Breaking off the engagement was out of the question. If she did, she would lose her shares and become a so-called heiress in name only, a laughingstock to everyone, unable to continue living freely and without restraint.
Wen Ying shifted her gaze and decided to play dumb. “Did I even agree to it?”
But Gu Qingyu’s eyes remained fixed on her, unwavering.
Wen Ying felt a twinge of guilt under his gaze and became slightly annoyed. “You actually believed me when I lied! How could words spoken at a moment like that be taken seriously?”
Gu Qingyu studied her quietly for a few seconds, yet saw no trace of a joke in her eyes.
They say men are the best at coaxing in bed, but it seems women aren’t far behind.
He had been toyed with once, and now it seemed he was being toyed with again.
“Is that so?” Gu Qingyu let out a soft laugh and stood up. He smiled, his tone gentle and calm, but his eyes carried a subtle chill. “Then I must excuse myself. The games of a young lady are beyond my capacity to enjoy.”
With that, he picked up his coat and walked away without looking back.
Wen Ying watched his retreating figure and let out a quiet snort before cutting half a piece of her fried egg with her fork.
She thought Gu Qingyu was really putting on an act.
Excusing himself from her games—he had said the same thing in the car last night. But in the end?
Wasn’t he still in her bed?
The effort he had put in last night didn’t match a word of what he had said.
She looked at the empty table and chairs across from her, once occupied, and forked some egg into her mouth, only to find it tasteless.
She dropped her fork and knife, refusing to eat.
Annoyed, she muttered, “What did they even buy? This tastes awful!”
Only after throwing everything into the trash did her mood somewhat improve.
After leaving Qingyue Pavilion, Gu Qingyu drove back to his private residence.
He rarely stayed here; usually, he stayed at the old family house or the hospital.
But last night he hadn’t changed clothes, and they were all wrinkled and uncomfortable, so he needed a shower and a change of clothes before going anywhere else.
Gu Qingyu parked the car at the villa and stepped inside.
But he found someone unexpectedly in the living room.
Seeing a woman sitting on the sofa, he was slightly taken aback. “Mom, what are you doing here?”
Mrs. Gu stood up. “Two nights without coming home, and the hospital was empty—I thought you were staying here. But this morning, I came over and still didn’t see you. Where have you been the past couple of days?”
Gu Qingyu said nothing and tried to head upstairs.
But his mother immediately noticed something was off and blocked him. “Why aren’t you wearing your glasses today?”
He paused, realizing he had left them at Wen Ying’s place. It wasn’t a big deal, and he smiled calmly. “Sometimes it’s nice not to wear them.”
“Didn’t you say wearing them made you look steadier, more reliable, more trustworthy to patients?” Mrs. Gu muttered, then noticed his wrinkled shirt and frowned.
The shirt was crumpled, as if he hadn’t changed.
Gu Qingyu was usually meticulous about cleanliness and neatness; his mother had never seen him like this.
She reached to tug at his shirt, intending to see what was going on.
But his reaction was unusually strong.
He jerked back, and in the tug, a button at his collar popped off, revealing his fair, delicate collarbone.
Mrs. Gu’s eyes widened as she drew a sharp breath.
The collarbone was covered in clear hickeys, with bite marks extending downward.
As a woman who had been through life, she immediately understood how intense last night had been.
“What happened? Where did you go last night?”
She had assumed her son was reserved and self-disciplined, but clearly, he could indulge just as intensely.
Gu Qingyu straightened his shirt without answering and said, “If there’s nothing else, Mom, you can go home.”
“Go home? Not until you explain what happened!”
Gu Qingyu sighed. “You’ve already seen it.”
“What have I seen?” Mrs. Gu scowled, glancing outside and noticing the car didn’t look like theirs.
“Whose car did you drive?”
It was a black SUV, definitely not one a girl would drive.
Her eyes widened. “A man?”
Seeing her misunderstanding, Gu Qingyu quickly explained, “It’s Tingchuan’s car.”
Her expression did not ease; if anything, she grew more agitated. “So it was Tingchuan last night?”
She had already been suspicious.
Her son didn’t date, didn’t socialize with girls—there had to be something going on!
Always with Fu Tingchuan, how could she not speculate?
Gu Qingyu rubbed his forehead. “Mom, you misunderstood. It was a woman.”
Mrs. Gu exhaled in relief. “It’s a woman, that’s good.”
She asked, “Which family does she belong to? Bring her home to meet us sometime.”
Gu Qingyu’s gaze softened, voice calm. “No need to meet. There will be no further contact.”
Mrs. Gu furrowed her brow. “What do you mean? You slept with her and don’t want to take responsibility?”
“Gu Qingyu, how did I raise you? Didn’t I teach you not to toy with a girl’s feelings?”
“I didn’t,” he sighed, feeling exhausted. “I didn’t toy with her.”
On the contrary, he had been the one toyed with.
