Chaotic Clouds Emerge from the Mountains
It was a rare free afternoon. After returning to the hotel, Gu Qinglan didn't rest but opened his computer and started working.
Having lived with him for several months, Lu Mingxin already knew that when he used the computer to connect to the internet, he was definitely handling work. Occasionally browsing news websites was already extremely rare for him, let alone the various entertainment activities others would engage in on a computer, which were completely foreign to him.
For him, all leisure activities were offline, such as taking a walk or playing chess. Lu Mingxin also knew there was a separate music room on the third floor of the villa, which housed not a piano, but a guqin.
Not even a guzheng, but a nine-stringed qin. And Gu Qinglan truly knew how to play that qin. When she wasn't home, he would sometimes go upstairs and play for a while.
However, he never performed his music skills in front of others, saying that practicing the qin was for calming the mind and didn't require an audience. Even Lu Mingxin had only occasionally heard a few notes from downstairs, which were exceedingly clear, distant, ancient, and elegant. Just listening from afar made her feel at peace.
To survive in this modern era, especially having studied abroad, yet still maintaining such a traditional lifestyle, was truly uncommon.
These habits, it was said, had begun in his teenage years, not because he had suddenly regained memories of a past life in the last two years.
She didn't feel it was appropriate to ask about his work, so she went to make tea. The first brew was to wash the tea, the second was poured into the cup. The fragrance of the tea assailed her nostrils; it was because she had mastered both the water temperature and the amount of tea leaves that she achieved this effect.
She was quite satisfied with her work. Placing the celadon teacup in front of him, she had a hint of showing off: "Qinglan-gege, try it. How is my skill?"
Gu Qinglan was looking at the company's financial statements. While browsing the data, he lifted the teacup and brought it to his lips. He took a light sip, then smiled: "It's passable... no improvement after all these years."
Lu Mingxin smiled brightly: "Who says? It's clearly much better than when I was little."
Gu Qinglan said "Oh," placed the teacup he had drunk from back on the tray she had brought, his eyes still on the computer screen, and said lightly: "Is that so? Why don't I remember you ever learning to make tea when you were little?"
Lu Mingxin froze. She was bewildered for a moment, then a layer of cold sweat broke out on her forehead: she had indeed never learned to make tea. When she was little, her parents were so busy, there wasn't even a tea pot in the house, let alone teaching her the art of tea. Because her parents were engaged in scientific research and often worked late into the night, their home always had a coffee machine. She had actually been specifically taught the art of brewing coffee beans.
The person who had learned the art of tea as a child was not her at all, but the Lu Mingxin of the previous life.
She quickly raised her head and saw that Gu Qinglan's gaze, at some unknown point, had shifted to her face. Those deep black eyes were filled with complete understanding.
She panicked and still tried futilely to explain: "Huh? I didn't? Then I must have forgotten, perhaps I learned it after I grew up..."
Gu Qinglan looked at her already flustered state and sighed softly: "Mingxin, this is the first time you've made tea for me... I mean, in this life."
Lu Mingxin just looked at him, her eyes quietly turning red.
Gu Qinglan still couldn't bear to see her so distressed, and a gentle warmth gradually appeared in his eyes: "Mingxin, no matter how a person changes, there are always some things that cannot be concealed... You can't hide it from me for too long."
If he had questioned her coldly, she was confident she could have held her ground and tried hard to explain that everything was for his health. Now, with him looking at her so gently, Lu Mingxin felt unable to resist.
She couldn't help but throw herself at him and hug him. Her movement was so large that she pushed away the table in front of the sofa, and the teacup on it was knocked over, spilling tea all over the tray.
She hugged him tightly, and before she could speak, she was already sobbing uncontrollably: "Qinglan... I just want to love you properly... to do for you all the things I didn't do before..."
As she cried, she kissed his cheeks and thin lips with a tear-streaked face, completely unconcerned about her appearance: "I'm afraid of losing you again..."
She was never a composed person to begin with. To have hidden it from him for so many days, to have acted in front of him so many times, was already a small miracle.
Once she could let her emotions out, she simply stopped trying to control her feelings. Gu Qinglan was almost pushed onto the sofa by her.
She kept kissing him, still trying to speak: "Qinglan... I'm sorry..."
