Night Fire Lingering

Chapter 225 Gu Yanci, you liked me so long ago?

In the afternoon, the sun was shining brightly.

Wen Yan was engrossed in the new tasks assigned by Professor Zhong when the doorbell rang.

When Wen Yan saw from the surveillance footage that the person who came in was Luo Beiqing, who was heavily pregnant, she was startled and quickly opened the door.

"Bei Qing, what's wrong with you—"

Happy birthday, Yan Yan!

Wen Yan's worried words were interrupted by Luo Beiqing's excited and delighted voice.

Wen Yan was slightly taken aback. There had been so many chaotic things happening lately that she had completely forgotten her own birthday.

She was born on the summer solstice, which is considered an important solar term.

However, in the years after Nan Yun faked her death and left, Wen Yan never celebrated her birthday properly again. Only three people remembered to give her gifts every year—Luo Beiqing, Gu Jingzhou, and Gu Yanci.

Later, the three people became two.

"Don't carry things yourself with such a big belly, you almost scared me!" Wen Yan quickly took the large bouquet of flowers from Luo Beiqing's arms and scolded him playfully.

“Pregnant women aren’t that delicate,” Luo Beiqing said in a low voice, feigning mystery. “Your husband has prepared a surprise party for you!”

Wen Yan raised an eyebrow in surprise; she had no idea.

"It's hot outside, come in first." Wen Yan took Luo Beiqing's shoes and helped her change them.

She glanced outside but saw neither a car nor anyone: "You came alone?"

Luo Beiqing nodded, his face showing a "what else?" expression.

Wen Yan asked, "He Tingchuan?"

Luo Beiqing didn't hide anything: "His driver brought me here."

Wen Yan asked gossipily, "When you were hospitalized last time, he seemed quite attentive, and you didn't seem to mind. So what's going on between you two now?"

"The relationship between the child's mother and father," Luo Beiqing emphasized, "is purely platonic."

Wen Yan knew Luo Beiqing fairly well, and continued to ask, "Is it a pure relationship under one roof, or a pure relationship in the capital?"

"Under one roof."

"……Wow."

"Nothing to say?" Luo Beiqing asked.

"What are you saying?" Wen Yan bluntly displayed her double standards. "You went through the hardship of pregnancy and childbirth, and the child will still have to call him 'Dad' in the future. It's only right that he should contribute something. As long as you don't suffer any losses, that's fine."

Luo Beiqing gave her best friend a thumbs up.

Although Wen Yan didn't like crowds, it didn't stop her from looking forward to the party Gu Yanci was going to prepare for her.

However, a phone call came before Gu Yanci.

Wen Yan saw that it was an unfamiliar number and politely answered the call.

"Zhizhi, Mommy has been trying to call you but can't get through..."

Wen Yan's face turned cold.

She ignored all the calls from Nan Yun, but unexpectedly, Nan Yun called back from a different number.

"What can I do for you?" Wen Yan asked in a businesslike manner, maintaining the last vestiges of politeness and decorum.

"Well, Zhiyi's birthday is coming up, and we're planning to throw a party. We've invited some of your classmates," Nanyun said cautiously, her voice tinged with anticipation. "Are you free to come tonight?"

For a moment, Wen Yan felt it was absurd and wondered if she had misheard.

Isn't today her birthday?

"Is Nan Zhiyi's birthday today?" Wen Yan asked.

"No," Nan Yun explained, "Her daddy just happens to be in China these days and is going back to Spain next week, so we're having a party early. Mommy also wanted to explain what happened a few days ago to you, I—"

"I'm busy."

After hanging up the phone, Wen Yan called Jiang Xing again to ask what exactly was going on.

Jiang Xing laughed sarcastically: "This isn't a birthday party for her; it's clearly a PR event!"

Wen Yan then learned that although the department hadn't taken any action against Nan Zhiyi, secrets don't stay hidden forever. The graduate students in the law school had heard about it to some extent and were gossiping about it privately, making things difficult for Nan Zhiyi. Therefore, Nan Zhiyi wanted to throw this party to build relationships with everyone, treat them to good food and drinks, and even prepared gifts.

The saying "He who takes a man's money is bound to him" applies everywhere.

"Yan Yan, what's wrong?" Luo Beiqing finished her prenatal education and saw Wen Yan standing by the window in a daze. "Your husband asked me to take you out."

"Ah good!"

Wen Yan's gloomy mood, which had been dampened by Nan Yun's phone call, brightened again. She was glad that the influence of Nan Yun on her was getting weaker and weaker.

The sun is setting in the west, and night is about to fall.

A famous private mansion in the capital.

The mansion, usually bustling with elegant ladies and cars, was deserted and lacked any party atmosphere. However, the romantic flowers along the path leading from the entrance were breathtakingly beautiful under the splendid sunset.

Happy birthday, Mrs. Gu.

Gu Yanci appeared out of nowhere.

He was wearing a silver-gray suit without a tie, a look that was both formal and casual. His short hair was casually swept back, revealing his full forehead, sharp eyebrows, and bright eyes, making him very pleasing to the eye.

Luo Beiqing had already quietly slipped away without anyone noticing.

Wen Yan was worried about whether it would be safe for her, being a pregnant woman, but then she thought that Gu Yanci would surely consider Luo Beiqing's special circumstances.

She looked at the man in front of her and said, "I used to think that you gave me a birthday present just out of politeness, because Brother Jingzhou gave me one, and you just gave me one too."

Gu Yanci raised an eyebrow expressionlessly: "On the way?"

Wen Yan read the question in his face: What nonsense are you talking about?

Wen Yan counted on her fingers as she told him: "At 11, you gave me a stone. At 12, you gave me a bunch of desserts. At 13, you and Brother Jingzhou took me scuba diving. At 14, you gave me a greeting card. At 15, you gave me a diamond necklace. At 16, I was in a mental hospital, I didn't see you, and I didn't receive any gifts. At 17, you gave me a set of college entrance exam practice papers. At 18..."

Wen Yan stopped abruptly at this point.

At eighteen, she had a drunken one-night stand with him that caused a huge scandal and made her infamous.

Gu Yanci was shocked that she remembered every birthday gift he had given her so clearly. He felt pleased, but at the same time, he felt that his wife was ungrateful.

"Wen Zhizhi, that stone is a rare mineral I brought back from Iceland, worth seven figures. The dessert is your favorite old-fashioned dessert, which I bought overnight from England. The greeting card has an invitation to a Paris ball on the back. The diamond necklace was once a token of love between European royalty—"

"Well, Gu Yanci!" Wen Yan exclaimed, as if she had caught him red-handed. "I was only fifteen years old back then!"

Gu Yanci did not deny his depravity: "I was already an adult at the time."

Before this, he had never told Wen Yan the significance of the necklace.

His moral standards weren't high, but they weren't high enough to encourage her to have a relationship too early.

Besides... who Wen Yan might have wanted at the time.

Thinking about what he had just said, Wen Yan tilted her head back, her almond-shaped eyes crinkling with laughter, as if they were filled with stars: "Gu Yanci, so you liked me all along?"