Chapter – 1
Gu Su was leaning against a Roman column, holding a glass of wine in her hand, and her gaze idly skimmed over the hall in front of her.
The banquet hall of Grand Sophie Hotel has always been the first choice of celebrities in N City to hold banquets, with European-style palace decoration, gorgeous thick carpets, and sparkling crystal chandeliers that embellish this banquet hall with opulence and magnificence.
In the hall, there were a lot of people mingling, and there were groups of three to five men and women, each with a decent smile, chatting about their respective topics of interest. There weren’t many people like her who had wandered away from the crowd.
In fact, Gu Su is not interested in this kind of occasion, she would rather read a book at home and listen to music, or go shopping with a few friends, than try to sell herself to strangers wearing masks.
But today was a special day, and she would have gone crazy staying alone in that empty room.
The invitation was given to her by her new coworker, Luo Xiaoan, who heard that she was alone on a weekend night and pulled her along to see the world.
“The welcome dinner of the N City Chamber of Commerce should be filled with glittering golden men, right? I’ll go and capture one, you too go for it.”
Gu Su could still recall Luo Xiaoan’s vivid and lively face when she spoke.
It was so nice, so youthful, so reckless.
Unlike her, who hadn’t aged yet, but was already stagnant.
Gu Su smiled ruefully and took a sip of wine, the sour taste instantly covered her mouth, and she realized that what was in the glass was wine and not juice.
For some reason, everyone says that wine is delicious and nourishing, only she has never been able to drink it, the sweet wine in other people’s mouths had to be forced down in her mouth. Sometimes she wonders if drinking wine is also a kind of destiny, like love, which can be encountered but can not be demanded.
She placed the wine on the waiter’s tray and headed for the nearby sound stage. The band’s performance had just come to an end, and there was only one man playing on his cell phone with his head down in the lounge area next to it, which was considered quiet.
Gu Su subconsciously also took out her cell phone and looked at it, the screen was clean, not even a brief message. As if burned, she quickly stuffed the phone into her handbag.
In the center of the room, there is a white piano, Gu Su hesitated for a few seconds, and couldn’t help but walk over and touch the black and white keyboard.
“Ding”, the piano made a loud crunching sound. A little girl stretched out her chubby fingers and pressed on it with a curious face. “Sister, why is this black?”
The little girl was wearing a puffy dress and a shiny tiara on her head, like a little princess who had strayed into fairyland.
Gu Su smiled and said, “Because they like to wear black dresses.”
The little girl seemed to understand and asked, “Then why do they all run up there? Why are they thinner than the white ones?”
Gu Su held her little hand and pressed the black button a few times, “Hear that? Even though they have the same face, they are all different inside, and each key has to have its own place so that there is good music.”
The little girl frowned and thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled: “Sister, I understand, there are many classmates in kindergarten, and everyone in a class must sit in a row and listen to the teacher, otherwise our class cannot put up little red flags.”
Gu Su was dumbfounded and couldn’t help but rub the little girl’s head, “You’re so smart.”
The little girl was praised and looked excited, “Sister, do you know how to play the piano? I want to hear Little Star, I can sing it.”
Gu Su’s expression lagged, looking at the little girl’s expectant gaze, for a moment, she couldn’t bear to refuse, and after a moment’s hesitation, she sat down on the piano bench.
She has practiced piano for more than ten years, and a little star is not a problem. With the familiar melody of “Little Star”, the little girl grabbed a lollipop as a microphone and sang in a sweet voice. Her cute expression made Gu Su really want to pack her up and take her home.
After the song, the little girl kept pestering her to listen more. Gu Su had not touched the keyboard for more than three years, so she had to play the most familiar song “Four Little Swans Dance”. The cheerful tune almost made the little girl happy. She went crazy, pretending to be a fat little swan and jumping around on the stage, attracting the attention of others.
The man playing with his cell phone next to them finally lifted his head to see the little girl pestering to play the song again, and opened his mouth to stop it, “Niu Niu, don’t annoy sister.”
