LIGHTNOVELONLINE
Chapter 100
Gu Wen sat on the couch, listening to Qin Ming discuss the management bureau's affairs. His gaze fell upon Black Tail and Cyan tail, whose peculiar reactions made him frown slightly, especially their flushed faces.
Shang Xi was going to visit her grandmother's grave today, dressed casually in a white tracksuit with her hair tied in a simple bun.
Gu Wen's voice lowered, carrying a hint of noticeable coolness, "Black Tail, Cyan tail."
"Yes, master!" The two wolves immediately stood upright.
"Go sweep the front gate three more times."
Black Tail and Cyan tail: Huh?
Didn't they just finish sweeping?
But they dared not question, they would do as the master said!
Gu Wen noticed Shang Xi coming down and immediately lost his motivation to work. He said to Qin Ming, "Let's stop here for today."
He stood up, his gaze falling on Shang Xi as his thin lips parted, "Did you sleep well last night?"
At the same time, he bent down to pick up Baby Shang into his embrace.
When Shang Xi saw him, for some reason, the memory of her riding on his pure wolf form last night flashed through her mind, and how she had embarrassingly lost control at the end.
And that enormous black wolf overshadowing her, licking her wounds...
How could it be... that just after one night, she found it difficult to look this lone wolf in the eye?!
She felt both embarrassed and an inexplicable discomfort.
She avoided his gaze and mumbled casually, "Yeah, it was alright."
She then walked past him toward the dining table.
Behind her, Gu Wen cuddled the cub, ruffling his soft hair, "Did you accidentally touch your mother's injured hand while sleeping last night?"
Baby Shang pursed his little lips and shook his head, his cowlick swaying, "I wouldn't do that."
Shang Xi, hearing the conversation between father and son, quickened her pace.
His... natural way of expressing concern for her felt somehow odd to her. Well, perhaps she was just being overly sensitive.
Given their current relationship, it was normal for him to ask about her wellbeing.
Stay calm! Stay calm!
After breakfast, she went into the kitchen and kneaded some flour into dough, deep-frying it into a snack her grandmother used to love.
"Where is your mother going?" Gu Wen asked the cub, glancing toward the kitchen.
Baby Shang, with his chubby cheeks full of meat, replied, "Mommy said she's going to see Great-Grandma."
So...
After Shang Xi packed the snacks, as she was about to leave with her son, Gu Wen spoke up, "Shang Xi, let me drive, no matter where you're going today."
"Why?"
Gu Wen, holding the cub, radiated fatherly love, "It's been so many days since I've been home, I want to spend more time with the little one."
This reason, Shang Xi couldn't refuse.
A father wanting to spend more time with his son was only natural and understandable.
Moreover, Baby Shang must miss his father too, right?
"Okay, let's go."
The happiest was Baby Shang, who loved being with his parents. His little tail wagged, and an adorable smile spread across his chubby face.
After getting in the car, Shang Xi said, "Let's go to the shop first, I need to get some flowers."
It had always been this way; whenever she visited her grandmother, she would go to her flower shop to arrange a bouquet for her.
She wanted her grandmother to know that she made a living by selling these flowers, and that she was doing well.
While she arranged the flowers, Baby Shang also wanted to join, "Mommy, I want to give Great-Grandma flowers too."
"Sure, come here, Mommy will teach you."
Gu Wen also arranged a bouquet of white chrysanthemums himself.
He looked at Shang Xi, his voice deep and steady, "If you don't want me to appear at the elder's grave, you can send my flowers on my behalf."
Shang Xi paused for a moment, then lowered her head to continue arranging the flowers, "It's fine, it's also a good opportunity for Grandma to see what Baby Shang's father looks like."
Gu Wen's eyes widened slightly, his mood unexpectedly improving by a few degrees.
Was Shang Xi going to introduce him to her family?
He glanced at his casual black shirt and frowned slightly, feeling it was somewhat inappropriate.
Shang Xi didn't ask any questions when she heard Gu Wen was leaving for a moment. She didn't expect that after fifteen minutes, he would return.
He was dressed in a well-tailored suit, his black hair neatly groomed, clearly well-prepared, wearing an expensive-looking watch, his posture upright and noble, his facial features handsome.
Wherever he stood, he exuded the aura of a top-tier heartthrob.
The heartthrob spoke, "Did you wait long?"
Shang Xi was stunned, "You..."
What did he do?!
He looked like he was going on a date or to meet a prospective partner's parents.
Gu Wen felt a little uncomfortable and explained, "Well, it's the first time meeting the elder, I hope she approves."
What?!
Shang Xi: Please don't act like you're meeting your in-laws!
She felt completely out of sorts.
Baby Shang, holding the small bouquet of white chrysanthemums he had arranged, tugged at his mother's clothes and looked up at Gu Wen with a hint of envy.
His father was so tall and handsome.
Would he also grow to be that tall one day?
As the family of three left the flower shop, a passing young woman let out a shriek, staring at Gu Wen with sparkling eyes and blurted out, "Oh my god! A total hottie!!"
Then, feeling embarrassed, she lowered her head and scurried away.
Shang Xi glanced back at Gu Wen, standing out like a sore thumb in the crowd, impossible to ignore.
He was indeed quite good-looking.
Now, this hottie was driving for her.
This hottie had once liked her.
Oh, and this hottie wasn't even human.
She was lost in thought when she heard Gu Wen call her name.
"Shang Xi."
"Fasten your seatbelt."
Shang Xi looked down to see that she had been holding the seatbelt without buckling it. She felt her face flush as she mumbled, "Oh," and fastened it.
Speaking of which, this hottie was also an extremely fluffy creature.
In that moment, Shang Xi suddenly snapped out of her daze.
