CHAPTER 281: CHAPTER 263: DO NOT OVERSTEP YOUR BOUNDARIES

When she uttered the name "Xiaoyu," a flicker of confusion passed through Mu Shuoqian’s eyes, as if he was quite curious how she knew this person.

Gu Qili lowered her head, her voice almost sinking into the dust: "I know her ah, you often call her name when you are drunk, Xiaoyu, Xiaoyu..."

Xiaoyu, Xiaoyu.

Mumbling, Gu Qili couldn’t hold back her tears any longer, and her eyes instantly reddened.

Mu Shuoqian stared at her continuously flowing tears, his own eyes beginning to redden, a clear shimmer of moisture slowly emerging.

He raised his head, looking forcefully at the ceiling, struggling to suppress the tears that were about to flow.

Xiaoyu, ah, the character he once fabricated in order to get closer to her without her noticing, ironically became the reason he had to push her away one day, how ironic.

He remembered two years ago, when he accidentally found out from the lawyer that Gu Dezhong left three percent of the shares to Gu Qili, and anyone who wanted to get these shares had to marry Gu Qili and stop pursuing the Gu Family any further.

At this point, things should have been perfect; he had traded for her freedom.

But upon seeing that will, he couldn’t resist its temptation; he thought, just two years, only two years, and he promised that these two years would not change her future life. She only needed to be his wife in name, and not a stranger drifting away from him.

In the first year, she still lived at the school and almost had no interactions with him, only symbolically appearing during Mu Family gatherings, like an actor playing her role. Once the role of the day was done, she would return to her ordinary life.

Meanwhile, he watched over her silently from where she could not see him, caring about her.

He knew which days of the month were her menstrual period, he knew the dormitory manager where she lived was a forty-five-year-old widow, he knew she liked to eat at the small restaurant not far from the school, he knew she had participated in a speech contest and won first place, he knew she had received a scholarship, he knew her favorite spot was sitting by the window in the library...

He became more and more attached to her; she was like a poison, addictive once consumed.

So, when she came to borrow money from him, in exchange, he made her live in Jing Mountain, so he could see her more. Therefore, he filled his home with cameras, watching her every move like a pervert.

She smiled, he would be happy; she was sad, he would be sorrowful; if someone bullied her, he would be angry and seek revenge.

He thought he could just silently protect her like this until the two-year period was over,

But Qiqi, do you know, we can’t be in love, even if I can abandon hatred, you can’t possibly forgive me.

But knowing it was impossible, he still felt that his heart was bursting into bloom, as if his six years of unreturned love were finally bearing fruit; indeed, she loved him too.

What followed seemed to go beyond his control, they were inseparable like the most ordinary lovers, every day was joyful for him, yet every day he tread carefully, fearing that one day the dream would end, and he would return to being lonely, only having the shadow of the moon.

Inevitably, what had to come would always come; what had to be escaped could not be escaped, whether it brought fortune or misfortune, one cannot hide from it.

The most difficult situation in this world is probably knowing you should let go, but end up grasping on even tighter.

However, in this Abyss, he had lived for a long time, while she had just stepped in, so while she hadn’t fallen too deep yet, she still had the chance to leave, but his life... was destined to be hopeless.

Mu Shuoqian slowly withdrew his mind from the lengthy reminiscence, as if recovering from a severe illness, drained of all strength.

Suddenly feeling a burning pain in his fingers, he realized that the cigarette between his fingers had burned down to his hand, but without any rush, he extinguished the cigarette, then straightened up sitting, answering her with a listless expression: "Yes, she has come back, so..."

"Mu Shuoqian," Gu Qili suddenly interrupted him, a bit anxious as she stood up, "I’m sorry, I’m a bit tired, can we talk about this tomorrow?"

After speaking, she didn’t wait for his reaction, and quickly walked toward her bedroom, and because she was distracted, she even bumped into a couch.

It was not long after that the sound of a door closing echoed, and the living room fell into a deathly silence again.

Mu Shuoqian sat there motionless, like a doll whose soul had been sucked out, and as it began to rain heavily outside, he suddenly stood up and walked out.

