Chapter 77: Talking a Bit More (Two-in-One)

Half a minute later, the caregiver pushed the door open and entered.

She was a French woman of about forty with a gentle face, who had been taking care of Pei Wanjun at the manor for several years.

Seeing Shen Yanhui, she was visibly nervous: "Mr. Shen."

Shen Yanhui did not turn his head, his gaze still resting on his mother's face: "Tell me the situation, starting from last night."

The caregiver pursed her lips before beginning: "Around seven o'clock last night, Madam's mood was still stable after she finished dinner. She sat by the bed and read for a while—it was that poetry collection you brought last time. At eight o'clock, I helped her wash up; there was nothing unusual."

"At nine o'clock, while the servant was sorting the deliveries, they found these two photos. Because they were old photos of you and Madam, they didn't think much of it and delivered them to Madam's room."

Shen Yanhui's fingers tapped lightly on his knee.

"I didn't expect that after Madam saw the photos, she suddenly started screaming, curled herself up in the corner of the wall, and trembled all over. We tried to soothe her, but she couldn't hear any sound..."

Shen Yanhui closed his eyes.

The caregiver paused and said in a low voice: "Then Madam started banging her head against the wall, and it took four of us to hold her down. The doctor rushed over and administered a sedative, but she took advantage of our shift change..."

She did not continue with the rest of her words.

But Shen Yanhui already knew; Pei Wanjun had used a secretly hidden piece of broken ceramic to slash her wrists.

The caregiver looked at this gloomy-faced, powerful man with some trepidation, as he had not spoken at all. Chang Su noticed her embarrassment and signaled for her to leave.

Shen Yanhui suddenly asked: "Sender information?"

Chang Su: "Cannot be traced. The package was sent from a delivery station in Marseille, and the information is all fake. But the surveillance captured a man wearing a hat; his face is not clear."

Shen Yanhui closed his eyes and rubbed his brow: "Keep investigating."

Chang Su nodded and turned to leave.

The hospital room fell quiet again.

Shen Yanhui watched the woman on the bed without a word; time seemed not to have left many traces on her face, which remained the dignified and gentle image from his memories.

Yet she had already been ill for over a decade.

For these ten-plus years, she had fewer and fewer moments of clarity, spending most of her time immersed in her own world, with no perception of the outside, including him.

Perhaps this was for the best, if it could make her a little happier.

He had taken her out of the Shen Family and sent her to Paris to recuperate precisely because he did not want those people and matters to disturb her.

He had not expected that someone would still reach out their hand.

Shen Yanhui's gaze turned cold.

——

Gu Yan had a rare dream about the time she was studying in Paris.

She was coming out of a gallery holding a newly framed painting, and the rain had made the cobblestone road shine.

Under a streetlamp at the corner, a man was leaning against the wall, his head hanging low, his right hand dangling at his side, his fingertips dripping.

It was only when she walked closer that she realized it wasn't rainwater that was dripping.

It was blood.

After much hesitation, she still stopped her steps.

Walking closer, she finally saw the wound on his arm; the flesh was turned outward, deep enough to see the bone. Blood mixed with rainwater and flowed down, pooling into a small puddle of dark red at his feet.

"Sir? Do you need help?" she asked in a low voice, her French a bit stumbling.

The man did not move.

She hesitated for two seconds and fished a clean handkerchief out of her bag. It was a pure white cotton handkerchief with a rose embroidered on one corner, along with a capital letter "Y".

She handed it over, but the man did not take it, only lowering his eyes to look at the crooked rose.

Gu Yan thought he was looking down on it and explained: "I embroidered it myself; it is a bit ugly."

She squatted down directly, supported his wrist with her still-clean left hand, and clumsily wrapped the handkerchief around it with her right. Blood quickly seeped through, staining the cloth red.

"This won't do." She frowned, "You have to go to the hospital."

The man finally spoke, his voice hoarse to the point of severity: "No need."

The streetlamp was dim, and she could not see his face clearly.

He looked at the painting placed to the side and asked in a low voice: "Are you a painter?"

Gu Yan shook her head: "I can't be called a painter; I'm just someone studying painting."

"It's painted very beautifully."

Gu Yan felt a bit happy to be complimented.

"I named it *Morning Mist*, meaning the sunlight piercing through the mist to scatter hope upon the world." She paused and looked at his arm, "So, when the sun rises, everything will be fine."

The dream broke there.

Gu Yan opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling for a long while before coming back to her senses.

She sat up and rubbed her temples.

How could she dream of that?

That memory was actually very blurry; she couldn't even remember the man's face, only that deep wound and the decadence surrounding him that was so thick it felt almost tangible.

