Gu Tingyan’s tall frame loomed over her as he lowered his head to kiss her lips, his fingers interlaced with hers.
After a bout of intense passion.
Qin Shu was drenched in sweat, her body feeling as though it were falling apart. She lay weakly against Gu Tingyan’s bare chest like a tired kitten, her breath hitching slightly.
Gu Tingyan held her tightly from behind, his chin resting on her shoulder.
Qin Shu’s face was flushed a deep crimson. She reached out to wrap her arms around his lean, powerful waist, pressing her cheek against his chest to listen to the steady, forceful rhythm of his heartbeat.
Gu Tingyan’s stamina in this regard was far too formidable; she often found herself unable to keep up.
Qin Shu looked up at his face—a face as addictive and dangerous as a poppy—and her heart skipped a beat.
Gu Tingyan pressed her into his embrace, burying his head in the crook of her neck, his expression one of lazy satisfaction. “Stop taking the pills.”
Qin Shu’s heart fluttered. She hugged his waist tighter, pressing against his eight-pack abs, and smiled. “Okay.”
This was the first time Gu Tingyan had ever suggested having a child with her.
The man pressed close against her back, holding her firmly. Now satiated, his voice was languid. “Let’s have another child.”
“A daughter. Hopefully, she’ll look just like you.”
They had been married for five years. Aside from that one chaotic night when they were drugged and Qin Shu ended up pregnant, Gu Tingyan had always taken precautions whenever they were together. She wasn’t sure why he had forgotten this time, especially after just returning from a three-month business trip abroad.
Back then, he had never intended to have a child with her.
That child had only been conceived to fulfill his grandmother’s final wish before she passed. The old lady had wanted to see Gu Tingyan married and the eldest grandson of the Gu family born before she died.
After the child was born, Qin Shu hadn’t even had the chance to look at him before her mother-in-law took him away.
Now that he was actively suggesting they have a child, did it mean that Gu Tingyan had finally fallen in love with her?
Qin Shu felt a surge of happiness.
“Young Mistress, it is time to get up.” The butler knocked on the door at the scheduled time, his voice devoid of emotion. “Madam is waiting for you to prepare breakfast.”
Qin Shu looked up from Gu Tingyan’s arms and responded with a smile, “Coming right now.”
Whenever they returned to the old family manor, waking up early was unavoidable. Her mother-in-law insisted this was a duty she had to handle as the mistress of the Gu household.
Gu Tingyan looked displeased. He reached out, hooking his arm around her waist to keep her in his arms. “Sleep a bit longer. Don’t worry about Mom.”
His hand brushed against her waist, his long fingers toying with her hair. “Will they just stop making breakfast if you aren’t there?”
Qin Shu nudged his shoulder. “I should get up. Otherwise, I’ll just have to endure another lecture.”
After Qin Shu spoke, she got out of bed briskly. Gu Tingyan frowned but got up as well, heading to a separate bathroom.
Ten minutes later.
The man emerged with damp hair, a towel wrapped loosely around his waist. His pale chest was bare, his abdominal muscles clearly defined and firm, his physique sexy and streamlined.
Gu Tingyan had long legs, broad shoulders, and a narrow waist. His handsome face looked as if it were sculpted by the gods, though his thin lips often gave the illusion of indifference. His narrow phoenix eyes were sharp and cold, carrying an innate nobility that kept people at a distance.
Gu Tingyan stood before the mirror. He put on a finely tailored suit, though there were hickeys on his neck where Qin Shu hadn’t been able to restrain herself the night before.
He unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt, giving him an air of roguish laziness, while the collar managed to hide the marks on his neck.
By the time he went downstairs, breakfast was nearly ready.
After breakfast, the two stayed at the manor to accompany Old Master Gu, not leaving until evening.
Lin Jingshu held Gu Yichen by the hand, her expression cold as she looked at Qin Shu. Her tone was firm: “Chenchen stays at the manor.”
Qin Shu’s lips trembled slightly, a bitter taste rising in her throat. “I understand.”
Qin Shu looked toward Gu Yichen. The boy was also observing her, his eyes filled with curiosity.
The little guy wore a small suit and a bowtie, looking quite sophisticated for his age. His face was a perfect miniature version of Gu Tingyan’s.
The same face, the same coldness.
When those eyes looked at Qin Shu, there was little warmth; instead, there was only scrutiny, distance, and indifference.
He did not have deep feelings for his biological mother.
To Gu Yichen, having been raised by his grandmother since infancy, he was closer to her. To him, Qin Shu was inconsequential.
Meeting Gu Yichen’s unfamiliar gaze, Qin Shu paused, feeling as if a wound had been ripped open in her heart.
Back when she had just given birth, her body was extremely weak. Lin Jingshu had entered with bodyguards, pulled back the swaddling clothes to see it was a boy, and taken him away immediately.
Gu Yichen had been raised at the old manor ever since. Qin Shu, the biological mother, was only allowed to visit.
He had been snatched from her side the moment he was born.
Over the years, the number of times Qin Shu had seen Gu Yichen could be counted on one hand.
Because Lin Jingshu wouldn’t allow it.
Even if Qin Shu ran to the manor time and time again, she would never catch a glimpse of the child.
Lin Jingshu claimed that Qin Shu was petty and lacked sophistication, and that spending too much time with her would negatively influence the child’s worldview and perspective.
Qin Shu had cried and protested, but it was all in vain.
Later, she had no choice but to compromise. Every time she was allowed even a single glance at her child, she felt satisfied.
As the car sped along the road home, Qin Shu leaned against the window, watching the scenery outside. Suddenly, a ringtone echoed in the cabin, and the car screeched to an emergency halt.
Qin Shu lurched forward, her head hitting the back of the front seat.
“Gu Tingyan, what’s wrong?” Qin Shu looked up.
Gu Tingyan’s face was pale, his expression strange. Only he knew who that familiar ringtone belonged to.
It was for Chu Sheng.
Chu Sheng, who had been dead for five years.
The phone rang incessantly, as if challenging him; if he didn’t answer, the caller wouldn’t hang up.
The familiar ringtone, coming from someone who had been dead for five years, felt exceptionally eerie and terrifying in the ink-black night.
Seeing his phone ringing non-stop, Qin Shu frowned. “Someone is calling you. Why aren’t you answering?”
Gu Tingyan glanced at her, his heart pounding violently. He put on his Bluetooth headset and pressed the answer button. A soft voice came from the other side: “Tingyan, I’m back.”
Gu Tingyan’s breath suddenly hitched. His entire body went rigid, his fingertips trembled, and his complexion turned ghastly.
Qin Shu could tell it was a woman’s voice.
However, through the headset and the distance, she couldn’t recognize whose voice it was.
But seeing Gu Tingyan’s reaction, she guessed that his relationship with this woman was anything but ordinary.
Gu Tingyan remained silent, listening quietly as a surge of emotions crashed through him.
“Where are you?”
“I’m at the villa on Xiangzhang Avenue.”
That villa had originally been bought by Gu Tingyan as a wedding home for Chu Sheng. But before the title could be transferred, Chu Sheng had “died.”
Gu Tingyan broke into a cold sweat. How could someone who had been dead for five years be alive again?
He turned back to look at Qin Shu, his voice cold and heavy. “Get out of the car. Take a taxi back yourself.”
Hearing this, Qin Shu stared at his somewhat heartless profile and almost laughed out of pure anger. “We’re ten kilometers away from the city in the middle of nowhere. Where am I supposed to find a taxi?”
He was going to abandon her halfway because of a woman?
Gu Tingyan’s mind was a mess. The way home and the way to Xiangzhang Avenue were in completely opposite directions.