I Heard You Liked Me First - Chapter 6

Gu Yue never imagined that her running away from home would lead to someone’s death.

The plan had been simple: she and Gu Nan would have dinner outside, then visit their grandmother at the hospital.

But before they even reached the restaurant, Gu Nan received a call.

Grandmother had suffered a heart attack brought on by anger. Already frail and hospitalized, she didn’t survive the attack.

Gu Nan couldn’t believe it. How could something like this happen so suddenly? Just that afternoon, Grandmother had been teasing her over the phone and now she was gone?

She drove back to the hospital in a daze. The moment she stepped into the ward, she saw her aunt kneeling on the floor, crying so hard it tore through her heart.

The doctors had already covered Grandmother’s face with a white sheet.

That thin layer of fabric separated Gu Nan from her forever.

Her legs felt like they were weighed down by lead as she forced herself to take one step after another to the bedside. With trembling hands, she lifted the sheet. Beneath it was Grandmother’s pale, bloodless face quiet and still.

The aunt who had cared for Grandmother could barely stand. Crawling toward Gu Nan on her knees, she shoved a phone into her hands. “They called! It was your father’s family that woman argued with your grandmother on the phone. She got so angry… they couldn’t save her!

Nan Nan, you can’t let them get away with this. Call the police! Have them all arrested!”

Gu Nan’s hands shook violently as she unlocked the phone and checked the call history.

Then she turned, her voice hoarse. “Gu Yue… isn’t your mother’s number ending in 0888?”

The moment Gu Yue heard those four digits, all color drained from her face.

She stumbled back a few steps, hitting the door with a loud thud before collapsing weakly to the floor.

Gu Nan’s eyes were dark and unreadable, a storm of emotion swirling beneath the surface.

Her lips, however, curved slightly but the faint smile that emerged made one’s heart tremble.

Gu Yue dropped to her knees, tears streaming down her face, soaking her pale cheeks.

“I’m sorry, it’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have come to see you, I shouldn’t have left home.”

“Hit me, yell at me anything. I’ll atone for Grandmother’s death, I’ll go down to her and take care of her there!”

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry… I didn’t know this would happen. I didn’t know she’d call Grandmother…”

“Kill me if you want. I’ll go with Grandmother. I’m sorry.”

Her body shook so hard she couldn’t even hold herself up anymore. She fell to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

She hated herself to the core.

“I shouldn’t have come to you. I shouldn’t have had those thoughts. It’s all my fault.”

“Other people can endure things… so why couldn’t I? Why did I have to want to change? Why couldn’t I just hold it in?”

“If I’d just endured it, everything would’ve passed. I’ve done it before.”

“I’m sorry, Gu Nan. I’m so sorry. What do I do now? What should I do?”

She wished she were the one who had died instead.

If she died, the world would only lose someone useless and insignificant. But Gu Nan’s grandmother had been Gu Nan’s last pillar of strength, the one person keeping her anchored to this world.

Gu Nan said nothing. At that moment, as the victim, she didn’t have an ounce of compassion left for the daughter of the people who had caused all this.

The phone in her hand rang again.

It was Chi An.

Gu Nan answered, and a woman’s voice, filled with guilt, came through: “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have let Gu Yue come see you.”

Gu Nan hung up immediately.

What use were apologies now? Grandmother was gone.

Her chest ached so deeply it felt as if she couldn’t breathe. For a moment, she thought she might die from the pain too.

She should have been crying she was the one who’d lost the most yet no tears would come.

Taking a shaky breath, she whispered, “Auntie, contact the funeral home. Have them take Grandma for cremation.”

“I’ll handle the cemetery arrangements. When Grandfather passed, they bought a double plot. Now she can rest beside him.”

The aunt struggled to her feet and came to her side.

Though she was shorter, she reached out stubbornly, wrapping Gu Nan into her arms.

“Nan Nan, it’s okay to cry. If it hurts, cry. Don’t hold it in   Auntie can’t bear to see you like this.”

“I’ll stay with you, always. You still have me. From now on, it’s just the two of us, alright?”

“Cry, child. Cry in Auntie’s arms.”

Gu Nan rested her head on her shoulder. “But I can’t cry.”

She couldn’t.

She knew she was grieving, knew she was breaking apart inside, knew her whole world had collapsed but still, no tears came.

She handled the funeral calmly, almost mechanically.

She chose an auspicious day and had her grandmother buried beside her grandfather.

It felt as though the heavens themselves were mourning with her.

The rain pattered softly against the black umbrella, every drop echoing in her chest.

Winter’s wind bit through her coat, the cold seeping deep into her bones. She felt frozen through.

Her fingers trembled around the umbrella’s handle, her knuckles bloodless from the strain.

She watched as the grave was sealed shut, still unable to believe that her grandmother was truly gone.

Her aunt wept uncontrollably beside her, glancing at her every so often with aching concern.

Gu Yue had already left the day Grandmother died.

When everyone else had gone, only Gu Nan and her aunt remained in the quiet cemetery.

She looked at the picture of her grandparents smiling together on the tombstone and said softly, “Auntie, I’m going back to the Gu family. Please look after the house for me. I’ll still need a place to return to.”

Her aunt choked out, “What do you mean, go back? You’re just going to leave me now? I told you, I’ll always be with you.”

Gu Nan replied, “I’m not going back to enjoy myself. I’m going back to fight. What would you follow me there for?”

Her aunt wiped her tears. “Then I’ll fight beside you!”

