Boundary - Chapter 7

When Gu Yetong woke up the next morning, the other half of the bed had already lost Jin Nanting’s warmth.

Last night, the moment Jin Nanting saw his mother’s face on the screen, the warm atmosphere came to an abrupt halt. He didn’t say a word, simply got up and went into the bedroom alone. Unsure of what to say—or what not to say—she could only sit there in stunned silence.

The Wedding Banquet.

She still remembered the wedding banquet three months ago. Su Yinying, invited to her son’s wedding, hadn’t dressed in the traditional red and gold like most mothers-in-law. Instead, she wore an elegant, pale blue qipao. Over fifty, her figure had hardly changed, and with her hair loosely tied up and adorned with simple jade accessories, her youthful charm had undoubtedly left everyone in awe.

The first time Gu Yetong saw her mother-in-law, she finally understood why Jin Nanting, with his outstanding qualifications, had chosen her sister. Tangtang bore a slight resemblance to his mother, especially in the innocence and melancholy that seemed to evoke a desire to protect and cherish in every man.

Su Yinying had once been a hugely popular “jade girl” singer, with many classics that were still sung today. Her love story and elopement with Jin Nanting’s father, Jin Huaili, had been a tale as beautiful as a novel. However, after Jin Huaili achieved success and was triumphantly recalled by the Jin family to take on an important role, their marriage fell apart within three years.

Many had speculated about the reasons behind it, from family feuds to female empowerment, with different angles spinning countless stories. After years of silence, Su Yinying quietly carved out a niche for herself in the film industry, returning to the public eye with a low-key and introspective presence.

Gu Yetong’s memories of her own wedding banquet were hazy, but she clearly remembered that Su Yinying, who wasn’t part of the business circle, had seemed out of place, like an outsider. And Jin Nanting hadn’t spoken a single word to her the entire time.

What kind of emotions had the woman been feeling when she made this film?

Though Gu Yetong knew little about filmmaking, she was aware that three months couldn’t possibly have been enough time. Had Su Yinying been filled with both anticipation and anxiety since hearing about Jin Nanting’s engagement?

She wanted to watch this film, to see if the choice of subject matter was a coincidence or a reflection of the woman’s inner monologue. If it was a self-analysis, how did she view her son? What emotions had she felt during their twenty-year separation, and how did she face his indifference upon their reunion?

But in the end, Gu Yetong didn’t dare to watch it.

She was afraid Jin Nanting might suddenly emerge from the room and see her watching his mother’s film as a kind of betrayal. She randomly picked another movie, but by the time it ended, she couldn’t recall a single plot point.

They spent the night in silence.

When she got into bed, Jin Nanting, already lying down, didn’t move. She wasn’t sure if he was truly asleep, as he must have been exhausted after only landing early that morning. She lay with her back to him, not daring to check, afraid of how she might react if he opened his eyes.

Anxious, she fell asleep very late.

When she woke up, she first checked the living room. His shoes were still by the entrance, meaning he hadn’t left. The bathroom door was open, and there was no sound of running water, so the only possibility was that he was in the courtyard connected to the suite.

Pushing open the floor-to-ceiling glass door, she shivered slightly as she stepped outside. Though it was only September, the early morning mountain air carried a chill. The indoor space of the suite was spacious, and the outdoor courtyard resembled a private classical garden. Connected to the room was a bamboo grove, and beyond a winding path and a Shoushan stone, she saw a small octagonal pavilion, behind which was the private hot spring reserved for them.

Jin Nanting was standing with his back to her, his firm and well-defined back muscles half-exposed to her view, the other half hidden by the stone wall surrounding the hot spring.

Sensing her arrival, the man first turned his head to glance at her, then stood up from the water. To her surprise, he didn’t step out of the hot spring but instead walked to a distant corner and turned to face her.

“Come here,” Jin Nanting said, leaning against the rocks at the edge of the hot spring and extending his right hand to her.

Water droplets clung to his well-defined abs, sliding down the Y-shaped lines and disappearing between his muscular thighs. Gu Yetong admired how the man managed to maintain such a fit physique despite his hectic schedule, but given his focused and determined personality, it wasn’t entirely surprising.

The man looking at her was as cool and authoritative as ever, his upright posture like that of an unyielding emperor. But through those deep, dark eyes, Gu Yetong caught a glimpse of a loneliness she had never seen before, as if he were waiting for her to accompany and warm him.

As she walked toward him, her clothes fell away one by one—her robe, her nightgown—until she stepped into the hot spring completely naked. The man’s unwavering gaze should have made her feel shy, but today, for some reason, it only made her more resolute.

She had intended to sit beside Jin Nanting, but he pulled her into his arms instead. He held her as he slowly sat back down in the water, settling her onto his lap. She could feel the hardness and heat of him pressing against her, but his embrace carried no trace of desire. He held her in silence, then gently rested his chin on her shoulder.

Gu Yetong slowly turned her head. From her angle, she could only see the side of his face. His eyes were closed, and the dark circles beneath them suggested he likely hadn’t slept much last night. His sharp, deep features were now shrouded in exhaustion.

This time, she couldn’t hold back. She reached up and touched the space between his brows.

She felt him frown under her fingertips, but he didn’t open his eyes or push her away. Instead, he let her gently massage the tension away. Gradually, the muscles beneath her fingers relaxed, and only then did she move her hand down, tracing the bridge of his nose, his straight nose, and finally resting on his thin lips.

Jin Nanting finally opened his eyes and turned to meet her gaze. In those unusually dark pupils, she saw her own reflection.

She didn’t know who leaned in first. All she knew was that in the next moment, their lips met.