Mrs. Jiang hurriedly tried calling her daughter, only to find the line busy and unreachable.
“You can’t get through to your father either,” she said, then turned to call the company secretary, who replied that President Jiang had left the office an hour ago.
Mrs. Jiang sank back into the sofa, her usual commanding and calculating expression now vacant and bewildered.
“It’s just that we can’t reach them,” Jiang Chongyuan said. “What’s wrong?”
He didn’t know that Mrs. Jiang had gone to see Qian Sheng, nor did he realize that Jiang Yumo had somehow walked away unscathed from Qian Sheng and Qian Xin.
There was no way Qian Sheng had gained anything from Jiang Yumo; he would definitely take out his anger on the Jiang family!
Mrs. Jiang panicked, gripping Jiang Chongyuan’s arm so hard that her perfectly manicured nails pricked him painfully.
“Quick! Go find Xiao Ran! If we’re too late, it’ll be over!!” she shouted in a flustered, desperate voice.
ᘻᘿᓍᘺ
Soft golden sunlight poured through the wide, clear glass windows, spreading in large patches across the bed like scattered stars over the young man. His black hair gleamed with gold, his skin shone pale under the sun.
Yet he lay there, staring motionless at the ceiling. His white thighs were nearly sunburned, but he didn’t move an inch.
【Host! You’re awake!】
Jiang Yumo’s eyes were blank, silent.
【Host, you just got a call! I think it was from your dad?】
Jiang Yumo continued to play the part of a statue, neither speaking nor moving.
【Host! Do you remember what happened last night?】
“Ahhh!” Jiang Yumo shot upright, raking his hands through his hair until it was a wild nest, eyes wide with panic. “I don’t remember anything!”
【Ah? But you—】
“Shut up ahhh!” Jiang Yumo’s face twisted with anger. “I was drunk! How the hell would I remember anything!”
“Fake!” he muttered as he got out of bed and went to the bathroom to wash up, still cursing. “All this ‘drink endlessly without getting drunk’ stuff is fake junk!”
System: Why does it feel like the host is getting angry out of embarrassment?
The bathroom had a good orientation; sunlight poured in, lighting up the whole space, while scattered reflections from the mirror danced faintly on the ceiling.
Jiang Yumo washed his face vigorously, finally cooling down his body that was still heated from the memories of last night.
Damn it, this Gu Yu must be some kind of allergen!! He and Gu Yu were completely incompatible!
Jiang Yumo soaked a towel and pressed it to the back of his neck, rubbing hard. The coolness of the water washed away the heat, and he shook his head, trying to fling out all the chaotic thoughts.
In the mirror, the young man’s damp hair clung to his pale cheeks. The bright sunlight behind him illuminated him fully, and his deep, clear eyes at first glance looked innocent and pure, like a child’s.
After a night of brewing tension, the purplish handprints on his neck looked shocking against his fair skin.
When Jiang Yumo let his gaze droop like that, he looked so pitifully fragile that it tugged at the heart.
The system covered its mouth: In the original story, those who were deceived by the host truly had reason to be.
If it hadn’t known the host’s character first, it would have been completely fooled too.
Seeing the host pull out his phone and snap a few photos, the system was curious: 【Host, what are you doing?】
Jiang Yumo didn’t even lift his head, his fingers flying over the phone screen. “I got drunk last night, right? And I wake up this morning with my neck like this, of course I need to get to the bottom of it!!!”
During last night’s dinner, he had already added Gu Xuan on WeChat. While the Gu family was usually so closed off that no one could get through, Jiang Yumo had already added both Gu Xuan and Gu Youyou on WeChat.
He didn’t hold back and directly added everyone present last night into a group chat.
Group Chat (4)
Jiang Yumo: 【photo.jpg】
Jiang Yumo: What happened yesterday? Why did my neck look like this when I woke up??? Q.Q
The photo was taken directly with the front camera of his phone.
The young man lifted his delicate chin. His oversized T-shirt was slightly askew, revealing most of his refined collarbones and the full length of his slender neck.
The slightly protruding Adam’s apple should have been a delicate accent, but all attention was stolen by the deep red and slightly purple marks.
Those marks, no matter how you looked at them, definitely looked like handprints.
Gu Youyou: Benefactor! Looks great!
Gu Youyou retracted the message.
Gu Youyou: Brother Jiang! Who did this!! 【Knife】【Knife】【Knife】
Gu Family Estate.
