Night Fire Lingering

Chapter 145 Darling, I'm Trying to Take Advantage of Your Vulnerability

Gu Yanci then realized how stiff Wen Yan's body was, as if she was being held up by an obsession, barely managing to maintain her current composure.

"Zhizhi?" Nan Yun looked at Gu Yanci with a puzzled expression, then looked at Wen Yan.

The woman in his arms trembled slightly again, her reaction to the sound seemingly somewhat strained.

"Wen Yan!" Gu Yanci whispered.

When Wen Yan was called by him, she closed her eyes briefly and looked at Nan Yun again, meeting Nan Yun's joyful gaze.

Wen Yan found the gaze very irritating.

Why be so happy to see her?

It's not like we've seen each other for the first time.

We've passed each other by many times before.

"Zhizhi, it's Mommy!"

Nan Yun looked anxious, afraid that Wen Yan wouldn't recognize her. She wanted to hug Wen Yan again, but Wen Yan was firmly held in Gu Yanci's arms.

"I know." Wen Yan didn't know why she was so calm.

Nan Yun was delighted and took Nan Zhiyi's hand, introducing Nan Zhiyi to Wen Yan: "Zhizhi, this is Zhiyi, she's your... Zhiyi is a few months younger than you, so she's your little sister!"

Wen Yan looked at Nan Zhiyi, who looked at her with a blank expression and a bit of curiosity about her older sister.

Wen Yan found the scene before her to be quite dramatic and ridiculous.

"Zhizhi, come on, come with Mommy!" Nan Yun tried to take Wen Yan's hand again, but was blocked by Gu Yanci once more. She couldn't help but ask Wen Yan, "Zhizhi, who is he?"

"My current husband."

"You...you're married?" Nan Yun was stunned and shocked. "You...how old are you!"

"I thought you knew." Wen Yan smiled at Nan Yun, but there was no smile in her eyes. "Didn't you say that I'm an unambitious woman who got married early?"

Nan Yun was stunned for a moment, then her face turned deathly pale.

"Mommy!" Nan Zhiyi helped Nan Yun up and scolded Wen Yan, "Wen Yan, how could you say that!"

What a beautiful scene of a loving mother and a filial daughter!

Wen Yan's eyes ached from watching, and her heart felt like it was being crushed by something. She turned her head, her face now facing Gu Yanci's chest.

The man couldn't help but break up with her and buried her head in his arms.

In just a moment, tears welled up uncontrollably in my stinging eyes.

Through the shirt, Gu Yanci could feel the damp warmth.

"Zhizhi...Zhizhi, Mommy didn't mean that! Mommy didn't mean it that way just now. Mommy didn't know it was you. Mommy...I'm sorry, Zhizhi..." Nan Yun explained incoherently, her eyes reddening with anxiety.

As she spoke, she looked at Gu Yanci beside her, her eyes filled with incomprehension and scrutiny.

She didn't know that Wen Yan was married, nor did she know who Wen Yan's husband was.

“Mommy…” Nan Zhiyi looked at Nan Yun with heartache, then anxiously turned to Wen Yan, “Wen Yan, no, sister, Mommy really didn’t mean to say that to you, nor did I think that way about you. Please don’t misunderstand Mommy…”

Wen Yan stepped out of Gu Yanci's embrace and looked at Nan Zhiyi and Nan Yun again.

"I have other things to do, so I'll stop here for today."

Her expression and voice were very calm. If it weren't for her slightly damp eyelashes, no one would have guessed that she had just cried silently.

Wen Yan didn't want to talk to them anymore.

Seeing that Nan Yun was still unwilling to give up and wanted to say something, Gu Yanci interrupted her first: "Miss Nan, I think your mother is not in good condition. Why don't you take her back to rest first?"

Nan Yun looked at Gu Yanci in disbelief, her eyes filled with shock and dissatisfaction at his obstruction.

She was talking to her own daughter, what right did this man have to interfere?

Gu Yanci saw through Nan Yun's thoughts and said to Gu Jinzhi, "You and Wen Yan escort Miss Luo back."

Gu Jinzhi was stunned and didn't understand.

Luo Beiqing immediately realized what was happening, and while taking Wen Yan's hand and walking out, she gave the clueless Miss Gu a meaningful look.

With three people gone, the surroundings became even quieter.

Gu Yanci's expression didn't change at all, and there was even a polite smile on his lips, but the feeling he gave off was several degrees colder.

The man parted his thin lips slightly, a hint of doubt in his laughter, and asked Nan Yun, "Should I call you Mrs. Tang or Mrs. Wen?"

Daniel's full name is Daniel Tang.

Nan Yun sensed the sarcasm in Gu Yanci's words, and her expression turned even uglier: "I have no connection with the Wen family anymore!"

