Chapter 327 The Deal
The dessert party at Zixin's side had taken quite a wild turn when the mischievous twins Jian and Nian started to decorate people's faces with cream and icing instead of eating it. Zixin being the center of today's get-together became the very first sacrificial lamb.
Now that his cheeks, forehead and chin were laced with chocolate cream, he had to step out to wash his face. It was on the way when his gaze casually fell on a woman, whose back faced him. He blinked his eyes rapidly when she slightly turned her head to exhale the cigarette smoke.
That woman...
He stared at her quietly and compared to how she looked under the cherry blossom tree, she felt a little different tonight. Her eyes and expression felt sharper and fiercer than before when she wore a gentle smile on her lips as she handed him the cherry blossom petal.
Zixin never thought he would meet her again after that day. For some strange feeling that knocked on his heart, he couldn't dismiss this coincidence and walk away.
He approached her and whispered closer to her. "Cigarettes are not good for your health."
'Guiying' took a few moments to scrutinize him, and the real Guiying took over just as naturally as she had that day. The transition from her alter was smooth without any resistance.
But now that she had taken over, she started coughing badly because of the lingering cigarette's smoke in her mouth.
"So-sorry..."
Without wasting a second further, Zixin left her side out of the blue, shocking her.
He returned a few minutes later and said, "This is a lozenge pill. It's sweet and will help to stop your coughing. Also some warm honey water for you. It's good for smoker's cough."
Guiying looked at the things he brought, befuddled. "Thank you so much."
He nodded.
"Did you go looking like this?"
"Like what?"
"The cream on your face."
"Oh. I didn't realize it. Not that it matters anyway."
"..."
She widened her eyes. "It does. People would have laughed at you," she coughed again.
"Doesn't matter. First you drink the honey water."
Guiying swallowed the pill and drank the warm water. She felt eased in her throat as the smoke's rough sensation slowly washed away.
"Thank you. It feels much better."
Zixin stared at her. "Just a minute ago, it seemed that you were used to smoking, but now it doesn't look that way."
She stiffened. "I..."
"Nevertheless, it's bad for your lungs," he seriously suggested.
Guiying averted her eyes and smiled. "I am trying to quit."
"That's nice."
She looked back at him and quickly said, "Oh, wait a minute."
She unzipped her handbag and shuffled some things inside. She took out two wet wipes and offered it to him. "Wipe the cream off your face with this."
Zixin was surprised. "You keep tissues with you?"
"Women usually keep many things with them," she smiled.
"That's true."
After wiping off the cream off his face, he threw the wipes in the dustbin and thanked her.
She looked at him and commented. "Your health seems much better now. I am glad you are out of the hospital."
His gaze was complicated as he replied. "Yes, I am well physically. Though I don't remember anything yet."
"You will get your memories eventually."
"Really?"
She earnestly nodded. "Yes."
Zixin softly smiled. "Thank you."
He then asked, "Are you here with somebody?"
"Yes. I am with a friend."
"Oh. Then I shouldn't take up more of your time."
Guiying quickly waved her hand. "No, no. Don't worry about it. He is talking to somebody else anyway..." she slightly lowered her gaze.
"I see. In that case, can I offer you a drink? It's my thanks for helping in the hospital."
She smiled. "It was nothing much. I just helped you pick up a cherry blossom."
Zixin was serious. "Still."
"Well, you already thanked me with the pill and honey water. So, we are even."
"You offered me tissues too, so we are not even yet."
She blinked at him and burst into a chuckle. "It doesn't seem like you like to be in debt no matter how small it is."
"It's not a debt," he said with a low, pleasing voice, "But I would still like to do something for you."
She eyed Yating and Ai for a moment and thought about what she should do. She smiled and nodded at him. "Okay."
--
"Ai, are you alright?" Yating anxiously asked with concern.
His hand instinctively went to touch her shoulder, but he stopped just in time. With mixed and complicated emotions, he let his hand sit still in the air for a few seconds before he gradually withdrew it.
"Look, you don't have to think too much about it, okay? It's already over, so don't fret over it."
Ai said nothing.
Yating pressed his brows. His heart was filled with guilt and remorse. "I am sorry. I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable. If I knew Guiying had heard my conversation, I would have told her to ignore it."
"And how many things will you not tell me?" Ai asked.
"How many?"
She was asking more to the Yating of the past life. "You never told me about your family either. I never knew you were from the Gu family and had a complicated relationship with your father."
He stared at her with a slight tremble. "I didn't tell you because I knew Dad wouldn't like you. Also..." he murmured.
"Also?"
He released a helpless sigh. "Dad and I had a deal some years back. I never wanted to be Gu Corps heir, but he was adamant about it otherwise. We fought a lot over that. Then we finally settled on this. If I choose to pursue my career, he will let me do it but then, he will choose my wife for me in the future. That would be his decision, not mine."
Ai slowly widened her eyes.
He hesitated. "Naturally, he wouldn't have agreed with you because of the deal and also because you are not of a wealthy status though I never cared about that. But it was difficult to tell you. Not having Dad's approval or seeing him dislike you...I didn't want you to know about any of it and feel hurt. I would be also basically breaking the deal if I chose my wife instead of him. So until things sorted out, I would have kept it from you had we...dated."