Night Fire Lingering

Chapter 266 Zhizhi, I can't afford to gamble; I want you to have no other choice.

Gu Yanci's words were completely undisguised.

In the past, Wen Yan would have been very happy with Gu Yanci's honesty.

But in this situation, she really couldn't be happy.

"What are you worried about?" Wen Yan looked up to meet his gaze, her soft laughter carried on the wind. "Worried that I'll be embarrassed because others are talking about how my mother abandoned me? How could that be? How can that embarrassment compare to the three years I've been slandered for scheming to get into your bed, and misunderstood by everyone as someone who forced my way into your position?"

Wen Yan's accusations and questions were like knives stabbing into Gu Yanci's heart.

"Gu Yanci, you clearly know the truth, you clearly know I am innocent, but you never thought of telling me!"

"I'm sorry..." Gu Yanci tried to take Wen Yan's hand, but Wen Yan dodged him.

"Sorry for what?" Wen Yan found it laughable.

She closed her eyes, forcing back the stinging sensation, and continued walking forward.

Gu Yanci strode after him and tried to take Wen Yan's hand again, but Wen Yan dodged him precisely once more.

The back-and-forth tugging and pulling between the two drew sidelong glances from classmates who were pretending to be passing by but actually watching the show.

Wen Yan quickened her pace, not wanting to become the subject of everyone's spectacles.

It's obvious that her little actions with Gu Yanci just now have already been spread on the campus network and are being discussed by everyone.

Wen Yan bought a house near the school. She was very glad that she had prepared a place for herself just in case, and she didn't expect it to come in handy so soon.

Wen Yan opened the door, raised her arm, and coldly blocked Gu Yanci from entering.

"Zhizhi, we were just arguing." Gu Yanci suddenly said out of the blue, a statement that seemed to confirm something.

“Gu Yanci, you think we’re arguing now that things have happened,” Wen Yan felt a deep sense of helplessness, “but I can’t even figure out what we’re arguing about! You haven’t even tried to communicate with me!”

"Your idea of ​​communicating is that you want to move out and live alone?"

The man's question echoed in the empty corridor, gradually fading away.

Gu Yanci was the first to realize the coldness in his tone, "...Sorry, I didn't mean to be mean to you."

She explained to him that if she continued to see him, she would want a divorce.

Since she had chosen to leave, it meant that she still loved him and did not want a divorce—this realization allowed Gu Yanci to barely calm down.

However, Gu Yanci was still bothered by Wen Yan's decision to move out, because she had slipped out of his control, making him feel very insecure.

"Is there anything else you want to say?" Wen Yan asked, adopting a "sure, I'll talk to you" attitude.

She remained blocking the doorway, showing no intention of letting Gu Yanci in.

The man's thin lips moved slightly, but he didn't utter a single word for a long time.

He didn't speak, so Wen Yan asked, "If someone hadn't told me the truth about what happened back then, were you planning to keep it from me for the rest of your life?"

She had investigated who leaked the information back then, but couldn't find out. Nan Yun, on the other hand, had Daniel's help and stumbled upon the truth of what happened, making it easier for her to uncover it than for Nan Yun, who was blinded by her own involvement.

"I'm sorry, I don't want to lie to you." Now that things have come to this, Gu Yanci doesn't dare to lie to her anymore.

Wen Yan wasn't surprised by this answer, and gave a self-deprecating laugh: "You see, Gu Yanci, our beginning was based on lies and deception, which is probably not a good omen. Our marriage—"

"Wen Yan!"

The man interrupted her sharply, unable to bear hearing her utter any discouraging words about the marriage.

Gu Yanci's face was very ugly. He said, "I don't believe in omens or destiny!"

The single-level apartment layout with one unit per floor makes the corridor exceptionally quiet; even in the height of summer, there isn't a sound like birds chirping.

The heat wave, carried by the wind, swept in through the stairwell windows, creating a clash with the cool air escaping from inside.

The man's voice rang out, calm yet firm: "Wen Yan, if I could, I truly intended to keep this a secret from you for the rest of my life. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned."

Wen Yan glared at him angrily.

Gu Yanci continued, "Because I'm not sure if you'll leave me after you learn the truth. Three years ago, I used extreme measures to marry you, painstakingly making you willingly marry me. I won't have such a good opportunity again. Our marriage was never destined; it was a long-planned scheme that I meticulously plotted!"

Wen Yan felt as if a huge rock was pressing on her chest, making it hard for her to breathe.

The proud Gu Yanci would actually think this way?

She suppressed her heartache and said, "But we could have had a great start, Gu Yanci, you've never given me a chance."

They never gave me a chance because they didn't trust me.

Gu Yanci lowered his eyes and said in a low voice, "Zhizhi, I can't afford to gamble."

Wen Yan's eyelashes trembled slightly.

The man looked up again, his dark eyes filled with madness: "I'm not sure who you like in your heart, and the future is full of uncertainties. I need to assure you that you have no choice but me."

He wanted to marry her after that night! To make her his wife!

"But that was my eighteenth birthday. I, Gu Yanci, voluntarily had a relationship with you!" Wen Yan said, her voice trembling with emotion.

Unbelievable! She was already willing to sleep with him, and he was still spouting nonsense like he wasn't sure who she liked!

"What if it's just a passing fancy?" Gu Yanci calmly confessed. "Zhizhi, emotionally, I've never gotten what I wanted. I don't dare give you a chance, what if this chance is just for you to run away? Rather than saying I don't trust you, it's more accurate to say I don't trust myself."

Gu Yanci didn't believe he could win in matters of the heart.

"You think I like Brother Jingzhou?"

"Yes."

"You think you can't compete with Brother Jingzhou?"

"Yes."

"You think you're not as good as Brother Jingzhou."

"Yes."

With tears in her eyes, Wen Yan said, "But Gu Yanci, in my heart, I have never felt that Brother Jingzhou is more important than you, nor have I ever felt that you are inferior to Brother Jingzhou!"

Gu Yanci's heart trembled slightly; this wasn't the first time she had told him this.

However, at this very moment, it still makes his heart flutter.

It wasn't because she gave him the affirmation he needed to make up for, but because the person who made up for it to him was Wen Yan.