Chapter 38: The Weight of the Past Part 2

“No.” Gu Fei returned to her usual nonchalant self. “I’m just curious if two people can live well in a marriage without an emotional foundation.”

Ming Li found herself in a dilemma. As a friend, she wouldn’t suggest Gu Fei enter a loveless marriage. But as a member of the Gu family, Gu Fei didn’t really have a choice. Finding someone with good character, a solid background, and a decent family was already a best-case scenario.

As long as the Gu family stood, Gu Fei would always have a backer. In a family like this, those who stubbornly insisted on searching for “true love” usually met with tragic ends.

After a moment of reflection, Ming Li said seriously, “It depends on the person.”

“Then are you living well right now?” Gu Fei’s eyes burned with intensity, as if trying to pierce through Ming Li’s eyes to reach the depths of her soul for the truth.

Ming Li calmly tossed the question back. “And you? Are you living well here?”

The smile vanished from Gu Fei’s lips. Both women looked up simultaneously at the magnificent Gu Manor. Beneath its glorious facade lay countless dark secrets, like a man-eating beast waiting to swallow the unwary.

Ming Li said, “Life goes on day by day. If it’s not this kind of life, it’s some other hard life. There’s no need to take it too seriously.”

“But I care,” Gu Fei said. “A-Li, do you really love Gu Qingshuang?”

Ming Li sighed. “Does love even matter that much?”

“But Gu Qingshuang doesn’t love you,” Gu Fei countered. “She loves Shen Lideng. You’re just a replacement. Don’t you remember? Your ideal marriage was ‘one life, one world, one couple’…”

“So? What am I supposed to do?” Ming Li looked at her. She didn’t know why the usually composed Gu Fei was suddenly bringing this up and crossing boundaries. Ming Li felt like a cat whose tail had been stepped on; her voice rose involuntarily. “Do I have a choice?”

“You do.” Gu Fei clenched her fists and took a step toward her. Her throat moved, and her voice trembled slightly. “You could…”

“Gu Fei.” Ming Li frowned, looking at her coldly. “Auntie, have you thought this through? What exactly are you saying?”

Looking at Ming Li’s face, Gu Fei felt a dull ache in her heart. She suddenly lost all her courage and gave a bitter smile. “I just… I feel like you don’t love Gu Qingshuang, yet you’re wasting yourself in this marriage. I’m a little scared. What if I end up like you?”

“You think I don’t love Gu Qingshuang?” Ming Li asked.

Gu Fei nodded. “Don’t you? Do you really love her?”

“I should love her very much,” Ming Li said. “She is my wife.”

“But you don’t act like it,” Gu Fei laughed. “Loving someone involves extreme possessiveness, a burning desire to share everything, and missing them after a single day apart. But you and Gu Qingshuang… when I mentioned Shen Lideng just now, you didn’t react at all.”

“Everyone expresses love differently,” Ming Li said. “Maybe I’m just different from most people.”

Gu Fei glanced sideways. “You…”

Ming Li didn’t want to dive deeper into this topic. She felt Gu Fei was acting strange tonight—perhaps because of the impending blind date. Her mood was off, and her words were blunt, making Ming Li feel uncomfortable.

“Alright,” Ming Li comforted her. “Go see what the match is like first. If it really doesn’t work, you can beg Grandmother to push it back a few years. You’ll eventually find your true love.”

Gu Fei stared at her for a long time before taking a deep breath. “A-Li.”

“Yes?”

“Actually, I’ve always had someone I liked.”

“Huh? A secret crush?” Ming Li was shocked. “I couldn’t tell at all. Since when?”

“A long time ago,” Gu Fei said.

Ming Li smiled. “Then you should go confess. Who knows, maybe they like you too.”

Gu Fei kept her eyes fixed on Ming Li without saying a word, making Ming Li grow increasingly nervous. After a moment, Gu Fei called her name again. “A-Li.”

The expression on her face gave Ming Li a sense of foreboding. Just as she was about to say something to interrupt whatever Gu Fei was going to say next, a cool, clear voice called out from the side.

“Ming Li.”

Ming Li looked over and saw Gu Qingshuang standing there in a light-colored trench coat. The night breeze blew through her long hair, and the dim streetlamp cast a long shadow. The light played upon her strands of hair as if every beam favored her.

Her face was expressionless, her eyes cold. She gave Gu Fei an indiscernible glance before greeting her calmly, “Auntie.”

In an instant, Gu Fei’s rationality seemed to snap back. She looked at Ming Li, then looked away. “I… I should go.” With that, she hurried back toward the main house.

Ming Li frowned at her retreating back, which looked almost like she was fleeing. She felt something was wrong, yet she couldn’t put her finger on what. She sighed, chalking it up to everyone being exhausted lately.

She greeted Gu Qingshuang, asking softly, “Why are you here?”

Gu Qingshuang watched Gu Fei disappear for a long time before withdrawing her gaze. “Mingyue was worried since she didn’t see you. She asked me to come get you.”

Ming Li let out an “oh” and walked side-by-side with her. Their shadows stretched out under the lights. The scene reminded Ming Li of what she had seen after work—Assistant Lin and her boyfriend holding hands affectionately.

But right now, they just walked side-by-side. Gu Qingshuang had her hands in her pockets. Ming Li glanced at her.

“What is it?” Gu Qingshuang asked calmly.

“Nothing,” Ming Li said. “I’m just a little surprised you came to get me.”

Gu Qingshuang paused. “Even if I didn’t, someone else would have sent you back.”

“But that’s different,” Ming Li murmured.

Gu Qingshuang didn’t hear her clearly. “What?”

“Nothing.” Ming Li hugged her arms. “Is Mother back yet?”

“Not yet,” Gu Qingshuang said. “She probably won’t say anything more. Mingyue can stay at the house as long as she needs.”

“It won’t be long. Once Star returns, she’ll leave,” Ming Li said. “Star finishes filming in four days.”

Gu Qingshuang’s expression flickered slightly before returning to normal. “That was fast.”

“She’s been on this set for a long time.” Ming Li kept the conversation to safe, superficial topics, and they chatted harmoniously.

Ming Li had originally wanted to mention that Star was filming with Chun Liuyi. But remembering the Elder Madam saying Qingshuang hadn’t had friends since “that incident,” and considering the strange tension between Qingshuang and Chun Liuyi, Ming Li was afraid of stepping on a landmine and ruining the decent atmosphere. She stuck to unimportant details. “She’ll probably take a break after this shoot.”

“Is she an actress?” Gu Qingshuang asked.

“Sort of. She debuted through a music variety show, so she’s a singer-actress.”

“Then she must sing well?”

“Pretty well. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have taken first place.”

“I’ve heard people who sing well are very popular.”

“I guess?” Ming Li wasn’t sure. Back in high school, Zhu Hanxing had been very ordinary and unnoticed; she only started writing songs in university, and they hadn’t attended the same school. “Anyway, she’s very popular now.”

“Indeed,” Gu Qingshuang said. “We saw her posters at the mall today.”

Ming Li was surprised. “You went to the mall?”

“I took Mingyue to buy some clothes,” Gu Qingshuang said. “She pointed them out to me very proudly.”

Ming Li knew Gu Qingshuang hated shopping malls; usually, new seasonal collections were delivered directly to the house. Yet Qingshuang had the patience to take Mingyue. Ming Li recalled the message Zhu Hanxing had sent her today.

This is 100% true! Your wife is incredibly professional with kids. All her extracurricular internships in high school were at an orphanage, and she donates up to two million to orphanages every year. Word is her original goal was to be a pediatrician, but she somehow ended up a surgeon.