“You speak.”
He remained calm on the surface, his movements pausing slightly.
His hand lingered on her waist and abdomen, his fingertips gently kneading the soft flesh along her side.
Though the force was not heavy, the skin left in the wake of his fingers was flushed red.
That was simply how Gu Beiyan was—his facial features chiseled and stern, his bearing and presence extraordinary, carrying a natural aura of restraint that was both alluring and utterly intimidating.
Whenever he wore an expression of complete earnestness, everything he did felt entirely logical and justified.
Even as he washed her body right at that moment, Xu Nansheng didn’t dare allow her mind to wander into improper territory.
“Last night, I remember the person I met wasn’t you, Uncle. Later on, how did you end up in my room? I thought you were overseas; when did you return to China? Were you finished with your business abroad?”
“Did you come back to attend the engagement banquet? What a pity, I made you run here for nothing because the engagement banquet was canceled.”
After taking a massive detour of polite pleasantries, Xu Nansheng carefully observed Gu Beiyan’s expression before raising her hand in a solemn vow.
“Uncle, don’t worry. I won’t let anyone find out about last night. From now on, let’s just pretend nothing ever happened. What do you think?”
She had just fallen out with Gu Hongyu, turning herself into the biggest laughingstock in Jiangcheng.
If people were to find out that she had shared a bed with Gu Hongyu’s uncle last night, it would cause absolute chaos!
She called him uncle naturally with every breath, completely oblivious to the fact that with every single “uncle” she uttered, Gu Beiyan’s expression grew a shade darker.
Once she finished speaking, Gu Beiyan halted his movements, stood up, stepped into the bathtub, and swept her up into his arms, setting her directly onto his lap.
The water rippled, splashing and spilling over the porcelain white rim of the tub.
The man leaned backward against the edge, his left hand resting on the rim with his fingertips dangling downward.
His right hand cupped her slender, soft waist, his fingertips tracing upward along her back.
The roughness of his fingertips sent a shiver through her, and Xu Nansheng tried to pull away, but his large hand pressed her firmly downward, catching her off guard and causing her to collapse flat against his firm, well-muscled chest.
Their bodies pressed together seamlessly, sharing body heat and heartbeats in an intoxicating intimacy that sent blood rushing and stirred an uncalmable restlessness.
“We’ve already slept together, and now you want to wash your hands of me? You weren’t talking about pretending nothing happened when you threw yourself at me last night, kissing and hugging me.”
Xu Nansheng: “…”
Feeling his scorching gaze upon her, Xu Nansheng’s heart rate involuntarily sped up, her cheeks heating with a guilty conscience as she offered an explanation.
“I drank too much last night, and on top of being stood up at my own engagement banquet, I had a fire in my stomach. I didn’t recognize that it was you, Uncle. I thought… I thought you were a male model from the club.”
His wide palm glided down from her neck, stroking her slender, fair back while his knuckles lightly tapped against her spine.
“Acting out of spite, so you looked for a male model?”
Xu Nansheng nodded honestly. “He betrayed me, so I figured I would find someone to cuckold him too. I didn’t want to lose to him.”
“Since we’re talking about cuckolding, what difference does it make whether you found me or someone else?”
Xu Nansheng: “…”
There was a massive difference, okay?
You are Gu Hongyu’s uncle! In terms of seniority, you’re my uncle too!
Yet the next second, the man abruptly sat up, his arm wrapping around her waist to help her sit steadily while his other hand cupped her cheek, brushing away her dampened strands of hair. His tone carried an unexpected hint of grievance.
“Sheng Sheng, you were the one who slept with me last night.”
Accustomed to being pampered, the little princess guiltily bit her lip, her gaze dodging away from Gu Beiyan.
“I know…”
Damn it, if she had known, she wouldn’t have drunk.
Doing something wild under the influence was one thing, but the target had to turn out to be her uncle!
Good grief, you really know how to mess with me, Heavens!
“My purity was already ruined the moment you threw yourself at me last night.”
Xu Nansheng: “…”
“Ruined right in your hands.” He intentionally emphasized the point.
Xu Nansheng: “…So…”
“You have to take responsibility for me!”
As those words fell, the bathroom fell deathly quiet.
Xu Nansheng stared into those deep, fathomless eyes for a long moment before speaking up cautiously.
“…How should I take responsibility?”
A barely perceptible smile touched the corners of Gu Beiyan’s lips.
“I’m not sure, but you should know what I’m like. I’m relatively traditional; I only ever get intimate with my legal spouse.”
