The Cold CEO Chases His White Moonlight - Chapter 25.3

At first, she had only been playing the role of a generous patron who adored her little songbird.

Somewhere along the way, she had gotten too deep into the act, mistaking the performance for reality without even realizing it.

At first, she had only wanted a companion to ease her through her heats, and then discovered Ji Zhiwei was a child of the Ji family.

The Ji family had robbed her of her father at sixteen and left her body covered in wounds that still required regular dressing changes.

At first, she had only wanted to repay the Ji family in kind for what they had done to her.

But Ji Zhiwei was just an innocent girl. Even if she bore the Ji name, she wasn’t the one who had hurt Gu Yunhui.

It was Gu Yunhui who had been slow to recognize her own feelings, who had treated Ji Zhiwei poorly out of frustration over the turmoil in her heart.

It was Gu Yunhui who had been foolish, refusing to listen to her heart, clinging stubbornly to some meaningless family creed, insisting on taking revenge on an innocent girl.

Staring at the photo of the smiling girl forever frozen in time Gu Yunhui’s eyes reddened.

“This glass, I’ll drink for you today too.” She downed both cups of wine.

Shouldering her belongings, she stepped outside.

“A year has passed. So much has happened. But I’ll only tell you a little. Otherwise, you’d get annoyed, wouldn’t you? Blame me for not treating you better sooner.”

Gu Yunhui arrived at a cemetery on the outskirts of the city.

Around this time last year, she had retrieved Ji Zhiwei’s recovered belongings from Ye Pingsheng.

A set of clothes, a shattered jade bracelet, and a few fragments that looked like crystal.

All Gu Yunhui could give Ji Zhiwei was a cenotaph.

At this moment, she knelt before the cenotaph, speaking softly, sentence by sentence, as if Ji Zhiwei were right in front of her.

“Since I was little, my mother taught me never to fall in love with anyone it would only give me a weakness. She said the business world is like a battlefield, and the competition among powerful families is fierce. She told me that those of us who lead must never have any vulnerabilities, let alone a fatal weakness. She said it was our family’s ancestral rule, something I must uphold at all costs.” Gu Yunhui tugged at the corner of her lips in self-mockery.

“I wanted to break that rule. But you didn’t give me the chance.”

“It’s not your fault. It’s mine. I didn’t give myself that chance.” Gu Yunhui took out the offerings and arranged them carefully.

“After you left, Li Li was never filmed. That Song family member from your crew teamed up with other investors to push another Song someone who apparently graduated from your school into your role. I crushed them and compensated Ye Pingsheng and the others. The project was scrapped. Your fans were heartbroken. Lu Peijiu’s fans too, though they said they understood.”

“At the film academy, I pulled some strings to get you a diploma. I know it’s meaningless but I thought you’d want it. I still remember how you once said you wanted to attend a film school.”

“I remember everything.Maybe you didn’t know. You thought I didn’t care, that I didn’t like you. But I did. I just thought love was an act, and indifference was real. Turns out, the indifference was the act.”

Gu Yunhui couldn’t go on.

She knew now that belated affection was worthless as dirt and she didn’t even have a place to grovel.

She knelt there, keeping vigil, as if waiting for someone to return.

The cold wind swept over her body but couldn’t shake her bones.

The sun traveled from east to west, and still, she didn’t leave.

Even the cemetery cleaners weren’t surprised.

Who among those who come to mourn their loved ones doesn’t wait for someone?

Someone they loved for so long but can never return.

It’s just that seeing such a young, beautiful girl lose the one she loved was truly heartbreaking.

When Gu Yunhui finally stood, she nearly collapsed. Her legs were numb, as if they no longer belonged to her. After two minutes, she steadied herself and moved on.

No one knew where she intended to go.

Shopping malls, restaurants, banquet halls, even the film academy, After wandering almost all over the capital, she went to Shencheng, to the bar where they had first met.

She drank all night.

Her stomach gave out from the alcohol, and someone who recognized her took her to the hospital.

The next day, she woke up and struggled to leave. When asked where she wanted to go, she said Yuncheng.

The nurse was exasperated. “You haven’t eaten in two days, drank yourself into oblivion, and your knees are scraped raw, what kind of heartbreak is worth this self-destruction?” The nurse grumbled while inserting an IV into Gu Yunhui’s arm.

Gu Yunhui didn’t answer. Only alcohol and dreams could bring that person back to her.

During her recovery, she worked remotely. Once she was well again, she returned to that bar.

Someone followed her inside but didn’t sit near her.

