Chapter 14: Arrogant

◎It’s fine, sooner or later, she’ll die, hubby◎

Zhang Tao got up early in the morning, still half-asleep. After quickly washing up, he casually grabbed a jacket and threw it on, then rushed out the door to go to work.

As soon as Zhang Tao stepped out, he was startled to suddenly see Gui Xiwen casually leaning against the wall. He jumped nearly two meters back on the spot, crying out, “Holy crap! Bro, showing up so silently like that could scare someone to death!”

Patting his chest twice to calm down, Zhang Tao glanced at Gui Xiwen and started jokingly, “What are you doing waiting at my door so early? Trying to ask me out? That won’t work—I have to go to the factory. But hey, we can schedule another day.”

“Scram!” Gui Xiwen kicked at Zhang Tao.

Zhang Tao nimbly twisted away to dodge the kick and grinned. “You didn’t wait at my door this early just to tell me to scram, right? If I really leave, don’t regret it later.”

Gui Xiwen grabbed Zhang Tao’s arm and hesitated. “I have something to ask you.”

“What is it?” Zhang Tao stopped joking and looked serious.

Gui Xiwen’s lips pressed tightly together. He opened his mouth several times, but no words came out.

Zhang Tao grew impatient and slapped Gui Xiwen’s shoulder. “Come on, bro, are you going to say it or not? If not, I’m off to the factory.”

Though Zhang Tao said he was leaving, his body stayed rooted in place. He knew if Gui Xiwen came looking for him this early, it must be something serious.

Gui Xiwen didn’t waste more time and got straight to the point. “Was what you said last time true?”

“What did I say?” Zhang Tao scratched the back of his head, trying to recall. He couldn’t think of anything important enough for Gui Xiwen to be hung up on.

Gui Xiwen’s expression turned cold, his gaze sharp as a knife.

Zhang Tao’s survival instincts kicked in, and he quickly raised his hands in defense. “Hey, hey, don’t blame me. Think about it—I say thousands of words a day. How am I supposed to know which one stuck with you?”

Gui Xiwen coughed lightly. “That day when you gave me that bag of fruit candy, remember what you said?”

Zhang Tao scratched his short hair, trying to recall the moment. Finally, some fragments came to mind.

He vaguely remembered saying something like: Gui Xiwen had great qualities and any girl would be willing to marry him. Was that what Gui Xiwen meant?

No way. Gui Xiwen came to confirm that so early in the morning? He didn’t seem like someone so sensitive or shy.

Just as Zhang Tao was puzzled, he suddenly recalled the gossip he heard yesterday about Gui Xiwen and Gu Ying.

At first, he didn’t believe a word of it. After all, Gui Xiwen and Gu Ying barely knew each other—there was no interaction, let alone talk of marriage. It sounded like a baseless rumor spread by bored uncles and aunties. He had just laughed it off.

But now… could it be true?

Zhang Tao felt an overwhelming sense of unease.

He looked at Gui Xiwen with a trembling gaze, stammering, “Don’t tell me—you’re actually going to…”

Gui Xiwen could already guess what he was about to say just from his flustered state. He kicked Zhang Tao in the butt. “Get lost. If you don’t go now, you’ll be late.”

Zhang Tao snapped back to reality, looking torn and miserable. He really didn’t want to go to work right now—he wanted to pin Gui Xiwen down and force the whole truth out of him.

But reality was cruel. Being late meant a scolding and a fine.

After weighing his options, the stench of money still won over curiosity. Zhang Tao dashed toward the factory, shouting over his shoulder, “You wait! I’ll find you right after work!”

Watching Zhang Tao’s figure disappear, Gui Xiwen shook his head with a bitter smile.

Great. Still didn’t get an answer.

As he walked back, Gui Xiwen kept his head down, lost in thought.

When he passed by the supply and marketing cooperative, he glanced up by chance and was reminded of that day when he dragged Gu Ying there to buy sugar.

He paused outside the shop, staring dazedly at the wooden sign above the door.

In his memory, Gu Ying had come out holding a bag of sugar, smiling brightly. The image was vivid, and for a moment, Gui Xiwen felt like he had slipped into the past, witnessing a moment that no longer existed.

He was only brought back to the present when someone greeted him.

The Gu Ying before him was real—not a figment of memory.

Gui Xiwen turned his head slightly to hide his momentary daze and responded with a light grunt.

Gu Ying hadn’t expected to bump into Gui Xiwen standing blankly outside the store just as she stepped out. He stood there motionless for a long time, clearly deep in thought.

She politely greeted him and tried to make small talk. “What a coincidence. You here to buy something too?”

“No.”

That dry response killed any chance of further conversation.

Gui Xiwen also felt his own reply was too blunt. He coughed, trying to explain why he was there, but after several attempts, the words never came out.

Just as he was trying to build up the nerve, Gu Ying suddenly spoke. “I heard you’re planning to marry me?”

Gui Xiwen was stunned. His dark eyes locked onto her with surprise.

