“Say that again?!”
The amused, almost nostalgic smile on Gu Nianqing’s face instantly set Shen Yu off.
Pointing at the mark on her collarbone, his voice shot up several octaves.
“You’ve really sunk that low?!”
Gu Nianqing slapped his hand away and rolled her eyes.
“Are you insane? You’re the one who caused a multi-billion mess—what gives you the right to lecture me?”
Hearing that outrageous figure brought up again, Shen Yu’s rage cooled just enough for reason to creep back in.
It was true—he had returned to the country at such a critical moment because he was confident Qimeng wouldn’t be able to offload their goods anytime soon. Even if his company was technically the one that breached the contract first, there was still plenty of room to negotiate.
But Gu Nianqing’s composure made him realize things weren’t going the way he expected.
Who dared to mess with his plans?!
Of course, if Gu Nianqing dared to throw a lawsuit in his face, she had already prepared thoroughly.
No matter how bad his temper was, Shen Yu had to restrain himself when it came to this kind of money.
Clutching the document, he tried to hide the tremor in his voice.
“Qingqing, don’t make a scene. The Shen and Xu families have worked together for years—do you really want to make things this ugly?”
A hint of seriousness flashed across Gu Nianqing’s face.
She turned to Xu Xiaxia.
“Did I mess up my jet lag so badly that I’m suddenly not understanding human language?”
Shen Yu: ?
Xu Xiaxia, clearly used to this, shook her head calmly.
“President Gu, we’ll take this as a lesson. In the future, we’ll include mental stability as a criterion when choosing business partners.”
Shen Yu: !
He got it—these two women were teaming up to mock him.
Having grown up pampered, Shen Yu had rarely been subjected to such sarcasm. He immediately snapped.
“Gu Nianqing, don’t push your luck! You’re nothing more than a dog the Xu family keeps around to amuse Xu Yingjia. I’m giving you face, and you still act like this?!”
At the mention of her name, Xu Yingjia flinched.
She had never been quick in situations like this.
Since childhood, she’d known she wasn’t particularly smart—her reactions were slower than others. Her family always told her she was born to enjoy life, that she only needed to spend money and be happy.
So when she met Shen Yu—a young man already entrusted with major responsibilities—she naturally fell for him.
They were complete opposites. To her, Shen Yu was like an all-powerful prince, effortlessly accomplishing things she could never manage no matter how hard she tried.
But now…
The almost twisted frustration and unwillingness on his face made him seem like a stranger.
…Why had no one ever told her he looked this ugly when he lost control?
Wasn’t he supposed to always have everything under control?
This level of insult didn’t faze Gu Nianqing at all. Shen Yu, the only male heir of his generation, had been spoiled his whole life. The only insults he ever used against her were about her background and birth—completely unoriginal.
She took Xu Yingjia’s hand and stood beside her as if they were real sisters.
“Oh? So Young Master Shen still remembers I’m part of the Xu family?”
Her tone returned to its earlier lazy drawl as she repeated his words back at him:
“The Shen and Xu families have worked together for years—so how did you forget that when you ran off chasing women?”
Her teasing tone seemed to remind Shen Yu of Qiu Nannan, whom he had left standing behind.
His expression shifted several times before settling into a meaningful smile.
He pulled the confused girl over and rather roughly pressed her head into his chest. Qiu Nannan let out a muffled groan—he had tugged her hair painfully.
But he didn’t seem to notice.
As if making a public declaration, he gripped her shoulders and smirked.
“You’re just mad I chose Nannan over you, aren’t you?”
Gu Nianqing: ??
Without waiting for her reply, he decided for her.
“I gave you a chance, Qingqing. You just didn’t take it. You should understand—there’s no such thing as regret medicine.”
Gu Nianqing: …
Well, actually—she did regret something.
Before returning to the country, she had worried that leaving so suddenly might make it look like she ran off with valuables. So she had deliberately left that dazzling, dreamlike purple diamond wedding ring on the hotel nightstand.
Which meant her left ring finger was now completely bare.
Damn it—she really regretted that!
No matter how much Madam Xu was paying her, it couldn’t make up for the emotional damage of dealing with this nonsense.
Only something as intense as those past few days could help her recover.
But…
She had left him behind and ran off. If she went back now, would she really have it easy?
Ah, life is hard.
Seeing her expression darken, Shen Yu finally felt a bit satisfied—though it only lasted until she spoke.
“Shen Yu,”
He saw unmistakable disgust gather in her beautiful eyes.
“Is something wrong with you?”
Qiu Nannan sucked in a breath, even the pain in her shoulders fading from shock.
Who talks this bluntly?
