Chapter 227 - 227:I Like You
“No!” Gu Ci’s tone remained calm. “1 want to go with you!”
She looked into his eyes, serene yet determined. “We agreed to go home together. It won’t work if one of us is missing, and it won’t work if we’re not together.”
Lu Zhiyuan reached out and caressed her face, the calluses in his palm gently touching her skin. “That day when I had the car accident, Li Jiang said you were coughing up blood. Did you get checked?”
Gu Ci held his wrist with both hands, her cheek pressed against his palm, gazing at him with devotion. “As long as you’re okay, I’m fine.”
Li Jiang lowered his head. When Lu Zhiyuan woke up, he was too weak, and in his mind, he kept hearing the words Third Young Master said before passing out: Don’t hurt her.
He also saw Gu Ci’s fear and sadness. Subconsciously, he pretended to be Third Young Master. Gu Ci clung to him like a drowning person, holding onto him tightly, wanting to pull him down with her. He knew this was not a long-term solution.
Today, Black Hawk’s people gathered together to help him. She willingly put herself in front of everyone for his sake. In reality, he didn’t need Gu Ci to make such a sacrifice. Even if his life hung by a thread, he had ways to deal with Chen Rushi and Pei Qiuying’s harassment.
He decided to wait until Gu Ci returned to clear things up.
Li Jiang mentioned that when the accident happened that day, Gu Ci coughed up blood. If something had happened to him, Gu Ci might not have survived either. This thought dispelled his previous intentions.
If he had told her from the beginning that he was the Third Master, not the Third Young Master, perhaps Gu Ci could have accepted it more calmly. At least she would know he was alive, and who knows when they would meet again.
To regain and then lose again would be a double blow to Gu Ci, one she couldn’t bear.
Lu Zhiyuan thought to himself, let’s wait a little longer!
Wait a few more days, find the right time, and he would come clean with Gu Ci. In the short term, he couldn’t let her suffer two blows.
“Lu Zhiyuan, when did you start liking me?” Gu Ci asked.
“For a long time, a very long time ago.”
“When was that?” Gu Ci held his hand, playing with it in her palm, curiously asking him.
Lu Zhiyuan thought for a moment. “I’ve liked you since 1 was a child. Among a group of little girls, I liked playing with you the most.”
“Why?” Gu Ci asked in puzzlement. “I was particularly annoying when I was little, and I liked to fight. I was always dirty, while Gu Chuyun had a good temperament, like a little princess, and she loved being with you. Why did you like me, not her?”
“She’s not as pretty as you!”
Gu Ci and Li Jiang were both dumbfounded.
Is Third Young Master really this shallow? Third Master, don’t spread rumors when he’s not around. 1 suspect you’re competing for favor without evidence.
Gu Ci smiled, hugged his neck, and kissed his lips lightly. “Lu Zhiyuan, you have good taste. Even though I had a bad temper when I was little, I must have been the prettiest among the little girls.”
Lu Zhiyuan hadn’t expected her to take it seriously, but in reality, he had met her first. When he first saw Gu Ci, he was five years old, and she was three, looking incredibly cute with a strong-willed personality. At that time, Gu Ci and Gu Chuyun were still inseparable, two little sisters. Little girls didn’t know how cruel the world could be. Due to their parents’ guidance and favoritism, Gu Chuyun had developed a habit of bullying Gu Ci, taking her things. The little girls had no malice, and when Gu Ci was three, she was a bit of a crybaby.
That day at the Lu family, Lu Ze gave a pair of jade pendants to Gu Ci and Gu Chuyun, one for each. Gu Chuyun insisted on having both and snatched Gu Ci’s. This led to a fight between Gu Ci and her, and Gu Yaozu came over and pushed Gu Ci down.
Three-year-old little Gu Ci cried loudly, but Lu Man and Gu Wenliang turned a blind eye. She ran to cry under the phoenix tree in sadness and was then attracted by a bird’s nest on the tree.
