Gu Yuxuan found herself jumping into the trap and it was getting harder and harder to tackle. It seemed like Zhuang Yaru was courteous on the surface, but she was actually more interested in Murong Yunxi.
"Um, about this..."
Just as Gu Yuxuan was brainstorming on how to solve the crisis, Gu Chengkang entered the room while being led by a waiter.
While Gu Chengkang was dressed formally, the small folds on his suit showed his difficult story easily.
"Oh my, I"m sorry for coming late, I"ve kept you all waiting. I rushed here once I got off the plane. This Xuan Xuan did not inform me earlier. When she told me, the earliest flight I could book was the one I just took." Gu Chengkang smiled and entered the private room. He bowed apologetically and went up to shake hands with Murong Haotian.
Murong Haotian also smiled and stood up to welcome him. "No such thing, we were not ceremonious, we should have settled an appropriate time with Mr. Gu first."
Gu Chengkang and Murong Haotian shook each others" hands and looked each other in the eyes.
But at that instant when Gu Chengkang saw Murong Haotian, he froze.
Seeing his big reaction, Murong Haotian asked in confusion, "I am Murong Haotian. I"m not sure if Mr. Gu had met me before?"
Gu Chengkang let go of his hand immediately and his expression turned very ugly. He turned and looked at Gu Yuxuan. "I don"t approve of this marriage. Xuan Xuan, let"s go!"
Murong Xu had just returned from the bathroom and coincidentally heard this sentence that struck him like a thunderbolt. He froze at the door instantly.
Seeing her father"s big reaction, Gu Yuxuan did not know what happened between them, so she answered awkwardly, "Dad, is there a misunderstanding? Uncle and Aunty are very nice, you haven"t even seen Xu, why don"t you approve of it?"
"I just don"t approve of this marriage! Let"s go! We are going home!"
After Gu Chengkang finished his sentence, he saw Gu Yuxuan still rooted to where she was standing. He strode towards her and pulled her towards the door.
"Um, Mr. Gu, is there any misunderstanding? We haven"t talked about it yet, why are you disapproving it already?" Murong Haotian was also clueless about the sudden change. He went up to block Gu Chengkang but was pushed away by him instead.
"Take your filthy hand away, do not touch me." After finishing his sentence, Gu Chengkang dragged Gu Yuxuan and continued to head towards the door.
Murong Xu stood at the door and stretched out his arms to block Gu Chengkang"s way. With an anxious look on his face, he said, "Uncle, is there any misunderstanding in this? Xuan Xuan and I are wholeheartedly in love with each other. I want to marry her. Let"s sit down and talk it through slowly, okay?"
Gu Chengkang glared at him harshly and his tone was stern and determined, allowing no retaliation, "I have nothing to discuss with the Murong family. Even if I can"t marry my daughter off, I will never ever allow her to marry into the Murong family."
After which, he smacked Murong Xu"s arm away with great force and pulled Gu Yuxuan out of the door.
Murong Xu grabbed onto Gu Yuxuan"s arm from the back. She turned around and looked like she was on the verge of tears. Murong Xu"s heart wrenched.
"Kid, let go! You better have a clean break with my daughter, otherwise, don"t blame me for giving you a lesson if you continue to pester her!"
Gu Chengkang pulled Murong Xu"s hand away, pulled Gu Yuxuan along, and left completely.
Murong Xu stood at the door feeling extremely helpless. He punched against the door panel.
Zhuang Yaru walked to the door. Her heart ached when she saw her son like this. She walked up to him and held his slightly-swollen fist. "What was that! This Gu family is so weird. We are giving them face by letting his daughter marry into our family, yet he gives us this kind of att.i.tude. I initially thought that my son had to compromise to marry his daughter, yet he was the first to be picky."
Murong Xu gaze became cold instantly. He strode into the private room, looked at Murong Haotian and Zhuang Yaru and questioned in fury, "Was it you guys? Did you guys say anything to them?"
Zhuang Yaru"s expression became extremely ugly as well in an instant. "What do you mean by us saying anything? Is this the way you talk to your parents? Her father was the one that entered the room and without asking anything, he suddenly said that he disapproves! What has it got to do with us?"
At this moment, Murong Haotian"s expression was also scarily sullen. He was the Second Master of the Murong family, when did he ever receive such treatment. "Xiao Xu, that"s your taste? What nonsense?"
After which, he stood up and walked towards the entrance. Seeing her old man get mad as well, Zhuang Yaru quickly followed behind. "Hey, Hao Tian, wait for me!"
Before leaving, Zhuang Yaru did not forget to remind her son, "Xiao Xu, come home tonight. I"ll make a feast for you to replenish your body."
Murong Xu came to Murong Ye"s house directly.
Murong Yunxi was in the living room accompanying Niannian while she draws. She got a scare by Murong Xu"s appearance when he walked in.
"Cousin, what"s wrong with you? Where"s Xuan Xuan? Why didn"t she come back with you?"
She even looked behind him and did not see the person whom she expected to see. Linking it to his appearance, she asked carefully, "Why? Did you guys have a fight?"
"Xiao Xi, can you help me?" Murong Xu"s tone was extremely humble. If he knelt on the ground for her at this moment, it would describe his feelings completely.
