Yun Liuli blinked, not understanding his words.

  She then heard Gu Qingcheng say, “As a man, how is he going to protect you in the future? Is he expecting you as a girl to protect yourself and then protect him as well? I don’t think well of a friend like this.”


  Yun Liuli was stunned for a moment. “I’m an orphan, and I was also a target of bullying in the past… What about it?”


  Gu Qingcheng saw that there were calmness and a hint of perplexity in Yun Liuli’s clear eyes. He then said, “I hope that you focus on your studies for now. This guy called Zhou Yuchen isn’t suitable to be your friend, let alone your boyfriend. I believe that… your father wouldn’t wish to see you getting too close with this guy either. Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”


  The atmosphere froze up a little…


  Yun Liuli looked at Gu Qingcheng’s long fingers that were unconsciously knocking onto the dining room table every now and then. She said, “Uncle Qingcheng, you said that… you hope for me to become an ordinary girl, and that I can get into a relationship with a guy close to my age. But now, you’re saying that… you believe that my father wouldn’t be willing to see me being close with this guy. Uncle Qingcheng… are you the one who doesn’t wish to see this, or is it my father?”


  Yun Liuli looked at Gu Qingcheng calmly and asked.

  She suppressed her quickened heartbeat. This was a day that she had hoped to see…


  She had hoped for Gu Qingcheng to see her together with another guy, just like he had wanted in the past. He’d then feel jealous and upset, realizing that… he had indeed loved her to the extent that he couldn’t accept seeing her with another guy.

  Yun Liuli looked straight at Gu Qingcheng with her clear, black, and bright eyes. Her gaze was so clear that it seemed as if she could see through a person’s heart, causing Gu Qingcheng to feel anxious.

  Gu Qingcheng drew back his hand that was knocking on the table, then casually picked up the glass of water in front of him to take a sip. He then said, “I hope that you can be a normal girl and find yourself a normal guy. Even the previous Zhong Qingfei would be more suitable than this Zhou Yuchen.”


  Gu Qingcheng’s deep and mature voice still rang out slowly, speaking as if that was how things were.

  Yun Liuli’s throat rolled slightly, but she didn’t make a sound. Gu Qingcheng’s words had angered her.

  “I think that Zhou Yuchen is very good!” Yun Liuli held tightly onto her chopsticks, poking at the rice in her bowl. “Moreover, I’m the one in a relationship, not you, Uncle Qingcheng. It’s more important for me to feel that the person is suitable.”


  Hearing this, Gu Qingcheng furrowed his brows together. He then saw Yun Liuli lifting some rice to her mouth with her chopsticks and didn’t continue to say anything.

  However, after picking up his chopsticks, Gu Qingcheng still couldn’t help but ask, “Do you really like that Zhou Yuchen?”


  Yun Liuli lowered her head, not saying anything. She bit onto the tip of her chopsticks.

  “Answer me!” Gu Qingcheng’s brows furrowed even tighter.

  Yun Liuli was unable to say things against her heart. However, she did feel angry after hearing what Gu Qingcheng said. She looked up at him and said, “Uncle Qingcheng, you aren’t young either. You should also… get into a relationship with a woman close to your age, get married, and have kids!”


  Only then would Gu Qingcheng understand that Yun Liuli wasn’t his daughter!

  Yun Liuli had returned to Gu Qingcheng what he had said to her in the past, and this caused him to be unable to conceal his stunned expression in time.

  Yun Liuli seemed to have caught onto Gu Qingcheng’s weak point and continued saying, “Uncle Qingcheng, my feelings for you are abnormal. You were the one who said it yourself! You know that I love you a lot…”


  Yun Liuli broke the barrier that the two of them had patched between them in the past as if nothing had happened, catching Gu Qingcheng unaware.

  “But from the moment I called you Uncle Qingcheng, I decided not to love you…” Yun Liuli’s voice was choking a little.

  She wasn’t lying to Gu Qingcheng. Gu Qingcheng had ignored her for close to a year, leaving her in Haicheng and not asking about her. Since then, Yun Liuli had decided to give up on Gu Qingcheng.

  Gu Qingcheng had no idea how, over the countless days and nights, Yun Liuli had repeatedly torn up the Gu Qingcheng in her heart at night, then patched the pieces up again during the day.

  She was in too much pain and felt too upset, so much so that she was unable to withstand this cycle of pain. That was why she had decided to give up.

  However, the feelings she wanted to be rid of were rekindled when Gu Qingcheng said that he was coming back.

  Yun Liuli was probably a typical example of a person who couldn’t learn their lesson.

  No matter how hard she had fallen when dealing with Gu Qingcheng, no matter how painful it was, after she got over it, she would still realize that she loved him to the extent that she couldn’t control herself.

  She looked at Gu Qingcheng and said, not sure if it was out of spite or a desire for revenge, “I chose to get into a relationship with someone close to my age in order to save myself, trying hard to go back to the correct way of life. Uncle Qingcheng… any means you choose to participate and interfere in my life will be giving me hope! To the current me, if I see any inkling of hope, I’ll sink back into those abnormal feelings. But Uncle Qingcheng… if I sink into those feelings, will you dare to want me?”


  Yun Liuli’s voice choked. “What am I to do if I return to that deep abyss once again, but you don’t want me? Continue to be a so-called family member to you for life like this?”


  Gu Qingcheng looked at the young lady who had her hair cut short. Her gaze was determined and calm. Even though her eyes had turned red, she still tried to hold back and not cry.

  What Yun Liuli got in return was dead silence.

  Gu Qingcheng’s throat rolled slightly. Did he dare?

  In this lifetime, there was nothing that Gu Qingcheng didn’t dare to do, except this one thing…


  Yun Liuli was so young and wonderful. Her future shouldn’t be to be together with him. Even though Gu Qingcheng understood this, he was still unable to control his heart.

  When he heard that she had embraced Zhou Yuchen, no matter how much he was unwilling to admit it, he still felt jealous of that illegitimate son.

  Gu Qingcheng’s phone vibrated. It was like his lifesaver, which could bring him out of the tense atmosphere. He looked over at the phone screen that had lit up.

  Gu Qingcheng picked up his phone, appearing as if he was about to accept the call, saying to Yun Liuli, “I’ll go take a call.”


  “Hello…”


  He picked up the call, wanting to head for the balcony. Yun Liuli gritted her teeth, put down her chopsticks, and ran over to hug Gu Qingcheng’s slender waist from behind tightly.

  Gu Qingcheng clutched his phone tightly, and his body stiffened up.

  “If you don’t make things clear, then don’t leave! You’re the one who brought up this topic first. I’ve answered all of your questions, but what about the questions I asked? You’re thinking of escaping using the call as a pretext? But Gu Qingcheng… on what basis? On what basis do I have to abide by everything you say, yet you’re so miserly toward even replying to my questions?”


  On the other end of the call, Lu Jinnan heard Yun Liuli’s sobbing voice and felt a little awkward. “It seems that I’ve called at a bad time. I… I… Give me a call back later!”