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She dialed Mi Xi’s number several times, but no one answered.

Standing on the small path in the campus, she felt like an abandoned stray dog.

Walking along the street, the vehicles came and went slowly. Counting the days, Chen Lu’s injury should have healed.

While her thoughts were in disarray, a car stopped beside her, prompting her to look up in confusion.

The car window slowly rolled down, revealing Quan Shaoqing’s long-missed face. "It’s so cold, what are you doing out here all alone?"

"Just bored! Where are you heading?" Gu Xiaoxi, although not deliberately paying attention to Quan Shaoqing, still knew a little about his affairs.

In one year’s time, he had become quite successful in the upper echelons of Country A.

Not only was he handsome and accomplished, but he had also become the object of pursuit for countless women.

Without dabbling in the entertainment industry, he still held a pivotal position in the public eye.

Philanthropy and charity, his presence could be found wherever there was fame.

Although his influence wasn’t as strong as Bai Yaxuan’s, it was still a force not to be underestimated.

The sight of his car so unassumingly parked by the roadside made her incredibly curious.

"Get in the car. It’s so cold outside, and you’re wearing so little!" Quan Shaoqing urged.

Gu Xiaoxi suddenly snapped back to reality, shivering from the cold. She had left the house in a foul mood and seemed to have forgotten her coat.

Right now, she was simply dressed in a sweater, wrapped in a thick blue scarf, which indeed looked rather thin against the snowy landscape.

Bored anyway, Gu Xiaoxi simply opened the car door and got in.

The heat was on inside the car, and Quan Shaoqing himself wasn’t dressed very warmly, still in his shirt and suit.

She noticed that no matter when, he was always dressed so immaculately.

"Have some water to warm up!" he handed her a cup of steaming water.

Gu Xiaoxi took the cup, holding it in her palm and feeling the warmth, "I see you often moving around in A; are you planning to settle down here?"

After asking, she felt stupid.

He was about to marry Chen Lu. It was normal for him to settle down in City A, right? But why did she feel a bit jealous of Chen Lu and filled with uncertainty and helplessness when thinking about his marriage?

"Would you like me to stay here?" Quan Shaoqing also held a cup of hot water, sipping it gently without even a glance.

Gu Xiaoxi chuckled awkwardly, whether he was here or not, what did it have to do with her? "You’re thinking too much. It was just a casual question."

"I bought an estate in the Royal Dragon Residence. Want to take a look?" Quan Shaoqing looked at her sincerely. "You’ve become so silent after not seeing you for just a year. You’ve lost the vivacity that you had when we first met."

"Is that so?" Gu Xiaoxi laughed, indeed, she had felt it too.

"Of course. Don’t be so reserved all the time. Do whatever you want to do as long as you’re happy. Don’t suffer for others. Maybe when you’re sad and crying, they are laughing out loud."

Gu Xiaoxi thought of Bai Yu and Dongfang Le who had left. Maybe for others, it was just as he said, but for them, she knew it definitely wasn’t the case!

Seeing her fall silent again, Quan Shaoqing thought she had become even more reserved than before. "I really don’t know how you’ve been living this past year. Forget it, I won’t talk about that. Today, I will treat you to beer."

"Ah!" Gu Xiaoxi opened her mouth in astonishment. Did Quan Shaoqing seem like the kind of person who would drink beer?

And truth be told, since coming to this world, she really hadn’t drunk beer anymore, somehow missing that mundane taste with its touch of bitterness.

Turns out, she indeed got to drink beer at Quan Shaoqing’s grand estate.

The morning started clear, but by noon, it was overcast again, and it started to snow heavily.

It wasn’t good to go out with the snow blocking the roads.

It was as warm as spring inside the estate, and in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, there was a small table.

There were many snacks on it, fried chicken, and various brands of beer and champagne.

Eating a crispy piece of fried chicken and sipping beer, Gu Xiaoxi didn’t hold back, enjoying one of these rare and joyous days.

Feeling comfortable, even the gloomy snowy days seemed to be filled with festivity.

"I’ll tell you, in the world I used to be in, beer was cheap and tasted good, one of the most liked drinks by the masses. Even though I can’t hold my liquor, I often drank surreptitiously." After downing a few bottles, she had mixed beer with a lot of red wine.

Gu Xiaoxi was a bit tipsy and began to recall past events.

Quan Shaoqing accompanied her in drinking, looking into the loss in her eyes...

It seemed she was truly reminiscing about her past life.

Her behavior could only explain two scenarios: one, that she was unhappy in her current world; two, that no one gave her a sense of security, making it hard for her to trust those around her.

"Xiao Xi, is there anything you want to do? Or somewhere you want to go?" asked Quan Shaoqing. In fact, he found the time spent drinking with her now to be precious.

In the span of a year, he hadn’t disturbed her, wanting to give her some peace.

Sometimes when he missed her, he would just sneak up close to catch a glimpse of her, or sit by her bed in the middle of the night to listen to her breathing.

Although he never spoke a word, and although she never knew it, he enjoyed watching her. Even her boring gripes seemed meaningful to him.

They couldn’t share their innermost thoughts; he thought perhaps the time wasn’t right, the fate not deep enough, so he could keep waiting!

"I don’t want to go anywhere; I want to go home!" Gu Xiaoxi put down her drink and rested her chin in her hand, her bleary eyes seemingly traveling through the window’s blizzard back to her Luoli City, to see her mother who had already passed.

Home? Quan Shaoqing pondered for a moment. Where was her home? That distant other world?

Suddenly, Gu Xiaoxi turned to look at Quan Shaoqing and patted his shoulder like a good buddy. With a chuckle, she said, "I heard you’re getting married. Congratulations! I’ve heard that by marrying Chen Lu, you get not only a beauty but also the world!"

Quan Shaoqing stiffened, all his expressions freezing on his face.