The rain was too heavy, the two grapevines in the yard were battered by the wind and rain, and he found a plastic tarp and bamboo poles to hastily construct a shelter.

After setting up the shelter, the grapevines were protected from the heavy rain, while he stood in the rain soaking wet, foolishly smiling at them.

Gu Qili heard the sound of the door opening and resisted the urge to go to the window to check.

When she talked about this with Mickey, Mickey mentioned that novels often write it this way, a man being unconditionally good to a woman because he sees her as the shadow of his ex-girlfriend or ex-wife.

She had always been curious, before Mu Shuoqian and she had hardly interacted, their marriage was also a transaction, she didn’t even know him before marrying, yet he treated her so well that she thought she possessed the whole world.

Turns out, the happiness she once took pride in was supposed to belong to another woman.

And now, that woman has returned.

The rain poured all night, after putting up the grape trellis, Mu Shuoqian drove to the company.

Early in the morning, Xiao Ran came in with some documents, seeing him standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows wearing a black shirt, the morning halo warmly illuminating his face, yet his reflection was filled with coldness.

"Young Master Qian, why did you come so early?" Xiao Ran placed the documents properly, "I will ask someone to prepare breakfast for you."

"No need," his gaze softened, wondering if she would go to work today.

"By the way, Young Master Qian, Mr. Bai called just now saying the person you wanted has arrived."

"Hmm, have him wait for me in the staff lounge."

"Alright."

Zhou Xiaoyu hadn’t received much work those days, even a small shopping mall anniversary event arranged by her agent got snatched by someone else; her agent said if she couldn’t get any work this month, they’d be starving.

Zhou Xiaoyu’s career was short; she only joined the acting field out of love for acting, but the industry was too deep, and she was too inexperienced, quickly becoming exhausted.

It wasn’t that there were absolutely no opportunities, once a producer intended to let her play a minor role, but it conditioned on sleeping with him, which she outright refused. If it meant selling herself for a chance, she’d rather change her profession.

Zhou Xiaoyu sat quietly in the lounge alone for about ten minutes, then suddenly the door in front of her was pushed open. Her initial impression of the man she saw was dazzling, against the light, yet shining brighter than the sun, infinitely more handsome than those young stars in the company, she thought that if this man were in movies, he’d surely captivate countless young girls.

"Miss Zhou," Xiao Ran’s voice brought the absent-minded Zhou Xiaoyu back to her senses. She quickly and respectfully said, "Hello, Young Master Qian."

Mu Shuoqian did not speak, nor did he sit. His eyes simply swept over her face briefly before shifting away.

Xiao Ran handed over a contract: "Miss Zhou, your agent has already explained things to you, your main responsibility is to act, and what you need to play, how you should play it, it’s all clearly written in the contract. Take a careful look now, and if you have no objections, you can sign."

Zhou Xiaoyu shifted her gaze away from Mu Shuoqian and started to read the contract.

Her agent told her she was to play Young Master Qian’s most loved woman, although she was still confused until she read the contract, only then did she realize that this "most loved person" was a fabricated character. To match her identity with authenticity, all her previous records were altered, and she must remember those details to avoid any slip-ups.

Seeing her turn to the last page, Xiao Ran then said, "Miss Zhou, I hope during this period you do not exceed your role and have any unrealistic fantasies. Also, Young Master Qian detests physical contact from women, not only people but also his belongings. You must not touch them, speak less than necessary, and do less than necessary. As long as you can successfully carry out this act, this money is yours."

Xiao Ran placed a check on the contract in her hands. Zhou Xiaoyu looked down, startled; this was the kind of pay a top star would get for a movie role.

"Miss Zhou, if you have no objections to the contract, please sign here," Xiao Ran pointed to a blank space on the last page, "sign here, and also place your thumbprint."

Zhou Xiaoyu still felt bewildered as she signed her name; this role had no script, no lines, only a story background, much harder than real acting.

Xiao Ran took the contract and flipped through it for Mu Shuoqian to see. He nodded, then without a word, walked out.

"Young Master Qian." Zhou Xiaoyu suddenly called out to him from behind.