When she received Baili Bin’s call, Fu Xuejun was happy, because her cousin had always treated her coldly. She had always wanted to make a good impression on him, but had not been able to do anything about it.
However, she didn’t expect to hear the words when she picked up the call.
“Cousin, you’re… making a joke?” Fu Xuejun’s lips twitched upwards. She didn’t dare believe it, but she also knew that her cousin would never lie. To make this phone call was already a testament of how much of a truth this was.
But, how was that possible?
The other side clearly didn’t expect for her to be the one to answer the call, and he hung up immediately, leaving only the dial tone ringing in her ears.
Fu Xuejun couldn’t calm down after hearing those words, and she sat down on the sofa, staring out the door in a daze.
When Baili Wenxi and Fu Wei came back, she was still in the same state. “Jun’er, why haven’t you gone to bed?”
Baili Wenxi was already over forty, but she still looked as beautiful as ever, as though age had not left a single mark on her flawless face. This was especially obvious in her eyes, which were incredibly mesmerizing. Although she had retired from the film industry for more than twenty years, the internationally renowned director had still not given up on the idea of her taking on a role in his movies.
However, Baili Wenxi had not taken on any roles, though she occasionally attended film festivals as a judge or an award guest.
Tonight, she had been out at an international film festival. She had been invited as a judge, and Fu Wei had accompanied her.
“I was waiting for you to come back first, mummy.” Fu Xuejun looped her arms around Baili Wenxi’s, and then instructed a servant, “Bring some of the desserts that I made for Mommy and Daddy.”
“We’ve already said to leave these things to Auntie and the others, why are you still doing it by yourself?” Although Fu Wei was harsh in his words, his eyes were full of affection and love. He didn’t have many desires in his life, and the greatest pride he had was marrying Baili Wenxi, and having his daughter, Fu Xuejun after that.
He didn’t have much knowledge on the path of ancient martial arts, so he left it to pursue things that he was more interested in, mainly commercial business. After those things happened to Baili Wenxi, he transferred his business abroad.
And then they had Fu Xuejun, who received the attention of the Fu family since she was young because she had managed to advance to Bone Refinement level at such a young age.
Fu Xuejun was a smart child since she was young, consistently skipping grades with her high intelligence. Although she was only seventeen years old, she was already an outstanding student in Stanford University. As a father, he couldn’t be any prouder.
And because Baili Wenxi liked Chinese food, Fu Xuejun had purposely gone to learn how to cook, and would come home occasionally to make them food when she could.
She had both the looks and the brains, and was also sensible, she was the ideal child of someone else in the eyes of people around her.
Baili Wenxi rubbed her head gently. “Jun’er, we might need to return to China soon.”
“What?” Fu Xuejun was startled, and she couldn’t help but think of the call that Baili Bin had made a while ago. An uncomfortable feeling clawed at her heart, but she forced a smile onto her face.
“Something has happened between England and the ancient martial art world. It wouldn’t be good for us to stay here.” Fu Wei explained. “You can still remain here and continue your studies in Stanford though.”
Fu Xuejun was flustered for a moment, before saying determinedly, “No, I’ll go back too.”
“I knew you would say that from the beginning,” Fu Wei said, after getting the confirmation from her. “I’ve already spoken to my assistant, and have sent your details to A University. They are eagerly awaiting your arrival.”
As a top student from Stanford University, how could they not?
“By the way, in the film festival this year, I saw a very soulful actress with your mommy.” Fu Wei suddenly recalled. “Although she was just the third lead, she was miles better than the female lead. Especially that pair of eyes, it’s very similar to your mommy’s. If we have the chance after we go back, we definitely must arrange a meeting with her.”
Facing an actress that looked very much like Baili Wenxi, Fu Wei couldn’t help but be amazed and also admire this actress.
Fu Xuejun smiled at that, and headed upstairs to sleep. The smile slid off her face as soon as she turned away.
***
Downstairs, Fu Wei was still discussing with Baili Wenxi about the actress that had caught their eye.
In tonight’s film festival, the most outstanding part of the entire festival was not any of the celebrities, but the newcomer that had never produced a film, and the newbie actress that played a female third lead.
“I feel an inexplicable kindness every time I look at her.” Baili Wenxin said, her gaze far away.
Fu Wei’s heart moved a little at his wife’s look. “It feels like the two of you have a tied fate, how about we take her in as a goddaughter after we return?”
