New Characters:
Feng Chihui: Lu Jingchen’s childhood friend
Yan Ji: Nordin Law Firm’s Partner
Du Zhi: Gu Jinhan’s adoptive mother
Gu Yixuan: Gu Jinhan’s adoptive father
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“Jingchen, something’s off today. Why don’t you smell like incense today?”
“Mu Xingwei, your nose is as sharp as a dog’s!” someone joked.
“Maybe Gu Jinhan forgot to burn calming incense for him today!”
“Didn’t you all see the group chat?” Another voice joined in, loud and careless.
“Meng Sibei said they’re not getting married anymore. Gu Jinhan has always been obsessed with marriage. She must have snapped after seeing what Lu Jingchen and Meng Sibei did the other day. Guess she’s going cold turkey on everything now. No more incense for Lu Jingchen.”
Everyone started chiming in with their own theories and burst into rowdy laughter, completely oblivious to Lu Jingchen’s face darkening like the bottom of a burnt pot.
“Aren’t we here to eat?” Aren’t you all hungry?” Lu Jingchen’s voice was low, but it carried. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on noᴠelfire.net
“…We are!”
Sensing the awkward atmosphere at the table, Lu Jingchen quickly flashed his usual roguish smirk, trying to smooth things over. “I got cold feet and didn’t want to get married anymore. What’s that got to do with Gu Jinhan?”
“That’s the spirit! Who wants to be tied down with marriage and burdened with kids at such a young age? Here’s to you, Jingchen, congrats on being single again!” his buddies said, raising their glasses.
“Cheers!”
After downing their drinks, the group began chatting freely once more.
The others got drunk on wine and words and only Lu Jingchen seemed to be having a difficult time. His fingers were pressed firmly against his temples, gently massaging them. That familiar, throbbing ache in his head had returned.
Out of habit, his eyes unconsciously scanned the table for a familiar dish that should have been there.
Gastrodia pig brain soup.
Feng Chihui, being more observant, noticed his friend’s searching gaze and quietly asked the waiter, “Why hasn’t the soup been served today?”
In the past, the soup was always there whenever they were gathered together. Even when Gu Jinhan herself did not show up, she would call the restaurant in advance and instruct them to prepare the soup for Lu Jingchen.
But tonight, it was nowhere to be seen.
The waiter leaned in, speaking softly, “Miss Gu called to cancel the order earlier. She said she wouldn’t be ordering gastrodia pig brain soup anymore.”
Before Feng Chihui could respond, Mu Xingwei, who had overheard everything, slapped his thigh and burst into laughter.
“A woman’s gotta do whatever it takes to stand her ground! Who knew Gu Jinhan had it in her to watch Lu Jingchen suffer? Jingchen, looks like not only is your incense gone, but so is your soup! Someone’s getting kicked out of the room tonight!”
The atmosphere at the table instantly turned tense again and the laughter around the table faded fast.
Trying to salvage the moment, Feng Chihui quickly ordered the waiter, “Just bring us a bowl of gastrodia pig brain soup, please. Now!”
The waiter scurried off to the kitchen and returned shortly with a bowl of soup from the kitchen. Lu Jingchen picked up the spoon, took a single sip and immediately set it down.
Even though it was expertly prepared by a chef from a luxurious hotel, it couldn’t compare to the ones Gu Jinhan made.
With his appetite gone, he stood up abruptly, ready to leave.
But Mu Xingwei, couldn’t resist a final jab. “Leaving so soon, Jingchen?” he called out loudly.
“What’s the rush? Don’t tell me you’re heading home early to beg Gu Jinhan to take you back?”
Lu Jingchen let out a cold laugh. “I said I’m not getting married! Are you deaf or are you just a damn mutt who doesn’t understand human speech?”
—
Lakeside Villa
The next morning, the early summer sun shone across the Lakeside Villa.
Gu Jinhan sat at the table, quietly enjoying her breakfast. As she bit into a shrimp dumpling, Fu Yiyang came thundering down the stairs.
“Sister Jinhan, I’m gonna be late for school! My sister’s still asleep. Could you give me a ride to school on your motorcycle today?”
Without hesitation, she tossed another dumpling into her mouth and stood up. “Let’s go!”
She quickly packed an extra serving of steamed shrimp dumplings for Fu Yiyang before decisively snatching her motorcycle keys.
Riding through the morning breeze on her motorcycle, she exuded confidence and coolness.
They soon pulled up at the school gates with ten minutes to spare.
Fu Yiyang, munching on the shrimp dumplings, beamed happily at her in between bites. “Sister Jinhan, your cooking is amazing! I want to eat this again!”
Whoever married her would be so lucky! Too bad that Lu Jingchen was no longer in the picture. He had truly suffered a huge loss!
“Go to class quickly. I’ll make more for you and Nanyan when I have time,” Gu Jinhan said with a smile. “I’ve got to go now. I have a job interview at a law firm today.”
“Good luck with your interview, Sister Jinhan!” he shouted, raising a fist in the air to cheer her on.