She didn't know what had possessed her back then; she seemed to have even invited him to see her first exhibition.

However, that person probably didn't come.

That was to be expected; who would take a stranger's casual invitation seriously?

She shook her head, cast those old matters to the back of her mind, and picked up her phone. The screen lit up; Shen Yanhui had replied to her message last night.

She pursed her lips and smiled, typing a reply: 【I fell asleep last night, that's why I didn't reply to your message～】

Just as she sent it, his video call came through.

Gu Yan was a bit surprised; she calculated the time, and it should be three in the morning in Paris at this hour.

He hadn't slept yet.

Without further delay, she pressed the answer button.

The man's face appeared on the screen, with a white wall in the background; it looked a bit like... a hospital?

His complexion was very weary, with faint dark circles under his eyes, and stubble had sprouted.

Gu Yan hated men's stubble, finding it sloppy. But she felt Shen Yanhui's stubble was a bit different; not only did it not lower his attractiveness, it gave off a different kind of feeling.

"Why are you still awake so late? Is the matter very tricky?"

Shen Yanhui did not answer her previous question, only saying, "Not tricky."

Gu Yan was a bit worried: "Why don't you get some sleep? I'll hang up the phone..."

"Don't hang up."

"Let me look at you."

Gu Yan's heart softened; she brought the phone closer and blinked at the camera: "Look then, look all you want."

On the other end of the screen, Shen Yanhui's gaze softened.

He looked at her fluffy hair from just waking up, her slightly flushed cheeks, and those eyes that were always as bright as the stars.

It was as if something had gently ironed out the tight creases at the bottom of his heart.

"Did you sleep well?" he said.

Gu Yan rested her chin on her hand: "I had a dream, I dreamed of being in Paris before, and I saved someone."

Shen Yanhui's hand paused: "Hm?"

"Well, it doesn't really count as saving," Gu Yan tilted her head, "I just handed him a handkerchief and helped him press his wound. But that wound on his arm was so deep and still dripping blood; if it wasn't treated, he definitely would have lost too much blood."

"I also talked to him a lot, told him to pull himself together, and in the end, I even invited him to my debut exhibition."

Shen Yanhui said lowly: "And then?"

Gu Yan paused, her tone a bit dissatisfied: "Then he didn't come at all. He doesn't even know what he missed—the debut exhibition of a cutting-edge painter! He lost out big time!"

Low laughter came from the other side, and he followed her words: "It was a big loss."

Gu Yan said proudly: "It's fine, even if he wants to see it now, he might not be able to; my tickets are very hard to get."

"Then do I have the honor of seeing Mrs. Shen's art exhibition?"

"Hmm... that's definitely a given, I'll save a ticket for you when the time comes."

Gu Yan thought of something else and said: "But come to think of it, that person was quite pitiful. The rain was so heavy, and he was there all alone, looking dejected, as if he had been abandoned by the whole world."

She didn't notice that on the other end of the screen, Shen Yanhui's gaze deepened a bit.

"Then," he spoke slowly, "do you still remember what he looked like?"

Gu Yan shook her head: "The sky was too dark and the rain was too heavy, I didn't see clearly."

Shen Yanhui was not surprised.

He smiled and said: "Perhaps he is secretly collecting your paintings."

Gu Yan was stunned, suddenly thinking of that mysterious collector.

Could it be him?

But then she thought again, and she narrowed her eyes: "Alright, Shen Yanhui, is it fake that you said you liked me? If there were a man who kept secretly collecting my paintings, you actually wouldn't be jealous!"

Shen Yanhui laughed.

This time it was a genuine laugh, with fine light in his eyes.

"Why would I be jealous?" he said, his voice low and gentle, "Mrs. Shen is so excellent, it is only right that someone appreciates her. I share in the honor."

Gu Yan was coaxed until her face felt hot, but she still retorted: "Smooth talker."

"Besides."

He paused on purpose, his gaze looking deeply at her through the screen: "The bright moon has already fallen into my embrace; no matter how much others look up, they cannot touch even a fraction of it."

This sentence was too poetic and too affectionate.

Gu Yan was stunned.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but found herself at a loss for words. In the end, she could only mutter softly: "... You must have been awake for too long to say things like that."

Shen Yanhui just smiled without a word.

The two chatted for a while longer, mostly with Gu Yan doing the talking. Shen Yanhui listened more, occasionally responding to show he was listening.

As they talked on, Gu Yan's voice grew lighter and lighter.

She saw on the screen that Shen Yanhui had leaned back against the chair at some point, his eyes closed, his breathing steady, as if he had fallen asleep.

But she knew he wasn't asleep.

Because in the gaps when she paused, he would very lightly say "Hm," signaling her to continue.

