“Fine, I’ll pay you more, okay, you money-grubber.” Gu Wan’er rolled her eyes so hard they practically went to the back of her head. Only money could shut him up.
Hearing that there would be extra pay, Yu Xiaoduo felt numb. “President Gu, I really admire your ability to get something for nothing. You’re making me work for you for free.”
“You’re not working for free either. My ‘cheapness’ can also be cashed in.”
Yu Xiaoduo: “…” What you said makes so much sense that I can’t even argue, but isn’t my cheapness worth anything?
He dropped Gu Wan’er off at her doorstep. It was already half past ten.
“Do you want to come inside and have something to eat?” Gu Wan’er asked proactively after opening the car door and getting out.
Yu Xiaoduo narrowed his eyes and teased her with a smile. “Sister Wan’er, are you trying to get me to do ‘that’ with you?”
“Forget it if you don’t want to.” Gu Wan’er gave a cold hum, feeling her good intentions were wasted on a jerk.
Yu Xiaoduo immediately turned off the engine and got out. Why pass up a free meal?
But very quickly, Yu Xiaoduo regretted it. Was this her inviting him to eat? This was her inviting him to be her free chef!
“Gu Wan’er, are you really scheming against me like this now?”
“Um… or should I order takeout?”
“By the time you order takeout, I’ll be starved to death.” Yu Xiaoduo opened the fridge. There was actually a packet of hot pot soup base in the freezer. He’d just whip up a simple hot pot to tide them over, then head home and go straight to sleep.
Gu Wan’er, having changed into her pajamas, came downstairs. Seeing Yu Xiaoduo busy in the kitchen, she laughed and said, “Whoever marries you won’t have to do any cooking.”
“Yeah, too bad you’re not that lucky.”
Gu Wan’er gave a dismissive “pfft.” “I wouldn’t want that kind of luck anyway.”
“What are you standing around for? Help out. Trying to be the master?”
“Comrade Yu Xiaoduo, acting like this means you’ll never find a girlfriend. Guys need to be more considerate.”
“Go on, cut the meat for me. Spare me the lectures, and get to work.”
Gu Wan’er reluctantly picked up the kitchen knife, really wanting to cut Yu Xiaoduo’s mouth off.
When a man and a woman team up, work isn’t a drag. In no time at all, bubbling sounds came from the dining table. The spicy oil hot pot looked incredibly appetizing, even if the side dishes were a bit sparse.
With a pop, Yu Xiaoduo opened a bottle of red wine and filled their glasses right up.
“Come on, let’s have a toast to celebrate our victory.” Yu Xiaoduo raised his glass with a smile, treating it as an early celebration.
Gu Wan’er smiled and raised her glass. “Cheers.”
They clinked glasses gently. Gu Wan’er took a small sip. Yu Xiaoduo, on the other hand, was different. He gulped his down in one go.
“This bottle of wine costs three hundred thousand. Who drinks it like that?” Gu Wan’er said with a wry smile. He was treating it like beer.
“Cough, cough, cough! Three hundred thousand?” Yu Xiaoduo nearly choked. He had just randomly grabbed a bottle from the wine cabinet next to him. He had just downed a small fortune in one gulp!
Gu Wan’er shrugged her delicate shoulders. “Yeah, but it’s fine. Drink however you like.”
“President Gu, you’re so generous. That’s the attitude I like.” Saying that, Yu Xiaoduo started drinking straight from the bottle. That’s how bold he was.
The hot pot was indeed good, and the wine was excellent. In the end, the two of them lay on the garden lawn, each holding a bottle of three-hundred-thousand wine, looking up at the stars.
“Yu Xiaoduo, will we still swap bodies anymore?” Gu Wan’er murmured softly as she gazed at the stars.
Yu Xiaoduo burped. “We haven’t swapped for days now. I guess probably not. What, do you want to be in my body again?”
“I don’t want to at all.”
“Then why the heck are you asking?”
Gu Wan’er reached out and slapped him. “Can’t you just talk to me nicely?”
