I Heard You Liked Me First - Chapter 11

The three of them had reached an understanding. Su Wan directly dialed Gu Hongyun’s number.

Gu Hongyun never expected Su Wan to call her it was a genuine surprise.

“Mrs. Xiao, I’m so glad to hear from you,” she said, her tone dripping with polite delight.

Su Wan, ever composed, slipped easily back into her gentle, graceful persona as Mrs. Xiao. “I’ve been quite busy these past few days and haven’t had the chance to return your calls. You mentioned you were trying to reach me. Was there something you needed?”

Gu Hongyun immediately replied, “Last time I invited you and your husband over, my daughter behaved terribly. She left home without saying a word because of an urgent matter it was rude of her. She feels very sorry about it, so we were hoping to meet again with you and your young master when you have time.”

Su Wan smiled softly. “I’m not sure when that child will be free you know how boys at his age love to play. But I’m available right now. I didn’t get to meet your daughter last time, so why don’t we meet first?”

That was another pleasant surprise for Gu Hongyun. “That would be wonderful! Last time you were so kind as to send her to the airport, she’s been wanting to thank you personally.”

Gu Hongyun’s heart burned with resentment. Su Wan had sent Gu Yue straight to Gu Nan’s place but she dared not reveal any of it over the phone. Instead, she forced herself to sound grateful.

Su Wan gave her address. “I’m at the mall right now. Why don’t you come find me here?”

Gu Hongyun’s hand clenched into a fist. So that’s what this was Su Wan wanted her to come and pay for everything.

But what choice did she have? If she wanted her daughter to marry into the Xiao family, she had to swallow her pride.

Still, she vowed that once they returned from this outing, she would make her daughter understand the price of her mistakes.

Why should she, as the mother, be the one to suffer for her daughter’s foolishness?

To prepare for the shopping trip, she forced on a mask of kindness she was unaccustomed to wearing. Entering her daughter’s room, she adopted a tender, motherly tone.

“Yueyue, are you still upset? I’m not angry anymore, so don’t keep blaming yourself. I only want what’s best for you. If you can marry well, your future will be secure. Otherwise, you’ll end up like me, unwanted in both your husband’s and your own family’s eyes. I don’t want you to repeat my mistakes.”

“Alright, don’t be sad anymore. I had the kitchen make seafood porridge for you. Wash up, put on some makeup, and come down for breakfast. I’ll take you shopping later.”

Gu Yue looked at her mother, her eyes dull and lifeless.

The tenderness on Gu Hongyun’s face was beginning to crack. Her voice turned colder. “You have twenty minutes. Don’t make me come up again.”

Gu Yue knew this trip had something to do with the Xiao family otherwise, her mother would never let her go out.

Normally, she wouldn’t want to go. But this time, she stood up, opened her closet, and began to change.

She needed to go. The guilt she felt toward Gu Nan was heavy on her heart. Maybe she could do something anything to make up for it.

If marrying into the Xiao family could benefit Gu Nan in any way, she would trade her own future for it, if it meant helping Gu Nan get what she wanted.

She dressed, came downstairs obediently for porridge, and then followed her mother out.

Night had fallen by the time they reached the mall, which was bustling with light and life.

Gu Nan and her two friends had already eaten dinner and decided to walk around.

Even indoors, Gu Nan wore sunglasses, attracting plenty of stares. Despite the curious looks, she never took them off.

Better to look pretentious than to let anyone see her swollen eyes.

Even Su Wan probably thought she’d cried herself into this state. What would others think? That she’d been weeping all night?

Absolutely not.

Gu Nan still had her pride.

Even in her sunglasses, she picked out several outfits, and when she went to pay, she saw Chi An had already handed her card to the clerk.

Gu Nan pursed her lips and huffed silently to herself.

Strangely, she realized she didn’t feel nearly as resentful toward Chi An as before.

It was as if the anger and pain she’d been holding onto had faded after that night of drunken tears. Her thoughts felt clearer now, too.

Her parents’ marriage had started falling apart the moment she was born a daughter instead of the son they’d wanted.

Those cracks could never be repaired.

Her mother always said that when her father got together with Chi An, their marriage was already dead. They’d been living apart for years, seeing each other maybe once a year. Only a marriage certificate tied them together.

So in a way, Chi An wasn’t really a “third party.”

Even her grandmother’s death, when she thought about it carefully, wasn’t entirely Chi An’s fault. Yes, Gu Yue had gone to see her. Yes, Gu Hongyun’s phone call had been the trigger. But the one who truly caused her grandmother’s collapse was Gu Hongyun herself.

If someone else had made that call, the result would have been the same her grandmother would never have survived those cruel words.

Gu Nan glanced at Chi An through her sunglasses.

Under the mall’s warm lighting, Chi An’s side profile looked flawless, the shimmer of her eyeshadow catching the light with quiet brilliance. Every feature was refined and perfectly balanced.

Gu Nan turned away, mentally tracing the proportions of that face flawless, harmonious, golden. No wonder people couldn’t look away. What art student could resist beauty like that?

Just then, Su Wan’s phone rang. She put down the clothes she was holding and picked them up, giving the brand name of the store she was in.

Gu Nan and Chi An exchanged a look. Chi An retrieved her card from the sales clerk, said a few words to the staff, and led Gu Nan into the fitting room area.

