Su Xiaoliu smacked her lips. She only felt that there was something cold in her hand.
Fang Xie stared blankly at her and then slowly looked at the hand she was holding.
Gradually, everything faded before her eyes. Su Xiaoliu slowly opened her eyes. What came into view was a hazy curtain. Then, she moved her hand and found that she was tightly clutching something. She paused for a moment, turned her head, and saw a tall man in a black cloak.
Wasn't this the man who bought the qin?
Su Xiaoliu frowned. Her gaze fell on the hand that was holding his, and then slowly moved up to look at him.
Looking up at him, Su Xiaoliu could just see half of his face.
She couldn't see his eyes, but she could see his pointed chin and thin lips like petals. On his fair skin, the high - bridged nose had a kind of almost transparent beauty.
A familiar smell wafted over. Su Xiaoliu only felt a buzzing in her head. Then, she quickly let go of his hand and sat up abruptly.
"Gu Rongxue!" Looking at him, she blurted out the name that had made her heartache in countless dreams. Her almond - shaped eyes widened round.
Fang Xie's body stiffened. His pleasant voice slowly sounded.
"Gu Rongxue?" It seemed that he hated hearing this name very much. He withdrew his hand. The cloud - patterned sleeve embroidered with gold thread covered his slender hand. He said indifferently, "My name is Fang Xie. I'm not Gu Rongxue."
Su Xiaoliu stared at him with her almond - shaped eyes, shook her head blankly, and said, "You are him. If you're not Gu Rongxue, how could you look so much like him!" That familiar outline and temperament were just like his!
Fang Xie stood still quietly. After a moment, he replied indifferently, "My surname is Gu, and my name is Fang Xie. Gu Rongxue is my nominal younger brother. I have nothing to do with him anymore."
Su Xiaoliu stared at him blankly. After a while, she lowered her eyes and lowered her head somewhat dejectedly.
Yes, Gu Rongxue had already died in the desert. The arrow that shot into his chest and the poison that wiped out the last glimmer of hope... All of them proved that Gu Rongxue would never come back.
It was she who still had a trace of guilt and hope, longing for him to appear again one day.
They were silent for a long time. The room was completely silent.
Su Xiaoliu frowned. She suddenly raised her head, looked at Fang Xie who was standing quietly, and said, "Why am I here? Did you... Did you trick me here?"
She remembered what had happened in the carriage before. It turned out that those two young girls were just acting.
Su Xiaoliu rubbed her head with a headache. Since she was abandoned by that so - called number one talent, she had gradually become extremely stupid. She couldn't even recognize those acting tricks! Thinking of this, she angrily gritted her teeth, threw off the quilt, and sat on the edge of the bed.
Seeing that Fang Xie didn't say a word, Su Xiaoliu pursed her lips, looked up at him, and said again, "Just tell me what you want me for. Money? Power?" After a moment of silence, she said, "Sorry, I have neither."
"I want a person."
His pleasant voice slowly sounded and dispersed in the room along with the white smoke floating out of the gilded incense burner.
Su Xiaoliu widened her almond - shaped eyes. She suddenly remembered the ten thousand taels of silver he had left when buying the qin.
So... the ten thousand taels was not the price for the qin. Sure enough, there was no such thing as a free lunch!
Su Xiaoliu looked up at him, extremely angry. A sentence that she regretted as soon as she said it blurted out.
"I don't have a person to give you. You can just take my life." She cursed herself in her heart. What was she doing? The original saying should be "I don't have money. You can just take my life", right? How come it became "I don't have a person to give you. You can just take my life" for her? Moreover, wasn't taking a life and taking a person the same thing?
Fang Xie remained silent. After a while, he slowly said, "I don't want your life. I just want a person."
If these words were spoken by a person deeply in love, Su Xiaoliu might have been touched a little. But at this moment, when these words were spoken by a stranger she had only met a few times, she only felt that there must be something wrong with this person.
Su Xiaoliu lifted her eyelids weakly and looked up to ask, "Where is this?"
Fang Xie looked at her quietly and said, "Gu Family Villa."
Gu Family Villa...
Hearing him mention this familiar place, Su Xiaoliu's heart twitched violently.
Her face became a bit ugly. She hung her head and sat quietly on the edge of the bed, silent.
Fang Xie stretched out his slender fingers to gently lift the curtain, turned his head, and slowly said, "As long as you help me with a few things, I'll let you go." Without waiting for Su Xiaoliu to ask what those things were, he turned around and pushed the door open to leave.
He said... he wanted her to help him with a few things?
Su Xiaoliu stared blankly at the closed wooden door and pursed her lips.
Sitting in front of the bronze mirror, she simply combed her hair. Her gaze fell on the silver hairpin on the table. She slowly picked up the hairpin, feeling a mixture of bitterness and sweetness in her heart.
There was an uneven feeling in the middle of the silver hairpin, spreading from her palm. Su Xiaoliu looked down and saw a thin silver thread.
She stared blankly at the silver thread, suddenly slapped the table, covered her chest with the other hand, and gasped for breath, trying hard to hold back the sadness welling up in her heart.
Feng Yufei. After all, they had missed each other. The same was true for Gu Rongxue. They had all met her at the wrong time, and by the time she realized it, they were no longer there...
After a while, Su Xiaoliu slowly raised her eyes and calmed her breathing.
She slowly inserted the silver hairpin into her hair and looked at herself in the mirror. On her delicate peach - shaped face, a pair of almond - shaped eyes were particularly clear.
She stood up, pushed open the carved wooden door, and walked outside.
A familiar fragrance of flowers wafted into her nose. Su Xiaoliu looked at the outside quietly.
The high - rising buildings had upturned corners at the four ends. The vermilion pillars were particularly eye - catching. The trees were growing vigorously. Countless flower petals had fallen on the bluestone slabs. She stepped over the threshold and sized up everything around while walking.
The last time she came to Gu Family Villa, she didn't stay in this room. But she was very familiar with this place. She had come here for a walk with Mo Xin before.
Su Xiaoliu pursed her lips. Now, everything had changed.
She remembered that the Gu Mansion was not here. That man named Fang Xie must have some purpose to come to this villa that even the alliance leader didn't know about.
A clear and beautiful sound of the qin came to her ears. Su Xiaoliu paused for a moment. She walked in the direction where the sound of the qin came from. As she walked, she unexpectedly came to a strange courtyard.
Su Xiaoliu looked up. Not far away, on a small bridge, there was a pavilion quietly located.
Fang Xie in a dark red crabapple - patterned long robe was sitting quietly in the pavilion. His slender - fingered hands gently stroked the qin surface. Beside him was the black cloak, only half of his fair and smooth face was exposed. His black hair fluttered gently in the wind. Flower petals fell. The pool under the pavilion was filled with white smoke. The pavilion curtains fluttered, just like a fairyland, making him look like an immortal in the clouds, giving an illusion of being detached from the mortal world.