It was ten in the morning. Mr. Gu had gone fishing with an old friend early, Gu Yu had already gone to work, and at the breakfast table there were only Gu Xuan, Gu Youyou, and their mother.
The Gu family had always preferred a traditional Chinese breakfast. Gu Xuan was just lifting a cup of freshly squeezed soy milk to drink when a message popped up on his phone. He glanced at it and snorted: “Pfft!”
Gu Xuan: 0<
Their mother tossed a tissue at him in mild annoyance. "You're an adult. Why do you always have to overreact to everything? Look at your sister, she's not like you…"
"Cough! Cough! Cough!" Gu Youyou suddenly choked on her bite, coughing so violently it shook the room. Her face and neck were flushed so red it could practically fry an egg.
Their mother raised an eyebrow, scanning their phones with a playful smile. "You two aren't hiding some little secret from me, are you?"
Gu Xuan and Gu Youyou dared not admit anything.
Gu Xuan: "N-nothing. My friend just sent a joke, haha, really funny!"
Their mother turned to Gu Youyou: "And you, Youyou?"
Gu Youyou glared at Gu Xuan, biting hard into a crab yolk bun to cover her embarrassment from lying. She looked down and mumbled, "It's my friend! They told me a joke!"
The two of them, afraid their mother might press further and accidentally uncover the truth, quickly found an excuse to leave.
Their mother, pleased to see her children getting along, didn't push it. She went to meet her friends for a beauty session and to see if there were any nice pieces of jewelry worth buying for Youyou.
Gu Xuan and Gu Youyou sneaked up to a lounge on the second floor.
They carefully locked the door and collapsed onto the sofa as if all the bones in their bodies had melted away.
Gu Youyou muttered, "I was so nervous! Good thing Mom didn't keep asking!"
As soon as she said it, she remembered the scene she had just seen.
She slammed her hand on the table, eyes wide with shock. "Big brother! Didn't you say Second Brother took Brother Jiang home last night? Then what's going on now?"
"This matter has to be asked of Ah Yu!" Gu Xuan's neck was breaking out in cold sweat. Hahaha… could it be that last night Gu Yu took advantage of someone being drunk?
Gu Youyou and Gu Xuan looked at each other, expressions priceless.
Although Gu Yu was usually not fierce, both of them were cautious, never daring to act recklessly in front of Second Brother/Ah Yu.
Just as they hesitated, the brave one appeared.
Xu Chengying invited Gu Yu to join the group chat.
Group Chat (5)
Xu Chengying: 【photo.jpg】
Xu Chengying: Little brother Jiang's neck is injured. Brother Gu Yu, do you have any idea what happened?
Gu Youyou immediately felt defeated. How could this happen?
At that moment, Gu Xuan noticed his sister's eyes had turned sharp as knives and suddenly felt a surge of determination!
Gu Youyou: @SecondBrotherGuYu , Big Brother said you were the one who took Brother Jiang home? Did something happen on the way?
Gu Xuan thought: Truly a newborn calf not afraid of the tiger.
He wasn't going to sink with them, hahaha!
A few minutes later, at the Gu Group meeting room.
Gu Yu connected his phone to the projector in the conference room. Just as his assistant was about to open a file, a notification banner popped up, and the assistant accidentally clicked it.
The entire room fell silent.
On the projection screen, almost the size of an entire wall, the photo was so high-definition, and the few lines questioning President Gu were so clear and vivid.
They had never, not for a single moment, regretted having such sharp eyesight.
Damn it, they had just glimpsed President Gu's private life. He wouldn't hold a grudge, would he?
The assistant froze for two seconds, then quickly and deftly severed the connection. By the time he finished, he was already drenched in cold sweat.
He cautiously stole a glance at his superior.
President Gu looked as calm as a deep, still pond, his expression composed and indifferent, as if what had just accidentally been shown to everyone was nothing more than a trivial matter unrelated to him.
The assistant felt genuine admiration. A man who had weathered so many storms, this kind of composure and calmness would make him successful at anything he tried.
Gu Yu twirled his pen a few times and then snapped it onto the table. "Take a ten-minute break."
He left the room with his phone, and the meeting room immediately erupted into a low murmur of chatter.
"Oh my god! I never thought President Gu was this kind of person?!!"
"No way! He usually wears a three-piece suit, looks so cold and untouchable!"
"Yeah, yeah! And I always felt like he's some kind of desireless machine in private, you know what I mean?"
