Chapter 18

The restaurant Lu Yu chose had quite a nice environment. From this vantage point, one could take in almost the entire night view of City A. However, the taste of the food was... just passable.This was what Gu Wan initially thought, but when she saw the bill, she suddenly felt it was completely unacceptable.

Over twenty thousand yuan in total.

Gu Wan's gaze inadvertently fell on the bill and couldn't move away.

Instinctively confirming it a few times to make sure she hadn't misread, Gu Wan then looked down at the small piece of meat about two fingers wide on her plate. She figured it was probably because her childhood wasn't as glamorous as she thought, so even now she still retained some habits that others might consider unsophisticated.

In the past, when she often went out with Qianqian, Gu Wan knew many restaurants in City A that weren't as expensive as this one but were much more delicious.

But after some thought, Gu Wan decided not to mention it.

Everyone has their own lifestyle and habits. If this was Lu Yu's habit, she didn't need to make him change.

Moreover, Lu Yu might not want to change because of her.

Thinking this way, Gu Wan's expression remained as calm as usual. However, Lu Yu, sitting opposite her, noticed her earlier pause and put down his cutlery, asking, "What's wrong?"

"Is the food not to your liking?"

Apart from business meals, Lu Yu rarely ate out. This restaurant was recommended by someone, which was why they came here today.

As for the taste, Lu Yu generally didn't care much. As long as the environment was good, the ingredients were clean, and the final product was edible, it was fine.

"It's nothing," Gu Wan shook her head, not wanting to dampen his spirits at this moment.

In daily life, Gu Wan was a very considerate person. People generally didn't feel unhappy when they were with her.

However, while she was trying to maintain the current relaxed atmosphere, Lu Yu seemed completely unaware of this. He didn't speak, just staring fixedly at Gu Wan.

If it were about work, it would be understandable. Everyone puts on a different face in public and private, and Lu Yu had long since adapted to this. In the world of fame and fortune, no one could truly be open-hearted, including himself. But at this moment, he didn't want any superficial calmness. Or rather, in these two months, he had already had enough of this kind of calmness.

Just as Gu Wan was about to find an excuse to casually brush it off and make everyone happy, Lu Yu, as if guessing her thoughts, said in an increasingly deep voice, "I want to hear the truth."

Lu Yu closed his eyes briefly: "Xiao Wan, like before, don't lie to me."

He had heard enough lies at other times.

Seeing that the man had no intention of following adult social etiquette, after a while, Gu Wan couldn't help but sigh.

"...Alright." Since it was his proposal, she certainly didn't mind. Speaking in a roundabout way was indeed quite tiring. seaʀᴄh the NôᴠelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

So under Lu Yu's gaze, Gu Wan laughed lightly and said, "Actually, it's nothing. I just feel that we two are indeed not very compatible."

Before coming of age, Gu Wan's life was somewhat better compared to ordinary people. She didn't worry about food and clothing, and although she didn't have her parents by her side, at least there was a housekeeper to take care of her. Finally, on a whim of her mother, she was sent to an international school. But this certainly couldn't compare with someone like Lu Yu, who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

If this phoenix hadn't fallen from grace back then, it wouldn't have been her turn to pick up this bargain.

After coming of age, Gu Wan inherited a large sum of inheritance. In recent years, the beauty clinic left by her mother had successfully rebranded under her management, and even opened branch clinics. However, because she wasn't properly educated by her parents since childhood, some habits remained. If one had to compare, it was probably the difference between the nouveau riche and true old money, so their behaviors and habits seemed to be quite different.

Forced pairings never end well, and something obtained through force naturally wouldn't have a good outcome.

But it didn't matter. She had gained a lot as well, including wealth that most people could only dream of, so there was nothing to complain about. If she had gotten love as well, then heaven would have been too partial to her. Things were already very, very good as they were now.

Gu Wan smiled indifferently.

However, what Gu Wan didn't know was that under her smile, Lu Yu's grip on his cutlery was tightening.

The Gu Wan from before seemed to never understand what it meant to be satisfied. Even though he had never been stingy with money towards her, she was always asking him for more. But now, Gu Wan was already satisfied without asking for anything.

The Lu Yu from before didn't understand, but the Lu Yu now suddenly did.

Because at this moment, even though he clearly knew that Gu Wan had already done perfectly, he still felt it wasn't enough, wanting to desire for more.

At this moment, looking at her still beautiful but empty eyes, Lu Yu desperately wanted to hold onto something.

Around half-past nine, the two returned home.

When Gu Wan went to freshen up, she vaguely saw Lu Yu seemingly searching for something. When she came out after freshening up, she found that he suddenly had something new in his hand—

It was a ring. Even from a distance, Gu Wan's eyes were almost blinded by the light emanating from the jewel on the ring.

Although she didn't know whose thing this was or what he intended to do with it, Gu Wan didn't have such strong curiosity, so she didn't plan to ask.

Seeing that she still had no reaction even after seeing this jeweled ring, Lu Yu's eyes darkened slightly.

