The Journey of Zhe Lu, Now at Peace

At nine, Ni An followed her aunt into the wealthy Gu family after her aunt married into it. She thought it would be the beginning of her salvation, never imagining it would lead to another abyss. To secure her position in the Gu family, her aunt plotted to make her sleep with the eldest uncle. At the dinner table, she was forced to drink again and again, an obscene joke: first, the people who called themselves her elders claimed they were acting for her own good, while looking at her with greedy eyes. As the eldest uncle dragged her toward a room, she ran into the “older brother” she had not seen in a long time, the one who had been like a white moonlight in her life. In a hoarse, bitter voice, she managed to call out, “Brother.” Her tears fell despite her best efforts. Under that moonlight, unseen by anyone, no one knew why Gu Jinli had suddenly gone abroad all those years ago. On the surface, it was to gain experience managing the Gu family’s overseas branch as its eldest grandson. Only Ni An knew he was avoiding her, because she had once shamelessly and obsessively tried to seduce him. Ni An knew she had never mattered to the Gu family, but she had never realized that in this wealthy family’s whirlpool, she was the pawn. She could only climb step by step. Gu Jinli said she was too ambitious and warned her not to covet a place she didn’t belong. She only smiled without replying or explaining. Much later, the man waited with an umbrella for her to come home. He said, “Ni An, among all the lights in the world, no place where people find happiness is home without you. If it’s you, I’m willing to bow my head and submit. I will always be devoted to you.” Ni An never told him that the diary she had never sent over all those years contained only one sentence: “Gu Jinli, it’s a new year. I hope you find peace and everything goes smoothly.”