Once she went into a frenzy, Gu Qinglan could only use both hands to hold her pressing body. He embraced her, his face covered in her tears. Clearly, unlike her, he couldn't speak with tears streaming down his face.
After a long time, until Lu Mingxin's crying softened a little, he finally spoke softly: "Mingxin... is being very good now."
Lu Mingxin buried her head in his chest, unwilling to answer, still crying her eyes out.
Gu Qinglan waited for a while. Seeing that her crying not only didn't subside but showed signs of intensifying, he could only helplessly comfort her again: "Such a good Mingxin, can you stop crying first?"
The "very good" Lu Mingxin, after a good cry, finally calmed down a bit. As Gu Qinglan requested, she placed her hands on her knees and sat obediently on the sofa.
Gu Qinglan looked at her still red and teary large peach-blossom eyes, feeling quite helpless: "Mingxin, your eyes will be swollen again tomorrow."
Lu Mingxin said "Oh": "It's okay, a cold compress and then a warm one will do."
Gu Qinglan was truly helpless with her nonchalant attitude and sighed lightly: "Mingxin, don't blame yourself too much."
It would have been better if he hadn't said anything. Once he did, Lu Mingxin lowered her eyes, looking like she was about to cry again. "But I treated you so badly, I didn't even get to see you one last time."
Gu Qinglan spoke softly, "Didn't you say it? For me not to look through you at someone else… The one who wasn't good to me wasn't you, or rather, not the current you."
Hearing him say this, Lu Mingxin looked up at him, her face still infinitely sad: "Qinglan-gege."
He still smiled gently at her: "Mingxin, you were never bad to me... At that time, you just didn't love me. For someone you don't love, that kind of care and trust was already enough."
Lu Mingxin instinctively wanted to refute, but for a moment she couldn't find anything wrong with what he said: in her previous life, she definitely didn't love him, right? Otherwise, how could she have neglected him to such an extent? But in her previous life, she should have still loved him, otherwise, she wouldn't have been so angry and disappointed after thinking he had colluded with the enemy.
Was it because she didn't love him enough? Or was her way of loving him wrong? To this day, having experienced life and death, she could step back and look at that heart-wrenching relationship as an outsider, with a clear head, but she still couldn't understand.
If only love and hate were as simple and clear as many people thought, or as portrayed in many movies and TV shows.
Thinking this, she pressed her lips tightly together. In her previous life, she had died for him, following him in death, but she didn't dare tell him. Given his personality, if he knew about those things, he would definitely feel guilty.
She struggled with how to express herself to him. After holding it in for a while, she finally said: "I love you, Qinglan, I love you very much."
Gu Qinglan smiled faintly at her, his expression full of doting affection: "I know, the current you loves me very much."
Enveloped by his gaze, as warm as spring sunshine, and hearing his gentle voice, Lu Mingxin suddenly felt that things weren't as complicated as she had imagined: So what if there were many things she couldn't tell him? So what if there was such a dark past?
As long as he loved her at this moment, and he also knew that she loved him just as much, then whose fault it was in the previous life, and who had let whom down, wasn't that important anymore.
She looked at him and still couldn't help but pounce on him and hug him. This time, she didn't shed tears but buried her head in the crook of his neck, tilting her head to lightly kiss the skin on his neck.
So much love for him in her chest, burgeoning and blocking her heart, agonizing because there was nowhere to vent it. She kissed him many more times, from his neck all the way to his cheek. Then she felt that if she endured it any longer, she would definitely become the first woman in history to suffocate herself.
Kissing the corner of his lips, she said dejectedly, "Qinglan-gege, I want to do some healthy and harmonious things with you..."
While letting her kiss him, he responded vaguely, and chuckled softly: "Oh? What healthy and harmonious things?"
Lu Mingxin had made up her mind early today. If she let him escape again, she would simply jump out and shout three times in front of the entire film crew: I am a pig, I haven't managed to get my own man in three months!
Lu Mingxin decided to throw caution to the wind and said righteously: "Just those things we couldn't do in our previous life."
Speaking of which, it was truly the failure of that career-minded tough woman from the previous life. From their marriage to their eventual separation by death, a full three years, there had not been a single instance of marital intimacy between husband and wife.
Gu Qinglan was either very indifferent in this aspect, or he knew there was someone else in her heart, so he never took the initiative. And Lu Mingxin herself, had also naively believed that being husband and wife simply meant living in the same room, sleeping in the same bed, and nothing more.