“When you threw yourself at me last night, I couldn’t push you away. We slept together, and my purity is ruined.”
“If word of this gets out, I certainly won’t be able to hold my head high in Jiangcheng anymore. People will be pointing fingers at me.”
Xu Nansheng understood that feeling all too well.
Yesterday, Gu Hongyu was clearly the one in the wrong, yet she was the one being whispered about and having fingers pointed at her spine!
Yet after pondering for a long while, Xu Nansheng couldn’t think of how she was supposed to take responsibility.
She spoke slowly.
“Uncle, mistaking your identity last night was definitely my fault, but I can’t think of a way to take responsibility right this second. Can you please give me some time to think about it?”
She looked at him with wide, clear, black-and-white eyes, pleading with her gaze just like she used to whenever she got into trouble as a child.
Gu Beiyan frowned.
Why had this little rabbit suddenly turned so slow?
Weren’t his hints obvious enough?
The next second, Gu Beiyan smoothed out his brow and agreed with a nod.
“Three days. You have three days to give me an answer.”
Seeing that the fish had taken the bait, Gu Beiyan didn’t want to appear too impatient and scare her off, so he feigned difficulty while setting a three-day deadline.
When they stepped out of the bathroom, Gu Beiyan originally wanted to go for another round before leaving.
However, seeing how much the little girl struggled just trying to put on her clothes, he forced himself to suppress the rising tide of emotions churning within him.
“I’ll help.”
His low, cool voice sounded, and Xu Nansheng froze for a moment as the dress she was struggling to put on was taken from her hands by the man.
Then, she watched as the uncle who was usually high and mighty, hailed as an untouchable flower on a snowy peak, bent down right before her to pull up her dress and thoughtfully tuck her blouse into the waistband, smoothing it down neatly.
Complex emotions stirred deep within Xu Nansheng’s heart.
She and Gu Hongyu had been childhood sweethearts for so many years, yet Gu Hongyu had never treated her with such tenderness.
In contrast, he showed Liang Xueqing infinite gentleness and consideration in every possible way.
It turned out that love and the lack of it had been crystal clear all along.
She was simply the one who refused to accept it, insisting on using the engagement banquet to force Gu Hongyu back to her side.
She wanted to prove to Liang Xueqing that a new flame was ultimately just a temporary distraction, and only an old love was true.
In the end, she had lost completely!
It turned out that the old love she thought existed was nothing more than her own wishful thinking.
“Uncle, you go ahead first. I’ll head out a little later.”
Eyes and ears were everywhere; if someone saw her and her uncle leaving the hotel together, her uncle’s purity really would be ruined entirely at her hands.
Besides, she had been drinking with Qi Yue, so the only way to figure out what happened last night was to ask her.
With her uncle still here, it wasn’t convenient for her to ask.
Gu Beiyan wore only a pair of black dress trousers, which made his legs look straight and slender.
The trousers hung loosely around his waist, two gorgeous mermaid lines disappearing into the black fabric and leaving plenty to the imagination.
His upper body possessed full, well-defined muscles with smooth, striking lines, especially his chest, which looked full and taut at a glance.
Against his cold, snow-white skin, several red nail scratches added an alluring and ambiguous touch.
Guilty, Xu Nansheng looked away, regretting her actions all over again.
Alcohol truly was a curse; she was never drinking again.
Noticing the blushing girl look away, Gu Beiyan crooked a triumphant smile at his reflection in the mirror, leisurely putting on his shirt before methodically buttoning it up one by one.
“Remember, three days.”
Before leaving, Gu Beiyan spoke up once more to remind her.
Left with no choice, Xu Nansheng nodded obediently like a docile little lamb. “Okay.”
Once out of the hotel and settled inside his car, Gu Beiyan leisurely retrieved his phone, which had been set to silent the night before.
There were several missed calls from his close friend, Guo Yueze.
Ignoring them, he tapped open WeChat to check his messages.
Guo Yueze: [Where are you? Where did you go? We were drinking fine, how did you suddenly vanish?]
Guo Yueze: [Hey, let me tell you, I just heard some explosive news. Someone saw your little Sheng Sheng at the club, and she seemed to have picked up a male model and left with him. If you don’t come back fast, your little lamb is going to get eaten by someone else!]
Guo Yueze: [Gu Beiyan! Where on earth are you? Hurry back! Didn’t you come back specifically to stop the wedding? If you don’t show up now, your little lamb is going to belong to someone else!]
Guo Yueze: [Fine, you’re missing, you won’t answer your phone, and you won’t reply to messages. Go ahead and regret it, go cry your eyes out!]