She Lives without Regret in This Life

”I’m sorry! Aunt Zhu.” These simple three words made Zhu Meihua’s heart race with anxiety. She dared not say more and called her husband to the room to understand the situation before arranging a place for Gu Yunbo to stay.

”Yunbo, can I call you that?”

Gu Yunbo kept a cold expression and didn’t respond, but once inside, she said, ”Aunt Zhu, do you know why I’m called Gu Yunbo?”

Zhu Meihua paused with her hand on the door, smiling rather reluctantly, ”I don’t know, Yunbo, could you tell me?”

”Because I’m an illegitimate child without a father, so I can only take my mother’s surname. By the way, Yunbo comes from the Tang Dynasty poet Li Shangyin’s poem, ’Dreams of Jinghua, well sent through Yunbo.’ My mother hoped to send her dreams to the Capital through the brook.”

She leisurely watched as Zhu Meihua’s face turned deathly pale, feeling somewhat pleased inside.

”... Yunbo truly is Weiwei’s daughter, really smart.” Zhu Meihua smiled vaguely, changed the subject, and pushed open the door before her.

The room wasn’t big, only about ten square meters. Inside was a simple bed, desk, and chair, and nothing else. At a glance, it was clearly a boy’s room, but the one benefit was the good lighting.

Leaning against the window, as it was a suite, one could see the tall fragrant camphor trees in the lush large courtyard outside.

Zhu Meihua had just learned from her husband about the conditions the child had been living in in the mountains, though even without him telling her, she knew it. After all, she had come from the mountains herself.

Sleeping in cattle sheds, living in thatched houses.

She wanted to see a hint of fear and envy on Gu Yunbo’s face, but after observing for a long time, she was disappointed to find nothing.

”Yunbo, this is your brother Ping Qing’s room. He’s rarely home, so feel free to stay here.”

Gu Yunbo tugged at the corner of her mouth and stiffly said, ”Thanks!”

”Then tidy up first, I’ll go prepare dinner for us to eat together tonight.”

After Zhu Meihua left, Gu Yunbo couldn’t stand any longer. She slowly sat down on the wooden bed, looking around at the room she had once stayed in, noticing the knife marks on the bed and windowsill.

The desk was the most ordinary kind, a small one, likely used by Ping Qing when he was studying.

Thinking of Ping Qing, Gu Yunbo furrowed her brow slightly. In her past life, she had hardly met any formidable opponents during her quest for revenge. Ping Qing exceeded as the sole exception; he was very intelligent and had unique insights.

Most importantly, he had a good relationship with Meng Fan. Because Ping Guo Fei was Meng Xingzhi’s assistant for fifteen years, it meant Ping Qing and Meng Fan grew up together and later joined the military together.

President Meng Xingzhi took good care of Ping Guo Fei, and the treatment he gave his son was the same as Ping Qing’s.

She silently warned herself to be cautious of Ping Qing.

****

After dinner, Gu Yunbo took a bath and changed into a fresh outfit. Although the dakron fabric top felt cool, it wasn’t sweat-absorbent. Any sweat would make it stick to the skin uncomfortably.

However, she didn’t mind these things; after an entire afternoon of pondering, she came to terms with many things.

”Mom, I’m back.” A girl’s voice came from outside.

It was Ping Simin.

Gu Yunbo’s eyes grew dark and inscrutable as she sat honestly on the stool at the door, looking down at Ping Simin in the courtyard below. Seventeen years old, only a month younger than her; in her past life, they were mortal enemies.