The little girl made a face and obediently ran down from the stage, waving her hand with Gu Su, “Bye sister.”
The music pool was quiet again, and Gu Su sat on the piano stool, staring blankly at the black and white keys.
“Su Su, promise sis that you won’t play the piano for the next two years, okay?”
“In another year, when we both get married I’ll send you to study abroad, you can go to whichever city you like, no matter if it’s to study or to dawdle, sis will support you.”
It was as if a voice was rambling in her ears in the underworld.
She shook her head and the bewitching voice disappeared into the air.
Before she could stand up, Luo Xiaoan scurried out from some corner, casually exchanged greetings with the man on the sofa and ran to her side: “Su Su, why did you run here, I was looking for you.”
Gu Su couldn’t help but laugh, she had only known Luo Xiaoan for a month or two, and she called her “Su Su” so familiarly. “I don’t know anyone anyway, it’s still quiet here.”
Luo Xiaoan was lying on the piano, looking at her with envy: “Su Su, you’re so beautiful, very much like that …… classical beauty.”
Indeed, Gu Su’s long hair was draped over her shoulders, and with her small white dress and flowing scarf, it was as if she was a classical lady walking down from a painting.
Gu Su smiled lightly, that smile entering her eyes, and her eyes twinkling, “Is that so? That’s because you haven’t seen my sister, she’s what’s considered beautiful.”
“Really? When will you bring her to let us see, I like beautiful and handsome people the most.” Luo Xiaoan said curiously.
The smile on Gu Su’s face stalled, “She …… she’s not around anymore.”
Luo Xiaoan was about to ask why she was not around when there was suddenly a small commotion in front of the hall, and several people walked in surrounded by a man and a woman.
The man was wearing a black coat and a coffee plaid scarf, his eyebrows were deeply contoured, and his slender and straight figure fully demonstrated his cold temperament. His steps were steady, neither slow nor slow, giving him the aura of a superior.
The woman held his arm affectionately, but was blocked by him and could not see her face clearly. All she could see was her slim figure and a little black dress.
“So handsome,” Luo Xiaoan’s eyes turned red, “What does he do? Why does he look so cool…”
The smile in Gu Su’s eyes froze before it could fade away, and her fingertips fell uncontrollably on the keys of the piano, suddenly emitting a strange sound that drew several people to look over here.
Luo Xiaoan gave her a puzzled look, “Huh, what’s wrong with you Su Su? Do you know him?”
More than knowing each other.
Two years under the same roof.
It was Gu Su’s other half in the legal sense, who flew abroad on business a week ago. Today, Gu Su sent him three short messages without thinking, but did not receive a single reply. It turned out that it was not because he was busy with work and he was in a foreign country, but because he had someone to accompany him.
Couldn’t you just let her indulge herself a little bit today? It is the second anniversary of her wedding, even if it is the second anniversary of the cats and dogs together, there should be a little bit of emotion, right?
“Xiao An, I ……” Gu Su wanted to make herself appear a little more normal, but her voice still paused and choked for two seconds, “I’m going to the restroom.”
The restroom was very luxurious, with shiny marble countertops, and people handing out hot towels to wipe their hands at any time, so there wasn’t even the luxury of hiding and crying alone.
Gu Su clenched her lips and turned on the faucet, and she winced as the cold water touched her burning cheeks.
The woman in the mirror had fair skin, eyebrows like distant mountains, lips like spring flowers, and a pair of watery, yearning eyes. Although she was not as beautiful as Gu Yun, she was still a beauty.
Why would Zhang Cheng Yu not like it?
Or maybe love is just this hopeless.
She smiled at herself in the mirror and straightened her back.
The door was pushed open and someone walked right up next to her, sizing her up from the mirror.
The gaze was reckless and uncomfortable, Gu Su frowned and was just about to leave when the person called out to her, “Mrs. Zhang?”
Gu Su stopped and looked towards the person, only to see that she was about twenty-two or twenty-three, wearing a narrow black dress, her waist was barely holding her originally tall figure; her features had a kind of stunning beauty, almond eyes and low eyebrows, cherry mouth, almost perfectly combined on a small melon face.
