Chapter 1: Farewell

“We broke up, a year ago, I was the one who brought it up…”

“Brother, what’s going on? I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”

In the smoky bar, Wu Tian was twirling a glass in one hand and sending messages with the other, his brows furrowed.

They had agreed to meet at 7:30, but it was almost 8 o’clock and the person still hadn’t arrived.

Normally, Gu Sui wasn’t the type to be late. He was a bit worried that something might have happened to him.

That guy had a lot of creditors.

After waiting a while longer with still no reply, just as Wu Tian was about to make a phone call to check on the situation, someone suddenly sat down in the empty seat beside him.

At the same time, he received a transfer of 50,000 yuan on his phone.

“The last payment. We’re even now.”

A clean, slightly deep voice rang out in the noisy environment. It wasn’t particularly loud, but it was uniquely pleasant to hear.

Wu Tian first breathed a sigh of relief, but then was shocked when he saw the transfer.

“Why are you in such a hurry? Didn’t you just give me 50,000 half a month ago?”

Gu Sui leaned lazily against the bar counter and turned his head to look at him when he heard this.

The bangs on his forehead slightly obscured his eyes, but couldn’t hide the strange look in them.

“You’re the creditor, I’m the debtor. Are you complaining that I’m paying back too quickly?”

“No, don’t I know your situation? With our relationship, you really don’t need to be in such a hurry. You could pay off others first, you know.”

Gu Sui turned back, lowering his eyes slightly, the corners of his lips curling up lightly.

He seemed to have broken free from some shackles, his voice becoming noticeably lighter.

“It’s all paid off, not just yours, everything.”

“I remember there was still half a year left, you’ve paid it all off?!”

Wu Tian was both surprised and delighted. Just as he was about to ask how he had managed it, Gu Sui glanced at him again and said seriously.

“I’m warning you, you and your gang of brothers, if anyone dares to lend Gu Shi a single cent again, don’t blame me for turning hostile. I won’t pay for her again.”

“Hah, don’t worry, we blacklisted Gu Shi long ago,” Wu Tian sighed. “But you’re really pitiful, stuck with such a mother.”

Gu Sui let out a light snort, downing the drink in his glass in one gulp.

The cold and fiery sensations intertwined in his throat, the swirling music blurring his voice.

“Can’t be helped, who told me to have such bad luck?”

Wu Tian patted his shoulder somewhat disapprovingly and said, “What are you saying? You’re still so young to believe in fate. How come you don’t remember our ancestors’ excellent traditions?”

Gu Sui became interested, “What traditions?”

“Why, selective superstition of course! If my left eyelid twitches, I’m definitely going to get rich. If my right eyelid twitches, sorry, I stayed up late last night, didn’t sleep well!”

Wu Tian said with a serious face. Gu Sui couldn’t help but laugh, clinked glasses with him, and said softly.

“Ten years ago, when you guys came to school to corner me, my right eyelid did twitch.”

Wu Tian: “……”

“That was ten years ago, let’s not bring it up, okay? Besides, you’ve paid off your debt now. Our creditor-debtor relationship is over, but we’re still brothers, right?”

Wu Tian was truly impressed.

Ten years ago, Gu Sui was just a high school freshman. Faced with a sudden debt of a million and creditors as relentless as death, he made the fiercest promises and swore the most poisonous oaths, promising to repay the principal with interest within ten years. Only then did he save Gu Shi.

Wu Tian admired this young man at the time. Later, Gu Sui would pay back on time at the agreed dates. During this process, they had various interactions and slowly became brothers, up until now.

“Let’s forget about it.”

Gu Sui spoke flatly: “To this day, I still don’t know if it’s the suffering my mother brought me, or the difficulties I brought my mother. In any case, few people associated with me have had it good.”

Wu Tian furrowed his brows tightly, saying displeased: “What do you mean? You want to end our friendship? Don’t even think about it!”

“Even if your luck is bad, I’ve got a strong destiny. I can handle you. Look at how well you’ve been doing these past few years. If it wasn’t for me, who knows when you would have paid off your debt!”

