The Consequences of Provoking a Crazy Beauty (GL) - Chapter 2

At four o’clock, Huo Junxian returned from walking the dog. She took off her shawl and draped it over the coat rack. Her face still showed no expression, as if the passionate scene outside the courtyard hadn’t occurred.

The poodle nuzzled her affectionately. In the living room, she put the dog down, and it tilted its head, looking at Gu Siyu. It remembered Gu Siyu staring at it from the balcony for a long time.

But its owner was still pretending not to know, quietly going about her business.

Gu Siyu emerged from the bathroom, dressed in clean clothes: a white short-sleeved top and hot pants. Her hair was dripping wet. She squatted down in her slippers and stroked the poodle’s head. The poodle still shied away from Gu Siyu, though it wasn’t as fierce as yesterday.

This little creature even knew to read her mood, knowing that she held its owner’s secret, and understood it needed to let her fuss over it.

Huo Junxian washed her hands and collected the clothes from the yard. She folded them one by one, then noticed an extra piece of underwear.

They were both white. She picked up both, seemingly comparing sizes. Gu Siyu walked right over and took her own. “Mine.”

Huo Junxian loosened her fingers and put down the other piece of clothing. She carried the rest of the folded clothes upstairs. No one mentioned the afternoon’s events.

Later, Jin Yuansen returned, his hand wrapped in a bandage, looking a bit comical. His gaze fell on the poodle jumping on the sofa, and he instinctively stepped back two paces.

His lips moved as if he was about to curse, but the poodle barked, and Jin Yuansen swallowed his words. The little poodle rolled on the sofa for a while, then ran off. Jin Yuansen threw away the pillow the poodle had touched, rationalizing, “It sheds too much hair on the pillow.”

He looked at Gu Siyu, lowering his voice to ask, “How was today?”

Gu Siyu hesitated for a moment. She pinched her chin, her gaze wandering, checking the poodle’s movements. The little poodle stopped on the second-floor landing, looking at her. Gu Siyu smiled and said, “Your wife didn’t do anything today. She didn’t go out at all.”

“How is that possible? She always goes out in the afternoon.” Jin Yuansen frowned, looking suspiciously at Gu Siyu. “Are you sure she didn’t go out?”

“No, I just watched her tidy things up at home. I waited until the flowers were wilting. I should be blaming you for inaccurate information,” Gu Siyu said.

Jin Yuansen was doubtful, clearly not believing Gu Siyu, and pressed again, “You’re not lying to me, are you?”

Gu Siyu remained calm.

A few seconds later, his eyes behind the glasses took on a look of deep affection. He said softly, “Siyu, once I get the assets, you’ll have everything you want. Just listen to me.”

“Understood, I’m keeping an eye out,” Gu Siyu diverted her gaze from the poodle. She looked around the living room and asked, “Does your wife have any hobbies?”

“Hobbies?” Jin Yuansen frowned, asking her back, “What do you mean by hobbies?”

Gu Siyu said, “You don’t even know what your wife likes?”

Jin Yuansen didn’t seem embarrassed. He said, “You’ll know eventually. She’s a difficult person to figure out. She doesn’t like anything; she’s cold-hearted.”

“You can’t say that. You can’t figure her out because you haven’t put in the effort,” Gu Siyu laughed. “I see your wife is very good at housework, she knows how to garden, how to raise a dog, how to cook. It feels like she knows how to do everything.”

Most importantly, she was attractive and beautiful.

She was simply the ideal wife.

But men, they are always dissatisfied. The grass is always greener on the other side. No matter how good his wife was, he always found her annoying, seeing marriage as a tomb. They always felt particularly miserable and wronged.

Gu Siyu listed so many of Huo Junxian’s virtues, but Jin Yuansen only absorbed one point. He looked up at the clock on the wall. “She didn’t come down to make dinner?”

“She went upstairs and hasn’t come out since.”

Jin Yuansen’s gaze towards Gu Siyu became less doubtful. Staring at the clock, he said, “She’s really strange today. Did something happen?”

If he had to say something did.

It would be that your wife has a lover, and I found out.

Does that count?

Jin Yuansen was rambling on, seemingly more disturbed by his wife not going out today than by him getting bitten by a dog.

From six to seven o’clock, Huo Junxian didn’t come down to make dinner. Jin Yuansen paced the living room a few times, then called for takeout.

