Chapter 29: Sweet and Sour "Hmm?"

Shen Yuxi's tone rose at the end. He was somewhat baffled, only able to guess that Gu Yichen must have misunderstood something, prompting him to rush over and demand answers. The misunderstanding likely stemmed from the plane crash incident. In reality, the plane hadn't crashed. The Shen family held shares in Fenghang Airlines, and Shen Yuhuan had colluded with Fenghang's executives to set a trap, deceiving the investigators Gu Yichen had dispatched. That single "Hmm"

ignited Gu Yichen's fury. His painstakingly maintained composure shattered.

"Excellent. You've destroyed my marriage, yet you stand there so self-righteously. Truly refined, truly shameless!"

Shen Yuxi roughly understood the situation and replied calmly, "Mr. Gu, do not act arbitrarily. The consequence of jumping to conclusions is misunderstanding."

"During your marriage, I never interfered," he stated factually in his usual formulaic tone.

"If I had interfered, my approach wouldn't have been to create misunderstandings between you and Miss Su. Instead, I would have focused on domestic violence. Emotional abuse falls under the category of domestic violence, Mr. Gu, and you have already broken the law."

Shen Yuxi's straightforward explanations grated on Gu Yichen's ears, making him frown with growing irritation.

"You didn't interfere in my marriage?"

At that moment, he felt uncertain. Yet, if Su Nian's affair wasn't with Shen Yuxi, the coincidence seemed too great.

"Gu Yichen, have you gone mad searching for my lover?"

Su Nian, having restrained herself repeatedly, finally lost her temper. She snatched the phone and vented everything at once.

"Why don't you examine your own behavior? A year of marriage, leaving me alone in an empty house—if I went out to cheat, wouldn't that be perfectly normal?"

Gu Yichen pressed his lips together, his face turning slightly pale. He opened his mouth to explain but found no words. Su Nian's accusations were right; he had neglected her for too long and misunderstood her too deeply.

"Nian Nian,"

Gu Yichen's heart tightened. The dull ache in his chest made his voice strained.

"Consider this the price for my misunderstanding and hurting you. From now on, we are even."

"Now, let's start anew!"

He still couldn't bear to let go. Even though Su Nian was carrying another man's child, he didn't want to lose her. The despair he felt at the moment of the plane crash, believing he had lost Su Nian forever, was something Gu Yichen never wanted to experience again. Su Nian's expression turned peculiar. Was this really the proud, arrogant, cold, and autocratic Gu Yichen? It seemed love hormones could indeed make people act foolishly.

"No thanks. I now have an entire forest; I don't want to return to guarding a single tree."

She emphasized certain words heavily, deliberately trying to provoke him. Gu Yichen fell silent for a while, pain and anger sweeping through his entire heart. He took a deep breath, his voice heavy.

"Nian Nian, I've learned my lesson and compromised. Are you still unwilling to give me a chance?"

He had already accepted Su Nian's past and her pregnancy. Wasn't such punishment enough to pry open her heart and earn a chance?

"Not enough. Let me fall in love first!"

Su Nian hung up the phone, humming as she handed it back. That dog of a man had hurt her for so long; did he think a few sweet words would coax her obediently back? Gu Yichen remained expressionless. The lights were off, leaving the room dim. He sat alone on a chair, his mind in turmoil. That man—was it Shen Yuxi or Shen Yuhuan? He had originally thought it was Shen Yuhuan, but now it seemed more like Shen Yuxi. Gu Yichen couldn't be sure. The twins looked identical and dressed similarly. Even if he obtained photographs, they wouldn't prove anything. Could he really distinguish them based on smiles—that Shen Yuhuan smiles while Shen Yuxi doesn't? What if Shen Yuxi smiled that day, or Shen Yuhuan didn't? Wait! Gu Yichen suddenly stood up, his pupils constricting, his complexion changing. A terrifying possibility suddenly occurred to him.

"Wen Yao, I don't care what methods you use, but you must obtain the police records regarding the deaths of Hu Tianyu and Chen Yiqi from the Chen family at the beach, without alerting Shen Yuxi!"

Gu Yichen emphasized gravely.

"Remember, under no circumstances should Shen Yuxi be alerted!"

"Not just him; I'm afraid no one in the world could immediately tell who is Shen Yuxi and who is Shen Yuhuan. If Shen Yuhuan stopped smiling and adopted a cold, stern expression, would everyone's first instinct be to mistake him for Shen Yuxi?"

After receiving Gu Yichen's call, Su Nian's mood worsened. Glancing at Qiao Yajing again, she found her increasingly unbearable.