It’s better this way, he thought. She won’t just be someone’s housewife anymore.
After watching him enter the school, Gu Jinhan was about to leave when—
“Auntie...What are you doing here?” a familiar voice called out behind her.
Xu Zimei had jumped out of her family’s Mercedes as soon as she spotted Gu Jinhan in front of the school gates.
“Zimei…Just call me Jinhan from now on.”
Since she was no longer marrying Lu Jingchen, it made no sense for Xu Zimei to keep calling her “Auntie.”
“Why? Are you afraid that calling you ‘Auntie’ makes you sound old? My uncle is such a boomer, he would never let me call you by your name.”
At the mention of Lu Jingchen, Gu Jinhan’s expression turned cold instantly. She had no desire to hear anyone mention him or his name.
“By the way, why did you stop tutoring me? I’m counting entirely on you to get into Qing university! Just hurry up and finish your wedding stuff already!”
“Zimei, actually, your uncle and I have already—”
Rinnnggggg— The school bell cut Gu Jinhan off with a shrill ring.
“The bell! I gotta go, I’m late! Whether I get into Qing University or not depends entirely on you!” Xu Zimei yelled over her shoulder as she dashed into the school campus.
Realising that she was going to be late too, Gu Jinhan quickly made her way to Nordin Law Firm.
The interviewer was Yan Ji, one of the firm’s partners. She had a stern face and appeared to be a serious woman in her early forties.
She scanned Gu Jinhan’s résumé. “Qing University. Double master’s in finance and law. That’s rather impressive. But your work history has been blank for the last two years after graduation. Explain this. Why are you only applying for an intern position now?”
Gu Jinhan had expected this question but how should she answer this question?
Should she tell the truth and say that she had abandoned her legal career two years ago to make incense for a man who couldn’t sleep?
But if she were to say that, that’d make her a laughing-stock in anyone’s eyes.
“I spent the last two years developing incense to help those suffering from insomnia and headaches. I don’t consider it wasted time. But now I am returning back to the legal profession.”
As she spoke, she took a box of incense from her bag and placed it on the table.
She tried to answer truthfully while concealing some parts of the truth. However, her response was only met with a scoff from Yan Ji.
“Let’s skip the revisionist history. You gave up your career two years ago for a man. Why not just admit it?”
At that moment, Gu Jinhan felt as if she’d been stripped bare and tossed onto the street for all to see. Her face paled as she asked, “How…how did you know that?”
“I run background checks on everyone before I hire them.”
“What does my personal life have to do with my ability to be an intern lawyer?”
“It may not be important for others but it is for me. I can’t stand having women who are nothing but love-struck fools around me. In short, they bring nothing but trouble.”
Yan Ji’s merciless mockery left Gu Jinhan flushed with humiliation.
She stood up and left quietly, knowing that she had failed the interview.
This was the consequence of the path she had chosen, and no matter what, she had to face them squarely.
Seeking solace, she strolled to a nearby park, trying to clear her mind. Then her phone suddenly rang. It was her adoptive mother, Du Zhi, asking her to come home.
Two years ago, Gu Jinhan had learnt that she wasn’t the Gu family’s biological daughter.
When she arrived, Du Zhi took her hand gently and asked,“Jinhan, is Jingchen really not giving any dowry for the marriage?”
Lu Jingchen had proposed, but the matter of Gu Jinhan’s dowry had never been formally discussed.
“Jinhan, when I ask about the dowry, it’s not because I want to sell you off. I just want to know that the man you’re marrying truly values you. It’s fine if he doesn’t give any…” Du Zhi paused for a moment and then continued, “What matters most is that you like him. Your happiness after marriage is what’s most important.”
“Mum, the wedding has actually been—"
Before she could finish, Du Zhi interjected, her voice laced with a deeper anxiety. “Jinhan, have you…. spoken to Jingchen about investing in your dad’s company?”
Du Zhi was worried about her husband, Gu Yixuan. Although he was only in his fifties, his hair was already streaked with grey and his face bore the exhaustion of someone far older.
With foreign trade struggling in recent years, many companies had gone under, and the Gu family business was barely staying afloat.
“Dad–” she started.
“If the company can’t be saved, just file for bankruptcy.”
Her finance degree made the situation painfully clear: No investment could revive the family business at this point.
“I’ll take care of you and Mum,” she continued.
She wanted a clean break from Lu Jingchen, so how could she possibly go crawling back to him, begging him to invest in a sinking ship?
Hearing that, Gu Yixuan questioned her mockingly. “You?” he asked as his voice turned sharp. “Take care of us?”
“You graduated from Qing University with a master’s degree two years ago and haven’t held a real job since! And now you’re saying you’re going to support us?” Gu Yixuan snapped, his voice laced with anger.
“Look at your classmates. They’re doing so well in life! Some are working hard at top law firms while others are pursuing research. And you? What have you accomplished in the last two years?!”
Each word that Gu Yixuan hurled at her struck like a knife and her cheeks burnt with shame. She hadn’t expected her father’s words to cut this deep.