"It's been hundreds of years. Back then, I was seriously injured and lost my memory. Thanks to the rescue of Third Elder Liu, who gave me the identity of a snake fairy and changed my name to Gu Yuan, I managed to survive. In a way, the Liu family has been kind to me. Third Elder Liu said that since I once impersonated Third Master Liu, it was only natural for me to become a member of the Liu family."
"Don't you remember anything about your life before you lost your memory?" I asked again.
Gu Yuan lowered his deep-set eyes. After a few seconds, he said, "There seem to be some memories, but they're incomplete."
"Actually, after I went to the Goddess Temple that day, I accidentally entered Chi Yu's body and got some memories from that time. Do you want to hear them?"
I asked in a calm voice.
"What did you see?" Gu Yuan asked.
"I..." Before I could finish my sentence, I was interrupted by someone who suddenly burst in.
"Hahaha... Gu Yuan, you rascal! Why didn't you say you were back?" The person who spoke was a man in his forties.
He had black hair, thick eyebrows, and big eyes. He looked quite burly. His laughter came before he did, and it was obvious that he was a straightforward man.
When Gu Yuan saw the man coming, he was about to get out of bed to greet him, but the man pushed him back down.
"Your sister-in-law said you were back just now, and I didn't believe it. I didn't expect you really were back, hahaha..."
He slapped Gu Yuan on the shoulder again and again with quite a bit of force. If you didn't know better, you'd think he was beating him. It made me feel a bit sorry for Gu Yuan.
"Big Brother, long time no see." It was rare to see Gu Yuan smiling these days.
Big Brother Liu replied with a hearty laugh, "Good, I'm doing great, hahaha. I just called the Second Brother, the Fourth Brother, and the Fifth Sister. We must have a good meal today."
"Big Brother, how are Third Elder Liu and Third Lady Liu recently?"
"Good. What could be wrong with them? They're both enlightened people, living a carefree life every day."
After Big Brother Liu finished speaking, he finally turned his attention to me. From the moment Big Brother Liu entered the room until now, I had maintained a polite smile on my face, and my face was starting to feel stiff.
I moved my chin a bit. Just as Big Brother Liu turned his head to look at me, I immediately regained my beaming smile and bowed to him, saying, "Hello, Big Brother Liu."
Seeing how polite I was to him, Big Brother Liu's smile didn't fade at all.
"Good, good. Little Sister-in-law is really beautiful. Third Brother has good taste."
As soon as Big Brother Liu finished speaking, Sister-in-law Liu came in with two plates of snacks and placed them on the kang table.
"That's right. Our Gu Yuan is a lovesick man. Little Sister-in-law is the girl he's been thinking about all this time."
"Ah, I see. Is it Chi Yu? Oh my goodness. I was wondering when this old blockhead Gu Yuan would finally bloom. So he's found that girl, hahaha."
I was sitting on the kang, listening to the two of them chatting animatedly. I really envied them. They had so much to talk about and were so loving.
Sister-in-law Liu realized she had neglected us. She immediately slapped Big Brother Liu on the arm. Big Brother Liu just gave a silly laugh and said, "You chat with Little Sister-in-law for a while. I'll take Third Brother out for a walk."
"Big Brother, we came here this time for something..."
Big Brother Liu didn't wait for Gu Yuan to finish speaking. He forcibly pulled him out of the inner room. I watched Gu Yuan's departing back through the window and let out a heavy sigh.
"Don't worry. They'll be back soon." Sister-in-law Liu sat down on the opposite side of the kang and pushed the hazelnuts and walnuts on the table towards me.
"You guys should like these. I've noticed that city people like mountain produce a lot. They say it's all green food."
I smiled at Sister-in-law Liu. I didn't expect her to know so much.
"Thank you, Sister-in-law." I replied politely.
"Are you two having a fight?" Sister-in-law Liu asked with concern.
"No, we're fine." I cracked open a hazelnut and gently put it in my mouth, savoring it carefully.
"Come on. Sister-in-law's been around. The two of you have looked off since you came in. There must be something wrong."
I didn't know how to answer. It was my first time meeting Gu Yuan's family. I couldn't just start complaining right away.
Sister-in-law Liu's face was full of smiles one second, but the next second, she let out a heavy sigh.
"Gu Yuan is such a poor boy. When Third Elder Liu brought him back, there wasn't a single part of his body that was intact. When they put him on the kang, no matter how they positioned him, he was so cold he was almost frozen. At that time, I thought the boy wasn't going to make it. It took him a full year of recuperation before he could get out of bed and walk. Just thinking about it makes me feel sorry for him."
"After he woke up, he'd forgotten all his previous memories. He only remembered his name was Gu Yuan. Since he woke up, I've never seen him smile. But today, when he brought you back, I actually saw him smiling. I'm sure you're very important to him."
I lowered my eyes. My heart felt sour. In my memory, I was the one who gave Gu Yuan his name. I didn't expect him to still remember it after losing his memory.
"Gu Yuan has had a hard life, so he's a bit cold and taciturn. But once he recognizes someone, he'll definitely protect them with his life. So sometimes, Little Sister-in-law, you have to be more understanding of his silent personality. In fact, he's always had you in his heart."
Sister-in-law Liu told me a lot of things about Gu Yuan in my ear. He was a loner, but he had an extremely strong protective instinct for the things he loved. He was used to carrying a lot of things on his own. So as long as he could find a way to solve a problem, he would always keep quiet and handle it by himself.
Sister-in-law Liu also said that he was just like Big Brother Liu in this regard. Whenever something serious happened, Big Brother Liu would think of Sister-in-law Liu first. To keep her from worrying,
he never told her how serious the situation was. At first, Sister-in-law Liu was really angry. She thought that since they were husband and wife, they shouldn't hide things from each other.
But that's just the way they are. It's in their bones, and they can't change it.
So for the sake of a harmonious marriage, Sister-in-law Liu could only choose to believe. As long as he didn't want to say something, she wouldn't ask more. She believed that Big Brother Liu would definitely be able to solve it.
After listening to Sister-in-law Liu's words, I actually had a lot to say, but all the words got stuck in my throat.
In the end, I only asked one question: "If the situation is very serious and Big Brother Liu can't solve it, what will he do?"
"There's no problem he can't solve." There was a sparkle in Sister-in-law Liu's eyes. She had full admiration for Big Brother Liu.
"Sister-in-law Liu, based on your years of understanding of Big Brother Liu, I mean, if... if he really can't solve it?" I emphasized and elongated the word "if" and asked Sister-in-law Liu again.
At this moment, Sister-in-law Liu fell silent. It took her a long time to say a few words: "He should probably drive me away."
As soon as Sister-in-law Liu finished speaking, my head suddenly started buzzing. A sense of foreboding welled up inside me.