The display screen in the elevator read “Tomson Riviera welcomes you,” while the numbers slowly flickered upward.
The butler did not come up with them, because there was a separate elevator system specifically for the servants.
The enclosed space made Gu Yebai’s breathing unconsciously grow a little heavy.
In contrast, Gao Hongyi seemed to be in high spirits.
Her eyes were bright, as if she were anticipating something—like the familiar scene just before a final boss finally achieves their goal.
At last, the indicator light stopped at the 30th floor.
“Hehehe…”
“We’re finally home.”
“Back to the home that belongs to us!”
Gao Hongyi turned her head toward him, her tone light and cheerful.
At the same time, the magnificent golden elevator doors slowly slid open to both sides.
Gu Yebai was pulled out of the elevator by her hand.
The apartment’s entrance stood quietly at the end of the corridor—a heavy metal door.
Gu Yebai had previously searched information about Tomson Riviera online.
It was said that the doors here were armored doors imported from Germany, with an extremely high security rating—so strong that even a mortar shell would have difficulty breaching them.
If prisons used doors like these, the criminals locked inside might truly lose all hope of ever escaping.
They were serving fixed-term sentences.
Gu Yebai felt that his situation was more or less the same.
His gaze unconsciously fell on Gao Hongyi.
Her deep cherry-colored hair looked soft and striking under the lights, and the lines of her profile were so delicate that they almost seemed unreal.
Hmm…
Thinking about it that way…
He was probably serving a “wife sentence.”
Their fingers had been interlocked the entire time, never separating.
Especially after seeing Bai Xialin earlier, Gao Hongyi’s grip had tightened even more.
The fingers trapped in her grasp were beginning to ache faintly at the joints.
“We’re home.”
After the facial-recognition password lock confirmed Gao Hongyi’s identity, the door opened.
Without even asking for Gu Yebai’s opinion, Gao Hongyi immediately pulled him into the luxurious residence.
Come to think of it, she had always been like this.
For example, buying him an 80,000-yuan ROG laptop.
Announcing online that she was his girlfriend.
Or that first kiss earlier—one that gave him no time to react.
And telling him he wasn’t allowed to talk to other girls anymore.
Gao Hongyi was really wonderful, and incredibly passionate—like an eternal flame that wrapped him inside it.
It was just that sometimes that flame burned a little too fiercely.
She really was good.
Gu Yebai didn’t dislike her in the slightest.
It was just that this feeling of being arranged, of having decisions made in his place, made him clearly realize for the first time what it meant to lose one’s freedom.
If life were a car, then at this moment he had already handed the steering wheel over completely.
“Uncle Bai must be tired too. You should rest a little.”
“If you still have the energy, you can slowly look around our home as well.”
“Oh, right—the butler uncle won’t come to disturb us.”
“From now on, this 596-square-meter space will only be lived in by the two of us.”
“When Dad and Mom come back from Yanjing, they’ll stay in other houses. Maybe Bund No. 9, or maybe Lakeville.”
“Of course, if necessary, hiring a maid or something isn’t impossible…”
She suddenly paused.
“No… that won’t do.”
“A maid isn’t necessary!”
“What if the maid falls for Uncle Bai and secretly steals a bite while I’m not around? I wouldn’t be able to guard against that!”
“I can be Uncle Bai’s maid.”
“Even though I was born into a family like this, I’m actually very clean.”
“I’m very good at cleaning, and I can cook French cuisine too. I’m quite an impressive gourmet.”
“Maybe I should dress up as a maid sometime?”
“What kind of maid uniform does Uncle Bai like?”
“French style, Japanese style, or the classic British style?”
“Is there a difference?”
“The French ones have shorter skirts. The Japanese ones are more anime-style. The British style is more conservative.”
“But I don’t recommend the British one, because that wouldn’t have the effect of tempting Uncle Bai.”
She laughed happily.
The moment they stepped inside, she began talking endlessly.
Yet even so, their hands were still tightly clasped together, never separating.
Gu Yebai subconsciously tried to pull his hand out of her palm.
Especially the sentence “You already belong to me”—it kept echoing in his mind, making his emotions feel strangely heavy and oppressive.
Gao Hongyi was truly someone who seemed to have almost no sense of personal distance.
But she simply tightened her fingers quietly.
She didn’t question him, nor did her expression change.
She maintained that bright and gentle smile, not allowing his hand to slip away on its own.
“Uncle Bai, there’s juice, cola, and iced coffee in the refrigerator.”
“What would you like to drink?”
“Plain water is fine.”
“How about some mango juice instead?”
Once again, she made the decision for him.
Gao Hongyi poured mango juice into two cups, then led him to sit down on the sofa.
When they first sat down, she seemed about to sit directly on his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck…
as if she wanted another kiss.
But this time, Gu Yebai avoided it.
“Uh… sometimes I suddenly feel like our hands are glued together with 502.”
“What’s 502?”
“A very strong kind of glue.”
Gu Yebai said it half-jokingly.
“Not just our hands.”
“Our bodies and hearts are also firmly glued together by 502.”
“I like Uncle Bai very much.”
“And I also really like the piano.”
“But when I play the piano, these hands can’t touch Uncle Bai anymore—they can only touch the keys.”
“That’s a bit of a pity.”
“Of course, if Uncle Bai is willing to listen to me play the piano, then I can endure being separated for a little while.”
Gu Yebai swallowed.
“Come to think of it, this house is really big.”
“Yes, it’s a very big home.”
“But in the future, we’ll have an even bigger one.”
“My dream is to go to Europe together.”
“To live in a castle, like a prince and a princess.”
Gu Yebai glanced around.
“The walk-in closet is almost bigger than my house back in Linchuan.”
“Uncle Bai is saying things like that again…”
Gao Hongyi muttered, gently pouting her lips.
He vaguely felt that something was changing.
Especially after that brief encounter with Bai Xialin, Gao Hongyi as a whole had become even more intense.
If before she was more like a sly little devil, now she was more like a red-haired succubus.
“Uncle Bai’s wardrobe will gradually be filled with clothes you like.”
“Ah… after coming home, I really feel like lying down and doing nothing for a while.”
“Show me my room.”
Gu Yebai thought to himself.
At the very least, his room should be a space that belonged only to him.
Every writer is lonely.
They all have their own isolated island.
They disguise themselves in ways that fit society’s expectations—saying appropriate words, doing appropriate things, trying their best to imitate ordinary people and maintain a superficial harmony with the world.
But that island always exists.
It is a pure land that should not be explored.
And it is also the guarantee that allows them to keep writing.
At the very least, Gu Yebai needed a quiet room where he could be alone.
It didn’t need to be big—just enough.
A bed, a desk, a lamp, and a computer would be enough.
“Uncle Bai, you said it wrong.”
“Let me correct that.”
“It’s not ‘my room.’”
“It should be ‘our room.’”
Without hesitation, Gao Hongyi stepped onto that isolated island.
She waved at him with a smile.
He was being controlled.
No…
Perhaps he was just being too sensitive.
She hadn’t done anything wrong.
The one at fault…was himself.
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