Deep Fog Kiss

Jiang Li's tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to spill over.

She looked up, her eyes misty with tears, "I'm terrified. That whip is so thick, if it hit me, I'd be whipped to death."

She spoke with a pitiful and aggrieved tone, and also with some anger.

Gu Zhishen's deep eyes reflected the tear tracks that had slid down her cheeks, and his Adam's apple bobbed up and down with restraint and forbearance.

His deep gaze shifted downwards, and her fair knees were glaringly red and swollen.

His eyes darkened, and he bent down to lift her up in his arms.

Jiang Li was so startled that she forgot to shed tears.

This is the Gu residence!

If Yuan Wei or anyone else found out about their past relationship, they would be ripped apart!

Gu Zhishen took in her tension and fear.

He smiled, remembering how his foot had hurt that day and he had insisted on being carried by him.

Does your leg not hurt anymore?

Row.

A sly glint appeared in his eyes, and he suddenly released his grip on her body, causing her to plummet.

A sudden feeling of weightlessness washed over her, and Jiang Li gasped, instinctively wrapping her arms tightly around Gu Zhishen's neck to prevent herself from falling.

She held on tightly, and Gu Zhishen glanced at her sideways. "Aren't you going to let go?"

He supported her knee with one hand, while the other hand hung casually at his side.

Jiang Li knew he was doing it on purpose, and her delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly. "If I let go, I'll fall and die."

"Looks like he's not that nervous."

Gu Zhishen smiled, picked her up, and slowly walked out of the courtyard.

"Jiang Li," he called out to her.

"Hmm?" Jiang Li looked up and stared at his sharp jawline.

"If you know fear, you must know how to resist." Gu Zhishen's tone was calm, but his eyes were deep and piercing.

Jiang Li wrapped her arms around his neck and nestled in his embrace, realizing that he was talking about being whipped.

"What if things get out of hand?" She stared at his profile, her heart racing.

"I'll take responsibility."

The four words, spoken so casually, made Jiang Li's heart skip a beat. She subtly raised the corners of her lips, revealing her dimples.

......

The pure black Ghost drove at a steady speed along the stone-paved road inside the Gu residence.

Jiang Li sat in the back seat, glancing sideways at the man beside her. His slender fingers opened the liquor cabinet in the car, took out a crystal-clear, cool ice cube, and then pulled out a dark-colored pocket square from his suit pocket to wrap the ice cube inside.

The movements were delicate and deliberate.

Jiang Li was still a little stunned when the man handed her the item.

"Don't you want your legs anymore?"

Gu Zhishen glanced at her slightly swollen knees, then looked up to meet her bright eyes. "Take it."

Jiang Li took it and then realized that it was an ice pack he had made.

She smiled sweetly, "Thank you, Uncle."

The man noticed the dimples that appeared on her cheeks, his deep eyes dark and unfathomable. After a moment, he looked away.

I wrapped ice cubes in a pocket square and gently applied it to my hot and swollen knees. The pain immediately subsided considerably.

Jiang Li curled her lips into a smile as she secretly glanced at the man's handsome and sharp profile.

Gu Zhishen's facial features are extremely handsome, with exquisite bone structure, smooth, deep and well-defined lines, and no superfluous parts.

His skin was pale, but not in a sickly way. Instead, one could clearly see the winding, powerful veins beneath the pale skin, and the bluish veins on the back of his hands bulged out, demonstrating a strong sense of power.

Both his looks and physique perfectly match Jiang Li's aesthetic.

In other words, her aesthetic sense has always been shaped by Gu Zhishen.

"Uncle."

Jiang Li suddenly spoke.

The man saw her scrutinizing gaze and, upon hearing her speak, turned to look at her. Suddenly, the girl leaned in close, her face extremely near his.

The sweet, warm scent sprayed on his cheeks, making one's heart itch.

Gu Zhishen took a deep breath, his eyes narrowed slightly, and the girl's sweet smile was reflected in his amber pupils.

Jiang Li leaned close, her gaze meeting his dark eyes, her own eyes pure.

She stared at the barely noticeable dark circles under Gu Zhishen's eyes. "Didn't you sleep well last night?"

Yin Ming, who was driving, overheard their conversation, glanced at the back seat in the rearview mirror, and then quickly looked away.

As he turned the steering wheel, he thought to himself, "The boss didn't just not sleep well, he didn't sleep at all last night."

Then, the man's clear voice rang out, "Not bad."

Gu Zhishen's eyes were calm. "It seems you slept well."

Jiang Li smiled and asked again, "How did you end up here?"

