Chapter 131
Chapter 131
After Zhou Ziyou and Shang Xi hung up the phone, Zhou Ziyou lay on the sofa and sighed deeply, "If my love life is not going well, that's one thing, but my standards in all aspects are still high. I admit it.
My sister, she's such a—such—a stunning beauty, intelligent, calm, kind, emotionally stable, capable... sigh, I thought that Mr. Gu really liked our dear one."
She sighed again.
The tall and slender teenager sat on the tiled floor in front of her living room, carving something that looked like a bracelet, resembling the bone necklace Zhou Ziyou wore around her neck.
Hearing Zhou Ziyou's sigh, he looked up at the woman on the sofa and murmured softly, "There must be a misunderstanding."
"What misunderstanding?" Zhou Ziyou glanced over.
The teenager glanced at the bone necklace around her neck, feeling a bit embarrassed, quickly looked away, and said, "If the clan leader really likes Shang Xi, then he would only like her."
"Little Wolf, why are you so sure?" Zhou Ziyou asked.
The muted voice of Grey Tail paused for a moment before saying, "We, the Wolf Clan, only love one person in our lifetime."
"What? Is that true?" Zhou Ziyou widened her eyes, sitting up straight all of a sudden, "Then... what if one of them passes away?"
Grey Tail said flatly, "There's not much to do about it."
"Huh?" Zhou Ziyou said, "Wouldn't the person left behind be very lonely in the end?"
Grey Tail didn't quite understand, "So what? Isn't loneliness normal?"
Moreover, having had a partner, one can live with their memories, some werewolves never meet their preferred partners in their lifetime, that's the real loneliness and pity.
"You guys... are quite something, huh? We're different from you. We're afraid of loneliness, unable to endure solitude, so most people get married and live together, even if separated, they'll find another, even when old, they still seek companionship," Zhou Ziyou said.
Grey Tail remained silent for a moment, then looked up at her directly, "So are you going on blind dates now because you're lonely? Want to find someone to live with and take care of each other, warm each other?"
Zhou Ziyou paused and said, "Although I also want to find someone I like mutually, it's too difficult. I'm not getting any younger, so finding a man who gets along with me, taking care of each other, and keeping each other warm, will do."
The teenager didn't say anything more, seemingly lost in thought, his grinding of the bone continued.
---
After receiving the news from Gu Wen, Shang Xi didn't show any signs of happiness or unhappiness. She just started to busily work around the house, taking down the tall flower pots on the balcony one by one. She was going to start gardening.
She felt off.
She didn't want to think too much about it.
Why did her mood have to change with Gu Wen's news? She resisted inexplicably, felt fearful. The stable life she had worked so hard to achieve, she was afraid new things would come in and disrupt it. What would happen after the disruption? It's the unknown.
The unknown that couldn't be predicted or controlled was the scariest.
Just like when she was a child and couldn't control her life, she could only be continuously sent to the next family. Were the relatives in the next family good or not? Would they make her scared again? She kept guessing, worrying, but she had no choice.
Nowadays, life is at least under control. She doesn't want to venture into the unknown, perhaps because it could be a path strewn with candies and various flowers on both sides.
However, there's another possibility: the candies are poisoned, and the flowers on both sides are also poisonous.
So she doesn't want to think about those things anymore.
Whether it's Gu Wen going abroad with Miss Qing or him going alone, what does it matter to her?
Now, at home, her main focus is taking care of the two little ones.
Shang Xi tries to keep her thoughts in check. That night, both little ones slept with sour expressions on their faces.
Shang stood at the bedroom door, repeatedly reminding, "If you feel uncomfortable at night, tell me immediately, little ones."
This was the second night her son didn't drink cold spring water, and the first time they started sleeping separately. She was worried.
"If Little Gu feels uncomfortable anywhere, come find me, okay?"
Baby Shang lay on one side, his little face tight, watching as his mom closed the door and left, his lips pursed, obviously unhappy.