"Since you have no connection with the Wen family, how could you possibly have a connection with Wen Yan?"

Nan Yun found this young man utterly unreasonable: "I am her mother!"

"Really? As far as I know, my mother-in-law passed away when my wife was twelve years old."

Gu Yanci's words were like a knife stabbing into Nan Yun's heart, leaving her unable to defend herself and unable to speak.

"I forgot to introduce myself. I am Wen Yan's husband, and my name is Gu Yanci." Gu Yanci added politely, then paused, "In addition, Wen Yan's marriage to me was initiated by me."

Nan Yun was overwhelmed by the massive amount of information and it took her several seconds to react: "I don't care who you are, you can't stop me from seeing my daughter!"

Her attitude was firm, and she didn't notice at all that Nan Zhiyi next to her unconsciously tightened her fingers when she heard the words "my daughter".

All these years, she has been Mommy's daughter!

"You care about Wen Yan?" Gu Yanci seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. "Mrs. Tang, last week on the cruise ship, you were the one who personally turned Wen Yan away. Today, you also changed the rules without authorization, trying to embarrass Wen Yan!"

Nan Yun's face was already deathly pale.

She remembers what she did, and not just these things.

On the cruise ship, Nan Zhiyi told her that she had met a very outstanding Eastern girl, who was probably Wen Yan. She not only spoke ill of Wen Yan, but also told Nan Zhiyi to stay away from people like Wen Yan.

This kind of person?

What kind of person?

The person she described as morally corrupt was her own daughter, whom she had cherished for many years!

The man in front of her was clearly trying to get Wen Yan away and deliberately hurt her feelings!

"Wait, you...you're Gu San?!" Nan Yun finally realized why the name Gu Yanci sounded familiar. "You're Gu Jingxi's cousin? Isn't Zhizhi's fiancé Gu Jingxi? Before I left, I specifically asked Gu Jingxi's parents to take care of Zhizhi. How did Zhizhi end up marrying you? Did you use some tricks to ruin Zhizhi's original marriage?!"

Nan Yun had never met Gu Yanci before. When she visited the Gu family, Gu Yanci was studying in Europe. However, she had heard of Gu Yanci's reputation. The Gu family all said that Gu Yanci, the heir, was all talk and no action. He appeared to be self-disciplined and polite, seemingly a model of a noble young master, but in reality, he was cold-blooded and ruthless. Therefore, even his own biological mother disliked him!

Gu Jingxi, on the other hand, was well-behaved and sensible from a young age. She liked Wen Yan, and her mother was her friend. She trusted Gu Jingxi.

"Madam Tang, when Gu Jingxi's parents learned that Wen Yan had lost her mother's protection and her father's love, they immediately called off the engagement," Gu Yanci said coldly. "Your judgment is truly terrible!"

"Mr. Gu, please don't say that about my mother!" Nan Zhiyi couldn't stand it anymore. "Everyone is a free individual, and my mother has done nothing to wrong my sister!"

Gu Yanci nodded: "Then please, Madam Tang, grant her complete freedom!"

—Don't disturb Wen Yan!

-

On the surface, it was Wen Yan and Gu Jinzhi who escorted Luo Beiqing, but in reality, it was Luo Beiqing and Gu Jinzhi who took Wen Yan to her apartment.

It took Wen Yan a while to realize that she had gone home.

Many messages from Jiang Huaixu popped up on WeChat, asking when she could go back.

Wen Yan replied to the message with great apology, saying that she had something to do and could not attend at the last minute.

—Her current emotional state is really not suitable for her to go out.

"Yan Yan, if you're unhappy, just cry it out." Luo Beiqing hugged Wen Yan and said with heartache.

Gu Jinzhi had never encountered anything like this before, and stood there helplessly holding her camera.

She had always known that Wen Yan's mother had died early, which was why Wen Yan had endured so much bullying in the Wen family. If the person who jumped out today was Wen Yan's mother, then what did all the suffering Wen Yan had endured over the years amount to?

Her mother had many bad habits, even to the point of being mean-spirited, greedy, and arrogant, but she also loved her wholeheartedly.

Why would a mother remain indifferent to her child for so many years?

Gu Jinzhi couldn't understand it.

"Bei Qing, you should go back and rest first." Wen Yan hugged her knees and curled up on the sofa.

"I'm worried about you," Luo Beiqing said directly.

"Jinzhi, stay here with me. Beiqing, stay here with me, I'll worry about you." I was already quite tired today from watching her competition, now I should rest.

However, her current emotional state is clearly not suitable for Luo Beiqing to rest here.

Luo Beiqing looked at Gu Jinzhi, his eyes saying: Are you reliable?

Gu Jinzhi: "..."

Miss Gu knows me very well, and she has absolutely no trust in me!

