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nChapter 27

nThe place Anhao suggested was just in the next street. They did not even have to take the car. All they had to do was cross two wide alleys to arrive at their destination so Anhao followed behind Yi Zeyang all the way there.

nWhen they arrived at the newly-opened seafood restaurant, he booked a room on the second floor near the windows.

nBy the time they sat down, Anhao had not yet uttered a single word. She heard Yi Zeyang ordering a few dishes as she sat in silence.

nFrom crayfish to conch, and onto a few simple fried seafood dishes, they were all Anhao’s favourites in the past. Even though she did not say anything, the dishes ordered were all to her taste.

nWhen the waiter asked her what she would like to drink, Yi Zeyang replied, “Give her a glass of peanut milk.”

n“Two bottles of beer.” Anhao suddenly opened her mouth.

nThe waiter was stunned for a moment, and Yi Zeyang glanced at her. “You’re going to drink beer with seafood?”

nThe waiter saw Anhao’s student uniform—it was obvious that she was still a student, but she did not dare to speak up so she looked at Yi Zeyang.

n“Give her a bottle of mineral water.”

nThe waiter left their table. Anhao did not insist on having beer either.

nThe room reverted to silence once more.

n“Anhao, it’s still noontime, were you thinking of getting hammered with me?”

nAnhao smiled. “Of course not, what I meant to say is that a drink like peanut milk no longer suits me. If you want to treat me to a meal you have to buy me beer. I’ve already stopped eating those snacks that little girls eat.”

nYi Zeyang could hear some rebellious elements in her words, but he ignored them and chuckled, “So, you’re saying that you’re not a little girl anymore? You’re only nineteen years old. No one knows what you were like in the past, but I do.”

nEven though the words were warm and thoughtful, in her ears, those words were painful—like blades cutting into her heart.

n“The past is in the past, and the present is in the present. Do you not know that women can change significantly, Mr. Yi? I’m no longer Anhao from the past.”

nThe corner of Yi Zeyang’s mouth turned upward slightly—he seemed to find something amusing. “Indeed, I’ve heard stories about A High mentioned by my friends in the school board while I was in B University, especially when they mentioned the quota for recruiting new students. They condemned a single peculiar student from A High, called Gu Anhao, as someone who is good-for-nothing. They also said that even if you’re Mayor Gu’s daughter, they would never allow you to enrol in B University. I’ve heard more dramatic stories about you, Gu Anhao. How notorious you are.”

nAnhao kept silent.

nShe did not expect a university like B University to even catch wind of her. How would she be able to mingle around with other people in the future?

nAnd most importantly, did Yi Zeyang already know that she was a student in A High before he was invited to A High?

n“You’ve really changed a lot, but whether or not you’re still the Anhao from the past, I know that better than anyone else.”

n“I heard that you’re getting married.”

nIt appeared that Anhao did not want to bring up anything related to her past. She looked up and looked straight into his eyes as she said with a smile, “Originally, I ordered beer because I wanted to drink some with you to congratulate you on your marriage, and to wish that you and your fiancé will have a harmonious life together. Since you don’t plan on letting me drink beer, mineral water will just have to do. After all, a small character like me wouldn’t dare to visit the noble Yi and Gu family so I can only congratulate you in a small restaurant like this in secret.”

nShe knew that Gu Shishi used Yi Zeyang’s engagement to trick her last time—she told her that Yi Zeyang had something to pass to her. It was a lie made up by Gu Shishi.

nThat was just a lie by Gu Shishi to trick her into attending the banquet, a trick that she fell for.

nHowever, Yi Zeyang’s engagement was real.

nHer first sentence seemed to have frozen the atmosphere around them. Yi Zeyang slowly gathered his smile as his eyes went still.

nAt the same time, a waiter knocked on the door and several waiters entered the room. They put a big tray of crayfish on the table, and a few more waiters came in to serve their dishes one by one.

nAfter they had left, Anhao poured some mineral water into a glass. She lifted the glass and said, “Congratulations…”

n“Anhao.” He interrupted her, his gaze locked onto hers. He reached out his hand, took the glass from her and put it aside.

n“Anhao, don’t congratulate me in such a formal and polite way. If I really do want to get blessings from you, I will definitely invite you to do so formally, and not do so here.”

nAnhao did not seem to understand.

nOn the day of his engagement, even though the two families were not on friendly terms, the Gu family had still received an invitation out of courtesy—but Anhao’s name was not on the invitation.

nDid that mean that he did not need her blessings for his engagement ceremony?

nAnhao chuckled in an unamused way. She retracted her hand, lifted the chopsticks on the table and started picking food from the dishes.

nEvery dish on the table used to be her favourite. When they were little, Yi Zeyang would always use chopsticks to pick out the meat from the scallops and conches for her. He would even feed her prawns with the shells removed. Every time he did so, Anhao would playfully bite his fingers—both of them had so much fun.

nUnlike now, she had to be careful with every word she said. She was afraid that they would poke on something that they should not, afraid of hurting each other.

nAnd because of this, Anhao ate in total silence as she hung her head low. She stopped talking—afraid that she would say more than she should to the point of no return. She would surely end up crying if she were to talk about the unspeakable feelings and sadness she felt. Everything she had buried deep within her heart for the past five years did not have a place in the world. If she were to allow even a trickle, it would turn into a waterfall of disastrous, pent-up feelings.

nSeeing the way Anhao was stuffing food down without caring about her appearance, Yi Zeyang was unfazed. He had seen her pulling all sorts of stunts intentionally and also her infamous stubbornness at play. He peeled a few prawns, put them on a plate and passed it to her.

nAnhao looked up and saw the plate of nicely peeled prawns on the plate that he had passed over. She was stunned for a moment. Instead of eating the prawns, she suddenly put her chopsticks down, stood up and wanted to leave.

n“Anhao!” Yi Zeyang quickly stood up.

nShe was fast, with a quick spurt she was at the door. She went down the flight of stairs to the ground floor and dashed straight out of the restaurant.

n“Anhao! Stop!”

n“Look out for cars!” Seeing that she was not even looking at the cars passing by and was crossing the road without caring for her own safety, Yi Zeyang was enraged. He quickly caught up to her, held out his arm and pulled her in as she was about to dash straight ahead with all her might.

nShe struggled to get free as he held her firmly in place, and proceeded to pull her into a hug—both arms wrapped tightly around her as he buried her into his chest. “Anhao! I’m back! I’m here in front of you! No one can hurt you anymore! No one would ever chase you out of the Yi family!”

nSuddenly, tears came pouring down as Anhao forcefully pummeled her fists against his shoulders. “Let go of me!”

nYi Zeyang’s arms locked her into a tight hug, comforting her violent struggles. “It’s my fault, I shouldn’t have left five years ago…”

nAnhao got tired from crying. She stopped struggling and sobbed feebly into his chest. “My surname is Gu! It’s Gu now! I’m not related to you in any way!”

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