Even though he couldn’t see her, Gu Nianqing still stuck out her tongue.
“I know,” she said in a soft, sweet voice, trying to calm him down. “If you found out I was leaving, you’d definitely wear me out again like you did the past few days.”
The man fell silent for a moment, clearly stunned.
“…So you drugged my water with sleeping pills?”
Gu Nianqing laughed awkwardly.
“Don’t worry, I checked the dosage.”
“Is that really the point?!”
The man let out a disbelieving laugh. “Gu Nianqing, do you even have a heart? Have you thought about how I’d feel waking up to find that my wife—who’s supposed to be on her honeymoon with me—ran off and left her wedding ring behind?”
“Well…”
Hearing it put that way, Gu Nianqing did feel a little guilty.
Still, believing that misunderstandings should be cleared up immediately, she explained:
“I was worried that if I took the ring with me, you’d accuse me of stealing. It’s so expensive…”
“……”
“Old Qin?”
When he didn’t respond, she called out uneasily.
There was some rustling on his end, as if he were searching for something, before he finally spoke again.
“You left me—and the wedding ring—but you took Rui Rui’s ashes with you.”
There was even a trace of grievance in his voice.
Gu Nianqing rubbed her nose.
“You know I always carry Rui Rui with me wherever I go. It’s just a small jar—it doesn’t take up space.”
“…So my status just dropped again, huh? Ahead of me are your young mistress and now even a dog?”
Gu Nianqing was shocked.
“Why are you comparing yourself to a dog?!”
A flicker of emotion crossed his eyes, his mood lifting slightly at her tone.
But then she added—
“How can you even compare? I raised Rui Rui for thirteen years, nine months, and five days! We haven’t even spent a fraction of that time together.”
“……”
That mouth of hers really needed something to shut it up.
The man clenched his teeth, thinking just that, while clicking open a flight booking page.
“Stay put in the capital and get yourself ready,” he said coldly.
The blatant threat made Gu Nianqing freeze, then quickly protest:
“That’s really not necessary! Didn’t you say you wanted to relax?”
“My wife ran off. Am I supposed to go on a honeymoon alone?”
“…Are you really going to keep holding onto that?” she muttered, slightly annoyed, about to twist the argument back in her favor—
When she suddenly spotted a black stretch Maybach pulling up in front of the mansion.
“Ah—never mind, I have to go,” she said quickly, deciding to end the call. “I’ve got money to make.”
He had been about to scold her for being heartless, but somehow, after all her nonsense, most of his anger had already faded.
“…Go on, then. Stay safe,” he said, even as he mentally complained about himself. “I’ll be back soon. Wait for me.”
“Mm,” she replied, about to hang up—then leaned closer and added:
“Qin Fu, I love you.”
And with that, she ended the call.
Qin Fu paused mid-packing, his gaze settling on the screen showing the ended call.
…Alright. Maybe that mouth of hers didn’t always need to be shut after all.
A faint smile tugged at his lips.
“Little liar.”
When Gu Nianqing returned to the living room, Xu Yingjia rushed over and grabbed her arm.
“Qingqing!” Her eyes were a mix of excitement and disbelief. “A-Yu knelt!”
Her voice wasn’t quiet, and everyone in the room turned to look.
Shen Yu was being forced down by his parents—one on each side—onto his knees.
His face was full of resentment. His knees had bent, but his chin was still lifted defiantly.
Zhou Ya, still in the middle of her manicure, didn’t even bother getting up. She simply watched the Shen family’s “performance” with amusement.
Meanwhile, Xu Mingzhen held Shen Yu’s father, Shen Pei, by the hand, exchanging polite pleasantries.
Noticing the faint sheen of sweat on Gu Nianqing’s forehead from the sun, Zhou Ya raised a brow and smiled.
“You ran out into the blazing heat just to whisper secrets—are you sure he’s not your boyfriend?”
Shen Yu suddenly looked at Gu Nianqing, disbelief flashing in his eyes.
Pulled down to sit by Xu Yingjia, Gu Nianqing replied helplessly,
“If he really were my boyfriend, why would I hide it?”
Then she glanced at Shen Yu and added lightly:
“Oh my, Young Master Shen—what a grand gesture. Why the dramatic kneeling?”
Before Shen Yu could answer, his mother snapped sharply:
“What are you doing here?!”
Forgetting all decorum, she rushed forward and raised her hand to slap Gu Nianqing.
Gu Nianqing merely raised a brow, watching the hand coming closer to her face without even blinking.
The slap never landed.
A-Ming stepped in first, blocking Shen Yu’s mother and grabbing her wrist. At the same time, Shen Yu struggled to his feet and awkwardly wrapped an arm around his mother’s waist, pulling her back.
The two fathers, who had been exchanging polite conversation, both froze in surprise.
It had all happened too fast for either of them to react.
Shen Pei’s expression changed instantly. He hurried over, slapped A-Ming’s hand away, and snapped, “What do you think you’re doing?!”
A-Ming lowered his gaze and stepped aside, apologizing politely.
“Sorry, I acted on impulse. My apologies, Madam Shen.”
The deliberate use of that title made Shen Yu’s mother freeze for a second—then she burst into shrill tears.