The more he thought about it, the more the idea seemed feasible. With such great acting skills and only playing a third lead, especially that jumping scene on the city wall, Fu Wei had honestly felt his heart stop when he watched that scene. “And then we’ll look for some good resources for her. With such a talent, she must be some kind of best actress.”
It had been about a decade since they had gone back, and Fu Wei was slightly looking forward to it. Not only because of the actress, but the company ‘Nine Heavens’ that had been taking the world by a storm was also in China.
As a fellow businessman, he was extremely curious about the person behind the scenes of Nine Heavens.
What kind of people were they, that they were able to strategize and develop Nine Heavens into what it was today?
Baili Wenxi didn’t say anything further, she just turned on her phone and flipped to China’s Weibo, searching for ‘Empire Under Siege’.
Then she followed the trail all the way until she found the name ‘For A Millenium’.
***
After hanging up the call with Fu Xuejun, Baili Bin didn’t try to call again, but gave Baili Qu a call instead.
“Grandfather, there’s something I want to show you.” His voice was a little dry when he spoke.
Baili Qu replied from the other end of the phone, and then continued with, “Just send it over. Oh right, I’m sending someone over to pass you some things, bring it over to… Miss Gu tomorrow.” He knew about Gu Xiqiao from Zhu Yuan, and heard from him that the girl preferred antiques over money, and so he had turned the entire Baili family upside down, and finally choosing a few antiques to send over.
Baili Qu was from the ancient martial arts world, and he wasn’t really familiar with high technology like computers. Regarding the file that had been sent over by Baili Bin, he had to get a younger man from the family to help him download the file.
Night had fallen, and his room was still pitch black.
He was in a similar state to Baili Bin at that time, looking at the document over and over.
Although he already had some suspicions in his heart, he still felt dazed when he read the proof in front of him.
“Clan Leader, it’s the young mistress’ call.” A voice came from outside the room.
Baili Qu was silent for a while, before replying, “What is it?”
“Miss says that they will return to China in three days.”
“Alright. After they come back… let them stay in the young master’s small community.” Baili Qu’s voice didn’t waver, and only replied in an indifferent tone. He turned his head back to continue looking at the documents that Baili Bin had sent over to him.
After sending the documents off, Baili Bin couldn’t calm himself, and so he asked Uncle Tai to push him down to take a walk to clear his mind.
***
On the other side, Gu Xiqiao had already woken up and taken a shower. She then saw Hua Youlin come in with a small bowl in his hands.
“Sister Gu,” Hua Youlin greeted happily, seeing that she was up. “I made some porridge, please have some.”
Gu Xiqiao was touched by the gesture, but then she narrowed her eyes when she remembered the date. “You didn’t go for your afternoon classes?”
“Nope.” Hua Youlin placed the bowl of porridge down carefully, lowering his head and reaching out to hug Gu Xiqiao around the waist, his voice trembling as he said, “Sister Gu.”
He hadn’t seen Gu Xiqiao for seven days, Xixi had come to find him suddenly during the afternoon when he was in school. He had rushed home immediately, and saw Gu Xiqiao lying on the bed, unresponsive. She wouldn’t wake up no matter how many times he called out to her.
“Why isn’t Brother Jiang back yet?” Hua Youlin’s voice was dull as he asked.
Although he always said that he didn’t like Jiang Shuxuan, he still missed him in times like this, especially during the time when he couldn’t wake Gu Xiqiao up.
Gu Xiqiao rubbed his head fondly, thinking that she had indeed not raised this child in vain. Hearing him mentioned Jiang Shuxuan, she was a little startled, but replied after a few minutes, “Brother Jiang still has something to do, and he’ll be back tomorrow.”
The space in the cave still needed to be dealt with, and it would need a long time before they could settle these matters.
“Oh,” Hua Youlin replied sullenly, and then he followed behind Gu Xiqiao as she walked, not leaving a big gap between them as they walked.
“How about you take Xixi and Haha for a walk while I clean up the house?” Gu Xiqiao asked, looking down at the younger boy.
Hua Youlin didn’t move. “I don’t want to.”
“That’s fine,” Gu Xiqiao turned off her phone. “Let’s go down together.”
Seven days of absence meant that she had countless calls and messages on her phone. She asked the system to send a general message to everyone that she was safe and sound, before taking the boy, dog, and bird downstairs.