"Are you going to cry?"
Little Gu tugged at his lips, looking at the little one, smiling somewhat wickedly.
"I won't cry." Baby Shang snorted heavily, turning his back to his dad, pulling up his blanket, looking like he didn't want to be bothered.
Little Gu said, "You'll grow up someday, stand on your own, don't cling too much to her."
Baby Shang retorted, "You're the one who likes to cling to mom, and you're already grown up."
Little Gu frowned, "We're different. She's my beloved partner, and only with her will I be together forever. Someday, you'll also meet a beloved partner."
"I don't want to meet a partner." At Baby Shang's age, any partner seemed too far away from him; his mom was the most important thing in his life.
After exchanging a few more words, father and son fell silent for a while.
In the darkness, the boy's childish voice sounded steady: "Who was the man this afternoon?"
Baby Shang thought for a moment and said, "He's important to mom."
That He Mu, mom asked him to call him Uncle He, every time they met, mom's smile reached her eyes.
Apart from a few aunts, he was one of the few people who made mom smile like that.
"Is that so?" Little Gu pursed his lips.
Not many people could make Shang Xi care. Thinking that she was so intimate with that person, calling him 'Ah Shang', Gu Wen felt both angry and a bit painful.
He could see that this man was more important to Shang Xi than the previous men. Shang Xi, who was so guarded, took the initiative to invite him to dinner at home.
They weren't related by blood, so they weren't family.
Human emotions were too complicated. Gu Wen wasn't purely human; he inevitably hit walls and took detours in these matters.
The night grew deeper.
It was Baby Shang's first time sleeping separately from his mom, and he wasn't used to it, but he couldn't resist the drowsiness that came with growing up and fell asleep.
Shang Xi, too, was sleeping for the first time without her son by her side. She got up lightly, opened the door to check on the two little ones, seeing that everything was fine, she returned to her room and took a long time to fall asleep.
Moonlight streamed through the window, falling on the woman's fair and beautiful face.
Gu Wen stood by the bed, staring at it for who knows how long.
He reached out and gently brushed the long hair that had fallen on the woman's face, his expression focused, his heart filled with complex emotions.
He had never felt so helpless before.
Everything seemed powerless in Shang Xi's presence.
This woman, who hid behind doors and had a mouth harder than stone, how should he deal with her?
After impulsively kissing her last time and seeing her tears, he felt heartbroken to the point of madness. He wanted to open the door Shang Xi had closed in the gentlest way possible. She had already suffered so much, and he least wanted to inflict more pain on her.
How should he handle her?
He wished he could empty out his softest part for her.
He wanted to give her his gentlest and warmest part.
But she didn't want it.
She wouldn't choose him firmly.
He was dispensable, he didn't matter.
Well, he deserved it.
That's the price of falling in love with someone you used to despise.
If he could turn back time, he would let go of his damn prejudice and arrogance. He wouldn't ridicule her, and if given another chance, he wouldn't let her suffer even a bit.
...
Shang Xi gradually noticed a problem: the little wolf cub who came to her house was visibly growing taller with each passing day, remembering that on the first day he wasn't even as tall as her son.
Later on, he surpassed her son and continued to grow.
She felt... she felt puzzled. Did wolf cubs of the Wolf Clan grow this fast?
A week after Little Gu came to her house, he was already as tall as a sixth-grade student.
"Is this a four-year-old child???"
He also ate more and more, but this child truly didn't like to smile, always standing alone, staring at her.
Occasionally, she would see something desolate in those big eyes, like ice blocks. She felt like this little wolf cub wasn't happy.
She tried to cheer him up, but Little Gu's eyes only seemed emptier.
That day, they were going to the supermarket to buy fresh beef.
She didn't know why, her eyelids were twitching, maybe she hadn't slept well last night? She comforted herself like this.
Arriving at the tall supermarket building, she looked at the magnificent structure but felt oppressed.
Shang Xi shook her head, feeling like she hadn't slept well.
