Mornings at Sheng Shi Group always began with a frantic rhythm.
Hurried footsteps echoed through the corridors, phones rang incessantly, assistants exchanged updates about work, and the doors of conference rooms opened and closed one after another, all blending together into the unmistakable atmosphere of a major corporation.
Yet on the top floor, the chairman’s office was unusually quiet.
Through the glass doors of the office, sunlight stretched across the polished stone floor, but it did nothing to soften the coldness on Su Zheng Ting’s face.
He sat behind his desk, one hand resting on the tabletop while the other held his phone, silently listening to Cheng Mo’s report.
The more he listened, the darker his expression became, and the sharpness in his eyes grew even colder.
“You mean… Cangyue rejected every man I chose for her?” On the other end of the line, Cheng Mo cautiously explained that every man Su Zheng Ting had arranged for Su Cangyue to meet had already received her rejection.
Some felt humiliated, while a few families had even expressed their displeasure, believing that Su Cangyue was far too arrogant.
A cold smile appeared on Su Zheng Ting’s lips.
There was not the slightest trace of amusement in it.
Instead, it sent a chill down anyone’s spine.
“Does she think she can defy me just by doing this?” He leaned back in his chair, his fingers slowly tapping against the desk.
Ever since she was a child, Su Cangyue had been the daughter who made him both proud and exasperated.
She was intelligent and capable, with enough ability to make many decisions on her own, but that very independence had also made her increasingly difficult to control.
To Su Zheng Ting, his daughter’s marriage had never been merely a matter of love.
A good marriage could give Su Cangyue someone to rely on while strengthening the position of Sheng Shi Group at the same time.
He had chosen men who were well matched with her in terms of family background, whose families were firmly established and whose careers were stable.
Yet she had rejected them time and time again.
He could not accept the idea of his daughter continuing to do whatever she pleased.
“Make a new list immediately,” Su Zheng Ting said coldly.
“Tomorrow, I want her to go on another blind date.” The moment he finished speaking, the office door was suddenly pushed open.
Su Zheng Ting frowned and looked up.
He was about to reprimand the secretary for barging in without permission, but the words died in his throat before he could say them.
Su Cangyue was standing in the doorway.
She wore an elegant outfit, her long hair tied neatly behind her, her expression so calm that it revealed almost nothing.
But what truly caught Su Zheng Ting’s attention was the man standing behind her.
A stranger.
He was dressed in a simple black suit, tall and well-built, with sharp, defined features.
Compared with the young heirs who frequently appeared at high-society gatherings, this man possessed none of their ostentatious glamour or arrogance.
There was only a quiet, restrained composure about him, the kind that made it difficult to see through him.
Su Zheng Ting stared at him for several seconds, and an ominous feeling immediately rose in his heart.
Su Cangyue did not beat around the bush.
She walked into the office and spoke as calmly as though she were announcing something completely ordinary.
“There’s no need for you to arrange any more blind dates, Dad.” Su Zheng Ting stared at his daughter.
“I’m married.” The spacious office instantly fell silent.
For a moment, it seemed as though even the air itself had stopped moving.
Su Zheng Ting thought he had misheard her.
He looked at his daughter, disbelief gradually spreading across his face.
“What did you just say?” Su Cangyue did not repeat herself.
She simply opened her handbag, took out a red marriage certificate, and placed it in front of him.
The movement was gentle, almost effortless, but to Su Zheng Ting, it was no different from a thunderclap exploding in the middle of the silent room.
He stared at the certificate for several seconds before snatching it up.
The first two lines immediately changed his expression.
Marriage Certificate.
Name of the bride: Su Cangyue.
Name of the groom: Gu Jing Shen.
Su Zheng Ting read that unfamiliar name again and again, as if trying to find some trace of recognition in his memory.
But the more he thought about it, the more certain he became that there was no prominent Gu family in Dongcheng that he knew of.
He slowly raised his head.
