The sudden collision startled Daya. She jerked back a step, but the person grabbed her hand.
Just as a frightened Daya was about to shake her hand free, the person spoke. "An Xin."
Daya looked up. "Brother Gu, what are you doing here?"
Daya’s voice was filled with pleasant surprise, and her eyes lit up. She didn’t try to pull her hand away from Gu Kai Zhi’s grasp.
She never expected Gu Kai Zhi to suddenly appear at the supermarket entrance.
Gu Kai Zhi lowered his head, his gaze fixed on Daya, and said slowly, "I’m on leave, so I ca to see you."
Their eyes t. A turbulent undercurrent lay hidden beneath Gu Kai Zhi’s calm gaze, while Daya’s eyelashes fluttered and a blush crept up her face.
Daya lowered her gaze slightly and said softly, "Where have you been these past few months? I wrote to you, but you never replied."
Gu Kai Zhi said, "I was on a mission and couldn’t have any outside contact. But I saw your letters when I got back, and that’s why I’m here."
Daya’s fingers curled. Only then did she realize they were still holding hands. She pulled her hand back, biting her lip without saying a word.
A flicker in his eyes, Gu Kai Zhi asked in a low voice, "Are you off work?"
"Mhm."
"Can I take you to dinner, then?"
Daya didn’t refuse. "Okay."
They didn’t go to a large restaurant, but instead ate at a small street-side stall, each getting a bowl of noodles and one small side dish.
"I’m sorry for... bringing you here."
Daya shook her head. "This is great. Extravagance doesn’t suit people like us. Just getting a full al is good enough."
They both ca from poor families. Even though their lives had improved, frugality was ingrained in them.
Gu Kai Zhi smiled.
After they finished eating, Daya said she had to head back. She hadn’t told her family she’d be late and was worried they might be waiting for her for dinner.
Gu Kai Zhi nodded and walked Daya to the entrance of her alleyway.
"Brother Gu, I forgot to ask, where are you staying?"
"The Ritan Hotel, Room 305."
Daya nodded. "I’m heading back then."
Gu Kai Zhi didn’t say anything, just watched her. Daya blinked, montarily at a loss for words.
"I have a week."
Gu Kai Zhi wasn’t explicit, but Daya understood. He was telling her he could only stay in Beijing City for a week.
"Mhm."
After Daya left, Gu Kai Zhi lifted his arm and frowned.
He returned to the hotel and took off his jacket. His arm was wrapped in a gauze bandage, which was soaked through with blood.
He’d been slightly injured on his last mission, and his commander had given him a week to recover. But then he saw the letters from Daya and ca to Beijing City instead.
Gu Kai Zhi unwrapped the blood-soaked gauze, applied fresh ointnt, and put on a new dressing. Once he was done, he leaned back against the bed, lost in thought.
Whatever he was thinking of, a smile touched his lips.
When Daya got ho, she found everyone was still waiting for her to have dinner.
Xue Yue didn’t say anything, but He Lang stared at her and asked, "Where have you been?"
"I had dinner with a friend. Uncle, if I’m not back on ti in the future, you don’t have to wait for ."
He Lang snorted. "This ’friend’ was a man, wasn’t he?"
Daya was surprised. "Uncle, you saw Brother Gu?"
He Lang paused. "So it was him."
Actually, Tie Dan had seen Daya leaving with a man he didn’t recognize and had ntioned it to He Lang.
Xue Yue chid in, "Mr. Gu is in Beijing City? Why didn’t you bring him ho for dinner?"
Daya gave a nervous laugh. "I forgot."
Shiyi ran over to Daya. "Big Sister Daya, is Uncle Gu here?"
Daya nodded. "Yeah."
"Then why did Uncle Gu go looking for you instead of coming to play with ?"
Daya was speechless.
Xue Yue chuckled. "Shiyi, that’s grown-up business. Little kids shouldn’t ask. Since Daya has already eaten, let’s have our dinner."
Shiyi still wanted to pester Daya about when Uncle Gu would co see him, but Xue Yue picked him up and carried him away.
Daya finally breathed a sigh of relief when she got back to her room.
She stuck her tongue out playfully. Thinking about the way Gu Kai Zhi had looked at her today, she ran a hand through her hair in confusion. It was an indescribable feeling.
That night, she had a jumbled, nonsensical dream. She woke up and sat on her bed, dazed for a long while.
At breakfast the next morning, Xue Yue asked Daya, "Do you know where Mr. Gu is staying?"
Daya nodded. "I do."
Xue Yue smiled. "That’s good. I made so stead buns. You should take so to him in a bit. See when he’s free to co over for a proper al. He left in such a hurry last ti, he didn’t get the chance."
Daya nodded in agreent.
He Lang shot Xue Yue a look and said in a low voice, "Daya has to work."
Xue Yue gave him an annoyed look. "It’s the family business. It’s fine if she misses a day."
He Lang replied, "That’s exactly why she needs to be more dedicated."
Xue Yue just smiled. "Then you’d better hurry up and eat so you can get going."
He Lang shot Xue Yue a silent glance and dropped the subject.
Daya hid a smile and lowered her head to eat.
Once Daya had left with the food, He Lang said to Xue Yue, disgruntled, "Courting a girl is a man’s job. Aren’t you being a little too eager on her behalf?"
Xue Yue rolled her eyes. "I ask Daya to bring Mr. Gu so stead buns and suddenly we’re being too eager? n and won are equal now; your old-fashioned ideas are completely outdated. Besides, Mr. Gu is our family’s benefactor. What’s wrong with giving him sothing to eat?"
He Lang pouted. "Hmph. That doesn’t an you should make it easy for him. A man should have to put in the effort. That’s how he’ll learn to cherish her."
Xue Yue had already decided to ignore him.
Daya took the bus to the hotel Gu Kai Zhi had ntioned yesterday. She found room 305 and stared at the number on the door.
’This must be the place.’
Daya glanced down at her outfit, saw nothing amiss, and knocked on the door.
A mont later, the door opened from the inside.
Gu Kai Zhi’s face lit up with pleasant surprise the mont he saw Daya. He smiled and said, "You’re here."
Daya held up the container in her hands. "Yeah. My aunt asked to bring you so breakfast. You haven’t eaten yet, have you?"
Gu Kai Zhi glanced at the food. "No, I haven’t. Co in."
He held the door open, and Daya stepped inside.
As soon as she stepped inside, Daya sniffed the air.
Gu Kai Zhi asked, "What is it?"
Daya looked puzzled. "It slls a bit like... blood."
Gu Kai Zhi froze. He glanced at the trash can and was about to grab sothing to cover it, but Daya had already seen it.
Lying on top of the trash in the can was a piece of bloody gauze.
Daya frowned. "Brother Gu, are you hurt?"
Since she had already seen it, Gu Kai Zhi admitted, "I got a small injury on a mission. It’s nothing serious."
Daya looked him up and down. "Where are you hurt?"
Gu Kai Zhi gestured with his left hand. "On my arm."
Daya instinctively reached out to take a look, but she stopped, realizing the gesture might be too intimate.
She pulled her hand back. "Shouldn’t you go to the hospital?"
Watching her pull her hand back, Gu Kai Zhi felt a pang of disappointnt, but his expression didn’t change.
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