Returning to Taiwan in 2000 as a patriotic artist

eat?

Playing PUBG?

She thought she had misheard and stared wide-eyed at the man's departing figure.

Ten minutes later.

Gu Bei returned carrying a bag of vegetables and two slaughtered hens.

Zhou Huimin then suddenly realized...

So, this is the chicken they're eating...

It wasn't dark yet.

The Audi A6 drove into the villa area, passed through several rows of green plants, and parked in the garage.

Gu Bei turned off the engine, and the two got out of the car.

As soon as she got back to "home", Vivian Chow took off her high heels and walked barefoot back to her bedroom on the second floor.

"I'm so tired."

"Gu Bei, I'm going to take a shower now."

"Okay, go ahead." Gu Bei carried the ingredients into the kitchen.

In no time at all, the young hen's bones and meat were separated.

I also washed a few vegetables.

After all the hot pot base ingredients are prepared.

He couldn't help but recall the image of Vivian Chow's nose bleeding.

He was completely stunned.

Sister Zhou looked so fragile, like a lilac flower that could wither at any moment.

"Phew~"

Gu Bei let out a long breath.

Seeing that Sister Zhou hadn't come down yet, he took off his clothes and went into the shower room on the first floor.

The heat from the hot water quickly dispelled all my fatigue.

I washed for about fifteen minutes.

Gu Bei turned off the shower, dried himself off, and put on a loose white T-shirt and dark gray athletic shorts.

He waited in the lobby for a while, but Sister Zhou still hadn't come down.

More than half an hour has passed...

Could something have happened?

Gu Bei's heart suddenly jumped.

He recalled some news he had seen in his previous life.

People slip and fall in the bathroom, suffer carbon monoxide poisoning, or experience electrical leaks from water heaters... all sorts of accidents happen.

He walked nervously upstairs to the second floor and knocked on the door. "Sister Zhou?"

"Sister Zhou? Can you hear me?"

I knocked for more than ten seconds, but there was still no response from inside the room.

Gu Bei knew he was in trouble. He reached for the doorknob and turned it...

"Click"

The wooden door was pushed open.

The fragrance of the shower gel wafted towards me.

The bathroom was filled with steam, and the showerhead sprayed hot water.

The sound of water echoed in the enclosed space, and the glass mirror was covered with white mist, reflecting a blurry figure.

Vivian Chow sat in the corner of the bathroom, hugging her knees and burying her face deeply between her arms.

She was wearing a white shirt and light blue shorts, which were already soaked.

The shirt clung tightly to her skin, becoming semi-transparent, outlining her beautiful curves and the faintly visible snow-white skin on her chest.

Water droplets slid down her hair, one by one, and slowly trickled down the fabric of her shirt.

"Sister Zhou, are you alright?" Gu Bei rushed over and reached out to turn off the shower.

The instant your fingertip touches the switch.

Zhou Huimin suddenly raised her head.

Her eyes were red, and tears were welling up in them.

The hot water from the showerhead slid down her cheeks, making it impossible to distinguish between tears and water.

His appearance was so pitiful that I felt sorry for him.

"Gu Bei," Zhou Huimin called softly, her voice tinged with vulnerability, "I'm so scared..."

"Will someone like me be all alone when I get old?"

She's been torn between her feelings and her inner turmoil all day.

Scenes kept replaying uncontrollably in my mind.

Offices, hot spring pools, massage beds, villas... and even... on rattan chairs!

She felt sorry for her boyfriend.

But the thought of that man cheating on her multiple times makes her feel like her chest is being squeezed tightly.

Unwillingness, fear, grievance, and a hidden, unacknowledged... impulse for revenge and indulgence.

"No, don't be afraid." Gu Bei squatted down and gently brushed the hair from her forehead. "When you're old, I'll come to see you every day, leaning on my cane."

The steam in the bathroom hadn't dissipated, making the glass mirror appear hazy and soft.

The sound of water continued, like the beating of a tempting heart.

"Are you serious?" Vivian Chow's voice trembled slightly.

