The abandoned daughter of the Lu family turns around and marries a celibate tycoon.

Lu Xiran heard the self-blame and fear in his voice. She raised her head and kissed his tightly pursed lips. "Uncle, I'm here."

She looked into his deep eyes, where her reflection was clearly seen, and said in a gentle yet firm tone, "I said I would always belong to you."

Lu Xiran remembered the bruise on his thigh, and she knew the effort he had made.

His eyes suddenly deepened, surging with a purer and more intense love and possessiveness after the effects of the drug wore off. His desire for her had long surpassed the drug's influence, becoming an instinct etched into his very bones.

Unable to speak, Gu Yanshen responded to her trust and tenderness with an even deeper kiss.

This time, there was no interference from drugs, only a clear-headed, passionate, and unreserved surrender to each other.

As the storm subsided, neither of them felt sleepy anymore. Lu Xiran nestled against Gu Yanshen's chest, fiddling with the buttons of his pajamas. The air was filled with a tender and tranquil afterglow of their passionate encounter.

"Uncle," she spoke softly, finally asking the question that had been nagging at her all night, "Why did Song Zhihe... drug you last night?"

Gu Yanshen had informed her before going to see Gu Yanxu.

Gu Yanshen's hand, which was stroking her long hair, paused slightly. His eyes darkened, and after a moment of silence, he slowly spoke: "She said she came back this time for me." His voice was hoarse afterward, but he had regained his usual calm and composure. "Drug... she probably thought that this was the fastest way to drive a wedge between us, or even to 'make it a fait accompli'."

Lu Xiran's body tensed up almost imperceptibly.

"Moreover," Gu Yanshen paused, then voiced the suspicion that had been weighing on his mind, "last night's events made me realize... that so-called 'accident' five years ago was probably also orchestrated by her using the same methods."

Lu Xiran's breath hitched, and she held it, not daring to speak easily.

Has he finally... agreed to reveal his past to her?

Gu Yanshen noticed her nervousness and hugged her tighter, resting his chin on the top of her head as he continued, "I wanted to tell you these things at a suitable time, but I didn't know how to bring it up. Because it involved her privacy, she didn't want anyone to know, and I also felt there was no need to bring it up again. But now... you have the right to know everything."

He loosened his grip slightly, letting her see his eyes, his expression serious: "Lin Chen should have told you about my background. Song Zhihe... her situation is somewhat similar. She is Song Chuhang's illegitimate daughter."

"What?" Lu Xiran's eyes widened slightly.

Gu Yanshen nodded: "The children born to Song Chuhang's legal wife are not very successful. Zhihe has been smart and outstanding since childhood. For the sake of face, Song Chuhang had Madam Song claim to the outside world that she was also his daughter. But in private, she was extremely harsh and cold to her. Even now, the Song family often threatens her with her background, forcing her to pay money to settle things or exchange for resources."

Lu Xiran remained silent. She was not entirely unaware of the dark side and deals hidden beneath the glitz and glamour of wealthy families.

"She was actually a distant relative of my second aunt, but my second aunt was very distant from her. On the contrary, my third aunt, Su Lanzhi, was close to her." Gu Yanshen recalled, "In my third year of junior high school, she often came to the Gu family to see me under the pretext of needing tutoring. At that time... she was the only person in the Gu family who showed me kindness."

His gaze drifted into the distance as he reminisced: "Once, Gu Yanbo and his friends played a prank on me, tricking me into going to the abandoned greenhouse in the back mountains. She chased after me after discovering this and managed to stop me from stepping into a snake pit. Later, I found out that the area had been sealed off long ago, and Gu Yanbo and his friends had deliberately torn down the warning seals."

He glanced at Lu Xiran tentatively, and seeing that she was listening quietly, he continued, "Later, I went to the US branch for training, and she went to the same city. Because we knew each other, she lived with me and Gu Yanbo."

"Five years ago, during a project celebration, I drank a bit too much, and when I woke up... I found myself with her. I always thought it was my fault, that I lost control while drunk." He paused, his Adam's apple bobbing, "And... afterwards she told me she was pregnant."

Lu Xiran was shocked and looked up at him abruptly: "So... you have a child?"

Gu Yanshen slowly shook his head, a complex mix of pain and loss flashing in his eyes: "I wanted to take responsibility at the time, and I was even prepared to propose to her. But..." He closed his eyes, "On the way to take her to meet my grandmother and send her home, our car was hit by a car that ran a red light."

"I still remember, at the moment of impact, she instinctively turned to protect me." Gu Yanshen's voice was a little hoarse. "So, in many things, I can't really be cruel to her. She saved me twice, and because of that... she lost that child."

Lu Xiran finally understood why Gu Yanshen always had an inextricable indulgence towards Song Zhihe.

It wasn't just gratitude, but also guilt towards an unborn life.

"Then... how did you two break up?" she asked softly.

"It was her suggestion," Gu Yanshen said, surprising everyone.

"What?" Lu Xiran was stunned.

"She probably knew back then that I wasn't Gu Qishan and Liu Lin's child, but just an illegitimate child, and my position in the Gu family was precarious." Gu Yanshen's tone was calm, with a kind of clarity that came with the passage of time. "At that time, Liu Lin, together with my second and third uncles, was trying to completely suppress me in the American branch, or simply remove me from the Gu family."

"I probably... didn't do a good enough job back then, and made her see no future." He gave a self-deprecating smile. "Then one time, I ended the project early and went back, only to find... her with Gu Yanbo."

Lu Xiran gasped, "Gu Yanbo?! You guys aren't...?"

"Yes, he's my half-brother." Gu Yanshen's tone was eerily calm, yet it carried a palpable sense of desolation. "From the moment I saw that scene, I found myself feeling a sense of relief, not sadness or anger. I understand her choice because Gu Yanbo is the rightful heir to the Gu family, capable of providing her with a more stable and glamorous future. So, I calmly broke up with her. She chose to stay in the United States to continue her studies and career, while I returned to China. To save face for her, I only told my family that she was career-oriented and didn't want to get married too early."

He lowered his head and gazed deeply into Lu Xiran's clear eyes, as if trying to see into her heart through those eyes.

"Until I met you, Ranran." His voice suddenly became incredibly gentle and resolute, filled with a sense of relief as if he had survived a catastrophe. "Only then did I truly understand what it felt like to be moved, to love deeply, to have an irresistible longing. And only then did I see more clearly that perhaps all I ever felt for her was responsibility, gratitude, and a sense of... 'guilt'."