Lin Suihuan's art film "Summer Lotus," which has not yet been broadcast in China, was invited to participate in a niche film festival in Paris.
Yun Daixi decided to go along as well, just to clear her head.
Lin Suihuan arrived with her team first, and she only set off two days before the film festival after finishing her work.
Just before leaving, I received a call from Gu Li'an at the airport. Caught off guard, I answered and he immediately asked, "Are you asleep?"
That night he said he would contact her after returning to China, and Yun Daixi naturally asked, "Back to China?"
Before there was a reply, an announcement came over the loudspeaker in the departure hall: Passengers traveling to Paris, please proceed to entrance E12 for boarding...
Yun Daixi considered countless possibilities. Did he intend to come find her late at night? If she were discovered at the airport, would he immediately order her to return?
Without realizing it, I stopped walking towards first class and stood there waiting for a reply.
He replied, "I'll be back the next day. I'm picking out a gift for you now, and I'll bring it to you next time we meet. What do you want?"
His tone was full of tenderness, as if nothing had happened that night.
"Mr. Gu, please decide." She pressed the tip of her tongue against the wound in her mouth that was finally healing, the faint pain reminding her that this was the man who had grabbed her chin that day.
"You decide." The voice on the other end showed no intention of backing down, its tone commanding.
Yun Daixi was indeed not interested in these gifts. She had always had a very low desire to shop and was often described as a Pixiu that only took in but never gave out.
If it weren't for the need to put on a show, I'd rather wear a T-shirt that costs a few dozen yuan.
She continued walking toward the boarding gate, handing her boarding pass to the flight attendant as she said, "Mr. Gu, I'm not interested in any of those things. How about you give me an apartment? Give me a gilded cage that belongs only to me."
There is a kind of willfulness in which one knows it is meaningless but still stubbornly insists on pricking oneself with a needle.
The ticket inspector looked up at her, her eyes holding an indescribable expression.
Silence fell on the other end; there was no sound.
"Mr. Gu, I need to turn off my phone now. The plane is about to take off," Yun Daixi said first.
"Okay." Without much explanation, the other end hung up after saying just one word.
I don't know which sentence he was replying to with that "okay".
-
As the plane landed and taxied, I received a WeChat message on my phone that I had sent half an hour earlier: I'm waiting for you outside.
The profile picture was black. It was the first message Gu Li'an had sent her since adding Sai Jinhua as a friend on that day.
Yun Daixi was so startled she almost jumped up from her chair. She replied, "Outside? Where?"
This startled the sleepy person next to him.
Gu Li'an: Charles de Gaulle Airport.
Yun Daixi: How did you know?
Too lazy to type anymore, he dialed the number directly: "I heard it when we were talking earlier."
"Then how did you know I was coming to Paris..." Before she could finish her question, she solved the case herself: the boarding gate and boarding time could be combined to quickly locate the flight number.
Gu Li'an had already guessed that she probably knew the reason, so he didn't answer anymore, only saying, "Come out after you get your luggage, you can see me at the door."
"Why is Mr. Gu in Paris?" She hoped to get the answer that he happened to be there to handle some official business.
But the person on the other end of the phone said the thing she least wanted to hear: "For you."
Gu Li'an used three simple words to make her feel powerless against his accusations, like a pet receiving pampering after violence.
After collecting their luggage, they saw Gu Li'an from afar as they exited the airport.
His black wool coat was not buttoned up properly, and the hem fluttered in the wind, making his face look as white as jade against the backdrop of his high-necked black sweater.
I don't know if it's because I haven't seen him in a long time, or because I haven't seen him in the daytime for a long time, but seeing Gu Li'an standing in the sunlight feels like something from a past life.
Yun Daixi squinted as she walked towards him, and he did the same. They eventually met at a point between them. He took the suitcase from her hand, gripped her hand tightly with his other hand, and pulled her towards the parking lot.
His hands were still cold, yet they burned Yun Daixi's hands as if they were on fire.
