154: Do you even understand that I am the one you should cherish for a lifetime?

Gong Qiumu winked at her. Ai Yue instantly understood his unspoken meaning.

After Gong Qiumu left, Ai Yue couldn't help but sigh. Both Gong Qiumu and Qiuqiu were shrewd individuals. They saw at a glance that she didn't want too much interaction with Gu Xiheng and the others, so they specifically arranged a place where outsiders couldn't easily enter or exit.

How should she put it? They were thoughtful, but their intentions were also very clear: they were doing this only in hopes that she would join the Songzhou Safety Tower.

Ai Yue knew their efforts would likely be in vain. There was no way she would stay. Once she attended the Auction and got what she wanted, she would leave, having no choice but to let down the kindness of the Gong Qiuqiu brothers.

After Gu Xiheng and the others finished discussing matters with Qiuqiu, they returned to their residence and found that Ai Yue was not there, which didn't surprise them.

Gu Xiheng just felt somewhat puzzled. This unexpected reunion with Ai Yue made him feel that she had become much more distant from them.

They had gone through hardships together, so why had she become so estranged?

Could it be that she was afraid he would blame her for secretly running away with her family?

But he hadn't blamed her. Gu Xiheng couldn't figure it out.

"What are you thinking about? You look completely absorbed." Mo Li saw Gu Xiheng frowning and deep in thought, and couldn't help but ask.

"I'm thinking about Ai Yue!" Gu Xiheng said without hesitation.

Cheng Siyu, who had returned earlier and was waiting for Gu Xiheng, immediately changed her expression upon hearing this. "What did you say?"

Gu Xiheng snapped back to reality and saw Siyu's angry and hurt expression. He immediately felt awkward and explained, "That's not what I meant. I was wondering why she's so distant from us this time."

Siyu's expression softened slightly upon hearing his explanation. She offered her opinion: "Since she secretly left the Safety Tower without telling us, it proves she doesn't care about us as friends. So why are you struggling with this? From now on, she is her, and you are you. It's not bad for us to have nothing to do with her anymore, right?"

"That's right, Brother. I think you treat her as a friend, but she definitely doesn't treat you as one. The only reason she was friends with you was because you are the Gu Family heir and had the authority to arrange the best life for her in the Safety Tower."

Gu Xitian chimed in as well. She paused, and seeing no reaction from Gu Xiheng, continued:

"Brother, don't be fooled by her. She never sincerely considered you a friend; she was just using the connection, and you took it seriously. Look, now that she has capability, isn't she ignoring you?"

Gu Xiheng's mood was complicated and low at the moment, and he couldn't bring himself to blame Ai Yue for anything.

After all, Ai Yue had genuinely saved them several times, yet when she faced danger, they had all prioritized their own escape and hadn't helped her.

Therefore, Gu Xiheng felt he had no right to blame her for being distant toward him.

Mo Li grew unhappy as he listened. These two women were stirring up trouble again. He frowned deeply and said angrily:

"Enough! Ai Yue is not as awful as you make her out to be. When she saved Xiheng back then, she didn't even know he was the Gu Family heir. Besides, everything she received at the Safety Tower was given to her in gratitude for saving Xiheng's life, wasn't it?

Furthermore, setting aside how many times she saved us, remember how the base was repeatedly attacked by Alien Insects? Wasn't it Ai Yues family who ultimately resolved the danger?

The fact that you can stand here safely now is all thanks to Ai Yue. What right do you have to speak ill of her behind her back?

Isn't the reason she's distant from us because the two of you constantly made things difficult for her, even trying to kill her? You keep stirring things up between us. Otherwise, given our strong friendship, why would it come to this?"

"You—you are slandering us! Whose side are you on? We are your family! How can you talk about us like that? Clearly, the instigator of all this is that wretched Ai Yue. What does it have to do with us!"

Gu Xitian screamed in rage, while Cheng Siyu could no longer maintain her persona as a cold beauty, and her face darkened completely.

"Mo Li, what you said is going too far! How can you blame everything on us? She bullied us—are we not allowed to fight back? Must we just let her bully us? Must we let her attack and kill us?"

Cheng Siyu demanded angrily.

"Heh... I just never realized that beneath that beautiful exterior of yours lies a face that twists black and white. How truly disgusting!"

Mo Li was so angered by their arguments that he laughed. He dropped the pretense of politeness, tore off the mask, and spoke his deepest thoughts.

Cheng Siyu widened her eyes in disbelief. She hadn't expected Mo Li, whom she had grown up with, to speak to her like this. She was utterly shocked.

The hatred deep within her heart began to spread. Cheng Siyu couldn't understand why, whenever Ai Yue was involved, Mo Li would change completely, disregarding their relationship and speaking to her so viciously.

At this moment, she not only hated Ai Yue but also started hating Mo Li.

"Mo Li, how can you use such vicious words to slander me? Why are you speaking up for Ai Yue so much? Do you like her?"

Cheng Siyu looked wronged, her stubborn expression tinged with sadness.

Gu Xiheng, who had been silent, glanced at Mo Li. Mo Li rolled his eyes at him, then chuckled toward Cheng Siyu and said, "That's right. Ai Yue is a woman worth liking. Any man who spends enough time with her will fall for her."

Cheng Siyu was delighted. He actually admitted he liked Ai Yue? If so, Gu Xiheng would certainly hold a grudge against Mo Li.

She quickly looked at Gu Xiheng, but he showed no reaction. Cheng Siyu couldn't understand why he wasn't reacting. Hearing his best friend liked the woman he liked—he should show some kind of reaction, shouldn't he?

Mo Li saw through Cheng Siyu's subtle actions and instantly understood her thoughts. He rolled his eyes again. She was trying to ruin the relationship between him and his brother. Truly, the more beautiful a person is, the more venomous they are.

If Gu Xiheng didn't know that Mo Li liked Ai Yue's sister, Ye Rui, there really might have been a rift between the two of them.

If Gu Xiheng really ended up with her, he would be in for a rough time. Maybe their brotherhood might one day truly be destroyed by her.

Gu Xiheng didn't take such petty tricks seriously. He never used malicious intent to speculate about his own family members.

He just felt annoyed listening to them argue back and forth. He sighed, got up, and walked toward the accommodation, intending to go find Ai Yue to talk.

"Xiheng, where are you going?" Seeing him suddenly leave without a word, Cheng Siyu felt anxious and rushed out to ask.

"Just taking a walk alone!"

"Let me accompany you!"

"No need, I want to be alone!"

Hearing this, Cheng Siyu had no choice but to stop chasing after him.

"Xiheng, do you understand? I am the one you should cherish for life." Cheng Siyu muttered, watching Gu Xiheng's receding back, her eyes becoming beautiful yet dangerous.