CHAPTER 536: CHAPTER 538: LONG TIME NO SEE

Xia Xiao just sat there, propping up her chin and watching Gao Jiaxing, who was wearing an apron, bustling about. They say a man who is serious is the most handsome, and even at this moment, without wearing his military uniform or standing at attention, Xia Xiao had to admit that Gao Jiaxing was becoming more and more attractive.

Now in his fifties, he was mature and charismatic, and just looking at him made her unable to resist indulging in him, even thinking about last night’s madness caused a blush to spread across Xia Xiao’s face, adding a crystal-like luster.

"Okay," Gao Jiaxing finished cooking the bamboo shoot and beef soup, and after serving it, Xia Xiao went over to get the scrambled eggs with rice, Gao Jiaxing grabbed a bowl and quickly followed.

"Brother Gao, where are we going later?" Xia Xiao asked while eating.

"Watch the Olympics?" Gao Jiaxing said.

Xia Xiao shook her head, "We can only watch the replays now. Let’s watch the live broadcast tonight. How about we go hiking later?"

"Alright," Gao Jiaxing agreed.

"The maple leaves in Xiangshan are red. Let’s go to Xiangshan and have a look." Xia Xiao thought that it was September now, and Xiangshan should be at its most beautiful.

After having breakfast, Xia Xiao and Gao Jiaxing, both dressed in casual clothes, with Gao Jiaxing carrying a large backpack filled with water and snacks, set off in their car.

There were loads of people at Xiangshan. Gao Jiaxing hung a camera around his neck and played with candid photography, occasionally taking pictures of Xia Xiao.

Xia Xiao, seeing Gao Jiaxing’s movements, smiled at him, "Let me take over. I’ll take pictures of you."

"No need, no need," Gao Jiaxing waved his hand, "I’ll take pictures of you."

"Brother Gao is obviously very handsome, and yet he’s always afraid of taking pictures." Xia Xiao laughed, took the camera, and started to take photos of Gao Jiaxing, who didn’t seem to react naturally to the camera.

So, Xia Xiao simply took pictures of the scenery. Thanks to years of activity, her physical condition was still quite good, so the couple kept walking up the mountain. Of course, Xia Xiao took quite a few candid shots of Gao Jiaxing when he wasn’t paying attention.

"Comrade, could you please take a photo of me and my loved one?" Gao Jiaxing suddenly stopped a man.

The man was on a trip with his family, and he immediately agreed when he heard Gao Jiaxing’s request, but his family looked over at Gao Jiaxing and Xia Xiao and were momentarily stunned.

And when Xia Xiao saw who had turned around, she too was taken aback and said, "Comrade Gu Weiguo, it’s you."

"Comrades Xia Xiao, Gao Jiaxing," Gu Weiguo approached, equally surprised.

"It’s been years. How have you been?" Suddenly seeing an old friend from the educated youth days, Xia Xiao was also delighted.

Gao Jiaxing paused and glanced at Gu Weiguo, "Let’s chat after Xia Xiao and I finish taking photos."

Then Xia Xiao and Gao Jiaxing took a few photos under the maple trees, and Gu Weiguo said, "We’re old acquaintances now. Let’s take a photo together."

So saying, Gu Weiguo instructed the man who was taking photos, "Hey, take a few more, use our family’s camera."

Gu Weiguo’s son said to his mother, "Mom, hurry over and take a photo with dad."

Gu Weiguo’s wife uttered a couple of sounds before moving over to join everyone for a group photo.

After the photo session, everyone found a pavilion to sit down and chat. Ms. Huang, Gu Weiguo’s wife, seemed older than Gu Weiguo. During the special period, her family held quite a bit of power.

Thus, the Gu Family arranged for Gu Weiguo to marry Ms. Huang, who was a few years his senior. However, after the end of that special period, the Huang Family was affected and became the other party that was knocked down.

The Gu Family then requested that Gu Weiguo divorce, but he resisted his family. Although Ms. Huang was not particularly outstanding in appearance and was older than Gu Weiguo, she was very virtuous and good at managing the household.

Moreover, Gu Weiguo was quite opposed to his own family’s arrangements; they had originally made him marry her to return to the city, and he did. Now that her family had fallen, they asked him to abandon her. She was his wife, the mother of his children, and she had done nothing wrong. How could Gu Weiguo agree to that?

So Gu Weiguo initially started a career in politics, but because he rebelled against his family for his wife, he then went out to start his own business. Now, he had opened a shoe and bag company in Z City, which was doing quite well.

Now taking some time off to travel with his family, he didn’t expect to run into Gao Jiaxing and Xia Xiao. Regarding Gao Jiaxing, Gu Weiguo didn’t know much, only that he was a military officer. But Xia Xiao was a famous figure, whom Gu Weiguo often followed. Now learning that Gao Jiaxing was a leader, Gu Weiguo couldn’t help but sigh; Xia Xiao and Gao Jiaxing were truly a couple that many envied.

Xia Xiao was chatting with Ms. Huang and found that she was a very gentle person. Moreover, Ms. Huang had given birth to three sons and two daughters for Gu Weiguo, five children in total. Sitting with Xia Xiao, their conversation flitted between their children and cooking.

Xia Xiao felt that Gu Weiguo was quite fortunate, belonging to those men who have a silently supportive woman behind every successful man. Gu Weiguo was one such man.

And Ms. Huang was also happy. Gu Weiguo did not abandon her when her family fell, preferring to defy his own family rather than divorce. At that moment, Xia Xiao looked at Gu Weiguo in a new light.

Although there were many scoundrels in the world, there were also plenty of good men. It was just a matter of whether you met them or missed out.

In Xia Xiao’s eyes, Gao Jiaxing, He Xuebing, Gu Weiguo, Li Zhenchuan, Yu Shijie, and Gao Jiazhi, as well as her elder brother Xia Chunrong and many others, were all decent men.

Watching the care that Gao Jiaxing had for Xia Xiao, Ms. Huang couldn’t help but feel extremely envious. After Gao Jiaxing and Xia Xiao left, Ms. Huang could not resist asking Gu Weiguo, "That must be the person you’d been thinking of, right?"

Gu Weiguo softly hmm’d, then took Ms. Huang’s hand and said, "As good as she is, she’s not mine. You’re the only one who is mine."

Ms. Huang gave a slight smile. That was enough for her; she couldn’t ask for too much.

When her family had fallen, Gu Weiguo did not abandon her. Ms. Huang was grateful to him for her entire life.

When her family introduced her to Gu Weiguo, she had fallen in love with him. However, she and Gu Weiguo had always treated each other with mutual respect. She once was dissatisfied and even complained about him.

But when her family collapsed and the Gu Family asked Gu Weiguo to divorce her, Ms. Huang was extremely anxious. She didn’t even know what to do. But faced with choosing between his parents and his wife, Gu Weiguo chose his wife, which deeply moved Ms. Huang.

Over the years, upon hearing her friends talk about their husbands’ affairs, Ms. Huang even thought that if Gu Weiguo ever cheated on her, as long as he didn’t let her know or bring someone home, didn’t father an illegitimate child, she would choose to forgive him.

But she was lucky; Gu Weiguo truly was a good man; he was different from other men.

So at this time, even knowing that Xia Xiao was the person whom Gu Weiguo had harbored feelings for many years, Ms. Huang was able to see it calmly. Putting aside the relationship between Xia Xiao and Gao Jiaxing, Xia Xiao’s current status alone made it impossible for her to have anything with Gu Weiguo.