The navigation showed that there were still two kilometers to the destination.
Seeing the veins bulging on the hands gripping the steering wheel, with wrist bones protruding, Zhao Chiyun thought that Gan Xun seemed to have slimmed down a bit from working days and nights every day.
She felt an impulse to transfer some money.
“What’s wrong, can’t I call you that?”
Gan Xun felt like she had just downed half a cup of Americano in one gulp—heart palpitating, panicky, excited, and dizzy. She could only try to stay calm and communicate: “Legally speaking, you can’t.”
“We’ve only just established an intimate relationship and haven’t been together long. Calling me that is too hasty, but theoretically, it’s possible.”
When people got shy, they tended to be nitpicky. Her wording was formal, but the emphasis was often after the “but.”
Zhao Chiyun asked, half understanding: “But Cui Can and Lawyer Tang have only just started dating, and they haven’t known each other as long as we have, yet they call each other that.”
“I’m slower to warm up.”
Even as she said that, Gan Xun overcame her shyness and coaxed: “But if you want to call me that, go ahead.”
Zhao Chiyun wasn’t so easily fooled. “Then you call me once.”
Spare me.
Gan Xun held back pathetically, feeling her legs go weak, almost unable to drive.
After mumbling for a while, Gan Xun finally spotted the destination and hurriedly said: “That’s my aunt’s house.”
Zhao Chiyun looked over. “Oh.”
It looked like the home of a well-off family, not some rural household. They clearly weren’t short of money.
Yet they had never taken care of the struggling Gan Xun.
She now understood what Cui Can meant. It was truly not easy for Gan Xun to grow up so strong; there weren’t many normal people in the family.
Gan Xun had shifted the topic but felt a bit guilty about it. She reflected inwardly: How weak am I? It’s just a form of address. Would calling it once kill me?
She worked up her courage and was just about to say it when Zhao Chiyun already held up her search records. “I looked it up, and this term really shouldn’t be used lightly. Not only is it too intimate, it’s a term for spouses, equivalent to ‘wife.’ We’re not married, so no need.”
Gan Xun suddenly regretted it. If only she hadn’t dawdled; she could have gone along with it. Zhao Chiyun wouldn’t have thought to look it up.
With that, she even lectured Gan Xun with great seriousness: “I won’t call you that anymore. You absolutely must not call me that in front of your aunt.”
Gan Xun smiled: “…Thanks for the reminder.”
Not that crazy.
Before Zhao Chiyun even got out of the car, Gan Xun’s aunt came out to greet them.
Her actual age was unknown, but she looked quite a bit older than Gan Hua. She was a tall woman with a few streaks of white in her hair, but her energy was excellent.
Her face was fairly kind, and she was very polite to Zhao Chiyun. “I’ve always said our little Xunxun has such proper looks that ordinary people can’t compare. I didn’t expect young ladies these days to be so stunning one after another.”
Gan Xun asked: “Where’s Uncle?”
“His project just started these past couple of days, so he can’t come back. He told me to make a few extra dishes to entertain you.”
Gan Xun smiled, used to it.
In her impression, her uncle was always doing projects in various places, providing his two daughters with affluent living conditions and the confidence to study abroad.
Though her cousins also complained about their father’s absence, Gan Xun couldn’t even chime in. Who made her own father’s standards abysmally low?
The courtyard had a nursery bed with all sorts of vegetables. When they got to the dining room, Gan Xun’s aunt emphasized that they were all home-grown, absolutely nutritious and healthy.
Zhao Chiyun had already let go of her wariness toward modern food. As Gan Xun said, there was no benefit in poisoning her. But hearing this still pleased her.
During the meal, Gan Xun briefly chatted about her life this year—changing jobs, moving homes.
Her aunt also talked about her two daughters’ recent situations and showed Gan Xun photos of her granddaughter. In the warm and harmonious atmosphere, she suddenly changed tack: “Have you been in touch with your dad lately?”
Gan Xun fell silent right away, not very eager to respond, though she had some mental preparation.
Zhao Chiyun asked on her behalf: “Why does she need to contact her father?”
Gan Yu said: “You don’t contact home much either, do you? As daughters, no matter how busy you are, you should call regularly to make your parents happy.”
Zhao Chiyun had only been genuinely puzzled at first, but now she was pricked where it hurt. Her expression soured, and she didn’t hold back: “From the sound of it, you don’t know your brother as well as I do.”
“If he truly acknowledged having a daughter, he wouldn’t wait for one he never personally raised to reach out.”
Gan Yu was immediately put on the spot. She hadn’t expected an outsider to meddle in family matters. She glanced at Gan Xun, hoping she would cut in.
But Gan Xun was still smiling as she picked food for Zhao Chiyun, nodding repeatedly, not minding at all that someone was badmouthing her family.
Gan Yu sighed, realizing this was Gan Xun’s intention. She spoke from the heart: “Her dad is just like that—not targeting Gan Xun, not a bad person. He did pay to raise Xunxun this big. I’m thinking of what’s best for her. You young people aren’t married yet and don’t understand. Her dad has no other kids now. It’ll only benefit her to get closer.”
“There are plenty of downsides.”
Gan Xun didn’t want Zhao Chiyun fighting her battles anymore and complained directly: “Seeing him makes me uncomfortable all over. It reminds me of how he treated me before.”
“Auntie, you’ve considered it, and so has he. The moment I tracked him down, he worried I wanted money. Last time I went to his house, he pretended to be on a business trip and sent his wife to deal with me. He asked if I was unemployed and needed cash.”
Hearing “wife” come out of Gan Xun’s mouth, Zhao Chiyun’s eyes lit up slightly. She looked at Gan Xun with a smile.