Originally, young ladies from good families would have specially assigned matrons to impart experience before marriage. But in her previous life, Lu Mingxin had foolishly run away from the marriage. Later, forced by an imperial edict, she hastily married Gu Qinglan, and many steps in between were omitted.
Later, when Madam Lu saw that they had been married for a long time but still showed no signs of having children, she had even insinuated to Lu Mingxin, reminding her if she wanted to find a few old maids to serve them.
Unfortunately, Lu Mingxin, with her thick nerves, didn't understand her mother's underlying meaning at all, only saying that she and Gu Qinglan didn't need old maids to serve them, so Madam Lu had to give up.
As soon as she thought about the events of her previous life, she immediately felt extremely indignant and resentful: guarding such a great beauty every day, yet only knowing how to sleep and eat, wasn't she simply a pig?
Gu Qinglan didn't intend to force her to actually say those two words, just raised an eyebrow slightly. "Today? Now?"
Lu Mingxin thought to herself, does this still require scheduling another time! She had already waited for three months, okay?
She was so angry that she hugged him even tighter, as if venting her frustration, "Or what!"
Gu Qinglan just chuckled lightly. "It's still daytime, and I'm still working..."
This was indeed a fact, and Lu Mingxin couldn't refute it. She hugged him like this, suddenly feeling a wave of despair in her heart: he hadn't been willing to touch her in their previous life, and he still wasn't willing now.
When all was said and done, either he had no feelings for her at all, or he still couldn't accept her frankly.
The more Lu Mingxin thought about it, the more desperate she became. For a moment, she simply wanted to run into the bedroom and bang her head against the headboard until she died. But then she felt that dying because her husband wouldn't touch her was too unsightly a way to die.
She became increasingly sad, an unstoppable sense of frustration and loss washing over her. Tears were about to fall again, and her body began to tremble uncontrollably.
It was Gu Qinglan who couldn't bear to tease her for too long. He held her body, gently patting her shoulder, his tone still carrying a soft warmth, "Mingxin... I'm willing, I was just joking."
Lu Mingxin didn't know what those men who had proposed to their beloved numerous times and finally succeeded felt when they heard the words "I'm willing."
Anyway, at this moment, she felt as if a hundred flowers had suddenly bloomed, spring had instantly driven away the severe cold, the world was filled with light and warmth, and hell had suddenly turned into heaven... If this were an Indian movie, she would immediately stand up and sing and dance with a group of people.
She looked up at him, not breaking into a smile through her tears, but quickly confirming the next course of action: "Then let's quickly pull down the blackout curtains and turn on the 'Do Not Disturb' light in the room?"
Gu Qinglan really hadn't expected... that she would actually be this anxious.
He couldn't help but quickly examine himself: it wasn't that he was unwilling, nor was it that he lacked impulse, but he always felt that even between lovers, it should be mutual affection, with both parties having the desire, so that it wouldn't be merely fulfilling an obligation and responsibility.
While he was silent, Lu Mingxin stared nervously at his face. Seeing him frown slightly, she immediately said again: "I'm sorry, am I being too hasty..."
Gu Qinglan shifted his gaze back to her face. He smiled at her, "Not at all, I've waited a long time too."
Perhaps it was because they were too close at this moment, or perhaps because his tone carried an ambiguity she had never heard before.
Lu Mingxin actually felt that this short sentence was so tender it was somewhat breathtaking.
A thick-skinned person like her, for some unknown reason, quietly blushed, and suddenly she didn't even dare to look at his smile, turning her head and looking away. Then she felt a little tickle in her nose.
Over there, Gu Qinglan was silent for a moment. He seemed to be shocked by something. Then he raised his hand to cup her face, saying with a hint of helplessness and heartache: "Mingxin, you’re having a nosebleed..."
Lu Mingxin really wanted to find a small dark room and lock herself in. She barely managed to maintain her final composure, preserving her dignity as an adult. "Oh, the weather in the northwest is just too dry..."
Afraid that a tissue wouldn't be soft enough, Gu Qinglan still took out the silk handkerchief from his pocket. He didn't mind that the handkerchief would have to be thrown away after being stained with blood. He carefully wiped the bloodstains under her nose and then lightly kissed her reddened cheek.
