Just like this, two years had passed quietly in their lives. However, the relationship between Nan Min and her remained strained. For some unknown reason, since her return from Country L, everyone seemed to be gradually drifting away from her.
The only one who remained unchanged was Xiao Xi. Even Lian Qingyuan and Qing Sui had become mysterious to her. Gu Li was sitting on the sofa, poring over some contracts, while she nestled in his arms like a kitten, idly watching TV.
During these two years, she had smoothly reached the middle stage of the Tribulation Crossing. Everything seemed so natural and peaceful. Soon, her twentieth birthday was approaching.
She felt drowsy listening to the news on TV until an interview came on.
"Mr. Mu, what's your take on the Mu Group's acquisition of the world's largest jewelry company?"
"Mr. Mu, are you in a relationship with Miss Zhao?"
"Mr. Mu, how do you view the upcoming economic crisis in the market?"
Listening to the host's questions, Mu Yijie answered calmly and appropriately. He said what needed to be said and kept silent about what didn't. His poise was impeccable.
But why did her heart ache so much when she saw the man on TV? It felt as if she had been abandoned. When she turned to look at Gu Li, her face was already covered with tears.
"Li, I don't know why my heart hurts so much," she said.
Gu Li had already put down what he was holding and had been observing her. Seeing Mu Yijie's face, a hint of irritation flashed across his face. He reached out to wipe the tears from her face and gently stroked her head to comfort her.
"Just take a rest. Go back to your room first," he said.
After saying that, he was about to turn off the TV, but she reached out and stopped him. "Wait a minute. I want... to finish watching."
The hand that was about to press the power button retracted. He put down the remote control dejectedly and looked at the girl beside him.
"By the way, Mr. Mu, it's rumored that the red string on your wrist was given to you by your beloved. Is that true?"
"Yes," Mu Yijie replied, looking at the red string on his wrist and nodding. Then he looked at the camera and said slowly, "This is a gift from the person I love the most."
"He..."
Just as she was about to turn to look at Gu Li, the TV was suddenly turned off. Nan Min was standing beside them, looking at Yong Shanling indifferently.
"Oops, you wanted to watch, right? Sorry, I accidentally turned it off," he said.
When he turned it on again, there was already a different channel on TV. Looking at the vanished face of the man, she felt a strange emptiness in her heart.
She wiped away her tears and said to Gu Li in a hurry, "Li, I don't feel well. I'll go back to my room first."
After saying that, she rushed back to her room. Nan Min watched her disappearing back and then slowly turned around. He sat down beside Gu Li and said, "You were so cruel to erase her memories. Now, what are you trying to confirm?"
This time, Gu Li didn't avoid the topic. Instead, he looked at Nan Min with a bitter smile and said, "Do you think erasing memories can really wipe away a person who has taken root in her heart?
"Maybe she won't remember for a while, but as time goes by, she will remember Mu Yijie again within ten years. Moreover, erasing memories can cause great damage to her spiritual root. I don't want to use this method again.
"If I can't win her heart in these few years, what's the point of keeping her by my side?"
Nan Min was a little surprised. He had thought that Gu Li was a person who would never give up easily, someone who would rather destroy what he couldn't have. But he didn't expect him to be so decisive.
For a moment, he didn't know what to say. After a while, he asked Gu Li, "What will you do if she still chooses Mu Yijie?"
Hearing this, Gu Li seemed to recall something. There was a hint of nostalgia in his eyes. Looking at the scenery outside the window, he said with a smile, "Then I will spend my whole life by her side and protect her."
"Master, being infatuated doesn't suit you," Hong Ye said as she slowly walked up to them. She bowed to Gu Li and then sat down on one side.
"Master, giving up what you want is a sign of weakness," she added.
"Enough. Let's stop talking about this," Gu Li said impatiently. Before she could say anything else, he got up and left. Nan Min looked at the dejected look in Hong Ye's eyes and suddenly felt that the three of them in the room were all in a similar mood.
"Sister Hong, what do you think of your own act of giving up?" he asked.
"Let everything follow the arrangement..." Hong Ye replied with a bitter smile as she picked up the tea on the table.
Back in her room, Yong Shanling immediately turned on the Internet and searched for Mu Yijie. But after looking at his photos for a while, a sense of strangeness washed over her.
"I must be mistaken. I don't seem to know him..." she said doubtfully as she turned off her phone. She lay on the bed, looking at the ceiling. No one knew what she was thinking.
"Qingyuan, do you remember him? I always feel like I've seen him somewhere, but he also seems so strange to me," she said.
Qingyuan didn't say anything because this was the last thing she wanted to see. Qing Sui looked at Qingyuan's expression and answered her question helplessly.
"Maybe they really look alike. Look at their backs. Don't they look a bit similar?"
Hearing Qing Sui's words, she thought for a while and said, "It does seem so. Come to think of it, they really do look a bit alike. But why did I feel so strange just now? Am I sick?"
"My heart hasn't hurt since that day at the beach, but I just can't stop the tears from falling. It feels as if my body is being controlled by someone else."
"Just take a rest. As Gu Li said, sleep it off and forget what you should forget," Qing Sui said softly. Suddenly, she felt her eyelids getting heavy. She slowly closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
"Sister, she's seen Mu Yijie, and you've seen her reaction. Let's just tell her the truth. Anyway, Gu Li won't find out," Qingyuan said.
"Qingyuan! That's not our mission. We've overstepped once. Don't do it again," Qing Sui replied.
"Sister! What on earth did you promise him that you would speak up for him like this?"
"I'm just following the master's arrangement. There are some things that we're not allowed to interfere with. Sometimes, it's better to just keep our eyes and mouths shut."
"Just like before, watch people die in front of us one by one? Sister, why! Why! You're doing this again... We finally managed to get you out of that state of mind."
"Why... why is everything still the same?" There was a hint of sobbing in Qingyuan's voice, but it had no effect on Qing Sui.
"Qingyuan, have you forgotten? Behind the master is Yong Shanling. As long as we follow her arrangement and live a good life, we should just let go of things that we shouldn't interfere with, Qingyuan."