Volume One, Chapter 16: Don't Take Yourself Too Seriously

At the mall, Si Tang and Tan Yin discussed what to buy as a gift.

Her divorce from Gu Yubai was opposed not only by Si Hongzhou; one could say that the entire family had been against it. Her grandmother had been furious enough to curse her viciously, and Si Tang wanted to use her grandmother’s sixtieth birthday as an opportunity to mend their relationship.

After all, her grandmother had doted on her when she was young.

After browsing for quite some time, Si Tang finally chose a Suzhou-embroidered silk scarf. She remembered that her grandmother had always loved little things like that.

By the time they left the mall, dusk had fallen. The streetlights cast a dim yellow glow, shrouding the city in a hazy veil.

Tan Yin had gone to the underground parking garage to get the car, while Si Tang stood by the roadside waiting for her.

Unexpectedly, before Tan Yin arrived, a familiar black Maybach pulled up in front of her.

The window lowered slowly, revealing Gu Yubai’s sharply defined face.

The streetlight cast shadows across his features, making his expression appear even more grim.

“Get in.” His tone brooked no refusal, carrying the unmistakable weight of a command.

Si Tang’s heart gave a violent jump, and anger surged through her once again. “Gu Yubai, are you insane?”

“Get in. We need to talk.” His voice remained cold. “You wouldn’t want me to get out and drag you inside, would you?”

Si Tang was so furious that she laughed. “Gu Yubai, which one of us has lost his mind—you or me? Do you think this is some television drama? You’re the dignified President Gu, yet you’re planning to drag a woman off the street. Aren’t you afraid of making tomorrow’s headlines?”

Gu Yubai’s voice was cool and detached. “Isn’t this exactly the scene you wanted to see?”

His meaning was perfectly clear: if Si Tang refused to get in, he really would get out and pull her inside.

Grinding her teeth in anger, Si Tang finally opened the door and got in.

Gu Yubai clearly wasn’t worried about losing face, but she had no intention of appearing in the same news story as him.

The car was filled with a faint scent of tobacco, mingled with the familiar fragrance of cologne—the scent Gu Yubai always wore.

“About what happened on the phone…” Gu Yubai began, though there was a trace of hesitation in his voice.

Si Tang ignored him and simply took out her phone to message Tan Yin.

She did not mention that Gu Yubai had intercepted her. She only said that she had taken a taxi and left.

Tan Yin immediately sent back a question mark.

“I wasn’t trying to interrogate you then. I wanted to find out what had actually happened.” Gu Yubai’s voice grew lower. “Si Tang, you’ve been carrying this on for four years. Haven’t you had enough?”

Si Tang raised her head and stared at him in disbelief. “You think divorcing you was me throwing a tantrum?”

She laughed again, though there was no humor in it. “Gu Yubai, you’re really confident. Don’t tell me you think I’m trying to win you back by doing this?”

Gu Yubai frowned. “Si Tang, wasn’t Su Yuejin the reason you divorced me? If so, I can tell you that there’s nothing between Su Yuejin and me…”

“I don’t care!” Si Tang shrugged. “Four years have passed. Do you really think I’d still be heartbroken because you brought her back by the hand with our son on our wedding anniversary, deliberately parading them in front of me? Even if the two of you had a child now and got married tomorrow, I wouldn’t care.”

Si Tang clenched her fists, forcing herself to maintain a polite, professional smile. “Gu Yubai, don’t flatter yourself.”

The light from the streetlamps swept past the windows, casting mottled shadows across her face and making her expression seem even colder.

Gu Yubai drew a deep breath, struggling to suppress his irritation. “Si Tang, I know you’re still angry, but…”

“Gu Yubai, can you accept one simple fact?” Si Tang interrupted him again. “We’re already divorced. You don’t need to explain anything to me anymore. Su Yuejin, you, and I have nothing to do with one another now.”

She closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again. A mocking smile tugged at the corner of her lips. “Of course, I can understand why you’d come after an unrelated person because your woman felt wronged.”

Gu Yubai’s breathing stalled. He could hardly believe that Si Tang had said such a thing. His hands tightened around the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white.

Dead silence descended upon the car. The only sounds were their clearly audible breaths.

Unable to stop himself, Gu Yubai looked at Si Tang’s cold, indifferent profile. A deep sense of helplessness rose within him.

He wanted to explain. He wanted to win her back. Yet he no longer knew how to begin.

“Pull over.” Si Tang’s voice broke the silence.

Gu Yubai slammed on the brakes, bringing the car to a stop at the roadside. “You…”

“I’m here.” Si Tang cut him off, opened the door, and stepped out without hesitation.

Gu Yubai watched her walk away, feeling as though his heart had been hollowed out.

He slumped back against the seat, lit a cigarette, and let the smoke coil through the air until it blurred his vision.

“An unrelated person… Heh. We even have a child together, and she says we’re unrelated…”

Gu Yubai took a deep drag. The taste of nicotine eased his restless mood slightly.

Amid the swirling smoke, his phone rang abruptly.

It was Su Yuejin.

Gu Yubai hesitated, but in the end he answered.

“What is it?”

“Yubai, Zhouzhou is throwing a tantrum and refuses to eat. Can you come back and take a look at him?” Su Yuejin’s voice carried a hint of grievance, along with a subtle note of triumph.

Gu Yubai frowned. “What’s wrong with Zhouzhou?”

“I don’t know…” Su Yuejin’s voice grew softer, as if she might burst into tears at any moment.

Gu Yubai’s heart sank.

He took a deep breath. “I’ll be back soon.”

Only after watching the black Maybach disappear did Si Tang step out of the darkness. She was standing by the roadside, waiting for a cab.

The night breeze stirred her long hair, sending a chill through her.

A taxi stopped in front of her. She opened the door and got in.

“Where to?” the driver asked.

Si Tang gave him her home address.

The interior of the taxi was oppressively quiet. Si Tang leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes, yet the conversation she had just had with Gu Yubai continued to replay in her mind.

Gu Yubai never cared about what she thought. He was always trying to force everything upon her, showing no respect whatsoever for her wishes. The realization left her agitated and deeply irritated.

As for all the lies Gu Yubai had told her, Si Tang did not believe a single word—not even his ridiculous claim that nothing had ever happened between him and Su Yuejin.

She suspected that Gu Yubai had come looking for her today because she had called him an idiot. After all, who would dare insult the dignified President Gu like that?

Least of all the Si Tang who had once been as gentle as water.

But Gu Yubai still seemed to think she was the same Si Tang as before—still humbly yearning for his love, still waiting for him to turn back to her.

No one will wait for you forever, and no one remains unchanged.

She was no longer the innocent, carefree Si Tang she had been five years ago. She had learned to protect herself. She had learned to let go.

The taxi stopped outside the small gate. Si Tang paid the fare and got out.

Just as she came to a stop, another black Maybach pulled up in front of her.