It was late at night. Everything was quiet. She could vaguely hear the rustling of the wind, but it was not so real to her, as if she was dreaming. Du Xiaoxian half-opened her eyes, seeing Gu Nianbin was not beside her. She was in a trance for a moment. She clearly remembered that he had returned. Although she had already fallen asleep when he returned, she heard him open the door, went to the bathroom to take a bath, and then slept in the room. Was it just a dream?

A light blue night lamp was on at the corner of the wall. As the faint light shone, the room appeared somewhat lonely. She propped herself up and looked at the balcony. There was indeed a familiar figure there. So she felt relieved. It wasn’t a dream. He really came back.

After wearing the shoes and getting out of bed, she quietly walked over like a kitten. Gu Nianbin’s figure was tall and he stood in front of the window. His hair was slightly messy and drooped. He looked a little tired. The red light between his fingers flickered like a sparkling ruby. The faint moonlight shone on him, making his body appear as smooth as water and revealing his clear silhouette.

Du Xiaoxian hugged his waist from behind. The man seemed to be startled. He quickly put out the cigarette butt in his hand and turned to look at her. “Why did you get up?”

Du Xiaoxian’s voice was soft and low as if she was talking in a daze, “You weren’t beside me.”

The man wrapped her in his thick nightgown and said warmly, “I am beside you. Of course I am. It’s cold outside. Let’s go in.”

Du Xiaoxian buried her head in his arms and breathed in the man’s thin pajamas, making him warm and itchy. Gu Nianbin gently stroked her back and said softly, “What’s wrong? Can’t you fall asleep?”

“Brother.” Du Xiaoxian called him after quite a while. But she stopped, as if she wanted to say something.

Gu Nianbin lowered his head and kissed her forehead. He replied and asked, “What do you want to say?”

“Gu Group…” The little girl finally mustered up her courage and asked, “Will it collapse?”

“Of course not,” said Gu Nianbin. “With me around, how could Gu Group collapse?”

“But it’s in a very difficult situation now, isn’t it?”

After quite a moment of silence, Gu Nianbin said, “Yes, it’s in a very difficult situation. But it doesn’t matter, Xian’er. If we encounter any difficulties, we shall solve them. Although it is tough, everything will be overcome.”

“Shen Li said that Jiang Kaiwei has a 70% chance of winning.”

Gu Nianbin raised his head and slightly distanced himself from her. “When did you meet Shen Li?”

“I met him at lunch today. I also saw Jiang Kaiwei.” Seeing the man’s unhappy expression, the little girl hurriedly told him everything in full detail.

When he heard her words, Gu Nianbin’s expression relaxed and he even smiled slightly. “Did Jiang Kaiwei leave early? It looked like he was angered by you.”

“I didn’t make him angry,” said the little girl, raising her face in confusion. “I just tried to reason with him.”

“He is not a reasonable person, so he is afraid of reasoning with others the most. As soon as you reasoned with him, he could do nothing but leave.”

Du Xiaoxian said, “That was because he felt guilty.”

Gu Nianbin smiled. He picked her up in his arms with his big hand and entered the room. “Let’s go to sleep. I have to fight tomorrow, so I must refresh myself.”

He uncovered the warm quilt and put the little girl down. He also went to the bed. Du Xiaoxian took the initiative to snuggle into his embrace. Her fingers gently pulled on the pajamas on his chest. Gu Nianbin grabbed her hand and said, “Don’t move and sleep now.”

Then Du Xiaoxian stopped moving. But she was unwilling to give up. She raised her head slightly and kissed his neck. She rarely propositioned him from her own initiative. So she felt very shy. She only put her lips on the man’s hot neck and did not dare to move.

But the man sighed and patted her back. He seemed to be sleepy, and his voice was hoarse and vague, “Stop messing around and sleep.”

Du Xiaoxian felt a little aggrieved. After all, she rarely took the initiative to proposition him. However, she was instantly relieved. Who would have the mood to think of anything else in the face of such a thing? She thought she appeared thoughtless and became even more anxious. The man had always been hungry for her and almost enjoyed himself every night. But he hadn’t touched her since they came back from Yawan. This meant that things were really serious!

The man’s breathing grew heavier. He snored lightly and must have fallen asleep. But Du Xiaoxian couldn’t sleep for a long time. She pressed her face against his chest and listened to his heartbeat quietly. Only this sound was the best lullaby, causing her to fell asleep slowly in the end.

When she woke up in the morning, the man was not around as usual. Du Xiaoxian rolled over and carried Gu Nianbin’s pillow in her arms to continue sleeping. There was still his smell left on the pillow. She felt hugging it was like hugging him.

After a short nap, she got up and pulled open the curtains. It was another gloomy day. The gray clouds were so heavy that they seemed to fall down at any moment. It was also strange. It had been a long time since the Beginning of Spring. However, the weather hadn’t improved yet and was always cloudy and rainy. The rain pattered down, making people annoyed.

After breakfast, Du Xiaoxian made herself a cup of hot tea. Holding the cup, she stood in a daze in front of the window. It rained again. The rain wasn’t heavy. The sound of the rain hitting the window was very gentle like a spring silkworm gnawing at mulberry leaves. If she didn’t listen carefully, she wouldn’t be able to hear it.

The rain was trickling down the window. When she saw through it, the scenery outside was blurry and twisted. She could not gaze into the distance as usual but only see the buildings nearby and the traffic below. Beyond them, it was overcast.

