“Shi Shuyi,” Gu Huaiye said slowly, his low voice carrying a hint of amusement. “Your parents don’t know you work at Baisen, do they? They don’t know you secretly signed up for acting classes, either, or that you often fly to B City for auditions. Am I right?”
Shi Shuyi’s body stiffened noticeably.
Her carefully shaped, clear, glassy eyes widened at once, revealing genuine alarm.
“President Gu, I’m just an ordinary student… You’re so busy. Why go to the trouble of investigating me?”
Her voice trembled slightly, but there was a note of defiance in it.
“What exactly do you want? If this is about me accidentally wandering onto the top floor last time, I can quit Baisen.”
Gu Huaiye gave a soft, mocking laugh.
“Getting you to leave Baisen would take only a word from me. Do you think what I want is that simple? A top student from S University shouldn’t be so naive, should she?”
Shi Shuyi bit her lower lip. Her thick lashes lowered, casting a small shadow across her porcelain-pale cheeks, as if she were struggling to weigh her options.
After a brief silence, she lifted her eyes.
A faint flush tinged their corners. Her gaze shimmered with unshed tears, but her resolve was unmistakable.
“President Gu, I have my limits. I won’t accept unspoken rules, and I won’t be anyone’s mistress.”
Gu Huaiye looked straight into her eyes.
Her eyes were lighter than Gu Zhixia’s, a clear tea-brown. Now, they were full of sincerity and clarity, and for a moment he found himself lost in them.
“You’re not just foolish; you have a poor memory, too.”
He chuckled, brushing his fingertips over her chin.
“I just said I don’t mind if you have two boyfriends. What I mean is—”
He suddenly leaned in, his hot breath grazing her ear.
“I can be your second.”
The heat of his breath startled Shi Shuyi, and she recoiled, pressing both hands against his chest and shoving him away.
Gu Huaiye let her push him back, but a confident smile spread through his eyes.
“Of course, if you don’t have a boyfriend, I’ll be your only one.”
“President Gu.” Shi Shuyi’s lips tugged into a smile, but there wasn’t the slightest trace of one in her eyes. “Don’t you think that’s ridiculous? If I’m not mistaken, you just got out of Li Yue’s bed, didn’t you? And now you’re turning around and asking me to be your girlfriend. Can you honestly say you’re even a little serious about this relationship?”
Her gaze was clear as she enunciated every word.
“To you, ‘girlfriend’ is just a nicer-sounding label. It’s no different from being a mistress.”
Gu Huaiye considered that seriously for a moment.
He was never short of women, but in truth, he didn’t understand them or know how to handle relationships between men and women.
So what was the difference between a girlfriend and a mistress?
“If you say yes,” he replied, his voice softening with a seriousness that almost sounded like a promise, “Li Yue will disappear at once. We’ll date the way ordinary people do. I’ll do whatever it takes to maintain a normal relationship.”
Shi Shuyi turned her face away.
“President Gu, I’m not your plaything, and I’m certainly not a tool for you to experience ‘love’ with. I won’t agree.”
Gu Huaiye scoffed, lifted her chin with a fingertip, and forced her to look at him.
“Shi Shuyi, do you think I’m asking you? I’m—threat-en-ing you.”
He had already promised Gu Zhixia that he would bring his girlfriend along tomorrow.
He could always find another girlfriend, but when he saw Fu Shiyan’s photo tucked inside Shi Shuyi’s book, Gu Huaiye decided that his girlfriend had to be Shi Shuyi.
Shi Shuyi’s lashes fluttered, and her voice brimmed with indignation.
“You… You’re going too far!”
Gu Huaiye gazed at her eyes, made brighter by her anger, and found he couldn’t look away.
His thumb stroked her delicate cheek as he spoke in a low voice.
“Want to try something even more outrageous?”
Shi Shuyi was shaking with anger, yet a little excitement stirred inside her.
Gu Huaiye had taken the bait faster than she’d expected.
She’d planned to play hard to get a few more times and trade moves with him for several rounds. Who could have guessed he’d jump straight to making their relationship official?