“Why did you drag Mom to a place like this?” The person was accompanied by an elderly woman though by age, she could have been their grandmother.

“I think I saw someone I know,” the person replied, blinking golden eyes, their slightly curled black hair looking unnaturally dark, likely dyed.

“That’s serious, we should check it out. Which one?” The elderly woman followed the younger woman’s gaze and locked onto the melancholy figure of Gu Yunhui.

“Do you still remember her name?” The old woman patted the younger one’s head, her tone tender.

“Maybe.”

Gu Yunhui.

The young woman silently repeated this peculiar name in her heart. Each time she did, her heart skipped a beat, but the accompanying pain grew sharper even the old injury on her foot throbbed in response.

She couldn’t remember anything, not even her own name, it had been given to her by her adoptive mother. Yet she still remembered this person’s name.

Was this person, important to her?

From a distance, she heard the woman who was likely named Gu Yunhui murmur another name.

Ji Zhiwei. Who was that? It seemed she remembered that name too.

“It’s nothing. Ah-Hua must have been mistaken. Ah-Hua doesn’t remember. Let’s just go home.” In the end, the young woman didn’t want to worry the old lady.

The elderly woman sighed inwardly.

The pair, who looked nothing like mother and daughter, left the bar.

As she thought about that sorrowful woman, Ah-Hua felt not even a trace of pity.

Gu Yunhui. That was the only name she remembered.

A name so painful to utter it made her want to cry.

She remembered nothing else.

In the end, Gu Yunhui went to Yuncheng, completing her pilgrimage.

For the next two years, she repeated the journey every autumn.

Three years after Ji Zhiwei’s accident, in the fall.

Gu Yunhui strode through the company’s halls, her sharp brows and piercing gaze intimidating even when she wasn’t looking at anyone. Even softened by the refraction of her glasses, her expression was enough to make most new employees lower their heads and hurry past without a word.

Her phone rang three times. She glanced at the caller ID and reluctantly answered.

“President He. My apologies, I have prior engagements today and won’t be able to attend your gathering. Next time, I’ll make it up to you, my treat.” Without even bothering with small talk, Gu Yunhui swiftly turned down the invitation.

This President He clearly had ulterior motives. Tonight’s banquet was likely an attempt to plant someone by her side, a “pillow talk” spy to extract company secrets.

The thought only deepened Gu Yunhui’s irritation. Even setting aside rational analysis, emotionally, she had no desire to entangle herself with anyone again.

She had vowed to atone for a lifetime.

Once she passed, the hallway finally returned to its usual atmosphere.

Groups of young employees huddled together, tapping away on their phones.

“Have you watched that super popular drama lately?”

“No Regrets? Yeah! It’s so good, a real career-driven story. That scene at the end where the scumbag Alpha jumps off the building in despair was so satisfying.”

“Right?! Ah-Hua’s acting was incredible the suppressed emotions in the first half, the explosive breakdown after being abandoned, and then the icy detachment later. And it wasn’t just the romance; her career arc was amazing too. The script was solid, and the protagonist was actually smart.”

“She’s so beautiful, already my new obsession. Do you have her latest leaked photos? I’ll send you some!”

Gu Yunhui, merely walking by in frustration, happened to overhear the office gossip among the younger employees.

Ah-Hua… For a moment, Gu Yunhui’s expression twisted as if struck by a sudden thought.

The name was unfamiliar, yet oddly intriguing.

In recent years, Gu Yunhui had been too busy to keep up with the entertainment industry, especially TV dramas.

With the rapid advancements in VR, holographic projection, and brain-computer interface technology, the Gu family’s enterprises had ventured into these fields though Gu Yunhui had deliberately avoided anything related to film and television.

She didn’t want to see others on screen.

Gu Yunhui didn’t reach for her phone, her posture as unyielding as ever.

But some fates are impossible to escape.

She didn’t pay attention, but her employees certainly did.

One employee accidentally shared a Weibo post meant for friends into the company group chat.

Gu Yunhui happened to click into the employee group, intending to assign tasks.

Before the employee could retract it, Gu Yunhui saw the post.

It was a collection of beautiful photos of Ahua, featuring full holographic projection.

Gu Yunhui clearly saw the person’s face and dropped her phone.

The carpet accidentally tapped the screen, opening the post, and a woman’s figure was projected into the air.

The person in the projection had a pair of rare golden eyes, shimmering with flecks of light, making them appear even clearer.

Her hair, once blue, had been dyed black, now slightly curled in an adorable way that suited her sweet face.

This person was unmistakably, Ji Zhiwei.

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