The Aston Martin crossed half the city before stopping in front of a villa in Songju, the most expensive villa district in Jingnan.
Shen Jingze got out of the car, and Sheng Xia followed. She remembered the plot from the book—after Gu Cheng’an fell in love with the female lead Shen Xinhe, their love nest was in Songju.
A villa in Songju could easily span thousands to tens of thousands of square meters, worth billions.
Sheng Xia looked at the luxurious villa before her with envy in her eyes. The rich, indeed!
Judging by Shen Jingze’s attire, she had guessed he was wealthy, but she hadn’t expected him to be this rich. It seemed Shen Jingze’s fortune was no less than Gu Cheng’an’s!
Beside her, Shen Jingze opened the villa gate and, holding the orchid, invited Sheng Xia inside. Like the Gu family’s old mansion, the villa had a large courtyard filled with flowers, plants, and trees.
Sheng Xia followed Shen Jingze through the courtyard and turned toward a nearby glass greenhouse. Inside were many flowers, including numerous rare and expensive varieties. It seemed Shen Jingze was a flower enthusiast.
As Sheng Xia was thinking this, she saw Shen Jingze place the orchid on a shelf. He smiled at her and said, “I don’t actually know much about orchids. I only said I liked them earlier to strike up a conversation with you.”
“Huh?” Sheng Xia looked at Shen Jingze in surprise.
“This orchid was something I bought to give as a gift. A friend’s grandfather loves flowers, and I planned to give him an orchid as a birthday present. So, I looked up a lot of information and recognized the Orchid Aristocrat in your phone photo.”
Shen Jingze looked a bit embarrassed. “Thank you for parting with it and helping me achieve my wish. I’m not very familiar with orchid care, so I’d like to ask you to help me look after this orchid. It won’t be for long—just until the birthday, as long as it remains in perfect condition. Also, I’ll pay you a daily wage!”
Sheng Xia found this both amusing and exasperating. Fortunately, she hadn’t wanted to keep the orchid anyway, so Shen Jingze taking it off her hands was a very good thing.
“There’s no need for payment. I don’t have much to do, and it won’t be for long, so you don’t have to pay me.”
“How can that be? I always pay people to care for my plants. I can’t let you do it for free.” Shen Jingze insisted on paying, and Sheng Xia kept refusing. Just then, Madam Gu called.
Madam Gu’s call was undoubtedly about Lu Xiaoxiao. Sheng Xia sighed and answered. Madam Gu’s stern voice came through:
“What’s wrong with you? You hit Xiaoxiao and then hid, trying to avoid responsibility? If you had the guts to hit her, why hide? Let me tell you, the Lu Family and our Gu family are friends. If you did something wrong, you must take responsibility. Go find Xiaoxiao and apologize immediately!”
Sheng Xia grimaced. What was Gu Cheng’an doing? He had already found Shen Xinhe and knew Lu Xiaoxiao’s situation had nothing to do with her, so why hadn’t he handled it?
Ah, right. Gu Cheng’an must have been captivated by Shen Xinhe’s peerless beauty and couldn’t tear himself away.
She would have to remind Gu Cheng’an. Sheng Xia stepped aside and dialed his number.
The phone rang for a while before Gu Cheng’an answered, his voice gritted with anger: “Where is that orchid?”
“The orchid… I sold it.”
“Sold it? When? Who did you sell it to?” Gu Cheng’an asked darkly.
“Just today. I sold it to Mr. Shen…”
Before Sheng Xia could finish, a loud crash came through the receiver. Gu Cheng’an had smashed something.”Li Shengxia, you have quite the nerve!”
“No, it’s not…” Shengxia was baffled. “I bought these flowers myself, and I don’t want to keep them anymore. Isn’t it normal to sell them? Why are you so angry?”
Gu Cheng’an was fuming with rage. Those flowers were a birthday gift Shengxia had given him. How could she secretly sell a birthday present she had already given away?
He was so furious he couldn’t speak, but Shengxia added, “Anyway, no one in the house likes them. The flowers were quite expensive, and it would be a waste to just leave them there, not to mention the time needed to care for them. So I sold them.”
Gu Cheng’an was panting with anger. “Li Shengxia, you have guts!”
Shengxia had no idea why Gu Cheng’an was so angry. It wasn’t the first time he had lost his temper with her over trivial matters, and she had no time to placate him now.
Her top priority was dealing with the Lu Family situation. “Um, your mother just called me. The Lu Family is forcing me to apologize. You know this wasn’t my fault. You need to talk to the Lu Family right away.”
“Hah!” Gu Cheng’an responded with a cold laugh. “What does your business have to do with me? Why should I help you? What are you to me?”
Had he lost his mind saying such things?
Or was it because he had met the female lead, Shen Xinhe, and was now planning to cast her aside, no longer treating her as his wife?
Shengxia grew anxious. “Gu Cheng’an, you promised to protect me. You can’t go back on your word! Are you even a man?”
Before she could finish, the call was abruptly disconnected, leaving Shengxia utterly bewildered.
If Gu Cheng’an refused to help her, what was she supposed to do now?
The Lu Family was not to be trifled with. If Gu Cheng’an abandoned her, they would surely take action against her.
Damn it! As soon as he met the female lead, he turned so vicious toward her. Gu Cheng’an was a scoundrel.
Panic-stricken, Shengxia knew she had to return and confront Gu Cheng’an to find out what was going on.
In a hurry, she bid farewell and left, with Shen Jingze offering to drive her back.
Upon reaching the marital home, she rushed into the elevator. As she opened the door, she found the living room in complete disarray—Gu Cheng’an had gone on a rampage, smashing many things.
Shengxia cautiously glanced at Gu Cheng’an, who sat on the sofa with a dark expression. “Um… about that…”
“Decided to come back, did you?” Gu Cheng’an sneered. “When did you start getting cozy with Shen Jingze?”
“Getting cozy”? Why did that sound so unpleasant?
Though annoyed, Shengxia felt intimidated by Gu Cheng’an’s oppressive aura and didn’t dare retort. “I only met him last night.”
“You met him last night, and today you’re already going for a drive together?”
“What drive?”
“Still pretending!” Gu Cheng’an threw his phone toward her. Though the photo on the screen was blurry, Shengxia immediately recognized it as herself and Shen Jingze.
“It’s a misunderstanding, just a misunderstanding! Mr. Shen wanted to buy flowers, so I happened to ride in his car to come back and discuss the price. I really only met him yesterday. Today was just the second time.”
“Hah, you really do enjoy attracting attention, don’t you? Getting so familiar with a man you’ve only met twice. Li Shengxia, have you forgotten you’re a married woman?”
Why did that sound so strange? Was Gu Cheng’an jealous?
Impossible. He didn’t even like her and refused to touch her—how could he be jealous? It must be his male pride at play.
After all, any man would be displeased to see his wife involved with another man.Sheng Xia thought to herself, quickly putting on a smile to explain, “I understand, I’ll be more careful in the future. I promise something like this won’t happen again.”
Gu Cheng’an’s expression softened slightly. Just as Sheng Xia was about to let out a sigh of relief, she heard him ask, “Why did you sell the flowers?”
“I didn’t want to keep them anymore!”
Gu Cheng’an lifted his gaze to look at Sheng Xia, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
“As far as I remember, the owner of that pot of orchids doesn’t seem to be you, does it?”
“I was the one who bought it…”
“That’s true, but you gave it to me as a birthday gift. Since it was given to me as a birthday present, the owner of that pot of orchids is me. You sold it without my permission—do you think that’s acceptable? I’ll give you an hour. Go and bring the flowers back right now!”