For a small community building, the facilities were quite complete. There were many people who exercised in the morning and evening, and most of them were children and elderly.
Gu Xiqiao had not been walking long before she bumped into Baili Bin.
He looked at her with those gentle eyes of his for a long while.
“Brother Baili?” Gu Xiqiao prompted after a long moment of silence, raising an eyebrow at him.
Baili Bin came back to himself at the sound of her voice, and then flashed a smile at her, his handsome face shining brightly. “I’m just surprised, Miss Gu, you’ve achieved a lot in your young age.” After Jiang Shuxuan had come out today, he had given the order to everyone present, not allowing them to mention a lick of word about Gu Xiqiao.
“It isn’t as big as it seems, it’s all just exaggerated to bluff people. You don’t have to call me ‘Miss Gu’, it’s a bit unbearable. Just call me by my name, Brother Baili.” Gu Xiqiao pursed her lips and smiled, and her skin glowed underneath the street light. “How are your legs?”
Seeing that Gu Xiqiao had bumped into an acquaintance, Hua Youlin played with Xixi and Haha at the side, but he kept Gu Xiqiao within his line of sight all the while.
“It’s much better.” Baili Bin smiled warmly at Gu Xiqiao, a gentle expression on his face. “Un, then I’ll call you Qiao Qiao, alright?”
“Of course.” Gu Xiqiao thought for a moment before pulling out a piece of paper from her pocket and a pen.
She scribbled a few lines on it, and handed it over to Baili Bin.
Bailin Bin took the paper, and scanned through it. His eyes paused after a while, admiring her handwriting that was vigorous and powerful. She was obviously a girl, but she wielded her pen like a dragon soaring into the sky, clearly displaying her talents on this piece of paper. It was like she was from an influential family and a master.
“This is the prescription for nursing them, I should have given it to you earlier, but I didn’t manage to find the time.” Gu Xiqiao said, scratching her nose in slight embarrassment. She had raised the topic with Jiang Shuxuan before, but he would ignore her the moment she mentioned Baili Bin’s name.
She only found the opportunity now.
Baili Bin folded the paper carefully, and placed it in his pocket. He lifted his head, wanting to say something else, but a few elderly people had jogged over at this time.
“Little Gu, why didn’t we see you these few days?” These elderly people asked one after another.
And so Baili Bin didn’t have another chance to continue his conversation with Gu Xiqiao, as the people who came to talk to her came one after another. Most of them were elderly and children, and in modern times now where neighbors didn’t really get along, Baili Bin was seeing this kind of scene for the first time.
It seems that everyone in the area knew her.
He looked at Gu Xiqiao, who was talking to an elderly grandfather, her eyes soft and gentle.
When Jiang Shuxuan returned, he saw Baili Bin who was staring unmovingly at Gu Xiqiao, and his face darkened in an instant.
He stood calmly and without a word between the two, blocking Baili Bin’s view of her.
“Brother Jiang?” Gu Xiqiao was surprised when he appeared. Why had he returned so soon?
Jiang Shuxuan squeezed her hand, not looking at her. He exchanged a few words with Baili Bin before taking her away.
Seeing his return, Hua Youlin took Haha and Xixi in his arms as he hurried over.
Baili Bin watched the two figures, the elegant posture. It was just a view of his back and that was enough to feel the majestic aura radiating off him, and he only returned to his senses when Uncle Tai held up a phone that was ringing in front of him. “Hello?”
“Ah Bin, it’s me.” A gentle, smooth voice came from the other side. “I’m returning with your uncle to China soon, and Jun’er will be studying in A University. We should be staying in your community when we arrive.”
“Alright.” Baili Bin didn’t mention Gu Xiqiao again, though his face was gentle, his voice was indifferent. “Cousin is very good, I’m sure the teachers in A University will be happy to have her.”
Baili Wenxi didn’t respond to that, and continued in a softer tone, “Ah Bin, I’ve found a doctor for you, it’s an internationally renowned doctor who’s quite prestigious. They recently had a new breakthrough in cell fusion, would… would you like to try it?”
Over the years, she had worked quite hard for the sake of Baili Bin.
Baili Bin’s heart softened, feeling touched. “Thank you, Aunt. I haven’t told you something. Aunt, my legs are almost healed.”