He was still helpless: "Mingxin, I'm sorry, I didn't expect you to be so... towards me."
Lu Mingxin smoothly continued: "Didn't expect me to love you so much, to be so thirsty for it!"
Because of her "thirst," they really began to prepare.
After all, it was the first time. They couldn't rush into it just because they were anxious. Gu Qinglan first finished his work, then instructed his secretary not to call him before dinner, and then... pulled the curtains and turned on the "Do Not Disturb" light.
Then they went to the shower room together to take a shower. Lu Mingxin tragically discovered that because she was afraid of losing control at the sight of his body, she had never dared to enter the shower room with him before.
At this moment, in the warm water of the shower room, looking at his body in the steam, she couldn't take her eyes off him.
He was actually a bit thin. Due to his constitution, he also chose gentle forms of exercise, so he didn't have those solid, marble-like muscle lines.
But his body also didn't have a trace of excess fat. Because his skin tone was fair, it was even more like an oriental jade carving, full of smooth beauty.
She suddenly felt like she was going to have another nosebleed. This day... her dignity was truly not preserved.
Afterwards, they showered together again. Lu Mingxin remembered his appearance just now, and her cheeks quietly began to turn red again, while his skin tone was also still slightly flushed, still retaining the afterglow of passion.
Her fingers lightly slid across his skin in the stream of water, with infinite reluctance and longing. She still wanted to snuggle into his embrace—it was an illusion close to eternity.
Everyone, perhaps, will have such a moment, an illusion of the vastness of heaven and earth, and being alone.
But after experiencing that moment, she felt that she would never feel lonely again... Even if it was the end of the world, and the primordial chaos was annihilated, she had shared eternity with him.
She remembered a sentence she had read in some book, "With a lover, do happy things," it was probably like this.
Thinking this, she lowered her head again and placed a light kiss on his chest, with a hint of pilgrimage and piety. He also embraced her, his posture careful, as if what he held in his arms was a treasure worth more than the whole world.
Lowering his head, he placed a gentle kiss on her earlobe and said softly: "A'xin, thank you."
Warm water flowed over their bodies, continuously flowing down, as if at this moment, his tenderness was inexhaustible.
Lu Mingxin hugged him and said after a while: "Qinglan-gege, I want to have your child."
She had heard someone say before that if a woman, not out of a desire to raise offspring, but purely because she was willing to bear a child for a man, then she must love him very much.
That's how she felt now, too much love, she could do anything for him.
It was their first time, and Gu Qinglan was still on medication, so they had deliberately taken precautions. Hearing her say this now, he chuckled softly: "Okay, we will... when we're ready."
Lu Mingxin looked up at him again, seeming to consider it seriously: "Qinglan-gege is so beautiful and so smart, with such good genes, there will definitely be no problem."
Gu Qinglan smiled: "Thank you for the compliment... Basically, I'm also very satisfied with your genes."
Lu Mingxin's eyes immediately lit up: "Really? So happy."
The topic, unknowingly, had been led in a strange direction. Gu Qinglan smiled and planted another kiss on her smooth forehead.
Finally obtaining the beauty she had longed for day and night, coveted for two lifetimes, Lu Mingxin's sense of satisfaction was unusually strong.
Moreover, Gu Qinglan was very gentle. She basically didn't feel the so-called "pain," only feeling that her whole person was like a watered plant, soaked in happiness from the tips of her hair to her toes.
They simply had dinner delivered to their room. Afterwards, they didn't go out for a walk, but lay in bed together. Gu Qinglan was reading a professional book, and Lu Mingxin pestered him to explain it to her.
Gu Qinglan was indeed a teacher popular with students. He could explain a dry paper on the impact of canal transportation on ancient regional economies in a simple, easy-to-understand, and interesting way.
At first, Lu Mingxin just wanted to listen to his low and pleasant voice, but later she became truly engrossed and even exchanged her own understanding with him.
Just lying together and talking for a while, but the satisfaction it brought was no less than in the afternoon. The next morning, the two of them got up early again to go for a walk, and after breakfast, they went to the makeup room to report together.
Even the stylist could see that Lu Mingxin looked extremely well today. She remembered that Lu Mingxin and Gu Qinglan had gone to rest together yesterday afternoon, and she smiled teasingly: "Looks like you took some time to de-stress, huh?"
