She compromised. No matter what Xu Xiao wanted to say, she would do whatever he wanted.
It's better than him holding her all the time and the two of them being in a stalemate here, right?
Xu Xiao saw her look like a broken jar, and felt love and pity for her. He couldn't help but hold her hand and kiss it.
Guo Ting really wanted to hit him, but seeing his half-swollen face, she felt she was in the wrong and couldn't do it.
Xu Xiao helped her sit on the chair and said slowly: "I am a chess piece placed by Mr. Lu in the Xu family. Later, in order to cooperate with the Xu family in cleaning up the family, I have stayed in the Xu family."
"Both the Xu family and Mr. Lu know all this. I never thought of hiding it from you. I hesitated before and didn't dare to agree to it because I was afraid that you would know the truth and not be able to accept it."
"Every word I say is sincere. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me."
"If you think I lied to you, then you can ask Mrs. Lu or my grandmother. They will never lie to you."
Guo Ting felt a huge shock in her chest, but then she slowly calmed down. Looking at Xu Xiao's calm face, she realized that what he said might be true.
She wiped away her tears with a handkerchief. Thinking that Xu Xiao was now in the General Affairs Department, which was a place dedicated to investigating cases for the emperor, she immediately said: "So you were a spy from the beginning?"
Xu Xiao nodded, sat next to her and said, "That's right, I came from Prince An's Mansion."
"I was still young when I entered the mansion. I was an actor by background."
Guo Ting was so stunned that she didn't even know she was crying. She looked at Xu Xiao and didn't dare to think about what Xu Xiao had gone through at that time.
Were you very young when you entered the mansion, or were you still an actor?
That’s selling yourself into slavery!
She just looked at him, and she didn't know when the resentment in her eyes disappeared, only pity remained.
Xu Xiao pursed his lips, still looking gentle and warm, but Guo Ting could see clearly that his eyes were avoiding the past, and it was obvious that he himself did not want to mention it.
But...in order to let her understand the inside story, he still said it.
She suddenly felt a pain in her heart, but it was not aggrieved or sad. It was because of the man in front of her.
"Master Lu knows?"
Xu Xiao nodded: "I know, and thanks to him, he showed me a clear path regardless of past grudges."
"Mrs. Zhang also knows?"
Xu Xiao still nodded and said calmly: "She is smarter than I thought. She is a person of great wisdom. Although she knows, she still treats me as a child of the Xu family, so I am very grateful to her."
Guo Ting nodded, she understood.
She looked at the box, decided not to explore Xu Xiao's life experience, and asked instead: "Then what do you mean now?"
Xu Xiaonanran touched her nose angrily and said sheepishly: "I want to marry you, but before that, I need to explain it clearly to you."
"If you are still willing, we can separate and live alone after we get married, and you can continue to do business, along with my share."
"If you don't want to, I won't force you, let alone do anything detrimental to you. It's just that for a person like me, who has seen too many joys and sorrows, I may choose to die alone all my life."
Guo Ting felt increasingly sad, but also very angry.
She said to Xu Xiao: "You don't have to talk about dying alone. If you want to do that, it is your choice and has nothing to do with me."
Xu Xiao said: "Of course, if I have to shirk this from you, then you will stay away from me for the rest of your life and don't need to look at me again."
"It's not just me. If you meet any man like this, you have to stay away."
Guo Ting snorted coldly, not sure if it was because of his shamelessness or her own softness.
She knew that Xu Xiao was plotting against her and her soft-heartedness, and she also knew that he was such a person, and it was understandable that he would fall into this situation.
Just thinking that all the relatives and friends around him are in the game, and he is the only one who is involved in the game, he can't help but feel pain in his heart.
He could deceive her in everything, but his eyes could not deceive her.
Xu Xiao, he was really prepared to die alone.
She had never been in such a state of mind, but in the end she still chose to compromise.
Just thinking about it now, she was confused whether it was better to compromise, persist, or... choose Xu Xiao.
Xu Xiao also seemed to see her confusion, and then said: "My private property has nothing to do with the Xu family, and the Xu family doesn't control me very much. Now that I am a minister of the emperor, naturally I serve as a courtier.
First, then the descendants of the Xu family."
"Don't worry, no one can threaten you. You just need to follow your heart and choose well. If you don't choose me, then I deserve that end, and you don't have to sympathize."
Guo Ting looked at him and hummed: "I'm not that soft-hearted."
Xu Xiao pursed her lips and said with a face full of relief: "I have always known that you are a strong person. At certain moments, we live very much alike."
"But I underestimated your broadmindedness and overestimated my determination. I still can't watch you marry someone else and do nothing."
"I'm sorry for going back on my word. It's all my fault."
Guo Ting feels that Xu Xiao is used to understanding people's hearts and knows when she should show weakness and when she should analyze her own heart.
However, human nature is complicated. The only thing she can believe is Xu Xiao's kindness to her in the past and Xu Xiao's determination to save her now.
Other than that, nothing else matters.
Guo Ting stood up and said: "I know everything you said, and I will consider it."
"But like you said, if I don't choose you in the end, please stay away from me and stop disturbing and testing me."
Xu Xiao's eyes darkened, he stood back, pursed his lips and said, "Of course."
The moment Guo Ting saw his eyes darken, her heart ached.
But why did he remain indifferent to her pain for so long?
Since you all want to be a heartless person, why worry about being abandoned?
She walked out of the back hall and sighed as she looked at the dull sky. It looked like it was going to rain today, so the flowers and trees in the backyard had to be covered up earlier to avoid being damaged by the heavy rain.
She wanted to protect her flowers as much as she wanted to protect herself.
For Xu Xiao, her thoughts are complicated and difficult to distinguish.
As a person who has become a chess piece and can escape, he should not need anyone to take care of him.
But no one is born strong. For example, she has experienced so much, being deceived, beaten, and tempered again and again, before she became what she is today, barely able to protect her family business.
How much experience did Xu Xiao have to go through before he could gain a foothold in the Xu family, in the court, and even in front of others?
At this moment, Guo Ting's heart was confused again, and even her breathing became heavier than before.
She walked out step by step, her steps unwavering, her expression unfazed, seemingly unmoved.
But only she knew in her heart that her heart was still biased towards Xu Xiao.