Murong Yunxi was feeling very perplexed. She had never heard Gu Chengkang mention the Murong Family, she wondered whether there was some sort of discord between Uncle Gu and the Murong Family.
Gu Chengkang lifted his eyes to look afar as if his vision had transcended this s.p.a.ce and time into another s.p.a.ce and time and he wore an expression of melancholy and bitter resentment.
Murong Yunxi walked up to the table and poured a gla.s.s of water for Gu Chengkang, handing it to him and said, "Uncle Gu, please drink some water."
Gu Chengkang was whisked back to reality by Murong Yunxi at that moment. He turned to look at Murong Yunxi, but the look of melancholy remained in his eyes and he was unable to shake it off.
Gu Chengkang took over the gla.s.s of water and sighed.
Murong Yunxi looked at Gu Chengkang silently, not pressing him for an answer, nor did she try to console him. She was a generation younger than him, so she was not qualified to question or comfort him. She supposed he would speak up when he wanted to.
"Go to sleep, Xuanxuan."
"Alas, fate! This child must have owed the Murong Family something in his previous life, otherwise, why wasn"t he able to disentangle himself from them again?" said Gu Chengkang with another sigh. This was one of the countless sighs she heard coming out of Gu Chengkang"s mouth today. He did not use to be like this in the past.
Nevertheless, Murong Yunxi managed to capture something amiss in Gu Chengkang"s words. She raised her eyebrows and said, "Uncle Gu, what do you mean by "again"?"
Gu Chengkang became silent again for a moment, as if contemplating whether to speak, or maybe he was mesmerizing about the past.
"Didn"t Xuanxuan"s mother divorce me and left for America when Xuanxuan was only three years old?"
Murong Yunxi nodded. She could not help but think that it had to do with Auntie Gu. Uncle Gu had never mentioned Auntie Gu before now, so his mentioning of her proved that she had to do with this matter.
"Xuanxuan was still very young at that time, so I didn"t tell her why that woman chose to leave. As she gradually grew, I don"t see the necessity to talk about it. I thought I won"t have to talk about it ever in my life, but who knows that now..."
Gu Chengkang paused, as if his raw nerve had been hit. With that grieved expression on his face, he definitely did not look very well. He took a sip of water to calm his nerves for the moment.
"At that time, I just started my business and there was no time to take care of the mother-and-daugther pair. We started quarreling frequently behind Xuanxuan"s back. She complained that I"m penniless, yet did not spend time taking care of the family. Eventually, she was the one who initiated the divorce.
I was in a fit of anger, and felt that she wasn"t understanding towards me. The fact was that I was poor even at the time when we were married. As my business had just started, I didn"t have the time and energy to take care of the family. I thought she should be more understanding. Whatever I was doing, I did it for the family, so that they can live a better life. I didn"t expect her to have found someone rich to replace me in her hurry to live a better life."
That man brought her along with him to America. She had not visited since she left. If she had found a better family to return to, and life of happiness, I can"t say much if she abandoned Xuanxuan and me for that. But who would have thought that she eventually trampled herself?
Eventually, I sent someone find out information about her. Initially I refused to believe my friends and even went to America personally to see her. Turned out that what my friends said about her was true. She was a mistress to that man, a mistress who didn"t even have a status in his family.
The man settled her down in a mansion in America, but would only visit her when he went to America. Other times, she was not allowed to go anywhere, all the more not back here. I just couldn"t understand why she would degrade herself to be someone"s mistress to the extend of abandoning her flesh and blood.
Why would that man treat her in this way if he really loved her?"
Gu Chengkang spoke slowly, with a pained tone. There was even a hint of hatred in his eyes.
Murong Yunxi listened silently to Gu Chengkang speak and a wild guess conceived in her mind as she asked, testing, "Is that man part of the Murong Family?"
Gu Chengkang tightened his hold on the gla.s.s, his knuckles turned white and green veins could appeared on his hand. Murong Yunxi worried that he would crush the gla.s.s into pieces.
"Therefore how could I let Xuanxuan marry into the Murong Family? So that she would end up calling her birth mother her mother-in-law? Or mother?"
"But Uncle Gu, Xuanxuan and Murong Xu are very much in love. I can see that Xuanxuan really loved Murong Xu. Whatever happened between you and Xuanxuan"s mother had happened in the previous generation and it shouldn"t implicate them. Wouldn"t that be too cruel?"
"Cruel? The day she would face up to that woman would be even more cruel, wouldn"t it? Think about how Xuanxuan painstaking walked out of the dark shadow of her mother"s abandonment. You are well aware of that, Xiao Xi. How would she be treated if Xuanxuan finds out that her mother-in-law is her birth mother and that she was the mistress who ruined other people"s family? What kind of an awkward situation would that be? Xiao Xi, all of you are still young, and all you care is the so-called true love. You"re too naive by not considering the future consequences!"
Murong Yunxi was struck dumb by Gu Chengkang"s words.
