The man in the Maserati widened his eyes and leaned forward a little more, trying to get a clearer look.
A car behind him honked impatiently, urging him to move.
The man driving the Maserati had no choice but to drive away first. He decided he would find another opportunity later to ask Gu Qingyu what was going on.
At that moment, inside the car, the two people were completely unaware of what had happened outside.
Hearing Fu Tingchuan’s name again, Wen Ying frowned in displeasure. “What’s wrong with his car? Is it something special? It’s not like I’ve never sat in his car before.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Gu Qingyu looked at her meaningfully. “Don’t you think it’s inappropriate?”
Wen Ying had never been the type to think things through, so upon hearing his words she instinctively retorted, “What’s inappropriate about it?”
She grabbed his collar, frowning in irritation. “What? Now you suddenly remember your brotherly friendship? Where was that concern last night?”
Gu Qingyu rubbed his forehead, smiling helplessly. “Wen Ying, you know very well that you don’t actually want to be with me. You were just angry with Tingchuan and used me to get back at him.”
Wen Ying had never denied that. “If Fu Tingchuan can be with another woman, why can’t I? I gave him a chance, he was the one who didn’t want it.”
She sneered. “At least I did it privately. That’s already giving him enough face.”
Wen Ying tugged on the man’s collar again and said fiercely, “Stop talking nonsense. We already slept together yesterday, and now you’re acting all proper with me?”
Gu Qingyu reached out and gently pried her fingers away from his collar one by one.
He smiled at her. “I already told you, I’m not someone you can casually play with.”
Wen Ying frowned. “What do you mean? Are you still saying I should take responsibility?”
Gu Qingyu leaned back in the driver’s seat and straightened his clothes. Hearing her question, he shook his head lightly.
“If you want me to take responsibility, I will naturally take responsibility to the end. But if you don’t want that and only intend to continue your engagement with Tingchuan, then I’m afraid I can’t accompany you in that.”
He had already made one mistake. There was absolutely no way he would make the same mistake again.
Wen Ying found him annoying. “Why do you talk so much every single day?”
Gu Qingyu chuckled softly. “Fine, just consider it nonsense then. Should I take you back to Yushui Bay?”
“Not there.” Wen Ying leaned against the seatback, her delicate and beautiful face drawn long after being rejected.
“Take me to Qingyue Pavilion.”
Wen Ying owned several properties under her name, and the private apartment in Qingyue Pavilion was just one of them.
The apartment was neither too big nor too small, just right for one person. She had simply grown used to living at Yushui Bay and rarely stayed elsewhere.
Since Qingyue Pavilion was the closest, Wen Ying chose it without hesitation.
Where she lived did not really matter anyway. She would still be alone either way.
The car started, and the rest of the drive passed in silence.
Gu Qingyu glanced at her from the side. Wen Ying had closed her eyes and leaned quietly against the seatback, unusually silent.
He asked with a smile, “Why aren’t you talking anymore?”
Without opening her eyes, Wen Ying replied bluntly, “If you won’t sleep with me, what’s there to talk about?”
Gu Qingyu fell silent.
He had been raised under strict discipline since childhood and had always followed rules carefully.
He had never encountered someone like Wen Ying, whose personality was so open and bold, who expressed everything directly on her face with such passionate intensity.
He usually did not like people like that.
Yet for some reason, he could not feel any dislike toward Wen Ying at all.
Gu Qingyu chuckled softly but said nothing more.
Wen Ying ignored him as well.
He drove the car to the apartment building. It was already the early hours of the morning. Looking at the dark building above, he turned to her and asked, “Which floor do you live on?”
“The twenty-second floor.” Wen Ying unfastened her seatbelt without even lifting her head and reached for the door handle.
Gu Qingyu got out of the car as well. “Wait, I’ll walk you upstairs.”
Wen Ying closed the door and said without looking back, “Do whatever you want.”
Gu Qingyu followed behind her into the elevator. Neither of them spoke.
After getting out of the elevator, Wen Ying pointed to a door not far down the corridor on the right. “I’m here. You can leave now.”
Gu Qingyu smiled faintly at her. “I’ll watch you go inside.”
Wen Ying snorted at the smile on his face and walked toward the door. After taking two steps, she could not help turning back.
Gu Qingyu was still standing where he had been. When he saw her turn around, he gave her another gentle smile.
Something stirred in Wen Ying’s heart, and she spoke again. “Are you sure you don’t want to sleep with me tonight?”
She still felt unwilling.
Why could Fu Tingchuan mess around outside while she could not even find someone for herself?
It left her feeling extremely unbalanced.
What bothered her even more was that she had actually been rejected.
Gu Qingyu simply shook his head with a smile.
Wen Ying glared at him with her beautiful phoenix eyes and asked unwillingly, “Why are you rejecting me? Am I not pretty?”
She genuinely could not understand.
After all, she was described in the novel as one of the most beautiful women. Back in school she had been the campus beauty for years. Some people might say she was all looks and no brains, but no one had ever said she was not beautiful.
Yet Gu Qingyu still refused her.
“You are very beautiful,” he replied calmly. “And your offer is very tempting. But people must take responsibility for their actions. Otherwise how would that be any different from animals?”
Wen Ying had no patience for such reasoning and could not understand it anyway. All she knew was that she had been rejected.
Li Jiayue had said that even when Gu Qingyu rejected someone, it would make them feel happy.
But Wen Ying felt nothing of the sort.
“You’re so annoying. How can there be a man like you? Aren’t men supposed to only want to sleep with someone without taking responsibility?”
Gu Qingyu was silent for a moment before smiling again. “Sorry to disappoint you.”
