Chapter 170: Moving Out of Qian Shui Wan

Meng Shutang is afraid the old lady will come to settle accounts, turns to Gu Yunci and says, "If the old lady comes, you apologize to her."

Gu Yunci gets up and teases her, "And what about you?"

"We don't know each other."

Gu Yunci laughs out loud, "Is it too late to draw a line now? Just a moment ago we were sitting here, that child saw it."

Meng Shutang thinks that's true, but for some reason she is a bit reluctant to turn around.

She often takes Xin Xin downstairs to play with other kids; little squabbles among children are common, some parents are tolerant, some are stricter.

She always brings the kids in a friendly way, Xin Xin is obedient, and she really hasn't encountered a scene like this before.

Gu Yunci sees her slightly pursed red lips and furrowed brows, "Turn your head and look."

Meng Shutang gets even more nervous, "Did the child and the adult come over?"

Gu Yunci reaches out and grabs her neck, as if to turn her, but only half turns; he suddenly leans down, lowers his head, and kisses her lips, "The old lady already took the child away, she never came."

He teases the child, then teases her.

Meng Shutang is about to push him away, but the man deepens the kiss.

Meng Shutang is held by him, does not move.

Gu Jin Xing parks the car by the river, gets out and sees this scene.

The park is crowded; they casually hug each other like an ordinary couple.

He stands there watching, his heavy steps feel hard to lift.

Meng Shutang lifts her hair, raindrops fall on her face; she looks up, "Is it raining?"

As the words finish, a drop lands exactly on her brow; she panics, lowers her head, curls into Gu Yunci's arms, "I didn't bring an umbrella, let's go back!"

Speaking, she glances toward the park plaza; the bustling crowd from earlier has all fled in panic.

"Just bring a man."

Gu Yunci takes off his windbreaker, uses it as an umbrella, covering the two of them.

The early‑autumn night is already a bit chilly; the wind plus the rain makes it colder. Meng Shutang reaches out and wraps around his waist; he likewise pulls her into his arms and kisses her briefly.

After an unknown amount of time, a black umbrella shades Gu Jin Xing's head, "Sir, it's raining."

The rain comes rather abruptly; Gu Jin Xing stands there unaware, the streetlamp lighting makes his shoulders damp with fine rain.

Gu Yunci and Meng Shutang talk and laugh, when Zhang Ning suddenly walks over with an umbrella, "President Gu, Shutang, this is an umbrella the gentleman gave you."

Gu Yunci and Meng Shutang's smiles fade; they stand there, looking in the direction Zhang Ning came from, but see no Gu Jin Xing.

Gu Yunci takes the umbrella, "Thank you."

Zhang Ning nods slightly and leaves; Gu Yunci opens the umbrella and says to Meng Shutang, "Let's go."

Meng Shutang pulls her gaze from the rain curtain, Gu Yunci holds her shoulders and leads her to the car.

On the way back, the two are so in sync that neither brings up Gu Jin Xing voluntarily.

The car stops at Qingluju; Gu Yunci holds Meng Shutang's hand as he gets out, "Do you want to move over and live with me?"

Meng Shutang asks casually, "To Qian Shui Wan?"

Gu Yunci shakes his head, as if he had thought it over long, "To Chengxi Bieshu, Qian Shui Wan… I don't want to live there."

"It was my parents' wedding house; now that I know the true cause of my mother's death, my stubbornness has no meaning."

These past days he has been pondering this; every time he thinks of Gu Yeheng's affair that caused the teacher to make Chu Fu fall from the spiral staircase and die horribly, his heart aches to the point he can barely breathe.

Especially when he thinks that he knew the truth but, for the sake of reputation, let the two brothers misunderstand and turned a deaf ear, it makes his teeth ache with hatred; he will never forgive this father in this life.

Meng Shutang, however, does not want to; she really likes Qingluju.

Moreover, she now feels good about Gu Yunci, but they haven't reached the point of remarriage yet, so she doesn't want it so soon.

"Can we talk about this later?"

Seeing Meng Shutang hesitate, Gu Yunci does not force her, "Fine."

He sees her home, knows Xin Xin is asleep, tiptoes in, kisses her forehead, watches a while, then tiptoes out.

