763 Official yet unofficial
The months passed by and the time for Ai's first book publishing event with Sky was already here. Guiying and Zixin were naturally a part of the event. They joined the Liu family where a certain member was hopping around with his aura gushing out with shiny sparkles.
"It's Ai! It's Ai! You know Ai is going to come at the stage now, right? Her book will officially make it to the stores today hohoho!!!"
Liu Hai was taking everybody to dance with him one by one out of sheer happiness that he was unable to contain in his heart.
"Woh woh woh!"
Guiying saw the podium spinning in front of her eyes with Liu Hai's twirl around his finger. "Grandpa, everything is circling…"
She stumbled a few steps back only to land on Zixin's chest. He held her shoulders and steadied her balance. "Are you okay?"
The dizziness snapped away and she found her focus back. She looked up, her eyes immediately blinded by his princely smile. She coughed and stood straight.
Chen Liling glared at her brother, scolding him. "Hey you! Don't you bully Guiying!"
"Hah? When did I bully her?" He pouted.
"Poor girl was going to fall because of you!"
"I was just dancing with her! Don't be so stingy. And I knew Zixin will catch her anyway. If anything, the men in our families are excellent at not letting our women fall, ahahaha!"
Guiying at the side - "..."
Liu Hai insinuating her as Zixin's woman reddened her cheeks till her neck. She looked at him, whose face had become another ball of sunshine like Liu Hai's.
Guiying quickly took her seat beside Serena, who beamed upon her arrival. "It's so cool, right? Jun has left no stone unturned for Ai's book launching event."
She brightened with pride. "Of course he wouldn't. It's her first book with Sky and I know how much she has worked hard for it. She deserves every bit of this dazzle."
She looked at the stage and her heart pounded faster. It felt like an incredibly long time when Ai was finally getting awarded with the recognition she deserved. The Summit had given her a head start and now Ai would become a full-fledged writer in the true sense.
Zixin walked from the other end and took his seat beside her. She gave a small nod because she didn't know what to say. The thread of invisible tension between them remained ever since the evening of Zixin's birthday.
With 'Guiying' leaving them, it was as if the confession had come to a standstill. their relationship. Her answer had made it official, yet there remained an ambiguity to it. It felt to them too selfish to carry on like a couple as they struggled to handle 'Guiying's' loss.
The same confession wasn't conveyed to the family members either. Everybody hoped that the reason Guiying invited Zixin was to finally make it official. But as they had returned home, an unexpected scene welcomed them.
Both Zixin and Guiying looked heartbroken and in despair. Nobody spoke a word because nobody knew what they had to talk about. For a moment, Serena was extremely worried whether Guiying rejected Zixin. Everybody assumed that was the case so nobody poked into the matter further to make it awkward for anybody. But it was evident that Guiying not becoming their daughter-in-law was a hard strike on their hearts.
It was a few days later when Serena and Chen Liling found Zixin alone in his study that they realized the truth.
"Guiying didn't reject me," Zixin said. "The opposite."
Both stared at him with their jaws dropped.
"What are you talking about? That's not how you two looked when you returned from outside that day. Shouldn't you have been dancing with joy then?"
Zixin's gaze lowered. "We couldn't celebrate it, Grandma. Because even if I gained Guiying's answer, I also lost…a very precious and important person to me at the same time. 'She' left us, Grandma. We don't know what to do anymore."
When they learned about the disappearance of Guiying's alter personality, it was then that they realized the seriousness of the situation.
Serena pinched his ear. "You idiot. Why didn't you say so before!"
She said with her eyes tearing up. "My dear Guiying has been suffering so much with such a devastating loss and so have you, but you didn't say a word. No wonder you returned in that state. It's terrible…"
Chen Liling hugged Zixin and patted his head with her gentle fingers brushing through his hair. "I am so sorry. I know how the other person was so important to you just like Guiying. It's okay to take some time, dear. I understand why you wouldn't feel like going ahead further. Let Guiying have some time too to process everything. We will always be here with her."
Serena nodded hard. "You two can take as long as you want. In fact, we should apologize for assuming the wrong thing and rushing you two," she pursed her lips.
Zixin shook his head. He held her hand and brought it closer to him. "Nobody is at fault, Mom. I should have told you sooner."
Her eyes brimmed with tears once again and she embraced him too. So tightly that Zixin felt at a loss for his breath. "You two have been so strong. I am so proud of you! But promise me that from next time, you will never hide such important things from me! I won't see my children suffering all alone!"
He smiled and nodded.
They then went to visit Guiying as well, offering her their support and strength just like they did for Zixin. Their hearts dropped to see her weak and frail. It was evident from her tired expression that she had been crying for days.
Serena pinched her ear next. "You are coming with me right now and stuffing some good, hearty lunch with me!" Her nostrils flared. "I won't accept no for an answer. I am a chef's sister, you know. I won't tolerate people torturing themselves by going hungry."
Chen Liling grimly nodded. "And my brother and I have always been top-notch shameless foodies. It's blasphemy for us to not feed our stomachs."
Guiying stared at them and a moment later couldn't help but burst into a soft laughter. Even she was left surprised by it. But eventually, she gave a small, tired nod to them. "I will eat."
They beamed. "Good, good! Let's eat something delicious now. Hohoho!"
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l