Zhong Michu said: "It's me... I spoke too much."
That one sentence made Gu Fuyou say everything he wanted to say. The guilt for his slip of the tongue and the displeasure of having his sore spot touched were all stuffed in his stomach, fermenting into a ball of resentment.
The two of them returned to the mansion, one in front and one behind, and never spoke to each other again.
In the evening, Gu Shuangqing prepared a banquet to entertain Zhong Michu. Although he was a fasting person, it was still lively.
Gu Fuyou was a person who ate whole grains, but at the banquet he had no appetite because he was worried and hardly touched his chopsticks.
Zhong Michu was a man of few words. In recent days, he had been with Gu Fuyou and his mind had become more active. He also spoke more. But now he has become a taciturn person again.
Even the brothers Gu Shuangqing and Gu Huaiyou could sense that there was something different about her, and they winked at Gu Fuyou again and again.
Gu Fuyou: “…”
It was late and everyone went back to their rooms. She lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.
When it is late at night and everyone is asleep, you can calm down and reflect on yourself.
Gu Fuyou grabbed his hair fiercely several times and shrank into the quilt: "Ahhh!"
The big bulge in the quilt calmed down for a moment, then suddenly a furry head popped out again.
Gu Fuyou rested his chin on the pillow, stunned.
Why did you say such things to her
You obviously know her situation. Isn't the gap between her and her mother the same as the gap between you and your father? How can you use this as an excuse to retort? What's more, she has good intentions...
Gu Fuyou recalled Zhong Michu's face at that time, which had turned visibly pale. Gu Fuyou thought to himself, "This is her sore spot, and you are stabbing her in the sore spot. Gu Fuyou, are you stupid?"
She tossed around on the bed like a fish that had come ashore. After a long while, she let out a long sigh in dejection, tilted her head, and saw the sad moonlight from the window.
The night is so lonely, just like my life over the past twenty years.
Gu Fuyou curled herself up. The relationship between her and her father was a source of deep pain and a serious illness. People say that people are afraid to see a doctor because of their illness. It was probably because of her condition that she would resist when others wanted to treat her.
Now that I calm down and think about it, what Zhong Michu said was actually not wrong.
Even if opening up and talking doesn't work, if you want to change, you have to take this step, whether it works or not.
If we stick with the status quo, nothing will change.
Gu Fuyou turned over, pulled the quilt, and said to himself, "I shouldn't have said that to her. I'll go apologize to her tomorrow."
The next day, Gu Fuyou still slept until noon, but he couldn't fall asleep at night because he was thinking about his worries, and he couldn't wake up during the day.
She hurriedly washed and dressed, then knocked on Zhong Michu's door, but Zhong Michu was not there as usual.
She found out and met Lu Shiqing. When she heard Lu Shiqing say that Zhong Michu was in the study, she went to the study again.
The study door was closed. Gu Fuyou knocked on the door, but no one came to open it. She called out, "Senior Sister Zhong."
She sensed the presence of someone in the study, who tiptoed to the door as she spoke.
"Sister Zhong, I have something to tell you, can you open the door?"
Although this is her home and she could force the door open, it was too insincere to start her apology in this way.
The person inside the door did not move. Gu Fuyou said, "Senior Sister Zhong, I'm here to apologize to you."
The person in the room did not answer. Gu Fuyou put her hands behind her back and twisted her body uncomfortably. Perhaps because she was too frivolous, she was at a loss for words when she apologized solemnly: "I'm sorry, I, what I said yesterday was too rude. I didn't mean to hurt you. Those words just came out of my mouth..."
"I was so angry that I didn't care about anything." She pursed her lips and said, "I am just like this. It's terrible, isn't it? I always think about myself first, I'm rude, and I'm frivolous and impulsive. I know that I have many shortcomings. I'm not good..."
She pinched her hair with her fingers and pushed it down, and just lowered her head, as if Zhong Michu was standing in front of her: "But I will change, I will change little by little."
She held her right hand with her left hand for a while, then held her left hand with her right hand, looked up at the door, and said, "Senior Sister Zhong, I..."
She heard a chuckle in the room and didn't know who was laughing.
Gu Fuyou was stunned, and his words froze there without continuing.
The door slowly opened, and Gu Shuangqing came out and said, "Second brother, did I hear correctly? What does our third young lady want?"
Gu Huaiyou held up a book, half covering his smiling face: "You must turn over a new leaf."
Gu Fuyou's face flushed red from the base of her neck to her face. She shouted, "Why, why is it you guys!"
Gu Shuangqing smiled and said, "We are reading in the study, why can't it be us?"
"You, you guys, why don't you make any noise!"