A thick-skinned person like Lu Mingxin shamelessly replied with two words: "Hehe."
Gu Qinglan was sitting in the chair next to her getting his makeup done. Towards her smug behavior, he only slightly curved his lips and smiled.
This scene, coincidentally, was seen by Mo Qi, who had rushed to film a scene of rolling in a sandpit yesterday afternoon and whose whole body ached as if run over by a truck.
No matter how good-tempered Film Emperor Mo was, he couldn't help but say: "I'm really blind... I want to go home and find my wife."
Mo Qi had never officially announced that he had a girlfriend or was married, but from Lu Mingxin's observation of him, she felt that he should have a steady girlfriend, and might even be married.
Because although he was a newly crowned Film Emperor with super high popularity and excellent reputation, Mo Qi was actually very low-key towards the media. Throughout the year, apart from serious news related to his works, there were almost no scandals.
Towards such a mysterious Film Emperor Mo, Lu Mingxin couldn't help but gossip. She leaned slightly to the side and asked, "Qi-ge, you've been here for so many days, do you miss sister-in-law?"
Mo Qi turned his head to look at her, his tone deliberately feigning indignation, "You and Mr. Gu show off your affection in front of me every day, how can I not miss her?"
Saying this meant he admitted it. Lu Mingxin also knew that he wasn't really angry, just teasing, so she smiled smugly again: "Who told you to hide sister-in-law so well and not bring her over? Serves you right."
Towards her deserving-a-beating behavior, Mo Qi could only indicate that he had already noted it down in his little black book in his heart. A gentleman's revenge is not too late even after ten years.
Today's scene happened to be for the three of them. Mo Qi agreed to Gu Qinglan to let Lu Mingxin go on the expedition with the army, but he said that life and death on the battlefield are unpredictable, and he could not guarantee Lu Mingxin's safety.
Lu Mingxin was still wearing a tight-fitting and capable red military uniform, standing in the main general's barracks, possessing a bright and compelling heroic bearing.
After hearing Mo Qi's words, she did not show cowardice or retreat, but laughed heartily: "General Du is merely afraid I'll become a burden to the army, right? Please rest assured, my, Lu Qingping's, life and death are my own responsibility."
After Mo Qi heard her words, instead of immediately feeling relieved, he looked at Gu Qinglan beside him.
This was ancient China. In this old-fashioned patriarchal society, women were often not seen as individuals with independent personalities, but more like the private property and appendages of men.
Mo Qi's glance was not meant to belittle Lu Mingxin, but merely to obtain the approval of her husband, Gu Qinglan.
Knowing his meaning, Gu Qinglan also smiled faintly at him and said a sentence that laid the foundation for Lu Mingxin to go on the expedition with the army: "This is also my intention, please be at ease, General Du."
Mo Qi raised his long eyebrows, nodded, and laughed heartily. "That's good then."
Originally, being able to go on an expedition with the army was a good thing. However, Lu Mingxin, because the person who could ultimately decide whether she could go to the battlefield was Gu Qinglan, not herself, nor the Mo Qi she had always admired, her originally incomparably bright eyes dimmed imperceptibly.
Mo Qi didn't notice her thoughts, but Gu Qinglan saw it. He couldn't say any other comforting words and could only smile at her.
This smile, however, was misunderstood by Lu Mingxin, who thought that his various "willfulnesses" towards her were merely an attitude of bestowing favor. So she stiffly turned her face away and never looked at him again.
After one scene, Wei Jingguo couldn't help but praise Gu Qinglan's excellent state once he got into character again. Mo Qi was a film emperor; his command of a role was, of course, top-notch.
As for Lu Mingxin, he could pick out flaws: "Mingxin, your gaze is still not sharp enough. You should be misunderstanding Mr. Gu, okay? Be fiercer, with more indignation in your expression! Why do you look like you're casting flirtatious glances at Mr. Gu… I know you and Mr. Gu rested and exercised well yesterday, but you can't be as giddy as a newlywed little wife, okay?"
What did "rested and exercised well" mean? Wei Jingguo's linguistic artistry was simply reaching new heights. So many people were listening, Lu Mingxin wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
So they had to do it again. This time, Gu Qinglan and Mo Qi performed the same as last time. Lu Mingxin's glance at the end, after she mustered all the arrogant pride of her life, finally showed a bit of chuunibyou flair, making Wei Jingguo exclaim with satisfaction.