Gu Yan's heart softened completely.

She lowered her voice, as if coaxing a child: "Shen Yanhui, get some sleep. I won't hang up the phone; you can fall asleep listening to my breathing, okay?"

There was silence on the other end for a few seconds.

Then a very light sound came through: "Okay."

Gu Yan placed the phone by her pillow and lay down herself. She didn't speak again, just began to hum a song she liked very much toward the screen.

"In the depths of my soul, I am lonely like a lion

Accustomed to conquering, yet on the journey

I have gained an understanding of love

Your eyes, in the crowd, are bright and clear

And so I, decided to stay for you..."

Gu Yan watched on the screen as the man's tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed and his breathing gradually became steady and long, and she said very lightly: "Shen Yanhui, goodnight."

——

After coaxing the person to sleep, Gu Yan lifted the quilt and got out of bed.

Today she had an appointment with Qin Yue to meet with a lawyer. The lawyer had been contacted by Chang Su; she was the best divorce lawyer in Jingzhou, and it was said that no marriage she handled failed to end in divorce, and no assets she handled failed to be secured.

Qin Yue had a soft personality, and Gu Yan was afraid she would change her mind at the last minute, so she had to see it with her own eyes.

In the living room downstairs, both Mother Gu and Father Gu were present.

Gu Yan yawned softly and called out, "Dad, Mom, good morning."

Yang Bing pulled her to sit on the sofa and had a servant bring over a bowl of peach gum stewed milk: "It was just cooked, eat a little to pad your stomach first."

Gu Fanglin pretended to read the newspaper, and while Gu Yan wasn't paying attention, he made a series of faces at Yang Bing.

Yang Bing glared at him in annoyance, but still spoke up: "Yanyan, that boyfriend of yours... what is his name?"

Gu Yan paused: "Didn't you both see him?"

As soon as she turned her head, she spotted the two of them acting sneakily behind the window, still pretending in front of her.

Gu Fanglin felt a bit awkward and used the newspaper to shield himself.

Yang Bing smiled and asked: "Then did he say when he would come to visit again?"

Gu Yan took a sip of the peach gum: "I don't know yet, he had something urgent come up and went to Paris."

"Paris?" Gu Fanglin raised an eyebrow, "So sudden? Could it be that..."

He paused and didn't continue, but the suspicion in his eyes was obvious.

Could it be that he was running away from the battle?

Gu Yan heard it and shook her head with amusement: "Dad, it's not what you think, he really has something to do."

"What could be so urgent?" Gu Fanglin leaned forward, "He didn't even have time to say so in advance? If this really works out, in the future if there's something going on at home, will he just leave like that too?"

Yang Bing gently touched her husband's arm: "Old Gu..."

"I'm just asking." Gu Fanglin sat up straight, feigning composure.

After a while, he couldn't help but ask again: "Yanyan, this Shen Yanhui person... he's quite a bit older than you, right?"

Gu Yan blinked: "Six years."

"Six years? See, the generation gap is already showing." Gu Fanglin put down the newspaper and said seriously, "He is approaching thirty, the age of standing firm; it is the busiest time for a man, how could he have so much time to accompany you?"

Gu Yan: "I'm not a child, I don't need someone to accompany me every day."

Gu Fanglin disagreed: "To us, you are a child."

Yang Bing brushed her hair back, feeling a bit speechless.

If you asked her, Old Gu was just overthinking things; it was just dating. If it didn't work out, they would naturally break up, was there any need to be this nervous?

Besides, she thought that Shen Yanhui looked quite good, handsome and from a good family background. Rumors were just rumors, but the way he looked at her daughter was something she definitely wouldn't misread.

Gu Yan finally heard it; he was very dissatisfied with Shen Yanhui and was finding faults in every possible way.

"Dad, do you have an opinion about him?"

"No, what kind of opinion could I have about him?"

Of course he had an opinion; he was old, his family background was complicated, his work was busy... no matter how he looked at it, he wasn't a good match.

Yang Bing exposed him: "Your dad didn't sleep all night last night, just worrying."

Gu Fanglin's face stiffened after being exposed, so he simply laid his cards on the table: "Yanyan, Dad feels that your dating experience is too shallow; if you don't date a few more, how will you know which one is more suitable for you?"

Gu Yan's mouth twitched: "Are you asking me to keep my feet in several boats?"

Gu Fanglin coughed lightly: "Why put it so harshly? You and he are just dating, it doesn't stop you from looking for better candidates; it doesn't conflict."

Gu Yan: "..."

She didn't want to be a scumbag and get gossiped about in the circle.

"Alright, Dad, stop with the wild thoughts, I have things to do, I'm leaving first."

After saying that, she slipped away.