Chapter 20: Misunderstanding

It was Mu Xueqin’s birthday, and Mu Luoxi had only invited Ruan Yu. After lunch, Ruan Yu hadn’t seen Mu Xueqin for a long time, and the two of them had a happy chat.

Mu Xueqin’s brow was filled with the kind of tenderness one has for a daughter. Mu Luo Xi, standing beside her, pouted and complained, “Mom, am I your daughter or is A-Yu your daughter? As soon as she comes, I become a freebie you get with a phone recharge.”

Although she was complaining, her brow was filled with a smile. After a pause, she said, “If that’s the case, you might as well adopt A-Yu as your daughter, and I’ll have a sister.”

Ruan Yu thought this was a good idea, if Mu Xue Qin thought the same way, she would be happy to be adopted. She felt an instant connection with Mu Xue Qin.

Mu Xue Qin’s troubled gaze fell on Ruan Yu’s face. She would be happy to adopt Ruan Yu as her daughter, but she also knew that Ruan Yu came from a prominent family, and she was afraid she wouldn’t be qualified.

She also knew that Ruan Yu had lost her parents when she was very young, she lived with her grandfather for three years, and then her grandfather fell ill and passed away. She had received very little love from her family since she was a child, and she was also a child who lacked love. Knowing her experience, she felt very sorry for her.

Ruan Yu cleverly caught Mu Xue Qin’s troubled expression, she smiled sweetly and held her arm, “Of course I would be happy to, I really like Aunt Mu.”

“I like A-Yu too.” The troubled expression on Mu Xue Qin’s face disappeared, replaced by a kind and gentle smile.

“Mom.” Ruan Yu called out sweetly, Mu Xue Qin was excited, her eyes were a little moist.

She reached out and stroked Ruan Yu’s smooth long hair, “Good daughter.”

The two of them smiled at each other, creating a scene of motherly love and filial piety. Mu Luo Xi, standing beside them, pouted, “I’m superfluous, right? Should I leave?”

She got up and went to the kitchen to cut a plate of fruit.

Mu Xue Qin looked at Ruan Yu with gentleness, “If you were as obedient as A-Yu, I would be so relieved.”

Mu Luo Xi smiled and nodded, she looked at Ruan Yu meaningfully. She wondered if her mother would still say that if she knew that Ruan Yu had turned the huge Gu mansion upside down all by herself.

At three in the afternoon, Ruan Yu left Mu Luo Xi’s home. It was getting late, this was the first time she had gone out, and she was afraid that her Mr. Gu would be suspicious if she went home late.

In the conference room, the screen of the phone on the table lit up, displaying several intimate and ambiguous photos. The protagonists of the photos were Ruan Yu and Jiang Chen.

Gu Yan Zhi, who was in the middle of a meeting, was stunned when he saw the photos pop up on his phone. The office, which already had a low air pressure, now felt like an icehouse.

The seriousness on Gu Yan Zhi’s face was instantly replaced by anger, his eyes were like deep pools, bottomless, his voice was cold and sharp, like an ice blade, piercing the hearts of everyone present, “Meeting adjourned.”

Leaving behind those words, Gu Yan Zhi returned to his office. His anger was uncontrollable, he swept all the documents on his desk to the floor.

He picked up his phone and dialed Tang Ma’s number. Tang Ma hesitated on the other end of the line. At this point, Gu Yan Zhi was certain that Ruan Yu had indeed gone out today.

The location on the photos was a hotel, the photos on the phone were intimate and explicit. After seeing these intimate photos, he couldn’t calm down. He picked up his suit from the sofa and strode out.

He arrived at the parking lot, started the car, the journey home usually took half an hour, but this time he only took ten minutes.

Ruan Yu returned home with nothing to do, so she went to the backyard and sat on the swing. When she saw Gu Yan Zhi striding towards her, she was first shocked, then replaced by joy. She ran towards him, buried her face in his arms, her voice clear and sweet, “Husband, why are you back?”

It was only 4:30 now, usually he wouldn’t be back until after 5.

Gu Yan Zhi didn’t say anything, Ruan Yu could feel his body stiffening, she looked up at him, “What’s wrong?”

Gu Yan Zhi pulled Ruan Yu out of his arms, holding the photos on his phone in front of Ruan Yu’s eyes, “Ruan Yu, you’ve been so obedient and well-behaved these past few days, you got your marriage certificate with me yesterday, and today you went on a date with your lover to a hotel?”

Ruan Yu was stunned when she saw the photos. Gu Yan Zhi’s brow was furrowed, his eyes were filled with anger. She opened her mouth to explain, but he interrupted her.

“If you did all this just to see that man, you succeeded.” Gu Yan Zhi didn’t wait for Ruan Yu to explain, he didn’t give her a chance to speak, he pulled her towards the basement.

Ruan Yu could feel his anger all over him, she also knew what he was going to do, she shook her head in terror, “Yan Zhi Ge Ge, don’t…”

Gu Yan Zhi’s anger at this moment had burned away any remaining rationality. At work, he was calm and decisive, he never made a mistake, but whenever it came to Ruan Yu, he couldn’t stay calm.

Gu Yan Zhi’s eyes were red, as if he couldn’t hear the tremor in Ruan Yu’s voice. At this moment, he only had one thought, that Ruan Yu had betrayed him.

He could accept her constant coldness, aversion, but he couldn’t accept that she had given him hope, only to push him back into the abyss, to be with another man.

He remembered what Shen Yu had said, “People with excellent acting skills, you can’t see anything in their eyes.”

Now that he thought about it, he was right.

He arrived at the basement, opened the door to the basement, and pushed Ruan Yu inside.

In his anger, he couldn’t control his strength. Ruan Yu was pushed to the ground, she cried out in pain.

Hearing Ruan Yu’s pained cry, Gu Yan Zhi’s rationality returned a little, his eyes were dark, he looked at Ruan Yu in the darkness.

His heart was filled with a dense pain.

Ruan Yu ignored the pain in her hand, she got up and was about to go out, but Gu Yan Zhi had already locked the door from the outside and left.

“Yan Zhi Ge Ge, the person in the photos isn’t A-Yu.” Ruan Yu’s voice was full of grievance, tears welled up in her eyes, “Don’t leave A-Yu here, A-Yu is scared.”

Gu Yan Zhi’s body stiffened for a moment, the fist at his side clenched as he walked out of the basement.

The basement was dark and airtight, the air was filled with the smell of blood. Ruan Yu knew that this basement was like an execution ground. Before, when she was playing in the yard, she heard the sound of wailing coming from the basement. She followed the sound and found it, and that was when she accidentally saw Gu Yan Zhi, like a bloodthirsty devil, his methods were cruel, the people on the ground were covered in blood, they were tortured to the point of being half-dead.

It was from that time on that she started to avoid Gu Yan Zhi whenever she saw him. Countless lives had been lost in this basement.

There was no light in the basement, in the darkness, Ruan Yu bit her lower lip, her lips turned white. She moved to a corner, trembling, hugging her legs, her heart was filled with fear and grievance.

Crystal clear tears slid down her face in the darkness, the basement was filled with the sound of sobbing.

Ruan Yu reached into her pocket and took out her phone, she looked at it, it actually had signal. She dialed Mu Luo Xi’s number and explained to Mu Luo Xi that she had been misunderstood by Gu Yan Zhi, asking her to help explain.

Mu Luo Xi was very worried after hearing this, how could Gu Yan Zhi, such a smart person, not see through this little trick?

But then again, if it were her, she wouldn’t be able to stay calm either, when love reaches a certain depth.