The vegetable-selling area was deep inside on the first floor, just keep walking inside the supermarket to get there.
Just as they reached deep inside, she was picking out beef when suddenly the increasingly silent Little Gu's face changed drastically. He reached out to pull her, and then Baby Shang also seemed to sense something, widening his eyes: "Mom! Hurry!"
Father and son both ran towards her.
At the same time, the fish and shrimp in the seafood glass cabinet not far away began to jump violently.
Shang Xi only felt her body sway, her ears heard "earthquake," and everyone started screaming, running around like crazy.
Pushing and shoving each other.
Things on the supermarket shelves were knocked over onto the ground, and the scene became chaotic.
Shang Xi hurriedly said, "Little one!! Hold onto Mom's hand tightly!!"
"Little Gu, Little..." Her words suddenly stopped.
Because she was lifted up by Little Gu, who was still shorter than her.
"Jump! Remember what I taught you before!" Little Gu looked at the young cub, sternly instructing.
Suddenly, Shang Xi felt a blur before her eyes as Little Gu held her, leaping onto the shelves. She lowered her head, surrounded by darkness above.
She barely had time to wonder how Little Gu could carry her; her entire focus was on her son.
"Little one!" She gasped, breaking into a cold sweat, turning to see her son, so small, deftly following behind them.
At this moment, they no longer cared how others looked at them, and of course, no one noticed them.
Boom! Crackles of breaking sounds echoed.
Things began to fall incessantly.
Shang Xi had never been so close to an earthquake before; her heart was gripped tightly, constantly turning to look at her son. She couldn't control the tears streaming down, especially seeing her son dodge the falling objects, making her anxious.
"You... you take care of our son first," she choked out.
What else was there to misunderstand?
She had only been carried around like this by that werewolf.
Only that werewolf would dash towards her, shielding her in his arms, preventing anything from falling on her.
The person holding her, not taller than her, yet always steadfastly holding onto her.
That familiar sense of security.
Who else could it be but him?
As soon as she spoke, the person holding her stiffened.
Shang Xi almost collapsed, choking out, "If anything happens to our son, I won't be able to live, you take care of him, he's still so young. I'll be fine, put me down."
Gu Wen frowned deeply, without a word or compliance.
He knew the cub could keep up; he knew the cub had some abilities.
But the earthquake came too fast, too unexpectedly.
In the crowd, cries of children and women, people falling, getting hit, buried, dust and debris making everyone miserable.
They were so close to safety, the three of them.
"Boom!!"
Finally, the building couldn't hold on anymore; in the last few seconds, Gu Wen transformed amidst excruciating pain, Shang Xi not knowing what he did, he turned into a massive pure wolf.
Grabbing the cub, he forcefully threw them towards the supermarket's entrance.
The werewolf's strength needed no explanation; Baby Shang was directly tossed into a flower bed some distance away from the supermarket.
"Mom!!" Baby Shang yelled in disbelief.
Shang Xi breathed a sigh of relief, no matter what awaited her next, she wasn't afraid anymore.
She grasped onto the wolf's fur tightly, embracing him willingly.
In the chaos, she spoke intermittently, "Your... family... will take care of our cub, won't they, Gu Wen..."
It was undoubtedly a death sentence.
Shang Xi didn't have time to think too much; her emotions were heavy and complex, but not so fearful.
He was there.
"Roar!" The giant wolf roared, grabbing her as they leaped.
Throughout, things kept hitting him, yet he seemed to feel no pain. With the final deafening sound, Shang Xi was nestled in the soft fur, losing consciousness, sinking into darkness.
She had a dream.
In the dream, she lay in a soft, warm blanket, utterly comfortable.
Suddenly, it started to rain, and the raindrops pattered down on her face, causing her to frown in annoyance.
She reached out to wipe the raindrops off her face, but her hand came away red.
"Ah!" Shang Xi startled, immediately opening her eyes.
Opening her eyes, she found herself in darkness.
