It was already seven o'clock, and Gu Nanzhou still hadn't come back.
Su Wan opened WeChat and glanced at it. Her last conversation with Gu Nanzhou was still from around five o'clock.
She had sent, "Mr. Gu, will you be coming home tonight?"
It took Gu Nanzhou half an hour to reply with a single word, 'yes'.
And then there was no follow-up.
Su Wan didn't think much of Gu Nanzhou's one-word reply attitude, as she had long grown accustomed to his nature of using one word where one was enough, never two.
By eight, the door remained silent.
Su Wan sat at the dining table, gazing at the gradually cooling dishes with a slight daze.
Mrs. Wu, seeing Su Wan like this, couldn't bear it and spoke up to comfort her, "Miss Su, don't wait for your husband. He has probably just returned to the country and has many social engagements. Most likely, he can't get away at this time."
Su Wan smiled gently, her voice was tender, and her eyes were too, not affected in the slightest by the long wait, "I know, Mrs. Wu, it's okay. I'll just wait for him a little longer."
Seeing she couldn't persuade Su Wan, Mrs. Wu sighed as she turned to leave, secretly praying in her heart that the master would come back early.
Before leaving, she specially came over to instruct, "Miss Su, if the master doesn't come back, you should go to rest. Leave these dishes as they are, we can clean up tomorrow."
"Okay, I got it. Be safe on your way, Mrs. Wu."
Mrs. Wu was an old member of the Gu Family, greatly valued by the Gu patriarch and had watched Gu Nanzhou grow up. Su Wan respected her greatly. She walked Mrs. Wu to the door, then sat back down in the dining room to continue waiting.
The maids and servants of the house had left one after another around eight in the evening, leaving only her alone in the vast villa. It was eerily quiet all around, permeated with a desolate chill.
At first, she was scared, but as she waited time and again, she slowly got used to it.
Over the years, it seemed that what Su Wan did most was wait for him.
Su Wan turned on all the lights in the living room. Despite the adequate heating, she still felt her hands and feet turn cold.
She was actually afraid of the dark, but now she realized that the boundless loneliness was more terrifying than the darkness.
She felt as if she were in total darkness, with no one around. She couldn't move, nor could she hear. She was surrounded by an endless expanse of black, watching herself be swallowed up with no way to fight it.
By nine o'clock, looking at the food that had long since gone cold, she heated each dish in the microwave again before taking them out.
And continued to wait.
Finally, at eleven o'clock, there was a noise at the door. The food on the dining table had been warmed by Su Wan twice, yet still turned cold.
Gu Nanzhou returned under the stars, his suit jacket draped over his arm, two buttons at the collar undone, revealing a tall figure beneath his white shirt.
In the thick moonlight, he appeared even more with a line that was sharp and cold, his temperament as dense as the enduring chill of Yuanshan's snow, his expression insipid, his lips slightly upturned, his brow bone radiating a sense of chill detachment.
The air was suffused with a faint smell of alcohol.
"You're back, Mr. Gu."
Su Wan trotted up to him, knowing Gu Nanzhou didn't like others getting close, so she stopped a few steps away.
The man's movements paused as if he hadn't expected someone to be there so late. He stared at Su Wan's delicate face, his gaze slightly narrowed.
Even after three years of marriage, Su Wan still felt a bit nervous when they were alone together. She tugged at the hem of her clothes, not daring to look directly at Gu Nanzhou, her eyes shifting from his eyes to his neck and then to his chest. She felt it was inappropriate to look anywhere, eventually not knowing where to rest her gaze.
Gu Nanzhou was silent for a while before a single word popped out from his throat, "Mmm."
"Have you eaten? I can give you..."
Su Wan was too nervous, speaking without thinking, and it was only after a while that she realized that Gu Nanzhou coming back so late, with the smell of alcohol on him, was a clear sign he had already eaten outside. Mid-sentence, she stopped talking.
As expected, she heard Gu Nanzhou say, "I've eaten outside."
Although she had already known the answer deep down, when she actually heard it, Su Wan still felt a fleeting disappointment.
She blinked, trying hard to hide those negative emotions, and when she looked up at him she smiled, "I'll go pour Mr. Gu a glass of water, to help sober up. Otherwise, it's easy to get a headache."
When Gu Nanzhou passed by the dining room, he glanced at the table full of dishes and, after a moment's thought, asked, "Did you make all this?"
With her back to him as she poured water, Su Wan paused for a moment, her long eyelashes drooping down, hiding her beautiful almond-shaped eyes and concealing her emotions.
"Mmm." Her voice was soft, and she steadied her slightly trembling hands. Turning around with a smile still on her face, her eyebrows curved delicately, endearingly, "Not all of it, some was made by Mother Wu."
She handed the water to Gu Nanzhou, "Since Mr. Gu has eaten outside, I'll find a way to take care of these dishes."
Her tone remained gentle and soft, without any hint of anger for her wasted effort.
Su Wan's voice was delicate and clear, when she called out "Mr. Gu" the words seemed to roll off her tongue, imbued with a lingering intimacy.
Gu Nanzhou held the cup of hot water, his fingertips brushing the rim of the glass, looking downward, not saying a word.
He didn't really know how to face this woman who was in name his Mrs. Gu.
Su Wan was younger than him, a maiden from a prestigious family. If it hadn't been for his grandfather claiming it was to return a favor, reaching a marriage arrangement for the two of them, he and Su Wan would likely have never crossed paths.
The alcohol made its presence felt, and Gu Nanzhou's brow wrinkled slightly, his head feeling rather uncomfortable.
Su Wan noticed the change in the man's expression and quickly asked him, "Mr. Gu, do you have a headache? Shall I make you a soup to relieve the hangover?"
Before she could finish speaking, she was ready to prepare the hangover remedy.
Gu Nanzhou stopped Su Wan, who looked anxious, "No need, I'm fine."
Su Wan hesitated for a moment, knowing that asking too much would annoy Gu Nanzhou, and quietly drew back her leg, "Then Mr. Gu should rest early. I'll take care of cleaning up here."
Gu Nanzhou glanced once more at the food laid out on the table and with a faint "Mmm," went back to his room.
After watching the man leave, when Su Wan turned back around, the light in her eyes dimmed.
She picked up the chopsticks and casually sampled a dish. The food had already cooled down and, having been reheated multiple times in the microwave, the texture had deteriorated considerably.
Su Wan chewed a few bites and, when she swallowed, she found her throat painfully dry.
She sat at the dining table, staring blankly at the spread before her, eventually disposing of the dishes one by one into the garbage can.
Her movements were slow and serious, as if she were dealing with something very important.
By the time Su Wan returned to the bedroom, it was already very late.
Sitting at the vanity, she zoned out for a while, then snapped out of it and glanced at the desktop calendar. It was then she realized that the New Year was approaching.
The young girl's eyes curved slightly. Her fingertips gently swept over the red circle drawn on the calendar, thinking it would be great to visit her mother tomorrow and then prepare for the New Year's festivities.