Chapter 124
Shang Xi finished packing quickly, as she had moved some things earlier, so her luggage wasn't much this time.
As she went downstairs, the wolf pack of Nanfeng Courtyard all had solemn expressions, with lowered brows and downcast eyes, the atmosphere frozen.
"Shang Xi," Black Tail spoke up: "Can you... not leave?" He scratched the back of his head, his eyes reddening: "Sorry, it's just... I really like you, can you not go?"
His words fell.
The other wolves started speaking one after another.
"Stay, Shang Xi, before... I'm sorry. You can take it out on us however you want."
"Don't leave, stay with the cub."
"Shang Xi..."
Shang Xi gripped her phone tightly, moved her lips, and remained silent with lowered eyes for a second.
Then, she raised her eyes and said softly: "When I first came to Nanfeng Courtyard, I did have the thought of living here for a long time. You see, you're all of the same tribe as my son, you like him, treat him well, won't let him be lonely, and can teach him many things about werewolves.
For so many years, it's the first time my son and I have received such a warm welcome and kindness, and while feeling at a loss, I also felt a sense of being overwhelmed by the favor. Each and every one of you werewolves is so good, so lovely."
"But later," Shang Xi pulled at the corner of her mouth, revealing a bitter curve, "later I realized that I'm an intruder, and this place isn't my home."
"Intruders are never welcome anywhere, and I've experienced this deeply. So that little intruder vowed very early on that she had to have her own home."
She looked at the wolf pack and smiled faintly: "So, goodbye."
Then she pulled her son through the werewolves, not looking back.
"Shang Xi!"
"Shang Xi, cub!"
Accompanied by the injured howls of the male wolves and the sobbing of the female wolves, Shang Xi's body paused, she bit her lip hard, and then her steps became faster.
As she walked out of the main gate of Nanfeng Courtyard, she raised her head, looked up at the sky, and let out a light breath. Everything was over.
Finally... it was all over.
All the little things that happened in Nanfeng Courtyard would disappear like being buried by yellow sand, fading away with the passage of time.
She pressed her lips. Was she happy?
Hmm, she should be happy.
But maybe she was a bit tired, and that happiness was temporarily still asleep.
"Oh!! Sister!! Get in the car!!"
Sister Dao and Zhou Ziyou got out of the car, both holding flowers, which they gave to her and her son.
"Baby Shang! Come to auntie, we're going home!"
Zhou Ziyou picked up Baby Shang.
"Shang Xi, get in the car, let's hurry up and go. Who knows if Master Gu will change his mind..."
Shang Xi smiled faintly: "He won't, let's go."
They got in the car, and more than a dozen cars drove away in a grand procession.
At that moment, it felt like a part of her was left behind here, though she couldn't pinpoint what it was.
"To you, I'm worthless."
The words Gu Wen said last night flashed through her mind.
"A werewolf falling in love with a human, how foolish, like a moth to a flame. I know it, but I can't control my liking for you. Look," he pointed at his wolf face, staring at her with those fierce, upturned wolf eyes, "do you find it ugly? Terrifying?"
"It's quite laughable, isn't it? But what can I do, I just like you. We even have a cub together, fate has bound us. I'm willing to take ninety-nine steps toward you, Shang Xi, just take one step toward me, one step."
"You're right, from start to finish, the only one who has changed is me. I've lost completely, I brought this upon myself, I deserve it."
"It was me who deluded myself, me who was arrogant, me who fell for you first. What clan leader, what heir of the Gu family, to you, I've been beaten bloody."
"Once again... you've left me behind."
"But it was you who came after me first."
At that time, she saw the moisture in those wolf eyes.
Yet he turned away quickly, as if he didn't want her to see. "Don't worry, I won't stop you. If you want to go home, then go."
When he turned back, he had a human face, chiseled features like an ice-cold sculpture.
He took large strides toward the door.
"Wait, you said I came after you first?" She couldn't help but grip her hand and ask.
Gu Wen stopped at the door. With sorrow, he pulled at his lips: "Are you thinking again that I'm deluding myself, that I'm imagining things?"
At that time, Shang Xi couldn't describe how she felt. She took large steps toward him and glared: "Then tell me clearly, how did I come after you first?"
"West Mountain Park."
"What?" For a moment, Shang Xi didn't react, West Mountain Park, West Mountain... Suddenly, she widened her eyes.
"You remember now?" Gu Wen pulled at his lips: "The black wolf cub you held and wouldn't let go the whole night, the one you thought was a dog."
Shang Xi was struck speechless, stepping back two steps, her lips parting slightly: "...You, it was you? No! It can't be such a coincidence, you must have investigated me, that's how you..."
"I did investigate you, otherwise I wouldn't have known that the human cub was yours."
"The hairpin you 'accidentally' dropped at West Mountain Park, I still have it."
"It wasn't 'accidentally' dropped, I left it there on purpose!" Shang Xi loudly denied.
"For me back then, the result was the same." Gu Wen lowered his eyes and let out a mocking laugh: "After I finally forgot about it, you got drunk again and wandered into the wrong room."
Shang Xi was at a loss for words when he brought up this incident, as she was the one in the wrong, the one who went to the wrong room, the one who touched him improperly.
As he spoke, Gu Wen himself felt the irony: "I had already decided to live alone until old age, and then I found out you had given birth to the cub."
"Shang Xi, why is it that we seem unable to separate, that I keep falling for you time and time again?"
"My liking for you doesn't seem like a coincidence, but more like it's been brewing for a long time."
Shang Xi couldn't sleep last night, only managing to fall asleep very late.
She couldn't imagine that Gu Wen was actually the first black "puppy" she met as a child at her uncle's house, oh no, the black wolf cub.
That was the one that accompanied her in the park all night, and then came to find her every day after, bringing her various snacks.
It turned out she had known Gu Wen such a long time ago.