In this open era, at their age, it’s natural for couples to indulge in passionate kisses and even taste the forbidden fruit.
But not him and Gu Jiayin.
Because they were different from ordinary couples. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel fire.net
She wasn’t someone he courted with a bet with his friends, nor did he woo her with flowers and sweet nothings due to youthful impulses. She was the treasure he held dearly from childhood, and he wouldn’t bully her, nor would he make her incomplete too soon.
At that time, he always thought they had so much time, such a long path ahead, a lifetime to be together.
Then, walking through the campus at night, they often came across sixteen or seventeen-year-old couples hiding under trees, kissing and holding each other. Gu Jiayin, too, was a girl experiencing the stirrings of youth, and she also thought about getting closer to Pei Nianchen.
That night, she stood under the tree, bashfully saying, "We can be that close too."
Anyway, they were going to be together forever, so getting intimate a bit earlier wouldn’t matter.
But Pei Nianchen just fondly caressed her long hair and, with a smile, said, "No, my Jiayin is still too young."
"Where am I young?" she protested, feeling unjust, as she was already sixteen.
Pei Nianchen kept smiling gently, warmly holding her hand, whispering softly by her ear, "When you turn eighteen, I’ll give you everything of mine."
To console her, he finally gave her a light kiss on her cheek, a fleeting touch.
Though she wasn’t kissed deeply and passionately like other girls in love, Gu Jiayin was incredibly happy because she deeply felt cherished, respected, and treasured like a precious gem.
Memories are silent, yet tenderness spreads swiftly.
Pei Nianchen suddenly lifted Gu Jiayin’s chin, gently raising her head to meet his eyes.
Actually, seven years ago, he very much wanted to kiss her, wanted to be affectionate. Heaven knows how hard he endured every day.
For those years without her, he lived a life devoid of desires, planning to grow old alone, if not for Qin Xueyao scheming against him.
The lost treasure had returned to his side, and he wanted to erase all memories of those seven years, letting time continue from when she was sixteen.
He had promised that when she turned eighteen, he would give her everything. Now she was already twenty-three, and he wanted to fulfill that promise.
So, he leaned down to kiss her.
In his heart, she was still the same Gu Jiayin from before.
But Gu Jiayin felt none of the earlier excitement.
As his familiar handsome face, familiar man, and familiar presence slowly drew near, she instinctively resisted, stepping back, moving away from him, ending up outside the umbrella’s cover, rain soaking her hair and clothes.
Pei Nianchen instinctively moved the umbrella forward to shield her, getting drenched himself.
The disparity between this action and his psychological response took him five seconds to fully understand.
Those seven years were unerasable.
Protecting her, caring for her deeply, was his instinct, but when she evaded him, he understood in his heart that she was no longer the same Gu Jiayin, and he was also no longer the same Pei Nianchen.
This kiss had come too late, and it was no longer as pure as before.
In an instant, a thick sadness clouded his eyes.
Watching Pei Nianchen’s eyes, Gu Jiayin felt guilt.
His kiss was once the touch she had longed for the most at sixteen, but now, she instinctively avoided it.
Yes, truly instinctively, not consciously rejecting him.
Some barriers in the mind are uncontrollable.
His lips had kissed the person she despised most, and her lips, just a few hours before, had been brutally violated by Sheng Qianchi.
"I’m sorry," Gu Jiayin mumbled, lowering her head.
Pei Nianchen closed his eyes, eventually taking a step forward to stand under the umbrella again, reaching out to stroke her long hair, drawing her into his embrace.
Helplessly looking at the pear blossoms on the tree, he said, "You need time, I’ll wait."
It was nine o’clock in the evening when they left the campus.
Pei Nianchen received a call from Pei Keqian, commanding him to return to the Pei Mansion immediately.
He took the call without hiding it from Gu Jiayin, so the authority-laden tone filled with anger from Pei Keqian rang clearly in her ears. Clever as she was, she naturally understood the reason.
Actually, she still had fondness for Pei Keqian.
From childhood, Uncle Pei had shown her much affection, maybe because of her mother. It was said that before marriage, he was also one of her mother’s suitors.
Though father and son, they also had a superior-subordinate relationship in the military, so Pei Nianchen dared not disobey Pei Keqian’s order. He looked at Gu Jiayin with some difficulty, saying, "Jiayin, I’ll take you back first."
Gu Jiayin slightly curled her lips, seemingly with a hint of a smile, "Alright, take me to Xiya."
This name had disappeared from Pei Nianchen’s world for seven years, and it felt somewhat unfamiliar. So, hearing Gu Jiayin mention going to Lu Xiya, he was stunned for a few seconds, then hesitantly asked, "Where does she live?"
"?" Gu Jiayin looked at Pei Nianchen in surprise, "You don’t even know where Xiya lives?"
She thought, after the downfall of the Lu Family, as friends who grew up together, Pei Nianchen would have offered some help, but he didn’t even know where she lived.
Pei Nianchen bewilderedly wiped his face, like a child who had done something wrong, unsure how to explain to an adult, "Sorry, Jiayin, I... in these years..."
Pei Nianchen didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t a heartless person; he wasn’t incapable of caring for her good friend after Gu Jiayin’s supposed death, but he had truly forgotten.
Forgetting, because it was too painful.
After Gu Jiayin’s accident, he suffered unbearable pain. Never mind thinking of others, he didn’t even know how he managed to survive. In the midst of agony, he joined the military, immersing himself in blood and combat.
If he hadn’t numbed himself this way, Qin Xueyao wouldn’t have taken advantage.
Growing up together, Gu Jiayin understood Pei Nianchen, so she comfortingly patted his hand, "I don’t blame you, let’s go."
Then, Gu Jiayin told him Lu Xiya’s address.
Lu Xiya’s home was actually just an ordinary two-bedroom apartment, where she often lived alone, as her mother stayed with her father in the hospital for long periods.
Her life in recent years was very simple: earning money at Blue Night, visiting her father in the hospital, then returning here to rest.
When a person falls on hard times, relatives and friends draw clear lines between black and white, like day and night, so besides creditors, no one really visited her.
When she heard the knock on the door, she hesitated for a long time before opening it, "I already have the money, the debt I owe you will be repaid tomorrow, afterwards..."