Leaving Qingluju and getting into the car, he calls Gu Jin Xing, "You're back, let's meet as brothers and talk."

Gu Jin Xing replies after a pause, "Brother, I'm on a plane right now."

He pauses, "I have some things I can't figure out; once I clear my mind, I'll come back."

Gu Yunci says nothing and hangs up.

He drives leisurely, first heading to Chengxi Bieshu; after a shower he lies down, then suddenly receives a call from Zhang Ma, "Young master, are you back?"

Gu Yunci, "Zhang Ma, I'm at Chengxi Bieshu tonight, you can tidy up, lock the door and sleep!"

"But…" Zhang Ma hesitates for a moment.

"What's wrong?" Gu Yunci sits up.

"Gu Dong is at home, hasn't had dinner, just sitting there looking at the stairs. I asked him if he wants to sleep here tonight, he didn't say a word."

Gu Yunci thinks briefly, "I'll go back right away."

Twenty minutes later, Gu Yunci stands in the living room.

Gu Yeheng hears the movement, slowly turns, sees him, freezes a moment then gets up, "Yunci, why are you here?"

His tone carries a rare concern; Gu Yunci stands there, lights off, letting the moonlight sweep over the man's wrinkles, "I've lived in this villa for thirty years, how can I not come back?"

"I didn't mean that, Zhang Ma said you were at Chengxi Bieshu…"

Gu Yunci, as if not hearing, "It's been twenty‑three years, and now I think of my mother— is it too late!"

Gu Yeheng's hand jerks, the water cup almost falls, a hint of exposed anger, "What nonsense! Your mother slipped and fell down the stairs by accident, the police confirmed it."

"Slip?" Gu Yunci chuckles lowly, the laugh full of sorrow, "If you hadn't been unfaithful, if you hadn't let that woman run away, would she have been so agitated?"

The words cut like a sharp knife, stabbing deep into Gu Yeheng's heart.

His face turns pale instantly, lips tremble, he can no longer keep his composure, his voice weakens, "I admit… but honestly, it was also an accident…"

Gu Yunci did not want to say any more. "I know you will never admit it in this lifetime.

From the fact that you've never lacked women by your side all these years, it's plain to see. Go. You're not welcome here. Also, don't come again in the future."

Gu Yeheng staggered back a step, opened his mouth, but could not say a word.

Those images he had deliberately forgotten, that guilt he dared not face when waking from midnight dreams, now lay bare before his eyes.

He actually wanted very much to say that he regretted it.

If he had known that one act of dalliance would cost Chu Fu her life and turn two sons into sworn enemies, he never would have done it.

But he had always stood high above others; to make him say sorry to his own son was something he could not bring himself to utter.

Gu Yunci paid him no further attention and walked straight to Zhang Ma's side. "Zhang Ma, have someone pack our things tomorrow. We're moving to Chengxi Bieshu."

Zhang Ma said, "Then what about this place…"

Gu Yunci turned and looked at the villa. "We'll talk about it later. Right now, every time I think of it, my heart aches."

Zhang Ma said, "All right."

The two of them went upstairs. Gu Yeheng looked at the empty living room, fell silent for a moment, then turned and left.

That evening, Gu Yunci stayed at Qian Shui Wan. After breakfast the next day, he did not go to work, nor did he have Zhang Ma find someone to pack as originally planned.

Instead, he rolled up his sleeves himself, packed everything, and moved to Chengxi Bieshu.

Zhang Ma was somewhat bewildered by his decisiveness in moving out. "Eldest Young Master, didn't you like Qian Shui Wan the most? You said Madam's presence lingered here."

Gu Yunci said, "I can't keep living in the past, and I can't let Tangtang and Xin Xin live under a shadow with me."

When he was done, he glanced at his watch. "Zhang Ma, Tangtang is off work. I'll go pick her up."

With that, he left. It suddenly occurred to him that showing up empty-handed at this hour wasn't ideal, so he called Qin Zheng and asked him to order the best-reviewed handmade osmanthus fermented rice ball soup from the most reputed five-star hotel in the city and have it delivered.

When he arrived at Wanxing Ge, he saw Meng Shutang holding a thermos cup, chatting with Zhao Jing at the front desk.

"Where did the silver ear and red date soup come from?"