She was trapped in a narrow space, surrounded by the heavy breathing of some beast above her, while warm liquid dripped onto her face.
Shang Xi trembled. "Gu... Gu Wen?"
She attempted to move but found only one hand free. Slowly reaching upward, she confirmed her suspicion by touching a massive wolf's head, its nose.
"A growl..."
A moist warmth enveloped her hand as he licked her.
"How... are you?" In the darkness, Shang Xi felt the liquid on her face being licked away by a large tongue.
More liquid dripped down.
Her trembling fingertips encountered the massive wolf's mouth, its fur-covered wet lips, with droplets falling like tears onto her face.
The scent of blood was thick.
Shang Xi tightly shut her eyes, feeling even her breath ache.
Gu Wen was dripping blood, not bleeding, but dripping downward.
In this situation, buried underground with no idea of when rescue might arrive.
If she didn't interfere, she believed Gu Wen could get out.
Shang Xi suddenly felt a vast emptiness in her heart as she touched the massive wolf's furry face, feeling hollow inside. "Is it worth it?"
"For... someone like me..."
She... she knew better than anyone how insignificant she was.
"They... all those who share my blood treat me like a burden, like a ball they toss around..." Her eyelashes quivered as tears silently fell, only to be licked away by a large tongue.
Not allowed to fall haphazardly into her hair as before.
Shang Xi seemed to freeze suddenly.
Then, tears streamed uncontrollably down her face, her voice breaking as she asked, "Why! Why are you like this... why can you... love me like this?"
"Clearly... clearly, I've grown accustomed to it."
"I've always been... the least important person." Shang Xi choked back tears, her tears cherished and licked away by the large tongue, making her feel even more... aggrieved.
Only when loved does one cry.
Only when cared for does one feel aggrieved.
Otherwise, no matter how loud the crying, others will only find it noisy.
It seemed that too much had happened in a short time, too much to accept, and Shang Xi was overwhelmed by complex, heavy emotions.
Things she clearly didn't want to accept, things she clearly wanted to distance herself from.
She didn't want to go down his path.
This person... this wolf-man insisted on pursuing her relentlessly, insisted on treating her as important, insisted on... loving her unconditionally.
"Is it worth it? You have such a harmonious and warm family, you're the boss of a big company, you have so many wolf-men following you."
"Gu Wen, for me, you might die here." Shang Xi cried and laughed, speaking with a strange mix of sincerity and irony. She felt this all made her suffer, made her feel pathetic, made her... aggrieved, and delayed happiness.
She was just that complex and contradictory, a person who couldn't be explained easily.
Perhaps people are just inherently complex and contradictory.
"A growl..." The massive wolf licked away her tears, as if answering, comforting her, accepting all of her.
Shang Xi unexpectedly... felt an unprecedented sense of tranquility.
If she were to die here this time.
Then what would she have to worry about?
Zaizai had his family, amidst her reluctance, she also felt reassured.
The foolish, ugly, bloodied giant wolf before her created a small, secure world for her.
If this were the end...
Shang Xi closed her eyes, lifted her chin slightly, and planted a kiss on the wolf's mouth.
The wolf froze.
She gently raised a smile, whispering, "Thank you."
"I'm sorry."
——
——
Two chapters combined.
I cried while writing, sob sob sob.
Ah, it's almost three in the morning again. I promised not to stay up late! The countdown to the end of the main text of this book is on, but don't worry, there will be extras. This bit of income has supported me until now, I'm really tired, but I also feel at ease, without regrets. I'm honored to have so many readers who like my work. You come to read after work or school for mental relaxation, right? I put in most of my effort and pain to write this book. I'm almost thirty, writing this book, with no money, but my body has endured almost enough. With this book ending here, I consider myself to have no regrets. Thank you to the silent (gentle) readers who didn't come to scold me for abandoning my work. I hate readers who scold me for abandoning my work, and I love the readers who have always encouraged and supported me. Goodnight.