Gu Yuqin, seated in her wheelchair, had her attention caught. She called for the auntie to wheel her closer and greeted them: “So you’re Little Fish’s girlfriend? I’m his aunt, Gu Yuqin. What’s your name?”
“Hello, I’m Li Tangli.”
Gu Yuqin seemed much more approachable than the brisk and capable Gu Shufeng, and Li Tangli silently thanked her for stepping in at just the right moment.
Gu Yuqin asked again, “Oh, so what do you do?”
“I’m a server right now.”
“What kind of server? Where do you work? What time do you start and finish each day? What do you do at work?”
Her questions came thick and fast, one after another, until Li Tangli finally realized something was off. She pressed her lips together, discomfort rising at having her privacy invaded.
She didn’t want to answer anymore, but Gu Yuqin sat there smiling, waiting. The only sound in the room was the television broadcasting economic news.
For a moment, everyone in the Gu family fell into an eerie, tacit silence, together completing this violation of her.
Realizing she’d caused the awkward silence, her timid nature got the better of her, and she honestly answered: “It’s a buffet restaurant at Chunfu Plaza. I start at ten, and mostly I just clear plates, clean up, arrange the tables and chairs — that sort of thing.”
The more Gu Yuqin listened, the brighter her eyes grew, and the hands that had been resting under the blanket came up, excited, clasped together at her chest. “So you get to talk to different people every day — that sounds so fun! Do you like the job?”
Li Tangli, caught off guard: “It’s… it’s okay? Not exactly something I love…”
Gu Yuqin looked puzzled. Though she was already twenty-five, her expression remained childlike and innocent. “If you don’t like it, why do you still do it?”
Under Gu Yuqin’s uncomprehending gaze, Li Tangli said quietly, “It’s just… for the money.”
Ji Jiayu, sprawled on the sofa playing games, was the first to grow annoyed with all this, and he snapped irritably, “What is this, a household registration check?”
Hearing her son speak up, Gu Shufeng finally cleared her throat, unhurried. “All right, Yuqin, had enough fun?”
She didn’t scold her sister for pressing Li Tangli, a first-time guest, to the point of embarrassment — didn’t even bother with a courtesy word like “guest.” She simply said, flatly, “had enough fun,” placing Li Tangli firmly in the position of an insignificant plaything, there for her family’s amusement.
Gu Yuqin didn’t seem to catch her sister’s contempt for Li Tangli. Instead, her smile returned, and she reached out, gently taking hold of Li Tangli’s hand.
Li Tangli shivered. Gu Yuqin’s fingers were as cold as ice, nearly indistinguishable from it! Black Lotus novel Novel | black lotus novel
Gu Yuqin, however, seemed entirely unaware. Even as Li Tangli’s hand trembled, she didn’t let go — if anything, she gripped tighter.
Mindful that she was a patient, Li Tangli didn’t dare pull away, and could only let herself be held like this.
She heard Gu Yuqin say, coquettishly, “Sister, I want to go look around the greenhouse with her. Can I?”
Gu Shufeng said seriously, “No. The new caretaker hasn’t arrived yet, and the greenhouse just finished renovation — it’s filthy. Wait a few more days, be good.”
Gu Yuqin’s smile vanished, replaced by the look of someone about to cry. “Fine, I won’t go, then. Really, I should just stay on the top floor forever. I’m useless anyway, can’t do anything, can’t go anywhere, just a burden to you and my brother…”
“What nonsense is this?” Even knowing that much of it was performance, Gu Shufeng’s heart still clenched at the words.
Of the three siblings, Gu Yuqin alone resembled their mother most. Born prematurely, she had been sickly since childhood, her early years spent almost entirely in sanatoriums. When their parents passed away, she’d still been half a child.
Growing up, she’d been homeschooled, having barely set foot in an actual school. She rarely saw outsiders, let alone made friends. So seeing Li Tangli had made her rare, genuine happiness.
Thinking of how her sister’s health had been fairly stable this past year, Gu Shufeng softened and relented: “Fine. Bundle up — wear your hat and mask.”
She glanced at Li Tangli, whose hand was still being held, expression somewhat bewildered, and added, “Make sure the auntie goes with you. Understood?”
On the drive in, Li Tangli had already known the estate was large, but with her limited imagination, she never could have pictured there being an entire small lake behind the house!
