Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Looking panicked, Gu Qingcheg disagreed. “Pa, don’t do that.”
Gu Zhengnan and his wife both looked at Gu Qingcheng.
Lips pursed, Gu Qingcheng said, “If he has no intention of marrying me, your phone call isn’t going to make him do so. In this way, he’d only be adding insult to injury. If this isn’t handled properly, word might leak out, and we would end up being even more embarrassed by malicious gossip.”
Gu Qingcheng’s mother then asked, “So, do we just let this incident pass without saying a word? Qingqing needs at least an apology for the wrong that’s been done to her.”
Gu Qingcheng forced herself to smile, keeping her eyes lowered as she thought about what her mother had said. “Wrong? Yes, indeed, she had been wronged. Although she had given her virginity to Tang Shi, it didn’t mean that he had to take responsibility for her. If that man hadn’t had any intention of marrying her, then no amount of begging, even if she’d gone down on her knees, would’ve made him change his mind. So, regardless of how dire the consequences of that wrong were going to be, she would have to bear them on her own.”
Having been silent for a while, Gu Zhengnan asked suddenly, “Qingqing, that night, did you and Shi use contraceptives?”
Momentarily stunned by the question, Gu Qingcheng shook her head.
Gu Zhengnan then asked, “Qingqing, think carefully. Did you, in any way, do or say anything that would’ve upset Shi, causing him to lose interest in you?”
Gu Qingcheng frowned. “In fact, this was the same question that she’d been asking herself repeatedly over the past few days. Had she unknowingly offended Tang Shi in any way? But, despite the numerous times she’d pondered over this question, she couldn’t think of any time she could’ve upset him.”
Looking at her father, Gu Qingcheng shook her head again.
Gu Zhengnan sat, deep in thought, for a while before saying, “As Qingqing said earlier, calling the Tang family now would probably be a little rash and could invite insult on ourselves. However, if Qingqing turns out to be pregnant, then things might take a different turn.”
So that was it then. More waiting.
And the wait lasted for more than two weeks.
During that fortnight, Tang Shi had not contacted Gu Qingcheng at all. A couple who been one another’s shadows ever since they were kids had, since that night, become total strangers who had nothing whatsoever to do with each other.
One morning, after more than two weeks had passed, Gu Qingcheng noticed that she was menstruating. At that moment, she knew, that since she wasn’t pregnant, she didn’t have to wait any longer.
On the second day of her period, Gu Qingcheng proceeded to submit an application to go overseas. And, on the last day of her period, she boarded the plane that took her to the United Kingdom.
And so, the lingering heartache of the night that she had spent with Tang Shi had, like a dream that was too good to be true, dissipated without a trace.
…
Now, three years later, it was Tang Shi’s fourth meeting of the day.
The venue was the chess and games room at the Capital Club. Three tables had been set up, and a group of people were gathered around them, enjoying themselves.
Every man in the room had an attractive young woman who was either wrapped in his arms or snuggled close to him. These young women seemed very professional, each doing their utmost to please their respective players.
The atmosphere in the chess and games room was lively, filled with animated conversations about various trivial topics. In the midst of the discussions, a man seated across the table from Tang Shi asked suddenly, “CEO Tang, may I ask you something?”
Tang Shi was seated at the center of a card table located in the center of the room. He hardly spoke at all, quietly drawing and showing his cards decisively and quickly.
The woman at his side was smart enough to have sized him up, and so, unlike the other women, didn’t try to drape herself all over him.
Hearing the question being thrown at him, he raised his head slightly, his mouth filled with a piece of fruit that his female companion had just fed him. He chewed on the fruit a couple of times before responding quietly, “Ya?”