Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Back at the office, Gu Beixian worked until evening.

He reached up to loosen his tie, his expression cold as he looked at his assistant. “Did you find what I asked for?”

“President Gu,” the assistant replied, “Shen Huai doesn’t have a childhood nickname. His family just calls him Shen Huai or Xiao Huai.”

The coldness in Gu Beixian’s eyes softened slightly; it was as he had expected.

Ah Yao was the man Su Hua kept buried deep in her heart. Before their divorce was finalized, she wouldn’t be seen out in public with him so easily.

She was young, but she had always been a woman of principle.

Gu Beixian pushed back his chair and stood up, buttoning his suit jacket with one hand. “Have someone else handle the dinner with President Huo tonight. I have other matters to attend to.”

“Understood, President Gu.” The assistant began tidying the documents on the desk.

Leaving the Gu Group building, Gu Beixian drove to Antique Street.

The sun was sinking, and the sky was growing dark.

Sitting in his car, he called Su Hua. “I’m outside your shop. Come out.”

Su Hua’s voice came through the phone, sounding slightly surprised. “We’re out eating. It’s a team dinner.”

“Who’s there?”

“Everyone from the shop.”

“Is Shen Huai there too?”

“Yes, he’s the Young Master of our shop.”

Recalling the way the two of them had been laughing and chatting at noon, a faint sense of displeasure stirred in Gu Beixian’s heart, though his voice remained calm. “Call me when you’re done. I’ll pick you up.”

“Thank you.” Her tone was restrained and distant, as if she were deliberately keeping him at arm’s length.

Gu Beixian felt a twinge of discomfort, his grip on the phone tightening slightly.

He ended the call and dialed Xiao Yi’s number. “Come out. Let’s get a drink.”

“Brother, what time is it? You’re drinking already?” Xiao Yi spoke with the lazy, drawling tone of a playboy; it sounded like he hadn’t even gotten out of bed yet.

Gu Beixian’s voice was sharp and deep. “Bring your official seal and the land sale contract. Meet me at Jinzhao Zui within half an hour. I won’t wait if you’re late.”

Xiao Yi’s drowsiness vanished instantly. “On it! I’ll be right there, brother!”

Half an hour later, at Jinzhao Zui, inside the Zuixiang Pavilion.

A crowd of people was packed into the room, busy signing contracts, processing paperwork, and transferring funds.

Once the work was finished, everyone cleared out, leaving only Gu Beixian and Xiao Yi.

The fair-skinned, handsome man sat lazily, his arm draped loosely over the back of his chair. He slanted his beautiful peach blossom eyes at Gu Beixian, studying him. “In a bad mood?”

Gu Beixian took a sip of his drink and said nonchalantly, “Not really.”

The hand holding the glass was pale and slender, impossibly elegant.

“Tsk. You’re out here drinking your sorrows away, and you say it’s ‘not really’? When other people are in a bad mood, they go out looking for women to have some fun. You? You just go and buy a piece of land. What a grand gesture. Next time you’re in a bad mood, remember to call me again. My old man is still sitting on several plots of land,” Xiao Yi teased.

“Don’t treat me like a sucker. I was planning to sign this contract anyway; I just moved it up a week.” Gu Beixian set down his glass.

Xiao Yi picked up the white porcelain bottle and refilled his drink. “I heard Chu Suosuo is back in the country. You two have been seeing a lot of each other lately?”

Gu Beixian looked up. “If you have something to say, say it.”

“Su Hua is a good girl. Don’t let her down.” Xiao Yi fixed his gaze on him, his expression turning uncharacteristically serious.

Gu Beixian tapped his fingers lightly on the table and smiled faintly. “Back when I wanted to marry her, who was the one so full of disdain, saying she wasn’t good enough for me? Why the change of heart?”

“Back then, I thought she was vain-the type of woman who would marry anyone for money. Later, I realized she wasn’t. She truly cares for you. If she were just a gold digger, she would have taken the money and run a long time ago. She wouldn’t have worked like a slave to take care of you for so long.”

Gu Beixian’s deep eyes were dark. “She is… very good.”

“Then why are you still…”

Gu Beixian lowered his gaze, staring at the clear liquor in his glass. His tone was incredibly light. “She’s an excellent young woman. Three years ago, she was forced to marry me because her family needed money. She never says it, but she must feel wronged in her heart. I’ve let her suffer for three years; I don’t want her to suffer anymore.”

Xiao Yi was stunned. “Is that why you’re divorcing her?”

“More or less.”

Xiao Yi felt a pang of regret. “Such a good girl… you’re really willing to let her go?”

“What else can I do?” Gu Beixian’s face was a mask of indifference, but a dark shadow flickered in the depths of his eyes.

He couldn’t keep her trapped by his side forever, watching her suffer through nightmares, calling out for her Ay Yao in her sleep.
He couldn’t bear to see her in pain.