"Just passing by," Gu Zhishen replied casually.

Jiang Li was about to ask something when she suddenly saw a vehicle drive into the Gu Family Ancestral Hall.

She then suddenly remembered that today was the first day of the lunar month, the day Gu Zhishen would come to the ancestral hall to offer incense every month.

It seems I was just passing by.

The car door opened, and the man bent down to get out, adding, "Stay in the car."

Jiang Li saw him get out of the car and stride towards the ancestral hall.

His back was straight, yet aloof and lonely.

......

The ancestral hall was filled with the smoke of incense, and the ancestral tablets of the Gu family were placed on a three-tiered sandalwood altar.

The memorial tablet was painted with gold and red, and the characters were neat and clear. In front of it was a celadon incense burner, from which wisps of incense smoke curled and rose.

The air was thick with the scent of aged wood and sandalwood, so heavy that one dared not speak loudly.

Jiang Li stayed in the car for less than a minute before getting out and entering the ancestral hall, her gaze involuntarily fixed on the man in front of her.

He wore a black suit with subtle patterns, his posture upright like a pine tree, and the gemstone cufflinks peeking out from his cuffs gleamed with an expensive and refined luster, contrasting with the cool tone of the ancestral hall.

A straight figure stood before the memorial tablets, his cool and profound gaze fixed on one of them.

Jiang Li followed his gaze and her heart skipped a beat.

[The memorial tablet for my beloved deceased wife, Xi Muwan – erected respectfully by her husband, Gu Yueze]

The tablet bears eight characters: "Sharing weal and woe, unforgettable in this life."

It is the memorial tablet for Gu Zhishen's mother.

But those eight words now seem rather ironic.

Jiang Li lived in the Gu family for eight years and had heard some gossip from the old servants.

It is said that the matriarch of the Gu family many years ago was not the current Feng Suqin, but Xi Muwan, the mother of the second young master of the Gu family.

The maid said that Gu Yueze and Xi Muwan were very loving and harmonious after their marriage, and that Gu Yueze doted on the second young master, Gu Zhishen.

After Xi Muwan's sudden death, Feng Suqin married Gu Yueze and became the matriarch of the Gu family.

However, Feng Suqin and Gu Yueze's son, Gu Sheng, was a full fifteen years older than Gu Zhishen.

From that moment on, Gu Yueze's eyes and thoughts were focused on Feng Suqin and her son, Gu Sheng.

At that time, five-year-old Gu Zhishen lost his mother and his only father.

Therefore, Jiang Li has no way of knowing what is real and what is fake in this marriage into a wealthy family.

Her figure came into the man's view. Gu Zhishen turned his head slightly. "Didn't I tell you to stay in the car?"

Jiang Li looked at him and said, "You came to offer incense to Grandma Xi, so I should come and see her too."

The man's gaze lingered on her face for a second. "Whatever you want."

"Second Young Master."

A servant in the ancestral hall handed over a stick of incense.

Gu Zhishen nodded slightly, accepted the incense, his long, strong fingers holding the incense stick with steady and skillful movements.

He lit the incense, raised his hand to brush away the excess sparks, and handed it to Jiang Li.

Jiang Li was taken aback and turned to look at him. Gu Zhishen had tacitly approved of her offering incense to his mother.

The wisps of smoke rose with his movements, blurring his sharply defined features, but making his eyes appear even more deep and cold.

She smiled sweetly and reached out to take the fragrance.

Gu Zhishen lit the incense again, stood facing the offering table, his back straight as a bow, and bowed deeply three times.

Solemn and composed, all emotions are restrained in this stick of incense.

Gu Zhishen's impression of his mother, Xi Muwan, only dates back to when he was five years old. In his memory, there is only a slender and graceful white figure, with a blurry and indistinct face.

But he remembers those days when he was loved by his mother; the images are now blurred, but the love runs deep in his bones.

As the cigarette was placed into the burner, he turned to look to the side.

The girl held three sticks of incense in her hands, her fingertips slender and white, her eyes gently closed, her movements devout and focused.

He couldn't help but slightly curl his lips, a smile appearing at the corner of his eye.

Jiang Li lowered her long eyelashes, gently closed her eyes, and called out in her heart, "Aunt Xi."

"Aunt Xi, I'm Jiang Li, you've met me before."

"According to seniority, you are Gu Zhishen's mother, so I should call you Grandma."

"But please forgive my selfishness, I want to call you Auntie."

"Aunt Xi, no matter what happens, I will protect him, just as he protected me. If he's willing, I'll even go to hell with him."

"So, if you allow it, can you let him love me?"