The movement was natural and spontaneous, like a hunter leading his long-tamed prey.
She suddenly realized that perhaps Gu Li'an had already unknowingly used his hands to trap her in a gilded cage, keeping her locked up for so long without her noticing.
Yun Daixi was a little dazed and unconsciously called out to him, "Mr. Gu".
"Hmm?" Gu Li'an stopped and turned around.
A drop of rain fell between her brows.
She suddenly woke up, realizing that she had just been murmuring, and changed her tone: "Mr. Gu personally drove to pick me up today?"
His hand didn't loosen; it remained clenched: "No?"
She gave a perfunctory reply: "Thank you for your trouble, Mr. Gu."
The car was still a black Bentley.
Even before getting into the car, I could tell that the inside must be as clean as a brand new car.
The moment she opened the door, her guess was confirmed.
If this man were to disappear from this world one day, I wonder if he would leave behind any evidence related to his personal feelings?
Gu Li'an opened the door for her as usual, this time in the passenger seat.
After she was seated, he didn't close the door. Instead, he leaned down, pulled out the seatbelt, and fastened it for her. When he looked up, his face was only a fist's distance away from hers.
I could just feel his frosty breath.
Caught off guard, Gu Li'an touched the mole on her left eyelid and whispered, "Long time no see."
His voice was suppressed, but he couldn't stop the fire burning inside him.
He reminded himself countless times that the woman in front of him had not yet submitted to him, but the intense sense of uncontrollability that had never appeared in his life before made him panicked yet addicted.
Knowing her purpose, I couldn't resist stepping inside. @Unlimited great stories, all at Jinjiang Literature City
His lips drew closer, and finally, as their noses touched, he lowered his head and kissed her.
At first, it was just a brief mention.
He looked up at her closed eyes and kissed her again, this time with intense passion.
The man's upward pressure forced Yun Daixi to tilt her head back, and she couldn't help but reach out to wrap her arms around his neck, as if clinging to a vine on the edge of a cliff to prevent herself from falling.
All the farewells of these past few days are contained in this kiss.
He expressed his true intentions with the most genuine desire.
When their lips parted, it was as if everything had been said.
Gu Li'an closed the door on this side, came up from the left, and asked, "Did you rest on the plane?"
"Hmm," she answered simply, then asked, "Where is Mr. Gu planning to take me? I've booked a hotel; should I send you the location?"
"No need," he started the car. "I've already booked the place you're staying at."
It seems that there's nothing Gu Li'an can't find out if he wants to know it.
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"Did Mr. Gu really come here for me?"
"Of course, I was originally in England, but I came here specifically. Miss Yun, would you like to check my ticket back to Beijing that I bought and then canceled?" He said with a smile.
"Is Mr. Gu familiar with France?" she asked, changing the subject at the opportune moment.
"Having lived in Europe for ten years, I'm quite familiar with it," he paused, then added, "It should be much safer than Miss Yun walking alone on the streets of Paris."
He started the car and drove towards the city center.
When they arrived at the hotel, it started to drizzle outside. Yun Daixi was about to get out of the car when he grabbed her wrist: "Wait."
He got out of the car from the other side, came over to open the door for her, took off his black coat and handed it to her: "Use this to keep yourself from getting wet in the rain."
Yun Daixi looked up at his eyelashes, which were covered in raindrops, just like when she rescued him from the water.
The driver, who had been waiting in the lobby, came over and parked the car. She then went to the front desk to check in, wearing Gu Li'an's coat over her head.
With everything prepared, Gu Li'an said, "I'll take you up."
Yun Daixi's heart was stirred by these words, wondering if his gift this time was what she understood.
The only answer I could give was, "Okay."
After bypassing the medieval-style hall, they entered the elevator lobby. A waiter pressed the elevator button, and the two stood side by side, but neither of them spoke.
Once the elevator came to a stop, a waiter dragged Yun Daixi's suitcase and led the way.