In this kind of weather, Du Xiaoxian seemed to be depressed. Originally, she wanted to paint. But at this moment, she could not raise her interest and just look at the rain in a daze.

When she drank more than half of the cup of tea and was thinking if she should add some hot water, the doorbell rang. Du Xiaoxian was slightly stunned. People rarely visited this place. So who could it be?

As soon as she opened the door, she froze. Fang Yaru looked at her and smiled. “Long time no see, Xiaoxian.”

Du Xiaoxian regained her senses and was very flustered. Ever since she fell in love with Gu Nianbin, she was most afraid of seeing Fang Yaru and Gu Guangxian. She always felt that she had done something wrong and wished she could never see them again for the rest of her life.

“Aren’t you inviting me in?” Fang Yaru came from a well-known family, and her movements were elegant and proper.

Du Xiaoxian was pale by comparison. She was at a loss and stumbled, “Mam, Madam, hurry, please come in.”

Fang Yaru was smiling. But she sighed in her heart. How could such a timid girl become the Gu family’s daughter-in-law? She didn’t know if Du Xiaoxian was good at housework as a wife. But she was sure that Du Xiaoxian was not good at social contact.

Du Xiaoxian invited Fang Yaru to sit in the living room and ran to the kitchen to make a cup of hot tea. She placed it gently in front of Fang Yaru, stood there and lowered her head.

But Fang Yaru showed a kind expression and waved her hand. “Sit down, I have something to say.”

Du Xiaoxian didn’t dare to raise her eyes. She sat in the chair opposite Fang Yaru.

“Xiaoxian,” Fang Yaru said slowly as if she was afraid of startling Du Xiaoxian. “Don’t be afraid. I’m not here to scold you. I’m here because,” She sighed. “Nianbin has been in big trouble recently. Our Gu family is in trouble. I really have no choice but to come and beg you.”

Hearing the word “beg”, Du Xiaoxian was so shocked that she almost arose. She hurriedly waved her hands. “No, no, madam, whatever you want me to do, I’ll do it. Don’t say the word ‘beg’, I…” She lowered her eyes and said, “You should scold me…”

“Let’s forget about the past,” Fang Yaru said as she took off the scarf from her neck and placed it on the sofa. She seemed to get a little relaxed. “To be honest, neither his father nor I agreed that you and Nianbin may live together. He went back to beg us and knelt in the living room a whole morning. He really looked so pitiful that we tacitly agreed to him. But we only agreed that you could live together. Your marriage was absolutely impossible. Even if you give birth to a child for him, you will not be the daughter-in-law of the Gu family. You should be able to figure out the reason for that. In the past a hundred years, the heirs of our Gu family have always married women from well-known families. You may think that we are old-school. But a marriage that is not matched is not blessed in the Gu family. I hope you understand it.”

“I understand.” Du Xiaoxian whispered. “It’s already my fortune to live with Young Master. I can’t be so greedy. I know Young Master and I are not a good match, and I tried to leave him. But Young Master is…” Du Xiaoxian’s eyes turned red. For fear that she would cry, she bit her lips and didn’t dare to continue.

Fang Yaru sighed, “I know you’re a good girl. Nianbin is so persistent. He has grown up and doesn’t listen to us anymore on many things. That’s why I come to see you today. As long as you two didn’t get married, everything would be safe and sound. However, recently the Gu Group is in trouble. You might know it. This crisis is really dangerous. Some shareholders have even called our fixed-line phone at home. His father has originally been in a bad condition. He is now so anxious that he can’t even get out of bed. Now, there is only one person who can save Gu Group. That is Xia Xiaowan. The Xia family has said that as long as Nianbin agrees to marry Xiaowan, Xia Group will help Gu Group.”

Du Xiaoxian lowered her head. She didn’t say anything and just bit her lips. A bright red color slowly spread on her lips, giving her pink lips a glittering color. She felt the smell of blood in her mouth. But the little girl seemed to be unaware of it and still bit her lips tightly. Fang Yaru’s voice seemed to come from a very distant place. But she heard what Fang Yaru was saying clearly.

“Our Gu Group is a big company. But just because of this, it is a burden. A slight move in one part may affect the situation as a whole. If there is no outside help, Gu Group’s hundred-year heritage will really be destroyed. If that’s the case, Nianbin will be the Gu Family’s sinner. Xiaoxian, you are not born in a wealthy family. So perhaps you don’t know the meaning of inheritance. As the leader of the Gu Group, he is obliged to pass down his ancestral heritage to the future generation. Nianbin’s father was gentle in temperament and didn’t have good health, so he was not a good successor. However, he still did his best to support Gu Group and passed it on to Nianbin. Ever since Nianbin took over, Gu Group has flourished. Everyone said that Nianbin is better than his father. His ability is obvious to all. Do you really want him to be a sinner through ages for you?”

A sinner through ages! No. Du Xiaoxian shook her head. How could she make Gu Nianbin a sinner through ages? Absolutely not!

The rain outside gradually grew heavier, smacking the windows heavily. A gust of wind seemed to blow into the room and pounced coldly on her face. The wind brought with it a bone-chilling chill. When it was sucked into her body, even her blood became as cold as ice. It slowly stopped flowing and was blocked. This chill took away her temperature, causing her entire body to gradually turn cold. Du Xiaoxian felt as if she was sitting in a frozen and snow-covered land. She only felt cold…