The sleepy dwarf.
Gu Jiao Wu pulled Qiao Tan Yuan to the sofa, and trapped her on his lap to stop her from running away.
‘Tan Yuan, our daughter exists,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘I don’t know when I began to love you. Perhaps it was that day in the elevator you cared about our daughter’s life more than your own life. If our daughter didn’t exist, you wouldn’t show your vulnerable and maternal sides to me. Why is it so hard for you to believe I love you?’
‘You risked your life to save me but you would risk your life to save Chu Da too,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
‘I’m sorry,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘I didn’t want to hurt you that day.’
‘You did hurt me that day,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said. ‘You showed me your true heart. Your love for me pales in comparison to your love for Chu Da. I can’t win against Chu Da. Chu Da’s dead, and I’m alive. I can’t compete with a dead person.’
Qiao Tan Yuan’s words made Gu Jiao Wu remembered what Du Lei Xin said to him on the day of Gu Jiao Mai’s accident.
‘Tan Yuan that day I was angry at myself and shocked,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘I didn’t want to hurt you. Chu Da died too suddenly. If I knew she was sick, I would have stayed with her in the final days of her life so she wouldn’t die on her own. Tan Yuan, I would want to be with a friend in their final days let alone Chu Da who I was engaged to.’
‘Gu Jiao Wu ask yourself if Chu Da’s alive if you would only regret losing her,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said. ‘The truth is if Chu Da’s alive, you would want to be with Chu Da.’
‘Tan Yuan, even if Chu Da’s alive, I can say I wouldn’t want to be with Chu Da,’ Gu Jiao Wu said.
If Li Lam didn’t show up at the florist shop, Gu Jiao Wu would have forgotten nearly everything about Chu Da. The only reason he asked Li Lam to take him to see Chu Da was to get closure, and tell Chu Da he loved Qiao Tan Yuan and wanted to be with Qiao Tan Yuan. He didn’t expect to find out Chu Da died. On the day he found out Chu Da died from ovarian cancer, he regretted not being there for Chu Da when Chu Da was suffering on her own. That day he found out how much he loved Qiao Tan Yuan, he couldn’t accept the woman he loved would chase away a sick person. But after he had time to reflect, he understood he and Qiao Tan Yuan couldn’t change the past, and if he truly loved Qiao Tan Yuan then he needed to accept Qiao Tan Yuan for who she was.
‘Tan Yuan, I’m sorry for those hurtful words I said to you out of anger and regret,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘That day it was hard for me to accept you chased away Chu Da knowing Chu Da was sick. After I cooled down, I wished I had directed my anger at myself. But Chu Da is dead. Even if Chu Da is alive, the woman I want to be with is you. Tan Yuan, I love you. You don’t need to compete with a dead person. Tan Yuan, you have my heart.’
‘Jiao Wu…’ Qiao Tan Yuan called.
‘Tan Yuan, you know what kind of man I am,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘If I say I hate someone, I hate someone. If I say I love someone then I truly love someone. Tan Yuan, I love you.’
Qiao Tan Yuan wanted to believe Gu Jiao Wu. She was moved by his words. But there was a small part of her heart that doubted Gu Jiao Wu loved her.
‘Tan Yuan, there hasn’t been a night I slept well since you left me,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘I didn’t sleep well last night either, because you won’t sleeping next to me.’
‘If you’re tired then go to sleep,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
‘Tan Yuan, I don’t want to sleep on the sofa,’ Gu Jiao Wu said.
‘Then you can sleep in the bedroom,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
‘Tan Yuan, will you sleep in the bedroom with me?’ Gu Jiao Wu asked.
‘You can sleep in the bedroom and I’ll sleep with Xiao Bao in Xiao Bao’s bedroom,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
‘Tan Yuan, I want to sleep with you,’ Gu Jiao Wu said.
‘If you sleep with me then I’ll think you want my body and you don’t love me,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
Qiao Tan Yuan’s heart was conflicted, she needed s.p.a.ce to think clearly about Gu Jiao Wu’s words.
‘Alright, I’ll sleep on the sofa,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘But last night you were heartless. You saw me freezing on the sofa, but you didn’t give me a bedsheet.’
‘You… you won’t sleeping…’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
End of Chapter 143