Night Fire Lingering

Wen Yan was met with a long silence.

Wen Yan saw that the man outside the door had a grim expression and his thin lips were tightly pressed together.

It's clear that they don't just not want to talk about it, they don't even want to mention it.

"Gu Yanci, why did you marry me?" Wen Yan's voice unconsciously rose.

Wen Muzhi said that he married her because of Gu Jingzhou, because he wanted to steal her away from Gu Jingzhou, and that she and Gu Jingzhou didn't have that kind of feeling. Wen Yan wouldn't believe it easily, so she came to ask.

Gu Yanci stared silently at the door, his voice now firm and resolute:

"Wen Yan, open the door."

He already knew she was inside.

The two people were separated by a door, yet it was as if they were facing each other directly.

The atmosphere in the air unconsciously became heavy.

"Did you marry me because your grandparents forced you to?"

Wen Yan couldn't bring herself to voice her speculations about Gu Jingzhou.

Gu Jingzhou had always been a good brother to her and Gu Yanci. To place such sordid speculations and thoughts on a deceased person, especially one who was Gu Jingzhou, was a desecration!

"No."

The man's answer was very clear and without hesitation.

"Why is that?" Wen Yan's mind was filled with Wen Muzhi's words.

Gu Yanci's eyes darkened slightly.

He couldn't possibly tell Wen Yan that Grandpa Gu's insistence on marriage was entirely due to his own subjective will from beginning to end!

At the time, Wen Yan had no intention of marrying him. If it weren't for his scheme, Wen Yan might be dating a senior she likes at school now, just like any other student.

She would probably hate him even more, seeing through his despicable and shameless nature.

"never mind."

Having received no response from Gu Yanci, Wen Yan gave a self-deprecating laugh and leaned against the wall.

He himself probably felt that the reason about Gu Jingzhou was hard to say aloud—Wen Yan really couldn't think of any other reason besides that.

"Gu Yanci, is your lawyer available today?" Wen Yan asked, turning to him.

The man's eyes flickered.

Wen Yan said, "Go home and rest. I hope that next time we meet, it will be when you have arranged to talk to a lawyer."

"Wen Yan, what happened?" Gu Yanci didn't understand why Wen Yan was suddenly so determined.

"Nothing happened." Wen Yan's voice was tinged with melancholy. "I'm just tired of it."

-

Because of Mingzhu's direct PhD program incident, all postgraduate admission recommendations at Imperial Capital University are being re-examined.

The next day, Wen Yan went to the old house and subtly expressed to Madam Gu her intention to separate from Gu Yanci.

"Separate?" Old Madam Gu asked, her voice tinged with shock, sadness, and a hint of hope. "What kind of separation? A temporary separation, or... a divorce?"

"Grandma, it's the separation in divorce."

"Xiaoyan..."

Wen Yan held the old man's hand: "But don't worry, even if Gu Yanci and I separate, I will still respect and love you. I will come to accompany you whenever you need me."

Madam Gu's cloudy eyes were moist, filled with sorrow.

"Xiao Yan, did Aci do something to upset you or... do he/she do something to offend you? Is divorce really necessary? You two were fine just a few days ago, weren't you?"

“Gu Yanci is a good person. He hasn’t made me angry or done anything to wrong me. But Grandma, we’re not a good match. You know, the timing of our marriage wasn’t good. I think we should both start a new life. As for the past few days… I hope you have a happy birthday.”

Madam Gu opened her mouth, hesitated several times as if she wanted to say something, and ultimately said nothing.

Seeing that her face looked a little pale, Wen Yan said worriedly, "Grandma, you must take good care of yourself."

Old Madam Gu secretly wiped away her tears.

Wen Yan had dinner with Old Madam Gu at the old house and left only after Old Madam Gu's emotions had calmed down.

Gu Yanci received a call from Old Master Gu the moment Wen Yan left the old house, saying that Wen Yan had told Old Madam Gu about her idea of ​​divorce.