A highly-rated Japanese restaurant, a table piled with dishes.

Gu Siyu wasn’t very hungry and went straight upstairs. Reaching the railing, she looked up. She suddenly felt like going up to see what Huo Junxian was doing. She asked Jin Yuansen, who was devouring his meal downstairs, “Aren’t you sending some up to your wife?”

“Send it to her?” Jin Yuansen lifted his hand. “Should I feed her too?”

He scoffed, “I wish she’d die.”

His wife had cooked for him for years, and he couldn’t spare a single bite for her.

To be honest, he was very truthful, hiding nothing.

Later, the little poodle ran upstairs.

Jin Yuansen downstairs didn’t hear the sound of a door closing on the third floor.

Gu Siyu’s first impression of Huo Junxian:

Pitiful.

Such a pitiful woman.

“Aren’t you going to eat?” Jin Yuansen slowly wiped his mouth with a tissue. “It tastes good.”

“No appetite.” Gu Siyu was a bad person, but she hated eating with disgusting people even more.

••••

In summer, the daily temperature was always about the same, consistently hot. The only difference was a few cicadas appearing from who knows where on the trees, chirping incessantly from sunrise onwards.

The oppressive heat that drilled into one’s head was accompanied by annoying, noisy sounds, making one’s head swell. Even the flowers and leaves couldn’t bear it, looking weary from the sun.

This stifling heat continued into the afternoon. Previously, Huo Junxian would leave at three o’clock, and today was no exception. She didn’t stop her outing just because Gu Siyu stumbled upon her “affair” yesterday. After tidying up the house, she changed her shoes and left.

Huo Junxian had also spruced herself up. Her long hair was tied back with a light yellow hair tie, falling loosely on her back. She wore a warm yellow long dress, this time slightly shorter, only reaching her knees. A white sash gently cinched her waist, making her appear even more gentle.

The little poodle mischievously splashed through some water, then ran around her feet, wagging its tail excitedly, wanting Huo Junxian to pick it up. Huo Junxian didn’t pick it up, but instead bent down, crooked her finger at the little dog, and coaxed it to walk forward.

She smiled and softly said, “Come here.”

“Woof woof woof.” The little poodle obediently followed.

“Good boy.”

Gu Siyu went to the third-floor balcony a few minutes later. This time, she didn’t see the neighbor, only the vast clouds baked golden by the sunlight. Under the dense sycamore leaves, the person and dog sat in the shade cast by the tree. Huo Junxian sat on a bench, and the dog lay by her leg, ears drooped.

Both of them were waiting for someone, but aside from them and Gu Siyu, no one else appeared. Three o’clock in the afternoon was the hottest time of the day; surely no one would come out except for those engaged in a secret rendezvous.

Gu Siyu was baking in the sun. There were no trees to shield her from the sun here, and sweat beaded on her forehead. Gu Siyu went downstairs to get a small spray bottle and misted her face and neck.

As she sprayed, she wondered, *Weren’t they very entangled yesterday? Why aren’t they showing up today?*

Could it be that these two were doing it on purpose, knowing she had discovered their secret, so they intentionally didn’t meet today, putting on a show for her?

Half an hour later, the sun slowly shifted its position, and Gu Siyu’s spot became a bit cooler. Huo Junxian, however, was holding the little dog in the sunlight. Huo Junxian’s palm rested on the dog’s head, gently stroking it to ward off the heat, and the little dog licked her hand.

In that moment of sunlight, Huo Junxian’s eyes were very bright, glistening. Gu Siyu’s eyesight was exceptionally good; she saw clearly that Huo Junxian was indeed crying, tears flowing out and falling one by one.

Tears appearing on that cold, exquisite face were completely unexpected for Gu Siyu. Huo Junxian cried silently, tears sliding down her cheeks, her eyelashes soaked when she blinked.

When a girl cries, she must be very sad.

Gu Siyu rested her chin on her hand. After a while, she put both hands on the railing and looked down. What was the height she calculated last time…?

*Bang!*

The small spray bottle landed on the second-floor balcony, its glass body shattering.

The person upstairs had both hands on the railing. She directly swung herself over the railing from the third floor. Her tank top and hot pants swept her to the ground in a flash, her posture agile.

There was still some height between the two floors. Gu Siyu stood up and braced herself against the wall. The wall, having been exposed to the sun all afternoon, was scalding hot. Gu Siyu’s fingers instantly released their grip. She walked down the stairs.