"Really." Gu Bei nodded, "I'll go even if I have to be in a wheelchair."

Vivian Chow smiled, a smile with tears in her eyes.

That smile was like a flower blooming after the rain, fragile yet touching.

next second.

The two embraced, letting the hot water spray onto each other's bodies.

The soaked shirt clung to Gu Bei's chest, and they could feel each other's body heat being transmitted through the thin fabric.

This time, it was Gu Bei's turn to take the initiative.

His hand wrapped around her waist and explored downwards.

Vivian Chow was breathing heavily, her entire body pressed against the tiled wall behind her.

A moment later...

A pair of slender hands pressed against the glass, the knuckles slightly curled, dissolving the white mist and leaving two clear palm prints.

Then, her upper body was pressed against the glass.

The cool mirror surface pressed against the burning skin, and two figures could be vaguely seen through the mist.

……

8 pm.

Yang Wanqing and Xiaoyun returned to the villa.

As soon as they entered the hall, they saw "Super Sunday" playing on the TV right on time.

Meanwhile, Vivian Chow was sitting on the sofa eating chicken.

The induction cooker is set to maximum power.

The clear broth hot pot was steaming, and Gu Bei used a strainer to put chicken into it.

He blanched the chicken for 8 seconds and then took it out.

The two of them continued eating hot pot while watching variety shows.

Today is the day "Super Sunday" airs, and one of the episodes features an interview with the Casual Studio.

I heard there will be a mystery guest as well.

"Ugh! I'm exhausted." Yang Wanqing threw down her bag and sat on the sofa, complaining, "I barely ate anything during this social engagement."

Gu Bei was heartbroken and quickly handed over the scalded chicken.

Besides being his sugar daddy, Sister Yang is now also his agent.

We can't overwork ourselves.

Otherwise, you'll have to handle many things yourself.

Yang Wanqing took the bowl and began to eat in small bites.

Xiaoyun took the newly signed contract to the master bedroom on the second floor and then came downstairs to massage her shoulders.

On the television screen.

Ah Liang is keeping the audience in suspense in front of the camera: "Dear viewers, today's super mission involves finding a very special person."

The scene changes, and a faded old photograph appears.

The photo shows four young people, dressed in tattered clothes, standing on a barren piece of land, smiling brightly in the spring sunshine.

Behind them were low earthen houses, and in the distance, smoke could be seen billowing from the battlefield.

"This photo was taken by a British man in 1939, the 28th year of the Republic of China."

Ah Liang's voice turned low, "That year, the Japanese army invaded the Chaoshan region..."

"The four young men in the photo are brothers."

"Their parents had already died at the hands of the Japanese army. Four years later, the four brothers fled for their lives."

The camera slowly zooms in and focuses on the face of the young man on the far left.

He was about twenty-four or twenty-five years old, with dark skin, thin as a skeleton, but with very determined eyes.

Before leaving, the four brothers made a promise...

Ah Liang paused, his voice trembling slightly, "Their descendants must have the characters for East, South, West, and North in their names."

"This will make it easier to find relatives in the future."

Steam rose from the hot pot in the living room.

Gu Bei's hand holding the chopsticks froze in mid-air, his eyes fixed on the screen.

Yang Wanqing noticed his unusual behavior, put down the bowl in her hand, and remained silent.

Vivian Chow also stopped chewing and turned to look at the television.

Xiaoyun quietly handed tissues to everyone...

The scene continues.

Ah Liang stood next to an elderly man with a full head of white hair: "This old gentleman is the young man on the far left in the photo."

"My name is Gu Xiangdong, and I am 82 years old."

The elderly man sat in a wheelchair with his back ramrod straight.

"Back then, my brothers and I fled in four different directions."

"Whoever survives, will have this direction included in their grandchildren's names."

Ah Liang handed over a tissue.

The old man took it and wiped his eyes.

"I ran east, and later joined the country in fighting the Japanese invaders."

"When I returned home after the war, the village was gone."

"I've been looking for them for decades, thinking... I'd never find them again in this lifetime."