Little Gu Ci climbed up the phoenix tree to reach the bird’s nest but ended up breaking a branch and hanging from the tree. That evening, he was on the balcony reading a book and saw little Gu Ci hanging from the tree, struggling and falling. So he rushed over and caught her. At that time, he was still weak, and the two of them tumbled on the lawn together, and little Gu Ci injured his hand.
Little Gu Ci also knew she had caused trouble and cried loudly, but Lu Zhiyuan was afraid of disturbing others, so he took her upstairs and gave her his favorite racing car model.
Later, Third Young Master went to ask for the model, but he fell in love with this beautiful little girl at first sight.
His fondness turned into blatant favoritism. He didn’t even want his most beloved racing car model anymore and bought her a lot of cotton candy to eat. Little Gu Ci liked sticking to him, and little girls could see clearly who liked them the most.
Whenever there was movement in the bird’s nest on the phoenix tree at the Lu family, he and Third Young Master would take Gu Ci to climb the tree and collect bird eggs.
Lu Man and Gu Wenliang didn’t take Gu Ci out with them, so Lu Zhiyuan would sneak into the Gu family and take her out to play.
And then, this feeling changed in nature.
From liking, it turned into love!
“So, why didn’t you tell me you liked me? Was it because you were afraid I’d find out about the existence of Third Master and reject you?” Gu Ci asked.
Lu Zhiyuan kissed her ear and nodded. “There were many things 1 was afraid of. 1 was afraid that one day I’d lose control and scare you. I was afraid your liking would turn into something else. A person with a dual personality doesn’t live long. 1 was afraid I’d leave you all alone in this world one day, and I didn’t want that. So, from the moment I sensed this feeling, I started distancing myself from you. Who knew that deep down, you were stubborn and had been sulking with me for so many years. In fact, I’ve always been protecting you. 1 knew you weren’t living well in the Gu family, but I was underage, and your parents were intact. 1 couldn’t do anything. Let me tell you a secret.”
He cleared his throat and chuckled. “When I was ten years old, 1 had Lu Ze sneak you out, and 1 shamelessly told him that I wanted to take care of you.” Gu Ci couldn’t help but smile. She was touched by what he had done. “Really?” “Really!” Lu Zhiyuan said. “Then Lu Ze chased us with a baseball bat.” “Did you get hit?” Gu Ci asked.
Lu Zhiyuan nodded. “I had two bruises on my leg.”
Gu Ci was amused and felt her heart soften. She was moved by what he had done, something like what Lu Zhiyuan would do. “Did you know how to take care of me back then?”
“I had no idea!” Lu Zhiyuan said. “But I knew that we had plenty of money at home, so taking care of you wasn’t a problem. If the Gu family didn’t want to, 1 could take care of you.”
Gu Ci held his hand and kissed it near her lips. “It wouldn’t have been bad to be raised by you from a young age. I could have been your foster daughter in the Lu family.”
Lu Zhiyuan was speechless.
As Gu Ci continued speaking, she embraced his neck and kissed him again. Lu Zhiyuan held her waist with one hand, responding to her kiss tenderly. The sound of their kissing in the hospital room was enough to make one blush. Li Jiang watched, his eyelids jumping, and he quickly lowered his head. “Damn! Three Master is playing the role of Third Young Master even more gently than the real Third Young Master!”
Should he remind Three Master that Third Young Master really isn’t this gentle? Perhaps he got the character mixed up.
Gu Ci received a passionate and tender kiss from him, and her eyes shimmered with affection. “So why did you stop paying attention to me afterward?”
“I got too busy!” Lu Zhiyuan said. “To become an outstanding race car driver, you have to put in many times more effort than the average person. It takes time and energy. I already had half the time of others, so I cherished every minute and every second.”
“So, racing was more important to you!” Gu Ci commented.
Lu Zhiyuan shook his head. “You are more important than racing, Gu Ci. You will always be more important than racing..”