Chapter 4.

“But I’ve always seen you as my little sister, a sweet, lively girl who always knows how to bring a little joy into my life.”

Gu Xing added it casually, his gentle tone practically handing me an official “World’s Best Little Sister” certificate.

“Honestly, I’m partly to blame. I should’ve made things clear to you sooner. I just never realized… your feelings would last this long. An’an, I hope what I’m telling you now… isn’t too late.”

The moment I heard that, something inside me cracked.

“As for Gu Shen… I know the two of you got off to a rather dramatic start, but as his older brother, I still hope you can learn to get along and build a good life together.”

Then, as if that weren’t enough, he tossed in one final piece of wisdom.

“Sometimes, even when the road ahead looks beautiful, it’s worth stopping for a moment and looking back at what you might have missed behind you. You never know—you might find something unexpected.”

Me: That sounds incredibly profound…

My brain: Absolutely refusing to process it.

The only thing he said before leaving that I understood perfectly was:

“Gu Shen will be back in a few days. I’ll let you know his flight time.”

“He’s coming back, so what?” Xu Chi immediately countered, sounding completely unfazed.

“You two got married in a rush. As for your feelings, let’s just say they’re still buffering. Are you seriously planning to go pick him up at the airport?”

“And besides, has he even bothered to text you these past few days? Why waste your energy worrying about him?”

Me: Choking.

What she said made perfect sense…

And yet somehow, it still felt wrong.

“A few days ago, you were the one demanding a divorce.”

My head started spinning in increasingly complicated circles.

Okay, yes.

I had said that.

But saying something was one thing.

Actually going through with it was another.

Just yesterday, my mother had called me with some very “warm” maternal advice:

— Hold on tight to Gu Shen.

— Don’t let him run away.

— And if you actually manage to lose him, prepare yourself for a family-wide beating.

Ah, the tenderness of motherhood.

Xu Chi then delivered the final blow.

“Actually, when you think about it, Gu Shen is pretty damn decent. He’s handsome, he’s got a great body, and he’s ridiculously capable. Just accept your fate and be Mrs. Gu.”

“Besides, the older brother is already taken. If you can’t have him… marry the younger one. They’re both Gu men anyway.”

“Holy shit!”

Xu Chi suddenly jumped to her feet while scrolling through her phone.

“Qiao Yi’an! Look at this!”

I snatched the phone from her hand.

Breaking news about Gu Shen.

The photos were crystal clear. No zooming required.

A gorgeous mixed-race woman.

Candlelit dinner.

His arm around her waist.

The whole package.

“An’an, don’t believe all that nonsense online. There’s nothing going on between Gu Shen and those girls.”

The moment the rumor broke, I was summoned straight back to the Gu family home.

Gu Shen’s mother sat beside me, comforting me like a child who’d just had her candy stolen.

As for me…

Honestly?

I wasn’t happy.

My chest felt tight, as though someone had stuffed a wad of cotton straight into my heart.

It was uncomfortable.

“Auntie, I’m really fine.”

I said I was fine while unconsciously pinching the little bit of belly fat around my waist.

Compared to that gorgeous woman…

Yeah.

I was happy to play background scenery.

That night, I slept in Gu Shen’s room.

The moment I lay down, I realized something.

The entire room smelled like him.

The sheets.

The pillow.

Even the air.

Everything carried that familiar scent of his perfume—a cool, fresh ocean fragrance.

I stared at the pristine white ceiling, unable to fall asleep.

After a while, I finally admitted something to myself.

Maybe…

Just maybe…

I was starting to miss that sharp-tongued jerk.

Four days later, Gu Shen came home.

The airport descended into chaos as reporters swarmed him.

Questions about the gorgeous woman came flying from every direction.

He merely gave them a faint smile.

“Thank you all for your concern.”

He neither denied the rumors nor confirmed them.

When he finally got home, he gave me a look as cold as an air conditioner set to sixteen degrees.

Then he turned around and walked upstairs.

No greeting.

No explanation.

Nothing.

I stood there, wishing the floor would open up and swallow me whole.

