Two in the morning.
On the second floor of the old Gu family mansion, Gu Qichen sat in his dark study.
Tonight was New Year's Eve, but ten minutes before midnight, his grandmother had fallen ill, not recognizing anyone and insisting on seeing her granddaughter-in-law.
Madame Gu and Gu Ranran had taken great effort to appease her.
Gu Qichen had considered calling Qin He, but thinking she must be with her family during New Year's Eve, he hesitated for a few seconds before putting his phone down.
Outside, the night was as dark as ink, and Gu Qichen lit a cigarette.
He stared at the flickering light between his fingers, realizing another year had passed.
According to the doctor's timeline, Qin He should have sorted through the memories she had suddenly regained.
This year, he was determined to bring her back to his side.
...
A week passed quickly.
Qin He visited relatives with her mother and hosted some of her mother's friends at home.
Gifts sent by Qin Shi's business partners were also piled up in the gift storage.
On the tenth day of the Lunar New Year, Qin He finally had some free time. She was lounging on the sofa, scrolling through her phone, and chatting with people from Qingyan Mansion on WeChat.
Because it was the New Year, everyone had returned to their respective homes.
Di Shishi had returned to Jiangcheng, Jueqing Liulang's home was in the Imperial Capital, and Mo had gone abroad with his entire family to celebrate the Spring Festival.
The group chat was lively.
Di Shi: 【@Qing Xie, I've been staying at home all Spring Festival, and I feel like I've grown a spare tire around my waist. How about you?】
Jueqing Liulang: 【You already had a spare tire, didn't you?】
Di Shi: 【Are you looking for death?】
Mo: 【Grown a spare tire? Want to come to the beach for a water gun fight?】
Qin He smiled as she read, typing: 【I've also been in a state of eating and sleeping, sleeping and eating at home recently. Every meal is a feast, I think I'll gain a few pounds too.】
Di Shi: 【Hearing you say that makes me feel much better.】
The group chat was bustling. Qin He and a few others started a mini-program game, playing Dou Dizhu.
By afternoon, Qin He had lost all her points.
She exited the program and sent messages to the three of them.
Qing Xie: 【Not playing anymore! What kind of luck is this for the New Year!】
Di Shi: 【Don't be sad, usually if you're unlucky in gambling, you'll be lucky in love.】
"Lucky in love, my foot," Qin He muttered to herself, looking at her phone screen.
A WeChat message popped up. Qin He glanced at it; it was from Ming Xue, sent earlier when Qin He was playing Dou Dizhu and hadn't seen it.
Ming Xue: 【Happy New Year, Sister! This two hundred thousand yuan is what I borrowed from my brother earlier. I just got my New Year's money, please help me transfer it to him.】
Qin He squinted her eyes, took a screenshot, and sent it to Qin Yun.
Qin He: 【I've accepted Ming Xue's two hundred thousand yuan on your behalf. You're welcome.】
Qin Yun: 【!!!】
Just as they were chatting happily, the butler walked in from outside, holding a phone.
"Miss, the security at the main gate called. They said Gu Qichen from Gu Corporation is here to pay his New Year's respects."
"Gu Qichen?!" Qin He was startled, her brow furrowing.
What New Year's respect was he paying?
Thinking of Gu Qichen made Qin He feel a bit uneasy.
After regaining her memory, there was a period when she didn't know how to face Gu Qichen, so she had directly broken up with him.
Looking back now, she felt her reaction at the time was too strong, like an instinctive reaction to being overwhelmed by the incoming waves of memory.
But since they had already broken up, she was even more unsure how to face Gu Qichen.
"Just say my mother and brother are not home and ask him to leave," Qin He said.
In the small hall to the side, Ming Yuzhu walked out.
"It's the New Year. It's not right to turn away someone who comes to pay their respects."
Ming Yuzhu turned to the butler and said, "Please invite Mr. Gu in."
After saying that, she also asked a maid to prepare tea for the guest.
Qin He stood up in a flustered manner, "Mom, then you entertain him. I'll go back to my room."
"Go back to your room for what?" Ming Yuzhu frowned. "Who is he here to pay his respects to? Don't you know? Everyone is in Qingcheng. You can hide for a while, but can you hide forever?"
Qin He sheepishly sat back down.
Ming Yuzhu glanced at her expression and asked softly, "He'er, tell Mom, what are your feelings for Gu Qichen now?"
Qin He pursed her lips. "Actually, I'm not clear myself. It was just too awkward before, and now I don't want to see him."
But she kept dreaming of him.
Ming Yuzhu pondered for a moment. She had disliked Gu Qichen intensely at first, angry that this man had been blind and had wronged her daughter.
But later, seeing Gu Qichen's devotion to Qin He, she thought perhaps he had truly turned over a new leaf.
Now, she could also feel her daughter's concern for Gu Qichen, and there was also Lele.
Lele was Gu Qichen's child, and at only half a year old, his features already strongly resembled his father's. This was something that couldn't be kept secret for many more years.
Qin He sat with Ming Yuzhu in the living room for a while before the butler welcomed someone into the living room.
As soon as Gu Qichen entered the living room, his gaze fell on Qin He.
Qin He was wearing a bright red long sweater, her eyes downcast as she sat there. She tilted her head slightly, looking at her phone, revealing the creamy white skin of her neck.
Her languid posture was like a cat's, captivating anyone who looked at her.
"Mr. Gu, it's been a long time. How is your father's health recently?"
Ming Yuzhu's words broke Gu Qichen's gaze.
"Everything is fine, thank you for your concern, Madam Qin. I am here today to wish you a Happy New Year."
Ming Yuzhu and Gu Qichen exchanged pleasantries, and Qin He listened to them chat about family matters.
The Qin family and the Gu family had always been rivals, and the two families were not close before.
Qin He had expected Gu Qichen to leave after a few words, but he changed the subject.
"Actually, Gu's is about to launch a new investment project, and after our research, we plan to cooperate with Qin Shi."
The smile on Ming Yuzhu's face paused for a moment.
"Company matters are all decided by my son. I rarely get involved now, so you'll have to discuss it with Qin Yun."
Gu Qichen nodded. "That's what I thought. However, this matter requires Miss Qin's consent first."
Qin He, sitting by the side, was startled. She looked up at Gu Qichen, meeting his smiling dark eyes.
"What does this have to do with me?"
"This time, Gu's is launching a Chinese-style spice. Although several luxury brands have released many perfumes in recent years, young people in China are also leaning towards traditional things, such as Hanfu, hairpins, etc. Therefore, after research, we believe that traditional perfumery is a very promising industry to develop."
Qin He's eyes lit up slightly. What Gu Qichen said was indeed true.
Moreover, those light luxury perfumes were not as healthy as spices. Many spice ingredients were derived from traditional Chinese medicine, some could soothe the nerves, and some could invigorate.
Some special spices even had aphrodisiac effects, something that perfumes, which only aimed to please the sense of smell, could not compare to.
"Perfumery and fragrance making—why is it related to me?"
Gu Qichen's gaze deepened. "Before the New Year, I had contacted quite a few perfumery masters and smelled the agarwood they had blended. They were all far inferior to the agarwood blended by Miss Qin."
Qin He pursed her lips and fell silent.
She looked deeply at Gu Qichen. Back then, in Gu Jiasenyuan, she had indeed often carefully blended agarwood for Gu Qichen.
But Gu Qichen had been oblivious then, neither tasting the food she cooked nor noticing the agarwood that was always burning in the room.