Wen Ying rolled her eyes at him and unlocked the door with her fingerprint.
Seeing that she had gone inside, Gu Qingyu stepped back two steps and prepared to leave.
But just as he turned around, he heard a scream from inside the apartment. It was Wen Ying’s voice.
The door had not yet closed. Thinking something had happened, Gu Qingyu spun around and rushed inside.
“What happ—”
Before he could finish the question, a figure in the darkness suddenly jumped into his arms, wrapping around his waist and clinging to his neck.
Then she quickly kissed him on the lips.
The soft warmth had barely faded when, with a click, the lights came on.
Gu Qingyu lowered his gaze and looked at the woman in his arms.
She reached back to close the door and lifted her chin at him provocatively. “Well? Are you still leaving now?”
Wen Ying thought she was absolutely brilliant for coming up with such an ingenious plan. Let’s see who would dare call her all looks and no brains again.
Her legs tightened around his waist. Under the bright light, her gorgeous face shone with smug triumph.
The man’s thumb lightly traced the soft curve of her waist. Behind his glasses, his eyes grew deep and dark. His thin eyelids lifted slightly as he stared at her without speaking.
Wen Ying frowned, about to ask if he was really going to refuse even now.
But before she could speak, he grasped the back of her head and kissed her.
The unspoken words were swallowed instantly. His kiss was forceful, making Wen Ying’s lips and tongue grow slightly numb, a sharp contrast to his refined and gentle appearance.
Their breathing became heavy and tangled. Wen Ying was pressed against the door, her clothing half open. Her legs weakened as they tried to drop, only to be caught firmly around his waist again.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and let out a soft whimper. Leaning toward his ear, she nipped lightly and taunted breathlessly, “Now you’re not thinking about your brotherly friendship anymore?”
In the next second she gasped sharply, her breath turning ragged, unable to say another word.
Wen Ying was pressed forward against the spotless wooden dining table. Warm breath brushed her ear as the man’s low voice sounded beside it.
“Break off your engagement with Tingchuan?”
Wen Ying’s ears tingled and her legs trembled. She let out a low sound. At that moment she could not think about anything else and agreed to whatever he said.
Seeing her nod, Gu Qingyu tilted his head slightly and kissed her lips again, gentle and lingering.
…
The next morning, sunlight spilled across the windowsill as Wen Ying sat up in bed with sleepy eyes.
Gu Qingyu handed her a glass of warm water. “Drink some warm water first. Your stomach will feel better.”
Wen Ying accepted it, took a small sip, and looked at the man in front of her.
He had no change of clothes, so he was still wearing yesterday’s outfit. Although the fabric had some creases, it did nothing to diminish his striking appearance.
Gu Qingyu was essentially the supporting male character in the novel, the standard doctor friend that appeared in every domineering CEO story.
Whenever the Female Lead was injured, the Male Lead would call this doctor friend to treat her.
Then the doctor friend would say something like, “This is the first time I’ve seen him so nervous about a girl.”
He would quietly help the Male Lead and Female Lead’s relationship develop. Perhaps in the end he would even be moved by the Female Lead’s kindness and fall in love with her, choosing to protect her silently.
Wen Ying did not know whether Gu Qingyu would end up like that, since the novel had no ending.
But she suspected it would probably be something similar.
That was why she had disliked him from the very beginning and had used him without hesitation.
After all, she was the villain.
What goodwill could a villain possibly have toward the protagonists?
Yet after waking up two mornings in a row to see his face, a strange feeling began to rise in Wen Ying’s heart.
Seeing her stare at him, Gu Qingyu asked with a smile, “What’s wrong?”
Wen Ying shook her head and took another sip of water. “Nothing. I just think you look pretty good without your glasses.”
She rarely complimented people. Gu Qingyu’s lips curved slightly. Without the gold-rimmed glasses, he looked less restrained and scholarly, and a bit more relaxed and carefree.
Wen Ying handed the cup back to him and leaned closer. “But can you see my face clearly like this?”
Gu Qingyu took the glass and held it in his hand. His thin eyelids lifted slightly as he looked at her magnified face, then he flicked her lightly on the forehead and chuckled.
“My prescription is very low. Of course I can see clearly.”
Wen Ying covered the spot on her forehead and leaned back. One strap of her nightdress slipped halfway down her shoulder.
“That’s good. Otherwise it would feel like sleeping with a blind person.”
“And since I’m so pretty, it would be such a shame if you couldn’t appreciate it without glasses.”
In just two days, Gu Qingyu had already grown accustomed to her bluntness and self-confidence.
He laughed softly and pulled the slipping strap of her nightdress back onto her shoulder. “Get up and eat breakfast. There’s nothing in your kitchen, so I had to order delivery.”
“Oh.”
Gu Qingyu did not know Wen Ying’s exact preferences. From lunch the day before, he had only noticed that she liked spicy food.
But eating very spicy food early in the morning was not good for the stomach.
So he ordered a variety of breakfasts, nearly filling the entire dining table.
As soon as Wen Ying sat down at the table, the man across from her suddenly asked, “When do you plan to tell Tingchuan?”
“Tell him what?” Wen Ying yawned, feeling as though she had not slept very well.
She was not sure if it was her imagination, but she felt that Gu Qingyu had been especially proactive and gentle afterward.
So much so that her waist still felt sore even now.
Gu Qingyu paused with his fork in hand and looked up at her, his tone rising slightly.
“You forgot?”
Seeing her still confused, he gazed at her calmly and reminded her.
“You promised last night that you would break off your engagement with Tingchuan.”