Gong Hengye held his breath and stared at the woman for a few seconds, silently wondering if he was still trapped in a dream.
Was this dream a bit too absurd?
Could he get a remote control to pause it?
He thought to himself, closed his eyes again, and turned to lie on his side. If he kept sleeping, he would eventually wake up.
As he turned, Wen Yue, who had been sitting on him, drifted lightly and rolled down, shifting from sitting on him to lying beside him.
Wen Yue gazed intently at the handsome man before her.
Of course, she knew him.
Gong Hengye, Gong Chen’s uncle, the new head of the Gong family.
Gong Chen bore some resemblance to him, but in terms of looks, even though she liked Gong Chen, she had to admit that Gong Chen couldn’t compare to Gong Hengye—not even one-third as handsome.
It was just that Gong Hengye’s aura was too aloof and detached, making people afraid to approach him.
When she was alive, she had barely spoken a word to him. Every time she saw him, she was terrified, let alone daring to look at him this closely.
Only now that she was dead did she have the courage to stare at him like this without fear of being discovered.
Wen Yue stared at him unblinkingly, even leaning closer and closer.
As if trying to get even nearer to see what made his eyes, nose, and mouth so different from others—why they came together on his face in such a breathtaking way, making it impossible to look away—Gong Hengye opened his eyes again.
His gaze was clear and profound as the sea, with no trace of drowsiness from just waking up.
Even lying there, his powerful presence was suffocating.
Wen Yue blinked, thinking it was only natural for her to fear him when she was alive.
Even though she no longer needed to breathe, she still felt breathless.
Of course, Gong Hengye wasn’t as calm and composed as he appeared.
He realized that this might not be a dream after all. Wen Yue, who had been confirmed dead not long ago, had truly appeared in his bed.
So, this was indeed a… female ghost seeking vengeance.
Gong Hengye frowned. “Wen Yue?”
Then, he saw Wen Yue’s eyes widen in surprise as she asked, “Can you see me?”
Gong Hengye: “…”
Can I choose not to see you?
After a long silence, he sat up, straightening the robe he had somehow changed into at some point, and said calmly, “This is a hospital, not the Gong residence. Gong Chen isn’t here. If you’re seeking revenge because you died with grievances, you must have floated to the wrong place.”
Wen Yue tilted her head, carefully studying Gong Hengye’s cold yet still handsome face, which looked like it belonged to a manga protagonist, and said slowly, “I haven’t floated to the wrong place. It’s you.”
Gong Hengye: “…”
He paused mid-motion as he was about to get out of bed to avoid the female ghost, unable to resist turning his gaze back to meet hers.
Wen Yue was also blinking as she looked at him, repeating, “I came specifically for you, Uncle.”
Gong Hengye’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he called her name softly, “Wen Yue.”
She hummed in response, her eyes filled with anticipation as she watched him.
Gong Hengye: “The living and the dead walk different paths. Don’t seek me out—there’s no future in it.”
With that, he stood up and walked toward the door of the hospital room with an air of utter calm. “Feng Yang.”
The door to the hospital room was pushed open, and the light from the hallway streamed in.
Feng Yang, seeing Gong Hengye awake, looked pleasantly surprised. “Ninth Brother, you’re awake.”
Gong Hengye nodded, then glanced back.
Wen Yue had vanished from the hospital bed.
As if everything just now had truly been nothing but a dream.Gong Hengye let out a slight sigh of relief. Just as he turned around to speak to Feng Yang, he was met with a pale face, its large eyes blinking as it said to him, “Uncle, are you leaving? Please don’t leave me behind, okay? Can I go with you?”
If it weren’t for the fact that she was a female ghost, one might have called her adorable.
But now, Gong Hengye only felt his heart clench.
He opened his mouth, then gritted his teeth and hardened his resolve. “I’ll say it one more time—there’s no future for us. If you don’t leave now, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”
Feng Yang: “???”
His expression shifted several times, nearly breaking his composure.
Holy shit.
Has the boss been struck stupid by lightning?
He took half a step back, inexplicably feeling a bit shy. “Ninth Brother, I… I’ve always seen you as an older brother. We don’t need any kind of future.”
Gong Hengye: “…”
Damn it.
Meanwhile, Wen Yue’s eyelashes trembled slightly. She thought that if she kept clinging to him like this, he might really find a Taoist priest to exorcise her.
