The wedding had ended, and by the time Su Wan returned to the bridal room, it was already past ten o'clock at night.

Inside the living room was a huge floor-to-ceiling window, outside of which the moonlight grew increasingly dense, like it had been smeared with ink, becoming deeply dark with a faintly yellow crescent moon, shaped like a scimitar, hanging in the sky.

Standing in the middle of the living room, Su Wan had already changed out of her wedding dress. She looked around the vast villa, somewhat at a loss, fidgeting with the hem of her clothes, unsure of what to do next.

Today was her wedding to Gu Nanzhou.

Su Wan looked down at her toes, slightly zoning out.

Today, she joyfully married the man she had loved for ten years.

While her thoughts drifted chaotically, there came a noise from the staircase.

She looked towards the sound and saw the man she had secretly cherished for ten years still dressed in the meticulously tailored suit from the wedding, the corners of his eyes slightly reddened from the effects of alcohol.

Gu Nanzhou stood against the light on the second floor, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, a statuesque figure, his straight brows, narrow eyes, and the sharp curvature of his thin lips giving his face a faint trace of cool indifference.

Su Wan's favorite feature was Gu Nanzhou's eyes, which were beautiful—long and narrow, with deep double eyelids, slightly upturned at the corners, and thick eyelashes like crow feathers.

They were irresistible at first glance.

Under the man's gaze, Su Wan's palms were sweaty with nervousness, her heart in turmoil. Just as she was about to call out "Brother Nanzhou" as she did when she was a child, Gu Nanzhou suddenly spoke.

His expression was indifferent, his tone equally detached, devoid of any emotion, his pitch-black eyes looking at her lackadaisically, his features unflappable. His handsome face, softened by the light, spoke words that made Su Wan feel as if she had fallen into an icy abyss.

He said, "Su Wan, I've given you the status of Mrs. Gu. You only need to fulfill your obligations. All you can receive from me is power and money, nothing beyond that."

In essence, Gu Nanzhou would not love her, and it was impossible for him to ever do so.

Though the temperature in the room was comfortable, Su Wan's fingertips turned colder inch by inch. Her grip tightened, and her complexion grew paler.

With a heart full of sincere devotion, Su Wan wanted to tell him that she had secretly loved him for many years. But before she could pour out her heart, it was as if someone threw it to the ground, shattering it into pieces.

She thought she would be enraged or cry with self-pity. Had it been the spoiled little princess who grew up amidst adoration, a retort followed by a walk-out would have been the response.

But Su Wan didn't. She heard her own desolate, feeble laughter, and then she said softly, "I understand, Mr. Gu."

In the end, she only called him Mr. Gu.

Gu Nanzhou said nothing more. He glanced at her briefly before turning and walking away.

Once the man's silhouette had vanished from her view, Su Wan's previously tense expression finally relaxed. She stepped back and collapsed helplessly on the couch.

Her dress was pulled out of shape; her long hair fell down, covering Su Wan's delicate and pretty little face.

Tears dropped one after another onto the back of her hand, scalding hot, making her heart quiver. She bit her lip, managing not to make a single sound.

Su Wan suddenly woke up.

Her hands still clenched the bedding tightly, breathing erratic, her heartbeat rapid, it took a while to settle down.

Outside the window, the sky was brightly lit, covered with a thick layer of snow.

Su Wan blinked, her vision gradually focusing, she stared at the white ceiling for a while.

"Why am I dreaming again..."

She rolled over, buried her face in the pillow, and whispered very softly, her voice somewhat hoarse.

After a while, she sat up and slapped her face to wake herself up, having been married to Gu Nanzhou for three years now.

Why did she dream of that day again? She still remembered that, afterwards, she had taken the initiative to move into the guest room, and become a twenty-four-seven devoted wife—gentle, understanding, and not clingy, never causing Gu Nanzhou any trouble.

Exhaustion enveloped Su Wan like a dense wave. She caught her breath and got out of bed.

Winter in City A was very cold, bone-chillingly so.

Snow had started falling last night, blanketing everything in sight with relentless whiteness all through the night.

Su Wan stood in the yard, staring absently at the tiny snowflakes, her waist-length hair casually draped behind her.

She didn't hold an umbrella; the snowflakes landed on her hair, her shoulders, turning her into a picturesque beauty, a stunning presence against the vast expanse of snow.

With slightly parted red lips, she breathed out, rubbed her somewhat reddened hands from the cold, and pulled out her phone from her pocket.

The calendar reminder showed "Gu Nanzhou returns home today".

Su Wan stared at the notification for a long time, unable to determine whether she felt happy or something else.

It seemed she and Gu Nanzhou hadn't seen each other for six months now.

At the age of twenty-one, Su Wan married into the Gu Family, and now, it had been almost three years. Gu Nanzhou was very busy, spending four to five months of each year traveling for work. On top of his early departures and late returns, there was very little real contact between them.

Su Wan didn't mind. She had loved Gu Nanzhou for ten years, and now that she was able to marry him as she'd wished, she was very content.

Moreover, the Su Family was no longer in its former glory, and she was not the pampered young lady she once was.

She was able to marry Gu Nanzhou smoothly all because Grandpa Gu remembered the kindness the Su Family had shown him. Otherwise, with Gu Nanzhou's status, the exalted position of Mrs. Gu was not something a fallen lady like herself could attain.

Since marrying Gu Nanzhou, everyone said that it was the good fortune her ancestors had accumulated that allowed their fallen family to cling to the high branches of the Gu Family.

Everyone thought that Su Wan must be very happy to marry the most noble man in City A, Gu Nanzhou, and even Su Wan herself thought so.

But that was just what she thought.

Su Wan's long eyelashes drooped, a flicker of light in her eyes, as she suddenly thought of the dream she had that morning.

She had been holding on, based on her hidden affection for Gu Nanzhou, for three years now.

At this thought, the corners of the girl's eyes drooped momentarily, and she felt a coolness at her fingertips.

Just as she was thinking about what dishes to prepare to welcome Gu Nanzhou home today, a familiar voice interrupted Su Wan's reverie.

"Miss Su, why are you standing in the snow in such cold weather, without an umbrella? Don't catch a cold,"

Looking back, Su Wan saw it was Mrs. Wu.

She gave her a smile. "It's okay, I just came out to look at the snow,"

Gu Nanzhou, busy with work, rarely stayed at home, and even when he did return, they slept in separate rooms. Although Su Wan and Gu Nanzhou were husband and wife, they appeared more distant than strangers on the surface.

Mrs. Wu didn't live here, but she came over every day to cook, and there were maids to clean the house. Su Wan knew that Gu Nanzhou didn't like her; marrying her was only under duress, so she tried her best not to bother him.

After getting married, Su Wan wasn't comfortable with the title "madam," so she asked Mrs. Wu and the maids to continue calling her "Miss Su."

"It's cold out; Miss Su, take care of your health," Mrs. Wu advised before heading inside to clean.