Chapter 43: We Become Wan Wan’s Family

Su Wan curiously unwrapped the baggage, and inside was a neatly folded skirt.

She was slightly startled, as she didn’t expect Gu Huaizhi to notice that she hadn’t bought new clothes and had bought a skirt for her while she was hiring a carriage.

Looking at the color and style of this skirt, it happened to be a ruqun ^[1]襦裙(rú qún) = ruqun, is a traditional Chinese dress that she had glanced at in the shop.

A white upper garment and a purple long skirt.

Su Wan was pleasantly surprised and really liked it. She eagerly changed into the skirt.

With a bright smile on her face, she twirled around and the skirt swirled around her. As she turned around to prepare to go out, she noticed that the door had opened at some point, and Gu Huaizhi stood there like a wooden stake. In front of him stood Gu Baozhu, her mouth wide open, with an expression of astonishment.

“Is it beautiful?” Su Wan tugged at the skirt’s hem, and regretted that there was no mirror in the room.

Gu Huaizhi’s gaze was deep and focused on Su Wan. The long skirt trailed on the floor, looking elegant and beautiful in the middle of the room.

It had delicate and graceful folds around her slender waist, rippling like water waves as she moved, exuding a breathtaking charm.

Gu Baozhu nodded vigorously. “It’s beautiful! Especially beautiful!”

Su Wan’s eyes curved as she said to Gu Huaizhi, “Thank you for the gift. I really like it.”

Gu Huaizhi’s dark eyes were calm like water. He gave her a faint glance and didn’t respond to Su Wan. He lowered his gaze and his voice was slightly hoarse as he admonished Gu Baozhu, “Knock on the door before entering the room.”

Gu Baozhu realized her mistake and said sheepishly, “Big brother, I’ll remember.”

Gu Huaizhi didn’t spare another glance at Su Wan and left indifferently.

Su Wan furrowed her brows, sensing that Gu Huaizhi seemed colder towards her now?

Clearly, he was fine in the carriage before.

After she finished eating the roast duck, Gu Huaizhi handed her a handkerchief and a bamboo tube filled with water.

Su Wan muttered, “Unpredictable.”

Oh well, she couldn’t be bothered with him.

After a tiring day, Su Wan had dinner, rested for a while, washed up, and went to sleep.

——

The night was calm as water.

Inside Gu Huaizhi’s room, an oil lamp was lit, and he sat by the table, flipping through a book.

Gu Jingyun slept in a sprawled position on the bed, drooling from the corner of his mouth, and slept soundly.

Mother Gu knocked gently on the door and brought in a bowl of medicine, then placed it in front of Gu Huaizhi. She didn’t leave but pulled out a chair and sat down, and asked softly, “Huaizhi, can your illness be cured?”

Worry filled her eyes, showing a heavy burden on her mind.

Gu Huaizhi smelled the bitter medicine and lowered his gaze, and said, “It can’t be cured.”

Mother Gu felt her heart tighten, and tears swirled in her eyes. She wiped the corners of her eyes with her rough hands. “Wan wan is a good girl, we can’t hold her back. Where there’s a stepmother, there’s a stepfather. She won’t have a good life if she goes back. I think she has resigned to her fate. Mr. Zhao is a good match for her. If they can be happy, I can have some peace of mind. Let’s be her family.”

She didn’t wait for Gu Huaizhi’s response and left the room.

Gu Huaizhi’s eyes were tinged with darkness, clouded and unclear, with a hint of resentment.

Su Wan is sixteen, and Zhao Wei is twenty-six, ten years older than her. How can they be a match?

He picked up a bowl of medicine and drank it all, and the bitterness numbed his mouth.

“Knock, knock, knock!”

The window was knocked.

Gu Huaizhi wiped his mouth clean with a handkerchief and put on a coat before going to the backyard.

A figure dressed in black crouched in the shadows, and upon seeing Gu Huaizhi come out, quickly handed him a letter, and said, “Master, Madam Jiang sent this letter to the capital. I brought it to you. Do you want to send it out?”