It took a long time for Liang Yueran to react and push him away, her face filled with anger as she said, “Qu Bai, why are you in my room?”
Qu Bai chuckled lightly and replied, “Liang Yueran, take a good look at whose room this is.”
After hearing this, Liang Yueran glanced around the room’s layout, and her face turned pale at the sight.
This wasn’t her room. She remembered going to Di Hao with friends yesterday and drinking something suspicious.
She recalled two thugs trying to take her away, but then someone saved her. What happened after that?
Images of her and Qu Bai in bed last night suddenly surfaced in her mind…
Feeling the soreness in a certain area, Liang Yueran’s face turned completely ashen.
Seeing her pale complexion, Qu Bai reached out to check her forehead. “You look terrible. Do you have a fever?”
“Don’t touch me,” Liang Yueran snapped, slapping his hand away.
Qu Bai’s hand froze mid-air, and his expression darkened.
He grabbed her chin and said, “I originally intended to send you back to the Liang Family last night, but you were the one kissing and biting me in the car. Are you blaming me now?”
Liang Yueran glared at him, tears streaming uncontrollably. “I was drunk and drugged. I wasn’t in my right mind, but you were sober. Why didn’t you call my cousin? Why didn’t you call my brother? Even calling the police would have been better than bringing me here.”
Watching her cry, Qu Bai irritably released her. “I didn’t even complain about you, yet you’re complaining about me? You should be thanking me for saving you.”
Hearing this, Liang Yueran cried even harder. “Who asked you to save me? Get out!”
Qu Bai stepped forward, gripping her chin, and snarled, “Liang Yueran, have you lost your mind? I saved you, and you’re telling me to get out?”
Liang Yueran slapped him across the face, sobbing bitterly. “Is this how you save someone? You’re no different from those thugs—taking advantage of people when they’re vulnerable. You’re all beasts!”
Qu Bai’s head jerked to the side from the slap. Feeling her tears fall on his hand, he released her in frustration and stormed downstairs with a dark expression.
Liang Yueran collapsed onto the bed, crying hysterically. How could she face her brother and cousin after what had happened?
Of all people, why did it have to be Qu Bai…
What was she going to do?
Downstairs, Qu Bai heard her crying from above and kicked the sofa in irritation.
“Take her clothes up to her.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
Before long, Liang Yueran changed into her own clothes and came downstairs, her eyes red and swollen from crying.
Without even glancing at Qu Bai, she headed straight for the door.
Though she tried to maintain a normal walking posture, Qu Bai could tell something was off.
He grabbed her wrist and asked, “Where are you going? I’ll take you.”
Liang Yueran shook off his hand without looking back. “I don’t need it.”
Watching her retreating figure, Qu Bai turned and went upstairs. He couldn’t be bothered to deal with her anymore.
Upstairs, seeing the mess in the room, Qu Bai’s face darkened.
“Has Liang Yueran gone mad from spending too much time with that lunatic Qu Xiao?”
His expression shifted when he noticed the bedsheet in the corner, particularly the bright red stain on it.
He walked to the window and watched Liang Yueran get into a car and drive away. Irritated, he rubbed his temples.
“Damn it!”
……………
The Gu Corporation.
Gu Yan helped Gu Xianzhe review several documents before returning to her own office.
Before she could enter her office, she saw Qin Yao walking toward her in sky-high heels.
Gu Yan initially had no intention of acknowledging her, but Qin Yao unexpectedly called out her name.
“Gu Yan, I need to talk to you.”
Gu Yan glanced at her indifferently, her expression blank. “But I have nothing to say to you.”
Qin Yao followed her straight into the office. By then, security had already been called to the door—all of them were people sent by Qu Xiao.
Seeing the security personnel enter the office, Qin Yao’s face grew visibly tense.
The head guard looked seriously at Gu Yan. “Miss Gu, do you need us to escort her out?”
Gu Yan observed the slightly frightened Qin Yao and shook her head with a smile. “Not for now. Please wait outside the door. I’ll call if I need you.”
The security guard stepped out and closed the door behind them, though they remained stationed just outside the office.
Gu Yan sat back in her office chair and looked calmly at Qin Yao. “Speak. What did you want to discuss?”
Seeing Gu Yan’s detached demeanor, Qin Yao frowned, unable to understand how someone could change so drastically.
Suppressing her confusion, she asked, “Xiao Yan, did you know that Xu Tao’s hand was crippled and the Xu family has gone bankrupt?”
Gu Yan nodded. “I didn’t know before, but now that you mention it, I do.”
“Xiao Yan, what’s going on with you? You loved Xu Tao so much—why aren’t you the least bit worried now that something’s happened to him?”
Gu Yan let out a light laugh and stood up. “Qin Yao, you should be thanking me. If I hadn’t stopped Qu Xiao, Xu Tao would be a corpse by now. You’d better make sure he never shows his face around me again, or next time it might not just be a hand.”
Qin Yao was intimidated by Gu Yan’s aura. “It’s because of you that the Xu family and Xu Tao ended up like this, isn’t it?”
Gu Yan checked the time. She still had to finish her work before heading out to have lunch with Qu Xiao.
She looked at Qin Yao impatiently. “I have no interest in discussing this with you. If there’s nothing else, you should leave. I have things to take care of.”
Unwilling to give up, Qin Yao called out, “Gu Yan!”
Gu Yan raised her voice toward the door. “Could you please escort this young lady out?”
The security guards immediately entered and looked at Qin Yao.
Qin Yao gritted her teeth, then turned and strode away in her towering heels.
Gu Yan shrugged, completely unfazed.
She resumed organizing the documents in her hands. She was determined to restore the Gu Corporation to its former glory—and she even harbored the ambition to stand side by side with Qu Xiao.
At noon, Gu Yan drove to The Qu Corporation, had lunch with Qu Xiao, and then returned to the company.
Tomorrow was Monday, and she still had classes to attend. Today, she needed to wrap up her tasks, especially since her father had an important contract to sign tomorrow.
…………
The Qu Corporation.
“Brother, not bad—you’ve got Gu Yan completely mesmerized. She can’t even eat lunch without staring at you.” Liang Yan teased from the sofa.
Qu Xiao continued reading the file in his hands without looking up. “Should I take that as envy and jealousy?”
Liang Yan rolled his eyes. “As if anyone’s jealous. You’re the one who insists on tying yourself to a single tree. I’ve got a whole forest to explore.”
A rare smile appeared on Qu Xiao’s face, and it deepened as he recalled how Gu Yan had just fed him the dish.
Just then, a knock sounded at the door.
Qu Xiao said indifferently, “Come in.”
The door opened, and when Liang Yan saw that the person entering was Qu Bai, his face turned cold.