The afternoon sunlight filtered through the café’s glass windows, casting dappled patterns across the wooden table. Su Wanning sat by the window, absentmindedly stirring the cappuccino in front of her. She had arrived ten minutes early—one of the rare times she had gone out alone since getting married.
The café doorbell chimed crisply as Gu Jingchen stepped inside. He wore a light blue shirt today, sleeves casually rolled up to reveal his firm forearms. The moment he saw Su Wanning, a gentle smile spread across his face, and he quickly walked toward her.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” he said as he sat down across from her, his tone carrying just the right amount of apology.
Su Wanning shook her head, her gaze drawn to him without realizing it. Compared to Fu Sinian’s composed and noble demeanor, Gu Jingchen had a kind of carefree charm that made her heart beat faster.
“It’s fine, I just got here too,” she said softly. Then she noticed the faint trace of worry lingering between his brows. “You look a bit tired. Have you been busy lately?”
Gu Jingchen let out a sigh, his long fingers unconsciously brushing the rim of his coffee cup. “I’ve run into some trouble.”
Su Wanning leaned forward, concern filling her voice. “What happened? Is it something with the company?”
He nodded, a carefully measured vulnerability surfacing in his eyes. “We recently took on a big project. It has great prospects, but it requires a significant upfront investment. I’ve already put in almost all my savings, but I’m still short by 100,000 yuan.”
Su Wanning froze slightly, not expecting him to bring up money so suddenly.
Gu Jingchen keenly caught the subtle shift in her expression and immediately replaced it with a bitter smile. “Wanning, I know you’re living comfortably now. This amount might not mean much to you. But this project really has potential. As long as the initial funding is secured, it’ll turn profitable within three months.”
He reached out and gently covered her hand resting on the table, his gaze earnest. “It’s just this 100,000 yuan for the startup. Once the project succeeds, I’ll pay you back with interest. And I’ll take you to the Maldives—the place you once said you wanted to visit most, to see the sea with the one you love.” You are reading on novelping dot com, the official source.
Su Wanning’s heart skipped a beat. That had been a wish she wrote in her diary back in high school. She never expected he would still remember. Fu Sinian had taken her to many places too, but always in a rush, never like Gu Jingchen—never remembering the smallest dreams from her youth.
“100,000 yuan isn’t a small amount…” she hesitated, though her resolve had already begun to waver.
“I understand,” Gu Jingchen replied immediately, his sincerity almost impossible to doubt. “If I had any other choice, I wouldn’t have asked you. You know how much I care about my pride…”
He let out a self-mocking laugh. “But for our future, I’m willing to put aside that meaningless pride.”
The words “our future” struck Su Wanning like a spell. She thought of the growing distance between her and Fu Sinian, of that cold, empty home, of the lonely night she spent waiting on her birthday. Maybe… Gu Jingchen was truly where she belonged?
“Don’t worry,” she said, turning her hand to hold his, her voice becoming firm. “I believe in your ability. Leave the money to me.”
Gu Jingchen’s eyes lit up instantly, and that spark filled Su Wanning with a sense of satisfaction. It was a light she hadn’t seen in Fu Sinian’s eyes for a long time—a glow born because of her.
“Really? Wanning, you’re…” he stammered in excitement. “I swear, I won’t betray your trust!”
Smiling, Su Wanning took out her phone and opened her mobile banking app. There was still the 200,000 yuan Fu Sinian had transferred to her not long ago, telling her to buy whatever she liked.
“Give me your account,” she said, her fingers already moving across the screen.
Gu Jingchen quickly recited a string of numbers, his eyes fixed on her actions, his Adam’s apple bobbing unconsciously.
Su Wanning entered the amount—100,000 yuan—and confirmed the transfer. The whole process took less than two minutes, yet it felt as though she had just made an incredibly important decision.
Gu Jingchen immediately checked his phone. When he saw the bank notification confirming the transfer, a flash of uncontrollable ecstasy flickered in his eyes before he quickly masked it with gratitude.
“Wanning, thank you…” His voice trembled slightly as he grasped her hand again. “This money isn’t just help in a crisis—it’s given me the courage to keep chasing my dreams. When I succeed, I’ll make sure you live the happiest life.”
Moved by the sincerity in his words, Su Wanning didn’t notice the fleeting calculation hidden deep in his eyes. To her, this was what true love should look like—supporting each other, trusting each other.
“I believe in you,” she said softly, a blush of happiness rising on her cheeks.
Gu Jingchen gazed at her affectionately, a gentle curve forming at his lips. Sunlight streamed through the window, falling over their intertwined hands, the scene as beautiful as something out of a romantic drama.
However, in the moment Su Wanning lowered her head to sip her coffee, a trace of cunning satisfaction flashed through Gu Jingchen’s eyes. He lightly stroked the notification on his phone screen, as if he could already see a future where more money flowed endlessly into his account.
“By the way,” he suddenly said, as if remembering something, “a friend of mine is hosting a party next weekend. It’s mostly people from artistic circles. Want to come? I think you’d like that kind of atmosphere.”
Su Wanning’s eyes lit up instantly, and she nodded without hesitation. “Sure, I’d love to go.”
She had no idea that she was stepping deeper into a carefully woven trap. The man she believed to be her true love was nothing more than a fraud coveting her wealth, while the marriage she longed to escape was actually the harbor she should have cherished most in this life.
Outside the café, the city remained as noisy as ever. Meanwhile, within this small, quiet space, a marriage was silently heading toward collapse, and a woman’s fate was being rewritten by greed and deception.