"Are you tired?"
"A little."
Huo Nanchen watched Gu Ruochu as she collapsed on the sofa. He sat by the side and pinched her leg before placing it on his body.
"Don't pinch me. You should rest."
Gu Ruochu moved closer to Huo Nanchen and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You can take a nap after dinner. The doctor said that you should rest more often. Otherwise, your body won't heal properly."
"Do you feel sorry for me?"
"What do you think?"
Huo Nanchen did not reply, but he cast his shadow over Gu Ruochu and kissed her before letting out a low laugh. "I say you really do feel sorry for me."
Suddenly, there was a loud quarrel upstairs. Gu Ruochu was shocked and quickly put her legs down.
"Qi Ru, why are you so unreasonable?" Huo Zhenggang's mood was gloomy.
"So what if I'm unreasonable? Huo Zhenggang, don't forget that this is not just about me." Mrs. Huo sneered as she came down the stairs. When she saw Gu Ruochu and Huo Nanchen, she immediately changed her angry tone.
"Nanchen, you're back?"
"Mom, what are you and dad arguing about?"
They had quarreled so loudly that Huo Nanchen and Gu Ruochu could not pretend that they had not heard anything.
Mrs. Huo was still angry, but Nanny Zhang came to her rescue. "The First Lady just sent an invitation for a dinner scheduled for tomorrow. That is why they were quarreling."
Huo Nanchen did not understand why his parents would argue about a fancy dinner.
"..."
"Mother, aren't you planning to go?"
Mrs. Huo felt as if she was about to explode as she replied harshly, "I'm not going to the President's dinner. I'm going to let Huo Zhenggang go alone. Besides, I want to see how you're going to explain this to your mother!"
When Mrs. Huo had seen the invitation to the President's dinner, a lot of mixed feelings had welled up inside her. So many years had passed since the incident. She did not feel the need to pretend anymore.
"Of course, I'm not going either," Huo Zhenggang calmly replied to his wife's angry rant.
Gu Ruochu shot a puzzled looked at the invitation letter in Nanny Zhang's hand and turned to Huo Nanchen. "Your mom seems to hate the President. Did they have some sort of misunderstanding?"
Huo Nanchen shook his head and held her hand. "Things are complicated. However, since the President has already sent us an invitation, we should give him some face."
"Are you asking me to go with you?"
Huo Nanchen shook his head and said, "You should go to bed early after dinner. We still have a lot of things to do tomorrow."
Gu Ruochu did not like the upper-class banquets. She was tired of having to deal with strange women at every social gathering.
"Ruochu, let's get married and go on our honeymoon after this matter is over."
Gu Ruochu was stunned. She turned around and looked at Huo Nanchen's handsome face. However, she did not have anything to say to him.
She had gone through a lot of challenges since Huo Nanchen's accident. As she thought about his suggestion, she felt an indescribable sense of complexity.
"Do you still mind?"
"I don't mind. It's just that too many things have happened in the past few weeks."
Huo Nanchen reached out and caressed her head. He then said unhurriedly, "Ruochu, I'm sorry. I know I've hurt you so many times."
"There's nothing to be sorry about." Gu Ruochu stared at him with her clear black and white eyes. "If I want to, I will be able to tolerate you. But if I don't want to, I might be very heartless."
Gu Ruochu uttered her words carefully. She was still conflicted about Huo Nanchen's position in her heart.
"All right." Huo Nanchen had a gentle look on his face as he gazed at her. He had already made up his mind about her.
The next night, a special escort car arrived at the Huo residence to pick up Gu Ruochu and Huo Nanchen and transport them to the President's dinner.