Beside the lake stood the glass greenhouse. It had been renovated half a month ago, various flowers arranged with careful, elegant spacing, the glass sparkling crystal-clear in the sunlight.
Gu Yuqin left her wheelchair outside the greenhouse. She could walk normally, just with very poor stamina — she’d tire after only a few steps. But today her spirits were unusually high, so she got up to walk around.
She kept questioning Li Tangli: “So in college, at work — has anything interesting ever happened to you?”
Li Tangli froze for a moment, her voice dropping. “I never went to college.”
She’d wanted to go. But whether before or after crossing over, it had never worked out.
After her mother was diagnosed with lung cancer, faced with the choice between school and earning money, Li Tangli hadn’t hesitated long. When her mother learned she’d decided to drop out, she’d flown into a rage, sharply ordering Li Tangli back to high school.
But this daughter of hers, always quiet and timid, for the first time didn’t bow her head and admit fault in the face of her mother’s fury. Trembling with fear, she still wouldn’t take a single step back.
Eyes red, she said, “Mom, I can’t just watch you die.”
After her mother was hospitalized, Li Tangli rode the bus back and forth between the factory and the hospital.
The bus route passed a university, and the students who got on chatted, relaxed and cheerful, about where to go have fun later.
Li Tangli, the same age as them, huddled in the back seat like a mouse, bending over to secretly swallow the last bite of a cold, hard steamed bun.
Travel-worn and running ragged, she could only steal the occasional envious glance, then watch, helpless, as her dream drifted further and further away.
After her mother died of illness, she’d finally managed to pull herself back together, planning to work for half a year more, save enough, then quit to study for the adult college entrance exam next year. But then the accident happened.
Fortunately, Gu Yuqin didn’t press for details — she herself had never gone to college either, so she didn’t find it particularly novel. She immediately changed the subject, asking Li Tangli to talk about her job instead.
What was there to say about work? Li Tangli’s account came out dry and flat, just everyday trivial things. But Gu Yuqin was generous with her laughter, smiling so much her mask slipped a few times.
The greenhouse was thick with the scent of flowers. Suddenly, Gu Yuqin sneezed, her eyes reddening slightly. The auntie grew anxious: “Miss, are you feeling unwell? Let’s head back.”
They’d barely been out any time at all, and already they had to go back! Gu Yuqin was displeased. “Ugh, just one more loop.”
Not even three minutes had passed before Li Tangli couldn’t help but turn her head — the breathing beside her had grown increasingly rapid, her chest tight and short of breath, even producing a wheezing, hissing sound.
Concerned, Li Tangli stopped walking. “Do you want to rest a moment?”
Before she could get an answer, Gu Yuqin suddenly broke into a dry cough. The moment the coughing stopped, violent gasping followed close behind. She clutched at her heaving chest, panting like an ox, mouth opening uselessly wide in a futile attempt to get air.
The achingly familiar symptoms shot straight to the crown of Li Tangli’s head. She lunged forward, steadying Gu Yuqin, who was clearly struggling to breathe, and turned to the auntie, urgent: “She has asthma! Where’s the inhaler?”
The auntie looked utterly lost. She’d only worked for the Gu family these past two years — she’d never once heard that the young lady had asthma.
Seeing the scene unfold, the auntie panicked. “Maybe — maybe it’s in the wheelchair?”
Hearing there was medicine, Li Tangli steadied herself, immediately bending to help support Gu Yuqin. “Auntie, we can’t stay in the greenhouse. Let’s get her out first.”
Together they got her into the wheelchair. Li Tangli yanked open the storage pouch at the back of the wheelchair and rummaged through it twice, clattering through the contents — nothing.
Her heart sank. “The medicine’s not here.”
The auntie said anxiously, “If it’s anywhere, it’d have to be up in Miss’s room on the top floor. I organized the medicine box downstairs just a couple days ago — I don’t remember any asthma medication in it!”
They’d only meant to step out for some fresh air, half an hour at most — no one had brought a phone.
Seeing Gu Yuqin’s expression twist in agony, Li Tangli suddenly remembered something and spun around, breaking into a run — there was medicine in the bag she’d hung by the entryway!