The calmness in his eyes had completely disappeared, replaced by fury.
“You… You actually dared to get married without asking for your father’s permission?” Su Cangyue looked straight at him.
She was not completely free of tension.
Although she had anticipated her father’s reaction, when she finally stood face-to-face with his anger, the hand resting by her side still clenched instinctively.
But she did not retreat.
Perhaps this was the moment Su Cangyue had been waiting for all along.
The moment when she could finally make a decision about her own life instead of continuing to live according to the choices her father imposed on her.
“I’m an adult,” she said.
Her voice was not loud, but every word was clear.
“I have the right to decide whom I want to marry.
Besides, the law does not require me to ask for my father’s permission before registering my marriage.” Su Zheng Ting was rendered speechless.
He stared at her, both furious and incredulous.
The daughter he had always believed would eventually yield to him, no matter how stubborn she became, was now standing before him and using his own logic against him.
What made it even harder for him to accept was that she had done everything before he had even had the chance to stop her.
Su Cangyue knew she could not allow this confrontation to drag on.
She turned toward the man beside her.
Gu Jing Shen had remained there from beginning to end, showing no intention of interfering in the argument between father and daughter.
He simply observed in silence, his expression so calm that it was impossible to tell what was going through his mind.
Su Cangyue looked at him for a second before suddenly asking, “Isn’t that right, Lawyer Gu?” Gu Jing Shen paused slightly.
He immediately understood what she meant.
She was not asking him about the law.
She was dragging him into this battle.
Gu Jing Shen did not retreat.
He stepped forward and stood beside Su Cangyue.
The distance between them instantly became more intimate, making them look like a real married couple standing together to face a member of the family.
Su Cangyue looked at him, the corners of her lips curving slightly.
“So what are you waiting for?” Gu Jing Shen raised an eyebrow.
Su Cangyue looked toward her father, her voice calm but carrying an unmistakable hint of provocation.
“Say hello to your father-in-law.” Even Su Zheng Ting had not expected her to say it so naturally.
Gu Jing Shen looked at Su Cangyue, the faintest trace of amusement flashing through his eyes.
Then he turned toward Su Zheng Ting and gave a slight bow.
His manner was neither servile nor submissive, yet he remained perfectly respectful.
“My name is Gu Jing Shen.
I’m Xiaoyue’s husband.” Those final words made Su Cangyue freeze for a moment.
She had only intended to drag him into the confrontation to deal with her father, but she had not expected Gu Jing Shen to say those words so naturally.
Xiaoyue’s husband.
It was such a simple sentence, yet hearing him say it himself made her heart skip a beat.
She instinctively turned to look at him.
Gu Jing Shen remained perfectly calm, as though nothing unusual had happened.
His gaze was steady, his posture straight.
There was not the slightest trace of embarrassment from a man who had just married a woman he had barely known, nor was there any nervousness in the face of Su Zheng Ting’s power and authority.
Su Zheng Ting was looking at him too.
He said nothing at first, merely placed the marriage certificate back on the desk before slowly looking Gu Jing Shen up and down.
His gaze was like a sharp blade, as though he wanted to strip away every layer of disguise and see exactly who this man was and whether he was worthy of entering his daughter’s life.
Su Zheng Ting was accustomed to dealing with heirs from powerful families.
With nothing more than a man’s clothes, a watch on his wrist, or the shoes on his feet, he could usually determine at least part of his family background.
But Gu Jing Shen left him completely unable to make a judgment.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
Could this man be deliberately hiding his identity?
But if he truly came from a powerful background, why was there not the slightest trace of a wealthy family on him?
Su Zheng Ting looked down at the marriage certificate once more.
The name Gu Jing Shen still sat neatly beside his daughter’s name, cold and unfamiliar.
An ominous feeling gradually took shape in his heart.
He turned toward his daughter, his voice suddenly turning icy.
“Cang Yue, tell me… Who exactly is this man?”