Gu Yanci called Wen Yan, but Wen Yan refused to answer.

"Your sister-in-law isn't answering your calls?" Lou Qi smiled slyly when he saw Gu Yanci's unpleasant expression.

Gu Yanci glanced at him, his eyes unusually gloomy and solemn.

Lou Qi realized the seriousness of the situation and forced a smile: "What's wrong?"

Gu Yanci didn't speak. Seeing that he was in a really bad mood, Lou Qi stood up and said, "Come on, want to have a drink?"

After three rounds, Gu Yanci remained sober.

After three more rounds, Gu Yanci remained sober.

The evidence is that when Lou Qi asked Gu Yanci, Gu Yanci didn't say anything; his mouth was tightly shut.

Lou Qi belatedly realized that Gu Yanci was constantly looking at his phone.

After having a few more drinks, I pulled up Wen Yan's phone number and just stared at it, as if looking at it a little longer would bring me a call from Wen Yan.

Lou Qi: "..."

That's just being stubborn!

Lou Qi didn't know what had happened between Gu Yanci and Wen Yan, but he called Wen Yan anyway.

"Sister-in-law, it's me, Lou Qi," Lou Qi said. "Brother Ci is drunk, could you come and pick him up?"

“Me and him…” Wen Yan frowned, “It’s not convenient for me to pick him up right now.”

She wasn't sure how much Gu Yanci's friends knew about her discussion of divorce.

"Sister-in-law, did you and Ci-ge have a fight?" Lou Qi asked sharply.

"Ah."

"Hey, even though you've argued, you're still his wife, right? You should take him home first. He's been drinking for three hours straight, I'm worried he'll end up in the hospital!"

-

"Sister-in-law, the person is now in your hands!"

Lou Qi was very shrewd; as soon as Wen Yan arrived, he found an excuse to leave.

"Hey, wait—"

Before Wen Yan could finish speaking, Lou Qi had already slipped away.

Wen Yan: "..."

Gu Yanci sat on the sofa, holding a glass of whiskey in his hand, about to drink it.

A hand suddenly appeared and stopped his wine glass.

Gu Yanci looked up, and in the dim light, the man's cold eyes were revealed.

The moment he saw Wen Yan, his gaze became exceptionally intense, as if he were trying to capture her gaze.

"Gu Yanci, are you still conscious?" Wen Yan stood across a coffee table from him.

The man lowered his eyes again, picked up another glass of wine, and tilted his head back to drink it.

Wen Yan quickly grabbed his wrist and felt that his body temperature was so high that it was almost burning her hand.

"Gu Yanci, stop drinking." Wen Yan walked over, grabbed his arm, and tried to pull him up.

The man, however, pulled her hand down!

Caught off guard, Wen Yan lost her balance and fell, landing in Gu Yanci's arms.

"What are you doing——"

As soon as Wen Yan opened her mouth, a large hand grabbed her lower back and pulled her forward, so that she was pressed against Gu Yanci's body without any gap.

The thin fabric couldn't block the heat emanating from the man's body, and Wen Yan almost had the illusion that her skin was being burned. The strong smell of alcohol hit her face, intoxicating.

"Gu Yanci!" Wen Yan exclaimed in surprise.

"Mmm." Gu Yanci responded, showering Wen Yan's cheeks and lips with tender kisses.

This is a booth in the bar's main hall, surrounded by people, but the lighting is dim, and no one notices anything unusual about Wen Yan and Gu Yanci.

Wen Yan tried to push the man's face away, but she couldn't push him away at all. Instead, she received an even more intimate kiss from the man.

The kiss wasn't clean; it was filled with desire, yet it was different from when he made love to her.

The kiss seemed to be a simple desire to kiss her, a desire to go further, yet a reluctance. Every kiss was filled with caution, and his hand rested on her waist, holding her tightly without any extra movements.

"Wen Yan".

"Wen Yan".

"Wen Yan..."