Chapter 93: Nightfall, Ripples of Feeling

Meng Shutang froze for a moment, then decisively pushed Gu Yunci off her.

She looked at him without a word, scrambled back into bed, and wrapped herself up tightly.

Gu Yunci had also frozen; he hadn't done anything like this in four years.

Over those four years, he had poured all his energy into work and searching for Meng Shutang, and his desire for intimacy had grown faint.

But just now, the breath of Meng Shutang drawing close was like a dense current of electricity, running through every limb and bone in his body, stimulating him.

That forgotten, most primal physical stirring was instantly awakened.

He had always harbored a magma-hot desire for Meng Shutang.

He looked at her, his mind filled entirely with the bed from four years ago.

He held her in the crook of his arm, his entire presence so overpowering that she kept shrinking back with nowhere to escape; his fingertip lightly pressed beneath her jaw, every inch radiating an irresistible control.

Meng Shutang felt his breathing go ragged and feared he would suddenly pounce on her, so she pulled the thin blanket higher.

The man said nothing, reached up to turn off the light, and went into the bathroom.

A full twenty minutes passed without him coming out.

Meng Shutang listened to the splashing water inside and slowly pulled the blanket down; the moment she opened her eyes, she saw the contraceptives on the nightstand.

She remembered a month before the divorce, when they went to the supermarket to buy things.

In the past, their everyday supplies had always been couple-style, but that time, Gu Yunci had bought singles.

Every single one was different from hers.

It was from that time onward that she realized he had grown cold toward her.

So before the divorce, she hadn't been entirely unaware.

Later, standing in front of the contraceptive shelf, she glanced at them and tried asking, "These... should we still buy them?"

Gu Yunci looked at the shelf. "Buy them."

She casually picked up two boxes and put them in the shopping cart.

"Wait," Gu Yunci suddenly leaned close to her ear. "It's been three years, and you still don't know my size."

Saying that, he took her hand and, in that same posture, placed the two boxes back on the shelf; then, still holding her hand, he tossed every largest-size box on the shelf into the cart.

He nearly cleared the entire shelf.

Meng Shutang's cheeks flushed hot, and she was utterly shocked—he had grown cold toward her, so they shouldn't be doing this kind of thing anymore!

The man looked at her, tapped her nose, and smiled for the first time in a long while. "We'll use them up in a few days."

Sure enough, it so happened that those few days weren't her period; Gu Yunci rarely took time off, and he wouldn't let her work either. He took her to Chengxi Bieshu, keeping her there, tangled in bed day and night.

When only one was left, he went on a business trip.

Later she went to the airport to pick him up; sex in the car on a rainy night was the last time they were together.

A tear fell onto the pillowcase, and before Meng Shutang could wipe it away, the door creaked open. The man came out of the bathroom wrapped in cold air; in the dim light, Meng Shutang watched him stretch his broad-shouldered, narrow-waisted body before lying down on the sofa.

The next day it was still raining, and they stayed another night.

That evening, Gu Yunci asked her, "Aren't you going to shower?"

Meng Shutang was busy at the computer and gave a soft "Mm."

The man pressed his lips together in a smile and said nothing.

On the third day, the sky cleared. They set out for the Tea Garden Mountain Museum.

As soon as they arrived, Meng Shutang saw that ancient bead.

The ancient bead was a warm blue-green, its color the very image of a tea garden after rain; connoisseurs called it "Tea Mountain Green"—but alas, a fine crack ran through its center, making her heart tighten.

"The crack is at the core; an ordinary person can't repair it," Gu Yunci said to the curator.

The curator nodded. "Right. I asked several experts, and they all said it couldn't be done—until that night when you recommended Miss Meng."

Meng Shutang looked at the curator. "I'm confident I can restore it."

Meng Shutang was indeed the most talented ancient bead restoration master after Zhou Xingfan; in just half a day, she had restored this museum treasure.

The curator was so grateful he could barely string his words together; when they left, he gave Meng Shutang a souvenir from the Tea Mountain Museum.

On the way back, Gu Yunci kept his eyes on the road ahead, but his gaze would involuntarily flick to the rearview mirror.

Sometimes, it would meet Meng Shutang's shimmering, water-bright eyes.

In that instant of eye contact, a faint ambiguity spread through the air; Meng Shutang panicked and looked away toward the window.

Seeing this, Gu Yunci's thin lips curved into a sweet smile.

But soon, that refined and peerless face was covered in frost.

When they reached Jiangcheng and passed a shopping mall, Meng Shutang asked to get out.

Gu Yunci thought she wanted to go shopping. "Should we go to Wu Yue Guangchang? I heard a new barbecue restaurant opened there. After dinner, we can take a walk to digest, and you can stroll home."

Meng Shutang said, "No, my brother Shenyang is waiting for me. Pull over right now."

Whether it was jealousy surging or Meng Shutang was genuinely urgent, Gu Yunci felt that if he didn't stop, she would turn on him on the spot.

He had thought that with the weather cooperating these past two days and the two of them alone together, a candy wrapper had been wrapped around their tense relationship, and they had finally moved a small step forward.

Little did he know, it was all his wishful thinking.

He dropped Meng Shutang at her destination and drove away.

That evening, sitting in the study, he smoked cigarette after cigarette, his hand ceaselessly scrolling through Meng Shutang's social media feed.

Finally, at nine o'clock, the post he most dreaded seeing yet most wanted to confirm appeared at last.

It was a casual snapshot of a cozy, bourgeois little restaurant.

Two glasses of apple juice, a beautifully wrapped gift, and in one corner of the photo, a sliver of a man's wrist.

The caption was simple, warm, and bright.

【Eating with my brother—so happy!】

Gu Yunci stared at the Moments feed for a full half minute, jealousy churning in his heart, finally unable to hold back, he typed a line on Meng Shutang's WeChat page.

【You looked at the Moments, having fun? Your brother…… is quite good at taking care of people.】

He waited for Meng Shutang's reply, whether she would retort him or scold him, but this time, he was disappointed.

The message sank like a stone into the sea.

Staring at the phone screen, the man's Adam's apple twitched; he suddenly recalled that four years ago, Meng Shutang had sent him so many messages, yet he had never replied to a single one.

He sent one, she didn't reply, and even that made him feel awful.

She had sent so many, yet received not a single reply—how sorrowful must her heart feel?

Gu Yunci didn't sleep all night.

At dawn, just as he closed his eyes for a moment, Huo Yanchen's call came in.

"What's up?" the man's voice a little hoarse.

Huo Yanchen, "My grandfather's birthday; remember to come over tonight."

For the old master Huo's birthday, Gu Yunci had always attended every year, but this year, "Yanchen, I won't be going today; I'll have Qin Zheng prepare the gift and send it over later."

Huo Yanchen, "If you say that, it's no fun."

Gu Yunci rubbed his forehead, "In this state, I'd only chill the atmosphere."

Huo Yanchen, "I only just learned of the connection between my grandfather and Miss Meng's mother; I plan to invite Miss Meng over—given her character and cultivation, she should not refuse."

Gu Yunci had been lying down, but upon hearing that, he shot up to sit.

Huo Yanchen seemed not to have heard, "You weren't asking me about the white jade hairpin earlier, were you? I didn't want to get involved, but just now I suddenly figured it out."

Since Miss Meng got jealous and angry back then, letting her know the truth would also be a good thing.

I also invited Bai Cixian, intending to tell her the truth in front of Miss Meng tonight.

As for you, come if you want, don't if you don't."

Having said that, he hung up directly.