Mrs. Gu relaxed slightly, then tightened her brow again. “Is it some unsuitable woman, then?”
“No.” Gu Qingyu strode upstairs. “Her family background is good, nothing wrong at all.”
Mrs. Gu finally relaxed completely.
She hurried after him, insistent. “Then why no further contact? Her family isn’t bad, is it? You know we don’t care about background. As long as the family is respectable and the girl herself has good character…”
Gu Qingyu smiled lightly. “No, her family background is fine.”
It was a woman, from a good family, and he hadn’t toyed with anyone—everything seemed suitable.
Mrs. Gu frowned in confusion.
Gu Qingyu stopped on the stairs and looked back helplessly. “Mom, must you have your son admit he’s been rejected?”
“Rejected?” Mrs. Gu was dumbfounded. She hadn’t expected that her son, after being with someone, would be rejected.
“Yes, she doesn’t want to be with me.”
Mrs. Gu looked down and hurriedly held his hand, worried. “Son, we can go to the hospital and check. Don’t worry, this isn’t serious. With our Gu family medical resources, it can be fixed.”
Knowing she misunderstood, he still couldn’t have imagined it would go this far.
Gu Qingyu withdrew his hand, a twitch forming at the corner of his mouth. “It’s not that kind of reason.”
“Then what reason?”
“I don’t know, you’d have to ask her.”
Nothing she could think of fit.
She couldn’t help scolding, “How useless of you! You can’t even handle a girl!”
Other families were already raising grandchildren, and here she hadn’t even seen a future daughter-in-law.
She had been anxious when her son didn’t socialize with girls, and now that he did, she was even more anxious!
She speculated again. “Did you do something wrong that made her dislike you?”
“I’ve told you before, be gentle, patient, caring—never perfunctory. Did you treat her indifferently?”
“See? You might look fine, but actually, you’re cold to people. How could any girl like you?”
“You need to be warm and proactive with girls, do you understand?”
Mrs. Gu rambled on behind him.
At his room, Gu Qingyu stopped and turned to remind her, “I’m going to shower and change. Are you sure you want to follow me?”
She had no choice but to stop, swallowing the rest of her words but still frowning.
Fu Tingchuan and Lin Shiwei being seen together repeatedly eventually drew media attention. Many outlets speculate wildly, suggesting that the supposed alliance between the Fu and Wen families might have hit a snag, and the story made the trending searches.
Netizens were fascinated by the secretive affairs of the wealthy, with many saying it was a real-life instance of a CEO romance novel.
Some even commented that the secretary was incredible, able to make the CEO abandon his heiress fiancée for her.
Others speculated that the heiress must be spoiled and malicious, so the CEO rejecting her made sense.
Anything could be said online.
Wen Ying learned about this because Mrs. Fu called her.
The Fu family’s reputation had suffered, so Mrs. Fu wanted Wen Ying to attend the banquet with Fu Tingchuan to dispel the false rumors.
Wen Ying was reluctant. These matters were Fu Tingchuan’s doing; why should she help clarify?
But then Wen Ying’s father also called, insisting she cooperate, as the rumored disruption of the engagement affected not only the Fu family but Wen’s own family business as well.
Wen Ying couldn’t ignore her own company, even if she didn’t care about the Fus.
Her gown was a haute couture piece shipped from abroad: a bright red strapless dress, cinched at the waist to perfectly showcase her slender figure, fitting her style beautifully.
Wen Ying sat in Fu Tingchuan’s car, heading to the banquet with him.
Neither spoke during the ride.
Fu Tingchuan found this unusual. Wen Ying used to chatter endlessly, always saying trivial things.
Her silence now felt strange.
Trying to break the tension, he asked, “Why haven’t you come to my company lately?”
She used to visit the Fu family frequently, always making a scene.
But recently, she had been unusually quiet.
Wen Ying lifted her eyelids, bored. “Why? To watch you and your secretary flaunt your affection?”
Hearing a trace of jealousy in her voice, Fu Tingchuan felt relieved but was slightly helpless at her constant suspicion. “Don’t say that.”
He wouldn’t admit it, and she didn’t bother arguing. They each played their own game, no one losing.
If not for cooperating in this staged scenario, she wouldn’t even sit in the same car with him.
However, this car… looked exactly like the one Gu Qingyu had driven home that day.
Since that night, Wen Ying hadn’t seen Gu Qingyu for a long time and hadn’t thought about him.
Fu Tingchuan recalled that day too. Since then, Wen Ying hadn’t argued with him or sought him out.
Though her maturity was good, her complete silence left him slightly uneasy.
He wanted to interact with her, take her hand, and say a few intimate words, but she evaded him.
Fu Tingchuan frowned slightly, then relaxed.
He remembered what had happened and that he hadn’t explained it to her. Her unhappiness was understandable. “Lin Shiwei and I have nothing going on. That day she was harassed by a scumbag, I was just helping her out. The news is false—you have to trust me.”