She fled in too much of a hurry with her suitcase and never noticed that the room she stayed in the night before was not 3868, but 3888.
A late night combined with intense physical exertion left Gu Minxuan oversleeping. He had planned to move into his new residence at nine, but by nine thirty, Wang Peng was still waiting for him in the hotel lobby.
Gu Minxuan did not have the habit of letting women stay overnight. Last night was an exception.
After the first round, the woman clung to him and refused to let go, like a lazy Persian cat wrapping her arms around his neck, burying her head in the hollow of his throat. In a hoarse voice, she pleaded, “If I show weakness, would you stay with me?”
Then she complained softly, “I can be good too. I won’t do anything you don’t like. If you misunderstand me, you can tell me. I’ll explain.”
She took the initiative to nibble at his earlobe and whispered gently, “If you like, I can be very gentle too.”
Her slender, soft fingers threaded through his hair, as if flipping a switch in Gu Minxuan’s body. He could no longer restrain himself and lost control, capturing her soft lips in a deep kiss.
Sometimes she was reserved, sometimes she took the initiative, and sometimes she looked at him with open affection in her eyes. It was something Gu Minxuan had never experienced with his previous companions.
He had never loved, nor been loved. That unfiltered affection surprised him and felt novel.
So he seemed possessed, taking her again and again.
Before falling asleep, he made a decision. He would take her to his new residence and keep her by his side during his time in B City.
But when he woke up in the morning, the space beside him was empty. A small stack of bright red banknotes lay conspicuously on the bedside table.
“Where is the woman from last night? Get her back here!” Wang Peng received his boss’s call, and even through the wireless signal, he could feel the chill. President Gu was furious.
Wang Peng hurriedly explained, “I brought her to your door last night. You didn’t answer when I knocked, and you didn’t pick up the phone. I thought you had lost interest, so I let her leave.”
“You came with her, and then left together?” After getting confirmation again, Gu Minxuan stared at the red stack of cash on the bedside table. The anger in his eyes gradually settled.
So he had been treated like a paid escort for the night. Gu Minxuan, who had never touched money, picked it up and counted it for the first time in his life. Very good. Excellent. His effort for an entire night was worth five thousand yuan?
It took him a long while to process it. The eldest son of the Gu family, the soon to be appointed vice president of Hefeng Group, had been bought for five thousand yuan.
In more than seven years at Hefeng, Lin Zhou had never taken annual leave. When work was busy, she even worked weekends. This time, she unexpectedly requested ten days off. Chairman Feng Hexu was surprised, but asked politely, “Assistant Lin, may I ask why you are requesting leave?”
Having worked beside Feng Hexu for seven years, Lin Zhou knew his temperament well and did not hide the truth. “I was dumped by my fiancé and need a few days to recover. Chairman Feng, I don’t want to work while emotionally unsettled. It would not benefit me or the work.”
She replied calmly, the drunken softness gone after sobering up. “Please believe that in ten days, I will return to my position in good spirits.”
“Alright.” Feng Hexu did not probe further and offered no consolation. He simply said, “If something urgent comes up, your leave may be shortened.”
“Understood.” Lin Zhou responded in a professional tone. Her job was like this. Being endlessly busy was normal. Getting time off at all was already a luxury. She did not ask for more.
After briefing Hou Kecheng on key matters and arranging for her assistant to coordinate the sale of the apartment and rental issues, she dragged her suitcase through security, preparing to go to Sanya alone to enjoy a long overdue vacation.
She lowered her head and glanced at the red marks on her chest, put on her sunglasses, and paid no attention to the strange looks from others.
The more open and at ease one is, the better. The more one tries to hide, the more suspicious people become.
Who said red marks had to be kiss marks? They could just as well be from scraping therapy.
Two months later.
Hefeng Group’s industries included hotels, resorts, real estate, and import export trade.
Recently, because the Feng family’s eldest daughter planned to enter the film and television industry, Feng Hexu began preparing to establish a film investment company.
This task landed on Gu Minxuan’s shoulders.
He was already overwhelmed with handling the unfinished suburban resort project in Jingcheng. Adding the preparation of a film investment company, a kingdom built solely for a princess, left him thoroughly irritated.
Yet he had no choice but to see it through.
On the tennis court, Gu Minxuan was drenched in sweat, going all out and showing no mercy to his old classmate, beating Qin Cheng until he could barely hold on.
Qin Cheng panted heavily and waved his hands. “Let’s rest for a bit. I’m exhausted.”
The two sat down to rest. Qin Cheng tilted his head back and drank water, smiling. “You’re always so busy, yet your stamina hasn’t declined at all.”
“That’s because you neglect exercise,” Gu Minxuan said bluntly while wiping the sweat from his head and neck with a towel. “You didn’t ask me out today just to work out, did you?”
Gu Minxuan and Qin Cheng were high school classmates. Back then, many people fawned over Gu Minxuan because of his family background.
Qin Cheng was different. He treated him the same as anyone else and became Gu Minxuan’s most straightforward friend in high school.
Gu Minxuan went abroad to study after graduating. Qin Cheng, from an ordinary family, got into the law department of B University, which was already a great honor.
After several years of working hard, he co-founded a law firm with classmates and achieved moderate success.
After years apart, the two unexpectedly reunited in B City and occasionally met up. Their friendship was as strong as ever.
They usually spoke frankly, so a long conversation without getting to the point like today was rare.
Based on Gu Minxuan’s understanding of Qin Cheng, he must be facing some trouble and felt awkward bringing it up.
Qin Cheng raised his brows with a smile. “As expected of you, Gu Minxuan. Nothing escapes your eyes.”
“Cut it out. Just say it,” Gu Minxuan said, twisting open a bottle of mineral water and drinking deeply. His Adam’s apple moved as he swallowed, effortlessly composed.
Qin Cheng clicked his tongue. “We’re both drinking water. Why do you look so refined, while I look like a cow gulping it down? Good thing there aren’t any beauties around, or they’d be drooling.”
Gu Minxuan shot him a look. “Stop flattering me. Look at you now, all show and no substance. You’re not like you used to be.”
“Life forces it,” Qin Cheng sighed. Doing too much client side work dulled one’s backbone. He felt a little ashamed that this habit had even slipped into his interactions with Gu Minxuan.
Still, “Even if it sounds like flattery, it’s true.”
“Enough! Get to the point. I’ve been busy to death lately. Don’t waste time,” Gu Minxuan said. The headaches he had been prone to recently were acting up again.
He rubbed his temples and closed his eyes to rest.