Upon reaching the room door, Gu Li'an thanked the waiter in French, paid the tip, and waited for him to disappear down the corridor.
"Where is Mr. Gu's room?" Yun Daixi asked him from the doorway.
"Here." He pointed to the room behind Yun Daixi, his voice full of ambiguity. @Unlimited good stories, all at Jinjiang Literature City
Yun Daixi understood, turned around, and took the key to open the door.
When I opened the door to let him in, he put his hands in his pockets and said, "You get ready first, I'll wait for you downstairs and take you somewhere."
Mr. Gu actually made such a joke.
After Yun Daixi finished getting ready, she went downstairs, where Gu Li'an was sitting in the lobby waiting for her.
The drizzle pattered against the hotel's floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a hazy glow over the passersby and slow-moving vehicles outside.
Yun Daixi went over to greet him: "Mr. Gu, you should go now."
He got up and led her to the door.
A black Bentley was already waiting at the door. After getting in, Yun Daixi noticed that the driver was a foreigner and asked the question that everyone was curious about: "Why did Mr. Gu stay in Europe for ten years before returning?"
There seemed to be nothing to hide, so Gu Li'an answered easily: "You should know the reason best. How could anyone possibly survive in China?"
There was a moment of silence in the car. Yun Daixi turned to look at his face, but there was no emotion in it.
For some reason, the more nonchalant he seemed, the more frightened Yun Daixi became. Sometimes, the lake's calm surface is precisely because the water is too deep, with whirlpools hidden in the shadows. She dared not ask any more questions, afraid of being swept up in the memory of throwing him into the icy river.
Her relationship with him was still shallow, and she wasn't qualified to reopen old wounds.
The car stopped at the side of a main street, and Gu Li'an got out and held up a black umbrella to greet her: "Miss Yun, thank you for your trouble. This store requires a walk-in."
Helping him out of the car, we stepped onto the irregularly paved road, passed through several narrow alleys, and finally found ourselves in a bright and open space.
The aroma of coffee wafted from a coffee shop around the corner. The vines outside had withered due to the cold weather, which made the warm lighting inside seem even more vibrant.
Gu Li'an led her this way: "I used to come here often in those years."
As he pushed open the door, there weren't many people in the store. When Gu Lian arrived, a silver-haired grandmother came out to hug him and left a kiss on his cheek.
The icy look in Gu Li'an's eyes vanished completely here.
The smile on his face was genuine and pure.
I don't know what he said to the old lady in French, but she turned around and hugged Yun Daixi warmly, and kissed her cheek passionately as well.
After that, I went behind the bar to prepare coffee for them.
Sitting face to face on the sofa, Yun Daixi casually started a conversation: "If I knew about Mr. Gu's life experiences in Europe, I wonder how much he would be worth if I sold it to a financial magazine. I'd probably be rich."
People are always curious about these boring things.
"So, what does Mr. Gu find interesting?"
This stumped him. On the day he gained all the power, he didn't seem as relieved as he had imagined; instead, he felt as if he were bound by another set of shackles.
Seeing that he didn't answer, Yun Daixi thoughtfully changed the subject: "Is there anything special about this place?"
He pointed to his grandmother who was making coffee: "When I first came to Paris that year, I lost all my belongings and only managed to get some food here."
I really don't know what he's been through to be able to say these things so casually.
"What did you just say to that grandma?" For some reason, she had a premonition.
"Introduce yourself to her."
"Mr. Gu, who do you think I am?" Her heart leaped into her throat.
"Le mutisme." His voice was exceptionally pleasant to hear in French.
Seeing Yun Daixi's confusion, he seemed to have secretly gained some benefit and became very interested. He watched as she said it again: "le mutisme".
He's sitting here right now, speaking French, and he's incredibly charming.
If Yun Daixi were still a young girl meeting him for the first time, she would be utterly smitten and would do everything in her power to win him over.
But she had already seen his true self; this appearance could no longer deceive her.