After finally finishing the morning's filming, the time cost of going back to the hotel to remove makeup and eat lunch was too high, so they basically squatted on the set in their costumes and makeup to eat.
The filming conditions in the western film city were relatively harsh, and everyone ate and slept in the open. They couldn't be too special, so they usually shared weal and woe with everyone outside.
Lu Mingxin knew that Gu Qinglan had a bad stomach, so every day she tirelessly emphasized to the master who prepared the boxed lunches that the dishes should be vegetarian and light, and she always shared her soup with him.
Mo Qi liked to hang out with the two of them. The three of them, all dressed in the gorgeous costumes of generals and civil officials, carrying stools, hiding in the cool shade of a wall corner and gnawing on boxed lunches, was truly a huge contrast and somewhat comical.
However, Lu Mingxin couldn't be bothered with etiquette. While handing her bowl to Gu Qinglan, she said: "Qinglan-gege, the winter melon and green vegetables in this soup are quite refreshing, you should drink more."
She then casually said, "Actually, I think the script should be adjusted."
Also eating a boxed lunch, Gu Qinglan could perform such an action with flowing grace and incomparable elegance. If he didn't have to hold the boxed lunch with one hand, he could be used as an etiquette textbook at a high-end dinner party at any time.
He took the soup bowl handed over by Lu Mingxin, placed it on a stool beside him, smiled faintly and said: "Why do you suddenly say that?"
With Mo Qi present, Lu Mingxin couldn't just say, ‘Your script's story is incomplete, I have the complete version here!’ She could only say as rationally as possible, "I think Mu Yiqing's betrayal is very abrupt. He defected to the King of Western Xia, yet he clearly had no benefit. It's like being bad just for the sake of being bad. The plot isn't convincing."
As she spoke, she also emphasized: "The logic of the entire script is very smooth, it's just that Mu Yiqing's betrayal and the like, the reasons are too far-fetched. Don't you think so, Qi-ge?"
Mo Qi clearly had the same opinion, but considering that Gu Qinglan was the screenwriter of this drama, he spoke more cautiously: "Indeed, I admire the character of Mu Yiqing very much. I think he could be more outstanding, and the change in his stance could also have more foreshadowing."
Since Lu Mingxin had already remembered the events of her previous life, Gu Qinglan no longer needed to insist on not revealing the whole truth. Instead, he smiled gently: "Okay, I will consider both of your opinions."
Changing the script was not a small matter, especially since filming had already begun, and the script was so detailed that even the storyboards were done. If it were to be changed again, it would be a major undertaking involving many people.
But since Gu Qinglan had agreed, he began to prepare seriously. By the third day after their discussion, he told Lu Mingxin and Mo Qi that he had already coordinated with all parties, and Li Angyue would join the crew in a week to work on it with him.
Lu Mingxin wasn't worried about other things, nor was she afraid of having to re-memorize lines. Instead, she said, "With so much work, will Qinglan-gege's body be able to take it?"
Gu Qinglan smiled, "It's okay, Teacher Li has taken on most of the work."
Only then did Lu Mingxin feel relieved. Over there, Mo Qi was interested. "What changes will there be in the plot?"
Gu Qinglan smiled: "Actually, after I said I would change the script, Teacher Li immediately had some new ideas... He plans to discuss them in detail after he joins the crew."
Lu Mingxin just wanted to reveal all those secrets that were covered up in her previous life. In her previous life, he had borne an undeserved stigma and died unjustly. If even in film and television works in this life, his name could not be cleared, that would be too tragic.
After finishing the day's filming, when Lu Mingxin was walking with Gu Qinglan in the evening, she held his hand, hesitating to speak several times along the way.
Seeing that she really had something to say, Gu Qinglan smiled and asked: "Mingxin, what's wrong?"
Lu Mingxin gripped his hand tighter and said in a low voice, "Qinglan, do you want to know how I knew... that you didn't defect to the enemy?"
Since he had already died once, those were all things of a past life or an illusory past. Gu Qinglan didn't mind it much and smiled, "Her Majesty told you, right?"