It seemed Gu Zhixia and Fu Shiyan being together had really gotten under his skin.
…Maybe agreeing to his offer wasn’t such a bad idea.
Shi Shuyi blinked and openly looked Gu Huaiye up and down.
As expected of a fictional world: the man before her had a top-tier face and an impeccable physique. His “abilities” in certain other areas were surely just as impressive.
She hadn’t “broken her fast” since arriving in this world.
Still, as his girlfriend, she had to act the part.
“President Gu, since you say you want to experience an ordinary romance, can you do what a good boyfriend is supposed to do?”
She tilted her head slightly, her expression earnest.
“If you can agree to my conditions, I’ll be your girlfriend. If you can’t, don’t pester me.”
Gu Huaiye raised an eyebrow. “Go on.”
Shi Shuyi seemed surprised by how readily he agreed, but she thought it over and began listing her conditions.
“First, while we’re dating, you have to keep your distance from other women and be absolutely faithful.”
“Fine.”
He might not fall in love easily, but he’d never juggled several women at once. This condition was simple.
“Second, whether I’m right or wrong, you always have to take my side.”
Gu Huaiye looked at her as she made her demands with a completely serious expression. Her cheeks puffed out slightly, making her unexpectedly adorable.
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he gave a quiet, “Mm.”
“Third,” Shi Shuyi said, meeting his eyes and enunciating each word, “the greatest sense of security in a relationship doesn’t come from love, but from being cherished above everyone else—and that kind of devotion can only be given to your girlfriend.”
This one was specifically meant for Gu Zhixia.
If Gu Huaiye chose to favor Gu Zhixia while they were dating, then he couldn’t blame Shi Shuyi for making a whole “scene” out of it.
At this, Gu Huaiye’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
A conversation with Gu Zhixia flashed through his mind.
“Big Brother, will I always be the most important person in your life?”
“Mm. Xiaxia will always be the most important.”
“Then will you always protect me and always take my side?”
“I will. As long as I’m here, no one can bully you.”
Gu Huaiye clenched his back teeth without realizing it.
“Fine,” he said evenly, suppressing the stirrings inside him. “Anything else?”
A flicker of surprise crossed Shi Shuyi’s eyes. She hadn’t expected him to agree so readily.
As if testing the limits of his patience, she went on to list several more conditions.
“Fourth,” Shi Shuyi continued, counting on her fingers, “you have to know how to take care of me, comfort me, and make me happy.”
Gu Huaiye’s brow furrowed again.
Take care of a woman? Would giving her money do?
Comfort her? Wouldn’t transferring money be the most direct way?
Make her laugh? Was there anything more delightful than a bank transfer?
Money should be able to solve all of that…
He hesitated for a moment, then said, “All right.”
“Fifth, you’re not allowed to lose your temper with me, force me to do anything, or make me cry.”
Gu Huaiye nodded again.
“Sixth… Seventh…”
Shi Shuyi rattled off several more conditions. The longer Gu Huaiye listened, the more impatient he grew; by the end, he simply agreed to everything.
“You’ll have Gu Corporation’s lawyers draw up a formal contract with all these conditions,” she said, looking at him seriously. “If you break it, we’ll break up, and you’ll have to compensate me for emotional distress. You also won’t be allowed to threaten me anymore.”
“Fine.”
Gu Huaiye immediately called a lawyer and, thanks to his exceptional memory, repeated her demands word for word.
When he hung up, he turned toward Shi Shuyi, his handsome, wild-looking face drawing close to hers.
“Are you satisfied, girl-friend?”
Shi Shuyi’s cheeks warmed. She hadn’t imagined her first romance would begin in such a strange way.
At the same time, a trace of doubt stirred in her heart.
Was this all happening too smoothly?
Just a few hours ago, at Baisen International, this man had been like a dangerous leopard, watching her maneuver with keen interest, as if the game between hunter and prey had only just begun.
Why, two or three hours later, was he so determined to pin the title of “girlfriend” on her?