A warmth welled up in Gu Sui’s heart. He looked at Wu Tian for a long time before teasing.

“You really know how to flatter yourself.”

Hearing this, Wu Tian laughed and leaned in closer, saying mysteriously.

“Sui, don’t you have a girlfriend? I think she’s got a pretty strong destiny too, she can handle you, right?”

Gu Sui’s eyes darkened, certain memories suddenly awakened, causing him to lose focus for a moment.

“Since when did you start fortune-telling?”

Wu Tian: “Don’t change the subject. The last time I saw you with your girlfriend was two years ago. Where is she?”

“We broke up.”

“Huh? When did this happen?”

Gu Sui’s hand gripping the wine glass tightened.

He originally didn’t want to discuss this matter, but under the influence of alcohol, emotions long suppressed in the depths of his heart were bursting to come out. His tightly pressed lips finally opened a crack.

“A year ago. I brought it up.”

Wu Tian had thought it was the other party who broke up with Gu Sui because of his debt, but he didn’t expect Gu Sui to have initiated the breakup. This made him even more confused.

“Why?”

“That day… I was drunk.”

Gu Sui still didn’t want to say too much. After hearing this, Wu Tian sighed in exasperation.

“A moment of impulse? Then just coax her back. Women are the easiest to coax, you know.”

Gu Sui lowered his eyes, his long eyelashes casting a shadow beneath his eyes, his voice slightly cool.

“Can’t find her.”

Wu Tian paused for a moment, then spoke with regret a few seconds later: “Women, they can be really heartless.”

“But it’s okay, there are plenty of fish in the sea, right? You’re debt-free now, and you’re good-looking. How hard can it be to find a girlfriend?”

Wu Tian consoled him, but Gu Sui interrupted him with a toast.

“Let’s not talk about this anymore. I asked you out today not just to pay you back, but also to say goodbye.”

“Huh?”

Wu Tian was stunned for a moment. Gu Sui continued, “My grandfather left me a courtyard in An County before he passed away. I don’t plan to stay in this city anymore.”

“You’re going back to your hometown? But what’s so good about that place? You didn’t grow up there, you don’t know anyone. Won’t you have to start all over again?”

Gu Sui spoke meaningfully: “At the very least, the courtyard my grandfather left me won’t raise the rent.”

Wu Tian: “……”

This farewell drink lasted until midnight. By the time Gu Sui returned home, it was already the early hours of the morning.

Wu Tian had paid for the drinks. After paying off his debts, Gu Sui only had 300 yuan left to his name, just enough to buy a train ticket.

In the room with only one light on, casting a yellow glow, Gu Sui leaned against the bed, his shadow projected on the wall.

Buzz.

His phone received a message. The slightly dizzy Gu Sui opened it to see it was from Gu Shi.

“Son, Mom misses you.”

Gu Sui immediately gripped his phone tighter, feeling somewhat more sober.

Every time Gu Shi sent this message, it definitely meant nothing good was about to happen.

He frowned and replied forcefully: “Did you go gambling again?!”

“Don’t misunderstand, Mom didn’t. Mom just wanted to ask, it’s almost New Year’s, would you like to spend it with Mom this year?”

Gu Sui’s expression softened somewhat. He stared at the message in a daze for a long time before replying again.

“I’m going back to Grandfather’s house. If you want to spend New Year’s together, come back. I won’t come looking for you.”

After a while, Gu Shi finally replied: “Mom… can’t go back. Can you send Mom some money?”

Gu Sui took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

“I don’t have any money left. It’s all gone to pay off debts.”

The other party didn’t send any more messages for a long time. Gu Sui let out a cold laugh and locked his phone completely.

He knew it.

She had long since been blinded by the glamour. That small place in An County, she would never want to go back.

Even if she had no money left.

Everything that needed to be packed was already prepared, only the simple photo wall by the bedside remained.

He didn’t want his life to be too miserable, so he tried to keep things as refined as possible in his daily life.