Gu Huaiyou laughed and said, "If you make a sound, how can I hear your heartfelt words?"
"Gu Huaiyou!"
Gu Shuangqing and Gu Huaiyou looked at each other and laughed out loud. Gu Shuangqing said, "Third Miss, I have never seen you voluntarily give in to anyone. When I tried to persuade you, I had to persuade you with all my heart and soul, until my mouth was dry, before you could reluctantly bow your head."
"elder brother!"
Gu Shuangqing looked at the sky and said, "Is the sun rising from the west today? The third girl not only gave in and admitted her mistakes, but also realized her shortcomings and was willing to take the initiative to correct them."
Gu Fuyou's face turned even redder: "Brother, if you say that again I will ignore you!"
Gu Huaiyou smiled and said, "I wonder what magic trick Senior Sister Zhong used."
Gu Shuangqing smiled and said, "Second brother, you said before that she has calmed down a lot, but I didn't believe you. Now that I see her, it's true! Miss Zhong is really a deity!"
The two brothers sang the same tune. Gu Fuyou turned around angrily and walked out: "I will ignore you guys, I will never pay attention to you in this life!"
Gu Shuangqing called out from under the eaves, "Miss Zhong has gone to the martial arts arena and is training your spirit beast."
Gu Fuyou could still hear their laughter from a distance. She gritted her teeth and stomped her feet as she walked, wishing she could make a hole in the ground. Even though the cool breeze blew in her face, her face was still hot and red.
She entered the martial arts arena from the corner gate and was about to step into the square when a white shadow came flying towards her with a strong wind. She quickly dodged to the side, and then she heard a roar and a black shadow rushed over and caught up with the white shadow.
Gu Fuyou called out, "Ah Fu?"
The black shadow turned around, holding a blue and white porcelain plate in its mouth. When it saw her coming, it wagged its tail.
Yi'er came over. Ah Fu immediately relaxed and let Yi'er take the blue and white porcelain plate away. He rubbed Yi'er, his front legs tensed, ready to do it again.
Gu Fuyou frowned and said, "Yier, why are you playing with it? This is not for it to play with!"
Yi Er said blankly, "But I see that other people play with dogs in this way. Ah Fu also likes to catch the plate, Ah Fu, right?"
Gu Fuyou said: "Ahfu is not a dog, it is Zhenmao!"
Ah Fu took the porcelain plate and handed it to Gu Fuyou, wanting her to play with it.
Gu Fuyou felt an unspeakable sadness in her heart. She recalled her powerlessness in the cave when facing Zuo Tianyi. If she didn't have the ear-covering bell, she would just be at the mercy of others. Even with the ear-covering bell, it still couldn't protect her.
She looked at Ah Fu and said, "You are not a dog, you are Zhen Mao! You are the Zhen Mao who roars like thunder and shakes the heavens!"
Ah Fu stuffed the porcelain plate into her arms. "You!" Gu Fuyou laughed angrily and hit it hard on the head.
A voice behind him said, "It's still young, only a few months old, so it's normal for it to be playful. Zhen Mao's pride won't disappear just like that. Let it play. It's good for it to have something it likes."
Gu Fuyou turned around. Zhong Michu came over. He hadn't seen her just now. Maybe she was standing in a corner. She had been here all the time, which meant that she tacitly agreed to Ah Fu taking the plate.
But she didn't have time to think about all this now. She didn't come here for this matter. She wanted to apologize to her.
But when he saw Zhong Michu, Gu Fuyou remembered the misunderstanding in front of the study. His face quickly heated up, and the blush that had finally dissipated quickly gathered again, and even his ears turned red.
It is said that the first effort is strong, the second will weaken, and the third will be exhausted.
After being interrupted twice, she wanted to apologize now, and said, "Senior Sister Zhong..." but suddenly got stuck at the end.
After holding it in for a long time, I could only say: "You are right."
Gu Fuyou: “…”
She was roaring in her heart: "What am I talking about!"
However, until the end, I was unable to apologize properly.
Lying on the bed again at night, Gu Fuyou looked at the roof and sighed deeply, thinking: "Today, I saw that Senior Sister Zhong's face seemed to be much calmer. Has her anger subsided a little..."
She tossed and turned until midnight, and her stomach started to growl. She hadn't had a proper meal since the day before, and her stomach felt empty.
She had no choice but to get up and run to the kitchen to find something to eat.
But it was a cold stove and cold leftovers.
After looking around, I found the water bucket still had some dumplings sent by the fisherman. I thought, I should do it myself so that I can have enough food and clothing.
After washing and scraping the fish, he lit a fire and heated the oil to make crispy fish. Then he ran to the storehouse to find a few jars of good wine, carried the plate and the wine, ran back to his yard, and climbed onto the roof in the wind. Drinking under the moon was a special pleasure.
