Chapter 42: If I Had Known Earlier, I Would’ve Been Gentler
“Go back to your own room already!”
Mu Yi gathered all her strength and pushed Gu Zhiren out of the room.
Without giving him even a second to react, the door slammed shut with a loud bang. Gu Zhiren instinctively leaned backward and almost got hit in the head.
Thinking back to what had just happened, he felt that Mu Yi’s explanation had no real credibility, but for now he did not plan to argue with her.
He also did not think too deeply about the pool of blood. He only found it strange on the surface and did not bother digging further into it.
The corners of his mouth unconsciously lifted as he remembered the girl’s panicked expression. His usually tense nerves relaxed greatly. Slightly raising his head, he walked toward the room next door.
He was in an extremely good mood.
But when he took out his room card, the corner of his eye suddenly caught sight of a woman in a black leather outfit appearing at the hallway entrance.
It was Shen Muxue.
“Hm?”
Gu Zhiren turned his head and let out a quiet sound of confusion.
At the next moment, Shen Muxue clearly noticed him as well. The calmness in her eyes was disturbed, and a trace of coldness appeared. She looked up at Gu Zhiren, and a provocative smile appeared at the corner of her lips.
“So President Gu is here to attend the first anniversary celebration of the sightseeing village too.”
“I’m the owner here. Is it strange for me to come here?”
Gu Zhiren smiled slightly and nodded while adjusting the sleeve on his right arm with his left hand.
Every movement he made showed elegance and nobility, mixed with a natural sense of pressure. Even the air around them seemed to freeze a little.
Once again, Shen Muxue was overwhelmed by his presence, and fear quietly rose in her heart.
Her trembling hand clenched tightly.
“Can we go outside and talk? Or do you want to talk here? Either way is fine with me.”
Hearing this, Gu Zhiren first glanced at the door to Mu Yi’s room. Not wanting the noise outside to disturb her rest, he nodded in agreement.
It was late October, close to Halloween. The weather in Ruolan Town was bright and pleasant, with a gentle breeze.
The wind carried the faint smell of food.
From the tall balcony of the inn, following the smell, they could see part of the lively festival below.
On the stone streets, pedestrians smiled happily, vendors shouted to attract customers, and little pinwheels spun around and around.
Gu Zhiren silently took in the scene before him. Deep inside, he was already looking forward to going out with Mu Yi later. His eyes slowly showed a deep expression, as if he had fallen into old memories.
Then Shen Muxue suddenly spoke beside him.
“President Gu probably didn’t come here just to relax, right? That doesn’t sound like your usual style.”
Hearing that, Gu Zhiren returned from his thoughts. He could not be bothered with her guesses, so he turned his sharp gaze toward her. A polite but faint smile appeared on his handsome face.
“Instead of worrying about why I came here, it would be more practical for you to pay attention to the repayment deadline for those thirty-five million.”
“Heh...”
Shen Muxue let out a short cold laugh.
She turned to face Gu Zhiren directly, proudly raised her head, and smiled crookedly before speaking loudly.
“President Gu, I came today just to tell you one thing. I’ll repay that thirty-five million to the Gu Group very soon.”
“Don’t always think everything is under your control. There are plenty of unexpected changes in this world~”
A proud smile appeared on Shen Muxue’s beautiful face.
Gu Zhiren did not reply. Looking toward the sea, he casually raised an eyebrow.
“Believe it or not, the Gu Group will soon receive repayment from the William Hotel. But as for you, President Gu, you’re always so cold and heartless. I’m sure there are many people in this world who want to drag you down and watch you lose everything.”
Shen Muxue’s words seemed to carry another meaning underneath them.
After saying that, she stepped half a step forward and looked directly into Gu Zhiren’s eyes. Seeing how calm and relaxed he was, the smile on her face grew wider.
“You like acting like a hedgehog so much, but have you ever noticed how many people around you truly care about you now?”
Hearing that, Gu Zhiren still had a slight smile on his face, but for a brief moment, loneliness flashed through his narrow eyes. Then the curve of his lips deepened.
“Not just anyone can become a hedgehog. If people could truly understand each other’s feelings, there wouldn’t be conflict in this world. To avoid being dragged down by others, I have to make use of every second from now on. See you.”
After speaking, Gu Zhiren stopped wasting time. He gave Shen Muxue a polite nod and smile before directly leaving.
“……”
Watching Gu Zhiren’s departing figure, Shen Muxue secretly bit her lip.
Soon after, she received a phone call.
“Hello... that’s right, he really is in Ruolan Town.”
She tightened her grip on her phone. On the other side of the call, Jiang Heng stood in front of a floor-to-ceiling window and suddenly laughed softly. Then he picked up a carefully framed photograph with his right hand.
In the photo was Gu Anran wearing a high school uniform.
“Very good. Continue according to the original plan. Together, we’ll make sure he never comes back.”
Hearing that, Shen Muxue softly answered “Mm.” After hanging up, she let out a long deep breath and heavily placed both hands on the railing.
At that moment, she suddenly felt both envy and jealousy toward one person.
Her younger brother, Mu Yi.
What an unlikeable person.
………………………………
“Ah-choo...”
Mu Yi suddenly let out a cute sneeze while washing blood stains off the bedsheet in the bathroom.
At this moment, she had already changed into clean pants and underwear. The blood-stained clothes had been washed and put into the dryer. Only the bedsheet still had not been cleaned properly.
She rubbed the tip of her nose with the back of her smooth hand, leaving a bit of white soap foam playfully sitting on her nose.
Still not noticing it, the white-haired girl lowered her eyes and used her soft jade-like hands to scrub the foam-covered bedsheet hard. Her pretty brows slowly frowned tighter and tighter.
After washing for a long time, she took it out to look at it, only to find the red stain was still clearly visible.
Mu Yi puffed up her cheeks angrily and put it back in to keep scrubbing.
Seriously, this thing was really hard to clean. Before leaving home, she had specially bought soap made for this purpose.
And yet it still turned out like this...
So annoying.
………………………………
A little later, the dried bedsheet was spread back onto the bed. However, in one corner near the edge, there was now a very obvious hole.
Mu Yi had scrubbed a hole into it herself!
Ugh...
If she had known earlier, she would have been gentler.
Mu Yi puffed her cheeks and pressed her lips together, giving an awkward smile.
She would probably be asked to pay compensation. Well, fine then. It probably would not cost too much, right?
Sigh~
“I still need to figure out how to deal with this.”
Looking at the rolled-up sanitary pad, Mu Yi rested her chin on her left hand and worriedly frowned.
She could not just leave this thing in the bathroom.
Maybe she could find a chance to throw it away in a public restroom later?
Or throw it into a trash can?
After seriously thinking about it for a while, she stood up, took out a plastic storage bag from her luggage, put the sanitary pad inside, tied a tight knot, stuffed it into her pocket, and walked toward the wooden front door.
Just like that, Mu Yi followed Gu Zhiren toward the festival.
The festival had all kinds of food, and delicious smells filled the air.
Spicy mixed meat, candied crispy rice, stir-fried shredded squid, crystal house crab...
The smells made Mu Yi keep swallowing her saliva, but she only tightly clenched her pale little hands while constantly looking for a chance to throw away the sanitary pad in her pocket.