"Actually, I'm very grateful for this child. Although he came unexpectedly and gave you a bad experience at first, I privately feel very lucky." Gu Yitong gently stroked Afu's back, recounting her emotional journey over the past period.
"I love you, it's love, not like. I want to spend my life with you, but you were too sensitive back then. I was afraid of causing misunderstandings, so I could only silently hope for the day you would accept me."
"I know this is unfair to you, but when I learned that you were pregnant and had to marry me, I must admit, I was truly happy. I didn't even consider your feelings at first."
"Perhaps I fell in love with you a long time ago, I just hadn't realized it then. But it definitely wasn't because of that incident. It was only after that incident that I discovered my feelings for you, and they certainly wouldn't have developed overnight."
"Mm, I know."
He knew that his young master had told him how frantic Gu Yitong had been upon hearing that he was in danger. She had disregarded her own safety, running ahead of the guards to the brothel, searching like a madwoman.
"Perhaps I was already drawn to you long ago. When I woke up and found it was you, I felt a hint of secret joy. At the time, I thought it was because I hadn't been touched by that obese woman. But later, I realized—"
"It's because the one who touched me was you."
This was the first time Afu had truly opened his heart to Gu Yitong. Perhaps it was Gu Yitong's words that reassured him, or perhaps the morning sun felt warm.
They chatted like this, from the end of Mao Shi to the end of Chen Shi, like old friends who hadn't seen each other in a long time, talking about everything.
By the time Afu remembered, the sun was already high in the sky. Prompted by Afu, Gu Yitong finally remembered she had a younger brother.
Gu Yi was also in the mansion. At this hour, he was probably already awake.
The two quickly got dressed. By the time they reached the dining hall, the food was already laid out on the table, looking and smelling delicious, clearly prepared with great care.
However, in the dining hall, there was no one else except for the young servant Gu Yitong had just brought home.
"Where is Yi'er?"
"Reporting to the family head, the young master is still in his room."
"He hasn't come out at all?" Gu Yitong found it a bit strange. Given Yi'er's usual routine, he should have been up long ago.
"He probably hasn't come out at all."
Gu Yitong and Afu exchanged glances, both filled with confusion. Afu also knew Gu Yi's routine; he was usually very disciplined and shouldn't still be in bed.
"Wife, wife-master, let's go check on Yi'er first," Afu said, still worried. "What if he's sick?"
"Alright, let's go check together." Gu Yitong was very pleased with Afu calling her "wife-master," and a smile couldn't be hidden on her face.
Afu first knocked on Gu Yi's door. There was no response.
After a while, Afu knocked again, louder. A sound of hurried footsteps came from inside, but no one opened the door.
Afu knew Gu Yi was awake inside. He glanced at Gu Yitong, signaling for her to speak first. After all, she had just married into the family, and it wouldn't be good to barge into Gu Yi's room on the first day.
"Yi'er, are you awake? Sister is coming in?"
"Wait!" Gu Yi seemed very flustered, but he still managed to speak in time to stop Gu Yitong's movement.
The hurried footsteps inside had not stopped, but Gu Yi no longer made a sound. Gu Yitong seemed to have guessed something, her brows furrowed tightly. "Yi'er, I'll give you five counts, and then I'm opening the door to come in."
When the five counts were up, Gu Yitong did not hesitate further and pushed the door open.
"Sister!" Gu Yi knew he couldn't hide it any longer and called out in panic, then slowly lowered his head as if admitting fault.
Gu Yitong also saw the scene on the bed clearly. Zheng Yu was sleeping soundly, hugging the quilt, while Gu Yi stood by the bed, not daring to look up.
Afu, who followed closely behind, was also stunned by what he saw. He instantly looked at Gu Yitong beside him, afraid she might do something.
Gu Yitong first closed her eyes and took a deep breath, as if trying to suppress her anger, but she failed...
Seeing Gu Yitong stride forward angrily, Afu was startled. He quickly ran a few steps to Gu Yi's side, blocking him, looking as if he was strictly guarding against Gu Yitong.
"Get out of the way."
Gu Yitong used all her strength to control the anger that was about to erupt, trying to speak to Afu calmly, not wanting to scare him.
However, in the next second, she grabbed Zheng Yu from the bed. Seeing that she was still groggy, her anger surged. She looked around, saw the leftover tea from last night on the table, walked over a few steps, picked up the teacup filled with water, and turned to splash it on Zheng Yu's face.
"Sis!" Gu Yi had never seen Gu Yitong so angry and was too scared to speak. But he was also afraid that Gu Yitong would splash tea on Zheng Yu's face, so he quickly stepped forward to block Zheng Yu.
"You! You!" Gu Yitong was at a loss. She took a deep breath, and Afu also reached out to take the teacup from Gu Yitong's hand and placed it back on the table.
Gu Yitong looked at Gu Yi, who dared not look up, with disappointment, "Why weren't you in your own room last night?"
"I, I..." Gu Yi stammered, unable to speak.
"Don't tell me it's because she was drunk and you had to take care of her?"
"Yes!" Gu Yi, as if finding a lifeline, quickly nodded in agreement.
"..." Gu Yitong was stunned by Gu Yi's answer. After a long pause, she let out a "Heh..."
At this moment, Zheng Yu finally began to wake up from her daze. The first thing she saw was the three of them, no, more accurately, two of them confronting each other. Her consciousness returned instantly after being drunk, and she quickly looked down at her disheveled clothes. Zheng Yu broke out in a cold sweat.
"Yi'er must have come this morning out of concern for me."
"Heh..."
Gu Yitong was genuinely amused by the two excuses they had concocted, so angry that she nodded repeatedly, pressing her tongue firmly against her left cheek, as if trying to process her anger. Her fists clenched and unclenched, back and forth, and the room was unusually quiet.
Until her clenched fist remained closed, Gu Yitong seemed to realize she could no longer tolerate it. She pushed Gu Yi aside, bent down, grabbed Zheng Yu by the collar, and gritted her teeth, whispering fiercely, "Zheng Yu, are you a reincarnated lecher?"
Although she was angry, she had her limits. Fearing that Gu Yi would lose face, she made sure Gu Yi behind her couldn't hear this.
"Sis!" Gu Yi was terrified and grabbed Gu Yitong's other wrist, afraid that her fist would land on Zheng Yu's face the next second. "I really just stayed here to take care of her last night."
"Do you think I believe that?"
.........
ps: Let me reveal a little secret, Gu Yitong actually believed it, but she just wanted to scare Gu Yi.