She pursed her lips lightly, lowered her gaze, and softly murmured an “Oh,” disappearing from Gong Hengye’s sight.
However, while Gong Hengye thought she had vanished, she was actually still following him.
After all, she truly had nowhere else to go.
Besides, Gong Hengye could see her and even speak to her. Wasn’t that reason enough for her to follow him?
It was only after her death that Wen Yue realized she was merely a malicious cannon fodder female supporting character in a novel.
She wasn’t the biological daughter of the Wen family. Instead, after the Wen family’s daughter went missing, they had adopted her from an orphanage.
When Wen Yue turned eighteen, she suddenly learned the truth. Disheartened, she ran away from home and joined a talent show, where, by sheer coincidence, she encountered Wen Xi, the Wen family’s long-lost biological daughter.
From then on, Wen Yue’s position became increasingly awkward.
Wen Xi’s appearance only fueled Wen Yue’s jealousy, making her appear uglier and uglier, until everyone grew to dislike her.
In the end, her entire existence was meant to serve as a foil for the female lead, Wen Xi. Even her death was merely a stepping stone for Wen Xi and Gong Hengye’s relationship.
She was like a tool, thoroughly used whether alive or dead.
But why?
Wen Yue touched her chest. Even though there was no heartbeat, she still felt the pain.
Why did she have to make way for the male and female leads? Why did she have to become their stepping stone?
If the male and female leads wanted to be together, she would do everything in her power to ruin it.
After all, she was the malicious female supporting character in the novel. She might as well embrace it fully, just like the truly malicious female supporting characters in novels—causing trouble for the male and female leads at every turn.
If she couldn’t have peace, then no one else would either.
Fuming, Wen Yue quietly followed Gong Hengye…
~
Two days later, Wen Xi’s fever had completely subsided, and Gong Chen, due to company matters, had to return to the capital.
During these two days, Wen Yue hadn’t called him once, and the messages he sent her seemed to vanish without a trace, unanswered.
Two days had passed. No matter how angry she was, she should have calmed down by now.
But when he tried calling Wen Yue, her phone was turned off.
Had it run out of battery?
Recently, to prepare for the wedding, she had canceled all her engagements and had no filming commitments. She shouldn’t have been working.
Gong Chen glanced at the time—8:30 in the morning.
Right. Wen Yue was usually the laziest. If she didn’t have work, she would sleep until noon.
Every time he called her, she would say matter-of-factly, “I work so hard all the time. Now that I finally have a break, what’s wrong with sleeping in?”Back then, he had said that once they got married, he would absolutely drag her out of bed at six every morning to go running.
At the time, she had pouted and lightly snorted, “Running? I might consider it if you carry me on your back.”
Thinking of this, Gong Chen smiled helplessly, his heart softening completely.
He took the initiative to send her another message: “Baby, Wen Xi’s fever has gone down. I’m on my way back now, but I have to stop by the company first. I’ve had someone book your favorite restaurant. I’ll take you out for dinner tonight.”
After sending the message, Gong Chen rubbed his throbbing temples.
He had been watching over Wen Xi for the past two days, afraid her high fever would return, and had barely closed his eyes.
His gaze flickered slightly, and he sent another message to Wen Yue in an even gentler tone: “Baby, I really want to hold you and rest for a while.”
Not seeing her for two days, he realized he missed her more than he had imagined.
Gong Chen smiled self-deprecatingly, put away his phone, and closed his eyes to rest for a moment.
Two hours later, the car stopped at the entrance of the Gong Corporation building.
Gong Chen’s assistant, Tao An, was already waiting and hurried forward as soon as the car came to a stop.
Gong Chen handed his suit jacket to Tao An, tugged at his shirt collar, and strode into the company, asking in a low voice, “When did Uncle return? Is there something urgent?”
The reason he had rushed back so urgently was because he had received a message from Tao An early this morning, saying that Gong Hengye had suddenly returned to the company and wanted to see him.
According to the original plan, he should have been on an inspection tour until next month.
And if there was something, why couldn’t his uncle just call him instead of insisting he return to the company?
Tao An shook his head and whispered, “I don’t know either. When I arrived at the company this morning, the boss was already here.”
Gong Hengye had taken over as Chairman and CEO of the Gong Corporation at the beginning of the year, and everyone in the company referred to him as “boss.”
