Chapter 81 Part 2

A smile flickered at the corners of Gu Ningzi’s lips, and her deep, long eyes seemed magnetic. Chi Nuan couldn’t stare for two seconds before her soul felt pulled in. Her face heated up; she closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them, Gu Ningzi had already sat back in her chair.

Chi Nuan steadied her breathing: “…Then I’ll head out?”

The end of Gu Ningzi’s pen pointed toward the door, tapping lightly on the desk twice.

Leaving the company, Chi Nuan went to Little Wutong’s school. During the parent-teacher meeting, she frequently zoned out. When it ended and she returned home, it was just past eight.

Chi Nuan opened the door and entered, her mind still full of Gu Ningzi. Only while changing shoes did she realize how quiet the house was tonight. Had Little Wutong already gone to sleep?

She walked into the living room and immediately saw Little Wutong frowning intently at the chessboard, his hand holding a black piece hovering, unable to place it.

The person sitting across from Little Wutong, playing against him, turned her head.

Chi Nuan: “…Gu Ningzi?”

Little Wutong said: “Mommy, don’t talk first. Let me and Auntie Gu finish this game, okay?”

Chi Nuan moved closer to look. Gu Ningzi knew how to play Go too?

As they spoke, Little Wutong hesitated and finally placed his piece. Gu Ningzi looked at the board and smiled faintly.

Little Wutong: “…”

Little Wutong regretted: “Mommy, I played wrong!!”

He ruffled his little head into a mess, picked up another piece, and pondered deeply.

Chi Nuan smiled and went into the kitchen. She hadn’t eaten dinner yet, and Auntie Lu had left dumplings for her. She opened the fridge, took out a portion of dumplings, and lit the stove to boil water.

When the water in the pot boiled, Little Wutong ran into the kitchen: “Mommy, Mommy, why is Auntie Gu so amazing? Not only is she great at drawing, but she’s also awesome at Go!! I kept losing tonight, lost so badly… utterly defeated!”

Chi Nuan pinched Little Wutong’s cheek and encouraged him softly: “That’s because Auntie Gu worked very hard when she was your age.”

“Then I’ll work hard too!” Little Wutong said before running back out.

Chi Nuan added the dumplings to the pot, adjusted the seasoning, and watched them float to the surface, fishing them one by one into a bowl. Gu Ningzi walked over, and Chi Nuan asked her: “Do you want some?”

Gu Ningzi said: “Whatever.”

“Whatever” meant yes, so Chi Nuan said: “Then I’ll share a few with you.”

She took out another bowl and was about to ladle some dumplings into it with the spoon when Gu Ningzi said: “No need to bother.”

She looked at Chi Nuan, then at her hand, back and forth twice. Chi Nuan understood. She naturally lifted her hand and brought a dumpling to Gu Ningzi’s mouth.

Gu Ningzi frowned: “Not hot?”

“…It is hot.” Chi Nuan blew on it repeatedly before Gu Ningzi finally opened her mouth and bit it, eating it in two bites.

Chi Nuan asked: “Is it good?”

Gu Ningzi looked into her eyes: “Mm.”

Chi Nuan smiled with pursed lips, scooped up another one, blew it cool, and then fed it over.

After Gu Ningzi ate these two dumplings, she ate no more. Chi Nuan used the same spoon to finish the rest.

Little Wutong, holding a large bath towel, looked up at Gu Ningzi: “Auntie Gu, I’m about to go brush my teeth and take a bath. Do you want to go first?”

Gu Ningzi said: “You first.”

Chi Nuan, who was rinsing the bowl: “…??? What happened while I was out?”

“Okay!” Little Wutong grinned and said to Chi Nuan: “Mommy, I invited Auntie Gu to stay over tonight.”

Chi Nuan: “…………”

Her heart pounded. It wasn’t hard to understand Little Wutong inviting Gu Ningzi to stay—it wasn’t the first time—but why did Gu Ningzi agree? Last time could be blamed on the broken door, but this time…?

Gu Ningzi saw through Chi Nuan’s thoughts with one glance, her eyes narrowing slightly: “Don’t you check the owners’ group messages?”

From leaving the company, to the parent-teacher meeting for Little Wutong, to coming home, Chi Nuan truly hadn’t paid attention to her phone messages. Reminded by Gu Ningzi, she opened the He Nan Shan owners’ group and learned that the pipelines in that area had burst in the evening. The water utility was working overnight on repairs, and the villa district would be without water until the next morning.

No water—that was indeed very inconvenient…

Little Wutong finished his bath and hopped onto the bed, fresh and clean. Chi Nuan sat on the bed’s edge and told him about the parent-teacher meeting. Little Wutong obediently closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Chi Nuan closed the bedroom door and came out to find Gu Ningzi flipping through a foreign finance magazine on the coffee table. Caught trying to catch up on her studies by Gu Ningzi, Chi Nuan felt a bit embarrassed, but Gu Ningzi showed no reaction and casually closed the book.

“You first, or me?” she asked Chi Nuan.

Chi Nuan said: “You go first.”

Gu Ningzi had brought her toiletries and change of clothes. Chi Nuan entered the bathroom, turned on the shower for her, closed the door, and taught her how to lock it.

“You need to lift this up here…”

She hadn’t even said “lift” when Gu Ningzi raised her hand and lifted the door handle upward.

Click, the lock engaged.

“…”

Gu Ningzi looked puzzled. Chi Nuan stared down at the door handle, her eyes heating up: “…Yes, just like that, lift it up. Take your shower, I’ll go out first.”

The bathroom door closed again. Gu Ningzi raised her hand and lifted the door handle once more.

Click.

—“Send me your location, I think I’m lost.”

—“This place is really hard to find.”

—“Xiao Gu, welcome. Make yourself at home.”

—“It’s a bit broken, you have to lift it up.”

—“What about you? Are you like your mom?”

Fragmented memories awakened, still unable to connect into a complete thread.

Gu Ningzi looked at herself in the mirror. In truth, whether she remembered or not wasn’t all that important.