HBWMA -Chapter 377 Past, Future, Turning Point

After leaving the pear garden, Gu Yuzhu and the others went to meet up with Yu Sheng. Unexpectedly, Zhou Yanheng also showed no interest in the gathering on his side, and Yu Sheng was directly turned away at the door.

It seemed that reconciling relations was impossible now.

The group walked along the lakeside back toward their rooms, only to see Gao Zhi wearing sunglasses, directing staff to set up a venue. People in their circle all knew Gao Zhi was Shen Lanxi’s personal bodyguard, so it was obvious this was arranged under Shen Lanxi’s instruction.

Lan Dai glanced at Gu Yuzhu and said casually, as if unintentionally, “Are they camping? Looks like everyone really wants to do their own thing.”

Gu Yuzhu had already been displeased that Shen Qingyu didn’t speak up for her earlier. Now seeing him say he had no interest but still coming to the campsite, her anger flared until her face turned purple. She suddenly turned and ran toward the bridge corridor.

“A-Zhu, where are you going?!”

Lan Dai looked worried and was about to follow when Su Yun quickly stopped her.

“Looks like she’s gone to throw a tantrum at Shen Qingyu. We shouldn’t get involved in this. Let her come back first before we try to persuade her.”

“But…” Lan Dai still looked uneasy.

Su Yun explained gently, “Don’t worry. A-Zhu isn’t a child. It’s not like she’ll get lost.”

Lan Dai looked slightly guilty. “It’s my fault… I shouldn’t have said too much just now.”

Su Yun smiled without responding.

Yu Sheng beside them remained silent.

She had never liked interacting with these old-wealth young ladies for exactly this reason—living off family inheritance without ambition, only knowing low-level petty schemes. To her, their tricks were crude and transparent.

Night fell.

Without the obstruction of concrete buildings, the stars were so bright it looked as if they had been polished with fine sand. Every single one shone brilliantly.

They gathered into a sea of stars, the Milky Way descending from light-years away into the human world.

Grass swayed in the summer wind. Jiang Huashan suddenly flopped down onto the green ground and said casually, “Do you know? The nearest star to us took forty thousand years for its light to reach us. Everything we see when we look up is actually light from the past.”

Shen Mianzhi closed her eyes, feeling the breeze brush gently across her face. “So we’re actually dating the past right now.”

Fu Sui’er rested her chin on her hands. “That’s so romantic. Besides stars, what else in this world exists in the past at the same time?”

Jiang Huashan smiled and closed her eyes again. “Me.”

She was Jiang Huashan from the past—someone who had stumbled into the gate of the script world and met everyone in the present.

To them, the “her” they saw now was like the starlight above—she had walked a long way through time, and they happened to look up at just the right moment, meeting her by coincidence.

Shen Qingyu was squatting on the ground arranging string lights. Shen Guiling was preparing food at the dining table. Shen Lanxi was sitting in a chair reading a book. At her words, all three paused at the same time and looked up at the figure in the grass.

Fu Sui’er fell back onto the grass as well, turned her head to look at Jiang Huashan, and grinned.

Only she understood how precious Jiang Huashan’s words—“there is also me”—were.

A god who descended at age twelve, changing her life and saving her mother.

But these were secrets that could never be spoken aloud.

Shen Qingyu finished stringing the lights and turned on the power. Instantly, the entire lawn was filled with warm white starlight, brighter than the sky above.

Shen Guiling arranged the dishes neatly and lit scented candles. “We can eat now.”

Shen Lanxi closed his book, stood up, and as he passed Jiang Huashan, he gave her a faint, indifferent glance before walking past without a word.

“…?”

Jiang Huashan found it inexplicable. She got up, dusted off her pants, and changed into a black sports outfit specially prepared for camping.

The hotel had prepared a lavish spread of dishes that smelled incredibly appetizing.

The six of them sat together at the table, facing each other.

Fu Sui’er raised her glass of sparkling fruit wine. “Brothers and sisters, let’s have a toast! I hope no matter where we go in the future, we’ll all remember tonight’s meeting.”

Perhaps in the future, fate would lead them down different paths with different choices, but at this moment, they were the closest thing to family.

Shen Guiling had only asked Lan Dai one question: Does Jiang Huashan know we are waiting for her? Everyone immediately understood the implication.

Jiang Huashan might be willful, but she would never leave without explanation to her family. So something must have happened involving Lan Dai. They all understood this tacitly—and unanimously chose to side with her without reason.

Lan Dai didn’t understand why she suddenly became the target of everyone in the Shen family. It was because she didn’t understand them.

Everyone raised their cups together. The fizzy liquid swirled along the glass walls.

“Brother Qingyu!”

Suddenly, a panicked voice shattered the moment.

Lan Dai rushed into the lawn, breathless. Su Yun arrived a step later, her expression equally ugly.

Shen Qingyu frowned. “What are you shouting for?”

Lan Dai grabbed his arm tightly, looking around anxiously. “Where’s A-Zhu? Is she with you?”

Shen Qingyu shook her off immediately. “She’s not here.”

“…!”

Lan Dai’s face instantly turned deathly pale. She staggered back a few steps, murmuring, “It’s over…”

Shen Qingyu immediately realized something was wrong. His expression turned serious. “What do you mean ‘it’s over’? What happened?”

Su Yun stepped forward and handed over a small note.

“After we returned to our rooms this afternoon, we saw staff setting up the lawn. A-Zhu got angry and ran off. We thought she went to find you, so we didn’t pay much attention. Just now we went to her room and found the door unlocked—and this note on the bedside.”

Hearing this, Jiang Huashan also became serious. She stood up and looked at Su Yun. “What does it say?”

Shen Qingyu took the note, his gaze turning cold.

— “She is in my hands. Prepare the ransom, or prepare to collect her body.”

Lan Dai covered her face and cried. “It’s all my fault… I should have followed her. What do we do now? Will something happen to Azhu?”

If Gu Yuzhu was kidnapped at the mountain resort, the Lan family would be the first to suffer consequences.

Jiang Huashan’s fingers trembled slightly. She sat back down quietly.

Of everyone present, no one was more shocked than her.

In her previous life, during the massacre that shocked the world, the first person to be kidnapped and killed by ransom was Gu Yuzhu.

Could it be… that those sea pirates had arrived earlier than before?