Chapter 149: Finale (Goodbye, He Huanhuan)
Meili and Liang Zheng were finally, completely together. A beauty addict and a certified beauty king were the ultimate match, and the two of them were so lovey-dovey that it was almost unbearable to watch.
With her heart completely opened, Meili would show off her enormous pink diamond to He Huanhuan whenever she got the chance. “Pretty, right? Want to borrow it for a couple of days?”
He Huanhuan couldn’t be bothered to indulge her. “No, thanks. Why would I wear the engagement ring that belongs to you two?”
Meili flashed her a sycophantic smile. “You can wear it. You can have anything of mine. Don’t you think Liang Zheng and I make a perfect couple?”
...
So that was what she wanted to hear!
He Huanhuan held the pink diamond ring up for a closer look. “If Old Man Gu ever saw this ring, he’d go crazy.”
If Gu Chengye found out that Liang Zheng had spent so much money on a diamond ring just to get Meili to agree to be with him, the old man would probably acknowledge Meili as his daughter overnight. Forget Gu Chacha and He Huanhuan—everyone else would have to move aside and let his beloved daughter Meili take center stage!
The thought made Meili laugh. “Then Gu Chacha would have one more assassination target to deal with. She’d be so busy!”
Mentioning Gu Chacha made them both sigh.
He Huanhuan asked Meili, “What do you think Gu Chacha is doing now?”
After Gu Chacha was sentenced, she completely disappeared from He Huanhuan’s life.
Jiang Yulan had tried to visit her in prison, but Gu Chacha refused to see her.
She refused to meet with anyone from the Gu family and completely cut ties with all of them.
Whether she was doing well or badly inside, whether she was suffering or adapting, had nothing to do with them anymore.
When her sentence was finally over, Gu Jingchen asked for He Huanhuan’s permission before driving to the prison to pick her up.
He hoped that five years in prison had made her understand her mistakes and that she could begin her life anew.
But he waited outside in the car for an entire day and never saw her.
After returning home, he asked around and learned that, because of her good behavior, Gu Chacha had been released more than six months earlier.
She hadn’t told anyone. She had left Jiangcheng quietly, leaving the country altogether.
For a long time afterward, they didn’t receive even the slightest news about her.
Then, several years later, Gu Jingchen went to the capital for an industry conference.
One of the executives traveling with him gave him a ticket to a performance by an overseas chamber ensemble. With nothing else to do that evening, he decided to go.
It was an ordinary performance—neither especially good nor especially bad, just somewhat dull.
Halfway through, he was about to get up and leave when the corner of his eye caught a familiar figure.
That figure quickly slipped out from backstage and hurried to the piano, replacing a pianist who looked unwell.
The performance continued soon afterward. Gu Jingchen silently sat back down and watched the slender figure at the piano, playing with complete concentration.
After the performance ended, he searched for the ensemble online. It was an Austrian group—not particularly famous in Austria, but frequently booked for performances.
He found the list of performers from that evening. Under the name of the pianist’s alternate was a name that looked vaguely familiar:
Alice Gu.
It was her.
After hesitating for a few seconds, he eventually stood up and went backstage. He spotted that familiar Eastern face easily among the crowd of white performers.
She was quietly removing her makeup, occasionally chatting and laughing with the people beside her.
Then she noticed Gu Jingchen behind her. Her expression froze for a second before quickly returning to normal.
Gu Jingchen called out, “Chacha?”
She didn’t even raise her eyes. “Sir, you’ve mistaken me for someone else.”
She wasn’t Gu Chacha. She was Alice Gu, a Chinese Austrian native.
Gu Jingchen wanted to ask how she had made it to Austria and how she had joined the ensemble, but asking those questions seemed pointless now.
He glanced at the person reflected in the mirror. Compared with the spoiled, willful girl she had once been, her eyes were much calmer.
Perhaps this was the best arrangement for everyone.
He shook his head and smiled. “Sorry. I must have mistaken you for someone else.”
Then he turned and left, disappearing completely from the mirror.
A colleague beside her looked curious. “Alice, friend?”
She shook her head. “Got the wrong person.”
That was right. He had mistaken her for someone else.
Two days later, a taxi quietly pulled to a stop across the street from the electric scooter shop.
Sitting in the back seat, Gu Chacha silently watched the brightly decorated storefront. He Huanhuan, now with light gray hair, was angrily lecturing a blonde-haired girl standing in front of her.
“Did you spend your wages on your boyfriend again?”
The girl shook her head firmly. “No way! Why would I spend money on a man?”
He Huanhuan’s expression darkened. “Then where did your money go?”
The girl looked guilty. “Well, I... Oh, come on, boss, stop asking!”
He Huanhuan glared at her. “You’re such a hopeless romantic! Don’t come crying to me later!”
The girl smiled ingratiatingly. “Um, boss, could you pay me last month’s commission early?”
Her boyfriend wanted to buy a new phone, and her commission was just enough to cover it.
He Huanhuan waved her off. “No! Commissions are paid every three months. No advances!”
“Come on, boss, please pay me! If I don’t buy him the phone, he’ll break up with me!”
“Then find yourself a handsome one afterward. Why are you wasting money on an ugly loser? Did you hit someone with your car and accidentally kill him?”
“...”
Gu Chacha quietly listened as He Huanhuan sternly reprimanded the girl until the girl finally responded in a pitiful voice, accepting the lecture.
A smile curved across Gu Chacha’s lips.
That family hadn’t been able to keep her, and it hadn’t been able to keep He Huanhuan either.
That was good. She had done what she wanted to do. And it seemed He Huanhuan had done the same.
She put on her sunglasses and said to the driver, “Sir, please take me to the airport.”
The taxi sped past the shop. Out of the corner of her eye, He Huanhuan caught a glimpse of the familiar-looking profile in the back seat. She frowned and thought about it for a moment, but couldn’t remember anything.
The two figures grew farther and farther apart beneath the speeding taxi, until they disappeared completely from each other’s worlds.
I’m sorry, He Huanhuan.
Goodbye, He Huanhuan.
[That’s the end! For now, this is where I’m going to stop the story. Since He Huanhuan is still too young, I don’t plan to have her and Han Mo become completely involved with each other. Sisters who mind that, please don’t come after me, hehe.
This is my first time writing a romance novel, so I don’t have much experience, and there are plenty of flaws. Recently, I’ve been studying hard to learn how good romance novels should be written. I hope to meet everyone again on the homepage very soon!
There will probably be another ten or twenty thousand words of bonus chapters, about Liang Ye, Meili’s married life, and He Huanhuan after she grows up, hehe~
But my author rank is too low! I might not be qualified to write bonus chapters!
I hope you’ll help me by giving the book a five-star review and sending a few free gifts. See you in the bonus chapters, and see you in my next book!]
The End.