"Sister." Gu Zhi stared into her eyes and said slowly, "I like you, I like you so much. From the first time I saw you at Fu Hua Building, I had different feelings for you. I thought we might never meet again, but Heaven let you save me on the street, so I swore to stay by your side for the rest of my life..."
The two looked into each other's eyes, and Sang Li clearly felt her heart beat faster, a feeling she had never experienced before.
After a long time, she finally said with red eyes, "I'm sorry... Gu Zhi, I won't be with you..."
What she said was that she would not be with him, not that she didn't like him.
At this moment, she could no longer fool her own heart.
But to Gu Zhi, it sounded like Sang Li didn't like him at all.
His eyes darkened a little, and they turned slightly red. His voice was a little hoarse. "Why? What did I do wrong? I can change, I can learn, sister..."
He thought Sang Li at least had some affection for him.
Now he was as humble as dirt, only hoping Sang Li would look at him one more time.
Sang Li glanced down at Gu Zhi's hand holding hers and said helplessly, "There is no why, I will leave here sooner or later."
"No matter where you go, I will follow you! You don't have to accept me, but don't drive me away, okay?" Gu Zhi said quickly.
Seeing Gu Zhi like this, Sang Li suddenly felt a little cruel.
She couldn't bear to be so heartless, so she replied, "Okay, I won't drive you away unless you voluntarily leave."
Gu Zhi finally breathed a sigh of relief. He held Sang Li's hand tighter.
As long as Sister didn't drive him away, he believed that one day Sister would accept him.
"Can you let go of my hand now?" Sang Li said softly.
Although Gu Zhi was reluctant, he still let go of Sang Li's hand. The soft touch was fleeting, and Gu Zhi felt a little lost, staring at Sang Li's hand for a long time.
If only he could hold it whenever he wanted.
Sang Li took out the bell bracelet from her arms and handed it to Gu Zhi, "This is yours, right? You can have it back."
The crisp sound of the bell rang once. Gu Zhi suddenly felt dizzy and almost fell over.
"Gu Zhi!" Sang Li quickly supported him. "What's wrong?"
Gu Zhi shook his head. He leaned on the stone table, frowning and looking pained.
"Gu Zhi!" Sang Li was shocked by his condition. "What's going on? I'll go find Xiao Han right away!"
Just as Sang Li was about to leave in a panic, Gu Zhi suddenly grabbed her hand. "Sister... I'm fine."
Gu Zhi seemed to recover slowly. He said slowly, "It's okay now, don't go find Sister Xiao Han."
Sang Li observed him and asked, "Are you really okay now?"
"I'm fine now. I just felt dizzy for a moment, probably from squatting too long."
Gu Zhi glanced at the bell. "Sister, you should keep this bell. Consider it a gift from me."
Sang Li looked at the bell bracelet in her hand. "Okay, I'll hold on to it for now. You can come to me when you want it back."
Sang Li helped him up. "Let me help you inside to rest."
Gu Zhi didn't refuse either, letting Sang Li help him in.
...
Gu Zhi returned to Qing Lin Yuan. Shui Bo and Da Li thought he was missing and had people looking for him in the streets.
However, the next day at noon, Gu Zhi brought some food and silver to find Da Li and the others.
In fact, Da Li was not a beggar. He had good hands and feet and worked in a workshop, just to help those disabled people.
Da Li was a little surprised to see Gu Zhi bring so much stuff. He didn't expect Gu Zhi to really be a rich man!
In fact, it was all money Sang Li had given him, and he gave it all to Shui Bo and the others.
Gu Zhi told them about the situation and thanked them for taking him in these past few days.
"I didn't expect you to be from the Four Beauties Pavilion!" Da Li couldn't help saying, "I heard that the girls at the Four Beauties Pavilion are all kind and beautiful. If you need any help in the future, feel free to come to me. Although I don't have much money, I still have strength."
Gu Zhi smiled at him and looked at Shui Bo. "Uncle Shui, thank you."
Shui Bo laughed. "What are you thanking me for? I just thought you must be a fallen rich man. I was thinking that when you were no longer down on your luck, you would definitely repay us. I didn't expect repayment to come so soon."
Gu Zhi didn't mind Shui Bo's frankness. "Anyway, thank you for taking me in these past few days. I have to go now."
Just as Gu Zhi was about to leave, Shui Bo called him back.
"Wait a minute, boy. Since you're so grateful, I can read your fortune!"
Gu Zhi looked at Shui Bo in confusion.
Shui Bo smiled, stroked his beard, leaned on his cane, and walked over.
He grabbed Gu Zhi's hand and looked at it. His brows furrowed one moment and showed confusion the next.
"Strange...very strange..."
"What's the matter?"
Shui Bo glanced at him meaningfully. "You will disappear from this world in the future!"
Gu Zhi didn't pay much attention to it. "When people die, don't they disappear?"
"No, you will disappear without dying." Shui Bo said again.
Gu Zhi looked at Shui Bo, took back his hand, and didn't take Shui Bo's words to heart. "Thank you, Uncle Shui. I have to go now."
Shui Bo smiled and beckoned to him. "Go on. Feel free to come find me anytime."
Gu Zhi nodded, got on his horse, and left the dilapidated temple.
After returning to the Four Beauties Pavilion, he resumed the warm life he had before. Although Sang Li was still lukewarm to him, being able to stay by her side made him very satisfied.
In fact, Sang Li was deliberately restraining herself, not wanting them to fall too deep. But Gu Zhi calling her "Sister" every day also annoyed her.
He even looked at her more and more unscrupulously, often staring at her directly.
Sang Li was extremely helpless. She told him not to keep staring at her, but though he agreed verbally, he didn't restrain himself at all.
...
"Sister Sang Li, so what's the situation between you two now?" Su Mo took the chance to ask when Gu Zhi was not at the counter.
Sang Li sighed. "To be honest, I don't know either... I feel like this can't continue."
"Then how about... you just be with him?"
Sang Li shook her head. "No, once we're together, we'll want more and expect more."
"Oh, I see. Wu Ying went out recently and I miss him so much. I just want to be with him every day."
Sang Li paused. "Did he go out to find a treasure map?"
"I guess so. I wanted to go with him at first, but he wouldn't let me. I thought that if I left too, there would be no one to protect you, so I gave up on it."
As the two were talking, two familiar figures appeared at the door.
Su Mo looked over. "The people looking for Gu Zhi are here."
Following Su Mo's gaze, Sang Li saw Cai Na and Ku Li.