“I’d like to, but I really can’t do it.” As he spoke, Yu Xiaoduo chuckled.
Gu Wan’er gave a dismissive “pfft.” After a moment, she murmured, “Actually, I really envy you. Your uncle and aunt are so much fun. Your life has no deceit or backstabbing. You can just do whatever you want.”
After hearing that, Yu Xiaoduo chuckled softly. “You envy me? I envy you too. But I do really admire you for daring to stand up against them.”
“Sigh, living in a financial conglomerate, you can’t really see any light. There are way too many shady things that happen. It’s numbing.”
“Then why do you still work so hard to climb up?”
Gu Wan’er propped herself up, took a few gulps straight from her bottle, wiped her lips with the back of her hand, and said, “I don’t just want to change my own destiny and my sister’s. I also want to put a stop to those things that have no bottom line.”
After hearing this, Yu Xiaoduo couldn’t help but laugh.
“What are you laughing at?”
“You women, after all, have the hearts of bodhisattvas. But the business world is a battlefield. It’s a clash where people are killed without shedding a drop of blood. There’s no room for a bleeding heart on this battlefield.”
Gu Wan’er gave a cold hum. “That’s just the way you men think. I will definitely realize my ideals.”
Looking at Gu Wan’er’s determined eyes and her face illuminated by the moonlight, which seemed to be covered in a layer of white glow, she was suddenly enchanting.
“I just realized you’re really beautiful,” Yu Xiaoduo murmured.
Gu Wan’er reached out and pinched him. “Can’t you just say it nicely?”
“I’m really speechless. I can’t even compliment you on being pretty. Forget it, I’m leaving. It’s already 1 AM.” Yu Xiaoduo stood up and patted the weeds off his pants.
Gu Wan’er said seriously, “Don’t you know the rule about not drinking and driving? It’s so late, just sleep here. We can go to the company together tomorrow to sign the contract.”
“Gu Wan’er, are you planning to sneak into my bed in the middle of the night and violently attack me?” Yu Xiaoduo took a step back and crossed his hands over his chest.
Gu Wan’er, with a slightly tipsy flush on her face, was full of charm. “Yeah, what’s the matter? Are you scared of a woman?”
“Alright then, I want to sleep in your bed.” With that, Yu Xiaoduo ran towards the second floor. Gu Wan’er immediately screeched, “Yu Xiaoduo! If you dare sleep in my bed, I’ll kill you!”
In the end, Yu Xiaoduo still slept in the guest room, and he also rubbed the sore spot on his waist. That woman was way too vicious when she pinched.
On the other side, Gu Xiao tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep. He felt like something was wrong, but he couldn’t figure out what. His restlessness even woke up his wife.
“Old Gu, are you having some kind of fit? Can’t you let people sleep?” The woman lying next to him scolded in a low voice, which made Gu Xiao even more annoyed. Not only was the woman at home a frumpy wife, but she was also a tigress.
Ding-dong. The phone on the nightstand rang. Gu Xiao picked up the phone and walked to the balcony. The woman lying next to him immediately opened her eyes, looking at her husband very warily, as if he was talking to a lover on the phone.
“President Gu, I’ve found out clearly. That guy named Yu Xiaoduo is Gu Wan’er’s boyfriend. His father runs an advertising company, and his mother doesn’t work. They’re both locals in Longhai City.”
“Boyfriend?!” Gu Xiao couldn’t believe it. There’s no way the eldest daughter of the Gu family would find some ordinary guy. This isn’t some cheesy TV drama. In big financial conglomerates, the emphasis is on matching social status. There aren’t that many melodramatic stories like that.
“Yes, it’s already spreading around the circle. They even left work together today, and Yu Xiaoduo hasn’t come out of Gu Wan’er’s villa.”
“What!” Gu Xiao couldn’t believe it. He had just been thinking that Yu Xiaoduo was just a shield Gu Wan’er had found. But now they were living together!
“President Gu, I also heard some bad news. I heard the project is going to be signed tomorrow.”