Looking up, it seemed all the most fulfilling moments of his life were frozen here.

When he was little, Gu Shi was still a gentle and dutiful mother.

She would take care of him, play with him. The photos recorded scenes of a young mother holding a small boy sitting on a merry-go-round.

Although old, it was very warm.

But there was only one photo of the two of them together.

Gu Sui stared at that old photo for a long time, only turning away when his eyes started to sting.

As he turned, he caught sight of the clearest photo on the far right.

It was a snowy day, with a woman wearing a heavy cloak standing at a bus stop under a streetlight.

Her hair was in a single bun held by a long hairpin, lonely yet proud.

Her brows and eyes were full of vigilance, her gaze lightly sweeping across the lens, filling the entire image with a pressure colder than snow.

Gu Sui reached out and took down this photo, his slender hand brushing over the woman’s face.

In an instant, it was as if her aloof and vast voice rang in his ears again.

‘Who are you?’

‘Where is this?’

‘Take me home? Alright, 37 Cheng’tian Street, which direction?’

……

“Mu Jiulu, oh Mu Jiulu.”

Gu Sui closed his eyes tiredly, leaning his head back against the bed. A light sigh escaped from between his lips.

“Why did you have to probe into my past at that time…”

Gu Sui fell asleep sitting on the carpet leaning against the bed.

A night of heavy drinking filled his dreams with all sorts of bizarre scenes.

In front was Gu Shi, uncaring and leaving him to fend for himself; behind was Mu Jiulu with her suffocating possessiveness.

The faces of the two flashed alternately, the vortex in the night owl sucking him in, unable to extricate himself.

Gradually, everything in the dream faded into darkness, until some faint sounds came from far away, waking him up.

“Young Master, Young Master, are you awake? It’s getting late.”

Gu Sui opened his eyes with difficulty, his mind momentarily confused.

He remembered that his alarm clock didn’t have this ringtone.

Creaking–

Sui Yu and Yun Mu pushed open the door and walked in.

As Sui Yu lightly lifted the bed curtain, Gu Sui was staring blankly at the intricately carved ceiling.

“Am I in a dream? Did I move house while dreaming?”

Clang!

The water basin in Yun Mu’s hands suddenly crashed to the ground. Gu Sui was startled awake by this sound and hurriedly sat up.

As he looked over, he found two young men dressed alike in the room, both with looks of astonishment on their faces.

Gu Sui’s throat bobbed, wanting to say something, but not knowing where to begin.

What’s going on?! Shouldn’t he be more surprised?

“Um, you guys…” Who are you?

“Sui Yu, did you hear that? The Young Master spoke, the Young Master spoke!”

The young man standing in a puddle of water suddenly started shouting as if he’d gone mad, his expression changing from astonishment to joy.

Before Sui Yu could respond, he rushed out hurriedly, shouting.

“I must inform the family head of this immediately!”

Gu Sui: “……”

Sui Yu suppressed his equally excited feelings, and after hanging up the bed curtains, he tentatively spoke.

“Young Master, do you remember who this servant is?”

Gu Sui was still completely bewildered. He shook his head, not knowing that this made the excitement on the young man’s face even more apparent.

“Excellent, he really has lost his memory. The Imperial Advisor is truly a divine person!”

Gu Sui: “???”

“Um, may I ask, where is this, who am I, and what am I doing?”

“Yes, yes, yes, it’s this servant’s fault.” Sui Yu said with a guilty expression.

“Young Master, you are Gu Sui, the only son of the General’s household. This servant is called Sui Yu, and the one who just left is called Yun Mu. We are your personal attendants.”

“Today is the day of your bride selection at the Yulu Tower. You should get up now to wash and dress.”

“Ah, Yun Mu just spilled the hot water. Don’t worry, Young Master, this servant will fetch you another basin.”

Before he finished speaking, Sui Yu also hurriedly left the room, leaving Gu Sui alone in this spacious and exquisite room to question his existence.

“What on earth is going on?!”