He also couldn’t stomach that kind of humiliation. He was a man, and he was the type who couldn’t tolerate a single grain of sand in his eye.

Yet, if he truly had to let go, he found himself reluctant.

It was a deep contradiction.

Gu Beixian raised his glass to his lips and drained the remaining liquor in one gulp.

The white spirit was harsh, cutting through his throat like a blade.

It felt stuck in his chest, refusing to go down, settling there in a burning, smoldering heap.

Suddenly, a knock sounded at the door.

Xiao Yi called out, “Come in.”

The visitor pushed the door open and entered.

She had a heart-shaped face and glamorous, delicate features. She wore a white puff-sleeved chiffon princess blouse tucked into a tight-fitting pencil skirt, accessorized with a full set of Cartier jewelry. A Chanel coat was draped over her arm, and she carried a Hermès ostrich leather handbag.

It was Chu Suosuo.

Seeing her, Gu Beixian’s eyes cooled slightly. “Why are you here?”

Chu Suosuo swayed her slender waist as she walked gracefully behind him. She rested her arms on the back of his chair and leaned down, her red lips hovering just beside his ear as she exhaled a breath as sweet as orchids. “I heard you were dining here, Beixian, so I came over to say hello.”

Gu Beixian’s ear felt itchy from her warm breath. He tilted his head to the side to avoid her. Seeing that she had no intention of leaving, he said tonelessly, “Have a seat.”

“Thank you, Beixian.” Chu Suosuo pulled out a chair and sat down, draping her coat over the back.

A waiter immediately brought her a set of utensils.

Gu Beixian pushed the menu toward her. “Order whatever you like.”

Chu Suosuo glanced at the table full of dishes, pushed the menu away, and gave a sweet smile. “No need to order. Whatever you like to eat, Beixian, I like too.”

Xiao Yi raised a hand to rub the goosebumps that had broken out on his arm.

Chu Suosuo rotated the lazy Susan until a plate of Arctic sweet shrimp was in front of her. Her large eyes shimmered as she looked at Gu Beixian. “Beixian, I want to eat some shrimp.”

Xiao Yi curled his lip. “Don’t you have hands?”

Chu Suosuo puffed out her cheeks and said with a wronged expression, “I’ve never peeled shrimp myself in my entire life. At home, my parents do it for me. In the past, whenever I went out to eat with Beixian, he always peeled them for me.”

She reached out to cling to Gu Beixian’s arm, her voice so cloyingly sweet it practically dripped. “Beixian, I want to eat shrimp peeled by you. Just peel one for me, please?”

Gu Beixian gave her a brief, sideways glance before pulling his arm back. He put on a disposable glove, picked up a shrimp from the plate, and began to peel it.

For some reason, an image of Su Hua peeling shrimp for him floated into his mind.

Her hands were incredibly deft; when she peeled a shrimp, the meat would come out while the shell remained perfectly intact.

He had tried it several times but could never manage it.

Once he finished peeling one, he held the shrimp meat and moved to place it on the plate in front of Chu Suosuo.

Suddenly, Chu Suosuo ducked her head and caught the shrimp from his hand with her mouth, intentionally taking his fingers in as well.

The tip of her tongue swirled gently around his fingertip, sucking and lightly kissing it.

She looked at him with misty eyes, her gaze filled with an overwhelming, intoxicating affection.

Quickly releasing his finger, she gave a flirtatious smile. Her teeth lightly bit into the shrimp meat as she said softly, “Shrimp peeled by Beixian’s own hands really tastes the best.”

Gu Beixian froze slightly, unsure of what to feel.

He pulled off the disposable glove and tossed it aside.

Then, he picked up a sanitized towel from the table and wiped the finger she had just had in her mouth.

Xiao Yi felt a fresh wave of goosebumps prickle across his skin. He really wanted to slap her. They weren’t even divorced yet, and she was already acting this shamelessly!

Flirting right in front of him-did she think he was invisible?

Xiao Yi snatched up his phone and frantically typed a text to Su Hua: [Sister-in-law, your husband has had too much to drink. He’s acting crazy and isn’t in his right mind. Come pick him up quickly. We’re at Jinzhao Zui, third floor, Zuixiang Pavilion.]

Su Hua was at the Jingdu Grand Hotel having dinner with her colleagues. When she received the message, she called Xiao Yi to get more details.

In her experience, Gu Beixian always handled his liquor well; she had never seen him act out while drunk.

The phone rang once before Xiao Yi hung up on her.

Su Hua pulled up Gu Beixian’s number and was about to dial when another text from Xiao Yi popped up: [Sister-in-law, come quickly! Hurry, hurry, hurry! It’s an absolute emergency!]

Su Hua’s heart skipped a beat.