“What exactly is your Xu family trying to do?! Didn’t you promise that this vixen would never appear in front of A-Yu again?!”
Shen Yu frowned and grabbed her. “Mom! Stop talking nonsense!”
Xu Mingzhen frowned as well. He might not like Gu Nianqing, but that was one thing—having outsiders come into his home and insult his daughter was another. Especially when Shen Yu was clearly in the wrong.
Meanwhile, Zhou Ya calmly admired her freshly done nails. Even in the chaos, the manicurist had perfectly painted an iris on her ring finger.
Shen Yu’s mother glared at Gu Nianqing as if her eyes were poisoned.
“How dare you show your face in front of A-Yu?!”
Gu Nianqing looked mildly annoyed.
“Madam Shen, you’re a guest in someone else’s home. Maybe think before you speak.”
She glanced at Shen Yu, then smiled faintly.
“I didn’t want to come back either. But the project is like my child—of course I’ll take care of it myself. Since Young Master Shen handled things so poorly, I had no choice but to step in and clean up after him.”
Shen Yu’s mother froze, then turned to him in disbelief.
“…What does that overseas project have to do with her?”
Shen Yu avoided her gaze and muttered, “Mom, you wouldn’t understand business matters. Why ask so many questions…”
Tears immediately streamed down her face.
Shen Pei was also furious, pointing at his son, trembling—but unable to say a word.
Trying to smooth things over, Xu Mingzhen stepped in.
“Alright, alright, it’s all just a misunderstanding… The Shen and Xu families have worked together for years. Surely this can be resolved peacefully? Nianqing, Shen Yu has already apologized to Jia Jia. Don’t push it further—withdraw the lawsuit.”
Xu Yingjia looked confused.
“Dad, A-Yu apologized because he misunderstood me. What does that have to do with Nianqing’s work?”
Xu Mingzhen: …
Shen Yu: …
Gu Nianqing couldn’t help pinching Xu Yingjia’s cheek, silently pleased at her progress.
“Mr. Xu, even the young lady sees things more clearly than you do.”
“Gu Nianqing!” Xu Mingzhen snapped angrily. “Is money all you care about now?! I told you to withdraw the lawsuit—didn’t you hear me?!”
She looked genuinely puzzled.
“And in what capacity are you making that demand?”
“…What did you say?!”
“You don’t hold any position at Qimeng, and you don’t own any shares. Why are you interfering in its business decisions?”
“You—!”
“Enough.” Zhou Ya finally spoke, cutting in. Despite secretly enjoying the father-daughter clash, she intervened.
“Nianqing, at least for the Shen family’s sake, take a step back.”
Gu Nianqing sighed.
“Madam, setting the compensation at 38 billion is already a concession. Six months ago, we discovered that Feixian continued using Qimeng’s patented technology after the contract expired, producing goods without authorization. That’s when the first warning—and the compensation—came into play.”
Xu Mingzhen: …
So this had been going on for half a year already.
“If Young Master Shen had taken it seriously—signed a compensation agreement and renewed the contract in time—it wouldn’t have escalated to this point.”
Zhou Ya nodded in realization.
“Old Xu, you misunderstood her. Didn’t she mention this before? She really did suffer a loss here—it’s only natural she’s upset.”
Shen Yu couldn’t hold back anymore.
“Gu Nianqing, stop pretending. Without Feixian, who else could’ve taken that batch of goods?”
She shot him a glance.
“You’ve said that more than once. Do you even understand what ‘honoring a contract’ means?”
Shen Pei might not be deeply involved in the company’s core business, but he knew enough to realize his son was clearly at fault.
Still, lowering himself to a “lowly illegitimate daughter” was out of the question.
Ignoring Gu Nianqing, he softened his tone and turned to Xu Yingjia.
“Jia Jia, what happened at the airport was A-Yu’s fault. He’s already been punished… You don’t know—my father beat him severely. He hasn’t been spanked like that in years…”
“Dad!” Shen Yu flushed with embarrassment. “Why are you bringing that up?!”
Shen Pei ignored him and continued earnestly,
“Jia Jia, can you forgive him this once? We can’t let the cooperation between our families fall apart.”
Zhou Ya raised an eyebrow—this man really had no shame, trying to manipulate her daughter right in front of her.
“…Ah…”
After all, Shen Yu was someone Xu Yingjia had liked for years. Hearing he’d been beaten, a trace of concern appeared in her eyes.
“A-Yu… does it hurt?”
Shen Pei brightened, about to press further—when Xu Yingjia suddenly turned and tugged on Gu Nianqing’s sleeve.
“Nianqing, what should I do?”
Shen Pei: …
Wait—what kind of situation is this? After everything that happened, how is this “naive girl” still completely trusting that woman?!
Gu Nianqing shot Shen Pei a disdainful look, watching his face flush with anger.
“Miss, do you trust me?”
Xu Yingjia nodded eagerly. “Of course I do.”
Gu Nianqing smiled, her tone firm and decisive:
“Shen Yu’s butt isn’t worth 38 billion.”
Xu Yingjia’s eyes immediately cleared with understanding.
“Oh!”
Shen Pei: …
Shen Yu: …