Gu Su couldn’t help but look at her twice, somehow, this woman vaguely gave her a feeling of familiarity. Confused, she asked, “Do I know you?”
The person smiled sweetly, “I know you now, my name is Shi Xiarui, I accompanied Cheng Yu here today, I saw you from a distance, I was afraid that I recognized you wrongly and didn’t dare to say anything, I saw you enter the restroom and came over to confirm it.”
Gu Su’s heart skipped a beat. Was this… a demonstration? She looked at her steadily, with a sarcastic smile on her lips: “Why, are you so impatient?”
“What!” Shi Xia Rui was astonished, “Mrs. Zhang, don’t misunderstand, I admire Cheng Yu, however, between the two of us, we are innocent, if you don’t believe me, go ask him ……”
“Why put on airs like this?” Gu Su looked at her with pity, “I know better than you what kind of person Zhang Cheng Yu would like, don’t think that just because you accompanied him to a dinner party once that you can flaunt it, some people are just like this, they think that they’ve climbed high, but they don’t know that underneath their feet is the pavilion in air, and they don’t know when they’ll fall and be shattered to pieces.”
Shi Xia Rui’s face changed, but after a few seconds, she smiled again, making Gu Su couldn’t help but marvel.
“Mrs. Zhang seems to have a misunderstanding about me, so I won’t say much. However, people can’t help themselves a lot of the times, weren’t you just as helpless when you were with Cheng Yu?”
That expression and tone was confident, and Gu Su could even hear the malice in it.
The blood on her face gradually faded, her fingertips pinched the palm of her hand, trying to keep herself conscious: “What did Zhang Chengyu say to you?”
“Oops I’m just so talkative, Cheng Yu is going to scold me.” Shi Xia Rui lightly patted her cheeks, looking like she carried a different kind of naivety, “If anything offends you, please forgive me.”
“It seems that your heart is as high as the sky. If you have the ability to take the title of Mrs. Zhang, come and take it away,” Gu Su smiled slightly, “However, I want to advise you, this idiom has the last four words for you. Savor it slowly.”
After leaving the bathroom, Gu Su felt a little palpitated. She couldn’t stay any longer, and she didn’t want to see those two people together again.
After sending a text message to Luo Xiaoan, she left the banquet hall and took a taxi back home. When she got off at the entrance of the neighborhood, the driver asked enviously while collecting the money, “How much does this house cost? I can’t afford a toilet even if I drive my whole life.”
Gu Su just smiled and didn’t answer.
This apartment is more than three hundred square meters, located in the best part of N city. It faces the river on the left and the lake in the front. Not far away is the most prosperous CBD. There are only a few dozen households in such a large community, which is indeed luxurious.
But, what’s the use of luxury?
The air is still vaguely wafting the aroma of food, Gu Su barefoot slowly entered the dining room.
The surroundings were dark, she did not turn on the light, but she knew that the table was full of dishes, and the food that was cooked with care was already cold.
It just couldn’t be any colder than the heart in her chest.
She sat down at the table, closed her eyes, and began to imagine.
That man was the same as when she first saw him, walking towards her bathed in sunlight, that handsome face with a dazzling smile.
The corners of Gu Su’s mouth hooked and she murmured, “Why are you just comin’, try my roasted Dongpo pork, it’s been stewing all afternoon.”
“How do you know I like Dongpo Pork?”
“You guess.”
“Can’t guess, come on, you taste it too.”
……
With a “click”, the door opened, and someone walked in from the entrance and turned on the light.
The imagination is over, and reality is starkly before our eyes.
Gu Su opened his eyes, and under the light, the imagined steaming Dongpo Button Meat had already formed a layer of white oil, adding a few points of bleakness.
T/N: My first language isn’t English, and there may be some grammatical errors. But I try not to deviate from the author’s narrative. If there are any errors or nonsensical sentences, feel free to comment.
