I Heard You Liked Me First - Chapter 20

The two of them stayed in the stairwell for quite a while.
Mostly because Gu Nan couldn’t get her emotions under control.

Everything Chi An had said hit her right where she was softest.

Her own life experience was limited, and she definitely didn’t have Chi An’s ability to quickly mask and regulate her feelings.

But she didn’t want to look weak in front of her.

Could you leave me alone for a bit? Gu Nan asked quietly. “I just want to be by myself for a while.

Chi An stood in her way. They were so close that they could hear each other’s breathing. To Chi An, the lump in Gu Nan’s throat was painfully obvious.

Her own voice was calm now cool, yet inexplicably tender.
“Of course not. I have to stay with you. How could I ever leave you here alone?”

Gu Nan didn’t understand her persistence.
“I’ll be fine. Nothing’s going to happen to me here.”

“That’s not necessarily true,” Chi An replied. “You’ve always been the Gu family’s greatest thorn. Aside from them, you have no relatives left who could inherit the estate.”

“So I need to keep you within sight. I can’t give the Gu family any chance to act.”

Gu Nan’s eyes widened. “You mean they might try to kill me?”

“Not necessarily,” Chi An said lightly. But judging from how things usually go in novels, TV dramas, and movies, you’d definitely be at risk.

Gu Nan couldn’t even find words for that logic. Yet somehow, while Chi An was rambling on with nonsense, her tension had quietly eased.

That was when she noticed her own hand still gripping Chi An’s coat. Embarrassed, she quickly let go. “Let’s go back.”

Chi An nodded. “Mm. Let’s go.”

As soon as they got in the car, Gu Nan received a message from Gu Yue her mother wanted to take her out for a haircut and a new style.

Gu Yue didn’t want to go at all.

Still sitting in the passenger seat, Gu Nan texted back: “Do you want us to come rescue you?”

Gu Yue replied: “No need. I just needed to talk to someone for a bit it makes me feel better.”

Even she could tell she wasn’t the same as before. She no longer faced life with that same self-destructive apathy.

After sending the message, a faint smile touched her lips. She turned to look out the window.

The light turned red, and the car stopped. Beside them pulled up a bright red motorcycle.

It was sleek and striking but what caught Gu Yue’s eye wasn’t the bike. It was the woman riding it.

Long legs, dressed in a fitted black leather outfit, her posture leaned low against the machine as if she were about to sprint toward freedom itself.

Gu Yue had always wanted to try something like that, though she’d never really had the chance.

Just then, she saw the woman reach for her phone. She nudged the motorcycle closer to the curb, took off her helmet, and answered a call.

The traffic light turned green, and Gu Yue’s car began to move forward.

Suddenly, a thought struck her that woman looks a lot like Su Wan.

Panicked, she fumbled for her phone and snapped a photo.

But when she checked it, the picture was blurry the woman’s face was unrecognizable.

Lowering her eyes, Gu Yue frowned. It couldn’t be Mrs. Xiao, she told herself. She’s such a gentle woman. How could she possibly be racing down the street on a motorcycle?

Her mother, having just finished a phone call, turned and scolded her for staring at her phone again.

Gu Yue quickly tucked it away and obediently endured the lecture.

A few moments later, out of the corner of her eye, she caught that flash of red streaking past their car again.

Her gaze lingered on the wild dance of the woman’s hair as she sped away.

Even while getting her hair done, and later through dinner, that image wouldn’t leave her mind.

But during dinner, her attention was eventually drawn back by her mother.

Gu Yue had thought that her mother no longer cared about her academics that she was more focused on training her in the “skills” needed to be a good housewife.

Yet halfway through the meal, Gu Hongyun sighed and said, “I’ve been thinking… Mrs. Xiao’s opinions do matter quite a bit.”

“She’s already over sixty now…”

Before her mother could finish, Gu Yue understood.

At that age, who knew how many years the old Madam Xiao had left? For now, her influence was immense but once she passed, Mrs. Xiao would become the sole matriarch of the Xiao family. And then, everything would move according to her will.

“How about I sign you up for an art appreciation class?” Gu Hongyun suggested.

Gu Yue thought for only a moment before agreeing.

That would at least give her more chances to go out she hated being cooped up at home all the time.

Her mother, being the impulsive type, immediately began asking around.

Normally, she bragged endlessly about the private art academy run by their family, but now when it actually mattered she clearly didn’t trust the teachers there.

She knew exactly what kind of education investments the Gu family made.