When she reflect on the time she first met her second auntie Zhuang Yaru. Looking at her, Xiao Xi could imagine how she would make Gu Yuxuan"s life difficult if she were to find out the truth, how she would despise Gu Yuxuan!
Perhaps Uncle Gu was right to be worried. They were too young to foresee the consequences. However, it would not be a wise choice to use the remaining half of their lives to shoulder this consequence.
It could make things easier if they were to give up their plan! However would this be possible?
Murong Yunxi had tried giving up before this, and she knew how painful it was. Would she allow Xuanxuan go through similar pain?
However, if she did not give up but allow Xuanxuan to be faced with the hurt Zhuang Yaru was going to inflict on her, would the innocent and kind Xuanxuan able to take it?
Murong Yunxi was struggling inside her. She could only trust Uncle Gu to make the right choice for Xuanxuan now.
"Uncle Gu, does Xuanxuan know all about this?"
"How could I bring myself to tell her? The only thing I said to her is that she could only choose between me or Murong Xu."
"So Xuanxuan must have compromised because she simply couldn"t let go of this love of kinship since she grew up with you as the sole person raising her?"
"I know Xuanxuan inside out because is my daughter. She would never abandon me. She knew I had raised her through much difficulties. I know this is cruel, but it"s still less detrimental to her than telling her the truth!"
"Uncle Gu, somehow I still feel that this is unfair to Xuanxuan. Xuanxuan and Murong Xu are so in love!"
"The Murong Family was the reason for our family being ruined. I hate that family and would never forgive that family, and this includes everying in the Murong Family! I can"t bring myself to watch them living happy lives!"
Murong Yunxi was taken aback by the revelation that Gu Chengkang hated the Murong Family to the core. How about herself? Wasn"t she part of the Murong Family too?
Looking at Gu Chengkang, Murong Yunxi felt a sense of guilt rising in her. She supposed if she were to tell Gu Chengkang that she was also part of the Murong Family, would Gu Chengkang throw her out immediately?
The two of them sank into silence at the atmosphere became suffocating and pressing. Eventually, the ringing on Murong Yunxi"s phone broke the silence.
Murong Yunxi took out the phone and answered the call without checking who it was. "h.e.l.lo?"
"It"s me, where are you now?" it was the gentle voice of Gong Yu on the other end of the call. His voice instantly brought calm to Murong Yunxi"s troubled heart.
"I"m in Xuanxuan"s house."
"Alright, wait for me there. I"ll come over to pick you!"
"You"re back?"
"I just alighted the plane!"
"Alright, I"ll wait for you!"
Murong Yunxi hand up the phone as Gu Chengkang forced a smile and said, "You"re very blessed, Xiaoxi, to have found love and someone you can love! Unlike Xuanxuan, who is so miserable. She can"t even love the person she loves!"
Gu Chengkang lowered her eyes, paused for and moment, and continued, "As long as it"s not the Murong Family, I will agree to any other man Xuanxuan brings back to me as long as he truly loves Xuanxuan. Just not someone from the Murong Family."
"But why did she have to pick someone from the Murong Family?"
"Why did it have to be someone from the Murong Family?"
"Why?"
Gu Chengkang repeated himself a few times, as if he had been possessed, and he voice trailed off.
"Uncle Gu, stop brooding over this. The most important thing now is to pacify Xuanxuan. We"re still unsure if she is able to walk out of this."
"Xiaoxi, you"ve to help Xuanxuan through this. You"ve to help her walk out of this. She is Uncle Gu"s only daughter, she is my life. Nothing should happen to her!"
"Yes! Let me go upstairs to check on Xuanxuan to see if she had woken up."
"Go ahead!"
Gu Chengkang leaned on the sofa, exhausted.
Murong Yunxi got up and made her way upstairs. As she was at the stairs, she glanced back at Gu Chengkang and was heartbroken to see him looking so alone.
Gu Yuxuan was still deep in her sleep when Murong Yunxi walked up to her and watched a sleeping Gu Yuxuan, as she felt a stabbing pain in her heart.
She must have be cursed by her own mother? Xuanxuan had lost a mother"s love since young. Now she could not be united with her true love also because of her own mother. Was this counted as being cursed for her entire life?
She had sudden urge to go see this woman whom she had never seen before. This woman who had selfishless ruined and Gu Yuxuan"s life, a woman who could be called Xuanxuan"s birth mother.
She would ask her personally if she would have made the same choice if she had known that one day, she would hurt her own daughter in this way?
She was desperate to find out if this woman even regretted her decision? Perhaps she had not. If she had, she would have give up everything and come back for them, which she never did. Was this not enough evidence that she had never regretted?
At the thought, she touched Gu Yuxuan"s cheek gently. At her gentle touch, Gu Yuxuan was awoken.
She opened her eyes abruptly and looked at Murong Yunxi. With a sad smile, she said, "Did I fall asleep?"
"Erm yes, and did I wake you?"
"No, I"m about to get up anyways."
Murong Yunxi looked at Gu Yuxuan who was trying to act strong, and a stab of pain was felt in Murong Yunxi"s heart.
"Are you alright, Xuanxuan?"