Chapter 67

When Xu Weilai called, Gu Yu had been in the middle of a meeting. The cell phone had suddenly started vibrating on the table, and he ignored it until he caught a glimpse of the caller ID on the screen. He picked up the phone.

He stared stonily at the name on the screen, and several emotions flickered across his eyes before disappearing just as quickly.

He raised his hand, gestured to pause the meeting, and rose from his seat. Once he was outside the boardroom, he swiped his finger across the screen and put the phone to his ear.

–

When Xu Weilai heard Gu Yu’s voice over the phone, all the mental preparation she had done went out the window. She instinctively shrank back and fought the urge to retreat into a shell.

Mere moments before, as she had leaned back on the couch and watched the sky gradually darken, all she could think of was how hurtful Gu Yu had been to her, and how loving he had been towards Su Ziqian. Each memory flashed through her mind like a movie, tearing into her heart.

No one knew what she was going through.

Throughout time, humans have clung onto hope in order to keep going. Without taking into account all the other external motivations involved in her decision, the fact that she had married Gu Yu indicated that she possessed some level of hope.

Gu Yu was her first love. He had been the first man to touch her heart, and would probably remain the only one. Perhaps it was because that kind of love only came around once in a lifetime, that she had been so reluctant to let it go! She wasn’t one to go down without a fight, and she had wanted to give it her all, one last time.

However, she knew now that there had to be a fine line between hope and empty dreams.

She had thought that what she was holding onto was hope. She now realized that it was nothing but fantasy.

She had been silent for a long time, and Gu Yu seemed to grow impatient. When he spoke again, his tone was substantially rougher. “Speak up!”

Xu Weilai reeled her mind back in and bit her bottom lip. Without allowing herself to second-guess her decision, she hurriedly said, “There’s a family gathering this weekend. Grandpa hopes that we’ll attend it together.”

–

Gu Yu’s eyes slowly darkened as he heard her message.

Since she had returned from being overseas, she had called him twice. The first call was when the Zhang family had collapsed, and this was the second one.

Indeed, it seemed that she only approached him when she needed something!

Gu Yu scoffed as his lips curled into a sardonic smile. Contemptuously, he spat out his next words. “Is Grandpa the one hoping? Or are you? Time and time again, you use Grandpa as an excuse. Do you know how disgusting that is?”

–

Even though she had expected that kind of response, Xu Weilai’s face turned white as a sheet of paper!

Her hand clenched unconsciously. She felt no pain, even as her nails dug into her palm. She had completely forgotten how averse to pain she had once been…

She sniffed and fought hard to contain the ache that was spreading through her throat. Slowly, word-by-word, she got out her intended message. “Gu Yu, I know you hate me and detest having to see me. It is not my intention to bother you. However, Grandpa has made it clear that he hopes we’ll be happy together. Given his age, I’m sure it is neither your wish nor mine to see him worry about us. Am I right?”

Gu Yu didn’t speak.

Regardless, Xu Weilai wasn’t looking for a response. She took a deep breath and continued talking. “Therefore, I’m humbly asking for you to attend the family gathering with me to set Grandpa’s heart at ease. I will never bother you again in the future, and I won’t interrupt your life any longer. If you wish to be with Su Ziqian, I will… I will even cover up for you in front of Grandpa.”

She had to force herself to utter that last statement.

Xu Weilai had never imagined a day would come where she would actually offer to cover up for the man she loved being with another woman.