Tao An continued, “After the boss arrived, he called all the senior executives to a meeting on the top floor and asked that you go to his office immediately upon your return.”
Gong Chen nodded to indicate he understood. Although he wasn’t sure why his uncle had suddenly returned, he wasn’t too concerned about it.
What bothered him more was another matter that inexplicably irritated him.
Wen Yue’s phone was still turned off.
As he entered the elevator, he asked Tao An, “Has the young lady contacted you?”
Usually, when Wen Yue was upset with him, she would calm herself down first and then contact Tao An to ask where he was or if he was still angry.
So Gong Chen thought that perhaps Wen Yue had contacted Tao An before turning off her phone.
Tao An, of course, knew he was referring to Wen Yue and shook his head. “No, the young lady hasn’t contacted me these past few days.”
Seeing his boss furrow his brows, he quickly added, “But the young lady had someone deliver the wedding dress to Haiting two days ago. I think she must have been staying there these past couple of days.”
The elevator stopped, and just as Gong Chen was about to step out, he paused for a moment upon hearing this. After hesitating for a few seconds, he nodded. “I see.”
The apartment at Haiting actually belonged to his uncle.
When Wen Yue ran away from home at eighteen, he had asked his uncle for the access card and given it to her so she could stay there.
She had lived there for three years since.
His uncle had never asked for the card back, and he had gradually forgotten about it.
They had all tacitly agreed to let Wen Yue live there.
After all, Wen Yue was going to marry Gong Chen in the future.For Gong Hengye, giving her this apartment was no big deal—it was simply an early wedding gift for a junior.
Yet at this moment, for some reason, Wen Yue’s two days of being unreachable, coupled with his uncle’s sudden return, gave Gong Chen an eerie, complicated sense of unease.
It was as if something had slipped beyond his control.
Gong Chen steadied his breathing, suppressing his unease and the urge to turn around and head straight to Haiting to find Wen Yue. He strode out of the elevator.
Gong Corporation, CEO’s Office
The moment Gong Chen’s car pulled up downstairs, Li Rui reported to Gong Hengye, “Boss, Third Young Master has arrived.”
Gong Hengye responded with a faint “Mm,” casually tossing the document in his hand aside.
He removed the glasses resting on the bridge of his nose, closed his eyes, and pinched the space between his brows.
After sitting for a while, he retrieved a phone from the drawer beside him.
Li Rui recognized it at a glance—it belonged to the young lady of the Wen family.
The phone had been delivered to the boss late the night before last, then powered off. Now, Gong Hengye pressed the power button.
He entered Gong Chen’s birthday and easily unlocked it.
The corner of Gong Hengye’s lips lifted slightly, his mood growing even colder.
Truly foolish.
Then, he saw the message Gong Chen had sent not long ago.
The line “Baby, I really wish I could hold you and rest for a while” nearly made Gong Hengye laugh out loud.
Leaning lazily against the back of his chair, he propped his chin with one hand, his slender fingers lightly scrolling through the screen.
Over the past two days, aside from Gong Chen, no one had tried to contact Wen Yue.
It seemed she was even less popular than he was, with poor social connections.
At this thought, Gong Hengye suddenly glanced around.
He hadn’t seen Wen Yue again these past two days.
Occasionally, when he remembered, it felt as though that night might truly have been just a dream.
Gong Hengye withdrew his gaze and looked back at Wen Yue’s phone.
Wen Yue and Gong Chen likely rarely communicated via WeChat—there weren’t many messages, and most were sent by Wen Yue to Gong Chen.
Gong Hengye leisurely scrolled upward until a selfie appeared on the screen.
In the photo, Wen Yue wore a white wedding dress, smiling sweetly at the camera.
She had written, “Gong Chen, let’s get married.”
Gong Hengye’s gaze lingered on the photo for two seconds, somehow reminded of the terrifying plot he had seen in his dream.
Yet the root of this horror story was Gong Chen, that fool.
After a moment of silence, Gong Hengye spoke in a cool, detached tone, “Tell Gong Chen he doesn’t need to come in.”
Li Rui: “Huh?”
Gong Hengye glanced over lightly, and in the next instant, he tossed the phone in his hand toward Li Rui.
Li Rui caught it swiftly, only to hear his boss utter four icy words: “Tell him to drop dead.”
Li Rui: “Huh…”