Because her mother had suffered from chronic asthma, she always carried emergency medication with her, no matter where she went.
She sprinted toward the villa with everything she had. Her delicate designer heels snapped halfway there, ruined, sending her sprawling. A sharp, burning pain shot through her knee, but she gritted her teeth, hauled herself up, kicked off the shoes entirely, and ran on barefoot.
A heavy, urgent pounding came at the door. The moment Gu Shufeng opened it, she saw Li Tangli barrel straight in without so much as a greeting.
Every shred of politeness and decorum cast aside, Li Tangli snatched up her bag and could only manage to gasp out, in a rush: “Sister Yuqin’s having an asthma attack in the greenhouse! I’m getting her medicine — go start the car, quick!”
She turned and ran back without waiting for a response. Gu Shufeng’s face went pale at the words.
Yuqin’s asthma hadn’t flared up in nearly ten years. Why would it suddenly act up now?
Li Tangli made it back with the medicine to find Gu Yuqin’s lips already faintly tinged purple. There was no time to think it through — she dropped decisively to her knees to get a clear look at her condition.
Then she quickly shook the inhaler and aimed it at Gu Yuqin’s mouth: “Don’t be scared. Just do what I say, okay? Deep breath in… good, now hold it… breathe out…” | B L A C K L O T U S Novel Translation Site | black lotus novel
The car arrived just in time, and Gu Shufeng and Ji Jiayu came upon this scene — Gu Yuqin in the wheelchair, gripping the inhaler, her breathing still somewhat labored, her other hand clamped tightly around Li Tangli’s.
Li Tangli knelt before the wheelchair, her voice hoarse from having shouted so loudly moments before, guiding and soothing Gu Yuqin through the medication with practiced patience, just as she had countless times for her own mother.
For some reason — even though she looked more disheveled than anyone else present, her updo half-collapsed with a few strands hanging loose over her shoulders, her short skirt dirt-streaked all over — her gentle tone and patient eyes held an inexplicable, magnetic pull.
Ji Jiayu carried the weakened Gu Yuqin into the back seat. She refused to let go of Li Tangli’s hand no matter what. Seeing this, Gu Shufeng’s tone softened: “Miss Li, please, come along too.”
With that, there was no room left for Ji Jiayu. He couldn’t fit in the car and would have to follow on his own shortly after.
They arrived at the private hospital, where the medical team, already contacted in advance, was waiting at the entrance.
After emergency treatment, Gu Yuqin was wheeled into a VIP room. Once the oxygen mask was fitted, her breathing gradually steadied.
The group finally let out a breath of relief. Regaining her composure, Gu Yuqin opened her mouth toward Li Tangli at her bedside. The clear oxygen mask fogged up, but Li Tangli could make out the shape of her words: “Thank you.”
Li Tangli smiled, a little embarrassed. “No need to thank me.”
Before the words had fully left her mouth, the hospital room door was flung open from outside.
A man in a crisp suit crossed the room in a few strides, his gaze landing directly on the hospital bed. Seeing his sister safe and unharmed, the anxious knot between his brows finally eased.
Seeing that Gu Yuqin still had it in her to wink at him, he let out an angry laugh. “Gu Yuqin, one of these days you’re going to scare me to death, and I’ll be satisfied.”
The Gu siblings shared a warm, easy moment — while the one left flustered now was Li Tangli.
The instant she saw Gu Zhi, memories of their previous two rather awkward encounters flooded back, and the alarm bells in her head blared. Instinct urged her to shrink back out of sight.
But moving now would have looked too deliberate, so she stood rooted in place, silent and stiff.
Cold and haughty as Gu Zhi was in her presence, in front of his family, all the sharp edges and pressure around him softened, like a frozen river slowly thawing in early spring.
Just as she feared, Gu Zhi, now at ease, let his gaze sweep the room in passing — and it caught, abruptly, on the girl standing across from him.
She kept her eyes lowered, as if guilty of something, fixed determinedly on the floor, as though she might find flowers blooming in the cracks between the tiles.
She wore a dirty halter-neck pink dress, exposing a thin, pale stretch of back, a small mole visible at the nape of her neck.
Strangely, despite having crossed paths only briefly, twice, Gu Zhi recognized her at a single glance.
His voice sank as he spoke. “Miss Li. What are you doing here?”
