Gu Nian looked towards the restaurant and saw that Shi Ye had not touched a single chopstick among the dishes placed there.
He has been waiting for me!
If the entire world Gu Nian lives in is an ice cellar frozen for thousands of years, all the people related to her in this world will always prick her with biting ice.
Gu Nian was already used to the cold.
However, at this moment, a warm current surged in her heart.
From beginning to end, Gu Nian had only felt warmth in front of one person.
That is Shi Ye.
"Mr. Shi, don't you ask me why I want to borrow money?"
Although Shi Ye didn't ask anything, Gu Nian still mustered up the courage and was prepared.
As long as Shi Ye wanted to know, she would definitely show him the scars on her body that were scabbed and torn open one after another.
Although, if that were the case, it would be equivalent to throwing one's self-esteem in front of Shi Ye and letting it be crushed.
But Shi Ye did not look back, but continued to lead Gu Nian to the dining table.
"I remember that there was someone who always cared about whether I had eaten on time, but today she delayed it for a long time because she was on the phone, and the food was cold."
"I'm already starving, so I'm not in the mood to know anything else. I just want to eat now."
Gu Nian looked at Shi Ye's back, tears fell down suddenly and uncontrollably, and Gu Nian quickly wiped them away without Shi Ye noticing.
She knew that Shi Ye didn't really care about a meal, but was helping herself maintain the little dignity she had left.
From past to present, Gu Nian has actually been soaked in bitter waters.
She had no strength to imagine what happiness looked like.
But now, in her heart, she seemed to be able to vaguely feel the embryonic form of the word "happiness".
Although this happiness only lasts for less than eight months.
But for Gu Nian, it was enough.
"Mr. Shi, thank you. I...I will definitely return the money to you."
This thank you is sincere.
It was to thank Shi Ye for being willing to help her, and also to thank Shi Ye for protecting Gu Nian's self-esteem from beginning to end.
He promised that he would repay the money, and he was sincere.
Because Gu Nian has hands and feet, her request for her life is to rely on herself and never transfer her suffering to others.
Even Shi Ye, who had a rich family, couldn't do it.
Because this is her business.
Hearing Gu Nian's determination, Shi Ye stopped in front of him for a second and turned slightly.
"Ok, I know."
Well, of course Shi Ye knew that Gu Nian was such a girl. No matter how hard she worked, she would always grit her teeth and persevere.
Not to be succumbed to fate.
When she said she wanted to borrow money, she must have encountered a crisis that could only be resolved with money.
However, she just said that she wanted to borrow money and did not give a bunch of reasons for borrowing money.
Shi Ye knew that Gu Nian was always so strong and independent.
Sometimes, Shi Ye couldn't help but admire Gu Nian. She was like a grass seed blown into the cracks of rocks by the wind, but she always managed to grow on her own in a harsh environment.
But such a girl is actually very fragile.
Even Shi Ye, who was in a high and powerful position, had no qualifications to break Gu Nian's carefully guarded self-esteem.
Therefore, if Gu Nian's crisis could be resolved by just borrowing money, Ye would not interfere with anything at that time.
Because money is the simplest thing to Shi Ye.
Shi Ye even felt a little bit lucky that he only needed money to help Gu Nian.
Because if Gu Nian needs something other than money...
That was something Shi Ye could not give out even though he had it in his heart.
"Mr. Shi, I want to go back to my hometown of Xi County tomorrow. I have some tricky things to deal with."
Since Shi Ye didn't want to ask any more questions, Gu Nian didn't explain any more. He just briefly told Shi Ye about his plans for a long trip tomorrow.
Shi Ye just responded and then added another sentence.
"Then come back early! Be careful on the road."
Gu Nian's heart trembled.
After meal.
Gu Nian stayed in the kitchen to sort the dishes, while Shi Ye came to the second floor platform.
He turned around and listened to Gu Nian's movements in the kitchen, confirming that she was busy at the moment and would not hear what he was about to say to others.
"Hey, Qin Feng, I need you to help me with something."
Shi Ye dialed the number of his good brother, lawyer Qin Feng.
***
The day after resigning.
Gu Nian simply sorted out some difficult things at hand, and then got on the bus back to her hometown alone.
His father, Gu Qiangsheng, went behind the back of his arranged marriage with that family and wanted to pay back the 100,000 yuan engagement money as soon as possible no matter what, and then cut off the matter as soon as possible.
There was still 100,000 yuan left, and Gu Nian was going to give it all to her aunt.
After all, her brother still needs to continue to see a doctor, and she is temporarily unable to take care of him, so she can only continue to ask her aunt.
Because he has been busy working outside, Gu Nian has not been back to his hometown for more than half a year.
Gu Nian's hometown is a small county called Xi County, located on the southwest border three hours' drive from the provincial capital Yuncheng.
All the way back from Yuncheng, the scenery outside the car window gradually changed from high-rise buildings to low-rise bungalows.
Everything that was bright and beautiful gradually turned into backwardness and disorder.
In front of street lights, pedestrians and electric vehicles always rush to cross the road before the green light turns on.
This small county is not big, and you can almost see familiar faces within a few steps, some you can name, some you can't.
The first thing Gu Nian did after getting off the car was to pack her luggage, and then followed the route in her memory to find her aunt's house.
My aunt's house is in a commercial building on the side of a certain road in the county town.