"Why are you still lingering? Do you want me to return to China right now to sue you and expose your scandals to the entire world?"

Unable to make these people pay immediately was frustrating enough; having them loiter before her eyes was intolerable. Qiao Yajing's gaze turned icy with rage, yet reason held her back. She forced a gentle smile.

"Xingye, your daily essentials are all with me. Shall we go back so you can pack your luggage?"

"No need."

Su Xingye's three calm words made Qiao Yajing's face twist uglily. She vaguely felt as though she, too, were merely one of those daily essentials, casually discarded by him. Five years of living together—what a joke! Su Nian's spirits lifted. She took Su Xingye's hand and asked coquettishly, "Brother, during these five years, did she take any advantage of you?"

—Nian Nian, don't call me Brother! Su Xingye frowned, suppressing those words that seemed to surge into his heart countless times yet always died in his throat. His voice remained gentle as he answered Su Nian, "No. I don't like being touched by her."

Qiao Yajing's expression grew even uglier. Clenching her fists tightly, she stormed out of the private room. Staying any longer would have driven her mad with anger from that pair of siblings.

"Let her die of rage,"

Su Nian couldn't help laughing.

"Alright, now that the eyesore is gone, let's enjoy our meal happily."

She turned her head and saw the smile playing on Su Xingye's lips. Impulsively, she hugged him.

"Brother, you look so handsome when you smile. Smile more often from now on."

In the original novel, the siblings' fate had been tragic: after she divorced Gu Yichen and returned to the Su family, she was killed by Su Xin and her mother and son. After regaining his memories, Su Xingye destroyed both the Su and Qiao families, then carried her ashes to leap into a snowy valley, where they were buried together beneath miles of ice. Su Nian's nose suddenly tingled with acidity. For an instant, Su Xingye felt disoriented. A scene abruptly flashed through his mind: a soft, petite girl nestled in his arms, charmingly remarking how beautiful his smile was.

"Then shall I smile every day just for Nian Nian?" he asked, delighted.

The little girl nodded eagerly, but just as the atmosphere warmed, she blurted out, "Gu Yichen smiles even more beautifully. It's like ice melting. If he ever smiled at me once, I'd be happy for a whole month…"

"Brother, what's wrong?"

Su Nian grew anxious. Seeing the unusual pain in Su Xingye's expression, she asked urgently, "Are you feeling unwell somewhere? Should we go to the hospital?"

Instead, Su Xingye reversed his grip, clasping her hand firmly.

"No need,"

he uttered heavily, the two words suppressed. Fearing Su Nian's worry, he added, "I'm fine."

The atmosphere at the dining table remained harmonious overall. Each ate quietly, exchanging occasional remarks, yet the single phone call had cast a subtle gloom over them.

"In a prison in another city, an inmate was violently rescued during trial."

A police officer accompanying Shen Yuxi received the news and called immediately. Su Nian slowed her eating, pricking up her ears to listen carefully. She wasn't very familiar with cases abroad, but after listening for a while, she grasped the general outline. Three homeless men, bearing no grudge whatsoever, had tortured and murdered a family of three purely out of jealousy, subjecting them to hours of agony. After their arrest, two were sentenced to death, while the third received life imprisonment. Unlike China, foreign countries employ a jury system. Due to the third criminal's tearful remorse, one juror's savior complex was triggered, casting a vote against the death penalty. Yet three years later, that very criminal had sought out Shen Yuhuan. Su Nian sighed deeply. Sometimes, people don't seek great wealth or status; they simply wish for peace and health, never encountering demons or perverts. Su Nian felt profoundly grateful for that fall, which reminded her of having transmigrated into the book, leading to today's reunion with Su Xingye.It's just Shen Yuhuan…

Su Nian felt somewhat irritated, unsure how to handle the situation, so she could only keep her distance. Yet, inevitably, Shen Yuhuan's call came through.

"Miss me?"

His mood was clearly excellent. Su Nian's heart went numb; she remained speechless. This man had just taken the culprit away. Given his usual tit-for-tat style, he would probably torment the prisoner for several hours. Under such circumstances, he was asking if she missed him?

"Nian Nian, who is he?"

Su Xingye's voice carried a hint of displeasure. Shen Yuhuan paused for two seconds, then suddenly chuckled.

"How does Xi judge people? A few hours apart, and suddenly a pretty boy appears?"

Author's note: Shen Yuhuan: Another pretty boy trying to steal Nian Nian from me. So annoying!