But after a few calls, she realized those classes weren’t cheap.

She had already spent a fortune on her daughter’s “cultivation.”
Now that she’d returned to the Gu family without a job or income, she couldn’t possibly ask her mother to reimburse her. For a moment, she couldn’t bring herself to spend the money.

Gu Yue knew her mother was short on cash she herself didn’t have much either.

Just because the Gu family was wealthy now didn’t mean everyone within it benefited equally.

Back when her mother was born and married, the family’s situation had been poor. The Gu family only rose in status because her uncle had married well married up, as they said.

So Gu Hongyun had lived through hard times. That made her stingy about spending on anything she saw as “useless.”

Gu Yue assumed her mother would drop the idea. She never expected her to set her sights on Gu Nan.

“Isn’t Gu Nan a rather well-known painter?” Gu Hongyun asked casually. “How’s your relationship with her, exactly?”

Gu Yue’s heart skipped a beat. She hesitated. “We’re… not very close.”

“Then why did you go looking for her before?” her mother pressed.

Gu Yue didn’t know what to say. She hadn’t expected her mother to bring up Gu Nan now, of all times.

Gu Hongyun gave her a knowing look. “I knew it. You’ve been in touch with her behind my back, haven’t you?”

She sighed. “Forget it. I’m not blaming you. Since you two have some connection, then it shouldn’t be a problem for her to teach you a bit about art appreciation, right?”

Gu Yue murmured, “I can try.”

Her mother gave a sharp sniff. “You’d better. Make good use of her. And when she finds out one day that you used her as a stepping stone to marry into the Xiao family well, I’m sure she’ll choke on her anger.”

Gu Yue knew that was just her mother’s way of comforting herself to make her own compromises look like clever strategy instead of desperation.

Still, Gu Yue liked this outcome well enough. She nodded quickly and promised she’d learn as much as possible in the shortest amount of time, so that she could hold her own when Mrs. Xiao tested her in the future.

That finally pleased Gu Hongyun. For the first time in years, she even praised her daughter.
“You’re finally growing up. This is good. Don’t be so stubborn like before always charging into dead ends where no one can pull you out.”

Gu Yue had once thought that if her mother ever praised or acknowledged her, she’d be thrilled.

But now she realized when your goals and values are completely different, your mother’s approval doesn’t bring comfort.

It only feels bitterly ironic.

Because the version of herself her mother wanted to see wasn’t who she wanted to become at all.

And so, such approval meant nothing.

**********

After going home, Gu Yue immediately told Gu Nan the news.

Gu Nan was delighted. “That’s perfect now we can openly team up and stir up some trouble together.”

Gu Yue grinned. “We can even go out and hang around together. My mom won’t have a clue where we’re actually going anyway.”

That did sound nice.

Since Gu Nan had moved to this city, she hadn’t gone out much at all aside from meeting a few old classmates once or twice.

Everyone else had their own work and lives to manage, and she couldn’t really schedule anything with them.

Having someone her own age to keep her company felt unexpectedly refreshing.

Then Gu Yue suddenly remembered the woman she’d seen that day on the motorcycle.

“You don’t even know how cool she looked,” Gu Yue said excitedly. “She sped past our car in a flash just a blur and disappeared down the street. I kept thinking how amazing it must feel, having the wind in your face like that!”

“Oh, right! I even took a picture. She kind of looked like Mrs. Xiao.”

She sent the photo over to Gu Nan.

Gu Nan raised a brow as she looked at it. The image was blurry, but at first glance, it did look a lot like Su Wan.

But Gu Yue quickly dismissed her own suspicion. “Of course, it can’t be Mrs. Xiao. She’d never do something like that.”

Gu Nan couldn’t help but laugh out loud from her bed.

Oh, if only you knew.
Your precious Mrs. Xiao absolutely would do something like that. She just works hard to keep up her soft, gentle image in front of you.

Gu Nan couldn’t resist forwarding the photo to Su Wan.

Su Wan replied almost instantly:
Gu Nan added a message: “Photo taken by Gu Yue.”

Su Wan:

A few seconds later, a notification popped up Su Wan had transferred ten thousand yuan to her. Along with three words: Hush money.

Gu Nan burst into laughter and texted back, “Okay then! Mrs. Xiao, you’re very generous.”

Then, feeling mischievous, she took a screenshot of their chat and forwarded it to Chi An.

Watching this little drama unfold and having someone to share it with made her feel lighter than she had in a long, long time.