Endless Fall

“Nothing. Are you done looking around the garden?”

“Yes.” She leaned against Zhang Wanlian affectionately. “Brother Quan said he’ll bring me to watch a movie tomorrow.”

Her sweet tone was like a sharp knife that stabbed Su Tian in the heart.

!!

“What movie do you want to watch?” She took a deep breath and took out her phone from the new Louis Vuitton bag. “I’ll book the tickets.”

“Whatever movie Brother Quan likes.”

“He rarely watches movies. He’s not picky.”

“It’s fine. I’ll wait for him to come down and choose one with him together.”

Su Tian wanted to slap her.

Due to Zhang Wanlian’s presence, she had no choice but to swallow her anger and face them with a gentle and agreeable smile.

Twenty minutes later, the father and son upstairs finished talking.

Gu Quan went downstairs exhausted. Without even saying goodbye, he held Su Tian’s hand and walked out.

His departing figure made Tang Manxi panic.

She subconsciously chased him to the courtyard and reached out to block Gu Quan from leaving. “Brother Quan, where are you going?”

“Why?”

“I haven’t chosen a movie with you yet.”

Gu Quan’s gentleness disappeared. “I’m sorry.” He walked around her and said bluntly, “I have a girlfriend. I can’t go with you.”

His completely different attitude said it all.

Tang Manxi guessed something from this change of attitude. In order to give him some space to think, she was not in a hurry to force him.

She took half a step back. “Then be careful on the way.”

Gu Quan did not respond.

He got into the driver’s seat and drove out of the villa area with a dark expression, eager to leave the oppressive home.

“Quan.” Su Tian asked carefully, “Did Uncle ask you to get engaged to her?”

“Yeah.”

“What do you think?”

“Impossible.” Gu Quan lit a cigarette while waiting for the traffic light. “I treat her as my sister.”

He glanced at the trees that were blown by the cold wind and thought of what Gu Chengyi had said.

“I’ll give you two months. If you can’t make up your mind, I’ll get someone else to take your position as the vice president.”

“I am not forcing you to marry Manxi, but you absolutely can’t marry her.”

“I’ve analyzed the pros and cons for you. If you want to ruin your future for a woman, I have nothing to say.”

“Did you and Uncle argue?” Su Tian asked, pulling him back from his wandering thoughts.

It was more than just arguing.

Gu Quan stopped thinking about Gu Chengyi’s ultimatum and stepped on the accelerator when the light turned green.

He blew out a wisp of smoke. “Don’t worry.”

It was impossible for Su Tian not to worry.

She could not see the future, nor did she know when they would ever get married. It was inevitable that she would try to think of a backup plan for herself..

“Quan.” She looked at his side profile. “What are you going to do if they use the company to force you to break up with me?”

“They won’t.”

“I said if.”

Gu Quan did not know.

He was very determined to be with her in the past, but after interacting with her for a period of time, he became less so.

“No ifs.” He took a deep breath, unwilling to be troubled by this question. “Don’t let your imagination run wild. I’ll handle it.”

“Okay.” Su Tian did not ask further.

She leaned back in her seat and listened to the soothing music as she looked out the window, silently planning the future.

#

After her ‘fiancé’ left, Tang Manxi was no longer in the mood to chat with the Gu couple. She found an excuse to leave.

She and Tang Ni got into the Gu family’s car and were driven to a high-end residential building.

“Press the elevator.” With no one familiar around, she revealed her true colors and ordered Tang Ni around like she was a servant.

Tang Ni pressed the button silently.

She stared at the rising number of floors. After the ding, she followed Tang Manxi into a house that did not belong to her.

“Put my shoes away.” Tang Manxi casually kicked off her high heels.

She leaned against the soft sofa and slowly lit a cigarette. “Tang Ni, do you know how to talk?”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah is not what I want to hear.”

...

Tang Ni was about to go to the guest bedroom when a cushion was thrown at her.

She clenched her fists. “What do you want?”

“Come here!” Tang Manxi suddenly became irritable, her overly high-pitched voice almost penetrating the ceiling.

She pointed at the tip of Tang Ni’s nose and counted to three. Seeing her walk over, she smiled and said, “Isn’t your hearing aid broken?”

“No.”

“Then why can’t you hear me?”

“I can hear you.” Tang Ni met her gaze. There was no fear in her eyes, only numbness.

She and Tang Manxi were half-sisters.

To be precise, she was the child of Mr. Tang’s mistress.

Her mother died young. In his later years, Mr. Tang felt guilty and brought her over from her grandmother’s house when she was 18 years old.

Initially, she was glad to have the fatherly love she had been longing for, but as time passed, she realized that Mr. Tang could not give her the love she wanted.

...

She even had to face the humiliation that she had never suffered in the past eighteen years.

Mr. Tang’s wife and daughter would treat her worse than a dog when he was on a business trip. They would torture her in all kinds of ways, even beating and scolding her.

She treated it as a debt repayment for her mother and endured it for four years without thinking of retaliating or complaining.

But now…

She did not seem to want to go on living like this.

“I didn’t ask you to come over to watch you stand there like a dummy!” Tang Manxi kicked her knee, her expression gradually turning ferocious.

She did not use much strength, but Tang Ni still took a few steps back to distance herself from her.

“If you have something to say, just say it.” It was tiring enough to put on a show with her in the Gu family. She just wanted to rest.

“Bring me the ashtray.”

“And?”

“Mop the floor again and wipe the windows.” Tang Manxi looked around. “After that, go out and buy groceries. I want to eat lobsters.”

Tang Ni turned around and returned to the guest bedroom.

She locked the door and let Tang Manxi kick it with all her might like a maniac.

“Tang Ni, who allowed you to lock the door?”

“I’ll count to three. If you don’t open the door, don’t even think about eating tonight, let alone getting a single cent!”

Ten minutes later, the cursing stopped.

Tang Ni swiped open the screen of her phone and checked the balance in her bank card. She sighed silently when she realized that it was less than 3000.

She opened her Wechat and sent a message to the supervisor of Bo Yu Club. “Can I move into the staff dormitory after the new year?”

“Sure.” The supervisor replied and asked out of concern, “Are you in trouble?”

“No.”

“Then I’ll see you after the New Year.”

“Alright, bow.jpg.” After sending this message, Tang Ni wrapped herself in the blanket and fell asleep.