Huo Junxian heard the movement and looked towards the sound. At that moment, Gu Siyu walked up to her, pulled out a pack of tissues, and offered it. Huo Junxian didn’t take it. Gu Siyu then tore open the sticker, pulled out half, and offered it to Huo Junxian again.

Huo Junxian still didn’t take it.

Gu Siyu patiently pulled out a tissue and directly wiped the tears that kept falling from Huo Junxian’s eyes. Huo Junxian’s eyes were filled with water, constantly seeping out. Gu Siyu gently wiped, tirelessly wiping again and again until Huo Junxian stopped crying.

From Huo Junxian’s perspective, Gu Siyu was backlit and very dazzling. She was a strikingly beautiful and exquisite person, clearly someone who wouldn’t be patient, yet at this moment, she was gentle and meticulous.

Gu Siyu clenched the soaked tissue in her palm. She sat on the other side of the bench, leaning back with her hands supporting the bench, looking up at the leaves of the tree above.

She didn’t ask Huo Junxian what was wrong, nor why she was sad, behaving exceptionally considerately.

Gu Siyu crossed her legs. She wasn’t wearing shoes; her shoes were still on the third floor. She had jumped down barefoot from upstairs, and the soles of her feet were pink from the hot ground. Just now, when she was wiping Huo Junxian’s tears, she hadn’t moved at all while standing on the ground.

Gu Siyu pulled her gaze back and met the wet eyes of the nearby poodle. The little poodle stared at her intently. She whistled at the little poodle.

The poodle’s paw touched her leg. This little dog was quite clever and good at winning people over. Of course, it would be better if its name wasn’t “Xiao Yu.”

“You’re quite cute,” Gu Siyu’s hand twitched, wanting to pet it, but the way this little creature bit was too fierce, making her timid.

After much hesitation, she stroked the poodle’s head. Its fur was so soft.

Huo Junxian no longer waited for anyone. She picked up the dog and left. Gu Siyu followed closely behind her, occasionally winking at the little poodle.

The little poodle was very depressed, constantly staring at the stone path they came from. It even jumped out of Huo Junxian’s arms at the edge of the courtyard fence to look.

Gu Siyu really wanted to say: “Silly dog, your owner’s been abandoned, and you’re still thinking about other dogs.”

Unfortunately, the joys and sorrows of humans and dogs cannot be shared.

That evening, Huo Junxian still didn’t cook. Jin Yuansen returned from work, was puzzled for a while, then accepted it calmly. His dinner order was even more lavish than yesterday’s.

This time, Gu Siyu took two apples. When the time was right, she went to the third floor.

She knocked once; no one opened.

She patiently knocked twice more, softly. The door opened. The large room was unlit, the interior a murky darkness. Huo Junxian stood inside, unseen, only a cold gaze seeping out from the crack.

Gu Siyu tilted her head, meeting Huo Junxian’s gaze. It was profound, like the mud in darkness. Huo Junxian must be the one standing in that mud.

“Hey, Huo Junxian.”

She propped one hand on the doorframe, carefully sliding her hand into the gap. If Huo Junxian wanted to, she could close the door at any moment, leaving Gu Siyu with the same fate as Jin Yuansen.

Gu Siyu’s hand passed through the narrow slit. Her wrist was very slender, adorned with a delicate silver chain, a small pendant swaying along the string. The shadow it cast was incomplete, resembling a small crescent moon. Her palm was open, and between her five fingers lay a rosy red apple.

She smiled and asked, “Apple, want some?”

Huo Junxian didn’t move. She extended her hand a bit further and said, “How can you not eat? Ten hours at night, won’t you be uncomfortable if you’re hungry?”

Noticing Huo Junxian’s scrutinizing gaze, she added, “It’s very sweet.”

After a long silence, perhaps some words moved her. A breeze swept through the surroundings, and Huo Junxian’s slightly cool fingers brushed against her palm lines.

The unintentional touch was slightly itchy, and the itch lingered long after Huo Junxian removed her fingers, as if she had an allergy and needed to scratch hard. Gu Siyu clenched her fingers and scratched vigorously.

Despite this, she was quite happy, speaking softly and gently, “Is that enough? If not, I can get you another one?”

Author’s Note:

Gu Siyu: So pitiful, my heart aches.

Actually: You’re giving an apple to a devil, you know.

Devil: So sweet.