Long Wind Crossing

Dumbfounded, Gu Jiusi blankly clutched his face with his hand for a long time. Liu Yuru spilled onto the bed at last, crying her heart out.

How could I have married such a person…?

How could I have married such a person…?

So he was a dandy—she could live with that. Good-for-nothing? That’s not so bad. It would have been alright if he liked her to some extent like Ye Yun said. Yet it turned out that he didn’t like her one bit. Not only that, he believed that she hankered for his money, and was only all too eager to bribe her into divorcing him.

His speech sounded nice in theory, but they’re bunk in reality. The moment he were to divorce her, she’d be lambasted everywhere and drown in a sea of spittle. 

Unable to fathom how Gu Jiusi came up with such absurd notions, she could only conclude that he’d acted out of spite to humiliate her in response to his forced marriage. 

She lost the will to explain herself. So what if Gu Jiusi knew she was forced to marry him? His words rang true: Who would willingly throw their happiness away for some stranger? If Gu Jiusi was serious about divorce, he would divorce her sooner or later. Even if he did not, she seriously doubted he would allow her to live a decent life. Life was a struggle for a married woman who didn’t have her husband’s love, even if she’s the main wife. 

She knew this only too keenly, having learnt from her mother’s example. There were two reasons why Liu Xuan did not divorce Su Wan, the first being that Su Wan endured everything quietly without making a fuss. The second reason was because Zhang Yue’er’s status was unseemly, unfit for the public eye. Su Wan, on the other hand, was a perfectly respectable lady from a respectable family. But what about Liu Yuru? The Gu family would not keep the Liu family’s interests in mind. She also did not have brothers who could help take relations between the families to another level. If Gu Jiusi were to meet the girl of his dreams, there’s no way he wouldn’t divorce her for her family’s sake.

The more Liu Yuru thought about it, the further she sank into despair. When she thought of how close she was to marrying Ye Shi’an, a goal that had been in the making for years, she felt completely disheartened. She lay on the bed bawling uncontrollably. Her crying had thrown Gu Jiusi for such a loop that for a long while, he couldn’t get a word out. When he finally pulled himself together, all he said as he held his face was, “I thought I was the one who got slapped.”

He was met with an even louder wail in response. 

Feeling like he was at his wits’ end, Gu Jiusi said quickly, “Hush now, cease your tears. I’ll shut up. Your weepiness is giving me a headache. Ugh, never mind. Have you had anything to eat?”  

Liu Yuru ignored him and continued to cry. Gu Jiusi’s stomach growled. He’d been beaten by his dad in the morning, then dragged out to attend his own wedding. After that, he was pulled outside to drink. He’d drunk a lot of alcohol, but had barely any food. He got up, stole some snacks that were on the table, poured a cup of tea, and observed Liu Yuru as he ate. 

Liu Yuru kept crying. Gu Jiusi could not understand how she could cry as sorrowfully as she did.

He offered some pastries to her and sighed. “Stop crying. Why don’t you have something to eat? Food brings happiness.”

“Get lost!”

Gu Jiusi’s temper blazed. Eyeing Liu Yuru’s tears, he said hotly, “What the devil’s wrong with you? You’re mistaking my goodwill for ill intent. I’m discussing our future with you, aren’t I? You fancy Ye Shi’an, correct? I’ve offered you a solution. Why are you still wailing on and on like there’s no tomorrow?”

Gu Jiusi leaned against a nearby pillar and munched on his pastries sloppily. He said incoherently as he chewed, “‘m tellin’ ‘oo, enuf with ‘e wa’erworks. Jus cry a lil bit if ‘oo must. I ‘ave a nas’ee tem’pr, I’ll ‘ave ‘oo know.”

 Liu Yuru was unmoved by his words. Her cries sounded so desolate that Gu Jiusi exploded: “What the hell are you crying about?!” 

He put the plate down and yelled fiercely, “Didn’t I say I’ll divorce you in the future? What’s the big deal? I’ll certainly contrive a way out for you when the time comes so what’s there to be afraid of? Isn’t the one you love Ye—” 

Gu Jiusi abruptly froze. Eyes widening with understanding, he stared at Liu Yuru in shock: “You’re in love with me, aren’t you?!”

Liu Yuru lost it and bawled loudly.

Like him? How could she possibly like someone like him?

Meanwhile, Gu Jiusi looked as if he had discovered the crux of the issue. Astonished and terrified, he looked at Liu Yuru in stunned silence, at a loss for what to do.

After so many years, it was the first time in his life that someone liked him romantically. He felt…just that wee bit shy and embarrassed. 

But he quickly got over it. He softened his tone and demeanour considerably, coughed lightly and said, “Er — I understand your feelings now, but I can’t reciprocate your sentiments. You’re not my type. You should just give up on me. If what you want is money, that can easily be arranged—I’m filthy rich anyway. But if what you desire is my heart, you’re asking for the moon.”

He sighed and regarded her with a pitying gaze. 

He thought of how mad and annoyed he was when he learnt of Liu Yuru’s painstaking machinations to marry into his family for his money. This newfound revelation that Liu Yuru had married him because she liked him really made him feel somewhat sorry for her. 

She was not his type. 

His ideal girl was outstanding and unrestrained, radiant, a girl who was unlike any other in this world and could draw him in with a single glance.

 Liu Yuru was ordinary, too ordinary; She was prim and proper, too prim and proper.

The thought that this would be a doomed, one-sided relationship, as well as the many sacrifices she’d made, made Gu Jiusi feel somewhat guilty. Deciding not to raise his voice at her, he lowered his voice and coaxed her softly, “Don’t cry. We’ve got long days ahead of us. You have plenty of time to think things over. I do not like you, but since you’ve married into my family, my mother will be good to you. My parents are very nice, don’t worry.”

Liu Yuru almost vomited blood at his statement: She was marrying him, not his parents! 

She decided to ignore him and release all her pent up grievances and sorrow. Gu Jiusi said placatingly and soothingly, “Come now, dry your tears. I’ll tell you some jokes. Have something to eat. It’s no good going hungry for too long—we don’t want you hurting your tummy now, do we? Miss Liu, romance is harmful for the body, your love is wasted on me. From now on, you should view things through money-tinted glasses. Cold, hard cash, that’s what truly matters. You’re such an intelligent person, how can you fail to see this?”

“There, there. Take a break, have a good rest. When you’re well rested, I’ll take you out to spend money on the morrow. Once you’ve experienced what it’s like to spend lots and lots of money, you’ll realise that any pain that cannot be healed is the result of not having enough money.”

“Here,” Gu Jiusi extracted a banknote from his robes, his final ace up his sleeve. In his past experience, a banknote always had the ability to produce a smile in all who beheld it, though he wasn’t quite sure if it’d work in this instance. He stuffed it in Liu Yuru’s hands and said sincerely, “You must be tuckered out after all that crying. Hug this and have a good night’s sleep.”

Liu Yuru said nothing—she really was worn out from crying. She let Gu Jiusi help her to the bed. Gu Jiusi removed her phoenix crown, took off her shoes, and carefully tucked her in. Curled up into a ball, Liu Yuru hugged the banknote as she continued to whimper.

Gu Jiusi sat on the floor against the bed. When her whimpers finally ceased and were replaced by the breathing sounds of one in deep sleep, Gu Jiusi let out a sigh.

He felt so tired, so exhausted. 

He’s just a dandy for god’s sake. Why must he be saddled with these complicated and heavy love problems?  

He felt his pocket feelingly, having affirmed once again the importance of carrying lots of money—when one banknote wasn’t sufficient to solve one’s problems, having another as backup was essential.