Gu Mingzhu was displeased with the way Gu Yan was drinking milk. "What businessperson doesn't drink alcohol? Gu Yan, you should get used to it."
"I still remember the year Mingzhu finished her college entrance exams, I secretly went drinking with Xiaoyan, and we ended up getting completely drunk." Gu Boyun recalled those days with a smile.
Gu Mingzhu's eyes and brows warmed with memories. "Yeah, I don't know which good-for-nothing guy, after two bottles of beer, started acting crazy everywhere, dragging two of his brothers to a fight."
Gu Yan blushed and tried her best to argue, "My sister's alcohol tolerance isn't much better! Aunt Ruan said that you stood on the fountain that day and shouted that if I held a martial arts contest to choose a husband, you would throw your embroidered ball."
When Ruan Wushuang was mentioned, the three of them fell silent again.
Gu Mingzhu raised an eyebrow, breaking the silence, "Gu Yan, if you're not convinced, let's have a contest," she placed the wine glass between the two of them, "How about it?"
Gu Yan glanced at the bottle and saw that there was only half a bottle left. She immediately felt confident and said, "Who's afraid of who!"
Gu Boyun chuckled and let the sisters fool around, even acting as the referee.
The two drank glass after glass, quickly finishing half a bottle of wine. Gu Yan's eyes were alluring, and her cheeks were flushed. "Look, aren't I pretty good at drinking?"
Gu Mingzhu, a seasoned businesswoman, was not drunk at all and found Gu Yan's dazed and silly appearance amusing.
The two sisters stayed in the guest room that night. After washing up, they lay down on the large bed. Gu Yan's head was still spinning. Gu Mingzhu turned off the light, lay back down on the bed, and called Gu Yan's name in the dark.
"Hmm?" Gu Yan, who was used to staying up late, still couldn't fall asleep despite having drunk some alcohol.
"I feel so tired of waiting," Gu Mingzhu sighed softly.
Gu Yan was touched when she heard her sister say this, as her sister rarely talked to her about her love life.
She also knew a little about the love-hate entanglement between Gu Mingzhu and the eldest son of the Rong family.
"Although I tell everyone that I'm going to wait for him, Gu Yan, waiting is truly a cruel thing."
As Gu Yan listened to her melancholy, she gradually felt desolate as well. Waiting was a cruel thing, and she felt a pang of sympathy.
Gu Mingzhu kicked her after she remained silent for a while, "What are you thinking about?"
Gu Yan turned and hugged her, getting closer. "Sister, are you going to wait any longer? How long?"
Gu Mingzhu sighed, "All I know is that I won't wait a lifetime."
After a long while, Gu Yan also sighed.
Gu Mingzhu turned over, her back to her, and said, "Go to sleep."
Gu Yan responded to her in a muffled voice.
After a long while, Gu Mingzhu vaguely heard Gu Yan gently pressing the keys on her phone behind her. The corners of her mouth curved up. "You think I can't scare you?"
"Hello"
Liang Feifan was leaning against the window, looking at the lights of thousands of homes, when his phone beeped with a text message notification. He opened it and saw a message from Gu Yan with only one word: "Hello."
The night seemed to soften because of this short text message.
"kindness?"
Afraid of disturbing her sister's rest, Gu Yan put her phone on silent. Without any notifications, she could only keep staring at the screen. His text message reply came quickly, equally brief, except it contained only one more punctuation mark than hers.
Gu Yan was stunned for a long time, wondering what to say. After hearing her sister's words, he was the first person she thought of, and she wanted to contact him immediately.
Should I just tell him? No, that's embarrassing. They've already broken up.
"As a partner of the Liang family, I'm curious whether President Liang later encountered anything more dangerous than that pillar."
Liang Feifan chuckled.
"Thank you for your concern. I already experienced the most dangerous thing ten years ago."
The most lethal thing? Me? Gu Yan frowned. Who is this person?
"oh."
"oh?"
Gu Yan couldn't help but laugh out loud, but then quickly covered her mouth, remembering that her sister was asleep.
"Good night." She felt like she wanted to say something to him, but after thinking about it carefully, she felt like she didn't want to say anything at all, and finally said good night.
Looking at the two reassuring words on the small screen, Liang Feifan let out a long sigh. Even a simple, polite phrase made him feel a tingling sensation, as if his heart was melting.
Gu Yan, what am I supposed to do with you?
The next day, when Gu Mingzhu got up, Gu Yan was sleeping soundly with her face turned to the side, her forehead resting on the phone she was holding.
The weather was great today. Gu Mingzhu prepared barbecue equipment early in the morning, found a scenic spot in the sanatorium area, set up a parasol, and laid out her things.
Gu Boyun lay half-reclined on a beach chair, enjoying the cool shade overhead. He sipped Lao Jun Mei tea, admiring the flowers blooming and birds singing all around him. His two daughters flitted about like butterflies, their laughter filling the air. He felt that it was truly wonderful to spend the last leg of his life like this.
Gu Mingzhu deftly flipped the barbecue fork, evenly spreading the sauce and sprinkling the seasoning powder. Gu Yan assisted her, handing her things and serving drinks.
The father and his two daughters were enjoying a happy time when a man slowly walked up the hillside behind them and shouted from afar, "Old Gu, what smells so good? I can smell it from miles away."
Upon hearing this, Gu Boyun stood up, and Gu Yan quickly went to help him.
"Both daughters are here?" Fang Zheng smiled as he looked at Gu Mingzhu and Gu Yan, and finally gave Gu Yan a meaningful look.
Gu Mingzhu greeted him generously, "General Fang, I'm busy with my men, so I didn't come to greet you. Please forgive me."
Fang Zheng waved his hand dismissively.
