Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Gu Xiao was unusually quiet on the way home.
Since he wasn’t talking, I felt no urge to speak either.
“Remember what you promised me. I’m taking you tomorrow.”
As I was about to get out, he suddenly locked the car doors.
I had intended to refuse, but the stubborn look in his eyes made me change my tune.
“Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten.”
I gave him a reassuring smile and made an “OK” gesture.
Only then did he release the safety locks.
Gu Xiao’s car roared away into the distance, but I remained standing there, lost in thought.
He and Shen Yezhou used to be best friends.
They had grown up together, close enough to share everything. Before I started dating Shen Yezhou, Gu Xiao had publicly handed me a love letter. Even after I rejected him, he had the audacity to declare that he wouldn’t give up until he had no other choice.
After I began my relationship with Shen Yezhou, Gu Xiao started dating as well. However, he went through girlfriends like seasons; none of them lasted. I thought his feelings for me were just a passing whim.
But he gradually withdrew from our lives, eventually becoming a stranger to his former best friend.
I once thought I would never cross paths with him again.
Yet, after my family’s downfall, he was the one who stayed by my side through countless agonizing days and nights in the hospital. He even let himself be used as a smokescreen, successfully tricking Ye Cen into lowering her guard against me.
Aside from my parents, I had two great regrets in the first half of my life.
One was failing Shen Yezhou, and the other was being unable to return Gu Xiao’s love…
A wind began to pick up in the cold night, stinging my exposed skin like needles. I wrapped my scarf around my nose and mouth and turned toward the entrance of my building.
Not far away, a car’s hazard lights flashed abruptly.
By the glow of the streetlights, I recognized the person in the driver’s seat.
It was Madam Shen’s trusted driver, Chang Bin.
I couldn’t help but sneer inwardly.
They really were relentless.
I walked over quickly, pulled open the passenger door, and sat inside. “Is something wrong?”
“Please pack your things, Miss Ning. We leave tonight.”
His voice was as cold and blunt as ever.
“Wasn’t the ticket for six tomorrow morning?” I turned to look at him. “Is Madam Shen so impatient that she can’t even wait one night?”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he placed his phone on the center console. It was an active call on speakerphone.
“Does Miss Ning have a problem with that?” Jiang Tian’s voice came through the speaker.
She sounded arrogant and overbearing, a far cry from the dignified and virtuous persona she displayed during the day.
“I wouldn’t dare.” I narrowed my eyes and gave a soft laugh. “I just want to know if this is Madam Shen’s idea or Miss Jiang’s?”
“Is there a difference?” A scoff came from the other end. “Regardless of whose idea it is, all Miss Ning needs to know is that Aunt Shen can only rest easy once you’re gone.”
She paused. “And so can I.”
Thinking back to that final glimpse of her at the KTV, I chuckled. After just one meeting, she had already put up her guard against me. I wondered what I had done to deserve such ‘honor.’
“I’ll go, then.” I didn’t care to argue and headed upstairs.
Most of my things were already packed; only a few daily essentials remained. Once I finished, I zipped up my suitcase and took one last look around.
This apartment had been bought by my parents. We had lived here for over twenty years, and every corner held traces of my family. Unfortunately, things had changed, and even the title to the property had been transferred.
I left the keys on the shoe cabinet in the entryway, locked the door, and carried my suitcase downstairs.
As the car drove toward the highway, I opened my phone to send a farewell message to the new owner. My eyes fell on the unsent message I had drafted earlier. The impulse to provoke Ye Cen had long since vanished.
I put my phone away and gazed out the window, silently saying goodbye to this bustling city. The city lights illuminated the ink-black sky, with skyscrapers looming everywhere and neon signs glaring. This city accommodated countless lonely souls and held the joys and sorrows of a multitude.
Yet, it no longer held a place for me to call home.