Before Gu Shilin could blow up, Yu Xiaoduo made a quick getaway. I’m not going to be the one to piss you off to death.
Gu Wan’er silently cursed Yu Xiaoduo for being a jerk. Now you’re going to get me yelled at again. Yesterday it was your parents scolding me, and today it’s my own father.
“So you’re even having kids together!” Gu Shilin’s anger flared up instantly, his face twisting with rage.
“No, he was just making that up to annoy you. I’ve only been here a week—how could I possibly be pregnant?”
Gu Shilin gradually calmed down after hearing that. He’d almost let that kid get the better of him. “Sweet talk. Stay away from that kind of man.”
Gu Wan’er thought her father wasn’t wrong—Yu Xiaoduo did have a smooth tongue. But it’s not like he ever used it on her.
Still, she had to hold her ground. “He’s my boyfriend.”
“Enough! Still pretending? Do you think I don’t know your personality? I could call you out right now, but I won’t. You can’t even lie properly—how are you supposed to manage a branch company?”
Gu Wan’er clenched her teeth and insisted, “I’m not lying.”
“You’re just stubborn!”
Gu Shilin paced back and forth in the living room with his hands behind his back. “And another thing—why did you do something so dangerous that night? If your mother finds out, she’ll tie you up at home and won’t let you leave.”
I wasn’t the one who did it. That was all Yu Xiaoduo. And here I am, stuck taking the blame. He just walks off without a care.
“If you want to make a name for yourself in the circle, you have to take special measures.”
“Nonsense! What if something had happened to you? You reckless girl, your nerve is getting bigger and bigger!” When it came to this matter, Gu Shilin could barely control his emotions. Especially when he first got the news—he’d wanted to fly over immediately and drag her back home.
Gu Wan’er bit her red lips and said stubbornly, “If I don’t have nerve, how am I supposed to run a company?”
“Hmph. I heard you got in touch with Boss Bai?”
“Yeah.”
Gu Shilin took a deep breath. “Do you even know what Boss Bai does? You don’t understand anything, and yet you go around making contact like that. By the time you regret it, it’ll be too late!”
“As long as it means gaining my freedom, I have to try.”
Seeing his daughter’s stubborn expression, Gu Shilin let out a long sigh. Growing up in a big financial group, sometimes you don’t get to choose—he knew that firsthand.
“Your cousins are coming after you, and the family is turning a blind eye. Go back and apologize to your grandfather, and you’ll still have a place at headquarters. Think it over carefully.” With that, Gu Shilin turned and left. After the door closed, Gu Wan’er slumped onto the sofa, exhausted in both body and mind. Sometimes, she really envied Yu Xiaoduo’s life.
Not long after, the door opened again. “Dad, can you just leave me alone for a while?!”
“Sweetie pie, Daddy’s here!” Yu Xiaoduo said with a cheeky grin.
Gu Wan’er looked toward the door. There was Yu Xiaoduo, standing there with a goofy smile on his face. Her eye twitched violently. She looked left, then right, then rushed into the kitchen and grabbed a kitchen knife. “Yu Xiaoduo, I’m going to chop you to pieces today!”
“Whoa, are you crazy?”
“Don’t run!”
“Only an idiot would stand still.”
The two of them started running circles around the living room, chasing and yelling at each other.
Suddenly, Gu Wan’er let out an “Ouch!” and tripped, falling to the floor. “My stomach hurts so much, you jerk!”
“There you go, faking it again. I’m not falling for that.” Yu Xiaoduo stood nearby, snickering. Your acting is way too obvious—you can’t fool me.
But then Gu Wan’er curled up, her face twisted in pain, her body trembling.
“Alright, quit pretending. Get up. You just got out of the hospital—don’t lie on the floor.” Yu Xiaoduo clicked his tongue. Enough already. You’re really hamming it up now.
But Gu Wan’er didn’t answer. She looked like she was in real discomfort.
Yu Xiaoduo quickly went over to help her up. “Are you actually in pain?”
Gu Wan’er’s beautiful eyes flew open. In one swift move, she flipped over and straddled him. “You jerk! I’ll strangle you! And you wanted to be my dad?!”
“Geez, you wanted to be my mom earlier! Shameless! I can’t believe I fell for that.” And just like that, the two of them were grabbing each other’s necks, faces red, going at it tooth and nail.
Just then, Gu Wan’er’s phone rang.
“Your phone’s ringing.”
“We’ll settle this first.”
“Don’t be stupid. What if it’s Sister Bai calling?”
Gu Wan’er thought for a moment. “Fine. Let go at the same time.”
“Okay. I’ll count to three.”
“Alright.”
“Three, two, one!”
After the count, neither of them had let go.
“Yu Xiaoduo, I knew you’d cheat!”
“Heh, I saw right through your lie!”
Urged on by the ringing phone, they called a temporary truce. The battle would resume another day.
Gu Wan’er picked up her phone and checked the caller ID.
“Who is it?”
“It’s Lu Zhengzhi.” Gu Wan’er answered with a hint of confusion.
“Hello?”
“Miss Gu, are you free? Come have some tea. There’s something good.”
Gu Wan’er naturally agreed right away. After hanging up, she went upstairs to change.
When she came back down, Yu Xiaoduo took a good look at her. She’d dressed up pretty nicely. Yeah, this is way better—appreciating a beautiful woman from my own perspective feels so much more exciting.
“Hold on,” Yu Xiaoduo suddenly called out.
“What?”
“I came back earlier to drop off your medicine. I left it in the car. Take it before you go out.” He went to prepare some warm water and the medicine. That way, she wouldn’t start complaining about stomach pain again and end up back in the hospital.
Gu Wan’er didn’t refuse. Business came first. She’d settle the score later, one item at a time.
“I’ll head home then,” Yu Xiaoduo said after she’d taken the medicine.
“No way. You’re coming with me.”
“You need me to come too?”
“Duh. You’re the one who set things up with those two. Stop stalling.”
Yu Xiaoduo sighed lightly and had no choice but to go with her. After getting in the car, he asked seriously, “Does this count as overtime?”
“You literally ate your way into putting me in the hospital, and you still want overtime pay? Hmph!”
“Cheapskate boss. At least reimburse me for gas.”
“In your dreams.”
Yu Xiaoduo thought he was pretty stingy himself, but it turned out there was someone even stingier.
Deming Tea House was located on West Han Street. It was a members-only establishment, and the people who came here for tea were basically all industry elites. If anything, this place was less about tea and more about networking with the rich and powerful. That’s why a lot of people tried to sneak in or get a membership card.
Unfortunately, getting a membership wasn’t easy. You had to go through a special evaluation process before you could be approved.
As for who actually owned the tea house, no one really knew. Some people guessed it was Boss Bai, but there was no proof.
Right now, Yu Xiaoduo, who was driving, couldn’t help but complain. “West Han Street is so congested. There’s not even a single parking spot.”
“There’s a car getting ready to leave up ahead. Hurry up and cut in!” Gu Wan’er pointed to a spot about twenty meters in front of them.
“By the time we get through this traffic, someone else will have taken it. You get out and save the spot with your body.”
“You want me to save a parking spot for you?” Gu Wan’er couldn’t believe it. There’s no way I’ve fallen so low as to do something like that.
“Then I’ll have to take the long way around.”
Gu Wan’er gritted her teeth, opened the door, and trotted over to the parking space. She had never done anything so embarrassing in her entire life.
Some drivers were getting ready to curse her out, but when they saw she was a stunningly beautiful woman, they immediately shut their mouths. If she’d been an average-looking woman, they definitely would’ve ripped her a new one.
