Lin Qingping and Gu Juncheng

Chapter 332 No Longer Him

night.

Gu Youlian had washed two large basins of clothes and was hanging them out to dry in the yard when Du Gen returned.

Du Gen has been the deputy factory director for several years and has traveled all over the country. His face is etched with experience and confidence, and his every move exudes the mature temperament of a successful man. He is no longer the idle man who was looked down upon in his hometown village and could not lift a finger.

He even changed his name; Du Gen was too rustic, so he changed it to Du Geng.

Gu Youlian felt that perhaps from the moment he changed his name to Du Geng, he was no longer the person she had once passionately fallen for.

Dugen came over and helped her air it out, saying, "I went to every shopping mall today to check on the feedback from the counters."

It's as if he's explaining why he's never home.

Gu Youlian ignored him, and of course, she didn't suspect anything about him. In the capital, he really couldn't go anywhere.

After hanging up the clothes, Du Gen helped her put the basin away and followed Gu Youlian into the house.

As soon as he entered, Du's parents immediately changed their demeanor, especially his mother, who stood up and smiled, "You came back together? Come, come, Lianzi, you've worked hard, sit down and rest for a while. You've been busy all day. Here, your mother saved some watermelon for you."

Du Genniang gave her the plate of watermelon that she had eaten in a mess.

"No need, I'm not eating. I'm going to sleep now." Gu Youlian forced a smile and went back to her room.

Just putting on an act.

Her mother-in-law put on an act in front of Dugen, and she also put on an act in front of Dugen, but in reality they both hated each other.

Gu Youlian went to check on Xiaomai first, only to find the door locked. After calling out a few times without a response, she guessed the child was asleep and went back to her room.

After a long day of hard work, she lay down to rest, but felt bitter inside. Life wasn't what she had imagined; she knew she could just tough it out.

A little while later, Dugan came in, having taken a shower and changed into clean clothes.

“I’ve already washed my own clothes,” he told her.

It's as if he's showing off how considerate he is to her.

Gu Youlian remained silent.

The two lay in bed, the air somewhat stuffy.

Dugan got up and turned on the fan, but it didn't change the stuffy feeling of the air.

He knew the reason.

After lying down for a while, Dugan tentatively reached out his hand.

Gu Youlian didn't show any obvious objection, so Du Gen climbed on top of her.

However, just as he was about to kiss her, Gu Youlian suddenly pushed him away, rolled over, and began to vomit on the edge of the bed.

He was very frustrated, lay back down, and breathed slightly.

Gu Youlian didn't vomit anything and turned to sleep on her side.

“Lianzi,” Dugen began to speak, “I know I’ve wronged you, but we can’t go on like this forever. Didn’t you say that life goes on? Lianzi, you’ll always be in my heart.”

Gu Youlian lay on her side, tears streaming down her face, and choked out, "Give me some time, I can't accept it yet... I can't bear the thought of you doing something like that with her..."

“Lianzi!” Dugen hugged her. “Why are you crying again? You promised you would never cry again. I really was just… drunk. You’re the only one for me, no one else.”

Dugan took her hand and led her to his heart.

"Go to sleep." Gu Youlian's reaction was not enthusiastic.

If she didn't still believe that Dugen only had eyes for her, she wouldn't have been willing to endure such humiliation.

Dugen was her choice. Over the years, she and Dugen have come a long way, from poverty to a better life. They have settled down in the capital and have houses. Their lives are full of hope, so what worries could they possibly have? They have gone through the hard times together in sweetness, so won't their future be even better?

Who would have thought that something like this would happen?

During her summer vacation, she went to Dugen's place and noticed something was wrong with him. There was long hair and face cream that wasn't hers in Dugen's room. She had a plan, and later, she would find women's underwear and lingerie in hidden places, such as under the sheets or in the corners of drawers. None of them were hers.

Did they know she was coming and deliberately let her know?

She questioned Dugan, who tried to deny it several times, but she kept pressing him until he could no longer lie and finally admitted that he had done something he shouldn't have done with Lifen after getting drunk one night.

Lifen, the one her mother-in-law sent to the capital who took a liking to Gu Juncheng and caused her trouble, is not Du Gen's cousin. She is some distant relative from who-knows-where, not a relative at all!

After causing trouble in the capital, she was sent away, but Gu Youlian never expected that she would actually hide in Dugen Factory.

What was even more unexpected was that this Lifen was truly dedicated to becoming a third party. Instead of causing trouble between Pingzi and Chengzi, she stirred up a mess in her marriage with Dugen.

When the affair was exposed, Dugan cried in front of her, made promises, and even knelt down.

He begged for her forgiveness, insisting that he had only acted out of momentary confusion.

Gu Youlian's heart was truly broken again and again, but she was unwilling to give up the person she had deeply loved and the happy life she and Du Gen had worked so hard for.

So, in a painful struggle, she accepted Dugan's letter of guarantee, promising to forgive him and start over with him.

However, the process was really too painful. She originally planned to send her daughter back, but then she thought that with her daughter there, the awkwardness between the two of them could be eased. Otherwise, she really couldn't stay calm when facing Dugen alone.

Despite this, she spent almost the entire two months in tears and couldn't force herself to smile at Dugan.

She couldn't accept having marital relations with him again.

A stalemate has formed between the two of them.

Dugen kept trying to please her, begging for her forgiveness with both words and actions, but she really couldn't get over that hurdle in her heart. Whenever Dugen got close to her, she would think of the things Dugen had done with another woman, and she would feel disgusted.

She knows it's wrong of her, but she can't overcome it.

Dugan took her hand again.

She instinctively tried to shrink back, but Dugan held her tightly.

“Lianzi, I know you can’t get over this right away. It’s okay, I can wait. We have a lifetime together. I’ll wait for you to forgive me.”

Dugan’s voice spoke in the darkness.

Gu Youlian just wept silently, as if there was no other way. She hoped that one day, the pain in her heart would lessen.

Moreover, Dugan and Lifen really broke up.

After the affair was exposed, Dugen fired Lifen from the factory and sent her back to her hometown.

so be it……

Life is long, take it slow and bear it.

"When are you going back to the factory?" Gu Youlian asked in the darkness.

“I won’t go back for now, I’ll stay with you for a while.” Du Gen held her hand. “Even the workers get their holidays. I’ve been working so hard for the past few years and haven’t had a proper rest. I’ll just take all the family leave I’ve been saving up. I’ve already talked to Director Mei about it.”

"Do you have time tomorrow? You've been in the capital for so long and haven't been to the Great Wall yet, have you? Shall we go climb the Great Wall? Just the two of us," Dugen said again.

"Okay." Gu Youlian agreed. Since she wanted to live a good life, she couldn't keep feeling awkward like this, and she wanted to slowly take this step.