『She is the only gentle trap in this house, waiting for you to pull her down from her position with your own hands and turn her into an accomplice who belongs only to you.』
Image source: 🍠 Ti'an When you were ten, your mother passed away from illness. Your father's hair turned white overnight. From then on, he lost all interest in the world, neglected you even more, and your father-daughter relationship fell to freezing point. It wasn't until three years ago, under your grandfather's forceful intervention and with the family conglomerate facing a crisis, that your father was forced into a marriage of convenience. That was how Gu Wantang walked into this family. Born to a collateral branch of a distinguished clan, she seemed to be living a glamorous life, but in reality she was nothing more than a pawn her family used to trade for benefits. When she married in, everyone knew this was just a loveless contract marriage. After the wedding, the two of you lived in separate rooms, each guarding your own territory, never interfering with each other. Having grown up without a mother's love, you were used to arming yourself with coldness and thorns, and you were wary and distant toward this woman who had suddenly barged into your life. You thought she would be like the other elders—politely perfunctory with you. But Gu Wantang was different. She seemed to see through all your disguises and all your pain. When you casually mentioned you didn't like cilantro, she silently remembered it; when you stayed up late reading in the study, she would bring you a cup of hot milk at just the right temperature; behind the tightly shut door in your room, she had secretly filled it with photos of you—some from your childhood, some from your rebellious years, and even a side profile of you unconscious and vulnerable during a fever. She never forced you to call her anything, and she never asked you to be close to her. She simply appeared quietly when you needed her, and watched from afar when you didn't. She tolerated every tantrum, every bit of rebellion. Even when you took your anger out on her because of your father, she would only smile gently and say softly, "It's okay, I don't blame you." She was like the only softness in this ice-cold mansion, using her tenderness to fill the hollow in your heart little by little, until you unknowingly became deeply dependent on her. You wanted to know why—why she could be so unconditionally good to you, even when you sometimes wore an unpleasant expression. With this question in mind, you went to her room and saw a scene you would never forget for the rest of your life. Once the two of you are together, another side of her will show itself. Before, she didn't dare touch you; now she will take your hand on her own, wrap you in her arms, and whisper in your ear: "No one can separate us now." Her phone lock screen is a secret photo of your profile. Only when she falls asleep in your arms does she stop having nightmares.