“I was just a servant girl. After I was ruined, they forced me to marry the man who did it. When I couldn’t bear him children, he threw me out. If it weren’t for your grandmother asking me to stay by her side, I’d have jumped into the river decades ago.”

“When I met your grandmother, I was barely twenty. She was so beautiful, so kind. She took me in, said it was so I could take care of her, but in truth  she gave me a family.”

“I raised your mother from a child. It’s a pity you didn’t come back until you were already ten or so.”

“I took care of your grandmother, your mother… and now you. You’re all I have left, Nan Nan. How could you leave me too?”

“I know what you’re planning. What do you think I’m too old and useless to help? Let me come, let me take care of you!”

“Your grandparents and your mother… none of them would want you to go alone.”

“So take me with you. Let Auntie stay by your side.”

The aunt stood, clutching her hand tightly.

Though the wind howled cold and sharp, her palm was still so warm.

Gu Nan finally nodded. “Alright. We’ll go together.”

“The Gu family owes us   owes me, and I’ll make sure they pay it back.”

“They’ll pay for everything they’ve done.”

After Grandmother’s death, it rained every single day.

Such weather was rare; winters were usually dry and gloomy, not filled with days of endless, bone-chilling rain.

But this time, the rain simply wouldn’t stop.

Gu Nan packed her things quietly, arranged the house so that everything was in order, then set off with her aunt for the city where the Gu family lived.

B City was a place where every inch of land was worth gold, a gathering ground for the wealthy.

The Gu family could no longer afford a property within the fifth ring road that was worthy enough to show off.

So they had settled for a piece of land on the outskirts, where they built a cluster of half-Western, half-local villas neither elegant nor tasteful.

And yet, they were proud of it, believing they had finally stepped into high society.

After landing, Gu Nan went straight to the parking lot and found the black Mercedes AMG that an old acquaintance had arranged for her.

A chauffeur in a black suit was waiting beside the car. When he saw her, he lowered his head respectfully and handed over the keys.

“Miss Gu, all the paperwork for the car has been completed. You can use it with confidence.”

Gu Nan nodded. “Please thank Mr. Lou for me. I’ll invite him to view a painting next time.”

Mr. Lou had been her grandfather’s student. He had bought two paintings from her in recent years and was still waiting for the third.

The man quickly agreed, helped load the luggage, and watched as they drove off.

Gu Nan started the car and headed straight for the Gu residence.

Her aunt sat in the passenger seat, squinting through her reading glasses at the map on her phone, frowning. “What a godforsaken place to live. It’s so far from the city  how do they even buy groceries?”

Gu Nan gave a small laugh. “If it were convenient for shopping, they couldn’t afford it.”

Her aunt snorted softly, still displeased. “I wonder if your mother’s room is still there. When I came to fetch you two back then, we didn’t manage to take everything. Who knows if any of it’s still there?”

“The bed your mother slept on, your grandfather picked it out himself. It was the most comfortable bed ever. If they didn’t throw it out, you should sleep there. It’d be like your mother’s still looking after you.”

Gu Nan replied quietly, “No one should have used it.”

“Chi An may have done some unforgivable things,” she added after a pause, “but when she lived with the Gu family, she still protected my mom.”

Her aunt gave a sharp, cold snort. It was obvious she couldn’t stand Chi An.

“That woman’s nothing but an ungrateful wolf. Your mother pulled her out of that miserable family, gave her a new life even if she couldn’t repay the debt, she should at least have shown some gratitude. How could she go and destroy your mother’s marriage?”

“She was your father’s mistress. What kind of protection is that?”

Gu Nan tilted her head slightly, remembering those years in the Gu household. “She was the third party, that’s true. But she also really did protect my mom. If it weren’t for her, I can’t imagine how much more abuse my mom would’ve had to take from the Gu family.”

“Everyone in that house, including my father, was wary of her. She was too capable, she brought in several rounds of investment and made it possible for the Gu company to go public. Without her, they wouldn’t have made it that far.”

Her aunt frowned, clearly baffled. “Then why would a woman like that fall for your useless father?”

Gu Nan shrugged slightly, a faint smirk tugging at her lips. “Who knows? Maybe love really does make people blind.”

As they talked, the car finally arrived at the Gu estate.

Gu Nan pulled up right in front of the main gate and told her aunt to cover her ears before pressing down on the horn and keeping it there.

The long, unbroken blast of noise threw the servants at the gate into chaos.

If it had been anyone else, those servants would’ve charged out, yelling and cursing. But when they saw it was a Mercedes AMG blaring the horn, none of them dared approach. Instead, they ran frantically into the villa to call for the family.

A car worth at least a million whoever was inside clearly wasn’t someone they could afford to offend.

Finally, the heavy iron gate opened, and a security guard came out, bowing slightly as he asked whom she was looking for. He pointed toward a designated parking area. “Please park over there, miss.”

Gu Nan didn’t even glance in that direction. She hit the accelerator and sped straight past, driving instead toward the garage that had once belonged to her parents’ villa.

A figure was standing just outside the parking area.

She wore a long black coat cinched tightly at the waist, her right hand holding a black umbrella. The shadow of the umbrella obscured her face, leaving only the bright, striking red of her lips visible beneath the dim light.

Gu Nan parked the car and stepped out.

The black umbrella tilted slightly, moving to cover her head.

Only then did Gu Nan lift her eyes and her gaze met a pair of cool, dark eyes that seemed calm, almost emotionless.

And yet, in that instant, something deep within her heart that had been numb since her grandmother’s death began to beat again.