloped her.

Even if the night wind grew colder, it could not disperse this warmth.

His movements were light and extremely careful, as if cradling a priceless treasure that would shatter at the slightest touch.

Only when Meng Shutang struggled did he slightly increase his pressure, pressing her against his chest, bearing a long‑suppressed sourness and longing, forceful enough to allow no escape, yet gentle to the point of reverence.

Meng Shutang froze for a moment; when she lifted her eyes to look at him, he was looking down at her.

The man's brows and eyes were gentle, his demeanor pure, soft as a handful of moonlight.

Meng Shutang was delicately beautiful, her lips a cherry‑red hue, making one want to taste them.

He lowered his head slightly, his forehead pressed against hers, his nose tip touching hers.

Such a perfect chance, Lu Shenyang didn't seize; in this lifetime, Meng Shutang is destined to be his.

Being so close, no words were needed; each understood the other's thoughts. When his thin lips were about to lightly peck her red lips, Meng Shutang abruptly turned her head to dodge.

"Stop daydreaming, I will never fall for you again."

"So you mean you used to love me?"

"I…"

"If I told you that I was so jealous just now it drove me crazy, my heart twisting in pain, would you feel sorry for me?"

In the night wind, his hand, with clearly defined knuckles, tightly clasped her waist, lifting her whole body upward.

His thin lips, tasting the scent of her lips, searched for her, moving so lightly as if afraid to startle, yet also fearing rejection.

But at the instant their lips met, Meng Shutang suddenly rebuffed, "Gu Yunci, don't treat me like this."

She pushed him hard, her pink fingertips pressing against his chest, straining outward.

But her strength, upon the man, was as light as a feather.

Not only did she not escape, she was instead held even more gently and steadily in his embrace, unable to move even an inch.

He stared at her dazedly, not forcefully restraining her, yet not letting go.

And so he let her push, let her struggle, let her pound.

Her small force kept striking his chest again and again.

She couldn't break free, couldn't dodge, couldn't escape, as his roomy windbreaker wrapped her tightly, the pressure so heavy it seemed to mash her into bone and blood.

Meng Shutang simply nestled in his arms, head bowed, no longer struggling.

"Gu Yunci, my head hurts."

The man obediently released her, "I'll take you to the hospital."

"No need, I'll be fine after a nap."

She placed one hand on her forehead, pushed him aside, and turned to walk toward the unit building.

The man was uneasy, followed him inside; she did not refuse, but at the doorway she ruthlessly shut him out.

Li Xiuyun stood at the window, saw her come in, and immediately walked over.

"Just now I saw a man downstairs holding you. Who was that man?"

The umbrella blocked the view, and she couldn't see his face clearly.

But she knew for sure it wasn't Lu Shenyang.

Lu Shenyang, like Meng Shutang, liked light‑colored clothing, whereas that man wore a black trench coat.

Meng Shutang's cheeks flushed slightly; she locked the door from the inside and went to pull the curtains closed.

"Just a colleague."

Li Xiuyun held her hand and asked, "Which colleague?"

"Grandma, it's late; I'm going to sleep!"

Li Xiuyun saw that she was unwilling to answer and did not ask further.

However, she decided to keep an eye on who Meng Shutang interacted with.

Gu Yunci stood outside for a while; when no more sounds were heard, he left.

The next day.

After breakfast, when taking Xin Xin to school.

From afar she saw Gu Yunci come over to drop off Song Yilin; Meng Shutang suddenly stopped, squatted down in front of Xin Xin, and said, "Xin Xin, shall we not attend this kindergarten? Mom will transfer you to another school, okay?"

Xin Xin looked at her, like a little adult, and asked, "Transfer where?"

She hadn't decided yet.

"Mom, you don't want me to see Uncle Gu, is that it?"

Meng Shutang was slightly stunned.

"Actually, for a long time I've known that Mom doesn't like Uncle Gu, but Uncle Gu and Yilin are both very nice; I like them a lot."

Meng Shutang didn't know how to answer at that moment, but seeing that time was running out, she took her hand and walked toward the kindergarten entrance.

After a few steps, Xin Xin suddenly grabbed her again, "Mom, Xin Xin likes Uncle Gu; don't transfer me."

Xin Xin likes Gu Yunci.

Gu Yunci has never not liked Xin Xin.

Even though she constantly refused to let Gu Yunci acknowledge Xin Xin, she knew better than anyone that they were blood relatives.

Gu Yunci is also stronger than Meng Zhibang.

In the same city, Meng Zhibang ignored her for fourteen years, while Gu Yunci, even without knowing that Xin Xin was his daughter, still treated her well.

After dropping Xin Xin off, Meng Shutang didn't go to the Gu Clan but went straight to Wanxing Ge.

The moment she pushed open the office door, she saw that bouquet of champagne roses at a glance.

The flowers were placed in the most conspicuous spot on the desk, fresh and clean, with a rich fragrance.

There was no card and no signature.

But Meng Shutang instantly knew who had sent the flowers.