He didn’t deny it. The hand in his pocket slowly curled into a fist, tense.

Gu Ying looked straight at him and continued, “You say you’re going to marry me, just like that. How do you know I’ll say yes?”

Her tone was serious. Though her expression was a mix of amusement and composure, her eyes were clear and honest—she didn’t seem to be lying.

Gui Xiwen felt a cold chill in his heart. All he wanted now was to beat Zhang Tao to a pulp.

The hand clenched into a sweaty fist in his pocket stayed hidden from view, just like his tense emotions under a calm face.

A few seconds of silence passed, and the air around them seemed to freeze.

Gu Ying smiled and pulled out a fruit candy from her pocket, handing it to Gui Xiwen. “I agree.”

Gui Xiwen’s head shot up, meeting Gu Ying’s gentle and harmless smile.

That smile was so pure it stabbed at his conscience. He slapped her hand away, his voice cold. “Do you even know why I want to marry you? And you just agree?”

Gu Ying let out a snort, her tone filled with infinite tolerance. “No matter why you want to marry me, I’ll agree.”

Gui Xiwen was stunned. His long, narrow eyes narrowed as his gaze locked onto the person in front of him. He tried to detect any flaw in Gu Ying’s expression, but found nothing.

“Why?” he asked.

Gu Ying didn’t answer. She simply shoved a fruit candy into Gui Xiwen’s hand, speaking sincerely, “Thank you for the candy your aunt sent.”

It wasn’t until Gu Ying disappeared from view that Gui Xiwen withdrew his probing gaze.

He stared blankly at the candy in his palm, lost in thought for a long time.

Rumors about Gui Xiwen and Gu Ying spread like wildfire throughout the compound. Naturally, Ming Xue, who also lived there, heard the gossip.

But she was busy preparing for her wedding and had no energy to pay attention to the matter. Instead, it was her good friend Li Qing who would frequently drop by to complain.

Ever since Ming Xue and Zhang Kuo’s wedding was confirmed, Li Qing often stopped by after work to help her pick things out. Originally, Li Qing had gossiped about why Ming Xue had chosen Zhang Kuo, but upon hearing the news about Gui Xiwen and Gu Ying, she immediately changed her tune and launched into a rant.

“Hey, Xiao Xue, do you think it’s true? How could Gui Xiwen fall for Gu Ying? But Aunt Wu described it so vividly—it seems like it might really be happening.”

Li Qing didn’t really believe it, but the way Aunt Wu had told it so convincingly made her start to doubt—and she didn’t want to believe it either.

Ming Xue casually looked through quilt cover patterns, unconcerned. “It’s probably true. But knowing how prideful Gui Xiwen is, he’s probably doing it to spite me.”

“I knew it! I knew it was like that!” Li Qing jumped up, excited. “No way Gui Xiwen would really fall for someone like Gu Ying. He must be angry about you breaking off the engagement, so he picked someone completely inferior to you on purpose, just to get back at you, right?”

“Mm, that’s most likely it,” Ming Xue said as she handed Li Qing a few fabric patterns. “Take a look at these— which one do you think looks better?”

Li Qing wasn’t interested in helping pick out patterns at all. She randomly chose one, then continued the earlier conversation, “Aren’t you mad?”

Ming Xue paused, then smiled. “What’s there to be mad about?”

“Really not mad?” Li Qing watched her carefully, probing. “I’ve always wanted to ask—why did you choose Zhang Kuo?”

Zhang Kuo’s conditions were honestly too average—he was someone Li Qing wouldn’t even consider in the compound. So why did Ming Xue, so beautiful and refined, choose him?

Li Qing couldn’t understand it. She just thought Ming Xue was throwing her life away by marrying Zhang Kuo.

But Ming Xue only smiled and didn’t say a word.

No one around her understood. Not Li Qing, not even her parents. Some even said she must be possessed or out of her mind to choose Zhang Kuo.

But they didn’t know—the seemingly unremarkable Zhang Kuo would become the most successful person in the compound in the future. What was a bit of hardship now? She would have years of prosperity ahead.

Let them misunderstand. She didn’t care to explain. In a few years, everyone would witness firsthand how accurate her judgment had been.

When Ming Xue didn’t answer, Li Qing pouted in frustration. “That Gu Ying sure got lucky.”

Li Qing recalled the first time she saw Gu Ying: disheveled and clueless, a bumpkin straight from the countryside who didn’t even know where to throw out the trash.

She was inferior in every way, yet she managed to marry the best man in the compound, Gui Xiwen. What kind of dumb luck was that?

Why didn’t she have luck like that?

“Got lucky?” Ming Xue raised her brows and chuckled.

Gui Xiwen wouldn’t be around long after the wedding. What’s so lucky about that?

Gu Ying would just end up a widow—she was destined to lose her husband.

Ming Xue seemed in excellent spirits, a mysterious smile on her face. “You’re saying that a little too early. Who knows what the future holds?”