CHAPTER 817: CHAPTER 542 MEETING YOU IS MY MOST BEAUTIFUL ENDING_2

The two looked at each other and smiled in tacit understanding!

Gu Xuehong said, "Nanxi is smarter than her mother and better at choosing men, too. I’m very reassured to entrust Nanxi to you!"

"If Qinqin hadn’t chosen me back then, if I hadn’t been blinded by love and eloped with Qinqin, maybe none of this would have happened! It was me who hurt Qinqin and our daughter Nanxi!"

"No, Nanxi isn’t actually that smart, and sometimes, she can be very confused! But since you say you’re reassured, I’ll gladly accept that!"

Gu Xuehong pursed his lips and said nothing.

Lu Yinchu said, "Actually, given our current relationship, I should call you ’father-in-law.’ I might not have been clear on many things from the past, but I was shocked when I heard that you and your wife eloped, it even seemed a bit, unbelievable! Because I can’t quite understand what kind of difficulty in real life could drive a couple to disregard friends and lovers and choose to flee this city, regardless of everything!"

"Some time ago, I had a friend who eloped to H City with his woman and sought refuge with me. He stayed in H City for a while. When he left, he called me from the airport. I asked him if he was planning to continue eloping elsewhere. He laughed and said, if possible, he would drop everything to be with her, but does leaving solve all problems? No, it doesn’t solve anything. So what’s the point of leaving? It’s just a way to hide for a while and catch one’s breath, that’s acceptable! Now, having caught his breath, he’s ready to return with his beloved woman and face everything bravely!"

Lu Yinchu said, "Father-in-law, I won’t deny that you loved your wife and wanted to give her happiness, nor will I deny you miss Nanxi and wish for her joy. You’re a good husband, as well as a good father! But still, I must say, I do not agree with your decision to elope back then, and after you left, it’s so many years without ever returning. Even if you felt guilty towards Nanxi and the Liang Family after losing touch with her, you shouldn’t have avoided them and refused to see them. Do you realize how selfish your actions were!"

Gu Xuehong’s lips trembled, his fingers holding the cigarette shook, unable to speak a word.

Lu Yinchu looked at him and spoke again, saying, "In fact, I especially want to ask you, if we hadn’t come looking for you, how much longer were you planning to hide? I mean, hide from Nanxi?"

"I don’t know! But..." Gu Xuehong looked up, took a deep breath, "But... I am now very glad that you came looking for me, and that you found me!"

...

That year, Gu Xuehong was twenty-five years old, in the prime of his youth, and it was at that time that he met Liang Huiqing!

Gu Xuehong’s parents had died early, so he grew up with his grandparents. After they passed away one after the other, his family circumstances forced him to confront social realities prematurely, leaving no opportunity for further education. He dropped out after junior high school!

At that time, he was working at a local pharmaceutical factory!

That year, Liang Huiqing was twenty-two years old, and after graduating from college, she became an art teacher at a local middle school!

It seemed like she and Gu Xuehong were people from two completely different worlds!

That summer, Liang Huiqing, encouraged and helped by a good friend, organized a calligraphy training class. Gu Xuehong, on his way to dinner with a friend, saw the class advertised on a signage board at the bus station by chance, noted the number, and made the call!

The phone was answered by Liang Huiqing. Gu Xuehong asked if they accepted adults, claiming he wasn’t well-educated, but he truly loved calligraphy and wanted to learn!

Liang Huiqing hesitated and didn’t reply immediately, hanging up the phone for the time being. Liang Huiqing later said that when she mentioned this matter to friends, they all said that this person wasn’t here to study calligraphy at all—he was clearly there to pursue a girlfriend!

Liang Huiqing frowned upon hearing this and said, "We can’t just write someone off like that. How about we let him sit in for a day and see how it goes? Maybe once he comes and sees that the class is full of teenagers, he’ll feel too embarrassed to keep coming, saving me the trouble of rejecting him!"

Indeed, Gu Xuehong did come, and to Liang Huiqing’s surprise, he had the nerve to stay, not showing the slightest intention of giving up—even though he was surrounded by teenagers. Instead, he was particularly earnest in every aspect of the class!

He didn’t show any of the intentions her friends had suggested, of pursuing her. It seemed he genuinely came to study calligraphy!

But later on, to everyone’s amazement, they ended up together. How did they fall in love? No one knew, but they indeed fell for each other!

In everyone’s eyes, including Gu Xuehong himself, it was baffling why Liang Huiqing, such a beautiful, talented, and well-off girl, would take a liking to him—a man from a small pharmaceutical factory who had nothing and was of no use?

Gu Xuehong felt very insecure and lacked self-confidence because of this. The girl was right by his side, yet he often felt she was very distant from him!

Later, when Liang Huiqing’s family found out about the relationship, they opposed it—unsurprisingly, strongly!

Liang Huiqing was only twenty-two and had a brighter future awaiting her. But a man like Gu Xuehong couldn’t help her with anything. They were not suitable for each other!

At that time, Gu Xuehong felt he was about to lose her. The fear was indescribable. Holding her tightly, hating himself for not being able to protect the woman he loved most, he felt he was not man enough!

It was that very night they became intimate, and after it was over, Liang Huiqing leaned into his arms and said, "If you can’t face everything for the time being, let’s elope!"

Gu Xuehong was stunned. Elope? Would Liang Huiqing really give up everything to elope with him? It was inconceivable!

But many years later, as he looked back on that scene, he suddenly hated himself. Liang Huiqing’s proposal was clearly a choice made after feeling cornered!

What she really wanted wasn’t for him to elope with her, but to stay with her and face everything bravely!

Yet, at that time, he, confused and panicked, didn’t understand and actually went through with the elopement!

Later, they drifted from city to city, their life filled with unspeakable hardships—and also tremendous sweetness.

But he also noticed the change in Liang Huiqing. She became quiet and reticent, often sitting in a daze.

She changed her name, calling herself Shi Muqin. When he asked why she would change it, she said, "From the moment I left, I no longer deserved to bear the Liang surname. Dusk turns to night, black hair will turn to white, I too will age. I only hope that my mother and brother will not blame me!"

"At that moment, I knew she regretted eloping with me." Gu Xuehong said with eyes slightly closed. "Then, I thought about taking her back, but she was unwilling. I didn’t know why. Later, through a friend’s introduction, we ended up in Hong Kong. I went into business with friends, and it was very tough at first. To make ends meet, Qinqin had to set up a stall on the street to write calligraphy for people. We lived this way for three long years until my business finally started looking up. Once I had money, I immediately bought that villa! I thought it was the light at the end of the tunnel, that I could finally provide a good life for her and Nanxi, but what awaited me was another Abyss!"