In the end, Auntie Gu was the one who dragged me upstairs and casually shoved me into his room.

The door opened.

Gu Shen was changing clothes.

The moment I stepped inside, my eyes landed on his broad, muscular back.

There were several faint scratch marks across it.

Suspicious.

Suggestive.

My heart dropped straight into my stomach.

I sat down dazedly on the edge of the bed.

Those scratches…

They couldn’t possibly have been the handiwork of that gorgeous mixed-race woman, could they?

Just thinking about it made me rub my face like I was kneading dough.

Finally, I took a deep breath and decided to break the suffocating silence.

“Um… Gu Shen, if… if you really have someone you like, then I can—”

I didn’t even get the word “divorce” out.

He spun around.

“Qiao Yi’an, are you really that unhappy about being married to me?”

His voice dropped, as though he were trying desperately to suppress something.

But I saw it.

Just for a split second—

There was hurt in his eyes.

I quickly explained.

“No! That’s not it. I just don’t want to hold you back. Besides, what happened between us was a mistake from the very beginning…”

The corner of his mouth lifted into a humorless smile.

“Qiao Yi’an, you really are an idiot.”

He stared at me.

“Do you honestly think anyone can force me to do something I don’t want to do?”

I froze.

Completely.

Wait…

What exactly was he trying to say?

The next morning, when I woke up, he had already gone to work.

I dragged myself to the café to open up, my mood somewhere between terrible and nonexistent, my mind floating several miles above Earth.

Then—

CRASH!

I walked straight into the glass door.

The glass shattered.

And there I stood in the middle of the wreckage like the tragic heroine of some ridiculously dramatic soap opera.

I stared at the disaster in front of me.

All the frustration I’d been bottling up for the past few days suddenly surged like a tidal wave.

“Waaaaah!”

Crying and shaking, I fumbled for my phone and called for backup.

“Chi Chi… I broke the door… It hurts so bad… My head hurts, my hand hurts… Come save me…”

Twenty minutes later—

The person who came rushing into the café was Gu Shen.

“Qiao Yi’an! Are you okay?!”

He looked at the shattered glass, then at me.

My face was filthy.

Tears and snot were everywhere.

For some reason, the moment I saw him, I wanted to cry even harder.

The tears practically turned on by themselves.

Gu Shen hurried behind the counter and examined the cuts on my face and hands.

I completely forgot about our cold war.

The moment I opened my mouth, I started crying.

“Gu Shen… it hurts…”

He didn’t say much.

He simply scooped me up into his arms.

“We’re going to the hospital.”

After my hand was treated, we left the hospital.

He walked ahead.

I trailed behind him like a lost shadow.

Now that I was sober, the embarrassment was finally setting in.

I’d cried like someone who’d been dumped three lifetimes in a row.

And I’d even called the wrong person for help.

I’d meant to call Xu Chi.

Apparently, my drunk fingers had decided Gu Shen was the better choice.

I was busy silently reflecting on my life when—

Thump!

I walked straight into his back.

“Ow!”

“Use your eyes to watch where you’re going. They’re not there for decoration.”

“I was looking…”

“Yeah? And how exactly were you looking if you managed to smash straight through a glass door?”

I had no comeback.

I looked at him.

Thinking about how cold he’d been toward me these past few days, I suddenly felt wronged all over again.

I reached out and lightly tugged on the hem of his suit jacket.

My voice came out tiny.

“Gu Shen… could you stop ignoring me? Can we make up… please?”

He looked at me.

His expression was… complicated.

“Do you know why I’ve been ignoring you?”

I answered honestly.

“No.”

His face darkened like a storm was about to roll in.

“Gu Shen…”

I pulled out my best puppy-dog eyes.

He stared at me for a few seconds.

Then he sighed like a man who had finally surrendered to fate.

“Qiao Yi’an…”

His voice was filled with helplessness.

“Could you temporarily shut off that ‘I’m in love with Gu Xing’ part of your brain and actually look at what’s right in front of you?”

“Look at what?”

His eyes slowly turned mournful.

“Look at me.”