It wasn’t a typical fitting room luxurious and spacious, with sofas and a small tea table laid with fresh fruit and hot tea.

Gu Nan sank into the sofa, crossing her legs. “What if Gu Hongyun comes in too?”

“She won’t,” Chi An replied. “No way she’d leave Su Wan alone outside.”

Gu Nan nodded.

Sure enough, a few moments later they heard Gu Hongyun’s voice outside, full of practiced warmth.

“Oh, Mrs. Xiao, you really shouldn’t! How can I let you pay for everything today?”

Su Wan answered pleasantly, “I didn’t ask you out to make you pay. I just happen to like Yueyue, and I wanted to buy her a few outfits. What do you think of this one? I think it’s quite lovely.”

It was a dress Su Wan had picked out earlier technically a winter base dress, but with a neckline that dipped low, revealing a graceful expanse of skin.

Gu Hongyun stiffened slightly. Wasn’t her daughter still recovering from those marks on her chest? What if Su Wan saw them?

She quickly chose another similar dress with a higher neckline. “This one’s a bit too revealing. Yueyue’s not used to wearing things like that.”

Su Wan didn’t seem offended at all. Her gentle smile remained. She turned to Gu Yue and said warmly, “That’s fine too, they’re nearly the same style. Go ahead and try it on. If it fits, consider it a gift from me.”

Gu Yue nodded, trying to smile and thank her, but the corners of her mouth wouldn’t cooperate.

Taking the dress, she followed the sales clerk toward the fitting rooms only to freeze when she stepped inside.

Gu Nan was sitting there on the sofa, casually flipping through clothes.

Her eyes widened in shock.

What were they doing here?

Gu Nan looked up at the stunned Gu Yue, curled a finger toward her, and silently mouthed.

“Come here.”

Gu Yue could hardly believe her eyes. She glanced back at the fitting room door, no sign of her mother outside.

Something wasn’t right. Her heart started pounding so hard it felt like it might burst out of her chest.

She stepped closer to Gu Nan, her eyes reddening as instinct urged her to apologize.

“Don’t,” Gu Nan stopped her immediately. “I already accepted your apology before. What happened to Grandma has nothing to do with you anymore.”

Gu Yue nearly burst into tears.
How could it have nothing to do with her?

Seeing her about to cry, Gu Nan instinctively reached up to remove her sunglasses—they were making it hard to see. But before she could say a word of comfort, she saw Gu Yue’s eyes widen in shock once again.

Gu Nan froze, lifting a hand to her forehead.

Beside her, Chi An let out a small laugh, and the tension in Gu Yue’s face loosened slightly. “Cousin, what happened to your eyes?” she asked, her tone laced with both concern and curiosity.

Gu Nan pretended to stay calm. “I don’t know. I drank a bit last night, and when I woke up this morning, they were like this. Must be an allergic reaction to alcohol.”

Having never drunk before, Gu Yue nodded in sudden understanding. “You can get that bad of a reaction from alcohol? Cousin, you shouldn’t drink anymore then.”

Gu Nan gave a mock-serious nod. “Mm, I won’t. If I do again, I’m a dog.”

Gu Yue looked flustered. “Y-you don’t have to say it like that…”

Chi An cleared her throat lightly. “Alright, Yueyue did your mom hit you?”

Gu Yue stiffened, her face tightening for a moment before she quietly nodded. “Yeah.”

Chi An’s tone turned matter-of-fact. “Then just follow our lead later. Keep your head down and don’t say anything.”

Gu Yue didn’t understand what they were planning. Before she could ask, Gu Nan had already reached for her clothes.

Startled, she froze. “Cousin?”

Gu Nan’s voice turned firm. “Don’t move. Just cooperate.”

Gu Yue could only let her cousin take off her coat and unzip the back of her dress, pulling it halfway down.

Her face flushed scarlet. It was the first time she’d ever undressed in front of others even though the dress still hung loosely at her waist, her bare shoulders and back were fully exposed.

Gu Nan’s expression darkened.

Across Gu Yue’s skin were lash marks deep, angry red welts crisscrossing over each other, too many to count.

Without a word, Gu Nan took her by the wrist and led her deeper into the fitting area, drawing back the curtain of a private booth. She gently pushed Gu Yue inside, then turned toward the doorway, raising her voice in feigned alarm.

“Oh my god, Gu Yue, what happened to you?!”

Out in the store, Gu Hongyun had been chatting with Su Wan about the latest fashion line. The sudden exclamation made her freeze.

That voice sounded like Gu Nan! How could she possibly be here?

She looked quickly toward Su Wan.

Su Wan’s face remained perfectly calm, her voice soft and steady. “Let’s go take a look.”

That calmness made a chill crawl up Gu Hongyun’s spine.

Had she… walked right into their trap?

Each step she took toward the fitting room felt like walking on thin ice. And sure enough when she entered, the sight before her made her bl00d run cold.

Gu Nan was standing there.

And behind her, inside the open changing booth, her daughter stood with her head bowed, her expression hidden. The pale skin of her shoulders and back was marked with brutal, overlapping scars.

Gu Hongyun drew in a sharp breath. “Mrs. Xiao, this isn’t what it looks like. Please, let me explain.”