There are so many things on my mind under the moon, and I drink without any restraint.
She was half drunk, holding a fish in her mouth, when she suddenly saw a man standing in the courtyard, covered in silver, looking up at her.
The man smiled and said, "Are you a cat?"
She was about to stand up, but in her haste, she stumbled and nearly fell. In a flash, Zhong Michu was beside her, her dress fluttering in the wind, her fragrance like night mist, she was like a blooming Epiphyllum on the Xingyue Hill in the night.
Zhong Michu held her elbow and said, "You should just sit still."
Gu Fuyou looked at her. Others said she was cold, but in fact, few people knew that she had a very good temper.
Gu Fuyou's guilt twisted his heart into a ball, and he said impatiently, "Senior Sister Zhong, I shouldn't have spoken to you like that yesterday. You were obviously doing it for my own good. I was wrong. I'm sorry. Can you please forgive me?"
Zhong Michu said: "You are not wrong in what you said, you are just pointing out the facts. How can you forgive me?"
Zhong Michu lowered his eyelashes and said softly, "I can't even handle my own affairs, so what position do I have to advise you?"
Gu Fuyou saw that she looked lonely, and she wanted to persuade her, but it was difficult to do so. She could only say some bland words: "Every family has its own problems. Yun Ran Xuan Zun may have difficulties. Although I have never seen my mother, my brother said that my mother is the most gentle. All mothers in the world are gentle. There is no mother in this world who does not love her children. Yun Ran Xuan Zun must be suffering."
"Yeah?"
The two of them, one sitting and the other standing, looked at the moon. There were no clouds in the sky, the crescent moon was like a hook, its brilliance was greatly reduced, but there were thousands of stars twinkling. The night was even quieter.
Zhong Michu whispered, "She wasn't like this before."
"Yun Ran Xuan Zun?"
"I remember one time..." Zhong Michu paused for a long time. When the night wind blew, she said, "There was a Nanzhuzi plant in Hechenxuan. It was nourished by spiritual energy and its fruits were bright red. I thought it was a berry, so I picked it and put it in my mouth. It was the first time I saw her smile. It was also the only time she hugged me. She took out the Nanzhuzi and told me, 'You can't eat it.'"
Gu Fuyou drank half of the wine and found it hard to swallow: "Senior Sister Zhong..."
After a long silence, Gu Fuyou said, "Senior Sister Zhong, I think about it carefully and feel that what you said yesterday is right. We should talk to them. Although it cannot eliminate the estrangement, it can at least have some effect. This is better than being in a stalemate all the time."
Zhong Michu turned around, with her back to the light, her expression was dark and unclear.
Gu Fuyou put the back of her hand on her cheek and felt it was hot. She thought it might be because she was drunk, but fortunately her speech was still clear: "I have a bad temper. Every time I talk to my father, we always quarrel. Maybe if I change my temper, it will be much better. And you, Senior Sister Zhong, you usually don't like to take the initiative to speak."
"Um… "
Gu Fuyou smiled and said, "You definitely haven't taken the initiative to find Yun Ran Xuan Zun and talk to her, right? You can also talk to her and tell her that you miss her, that you love her, and that you want her to love you and hug you."
Zhong Michu never expected Gu Fuyou to say this, and said in surprise: "Gu Fuyou!" His voice rose, unable to hide his panic.
Gu Fuyou laughed out loud. She knew that Zhong Mi, as a new person, would be too shy to say such things so bluntly.
"Senior Sister Zhong, you are just like this. That's why Yun Ran Xuan Zun is so cold and indifferent."
"You, how can there be such a person as you."
"Isn't it the same for mothers and daughters? If my mother were still alive, I would stay in her arms and act like a spoiled child to her every day."
Zhong Michu sat down beside her. It was hard to see clearly under the moonlight, but Gu Fuyou felt that she was a little blushing.
Gu Fuyou propped up his face, tilted his head, and looked at her sideways. The two of them didn't speak for a long time. Gu Fuyou was completely drunk and his eyes gradually blurred. She smiled and called softly, "Senior Sister Zhong?"
Zhong Michu didn't respond. Gu Fuyou asked, "Senior Sister Zhong, are you angry?"
"No."
Gu Fuyou smiled and said, "I don't believe it. Just call me Ah Man and see."
Zhong Michu turned his head to look at her: "Aman?"
Gu Fuyou smiled and replied, "Hey."
Gu Fuyou grabbed the beautiful lady's silk sleeves, shook them, and said, "Brother Si Miao and the others all call me Ah Man. I only allow those close to me to call me that. Senior Sister, you should call me that from now on."
"… good."