Chapter 75: This Life's Beloved, Only You

Meng Shutang only froze for an instant, then coldly stepped back, moving away from Gu Yunci.

"I don't know what I did to cause President Gu this kind of misunderstanding?"

Gu Yunci trembled his hand, pointing at the necklace on her neck, "I've always thought this belonged to Jin Xing."

Upon hearing that, the color drained from Meng Shutang's face little by little, her gaze went empty, as if pulled into a distant past.

She pressed her lips together lightly, did not dodge, and stared at him seriously.

"Jin Xing has a necklace like this; I've always thought that such obscure, ancient things would only be used, worn, or given by him."

"Back then you two were so close; I always thought he gave it to you."

"This morning, in the drawer of his old house's room, I saw an identical necklace, and finally realized I had misunderstood you."

It turned out he had always thought she loved Gu Jin Xing.

Gu Yunci looked at her, "The one you love… is me, right?"

Meng Shutang stared at him steadily, her eyes calm with no ripple, "President Gu, we are already divorced."

"Does it matter who I love?"

Her cold, absolute rejection made Gu Yunci panic; in an instant, his heart felt hollow, and he couldn't help moving to Meng Shutang's side, pulling her into his arms.

The force was so great it seemed to mash her into bone and blood, embed into his soul; as if the moment he let go, she would, like four years ago, vanish from the world's corner—he used all his strength yet could not find her.

"It's very important, very important to me."

He pressed his jaw against the top of her hair, his voice hoarse and broken.

"That's you, not me." After a few seconds, Meng Shutang said lightly.

But she didn't move, didn't push him away, as if the embrace wasn't for her.

Gu Yunci buried his head in her neck, his grip tightening unconsciously, trying to melt all the years of debt, regret, longing into this trembling embrace.

"Shutang," from not far away, Lu Shenyang's voice called, "I bought breakfast."

In an instant, Gu Yunci's body suddenly stiffened, his arms holding her rigid, all the force drained the moment those words arrived, leaving only emptiness.

He kept the embrace for at least five seconds before slowly releasing.

His chest was assaulted by countless stabbing pains, making even breathing unusually difficult.

She truly… no longer belonged to him.

He slowly let go; he didn't even have the right to hold her one more second.

Meng Shutang looked at him, without blame nor words, simply turned, smiled, walked over to greet Lu Shenyang, then slipped her arm around his and entered the courtyard.

Gu Yunci froze there, watching their intertwined silhouettes disappear down the hallway.

Autumn wind was bleak, brushing the face with a growing chill.

He didn't leave either, standing there, feeling the lingering warmth of her in the void.

Meng Shutang returned upstairs, set the breakfast, then stood by the dining table and glanced downstairs.

That familiar yet unkempt figure was still downstairs, maintaining the posture from just now's embrace.

She gave it a single glance, her heart a little sour, and pulled the curtain.

"Grandma, Xin Xin, come have breakfast."

Though she grew up abroad, the family's eating habits were still of Hua Guo; as soon as she sat down, Xin Xin began to eat heartily.

Seeing Li Xiuyun liked salty vegetables, she proactively placed salty vegetables in front of her mother‑in‑law.

She gave Lu Shenyang one of the big shrimp from the plate.

Seeing Meng Shutang deep in thought, he picked up a dumpling for her, "Eat as much as you want; last night you barely ate."

Meng Shutang took it, "Thank you, baby."

Lu Shenyang glanced at Meng Shutang, asked Xin Xin, "Xin Xin, is the soup good today?"

Xin Xin nodded, "Oh my, so fragrant!"

Grandma teased her, "How about this egg pancake?"

Xin Xin, "Oh my, it's incredibly tasty."

A few adults at the table burst into laughter; Meng Shutang asked her, "Where did you learn this dialect?"

Xin Xin, "From grandma's phone TikTok."

After the meal, Meng Shutang took Xin Xin to the nearby kindergarten, originally just to take a look.

The kindergarten teacher said it seemed fine, could enroll that day.

Because usually the pick‑up is done by grandma and aunt, grandma is older, lives nearby, letting the child sleep more and sparing the elder is best.

So Meng Shutang paid the fee that day.

It is a Montessori Bilingual Kindergarten, charging much more than ordinary kindergartens.

Tuition plus meals, 7,500 yuan per month.

Meng Shutang had learned that ordinary nearby kindergartens cost about 2,000 yuan a month, so she didn't think it was expensive.

After completing enrollment, several people went to a nearby park.

……

Gu Yunci left Qingluju and returned to Qian Shui Wan.

He was exhausted, just wanted to take a shower, lie in bed and sleep well.

But after bathing and returning to the bedroom, he lay down exhausted yet felt no sleepiness at all.

In his mind kept replaying, "President Gu, we are already divorced. Does it matter who I love?" "That's you, not me."

He pulled the curtains; during the day he created a night‑like feeling, he kept his eyes open, lying motionless.

Like an empty shell stripped of all strength.

The bed was huge, soft, the sheets and pillowcase fragrant, yet he simply couldn't fall asleep.

He also didn't make things difficult for himself, just lay in bed all day.

In the middle, Aunt Zhang called for him to get up and eat; he said, "I'm not hungry."

Aunt Zhang knocked but got no answer; she looked over from the balcony of the neighboring room, the curtains were drawn, and she couldn't see anything.

She was both worried and afraid, so she took out her phone, intending to call Meng Shutang.

Four years had passed, and she didn't even know if this phone number could still reach her.

She was just trying her luck; she scrolled through her contacts and found the number labeled "Young Madam", then dialed it.

And surprisingly, the call went through.

"Miss Meng, I'm Aunt Zhang. Do you still remember me?"

Meng Shutang found Aunt Zhang's voice warm; after all, when they were at Qian Shui Wan, Aunt Zhang had treated her well.

"Aunt Zhang, why did you suddenly think to call me?"

"Miss Meng, please come back and see our young master… He came back from your place this morning and locked himself in his room, not eating, not drinking, not opening the door—I don't even know what he's doing in there."

After you left four years ago, he's often been like this; once, he almost lost his life.

Just come over once and persuade him, okay?

On the other end of the line, she hardly thought before saying, "Aunt Zhang, I've already divorced him."

Whether he lives or dies, is happy or sad, it's none of my business."

"From now on… please don't call me like this again."

After saying that, she hung up directly.

Aunt Zhang stood at the doorway, letting out a sigh.

The next day.

In the early morning light just spilling into the floor-to-ceiling windows, Gu Yunci already appeared in the grand living room, dressed in a perfectly tailored high-end suit.

The man's fingertips fastened his cufflinks neatly; his brows and eyes were clear and handsome, every movement refined and crisp, without a hint of sloppiness.

No one could see any trace of discomposure or heartbreak on his face.

He hadn't eaten breakfast and just headed out.

Aunt Zhang saw him and said, "Young master, where are you going?"

The man glanced sideways slightly, "To the office."

As a result, as soon as he arrived at the company, he saw a crowd gathered at the entrance of the first-floor stairwell.

He approached and saw Bai Cixian standing in the crowd, clutching a stack of documents and sobbing.

Especially when she saw Gu Yunci walking over, her voice rose several decibels.

"Meng Shutang, how could you do this? I just wanted to talk to you properly; even if you dislike me, you couldn't have pushed me down the stairs, could you!"