Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, they were unknowingly approaching their one-year wedding anniversary.
At their wedding, Gu Qingcheng had given Du Lanyue a grand affair, holding two ceremonies as promised: one in their home country and another abroad.
The wedding venues were not only filled with the elite of the business world, but also saw the rare appearance of various influential figures and even legendary stars who had been out of the public eye for years, making it an unprecedented spectacle.
After marriage, every day they spent together was as sweet as when they first started dating, full of affection.
As their anniversary of meeting approached, Gu Qingcheng thought of many ideas to make the commemoration more significant and meaningful for his wife.
However, ideas like making her a delicious breakfast, sending her a truckload of blue roses, unfurling a banner from a helicopter that read "I love you, xxx," or even skydiving with her, none of them truly satisfied him.
He felt that these things had been done before, and he had been doing similar gestures throughout the year. They were too cliché and lacked innovation, failing to capture the joy of their first anniversary of knowing each other.
He pondered deeply, and with the anniversary drawing near and no brilliant plan in sight, he began to doubt himself.
Had he truly exhausted his creativity, unable to even make his wife happy?
Du Lanyue noticed that Gu Qingcheng had been somewhat downcast lately, something that hadn't happened since they got married.
During their marriage, she felt as though they had been together for a hundred years, like an old married couple, yet without any of the weariness. They had maintained the same love and affection as when they had just wed.
Therefore, seeing Gu Qingcheng secretly looking at his phone, making calls, and then appearing troubled and sighing, she couldn't help but wonder if he had fallen out of love with her.
But upon further thought, it didn't seem like it.
They were inseparable, and no new female friends had entered his life. There was simply no room for him to stray. It shouldn't be an issue of their relationship.
Moreover, she observed that his appetite had decreased recently, he furrowed his brow more often, and sometimes he would sigh. If it wasn't a relationship problem, could it be financial trouble?
Recalling that Gu Qingcheng also dabbled in stocks, and considering the recent poor performance of the stock market with its annual plunges, she wondered if he had bought too many stocks and lost everything, leaving him in debt.
Du Lanyue remembered the first time she saw Gu Qingcheng buy stocks, purchasing 100,000 lots of a stock valued at over 300 yuan. That was an immense sum of money, yet he had casually said it was just a small amount to play with.
So, if he were to truly go all out, it would be billions, or even tens of billions.
Could it really be an investment problem?
Du Lanyue knew Gu Qingcheng was a proud man, always wanting to provide more for her and never asking for anything in return. She felt she needed to do something for him as well.
That evening, after some intimate moments, she kissed his still-moist lips and asked,
"Have you been unhappy about something lately?"
"No," Gu Qingcheng shook his head.
Du Lanyue believed Gu Qingcheng would never lie to her, but he might be hiding something to prevent her from worrying.
So, she got up, rummaged through the nightstand, and handed him a passbook, saying,
"This is my account number, and the password is the combination of the last three digits of our birthdays. You can use it."
"Ah? Nine digits? Madam, you have quite a substantial nest egg. You want me to use it? Are you trying to support me?"
Gu Qingcheng took the passbook, glanced at it, and chuckled.
"Yes, I want to support you. This money is yours once I give it to you; you don't need to repay me, and I won't ask you what you're using it for. Just take it."
Du Lanyue spoke quickly, as if afraid he wouldn't accept.
Gu Qingcheng was a bit bewildered. What was happening?
"If you don't accept it, then I'll be angry. Really angry!" Du Lanyue emphasized seriously.
"Is that so? It's that serious? Alright then, I'll take it."
Gu Qingcheng's heart warmed.
He didn't understand why his wife was suddenly giving him her private savings, but he decided to accept it for now.
Seeing that Gu Qingcheng had accepted it, Du Lanyue said shyly,
"Actually, if your expenses are high and you don't have enough money, we could consider selling my listed company. It's already on a good path to listing, so selling it as a package deal would surely attract venture capital firms, and we could get a lot of money."
"Ah? Why sell the company? That's your passion project!"
Gu Qingcheng felt that things were getting serious.
Du Lanyue explained, "Didn't I see you looking so troubled lately? Is there a financial problem? Is this money enough?"
"Ah? Looking so troubled?" Gu Qingcheng thought for a while. He had indeed been worried recently, but it wasn't due to a lack of money. He then burst into laughter and said, "My dearest wife, my finances are perfectly fine, don't worry. Everything is normal. And let me tell you, I will never go bankrupt.
I've set up a trust fund and legally separated some of my investment projects. Even if all my external investments fail, the money in the trust will be enough for us and future generations to live comfortably."
"Ah? This?" Du Lanyue hadn't expected she had caused such a misunderstanding. She could only offer an embarrassed smile and say, "Then I underestimated your capabilities. I'm truly sorry."
"Oh, how can you apologize? It's because you love me. I've never met such a selfless wife who would give all her private savings."
Gu Qingcheng finished speaking and couldn't help but pull her into a tight embrace.
Only then did they open up to each other and clear the air.
Seeing his wife so worried that she was ready to auction off all her assets due to a misunderstanding, Gu Qingcheng could no longer hide his surprise, deciding to turn it into a joint celebration.
So, he truthfully confessed, "I've been worried lately because our anniversary of meeting is in a week. I've been racking my brain trying to figure out a way to make it memorable for you, but I can't come up with anything, and that's what's bothering me!"
"Ah? So that's what it is." Du Lanyue hadn't expected it to be about this. The weight on her shoulders instantly lifted. She said, "Why are you so silly? Every day we spend together is an anniversary. Why bother with such a grand celebration on this specific day?"
"No, this is the first anniversary celebration, and it must have a sense of ritual."
Gu Qingcheng insisted.
Du Lanyue listened and smiled, "Since you can't come up with an idea, I won't be modest. Let me suggest something.
I think we could go back to where we first met. How about that?
Remember we said we both felt a sense of déjà vu there? Why don't we go back together to celebrate again? After all, that's where our meeting was brought about."
"Where? That's a great idea!"
Gu Qingcheng's eyes lit up. He had forgotten. This year had been so blissful that he had almost forgotten their earlier talk about returning to the campsite if they had the chance.