The phone rang abruptly.
He glanced at the screen and answered.
“Hello, Xiaxia. What made you think to call me so late?”
His voice held a hint of indulgence.
“Big Brother, Teacher S is coming to S City on a business trip tomorrow… I want to arrange for the two of you to meet.”
Gu Huaiye’s fingers tightened slightly around his phone. His gaze darkened at once, like ink too dense to dissolve.
Gu Zhixia’s voice remained as sweet and light as ever, its final note lifting slightly.
“Big Brother, you and he are the two most important men in my life.”
“My boyfriend should, of course, have your approval.”
Her tone was sweet and coquettish, but her eyes rested calmly on the deepening night outside the window, without the slightest ripple.
Gu Zhixia stood in the middle of her extravagantly exquisite princess bedroom. A soft, deep-pile carpet lay beneath her feet, and a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows stood before her.
The neon lights of Teacher S City came on one after another, casting one side of her face in light and the other in shadow.
She and Fu Shiyan were in a long-distance relationship.
He was in B City, the northern center of power; she was in Teacher S City, the southern city of extravagance and indulgence.
So far, she was always the one flying to B City to see Fu Shiyan. She had little control over the relationship.
She had met Fu Shiyan at a banquet her father took her to. Amid the glittering clothes and elegant company, that man had only to stand quietly to command the room.
She used to think Gu Huaiye was the highest level she could ever reach.
She depended on him and looked up to him, even harboring a secret, girlish possessiveness that kept him quietly within her territory.
Until one day, she accidentally caught a glimpse of the stream of lovers coming and going at his side.
She didn’t dare confront him, much less let on that she knew. If that thin veil of “brother and sister” were torn away, she might be no more than one among his many lovers.
She wouldn’t accept that!
After graduation, she secretly vowed to find a man who could stand as Gu Huaiye’s equal.
Then Fu Shiyan appeared.
Unexpectedly, being with him had gone so smoothly it almost felt unreal.
Gu Zhixia knew that this ease was mostly due to her status as the Gu family’s little princess.
But she also knew Fu Shiyan was aware she wasn’t a biological member of the Gu family.
So she had to hold on tightly to Gu Huaiye. She needed Big Brother to remain behind her forever, her surest support.
She wanted him to spend his whole life willingly protecting her and clearing her way.
As Gu Huaiye held the phone, the emotions that had surged in his eyes settled into an unfathomable calm.
His voice betrayed nothing.
“All right. I’ll book a table at Pujiang Hui tomorrow night and take him out to dinner.”
“Okay! Thank you, Big Brother!”
Gu Zhixia’s voice on the other end was as playfully sweet as ever.
But the next moment, she gently changed the subject, as if the thought had just occurred to her.
“By the way, Big Brother… Dad said a couple of days ago that you seem to have gotten a girlfriend recently? You… could bring her along tomorrow night, too. I’d quite like to meet my future sister-in-law.”
Her tone was innocent, as though she were merely curious.
Gu Zhixia knew there was never a shortage of women around Big Brother, but she had no idea how much any of them meant to him.
Especially this time: she had made her relationship with Fu Shiyan public, yet Big Brother had been far too calm—so calm that it made her uneasy.
She couldn’t read him.
So she had to test him.
She would not allow any woman to take a place at Gu Huaiye’s side that outranked hers.
A faint crease appeared between Gu Huaiye’s brows, so slight it was almost imperceptible.
Had Gu Lin really said that to Xiaxia?
“I…” No.
The two words had almost slipped out, but he stopped them on the tip of his tongue.
A vague thought flickered through his mind.
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, and he spoke again.
“Yes, I’ve gotten a girlfriend. If you want to meet her, I’ll bring her along.”
Silence fell over the line for a brief moment.
A few seconds later, Gu Zhixia’s bright voice returned. It was still sweet, but now seemed to have a taut thread running through it.
“Sure, Big Brother. Your Sister-in-law… must be beautiful, right?”
Miss Shi’s face—beautiful to an almost excessive degree—appeared in Gu Huaiye’s mind.
He answered mildly, giving nothing away.
“Mm. She’s quite pretty.”
“Then… see you tomorrow.”
Her voice trailed off a little too quickly.
When the call ended, Gu Huaiye slowly lowered his phone. The screen went dark, reflecting his unfathomable eyes.
Some games, once she had started them, he was willing to play to the end.
It wasn’t as if he had never dealt with Fu Shiyan.
That man was deep and inscrutable. Could Xiaxia really handle him?
As his thoughts turned, Miss Shi’s figure came to mind again.
Objectively speaking, she was an impeccable choice for a girlfriend.
She came from a respectable family, had an impressive education, and was strikingly beautiful—the very definition of “rich and beautiful.”
Though her family could not compare with the Gu family, her talent and beauty made her seem more poised and superior than Gu Zhixia in almost every way.
In Gu Huaiye’s heart, Gu Zhixia was an untouchable sanctuary for his soul, his only soft spot. No one could compare with her.
But what about Gu Zhixia herself?
Did she have hidden competitiveness and possessiveness?
Could she accept another woman, someone every bit as outstanding, standing by his side openly and rightfully?
A deep glint passed through Gu Huaiye’s eyes.
Suddenly, he wanted to find out.
Then… he’d give it a try.
Half an hour later.
The phone rang again.
“President Gu, Miss Shi… has already left Baisen.”
Li Yue’s cautious voice came from the other end.
Gu Huaiye frowned.
“Aren’t Baisen’s waitstaff required to work until after midnight?”
“I heard her sales were poor tonight, so she left early.”
“Mm. Got it.”
Miss Shi’s inability to sell alcohol was all his doing.
She had four acting lessons every week, each one-on-one with a renowned teacher, at five thousand per lesson.
Whenever she had free time, she flew to B City to audition. Transportation, makeup and styling, clothes… that was at least twenty to thirty thousand a month.
An expense that large and “not fit to see the light of day” could only be covered by working somewhere like Baisen.
Was she really so determined to get into show business?
Didn’t she know that once you stepped into that circle, you could never stay clean?
And now she was putting on airs of virtue with him.
Gu Huaiye drove a black Bugatti aimlessly through the streets late at night.
After leaving Baisen, he had no desire to sleep, so he let the car glide onward.
Before he knew it, he was heading toward Teacher S University.
The light turned red, and the sports car came to a stop.
Its sleek body and low engine rumble drew the occasional glance.
Gu Huaiye looked casually out the window. His gaze suddenly fixed—
A tall figure came into view from behind. Straight hair fell to her waist; even from behind, she was unmistakably beautiful.
Gu Huaiye recognized her at once:
Miss Shi.
She had a book in her arms and was chatting and laughing with a young man who stood a head taller than she did. Under the streetlight, her profile looked especially beautiful and refined.
Gu Huaiye’s hand tightened on the steering wheel before he knew it.
It seemed not making any money tonight hadn’t affected her at all.
She could even laugh so happily with someone else. Wasn’t she worried she wouldn’t be able to pay for her acting lessons next week?
His gaze darkened. He suddenly lowered the window and honked once.
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