Returning to the rear lounge, Gu Nian'an picked up a plate of cake from a table and settled casually into a corner of the sofa, his legs crossed, eating the delicately decorated cake bite by bite.
Soothing, melodious music drifted into his ears. In the brilliantly lit hall, glasses clinked as people exchanged greetings and compliments.
As he gazed at the crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, his thoughts suddenly drifted to the day he had transmigrated here. The lights had been just as dazzling then. In the blink of an eye, more than a year had passed, and his relationship with Fu Xiuyuan had also...
At that thought, a trace of indescribable complexity surfaced in Gu Nian'an's eyes. He still had not decided what answer he should give Fu Xiuyuan. He thought he did like Fu Xiuyuan.
But he was not sure whether he might suddenly disappear, whether the original owner might suddenly return, or whether the other man knew he was not the original owner. There were too many uncertainties.
Yet when he thought of all the other man's bitterness and retreating, Gu Nian'an felt as though something had stabbed hard into his heart, leaving it aching and sore.
"Nian'an, what are you doing here?"
Gu Nian'an looked up at the voice and saw a woman in an exquisite lake-green gown looking at him in puzzlement. It was Ji Baiwei.
Gu Nian'an froze for a moment, rubbing his fingers together somewhat awkwardly. He greeted her, then turned the question back on her. "What brings you here, Sister Bai Wei?"
Ji Baiwei smoothed her skirt and gently sat down beside Gu Nian'an, explaining, "The company has had some business dealings with the Wan Family lately. I was invited to celebrate their young master's birthday."
But that was not all.