Wen Yan remained calm and kept urging Luo Beiqing to go home and rest. Luo Beiqing couldn't persuade her otherwise and instructed Gu Jinzhi to take good care of Wen Yan.

Luo Beiqing had only been gone for less than ten minutes when Wen Yan told Gu Jinzhi to go home as well.

Gu Jinzhi shook her head vigorously: "No, I have a mission! If anything happens to you, I'm afraid Luo Beiqing and Third Brother will each kill me!"

Wen Yan stopped talking, hugging her knees and staring blankly, eerily quiet.

Gu Jinzhi felt a chill run down her spine, as if the only sound in the air was her own breathing, and she felt immense pressure.

I don’t know how long it took.

Finally, the fingerprint lock made a sound.

The door was opened from the outside.

Upon seeing Gu Yanci, Gu Jinzhi stood up as if granted a pardon: "Brother, Wen Yan is in your care!"

She didn't even need Gu Yanci to urge her; she simply disappeared with her camera.

Upon hearing the sound, Wen Yan blinked slowly.

She only looked up when the man knelt down on one knee in front of her, and their eyes met.

"What did you say to her?" Wen Yan asked.

Who she is is self-evident.

"He didn't say anything," Gu Yanci said.

Wen Yan looked at him, naturally not believing such an explanation.

Gu Yanci sighed and tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her ear: "I explained to her who I am, that I am your husband, and what my name is, not just some random passerby."

"Gu Yanci, I want a divorce."

—Don't casually say you're my husband anymore.

The man read the message and replied randomly, "I know."

Wen Yan felt extremely tired, closed her eyes, and didn't want to argue with him about this issue anymore.

"Wen Yan, if I don't tell you who I am to you, how can I talk to her without a proper identity? Right?"

He unusually patiently explained to her, and Wen Yan glanced at him again.

Her mood was visibly low, completely different from her calm and indifferent demeanor outside the competition venue.

Her years of solitude have honed her ability to always wear armor in front of 'outsiders,' making her impenetrable to most.

But Gu Yanci knew that she was forcing herself to keep a tight rein on herself.

“Your tears,” Gu Yanci pointed to his chest, where the white shirt underneath his dark gray suit vest was just visible through the V-neck, and there were damp marks there. “They’re still wet.”

Wen Yan glanced at him indifferently: "Sorry, I didn't control my emotions at the time."

She didn't want to cry.

Gu Yanci sighed helplessly, got up, pressed the central control button, closed the curtains, and turned off the lights.

The bright living room gradually darkened.

Wen Yan noticed the change in light and subconsciously looked up, only to be pulled into Gu Yanci's arms. Her face was pressed against his chest, blocking everyone's view, including his own.

"Zhizhi, no one will know you're crying, including me."

He was telling obvious lies.

"Gu Yanci, I'm not a child anymore, you don't need to coax me like this." Wen Yan's muffled voice came.

"Ok, I know."

The year Nan Yuncai 'passed away,' Wen Yan had just settled in the capital with Wen Yonghai. Facing a completely unfamiliar 'new family,' she didn't want to show her vulnerable side in the Wen family. She would often secretly cry while playing at the Gu family's house, saying she missed her mother. Gu Yanci quickly noticed this and always turned off the lights and windows in her room and closed the door.

Wen Yan always thought it was because Gu Yanci disliked her, believing that her crying would disturb others and that her tears would cause him trouble.

At this moment, Wen Yan finally realized that Gu Yanci was creating a completely safe environment for her—the darkness prevented others from seeing her tears, and the closed door prevented others from hearing her cries.

He was telling her that she didn't need to pretend to be strong.

"Woooooooo..."

Soft sobs gradually drifted over.

The only difference is that when he was young, Gu Yanci sat coldly on the sofa, waiting for Wen Yan to finish crying.

He held her tightly in his arms, letting her suppressed sobs escape through the gaps in their embrace.

Gu Yanci kissed the top of Wen Yan's head and suddenly said, "Zhizhi, I love you."

This "I love you" sounded less like a declaration of love and more like a comforting word.

Wen Yan closed her eyes tightly and turned her face even further away, as if she didn't want to hear these words.

Gu Yanci waited until she was tired of crying, then carefully pushed her away a little, cupped her face, and kissed away the tear stains on her face in the dim light.

The first taste is moist and salty.

"Zhizhi, I love you, I love you so much..."

Wen Yan's heart, which had sunk to the bottom, gradually awoke from its numbness with each word of love from the man.

She looked up at the man, her eyes brimming with tears and the dim light obscuring his face.

Wen Yan couldn't hold back her sobs: "Gu Yanci, you don't need to comfort me like this."

Gu Yanci chuckled, his voice deep and magnetic, quite pleasant to the ear:

"Baby, I think I'm trying to take advantage of your vulnerability."