"What"s wrong? You guys really had a fight?"
"Xuan Xuan"s father doesn"t approve of us getting married."
"Why?"
"I don"t know. He didn"t even give a reason and just pulled her away."
"How could that happen? Daddy Gu had always been very reasonable."
"I really love Xuan Xuan a lot! Xiao Xi, you must help me!"
"Okay, don"t worry, I"ll definitely help you guys out. Xuan Xuan loves you a lot too, she will definitely not bear to leave your side."
Early on the next morning, Murong Yunxi hurried to Gu Yuxuan"s house.
Upon entering, she saw Gu Chengkang sitting on the sofa with a frown on his face. Seeing Murong Yunxi coming in, he said faintly, "Hey, Xiao Xi"s here."
"h.e.l.lo Daddy Gu, long time no see. Have you been well recently?"
"Yes, you"re here for Xuan Xuan, right?"
"Is she in?"
"She"s upstairs. Um, Xiao Xi, help me to talk some sense into the girl. After coming back last night, she had not eaten or drunk anything!"
"Okay, Daddy Gu. I want to ask something out of my line. What happened exactly? I heard that you disapprove of her marriage with Murong Xu."
"Don"t mention that boy. Our Xuan Xuan will definitely not step into the Murong family"s house."
"Ah? Why? Do you have a grudge against the Murong family?"
"Forget it, stop asking. Just help me to persuade her."
At this moment, Murong Yunxi could clearly feel his helplessness and sorrow. Every time Murong Yunxi came to Gu Yuxuan"s house, Gu Chengkang would always welcome her with a smiling face. Today, he did not smile at all. For someone who was always so lively, he could actually be so sorrowful. This was something that Murong Yunxi had never seen before.
Murong Yunxi turned and went upstairs, into Gu Yuxuan"s room.
She pushed open the door and saw a room of darkness. The bed was empty and she started panicking.
She turned on the light and the bright light spilled into every corner of the room. Murong Yunxi scanned the entire room and saw Gu Yuxuan curled into a ball in a corner.
Gu Yuxuan seemed to be unable to adjust to the sudden light, she stretched out her hand to block the light.
Murong Yunxi walked to the window and used great strength to open up the heavy floor-to-ceiling curtains. The warm sunlight came spilling into the room and softened the coldness by a bit.
Murong Yunxi walked up to Gu Yuxuan and held her hands. A pair of red and swollen eyes came into her sight. Murong Yunxi"s heart pained when she saw the eyes filled with anger. This was completely different from the Gu Yuxuan that she knew.
Murong Yunxi brought Gu Yuxuan into her embrace and caressed her soft silky hair pitifully. "Xuan Xuan, I will help you. I will definitely convince Daddy Gu to accept Murong Xu and agree to let you guys be together."
Gu Yuxuan shook her head gently. Her hoa.r.s.e voice almost could not form a word. "No."
Murong Yunxi was shocked. "No? Why? Are you giving up on Murong Xu?"
"We cannot be together, so let it be!"
"What do you mean by you cannot be together?"
"Xiao Xi, stop asking, just keep me accompany quietly okay? Don"t say anything at all."
Murong Yunxi held her gently and Gu Yuxuan"s arms tightened as she hugged Murong Yunxi tightly, as if exerting this great amount of force could alleviate the pain in her heart!
Time pa.s.sed slowly. Murong Yunxi could only feel one side of her shirt getting soaked. Gu Yuxuan remained motionless in her embrace and the room was dead silent. This over-bearing quietness caused Murong Yunxi to panic.
After an unknown period of time, Murong Yunxi realized that the sun had changed direction.
She gently lifted up Gu Yuxuan"s head and realized that she had already fallen asleep, but she did not know when.
Murong Yunxi shook her head helplessly and sighed.
She carried her up horizontally. The training from the past few months had been really useful. Carrying Gu Yuxuan was a piece of cake.
She tucked her into bed and gently caressed her messy strands of hair. At this moment, Gu Yuxuan was very quiet. She was so tired her face had become a little pale. The redness in her swollen eyes was even more glaring. A drop of tear rolled down the corner of her eye without intention. Seeing this, Murong Yunxi felt her heart aching so badly.
She sat at the side of the bed and held onto Gu Yuxuan"s small hand gently. The coldness in her hand was like her heart, it was probably already icy cold till the bone!
She tucked her hand into the blanket and after taking one last look at Gu Yuxuan, she walked out of the room softly.
Gu Chengkang was still sitting on the sofa in the living room. Murong Yunxi did not know if he had sat there since morning till now, or...
From this angle, Gu Chengkang"s back view seemed lonely and disappointed. There seemed to also be a tint of sorrow.
Murong Yunxi walked up to him and sat down beside him. She placed her arm gently around his arm.
Gu Chengkang had watched Gu Yuxuan and her grow up together. He was like her real father. Actually, both of the girls had already treated each others" parents as their own.
"Daddy Gu, can you tell me what happened exactly? I grew up with Xuan Xuan and we"re like sisters. We really treat each others" houses as our own, and each others" family as our own."
Gu Chengkang gently caressed the top of her head and sighed softly, "Why? Why must it be the Murong family?"