Chapter 1 This Day... Finally Ends

Gu Shen left Dreamweaver, stood on the side of the street, took a deep breath of cold air, and cheered himself up.

The side effects of the Ruler of Truth had been almost completely digested, but he still felt a little light and weak when walking.

In Jiangnan Capital in November, a chill rose after sunset.

He wrapped his coat tighter. Too many things had happened today: mass insomnia, the Evergreen Foundation attack, the pocket watch dream... a series of events followed one after another, making it a little hard to breathe.

Fortunately, it was all over.

The evening breeze blew, music floated from the street-side coffee shop, passersby walked along Lipu Street, couples strolled hand in hand, laughing, children chased and played, the white noise of the bustling crowd relaxed Gu Shen's spirit, making him less tense.

"Little Doctor Gu."

Under a street lamp on the other side, a petite and lovely girl was waving.

Qu Shui wore a fluffy wool hat, a cartoon-style camel-colored knitted sweater on her upper body, paired with a pleated skirt, and pink slouch socks pulled up to her knees, looking youthful and energetic.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Gu Shen was a little apologetic for making her wait so long.

Getting closer, Gu Shen noticed that Qu Shui was also wearing makeup. Her face was rosy, and she no longer looked as pale and haggard as before. Her face was full of vitality, and she smiled brightly and movingly under the streetlights.

"No, no, I just arrived too."

The girl warmed her hands with her breath and said, "Little Doctor Gu, is work very hard? It's getting late, let me treat you to dinner!"

Gu Shen hesitated for a moment.

He came to investigate the case.

But she had waited so long and invited him repeatedly... It would be too impolite to refuse.

"How about I treat you?"

Gu Shen thought for a while and said, "Let's just eat something nearby, and then we can go to the riverfront."

…

…

Eating was something Gu Shen could ignore if it wasn't necessary.

In fact, children who came out of the mountain village were like this. For them, missing a meal or two wasn't a big deal. What was more terrifying than going hungry was not seeing a future where they could eat their fill. When Gu Shen first became independent from the orphanage a few years ago, eating steamed buns with pickled vegetables was a common occurrence, and occasionally he would "drink the northwest wind" (go hungry) to improve the taste.

The Capital was a more magnificent skyscraper than Qinghe. It had endless beautiful scenery to admire at the top, but it was also a more cruel pyramid than Qinghe, layer upon layer carried by nameless people, with countless invisible "ordinary people" lying at the base of the Capital.

So even though he had enough balance in his card to "splurge," Gu Shen still lived according to his original habits. In the neon-lit Capital at night, you could always see a young man running lonely through the alleys, blowing the cool evening breeze, and gnawing on a freshly baked sweet potato from a roadside stall, a steaming pancake.

For such a young man, the past seventeen years of life had taught him perseverance, hard work, self-discipline... and many other such virtues.

But correspondingly, life had not yet taught him "romance."

"Here... freshly baked, for you."

Qu Shui looked at Gu Shen with a strange expression. The two had just walked out of a secluded alley in Lipu Street.

Gu Shen was carrying two bags of sweet potatoes and handed one of them out, but Qu Shui didn't take it.

He looked a little confused: "Aren't you eating? It's very delicious."

"I... I'll pass." Qu Shui looked a little embarrassed. She re-examined Gu Shen's clothes and asked, "Little Doctor Gu... do you usually eat this?"

"Yeah." Gu Shen blew on it, peeled off a piece of soft, waxy skin, and took a bite, "It's really delicious, are you sure you don't want to eat it?"

If Chu Ling came, he would take her to eat this.

"I want to eat something... more formal, can we?" Qu Shui thought for a while and said tactfully, "There's a nice restaurant near the riverfront. If you don't have money, I can pay."

"More formal..."

Gu Shen reacted belatedly.

He suddenly realized that his behavior of treating a friend with sweet potatoes would be defined as "stingy" in terms of social behavior... Of course, that wasn't his intention.

After staying in Qinghe for two years and eating a lot of sweet potatoes, Gu Shen was deeply amazed by the roasted sweet potatoes from this small stall after coming to Lipu Street in the Capital. This might be the first time the Capital had burst into light in his heart.

The first time he ate the sweet potato from this shop, Gu Shen even uttered the sigh from the bottom of his heart: "As expected of the Capital, even the roasted sweet potatoes are more delicious than in other cities."

…

…

20 minutes later.

Gu Shen arrived at a revolving restaurant, a private booth, soft lighting, soothing music, and a quiet atmosphere.

He adjusted his sitting posture, but he felt awkward no matter how he sat.

This restaurant was located along the riverfront, occupying the entire twenty-ninth floor. Diners could overlook the night view of the riverfront, with游船 (yóuchuán, pleasure boats) and lights, and if it was a holiday or they were lucky, they would even encounter a grand and magnificent fireworks show.

"Is this Little Doctor Gu's first time at a restaurant like this?"

After sitting at the table, Qu Shui's sitting posture was very relaxed, not at all like a sixteen-year-old girl, and you couldn't see her previous shyness at all.

Gu Shen thought about it.

"A restaurant like this" in Qu Shui's words should refer to the price... He had just looked at the menu, and eating a meal here would cost about two thousand per person?

The day before the audit began, that old guy drove him around in a luxury car, eating at all the top restaurants in Dateng City. Gu Shen, who was happily蹭吃蹭喝 (cèng chī cèng hē, freeloading), didn't forget to secretly glance at the menu after each meal. The prices were similar to this one.

Thank you, Mr. Shu.

He took him to "see the world" in advance, so he wouldn't be too shocked at this time, and he could even confidently reply.

"I've been here before, but I don't eat here often."

Qu Shui smiled secretly.

"This steak is cut... here, for you."

Looking at the other party's skilled use of the knife, Gu Shen could already be sure that Qu Shui came from a wealthy family, which made sense... The cost of psychological counseling at Dreamweaver wasn't cheap, eight hundred per hour, and a sixteen-year-old girl could come regularly several times a week. How much pocket money would that be?

"Thank you."

Gu Shen asked curiously, "You should still be in school... Aren't your parents worried about you being out so late?"

Qu Shui lowered her head slightly, her eyes flickered, and she smiled softly, "Little Doctor Gu should know... I've been receiving treatment recently... so I took a leave of absence from school."

Gu Shen noticed that Qu Shui subconsciously retracted her hand from her sleeve when she spoke.

He had seen it before... the girl had more than one scar on her wrist.

Self-harm because of a breakup.

It was hard to imagine that this seemingly delicate girl would do such an extreme thing.

"Don't hurt your body anymore." Gu Shen said softly, "Your parents will be sad."

"Thank you for your kindness..." Qu Shui said in a low voice, "I live alone now, my parents... are no longer here."

Parents... no longer here?

Gu Shen was stunned for a moment, and then he realized what "no longer here" meant...

He fell silent all of a sudden.

Hearing these words, Gu Shen felt a string in his heart being plucked, but he had never been good at comforting others, so he could only say softly: "Then you need to take care of yourself even more. I'll go pay the bill... We'll go back early after we're done with the riverfront, and I'll take you to your door."