Since it was about someone else’s wife, Gan Xun said the word utterly naturally, without a trace of emotion.
Gan Yu fell silent but still tried to put in a good word: “His wife is no pushover. I think she’s the one stirring things up. Might be a misunderstanding.”
“I’ve heard he said you blocked him because he found a guy from a good family and wanted to introduce him to you.”
Zhao Chiyun thought to herself: Yeah, there was one. She even went on a blind date, had a meal face-to-face, and chatted amiably.
Gan Xun scoffed: “When did he learn to tattle? He just wants to climb the social ladder and become in-laws.”
“Marrying into a wealthy family wouldn’t be a loss for you either.”
“He picked out a bastard son for me. Who knows how many older brothers and sisters above him, complicated family dynamics. I’m an illegitimate daughter myself—door-to-door match or not, I’m not stirring that pot.”
Her aunt fell silent again and murmured: “I really didn’t know that.”
“He only remembered he had a daughter he could use when he saw profit in it. Auntie, do you want me wading into that mess too?”
“Who told you that? Could it be…”
Gan Xun knew she was still dreaming. “The person involved told me. They even said he has no say at home and gets sidelined. Marrying him would mean being a servant in a wealthy household. Don’t I get it? He just doesn’t think I’m good enough and wants me to back off. I told Gan Hua, and he didn’t care, told me to learn how to please a man. Should I not block him?”
Gan Yu frowned solemnly, silent. She probably hadn’t expected her conscienceless brother, at his age, to still screw over his only daughter.
Gan Xun felt no great waves in her heart. She’d rehearsed these words long ago, and with Zhao Chiyun by her side, she was in a good mood.
But she still put on a displeased face: “Auntie, if you have to bring him up, don’t invite me for meals next time.”
She was only pretending to throw a tantrum when Zhao Chiyun obediently slammed her bowl down.
Gan Xun and Gan Yu looked over together. Zhao Chiyun sat ramrod straight, exuding an air of “if Gan Xun doesn’t eat, neither do I.”
Gan Xun quickly soothed: “It’s fine. We’re still eating this time. Eat in peace.”
The topic shifted just like that. Gan Yu stopped pressing her niece and asked instead: “Miss Zhao, do you have a boyfriend?”
Zhao Chiyun nodded. “I do. Quite a few friends.”
Gan Xun smiled and whispered a reminder: “She’s asking if you’re dating.”
“Should count as yes.”
Gan Xun immediately asked: “What do you mean ‘should’?”
Gan Yu added: “If you have a boyfriend, you have one. No need to be shy.”
“No boyfriend.”
Zhao Chiyun stressed: “It’s not shyness either. When feelings run deep, we didn’t deliberately label it. It just happened naturally.”
Alarm bells rang in Gan Yu’s ears. She gave her one correct opinion of the day: “That’s no name, no status. How can that be? Girls need to protect themselves. Don’t end up with a bastard child—it’s hard to handle.”
As she said it, she thought of something and glanced at Gan Xun. “I don’t mean…”
Gan Xun cut her off: “I agree.”
If you can’t give a child a normal family, better not to have one.
After the meal, Gan Xun’s aunt insisted they stay the night, but neither wanted to, citing early work the next day.
So they had some awkward fruit chat. In the afternoon, Gan Xun’s uncle hurried back for a quick meet, and then they left.
Since they were driving and it was still early, Gan Xun deliberately took a detour, bringing her to wander a bit at the foot of the mountain.
Seeing that Zhao Chiyun liked the shimmering water and lush woods here, she asked: “Want to stay? We can book a hotel tonight, treat it like a trip.”
Zhao Chiyun hesitated: “Two women staying at a hotel—is it safe?”
“Pick a safe one.”
Gan Xun led her to book a room like a seasoned pro.
On the surface, she was calm, but her heart pounded when handing over the ID card. It was her first time bringing a girl she liked to a hotel big-bed room. She felt all sorts of guilty and flustered, afraid the front desk would see through them.
The front desk was swamped with holiday crowds and had no time to speculate on their relationship.
But upon seeing Zhao Chiyun’s ID card, she suddenly looked up, stunned, as if verifying if the person matched the photo. Then she realized the real person was even more beautiful.
Check-in complete, they smoothly entered the elevator, ascending steadily.
Gan Xun had booked a lake-view room. They were lucky to get one left that day. It cost her several days’ wages for one night, but opening the door proved it worthwhile.
Zhao Chiyun loved the lake and mountain views. The hotel was tall enough for a distant vista, hazy green peaks visible across the lake.
The mountains here weren’t high, but they soothed the eyes.
Zhao Chiyun had never seen this view in either of her lives. Excited, she ran to the floor-to-ceiling window, glanced down, and staggered back.
Gan Xun went over to steady her. “Don’t be scared. Look far out, not down. Even I, who isn’t afraid of heights, gets spooked looking at the ground from up here.”
Zhao Chiyun’s legs were jelly; she could only cling to her to recover, inhaling her reassuring scent.
The two sat on the floor by the window, watching the sunset in full.
Until the room darkened, Gan Xun couldn’t resist leaning over for a kiss.
“Let’s discuss giving each other a title. I don’t know if you want to, but I think having a name and status feels more secure.”
Even if it couldn’t last forever.
In the room before the lights came on, with noses touching, Zhao Chiyun felt her caution and sincerity.
Gan Xun said softly but firmly: “How about from today, we officially become each other’s girlfriends? The kind where you can call me anything afterward.”
After sunset, in the mottled dusk of river and sky, they embraced, kissed, and fell into the good night.