“I’m talking to you about money, and you’re talking to me about feelings?”
Gu Nianqing let out a mocking laugh.
“Or are you planning to pin that 38-billion mess you created on this poor girl? Wow—what a bold, ‘manly’ move.”
38 billion.
When she had been just a bystander, Qiu Nannan had no real sense of what that number meant. She only vaguely knew that “38 billion” was followed by more zeros than she could count.
But now it was different.
That 38-billion burden might be dumped on her.
Her hands and feet instantly turned cold.
She looked up hesitantly, hoping to hear Shen Yu firmly deny it.
But he only stood there in silence, his expression dark—like someone whose intentions had just been exposed.
Qiu Nannan’s vision went black.
Even if she had once been pleased with taking a shortcut in life, she had paid for it with her youth and body. She was after money—not debt!
Thirty-eight billion…
Even the total cost of their group’s overseas performance tour hadn’t reached 3.8 million!
The gap between those numbers…
Having never passed math back in school, Qiu Nannan gave up trying to calculate it.
Her whole body trembled as tears fell heavily onto Shen Yu’s chest.
“A-Yu… Mr. Shen! I—I didn’t cause this… I—”
“Shut up!”
Shen Yu snapped coldly, shoving her away without a hint of care.
Already dizzy from fear, Qiu Nannan fell straight to the ground. Thankfully, as a trained dancer, her body control kicked in just in time to keep her from getting hurt.
But the emotional blow and humiliation hit her all at once.
She broke down, sobbing uncontrollably.
“A-Yu, why are you treating me like this?!”
“I said shut the hell up!”
Shen Yu’s voice turned icy.
“You’re so damn annoying—stop crying!”
Qiu Nannan immediately fell silent, fear filling her eyes.
That pitiful, fragile expression had once been his favorite—every time she looked like that, Shen Yu felt like he was the center of her world.
But now, it looked unfamiliar. Irritating.
“Damn it!”
In a burst of frustration, Shen Yu tore the document in his hands into pieces and flung them into the air.
Through the falling scraps of paper, he locked eyes with Gu Nianqing.
“Gu Nianqing, the Xu family won’t let you mess around like this. I’ll pretend I never saw this.”
After venting his anger, his tone became calmer.
“Failing to renew the contract in time is an issue with Feixian. As the project lead, I can apologize to you.”
Gu Nianqing had been about to call him an idiot, but his words reminded her of something else.
“Apologize? You should apologize.”
She wrapped an arm around Xu Yingjia’s shoulders and let out a cold laugh.
“You slandered her for stalking you, damaged her reputation, and humiliated a partner of the Shen family. Any one of those is enough to cost you dearly.”
Shen Yu looked at Xu Yingjia. Having known her for years, he was aware of how the Xu family managed the relationship between the two “sisters.” Now that Gu Nianqing had made it explicit, he realized that today’s encounter hadn’t been because Xu Yingjia was following him.
But to make him, the heir of the Shen family, apologize to Xu Yingjia?
Everyone in their circle knew Xu Yingjia was hopelessly in love with him. Even if he lowered himself to apologize, would she really let him suffer that kind of humiliation?
Reassured, Shen Yu lifted his chin and glanced at her disdainfully.
“Xu Yingjia, even if I misunderstood you, isn’t it because you’re always clinging to me?”
Xu Yingjia stared blankly at Qiu Nannan, who was sitting on the ground silently crying. The scene felt strangely familiar.
…Wasn’t that usually her role?
So this was what it felt like to watch from above. So easy.
Hearing Shen Yu address her, Xu Yingjia slowly shifted her gaze back to him.
—What if the one on the ground were Shen Yu instead?
Slow as she was, Xu Yingjia gradually pieced things together through the clash between Gu Nianqing and Shen Yu.
Shen Yu had made a mistake in the joint project—one big enough that he couldn’t fix it himself. Now he was trying to negotiate and reduce the consequences.
As the realization clicked, her eyes lit up.
When she didn’t respond for a while, Shen Yu grew more impatient.
“Are you mute, Xu Yingjia? Useless as always—letting an illegitimate daughter treat you like a puppet!”
Xu Yingjia lowered her head and looked at the hand Gu Nianqing was holding—fingers tightly intertwined with hers.
Ever since Gu Nianqing left the country six years ago, no one had held her hand like this—firmly, guiding her forward.
That warmth gave her courage.
She raised her head and met Shen Yu’s contemptuous gaze.
“Apologize.”
Shen Yu raised an eyebrow, disbelief flashing across his face.
“What did you say?”
Xu Yingjia took a deep breath and shouted:
“Kneel—and apologize to me!”