Chapter 79 Part 2

Xu Dan: “[smiley]”

Xu Dan: “Fuming mad [smiley] [smiley] [smiley]”

Chi Nuan replied: “What happened?”

The chat window was instantly replaced by an incoming call from Xu Dan. The moment Chi Nuan picked up, Xu Dan exploded like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. “Isn’t this just too ridiculous!? Tell me, is this guy insane!?”

Chi Nuan said in surprise, “…Calm down and tell me what happened.”

Xu Dan rapid-fired: “His tooth hurt but he ate the cookies because he likes sweets. He asked me to do his cufflinks because his finger got cut by A4 paper and it hurt to use. The other stuff is even funnier—he said getting close to me, doing me favors, taking me to dinner, all of it was because he wants to pursue my cousin!!”

What a plot twist. Chi Nuan was dumbfounded. “Cousin?”

Xu Dan: “Yes! Cousin! She and her friends happened to be at the same hotpot place during the company gathering last time. He said he fell for her at first sight!!”

Chi Nuan caught on. “…Did you confront him? Didn’t you say you’d play it cool?”

Xu Dan gnashed her teeth. “It was raining earlier, and he didn’t have an umbrella. I walked him to the platform. He’s tall, so he held the umbrella, and afterward I realized he’d gotten half his body soaked to keep the rain off me… Tell me, Nuannuan, how was I supposed to feel? I couldn’t hold back and asked him right there why he was being so nice to me.”

“…” Chi Nuan drew in a sharp breath.

Xu Dan’s voice sounded on the verge of breakdown. “You know what he said? ‘Xu Dan, I’ve been waiting for you to ask me that for so long.’—What the hell! After that, how could I let him keep going? I kept explaining that I have a boyfriend, that we should keep our distance from now on, thanked him for his help lately, and all that. But he just calmly said I misunderstood—he wants to pursue my cousin and asked me to play matchmaker! Nuannuan, have you ever seen someone toy with people like this? Has he thought about where I put my face? So it turns out I was the one being presumptuous? And he wants me to set them up? Go jump in a lake!!!”

Chi Nuan: “…”

Du Min had nailed it—it really was just a misunderstanding. Xu Dan was mortified and furious. Chi Nuan felt like she’d gone through her own misunderstanding too, leaving her inexplicably melancholic inside.

So all those guesses about whether it was “flirting” were just overactive imaginations…

Before she finished chatting with Xu Dan, Gu Ningzi’s call cut in, asking where Chi Nuan was. Chi Nuan quickly wrapped up with Xu Dan, drove over, and picked up Gu Ningzi.

The headlights illuminated the low stone steps. A little girl in a modernized hanfu with twin space buns bounced up and down on the steps.

Gu Ningzi stood at the base of the steps, talking to someone.

Early April evenings still carried a chill. The woman speaking with Gu Ningzi wore a cheongsam, a fringed shawl draped loosely over her shoulders. “A-Ning, just listen to me this once, okay?”

“…”

It was like falling into an icy wasteland, her blood freezing solid. Chi Nuan gripped the steering wheel tightly, mustering all her strength not to flee the moment she saw Gu Miaoyan.

She was afraid.

Deep down, she feared Gu Ningzi’s family. That was why she’d flatly refused when Gu Ningzi suggested coming in together. She feared the Cheng Family taking Gu Ningzi away from her. Over the years, her scant imaginings of the Cheng Family had turned Gu Miaoyan’s smiling face and gentle voice into the start of all her nightmares.

Gu Ningzi got in the car.

Gu Miaoyan held the little girl’s hand. “Mao Doudou, say bye-bye to Auntie again. —Assistant He, long time no see.”

Chi Nuan’s hands were clammy with cold sweat. She forced a stiff smile. “Hello.”

Gu Miaoyan had thought He Zhen was driving and was momentarily stunned to see Chi Nuan. “…Hello.”

“Bye-bye, Auntie.” Mao Doudou’s voice snapped Gu Miaoyan out of it. She stepped back half a pace and waved to Gu Ningzi. “A-Ning, see you.”

Chi Nuan’s legs went weak under her. She pressed the accelerator several times before the car lurched forward. Once they were out of the Gu Residence, she asked Gu Ningzi, “Where to?”

Gu Ningzi said, “Home.”

Don’t be scared, don’t be scared… Chi Nuan kept telling herself. They weren’t kids anymore. Would the Cheng Family do something bad just because she was Gu Ningzi’s assistant now? …No way. It had been six years—she’d finally reunited with Gu Ningzi.

A jumble of chaotic thoughts flooded her. Chi Nuan felt panicked and unsettled, her heart sinking so low she wanted to burst into tears.

Oncoming headlights flashed endlessly. Cars swerved and honked furiously. Chi Nuan suddenly realized she’d veered into the wrong lane. She swerved sharply to avoid one, nearly clipping another.

Horns blared and curses flew. Chi Nuan slammed on the brakes and shifted gears, frozen in terror.

Gu Ningzi got out immediately, opened the driver’s door. Chi Nuan lifted her reddened eyes. “Sorry, Gu Ningzi, I zoned out. Sorry… almost caused an accident, sorry…”

Gu Ningzi’s face was a bit pale too. She said, “I’ll drive.”

Chi Nuan got out, her shaky legs barely holding her up. Gu Ningzi swiftly supported her.

“Don’t be afraid. It’s okay.”

Gu Ningzi’s voice had a calming effect. Chi Nuan took a deep breath, and as tears spilled out, she buried herself in Gu Ningzi’s embrace, hugging her tightly.