"President Gu is honestly the most handsome man I've ever seen! Appears approachable, but that's just on the surface. That kind of gentle authority, you know, you just dare not get close."
"I know exactly what you mean! It's that feeling of being untouchable, but I didn't expect him to be so… wild in private?!!"
"Whoa! Did you see that neck? So slim and pale! And those handprints, so intense!"
"I actually noticed earlier, the tip of his nose was a bit red. I thought he just bumped into something, but now thinking about it… could it have been someone grabbing him?"
"Right, right! And also under his chin and on his neck!!"
"Waaah! So wild, ahhhh! Who's lucky enough to… ahhh!"
Assistant: Maybe you could all keep it down a bit.
"Cough, cough," the assistant reminded them to be quiet, warning them not to casually comment on their superior's private life.
But there were indeed some bold enough to ask the assistant outright who it was.
Assistant: "It's probably just a joke among friends. During work hours, discussing executives' private lives is strictly prohibited."
But in his mind, he couldn't help recalling the young man who had made President Gu pause and look at him a few days ago while waiting at a traffic light.
The assistant shook his head vigorously. He must be hallucinating from working too many overtime hours recently. That young man didn't even seem fully grown, if he was an adult,
President Gu wasn't a scoundrel. There was no way he could do something like that.
ᘻᘿᓍᘺ
President's Office.
The office was empty. Gu Yu tossed his phone onto the sofa and stood alone by the floor-to-ceiling window, silently watching the pedestrians below, who looked as tiny as ants. His hands hung by his sides, clenching and unclenching, veins bulging on the backs of his hands.
He rubbed his brow tightly.
Last night, under the influence of his past life and alcohol, Gu Yu had been overly cautious around Jiang Yumo and had lost some control.
He still didn't know Jiang Yumo's true intentions. The enemy was obvious, while he remained hidden. It wasn't yet time to reveal his true identity.
One after another, deep breaths filled the air. The buzzing phone on the sofa was scooped up by a large, strong hand.
Group Chat (5)
Gu Yu: 【photo.jpg】
Gu Yu: Sorry, almost rear-ended someone last night, and Xiao Mo got drunk…
In the photo was Gu Yu's side profile. His skin was the typical pale, cool tone, and the red scratch mark on his nose and jaw stood out sharply against his complexion.
There was no need to explain everything, just giving the gist would let everyone fill in the rest themselves.
As Gu Yu expected, no one in the group tagged him or sent any more messages.
He returned to the conference room to continue the meeting, drawing the attention of the staff.
"What are you looking at me for?" Gu Yu said evenly, tapping the table. "Continue."
A department manager who had worked diligently at the group for over ten years sidled up with a meaningful expression. "Young man, you should take it easy. Don't burn yourself out so early. Your body will catch up with you when you get older."
Gu Yu tilted his head, frowning: "Hmm???"
"If you need help, come to me," the manager whispered, "we'll talk in private."
After so many years on the job, he had never found an opportunity to get close to President Gu. He didn't expect that Gu could act so proper in public while being so… flashy in private. A kindred spirit!
He couldn't wait to bring some excitement to President Gu! Promotion and a raise were just around the corner!
The manager couldn't help thinking: See? A man's true nature, who could resist it?
Finally, he had found a way to advance! A few days ago, he had barely managed to get a ticket to a party. If he brought President Gu along, enjoyed the event, and then signed a few agreements afterward, it would be a guaranteed success!
Gu Yu caught the employee's expression out of the corner of his eye. A flash of doubt crossed his gaze, but he didn't pay it any mind and forgot about it the next moment.
ᘻᘿᓍᘺ
The other three in the group chat, seeing Gu Yu's explanation, quickly created a private three-person chat.
After some discussion, they imagined the scenario: last night, almost a rear-end accident, emergency braking, Jiang Yumo drunk and possibly out of control, and Gu Yu, trying to protect him, accidentally grabbed Jiang Yumo by the neck.
Yes, yes, perfectly reasonable. Very reasonable.
There was really no more fitting explanation.
Group Chat (3)
Gu Xuan: That must be it. Otherwise, would Ah Yu really go around grabbing people by the neck? Hahaha!
Gu Youyou: Life doesn't follow logic. The least likely things are often the truth!
Xu Chengying: You're right!
All three thought the same thing, this was Gu Yu, not some lustful, reckless fool. How could it be anything else?
In reality, Gu Xuan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. No matter what, Ah Yu's innocence had finally been preserved.