When Gu Wan sat at the dressing table preparing to blow-dry her hair, she suddenly felt her left hand being gently taken. In the mirror, she saw Lu Yu slightly lower his head, and then that jeweled ring appeared on Gu Wan's left ring finger.

"?"

A flash of confusion passed over Gu Wan's face, but before she could speak, Lu Yu had already answered her question.

It turned out that this was their original wedding ring. Before, Gu Wan had always worn it on her hand, but after the car accident, because it would interfere with her daily life, it was removed by the caregiver at that time.

Gu Wan had noticed the small mark left by long-term wearing of a ring on her left ring finger, but she simply didn't pay attention to it. Plus, Lu Yu hadn't mentioned it either, so Gu Wan wouldn't say anything.

Just when she thought the matter had passed, unexpectedly tonight, Lu Yu suddenly found this ring again.

Looking at the jeweled ring that perfectly matched that small mark, Gu Wan was speechless for a long time, because she really couldn't imagine what kind of mindset her pre-amnesia self must have had to wear such a large jewel every day.

This was too much, wasn't it...

Almost as soon as Lu Yu let go, Gu Wan had already slipped the jeweled ring off and unceremoniously stuffed it back into the man's hand.

"I think, let's forget about it..."

Gu Wan involuntarily took two steps back, saying, "This is too ostentatious." There wasn't a hint of joy in her expression at seeing the expensive jewel. After all, for her, only things she bought with her own money were truly hers. No matter how good or expensive other people's things were, they still belonged to others.

Lu Yu's brow furrowed uncontrollably as he said, "This is your favorite piece of jewelry among all."

Lu Yu still remembered the ecstatic expression on Gu Wan's face when he proposed with this ring. In the years that followed, she wore it every day without fail.

"Before was before, now is now. The current me doesn't like it anymore." Not only did she not like it, but she also felt it was a burden. What if it got scratched or damaged? Not to mention how wasteful it would be for such a large jewel, but also the fact that she would have to compensate. She wasn't sure if half a year's profits from the beauty clinic would be enough to cover it.

Gu Wan was about to ask why only she was wearing it, saying that if they were to wear rings, both of them should wear them, to fob him off. But as soon as her gaze fell on Lu Yu's left hand, she saw that he was clearly wearing another wedding ring on his left ring finger.

Wait, has this thing always been here?

Gu Wan couldn't remember at all, as she had never paid much attention to it before.

Seeing Gu Wan suddenly pause, Lu Yu seemed to guess something and took off his ring, revealing an identical ring mark underneath, which clearly hadn't formed in just a day or two.

Over the past few years, he might not have been attentive enough to her, focusing entirely on work, but he had never taken off this ring.

Gu Wan was left speechless.

After a while, she could only step back and say, "...Even if you want to wear one, it doesn't have to be this one."

"Just get a simple band similar to yours."

Compared to this diamond ring, the ring on Lu Yu's hand was far too plain.

What Lu Yu didn't mention was that when they got married, his company had just recovered, and the wedding budget was limited. Apart from the ceremony itself, which was the biggest expense, this diamond engagement ring was the next significant cost. As for Lu Yu's wedding band, he wasn't particularly concerned about it, so he just bought a basic model and had been wearing it ever since.

When Gu Wan brought it up now, Lu Yu didn't explain. Seeing her nod, after a good while, Lu Yu put away the diamond ring and gave a barely perceptible "mm" in agreement.

No matter what, as long as she was willing to wear a ring again, that was good enough.

After Lu Yu went to the bathroom, Gu Wan blow-dried her hair while pondering his words.

For some reason, Gu Wan felt something was off.

What did he mean by "the one you like best out of all your jewelry"?

Did she have a lot of similar jewelry? But Gu Wan clearly remembered that she didn't like wearing accessories, nor did she like buying jewelry. All along, her hands, feet, and neck had been bare.

The more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed. Gu Wan hurriedly stood up and started looking around for something.

There was nothing in the dressing table drawers, nothing in the bedside table, and she had already checked the safe earlier - there was nothing inside except for share transfer documents, a few files, and their marriage certificate.

Gu Wan didn't have a habit of wearing jewelry, so she couldn't guess where her amnesiac self might have kept these things.

Until she casually pulled open a semi-transparent drawer under the display cabinet in the walk-in closet.

The next second, a dazzling array of gemstone rings, bracelets, and necklaces appeared before her eyes.

Her suspicions confirmed, Gu Wan was momentarily stunned.

It would be a lie to say she wasn't tempted at that moment. After all, faced with so many precious gems, jades, and emeralds, even though she wasn't short of money now, it would be hard to resist such temptation.

However, as she had said before, no matter how expensive or nice someone else's things are, they still belong to someone else, not to her. Even if she took them now, she would have to return them eventually, so what was the point? She only needed her own things.

So when Lu Yu came out after his shower, he saw various velvet boxes quietly arranged beside his bed.