Shen Mianyin stopped in her tracks, not knowing why her brain short-circuited for a moment. She instinctively replied, "Doesn't President Gu mind?"
Hmph!
Gu Huaizhi: "…"
"Heh." Gu Huaizhi let out a cold chuckle. As the car window slowly rolled up, he said, "Drive."
"Wait!" Shen Mianyin quickly opened the car door with sharp reflexes. "But I don't mind!"
Gu Huaizhi: "…"
What kind of temper does this woman have?
Shen Mianyin moved hastily, stepping out with the foot she had just twisted.
The moment her foot touched the ground, an intense and sharp pain surged straight from her ankle.
Her legs gave out, and she fell headfirst into the car.
"Ugh!"
Shen Mianyin's face landed directly and perfectly... on Gu Huaizhi's thigh.
Gu Huaizhi: "!!!"
His entire body stiffened, and a surge of fiery anger shot straight up.
Gu Huaizhi quickly tried to move back, but Shen Mianyin's face was right there. His small movement did nothing to help—in fact, it only made the situation worse.
Chang He'an, sitting in the front, was completely dumbfounded.
Oh my goodness!
Shen Mianyin was so startled she froze, her mind going completely blank, unable to think of anything.
Gu Huaizhi’s voice, low and restrained, came from above her head: “Get up.”
“Oh, okay!” Shen Mianyin nodded hurriedly.
Gu Huaizhi: “Don’t move!”
“But didn’t you just tell me to get up?” Shen Mianyin froze at his words, not daring to move again.
“Don’t move your head. Just get up.” Gu Huaizhi gritted his teeth, his voice tense and strained.
Shen Mianyin finally realized the situation. In a fluster, she pressed one hand against Gu Huaizhi’s abs to push herself up.
Gu Huaizhi let out a muffled grunt, his face dark as he watched Shen Mianyin sit up.
Shen Mianyin hurriedly closed the car door and even locked it, afraid that Gu Huaizhi might kick her out again.
After completing these actions in one swift motion, she finally turned her head, revealing her already flushed face. Awkwardly, she said, “President Gu, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that just now.”
Faced with Gu Huaizhi’s cold, expressionless face, Shen Mianyin braced herself and added, “Also, thank you.”
"Thank you for helping me earlier, and thank you for giving me a ride home," Shen Mianyin said.
Gu Huaizhi took a deep breath before replying, "Address."
Shen Mianyin quickly provided Lin Wanran's home address.
The car had just driven off when Shen Mianyin received a call from Lin Jinshen.
Uh-oh. Too many unexpected events had happened, and she had completely forgotten about Lin Jinshen.
Shen Mianyin hurriedly answered the call, "President Lin."
"Mianyin, where are you? I’ve been looking around and couldn’t find you."
"I’m really sorry, I was just about to call you," Shen Mianyin said. "On my way to the restroom, the hotel suddenly had a blackout. I couldn’t see clearly and twisted my ankle, so I had to leave early."
"It’s fine. After the power was restored, no one was in the mood to continue anyway, so everyone left," Lin Jinshen replied. "How are you now? Where are you? I’ll come pick you up."
From the blackout to now, not much time had passed, so Lin Jinshen figured Shen Mianyin hadn’t been gone for long.
"I already called a car and am in it now," Shen Mianyin explained.
Gu Huaizhi shot a cold glance at Shen Mianyin. So, she’s treating his car like a ride-sharing service?
"Alright, let me know when you get home," Lin Jinshen instructed.
"Okay, thank you, President Lin."
"No need to be so polite," Lin Jinshen chuckled.
After hanging up, Shen Mianyin, under Gu Huaizhi’s increasingly cold gaze, explained, "I thought President Gu probably doesn’t want anyone to know I’m in your car."
Gu Huaizhi didn’t respond.
After a moment, Shen Mianyin spoke again, "President Gu, I’m not sure when you’ll have time?"
"No time. No need for thanks," Gu Huaizhi replied tersely.
Shen Mianyin opened her mouth, letting out a dry laugh or two, "Heh, President Gu, you’ve helped me so much tonight. I should thank you properly."
"However, I actually wanted to ask if you have time. I’d like to discuss a potential collaboration with you."
Gu Huaizhi: "…"
Chang He'an secretly glanced at Gu Huaizhi’s increasingly dark and somber face.
Looks like the boss is getting a bit carried away, he thought, chuckling inwardly.
"Follow the proper procedure and make an appointment with my assistant," Gu Huaizhi said coldly.
Shen Mianyin could only force a dry laugh and respond with a "Okay."
In the painfully awkward silence, the car finally pulled up to the building where Lin Wanran lived.
Shen Mianyin looked at her ankle, which had swollen to the size of a lotus root in such a short time, and said to Chang He'an, "Um... Brother Chang, could you please help me?"
"Just help me to the elevator door," she added.
She didn’t dare call Lin Wanran down—if she saw Gu Huaizhi, it would be hard to explain.
Chang He'an instinctively sensed that Gu Huaizhi’s attitude toward Shen Mianyin was different, so he glanced at Gu Huaizhi, waiting for his reaction.
As expected, Gu Huaizhi glanced at him, then got out of the car and walked around to Shen Mianyin’s side, opening the door. "Get out of the car."
Shen Mianyin was shocked. "President Gu, are you going to help me?"
"No need to be polite, President Gu," Shen Mianyin quickly replied, not daring to trouble him.
"You've caused me quite a bit of trouble along the way," Gu Huaizhi's voice was cold.
"Hehe" Shen Mianyin forced a dry laugh as she got out of the car, carefully putting all her weight on her uninjured foot. "Well, I guess I'll trouble you again, President Gu."
Gu Huaizhi helped her to the entrance of the building, then suddenly said, "This is the only time. Don’t try to approach me this way again."
Shen Mianyin hurriedly explained, "I didn’t, really. It’s just that all the bad luck piled up at once."
"President Gu, I…" Shen Mianyin looked at Gu Huaizhi’s expression and suddenly understood. With a bold heart, she asked, "President Gu, did you hear what I said to Gu Luoan… about… liking… liking you?"
Although it was a lie, saying it in front of Gu Huaizhi still made Shen Mianyin feel incredibly embarrassed, her face turning bright red.
Shen Mianyin hurriedly waved her hands in explanation.
"It’s all a misunderstanding. I wanted to call off my engagement with Gu Luoan, but he wouldn’t agree. In desperation, I had to lie and say I liked someone. I never expected he’d insist on knowing who it was. He kept pressuring me, and I had no choice but to name someone he couldn’t mess with, someone who would make him back off… so I said it was you, President Gu."
Shen Mianyin clasped her hands together in a pleading gesture. "I’m really sorry, President Gu. But I only said this to Gu Luoan, and he definitely won’t tell anyone. It won’t harm your reputation."
"So, when you said you liked me, it was a lie?" For some reason, Gu Huaizhi’s expression grew even darker and more dangerous than before, and he even narrowed his eyes.
"Well..." Shen Mianyin steeled herself and said, "It was just to make Gu Luoan back off."
"President Gu, I know I was wrong," Shen Mianyin mumbled with her head lowered, dejected. "I just hope this won’t affect our collaboration. I really didn’t think things through… I don’t even know how..."
As she spoke, Shen Mianyin suddenly felt the hand supporting her arm loosen.
The scent of pine filled the air as a gust of wind blew by.
Shen Mianyin looked up in shock, only to see Gu Huaizhi walking away without even turning back.
She watched in disbelief as Gu Huaizhi opened the car door, got in, and instructed Brother Chang to drive off.
Shen Mianyin: "..."
Gu Huaizhi... seems to be angry?