Chapter 7: Stealing a Kiss
She carefully placed the tray on a table to the side and walked over to the bed intending to call for Gu Nanzhou.
"Mr. Gu... I've made some hangover soup for you, please have some first."
The man on the bed still had his eyes closed.
Su Wan gently called out again, "Gu Nanzhou?"
The man remained motionless.
"He's asleep, huh..."
The young girl murmured to herself, half-squatting down while resting her face on her hands as she gazed at him.
A sliver of moonlight squeezed through the gap in the curtains, falling across the man's face.
From the side, one could see his straight brows, his thick and long eyelashes, his slightly curved thin lips, and the beautiful cold arc of his jawline.
Every inch of him was like a carefully carved piece of unpolished jade.
Su Wan was stunned as she stared at Gu Nanzhou's face, her breath hitched for a moment.
Being so close, she could even smell the faint scent of tobacco and alcohol on him, which, surprisingly, she did not find unpleasant.
As if possessed, Su Wan bent down and secretly kissed him.
By the time she realized what she was doing, her lips had already gently touched Gu Nanzhou's face.
His face was cool, her lips warm, and that delicate touch caused Su Wan to pause for a second, then she quickly moved away.
She stood up straight, a blush rapidly spreading across her face. She breathed very softly, not daring to let her heart beat too fast, for fear of waking Gu Nanzhou.
Su Wan covered her face, as if she couldn't believe what she had just done.
Su Wan, oh Su Wan, what are you doing? Have you swallowed the gall of a leopard?
After calming down for a while, the thief-hearted young girl quietly opened the door and quickly ran out.
It wasn't until she had run back to her own bedroom that she dared to breathe heavily.
Luckily, Gu Nanzhou hadn't woken up. She patted her disordered heart in her chest and comforted herself secretly, otherwise, it would have been really embarrassing.
After the bedroom door closed, listening to those hurried footsteps, Gu Nanzhou slowly opened his eyes.
The air still carried the faint scent of the young girl's shower gel.
Gu Nanzhou's eyelashes hung down, he swallowed lightly and reached a hand to touch his cheek.
The aftereffects of Fu Xun's alcohol were too strong, there was darkness in the depths of the man's eyes, and he just felt severely intoxicated.
Life carried on as usual, and a few days later, Su Wan received a call from Gu Nanzhou's stepmother, Li Yunlian, asking her to attend the family gathering at the Gu Family's old mansion on Saturday, an annual event.
After hanging up, Su Wan just felt a headache coming on.
If there were two things in the world that she hated the most, they would undoubtedly be menstrual pain and attending family gatherings at the old mansion.
In a family like the Gu Family, where relations were always complicated, it was never easy to sort things out.
Gu Nanzhou's birth mother's marriage to his father, Gu Yuan, was a business alliance and their relationship was not good. Furthermore, since Gu Nanzhou's mother died in childbirth on the day he was born, there were rumors that he brought bad luck to his parents. As a result, Gu Yuan disliked Gu Nanzhou and could be said to have never taken care of him.
Less than half a year after the death of Gu Nanzhou's mother, Gu Yuan married Li Yunlian who bore him a set of dragon and phoenix twins two years later.
They were not kind to Gu Nanzhou, especially his stepmother Li Yunlian, who worried that he would compete with her son for the inheritance and saw Gu Nanzhou as a thorn in her side.
Gu Yuan turned a blind eye to their bullying of Gu Nanzhou.
Gu Nanzhou was raised by the old Master Gu, who treated him as his successor and was quite strict with him.
Su Wan had always felt that Gu Nanzhou's aloofness and cold, distant nature must be greatly related to his childhood.
Today, Gu Nanzhou had become the most noble man in City A, the head of the Gu Family, and had severely punished people like Li Yunlian behind the scenes.
He never attended the old house gatherings, except to pay respects to the old Master Gu; he wouldn't even return to the old house.
However, Su Wan had to go. As the daughter-in-law of the Gu Family, with the elder Master Gu long gone, the Su Family having fallen from grace, and her relationship with Gu Nanzhou being nothing more than a marriage certificate, she had no one to support her.
Every time she went, she never received a warm welcome. Gu Yuan was alright, indifferent to Gu Nanzhou and even more so to her. Li Yunlian and others would take out all their dissatisfaction with Gu Nanzhou on her.
Therefore, this time of the year was always the most troublesome for the young lady.
Su Wan sighed and consoled herself inwardly, just as in the previous years, to get it over with quickly as it would soon be over.
Now, she stood before the carved iron gate, staring at the brightly lit old mansion in the distance, lost in thought.
Just as Su Wan adjusted her expression and took a deep breath, preparing to step inside, a woman's voice stopped her.
Shen Lin tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her beautiful eyes flirtatious as she smiled, "Miss Su, what a coincidence."
Su Wan nodded in return with a polite smile, "Miss Shen."
Shen Lin, the daughter of Li Yunlian's close friend, could be considered as the predetermined daughter-in-law of the Gu Family, except for the fact that Shen Lin liked Gu Nanzhou, causing Li Yunlian to abandon this idea.
Su Wan looked at the gorgeously dressed Shen Lin, her smile faint. Knowing that Gu Nanzhou never attended these gatherings and seeing Shen Lin's repeated failures, she felt a bit of sympathy for her romantic rival.
As expected, the next second Shen Lin asked, "Has Brother Nanzhou arrived?"
"Oh, my husband is too busy with work to make it," she replied.
Su Wan deliberately used the word "husband," her expression calm and her tone casual. When she mentioned "husband," she included a hint of girlish shyness, as if it were the most natural title for her to use.
"..."
Shen Lin choked for a moment, her expression turning sour, but she quickly recovered and smiled, "Since everyone is here, let's go in together. Uncle and Aunt are waiting. They'll be happy to see you, Miss Su. Aunt was just talking about you a few days ago."
Shen Lin's invitation was warm and natural, her words conveying a closeness to the Gu Family, as if she was the real daughter-in-law of the Gu Family.
Su Wan wondered how Shen Lin could lie so smoothly with her eyes wide open.
As propriety demanded, she too spoke insincerely: "I've been missing my parents too. Just a while ago, when my husband returned to the country, my mother showed concern and even made a special call to ask about me, and also inquired about my health."
At the end, she bashfully looked down and curled her lips.
Naturally alluring, she perfected the image of a coy young wife as she curled her lips.
When Su Wan looked down, she stealthily glanced at Shen Lin and noticed a crack in her poised smile.
Su Wan decided to quit while she was ahead, her smile becoming even more sincere, "Let's go, Miss Shen. Your uncle and aunt must be anxious."
Shen Lin huffed softly without standing next to her, the sound of her high heels quite loud.
Su Wan followed behind her, her expression fading momentarily, bracing herself for a difficult time at today's gathering.
Shen Lin walked briskly, and by the time Su Wan arrived at the main hall, Shen Lin was already chatting with Li Yunlian, holding her hand.
Upon seeing Su Wan, Shen Lin's expression visibly darkened, she whispered something in Li Yunlian's ear, then provocatively raised her eyebrows at Su Wan.