Lin Zhou angrily shook off Chengdu’s hand. “What’s there to explain? Didn’t we make everything perfectly clear when we broke up?”
“Chengdu, don’t forget how you brought up the breakup in the first place.” She had already heard worse than this. Now he wanted to talk about getting back together. How ridiculous.
“I know I was wrong. Lin Zhou, I didn’t realize before how much you’d done for me.” Chengdu had learned from Qin Cheng that all the business he handled had come through Lin Zhou’s connections. Only then did he realize that Lin Zhou had truly loved him. Later, after finding out she was Chairman Feng Hexu’s assistant, he finally understood just how despicable the things he’d said had been.
If Feng Hexu and Lin Zhou had really been involved, she would have dumped him long ago.
The gap between him and Feng Hexu was worlds apart. If a woman were vain, she would choose Feng Hexu without hesitation, not a grassroots lawyer with nothing to his name.
Now he knew he was wrong. That was why, when the house was being resold and transferred, he had stubbornly refused to sign.
A woman with a successful career had never acted superior in front of him, always giving him the respect every man needed. And he had actually betrayed such a woman.
“What do you know?” Lin Zhou sneered. “Did I ever give anything? Why don’t I even know about it myself?” She denied it outright, simply because she didn’t want any further entanglement with Chengdu.
“All the business I handled was coordinated by you. Lin Zhou, I know everything now.” Chengdu’s eyes reddened, his emotions brimming. Anyone who didn’t know better would think he was deeply devoted.
“Is that so? I don’t remember,” Lin Zhou said, looking at him with absolute resolve, without a trace of feeling in her eyes. “Chengdu, we’ve known each other for over ten years. You should know me very well. I can’t tolerate even a grain of sand in my eyes. You betrayed me, slandered me, trampled my feelings under your feet. You deceived me, doubted me, and when we broke up, you didn’t look back even once. That’s enough for me to sentence you to death in the court of love, with no possibility of reprieve.”
She took a deep breath. “Chengdu, since we’ve met today, let’s set a time as well. The day after tomorrow. We’ll transfer the house ownership and then go our separate ways for good.”
Chengdu still refused to give up. He stepped forward again and tightly grabbed Lin Zhou’s hand. “I know I caused today’s situation. Give me one more chance, okay? Just once. I’ll show you my sincerity.”
“No.” Lin Zhou had an emotional bottom line. She could not accept a man who had betrayed her.
Anger flared in Lin Zhou. She was about to use Chengdu’s grip to throw him over her shoulder and let him learn the consequences of pestering her. But before she could move, a pair of long, powerful hands pried Chengdu’s fingers open. Then, pulling Lin Zhou behind him, the man said seriously, “She’s my woman now. Don’t come and harass her again.”
Lin Zhou froze, unable to process what Gu Minxuan had just said.
Chengdu didn’t believe it at all. Lin Zhou would never easily enter a new relationship. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have taken him five years to win her over. “Impossible.”
Gu Minxuan chuckled. “Believe it or not, that’s up to you. But I can tell you clearly, we’ve slept together.”
“Gu Minxuan!” Lin Zhou angrily tried to break free of his grip. But his strength far exceeded Chengdu’s, and she couldn’t pull away at all. Whether he was helping her or not, she couldn’t accept him ruining her reputation like this.
Chengdu’s face went pale, disbelief written all over it.
Gu Minxuan didn’t care about his reaction. “You’re allowed to mess around outside, but after breaking up you won’t let her find a second spring? Lawyer Cheng, that’s not appropriate.” With that, he ignored Chengdu’s awkward, stunned expression and pulled Lin Zhou toward his car. He thoughtfully opened the passenger door and pressed a hand to her shoulder, guiding her inside.
Lin Zhou wanted to get out, but the lifeless look on Chengdu’s face reflected in the rearview mirror told her that if she did, he would definitely think she still loved him. After a few seconds of inner struggle, she suppressed her anger and stayed seated in the passenger seat.
Gu Minxuan got into the car. Seeing that Lin Zhou was still angry, he smiled and said, “Do you want me to help you fasten your seat belt?”
Gu Minxuan was someone who said what he meant and meant what he said. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have destroyed her reputation right in front of Chengdu. Left with no choice, Lin Zhou angrily buckled her seat belt herself.
The car started. The more Lin Zhou thought about it, the angrier she became. She turned and glared at Gu Minxuan. “President Gu, don’t think that just because you’re my superior you can talk nonsense. I get angry too, you know!” Slept together?! Lin Zhou nearly glared her eyes out. Gu Minxuan’s imagination was outrageous. Her favorability toward him instantly plummeted. If it had been a single digit before, now it was in the negatives.
Gu Minxuan shrugged helplessly. He was telling the truth. Lin Zhou just didn’t remember it. “You said he betrayed you. Why worry about him being upset? This is called returning courtesy and settling things once and for all. You don’t want him pestering you either. Isn’t this much better?”
He hadn’t intentionally eavesdropped on their argument. He’d just happened to run into them when he came out. As he’d guessed, Chengdu was the one who betrayed Lin Zhou. How could a betrayer have the nerve to accuse Lin Zhou of being involved with someone else? He couldn’t stand it and wanted to anger that shameless man.
Lin Zhou couldn’t out-argue Gu Minxuan. She turned her head to look out the window, sulking in silence.
The car didn’t follow the route back home. Lin Zhou quickly noticed something was off. “Where are you taking me?”
“You’re in a bad mood right now. Even if you go home, you probably won’t be able to sleep. I’m taking you to play some ball.”
The car drove into the underground parking lot of the Hefeng Terry Hotel. Lin Zhou more or less knew what kind of ball Gu Minxuan was taking her to play. But she didn’t know how to play it.
Because Chairman Feng Hexu liked golf and didn’t like tennis, business engagements were usually held on the golf course.
Lin Zhou’s skills were generally cultivated to serve her boss. She could play golf, but she didn’t know how to play tennis.
And among the indoor sports facilities at the Terry Hotel, the tennis courts were the most popular. There were several independent courts with good privacy. Even beginners could practice alone against a wall without worrying about embarrassment.
“I don’t know how to play tennis,” Lin Zhou said with some resistance. She didn’t like showing herself in areas she wasn’t good at.
Gu Minxuan took a carry-on bag out of the trunk, filled with tennis gear. He grabbed Lin Zhou by the wrist and headed toward the elevator. “I’m a very good coach.”
Lin Zhou stared at the wrist he was holding. She didn’t like inappropriate physical contact with men, including being grabbed by the wrist. But Gu Minxuan seemed completely unaware of this. If he wanted to pull her, he did. “Can you not grab me?”
“If you go up obediently with me, I won’t grab you.”
Lin Zhou reluctantly hummed in response. Gu Minxuan kept his word and actually let go.
The Terry Hotel was very popular, especially at night. Starting from basement level three, the elevator quickly filled with people. Lin Zhou didn’t like being too close to strangers. In crowded elevators, she usually hid in a corner.
At first it was fine, but when they reached the first floor, a heavyset man squeezed in, forcing everyone inside to press closer together.
A man stood in front of Lin Zhou and deliberately leaned toward her, taking advantage of the crowd. Disgusted, Lin Zhou frowned deeply.