Gu Yan's heart skipped a beat; he was Fang Yicheng's father.
Many years ago, when she was young, she once wanted to tear this old man to pieces.
Today, Gu Mingzhu and Gu Yan were wearing matching pink crew-neck T-shirts. Gu Mingzhu paired them with straight-leg jeans and mid-heeled shoes, her curly hair flowing freely, exuding a mature beauty with a touch of leisure. Gu Yan, on the other hand, wore skinny jeans with sneakers and a ponytail, looking every bit the innocent college student. With his two beautiful daughters by his side, Fang Zheng couldn't help but feel a little envious of Gu Boyun.
"These are my two daughters. The elder one is named Mingzhu, and this is my younger daughter, Gu Yan," Gu Boyun introduced to Fang Zheng in a nonchalant manner.
"Xiao Yan, greet him. This is Uncle Fang."
Gu Yan smiled and said, "Hello, Uncle Fang."
Fang Zheng nodded. So this is the girl that Yi Cheng can't forget? She's pretty, but in his opinion, if he were to choose a wife, someone like Gu Mingzhu would be more suitable.
Gu Mingzhu brought over a large plate of roasted chicken wings, fresh fish, vegetables, and other dishes, and said, "General Fang, it's better to meet by chance than to invite someone. Let's have some together!"
Fang Zheng laughed heartily, "To be honest, I really am craving it."
Gu Boyun lay back down, and Gu Yan stayed with him, carefully placing a cushion behind him.
Fang Zheng sighed, "Old Gu, you're so lucky. It's so good to have a daughter. Unlike my family, I have three brats who are always competing to annoy me."
"General Fang is joking. It's always good to have a son who married someone else's daughter. Isn't he doubly filial to you?" Gu Mingzhu replied tactfully.
"Haha," Fang Zheng was very pleased with her. "Old Gu, is your eldest daughter engaged yet? If not, I'll have to come and propose marriage."
Gu Boyun lay comfortably, tapping the armrest with his fingers. "I, an old man, can't make decisions about the child."
Gu Yan always felt uncomfortable with an outsider at the family gathering.
Gu Boyun and Fang Zheng used to be bitter rivals, but now one has suffered a stroke and the other has cancer. As people approach death, worldly matters become insignificant. After meeting again in the sanatorium, the two often went fishing and played chess together.
Gu Mingzhu, skilled in social maneuvering, naturally seized the opportunity to inquire about the inside story of government projects from Fang Zheng. The afternoon passed by leisurely.
The day of the first draft competition finally arrived.
To be fair, Wei Bo and Yao Lin each submitted three plans, and the one with the most winning entries won the bid.
Gu Yan was checking the manuscript one last time when Jessica urged her to hurry up, saying that Rong Yan and the others had arrived.
Gu Yan nodded, but then paused when she stood up.
"What's wrong?" Jessica asked anxiously.
"I—I need to use the restroom," Gu Yan said hesitantly.
Jessica rolled her eyes in frustration, her delicate fingers curling up. "My dear lady, you really are—go and come back quickly."
Gu Yan smiled sheepishly and quickly walked towards the restroom.
My underwear is covered in red; it really is my period.
Gu Yan was at her wits' end. Her periods had become irregular after taking birth control pills several times. Now, the entire team she brought was male, and even if Jessica was effeminate, she was still a man and couldn't possibly carry sanitary napkins with her. Should she borrow some from Liang's employees? That would be too embarrassing. Besides, it was too late.
Having no other choice, Gu Yan wrapped the toilet paper around her underwear, several layers in total, hoping it would last until she finished speaking.
She was the only one missing when they went in. Huang Yi and the others, needless to say, even Rong Yan had a slightly somber expression.
She took a deep breath and walked to her seat. Jessica leaned closer. "Are you okay?"
Gu Yan nodded.
Huang Yi and his team's report was extremely long. Gu Yan analyzed the notes Jessica and the others handed her while pressing her stomach. Her periods were always excruciatingly painful, and this time it had been a long time since her period started, with heavy flow, making her lower abdomen ache as if it were being stabbed with knives.
When it was Webber's turn, she took a deep breath and stood up to go on stage.
Standing caused her uterus to prolapse, doubling the pain; her face looked like it belonged in a horror movie under the projector light.
Rong Yan seemed to stand up and leave. There was a buzzing sound below. Jessica and Lin Yuan looked at him with great concern.
Gu Yan mechanically carried the long report, even forgetting to press the remote control in her hand; the PPT remained stuck on the first slide.
Finally, she finished speaking, the lights came back on, and Gu Yan remembered to bow and say thank you before leaving the stage. Before she could even take a step, the conference room door opened.
A tall man in a white shirt walked in, followed by Rong Yan.
Huang Yi stood up as soon as he saw the visitor, his face beaming with smiles. "President Liang! What brings you here to observe the people's conditions?"
Liang Feifan politely shook hands with him and exchanged pleasantries.
Warm
Finally, she finished speaking, the lights came back on, and Gu Yan remembered to bow and say thank you before leaving the stage. Before she could even take a step, the conference room door opened.
A tall man in a white shirt walked in, followed by Rong Yan.
Huang Yi stood up as soon as he saw the visitor, his face beaming with smiles. "President Liang! What brings you here to observe the people's conditions?"
Liang Feifan politely shook hands with him and exchanged pleasantries.
Seeing that Gu Yan was still standing there blankly, Lin Yuan took advantage of everyone's attention being on Liang Feifan and hurriedly ran up to the stage.
"Vice President, are you alright?" He took the microphone and remote control from Gu Yan's hand and asked her softly. Gu Yan's fingers were icy cold, and he became even more worried when he touched them.
Gu Yan shook her head, gritted her teeth, and moved down, but her steps were unsteady.