Chapter 83: Intimacy in the Elevator

For the following period, Gu Yunci took Song Yilin to school.

Aunt Li remembered that he and Xin Xin had spoken in Zhonglin Dasha, and Meng Shutang had warned her not to let Xin Xin interact with young men again, so she sent Xin Xin very early every day.

Gu Yunci never met him even once.

Gu Yunci never met Xin Xin, but Meng Shutang had encountered him several times.

One day, after just pulling into the underground parking lot, she proactively approached President Gu, "President Gu, could you stop lingering around our neighborhood and bothering me?"

"I've already told you clearly: we're divorced, we can't be together again."

The man was tall and upright, his broad shoulders and narrow waist outlining sleek, flowing lines; even his bespoke suit couldn't conceal the innate, top‑tier elegance within his bones.

"Teacher Meng, you've misunderstood. I'm going to Qingluju, not because of you."

"My nephew attends kindergarten there, I have to see him off."

He said that brusquely, and without waiting for Meng Shutang to ask further, he left.

Qingluju is surrounded by upscale neighborhoods, with two or three kindergartens; Meng Shutang thought he wouldn't have the leisure to run there early in the morning.

She lowered her gaze to glance at her watch, saw the meeting time approaching, and stepped into the elevator.

Usually Gu Yunci took the executive‑only elevator, but today, for some reason, he took the staff elevator.

After she entered, she pressed the close button.

The elevator doors closed slowly, and as it descended to the first floor, a sudden jolt occurred, accompanied by a "ding—" sound; the lights flickered, and the cramped space instantly became still.

Meng Shutang anxiously glanced upward; amid the violent jolt, she fell against the wall, and before she could think further, the elevator plunged into a sudden, dark rumble.

The elevator malfunctioned.

The chance of such an incident in a Gu Clan building is lower than a plane crash, yet she happened to run into it.

Especially, together with Gu Yunci.

What luck—utterly terrible.

Her heart racing, she began to rescue herself, decisively pulling her phone from her bag, turning on the flashlight, and the pitch‑black elevator instantly lit up.

She propped herself to the control panel, calmly pressed every floor button, then the emergency call button, bending her posture against the elevator wall to steady herself as quickly as possible.

From start to finish, Gu Yunci made no move.

Meng Shutang only found this person terrifyingly cold and rigid; even now, he was still putting on a front.

But it seemed not so; from behind came rustling sounds, and the man's breathing began to grow labored.

Thinking of something, Meng Shutang suddenly turned her head.

Gu Yunci suffers from claustrophobia; during the early days of his marriage, the lights stayed on all night.

Later, she kept holding him, and only then did the master bedroom light gradually dim.

Meng Shutang actually didn't want to deal with him, but recalling what she told Zhou Songyan yesterday, if he were in trouble, she would lend a hand.

"Gu Yunci, are you okay?"

The man who had just been cold and imposing now had his shoulders tensed, his breathing quickening in small increments, a thin layer of sweat beading at his temples.

He lifted his gaze with labored breath, seized her arm, and fell onto her.

His whole body trembled incessantly, clutching Meng Shutang as if grasping a driftwood in an ocean.

Meng Shutang's body was pressed painfully; she tried to shift a bit to the side to separate from him, but he held her even tighter.

"You don't need to be nervous; I've pressed the emergency button."

Gu Yunci held her, not hearing a word she said.

Usually handsome and upright, the man now couldn't stand steady; his cheek was forced against her neck, his breaths repeatedly pounding onto Meng Shutang.

"Don't do that…"

Meng Shutang pushed him away in one motion, but as soon as the words left her mouth, the man fell back onto her again.

The confined, dark space felt like a hand gripping his heart, making even breathing painful.

Only Meng Shutang is his sole salvation.

He can't be without her; even if she pushes him away, he'll shamelessly cling to her.

"Don't… don't ignore me."

The man's almost disheveled vulnerability was like a cracked hard shell; his voice was hoarse, trembling uncontrollably.

Meng Shutang turned her gaze to him; a faint scent of cedar lingered on him, eyes closed, soft as a child, completely devoid of the cold indifference of four years ago.

The image of Xin Xin rose in her mind: at night, mother and daughter leaned together watching the stars, Xin Xin would cling to her, often rubbing her forehead or cheek against her neck.

Meng Shutang looked up at the ceiling.

When she left four years ago, she thought she'd never see Gu Yunci again in this lifetime, yet now, fate contrary to wishes, they were once again pressed close together.

He is neither a lofty ruler nor a relentless pursuer, just a person seized by fear…

He needs her.

She hopes that after this, the bond between them will end here.

"Don't be afraid, the door will open soon."

From above, a man's voice came.

The crack widened little by little, like a glimmer of life.

Meng Shutang supported Gu Yunci; he slowly rose, his pallid face gradually becoming composed.

His claustrophobia—he didn't know when he contracted this odd ailment, but it started when he was very young.

At that time, he was about three or four, roughly the same age as Song Yilin.

If his mathematical thinking faltered, Gu Yeheng would lock him in a pitch‑black little room and slam a line at him, "If you don't work hard, how will you manage a company in the future?"

Fear of cramped spaces and darkness—this is the hidden sorrow beneath his proud façade.

Few know about it; Meng Shutang is one of them.

As the door gradually opened, Gu Yunci's complexion became increasingly natural, and he stood more and more upright.

After the door fully opened, a hand reached down from above, "Grab me, I'll pull you up."

Meng Shutang stepped back, "Gu Yunci, you go up first."

With him, ladies are always priority, especially in a place like this, and it's still Meng Shutang.

"You go up first."

Meng Shutang knew his upbringing since childhood wouldn't allow him to abandon a woman, and without refusing, she reached out and grabbed the rescue personnel's coarse large hand.

But before she could pull, Gu Yunci shouted, "Hold on."

The maintenance hatch was a bit high; Meng Shutang tiptoed and could only reach the palm, and her body swayed during the pull, making it hard to leverage, and she might even hit the hatch.

Gu Yunci stepped forward a step and steadily supported her waist, his palm's force steady and restraining.

"Step on my hand," he said, his voice low and firm, leaving no room for refusal.

Meng Shutang's body tensed, and before she could refuse, his other hand lightly rested on her hip side, applying steady pressure, pushing her whole body upward.

The force was light yet carried an undeniable warmth, like four years ago at Chengxi Bieshu when he held her and reached for the fresh peach on the tree.

Meng Shutang was smoothly pulled up.

When she steadied herself and turned around, the rescue personnel were about to pull Gu Yunci.

Gu Yunci declined; he leaned against the wall to rest for a minute, then, supporting the opening with one hand, deftly flipped himself up.

Meng Shutang watched, not feeling surprised.

The man's stamina has always been excellent, whether in bed or anywhere else.

She still remembered a time they went hiking on West Mountain; she was too exhausted to continue, and the man carried her from mid‑slope to the summit, his steps light, breathing steady, not even a gasp.

But the next second, as she lowered her gaze, she saw his fingers hanging at his side subtly curled.

She suddenly recalled that just now in the elevator, he leaned close to her neck and murmured a phrase she didn't hear clearly.

"Just now, what did you say to me?"

It was unclear whether she was still startled and unsteady, or the man was deliberately teasing her; in front of the rescue personnel, the man swayed and raised his hand, pressing her against the wall.

"I said, in this lifetime, you can only be my woman."