Lin Shan agreed with everyone. Tomorrow was his daughter’s big day, so it was best to let her rest here in peace and quiet, saving her the aggravation of going ho.
Lin Shan left. Sun Jiaming and the others saw him out and said their goodbyes to Gu’er.
Li Hua also ca over from the Sun Family’s ho.
After chatting for a while, they all washed up and went to their rooms to sleep.
Gu’er had just started to change into her sleepwear when she heard a knock on the door. She opened it to find Li Hua standing outside.
"Mom, you’re not asleep yet? Co in, quick."
Gu’er took Li Hua’s hand and led her into the room. ’She must have sothing she wants to talk to about,’ Gu’er wondered.
"Gu’er, I... I... well... You’re getting married tomorrow. There are so things your mother should have told you, but I... I don’t know if she has or not, so... so I thought I’d co and ask."
Li Hua stamred, her face flushing slightly.
Gu’er understood what Li Hua ant. She was probably here to talk about intimate matters between a husband and wife.
Gu’er’s face instantly turned crimson. Things had been so busy lately that her own mother, Chen Fengjiao, hadn’t found the ti to discuss such things with her. Or perhaps she had planned to talk to her the day before the wedding, never expecting that Gu’er wouldn’t be staying at ho tonight.
Although Chen Fengjiao hadn’t said anything, Li Hua had briefly ntioned a few things back when Gu’er married Zhang Da in her past life. Back then, she had been naive and clueless. That, combined with her grief and fear, made for an indescribable experience. All she rembered was suffering terribly that night. The mory alone made Gu’er shudder uncontrollably.
"Daughter, don’t be scared. It just hurts a little at first. If you bear with it, it’ll be over soon. Which of us won doesn’t go through so suffering? Becoming soone’s wife is one thing, but the pain of childbirth is far worse than what it takes to beco a woman. Don’t be afraid. I can see that Jia Ming treats you well. Just close your eyes and bear it. You’ll be fine in a couple of days."
Li Hua tried to soothe Gu’er, worried she was scared.
It would be a lie to say Gu’er wasn’t scared at all. After all, she carried the psychological shadow of her past life. But she also knew that Sun Jiaming probably wouldn’t hurt her.
"Gu’er, my dear, let tell you..."
Li Hua told Gu’er a great deal about the matters between n and won. Gu’er listened with a blushing face. Even though she already understood, she knew Li Hua’s words ca from a place of kindness.
After a while, Li Hua felt she had run out of things to say. She couldn’t go into any more detail.
"Alright, you should get so rest. You have to be up at three, so you won’t get much sleep."
Li Hua stood up. It would be awkward to stay any longer. She didn’t know if Gu’er had understood what she’d said, but then again, Gu’er would find out for herself soon enough.
After Gu’er closed the door, she touched her burning cheeks. ’Am I really about to beco Sun Jiaming’s wife? In just a few hours, I’ll beco a woman.’
Gu’er could feel her heart pounding. THUMP, THUMP. She was exhausted, but lying in bed, she couldn’t fall asleep. She felt a mixture of excitent and panic. ’What will tomorrow night be like? Can I overco my psychological trauma? Will I endure the pain, or will I shrink away in fear?’ She didn’t know.
Gu’er didn’t know when she finally fell asleep. Just as she felt she’d drifted into a deep slumber, she heard another knock at the door.
Gu’er didn’t want to move. ’Who could that be? Bothering soone in the middle of the night, honestly! Don’t they know I was sound asleep?’ She rolled over and tried to go back to sleep.
"Gu’er! Gu! Wake up, quickly! The person is here. It’s ti to get your hair done."
It was Li Hua shouting from outside. She hadn’t slept at all that night. Lying in bed, her mind replayed everything that had happened. She thought about the Zhou family, about her children, and about Gu’er. The child she had raised since she was just a few years old was about to be married. Even though she wasn’t her biological mother, she felt the sa mix of joy and bittersweet sorrow that a real mother would.
Hearing Li Hua’s voice, Gu’er shot upright. Her mind felt foggy. ’Hair done? What hair?’
Her brain stalled for a few seconds before she rembered: she had an appointnt with a female stylist at three o’clock to do her hair and makeup. ’My brain must have short-circuited. How could I forget that?’
"Ah, I’m coming!"
Perhaps because she had just woken up, Gu’er’s voice was a little hoarse. She got out of bed and opened the door.
After a brief exchange, Gu’er went to wash up. Lin Shuying heard the noise and got up as well, but she didn’t wake Zhongshan or Xinghua, letting them continue to sleep since Zheng Zhongshan’s health was poor.
Gu’er sat down to have her hair styled, but she kept dozing off. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain on her scalp, as if several strands of hair had been pulled out. Her sleepiness vanished instantly.
"I’m so sorry, sis! I... I didn’t do it on purpose, I..."
The woman styling Gu’er’s hair was in her twenties. Her surna was Yu, and her na was Yu Li. She looked at the few long strands of hair in her hand and hurriedly apologized to Gu’er.
"It’s alright. I was the one dozing off. It’s not your fault."
Gu’er rubbed her scalp. It hurt quite a bit, but it really wasn’t the stylist’s fault. It happened because she kept nodding off and letting her head droop.
"Well, sis, try to stay awake for a bit then. I’ll get your hair done as quickly as I can."
Yu Li breathed a sigh of relief when Gu’er didn’t scold her. This family hired her for her hairstyling and makeup skills, and they were paying generously. She hadn’t wanted to co in the middle of the night—usually, this was all done the day before. However, the client said they were afraid the hairstyle would get ssed up overnight and that the bride wouldn’t sleep well with it, so they’d asked her to co at this odd hour.
She had taken the job for the generous pay, but in her mind, she believed wealthy people were difficult to serve and that this bride would surely be fussy. When she arrived and saw how beautiful Gu’er was, she assud she would be even harder to talk to. Gu’er dozing off was affecting her work, and she had been feeling resentful but didn’t dare to speak up. She never thought she’d end up yanking out Gu’er’s hair because of it. In that mont, she had panicked, afraid she would be berated. She worried they might refuse to pay her or even demand compensation—after all, so wealthy people valued a single strand of their hair more than another person’s life. She never imagined Gu’er would be so accommodating and not bla her in the slightest. Only then did she finally relax.
"Okay."
Gu’er nodded. The sharp pain had indeed woken her up completely.
The rest of the hairstyling went smoothly. After the red floral hairpiece was in place, Gu’er took a look and saw that it was quite nice. She gave Yu Li a satisfied smile and offered a word of praise.
"It’s not my skill; it’s mainly because you’re so pretty, sis. Look at your skin, it’s so tender and fresh, like a young cucumber. You look beautiful even without any makeup."
Yu Li praised Gu’er in return, and she ant every word.
Hearing this, Gu’er touched her face. She had good features to begin with; her skin had just been a bit dark before. Now, she used pearl powder, honey, and other things every day, and her skin was getting better and better. It was fairer and more delicate than before. Even her hands weren’t as rough as they used to be.
Gu’er had no shortage of costics. Although she didn’t usually like wearing makeup, a wedding was a festive occasion, so putting so on was perfectly fine.
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