What was going on?! Why did she find Gu Wen more and more appealing the more she looked at him?
Could it be that she was also superficial when it came to looks?
Stop it! Stop it!
They arrived at the cemetery.
The car was parked outside, and they had to walk a short distance.
On both sides of the concrete path were rows of gravestones. It was an overcast day, the surroundings quiet, with a chilly breeze blowing.
Gu Wen, holding a bouquet of white chrysanthemums, scanned the gravestones of these pure humans, his expression neutral.
When humans passed away, they were buried underground, never to be seen again.
The Wolf Clan, due to the blessed environment of the Snow Mountain, could remain in their appearance at the time of death forever.
Finally, they stopped in front of a gravestone with an old woman's smiling and kind-looking photograph in the center. The names of her descendants were carved along the edges, but Shang Xi's name was not there.
In that moment, Gu Wen's heart ached dully.
Of course, he understood that Shang Xi was not the blood granddaughter of this old woman, so the Zhu Family would not engrave her name there.
But to Shang Xi, this old woman was her closest elder.
Shang Xi's affection for the old woman was no less than that of the descendants whose names were carved.
Yet, many years later, no descendants would know that Grandma Zhu had another granddaughter.
The trace of Shang Xi's existence in the Zhu Family, the only place she had experienced familial love, would be like a passing breeze, forgotten and overlooked, vanishing without a trace.
Shang Xi gazed silently at the old woman's photograph on the gravestone, placing the flowers down and taking a step forward with her son.
"Grandma, I've brought Baby Shang to see you."
"I've been busy these days, haven't been able to visit you often."
Gu Wen pursed his lips tightly, the ache spreading through his entire heart.
Baby Shang placed the flowers down, his childish voice soft, "Great-Grandma, the cub has come to see you again. The cub has grown taller, oh, I'll grow very tall and protect Mommy."
Shang Xi smiled and glanced back at Gu Wen, making some space, "Grandma, this is Baby Shang's father."
Gu Wen took a step forward, looking at the old woman's photograph, then bending deeply at the waist.
Shang Xi was slightly taken aback.
She watched as Gu Wen straightened up slowly, "I'm sorry I came so late. Thank you."
He bent down again.
"Thank you."
Shang Xi didn't ask him what he was thanking for. Her heart was filled with an indescribable feeling that was spreading.
Suddenly, light rain started to fall from the sky, with a tendency to get heavier.
But they had just arrived.
Gu Wen turned around directly: "There are umbrellas in the car, I'll go get them."
"Thank you."
Shang Xi thanked him, crouching down and stroking the face of the elderly person in the photo with her fingers. "Grandma, this is Baby Shang's father. He looks quite decent, doesn't he?"
"He can be a bit strange sometimes, but overall, I think he's a good person. He's very wealthy and generous. I guess I won't have to worry about food, clothing, shelter, and transportation for the rest of my life."
"If you were still here, would you try to set us up? After all, we both have a child and are both single."
"Grandma, now that you're not here to manage me anymore, I can do whatever I want. There's no way he and I could be together."
"In one more month, Baby Shang and I will be moving out of his place. Grandma, I wish you were still here. I would take you to live with us."
"Other elderly people can live to be eighty or ninety years old. Why did you leave at only seventy?"
"Grandma, I want to eat the potato and pork rib stew you used to make."
The drizzle gradually became heavier, falling on Shang Xi's fair face, wetting her eyelashes and eyes.
A small hand touched her face, wiping away the droplets.
"Mommy, I'll make potato and pork rib stew for you."
Shang Xi smiled: "Do you know how?"
Baby Shang hugged and snuggled up to her mother, like a little sweet bean: "You teach me, and I'll learn."
"Why isn't Daddy here yet?"
The rain fell silently in the cemetery. Gu Wen stood motionless, gripping an umbrella by his side. He felt no different from the silent gravestones around him.
For the first time, he loathed the Wolf Clan's superior sense of hearing.
If he were a regular human, he wouldn't be feeling this heartbroken right now.
If not for Shang Xi's words, he wouldn't have known that she had been at Nanfeng Courtyard for almost half a year.
Everything has changed during this half year.
Only her intention to leave remained unchanged.
Gu Wen slightly curled his lips, his eyes empty and cold.
He had just thought she had started to let her guard down around him, like last night when she was nervous and bashfully angry, when she blushed because of him.
Just when he thought this was a good sign and was full of confidence,
she still wanted to leave.
Ha...
Good or bad, her heart would never move for him. He had really reached this pathetic stage!
Only he was at his wit's end, only he was going insane, only he was secretly anguished, only he...
Only he was like a clown.
Didn't she open the door for him even a little bit, not even the slightest?
Her door was tightly shut.
She wouldn't open it for Wen-Wan or that young guy whose name started with 'Meng'. How arrogant of him to still be carried away by his own vanity - after all, he was no different from them.
Gu Wen was so heartbroken he was about to go crazy.
He took a long breath, his thin lips slightly trembling as the light raindrops fell on his well-groomed hair.
"Ha..." he suddenly laughed with self-mockery. But his eyes, like those of a predatory animal, were cruel without a hint of warmth.
It didn't matter if the door was closed or if she wanted to leave.
He wasn't going to let her go.
He had pretended to be a gentle sheep for long enough, trying hard to be human, thinking she would fall for it.
Since she didn't fall for it,
why should he keep pretending?
The sharp green eyes of the Wolf Clan chief's pupils suddenly turned green. In those emerald eyes, there was not a shred of the kindness and harmlessness humans should have, only an unwavering desire to possess.
It was 3 a.m. now. This chapter was over 3,300 words and took three hours to write. Oh my, so many threes (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
I'll update again tomorrow during the daytime, don't wait up.