It was as if a string in her head had snapped. Lin Zhou felt her scalp tingle. Inside, she was flustered, yet her face remained calm. “Five thousand?” The question came out sounding like a statement.
Gu Minxuan leaned close to her ear and whispered, “The five thousand left on the nightstand of 3888, Assistant Lin, were you satisfied with that night’s service?”
The warm breath hit her ear, and her mind went blank. She nearly stumbled backward into the glass, but a soft hand blocked her fall. That single touch left her completely in Gu Minxuan’s arms.
The world seemed to fall silent. Lin Zhou had never been this confused. Now she finally understood why Gu Minxuan had grabbed her wrist the first time they met and asked if she didn’t recognize him; why he had told Chengdu that they had slept together; why he always teased her verbally; why he claimed she couldn’t remember him; and why he insisted they were “fated.”
Yes, this was truly a fated misfortune! Five thousand, that was like a slap to President Gu’s face.
Lin Zhou didn’t want to discuss this here. Ignoring Vita’s stunned expression, she said to Gu Minxuan, “Let’s go outside for a walk.”
Outside “Huase,” a tree-lined path ran along Houhai. It was fairly crowded at night, not the place to talk about that night. The two walked in silence for a while until Lin Zhou took several deep breaths and stopped. Thinking of that night’s absurdity, and with the person involved right in front of her, she felt her ears flush. “I don’t want to talk about that in a place with so many people around.”
Gu Minxuan nodded in understanding. “Let’s go back to the apartment. Take my car.”
Meeting Lin Zhou in the bar had been unexpected.
Qin Cheng had invited Gu Minxuan for drinks to continue what they started earlier in the day. Unexpectedly, Gu Minxuan saw Lin Zhou sitting with a young man. He had only intended to greet her but then overheard her hint the boy about five thousand.
Gu Minxuan had never thought he would need to tell Lin Zhou about what happened after she had forgotten. But that didn’t mean he could tolerate someone else being mistaken for him.
Anger flared, and that was how the bar incident happened.
On the way back to the apartment, Gu Minxuan received a call from Qin Cheng, only for Qin Cheng to learn he had been stood up again. Qin Cheng casually said, “You ran into Lin Zhou again, didn’t you?”
Glancing at the quiet Lin Zhou in the passenger seat, Gu Minxuan didn’t deny it. Qin Cheng swore over the phone, “Gu Minxuan, how dare you say you have no improper thoughts about Lin Zhou? Twice! Twice in one day! If I believed your lies, I wouldn’t even be a lawyer!”
“…” Gu Minxuan considered arguing but realized Qin Cheng wouldn’t believe him anyway. He let it go. “I’ll make it up to you another day. That’s enough for now.”
After hanging up, the car fell into silence.
Finally, Lin Zhou spoke. “Why were you in my room that day?”
Gu Minxuan raised an eyebrow. “Assistant Lin, you knocked on my door. I’d already been staying there for some time. Room 3888, you can check the hotel records.”
Lin Zhou swallowed hard and exhaled shakily, trying to recall the night. She had been drunk and could have mistaken 3888 for 3868.
So, her misunderstanding had started from the very beginning. Xie Wei hadn’t arranged for a male model to be in her room. After seeing Gu Minxuan, she had simply assumed, on her own, that Xie Wei had arranged the model, and that model, Lin Zhou guessed, must be the junior Xie Wei had set her up with that night, supposedly interested in her for a long time.
With her thoughts clarified, Lin Zhou was no longer as flustered. She asked calmly, “President Gu didn’t bring this up before because he knew I hadn’t recognized you and thought it unnecessary. Then why bring it up tonight?”
Gu Minxuan had spoken impulsively. Now that Lin Zhou interpreted it as intentional, if he denied having a motive, she wouldn’t believe him. So he went along with it. “I want you, Assistant Lin, to be on my side so I can become the CEO. How about that?”
Lin Zhou tilted her head slightly, glancing at him. “President Gu, you overestimate me.”
“Everyone in the company thinks you’re capable, Assistant Lin,” Gu Minxuan said confidently.
“President Gu, don’t you understand using someone as leverage? You know I had a fiancé, so you should understand that I have little influence in front of the Chairman. I can’t sway anyone’s position. You expect me to speak on your behalf in front of the Chairman? You’re being naive,” Lin Zhou said, scoffing at her rationality. She was no longer flustered.
Gu Minxuan shook his head. “Assistant Lin, you’re right. I don’t expect you to speak in front of Chairman Feng. I mean work-wise, standing with me is easy for you, isn’t it?”
The car drove into the underground garage. Lin Zhou shot back, “President Gu, are you threatening me with this?”
The engine cut off. Gu Minxuan turned to her, smiling, “I’m not a child. I won’t spread rumors about a special relationship between us.”
He leaned closer, a faint smile on his handsome face.
Lin Zhou had to admit, Gu Minxuan was attractive. Just having this good-looking man near made her heart race, not from hormones, but an instinctive tension when approached by a handsome man.
She forced herself to stay calm, pressing a finger to his shoulder to keep him from moving closer. Gu Minxuan, however, held her hands, his large hands enclosing her soft palms. “Assistant Lin just broke up with her fiancé. I’m guessing you don’t want to start a new relationship yet.”
Lin Zhou tried to pull her hands back, but he gripped them tighter. Annoyed, she frowned. “President Gu, that’s enough!”
Gu Minxuan ignored her and continued speaking, “I’m not looking to start a relationship either. Assistant Lin, since we were so compatible in bed, why not be lovers?”
Lovers, not a couple. Hidden, purely physical.
Even Zhang Yang hadn’t said anything like this when he chased her. Why would Gu Minxuan assume that a one-night accident would make Lin Zhou willing to be someone else’s lover?
Her anger gradually steadied her racing heart. She tried to pull back her right hand again, only for Gu Minxuan to hold it tighter. Looking around, she realized the confined space left her little leverage.
She fixed her gaze on his handsome, smiling face, imposing, dignified.
If they were just colleagues, she wouldn’t care how flirtatious this rich second-generation man was privately.
But if he directed such thoughts toward her, she had to make it clear, not every woman could be swayed by him.
“Assistant Lin, have you made up your mind?” Gu Minxuan tried to get closer again. Seeing her recoil, he didn’t mind; he loved watching her flustered, trying to restrain her irritation.