There were no lights on in the room, the curtains were drawn, and only the faint light from the screen hit Gu Zhiyin's deep face.
After watching it again, he rewinded the video.
He took a sip of his wine and stared at the girl in the video through the hazy smoke.
It turned out that he could barely remember when she looked like this when she was a child.
He is smaller than his peers, thin and black, like a dirty little loach.
There was nothing special about her except for a pair of clean and translucent eyes. Why did she feel compassion for her at that time?
Was it after she gave the old man a blood transfusion, she clutched the hem of his clothes with a pale face and said she was hungry?
Is it because everyone is afraid of him and stays away from him, but she shamelessly hugs his leg and begs him to teach her how to play the piano?
Was it the day the old man passed away, when she knelt with him in the ancestral hall for a day and a night, and finally fell into a fever and coma?
Or when he sent her home, she collapsed on the ground in fear and begged him for help?
Gu Zhiyin pressed his sore temples, his Adam's apple rolled, and he raised his head to finish the drink.
Later, the ugly and ugly girl's facial features opened up, her skin became white, her figure became moist and plump, her eyebrows became more and more lively, and she looked like a delicate young lady.
It seems that he was well educated.
Thinking about it after all these years, I have indeed not treated her badly.
Gu Zhiyin drank, without fast forwarding, and his eyes never left the screen for a moment. Every minute and every second was reflected in his dark eyes.
After watching it once, he went back and played it again.
Just like that over and over again.
In the second half of the night, his eyes were sore from the smoke. He raised his hand to snuff it out and fell on the sofa dejectedly.
The video is still playing, and the camera is chasing her as she runs forward with a smile.
"Come on, let me show you the gift Uncle Gu gave me!"
He stretched out his hand towards the empty air, trying to catch her back, but his hand was empty.
…
Mu Ning and Lu Xinting indulged themselves for two days. They arrived at the hotel at three or four in the morning every night and slept until the sun was shining brightly the next day.
Until the school issued a notice about the final exam next week, which woke up the two girls who were drunk and dreaming.
"A test?" Mu Ning looked confused. She hadn't been to school for so long that she couldn't react.
"It's over, it's over, the lab report hasn't been handed in yet!" Lu Xinting sat up from her dream.
"What lab report?"
"It's just a lab report for a professional course. It was assigned last month. If you don't hand it in, you won't get credits, and you'll fail the course!"
Mu Ning came back to his senses and said, "I didn't pay either."
"Then why don't you hurry up!"
Mu Ning just woke up and was still in a daze. She stared at the ceiling for a long time and thought about where her books were...
It's been so long ago, it seems like it was a lifetime ago.
Tomorrow is the deadline for submitting reports. Lu Xinting quickly got up and washed up, planning to go back to school to make up the lab report.
Mu Ning dragged out two large boxes and rummaged through them.
"What are you looking for here?" Lu Xinting walked out after washing her face and saw that the suitcase was turned into a mess by Mu Ning.
Mu Ningsheng sat on the ground helplessly, "Tingting, I have to go back!"
"Back to where?"
"West Bank Mansion!"
She was basically on leave this semester and had forgotten about her status as a student. When she was packing her things, she didn't stuff any of the textbooks that she had thrown into the corner gathering dust into the box.
Now she has to review for the final exam and hand in the lab report, so she has to go back and get it.
But the embarrassing thing is that she doesn't want to see that man at all.
In order to avoid running into him, Mu Ning called Zhang Ma before going.
"Ning Ning?" Zhang Ma was very surprised to receive Mu Ning's call.
"Mama Zhang, I want to go over and get something. Is Gu Zhiyin at home?"
Zhang Ma paused slightly but did not answer her words, "Are you here to get something from Mr. Gu?"
"No, if he is at home, I will pick it up another day."
Zhang Ma understood what she meant, sighed and said, "Mr. Gu went out early in the morning, come on."
"Okay, I'll be there in a minute."
After hanging up the phone, Mu Ning quickly got up and cleaned up.
It happened that Gu Zhiyin was not at home, so she had to get her things back quickly.
On the other side, Zhang Ma held her phone and looked up at the second floor.
She thought for a moment, put down the floor washer, wiped her hands, and went upstairs.
The door to the master bedroom on the second floor was closed.
Zhang Ma knocked on the door.
There was no response for a while.
She opened the door without permission and went in.
As soon as she entered, Zhang Ma frowned due to the overwhelming smell of tobacco and alcohol in the air.
She saw empty wine bottles scattered on the ground, cigarette ashes everywhere, and cigarette butts overflowing from the ashtrays.
The man was lying on the sofa crookedly.
He didn't even take off his clothes, his shirt was crumpled, his hair was messy, he smelled of alcohol all over his body, and he didn't look like he had taken a shower.
But he didn't realize it and just fell asleep leaning on the sofa.
Zhang Ma sighed, she was used to it. Ever since Miss Mu Ning left, this was the scene she came to Mr. Gu's room every day.
Sometimes people are awake, or they haven't slept at all all night, and sometimes people can't wake up no matter what. Like now, they probably fell asleep because they couldn't hold on any longer.
The video on the curtain was still playing, and Mu Ning's innocent face occupied the entire screen. The floor and coffee table were still dirty, but the bed was clean, as if he had never been lying on it.
It would not be wrong to say that Mr. Gu was depressed after Miss Mu left. During the day, Mr. Gu went to work as usual, but at night he was like this. He didn't sleep and kept watching Miss Mu Ning's videos. She had to clean the room for a long time every morning.
This situation continues until now, and Zhang Ma doesn’t know what to do.
She was really afraid that one day Mr. Gu wouldn't be able to hold on and would collapse.
Zhang Ma turned off the video, then walked to the sofa and gently woke him up.
The man opened his eyes, his blood-red eyes were a bit fierce, as if he was dissatisfied with being woken up.
Zhang Ma's heart trembled slightly and she said, "Mr. Gu, Miss Mu Ning will come back to get something later."
Zhang Ma saw his bloodshot eyes trembling, as if he didn't react, her eyes paused, and her voice was hoarse, "She's coming back?"
"Yes, Miss Mu Ning just called me, so I came up to tell you."
The man immediately frowned and sat up, "When?"
"Maybe it'll be there in half an hour."
…
Mu Ning never expected that when she arrived at the villa, the man she never wanted to see in her life was sitting on the sofa reading a newspaper elegantly.
There was a cup of coffee on the coffee table, his face was covered by the newspaper, and he was wearing a dark casual suit that made him extremely cold and ascetic.
Didn't he go out early in the morning?
Mu Ning stood frozen in the entrance hall, staring at him.
The password to the door had not been changed, and she unlocked it with her fingerprint.
The man was blocked by a large newspaper and didn't move at all. It seemed that he didn't notice her.
Otherwise, would it be too late for her to exit the door now?
Just when Mu Ning was about to sneak away quietly, Zhang Ma came out happily.
"Miss Ningning, you are back."