His tone was very certain. Although the fact was indeed so, Lu Mingxin still felt her heart tighten: he hadn't even thought of other possibilities, for example, that she had discovered it herself.
She nodded, tightening her grip on his hand. She turned her head to look at him: "Qinglan-gege... If I could have told you back then, I would definitely have said, don't hide everything from me, don't make sacrifices unilaterally without giving me a chance to make amends."
She bit her lip and finally said the words that had been bottled up in her heart for a long time, "For you to be like this, to me, is actually another kind of unfairness."
Gu Qinglan hadn't expected her to suddenly talk about these things. He lowered his eyes slightly and only raised his head to look at her after a while: "Mingxin, I'm very sorry."
She was right... If possible, he also wanted to see her one last time. Regardless of whether the misunderstanding could be resolved, at least before his life faded away, he could see her again.
If that were the case, perhaps he wouldn't have left with so many regrets and unwillingness, and he wouldn't have carried the memories into this life.
But what she still didn't know was that at that time, he no longer had the chance to wait for her to return. Even without his father's pot of poisoned wine, he would only have endured a few more days in prison, while she was far away at the border, thousands of miles away.
Thinking about it now, his father's poisoned wine was actually a mercy to him. At least the pain he endured when ending his life was brief.
Lu Mingxin hugged him and shook her head: "I don't want you to apologize... I hate my own recklessness and ignorance even more. Qinglan, in my previous life, I thought, if there was any way to bring you back, I would try it."
She hugged him tightly, burying her head in his embrace. After a while, she said: "Qinglan, only when I lost you did I realize how much I loved you... It was too painful."
Gu Qinglan lightly put his arm around her shoulder. He admitted that in his previous life, and even in this life, he had never thought of this possibility.
He had never thought that in his previous life, he had already obtained her affection. He had always thought that to her, he was just a husband who would restrain her, and an dispensable old acquaintance.
After arriving in the west, he actually rarely had headaches, but today it started again. He tried his best to control his voice, not wanting Lu Mingxin to notice his discomfort, and said softly, "Mingxin, I'm sorry."
As they talked, they had unknowingly stopped walking and were standing on an open and boundless road.
Few vehicles usually passed this road, but at this moment, an off-road vehicle approached from a distance. The vehicle was extremely fast, but as it approached them, it suddenly turned on its headlights.
It was already dusk, and although the headlights were not as dazzling as at night, because the car was using high beams, when Lu Mingxin heard the sound of the engine and looked up in surprise, she saw a blinding light under which a car was heading straight for them.
She instinctively sensed danger and was about to pull Gu Qinglan to roll into the thorny bushes by the roadside, but the car had already started to slow down.
The harsh sound of braking indicated that the driver had obviously started to brake hard only after the car had reached a very high speed. Even though the car's performance was excellent, it still slid for several tens of meters before it barely stopped, its front end swinging to block their path.
Lu Mingxin could even feel the airflow brought by the vehicle. She frowned slightly and saw the car door open, and a nimble figure jumped out from the driver's seat.
Even in summer, this person was dressed entirely in black. But unlike Ren Ran, the same black, when he wore it, not only did it not look ascetic at all, but it gave people an overwhelming sense of oppression.
Taking off the sunglasses on his face, he looked at Gu Qinglan and laughed loudly. "I was wondering where this pair of wild mandarin ducks came from in this desolate place. So it's Mr. Gu."
This was the first time Lu Mingxin had been so thoroughly ignored by someone of the opposite sex, but she had no time to care about such details.
If she hadn't remembered the memories of her previous life, it would have been fine, but she had remembered, and so she recognized who this person was: Li Jin.
Now, his identity was that of a veteran movie star, and also a special figure in the entertainment industry whom no one dared to provoke – not just because he was too senior and had too much airs, but because he not only had his own film company but was also rumored to have deep connections in the political world.
And in her previous life, even though she had only seen him from a distance a few times, Lu Mingxin remembered this face deeply: he was the King of Western Xia, the overlord of Western Xia who, even after being defeated by them and fleeing into the great desert, was never captured.
Gu Qinglan smiled faintly at him: "I remember the contract stipulated reporting to the crew in a week. Mr. Li is still so dedicated, arriving so early."
Li Jin laughed loudly again. "Not at all. I just wanted to take the opportunity of work to get closer to Mr. Gu."