Buildings built in the 1990s didn't even have an elevator, so Gu Nian could only climb up one floor at a time.
Although she has been living in Shi Ye's villa this year, the memory of the poor life that can be burned into her bones has not faded at all.
Therefore, she has long been accustomed to everything in front of her.
After all, the environment I lived in when I was a child was much worse than that of my aunt's house.
Ever since Gu Nian was born, he has lived with his parents in an old two-story house left behind by his grandparents, because his father had been lazy since he was young and almost didn't care about the family.
Therefore, the home is often in disrepair, causing the windows to leak and the ceiling to crack.
But even such a dilapidated house was eventually defrauded by the gambler's father and sold off. Then he got a sum of money and sent it to the casino.
Poor Gu Nian, his brother, and mother, they have been living a precarious life.
From the first step back to Xi County, Gu Nian's heart couldn't help but be filled with these memories, and then they gradually started to ache.
...
"Button!"
Gu Nian finally arrived at her aunt's house and knocked on the door.
Soon, a response came from inside.
"Who!"
It was my aunt's voice.
"Aunt, I'm Gu Nian!"
There was silence in the room. Maybe he didn't expect that even though he and Gu Nian were still talking on the phone yesterday, Gu Nian would actually be back today.
Auntie opened the door, the surprised expression on her face not fading.
"Gu Nian! It's really you! Why did you suddenly..."
Obviously, aunt was not ready to welcome Gu Nian, and the house was in a mess.
Inside the house, clothes belonging to my aunt's two children were placed everywhere.
"Oh, aunt, I'll come back to see you, uncle, and Xiao Le!"
Speaking of this, Gu Nian couldn't help but raise his head, wanting to look inside the house to see his brother Xiao Le.
The aunt then welcomed Gu Nian into the house. When she saw that Gu Nian's eyes had been searching for Xiao Le in the house, she quickly said with a smile:
"Hey, Xiao Le is always sick, so I asked your two cousins to take him out to play and get some fresh air."
Gu Nian listened and could only respond.
"Auntie, you are so considerate. I can't take care of Xiaole myself, so I have been troubling you and my uncle all this time..."
A short-handed manipulator and a soft-mouthed cannibal. After all, Xiao Le was fostered at her aunt's house, so Gu Nian could only continue to be humble in front of her aunt.
"Oh, this is all a trivial matter. Who told your mother to die early, and your father... In short, as long as the money is in place, my family will just have more mouths to talk to."
The word "money" was still emphasized in her aunt's words, which Gu Nian expected. After all, that was her original intention of coming back this time.
It happened that at this time, the door of my aunt's house was also opened from the outside.
My uncle came back with his two sons. As soon as they entered the entrance hall, they kicked their shoes all over the floor.
He was still swearing.
The two cousins are both round and fat, and they look like they are overnourished.
Seeing that they were back, Gu Nian stood up eagerly, thinking that Xiao Le must have come back with them.
But after waiting for a long time, only the three of them came back. They didn't hear Xiao Le's voice for a long time, let alone look at him.
So I want to walk over and greet Xiaole.
When the aunt on the side saw Gu Nian's reaction, she quickly stood up before her uncle and the others came in completely, and walked towards the entrance hall one step ahead of Gu Nian.
When the uncle saw his aunt, he wanted to open his mouth and say something, but he saw his aunt turning her back on Gu Nian and quietly waving her hand towards the uncle, signaling him to stop talking nonsense.
Only then did the uncle see that Gu Nian was still standing in the room, so his face was a little confused at first. After calming down for a few seconds, he returned to his previous look of being kind to Gu Nian.
"Oh, you're here!"
My uncle didn't have much enthusiasm in his tone.
Gu Nian nodded to her uncle out of courtesy and respect, "Hello, uncle."
But when Gu Nian walked to the entrance, he still didn't see Xiao Le's shadow behind them, which was a little strange.
I could only ask timidly: "Um, why don't you see Xiao Le? Just now, my aunt said that two cousins took Xiao Le out to play."
At this time, before his uncle could speak, his youngest son made an angry cut.
"In the back, there's a sick boy. He walks very slowly and even falls when he goes out!"
When Gu Nian heard this, he was instantly nervous.
The aunt and uncle saw that their son was speaking without any cover and could not stop him. It was not easy to explain at the moment.
Several people could only stand dryly at the door, looking at the stairs outside the house, waiting for Xiao Le to appear.
A full ten minutes passed.
Xiao Le's footsteps finally came slowly.
Gu Nian eagerly passed a few people and walked outside.
But when she saw Xiao Le, Gu Nian's eyes were instantly blurred by tears.
I saw my younger brother, who was obviously eleven years old, but he was as thin as a seven or eight-year-old child, and he was not very tall.
His face was pale, his body was still shaking, and there was sweat on his forehead.
At first glance, it should be a symptom of hypoglycemia.
But what made Gu Nian even more distressed was that his hands were full of heavy bags. The handles of the plastic bags were cut into thin strips by the contents and embedded in Xiao Le's palms.
"Xiao Le!"
Gu Nian's voice suddenly sounded like crying, and she ran towards her brother.
Then helped him unload the things.
"Sister...sister?"
Xiao Le looked at Gu Nian weakly and tremblingly. Suddenly his vision went dark and he fainted directly in front of Gu Nian.
