The car window shattered into a flurry of glass shards, like snowflakes, scattering all over the interior, some even landing on Gu Luo’an’s back.
Gu Luo’an froze in shock, halting his actions. He turned to see Gu Huaizhi standing outside the driver’s side door, his face icy, holding a golf club in his hand.
“U-Uncle?” Gu Luo’an stuttered in shock. How could his uncle be here? Was it… to save Shen Mianyin?
When Gu Huaizhi saw that Gu Luo’an was still on top of Shen Mianyin, his face darkened. He reached through the shattered window, pressed the car door unlock button, yanked open the door, and roughly pulled Gu Luo’an out of the car, tossing him onto the ground.
Gu Luo’an fell to the ground in a mess, and just as he was about to get up, Gu Huaizhi swung the golf club and struck his arm with it.
“Ah!” Gu Luo’an cried out in pain. “Uncle…”
“Is this how the Gu family teaches you?” Gu Huaizhi’s face was covered with frost, and his eyes burned with uncontrollable anger.
"Uncle, I... we just had a little argument," Gu Luo'an tried to explain.
"That's not it!" Shen Mianyin hobbled out of the car. "I told you from the start, I have nothing to do with you!"
Shen Mianyin's eyes were red with anger, and she glared at Gu Luo'an as if she hated him deeply.
Seeing the look on her face, Gu Luo'an suddenly froze. This was the first time he had truly seen how Shen Mianyin looked at him. Why…
Why did Shen Mianyin's gaze carry not only hatred but also... disgust? As if he were some sort of filth.
"Can you walk?" Gu Huaizhi asked, supporting Shen Mianyin.
Shen Mianyin nodded, forcing herself to take a step. Her face immediately turned ashen. Her ankle, which had been sprained and was supposed to be resting, now ached terribly as she struggled to walk slowly, step by painful step.
However, after being dragged and pulled by Gu Luo’an earlier, Shen Mianyin’s injured ankle had been neglected, and now it was swollen even worse.
Seeing this, Gu Huaizhi muttered, "My apologies," and suddenly swept Shen Mianyin off her feet, lifting her horizontally in his arms.
Shen Mianyin rested against his chest, and an unfamiliar sense of safety washed over her. His broad chest seemed to envelop her entirely, providing a comfort she had never felt before.
Just moments ago, she had inevitably picked up the scent of Gu Luo’an’s cologne, which made her feel nauseous.
But now, the fragrance was replaced by the fresh, calming scent of cedar from Gu Huaizhi. Wrapped in this cool, crisp aroma, Shen Mianyin gradually began to calm down.
Instinctively, she reached for the fabric of Gu Huaizhi’s suit, pulling herself closer into his embrace. It felt as though the closer she was to him, the safer and more at ease she became.
Just as her hand lifted, a sharp pain suddenly shot through her palm. In her anger and hatred toward Gu Luo’an, she had overlooked the injury on her hand.
Gu Huaizhi heard her wince in pain and looked down to see the blood on her palm, mixed with shards of glass.
"What happened?" His deep voice came from above her, soothing and reassuring.
"When I got out of the car earlier, my foot hurt too much, so I had to use my hand to support myself. I accidentally pressed against some glass shards," Shen Mianyin explained.
She sighed deeply. Recently, she had really been having a streak of bad luck.
"Sorry," Gu Huaizhi said.
"What are you apologizing for?" Just as she asked, Shen Mianyin realized, "Are you apologizing because of the glass breaking, which caused my hand to get injured?"
Suddenly, she felt that Gu Huaizhi wasn’t as indifferent as he seemed. He would feel guilty over something that wasn’t even his fault, but he would never voice it.
“If you hadn’t broken the glass, what were you planning to do to save me?” Shen Mianyin said softly. “In that situation, your choice was the fastest and best solution.”
Gu Luo’an stood up, clutching the arm that had been struck. Seeing Gu Huaizhi holding Shen Mianyin in his arms, a sudden wave of panic surged in his chest. At that moment, the sight of Gu Huaizhi holding Shen Mianyin seemed to overlap with the image from last night.
"Uncle!" Gu Luo’an called out to Gu Huaizhi from behind.
Seeing Gu Huaizhi stop and slightly turn his body, Gu Luo’an felt a knot tighten in his stomach.
Shen Mianyin buried her face in Gu Huaizhi's chest, not even glancing at Gu Luo'an.
Gu Luo'an had never seen Gu Huaizhi protect anyone like this, nor had he ever seen him allow someone to be so close to him.
"Shen Mianyin is my fiancée!" Gu Luo'an reminded him.
"You didn't even notice that her ankle was injured," Gu Huaizhi sneered, giving him a mocking look. "Fiancée?"
Gu Luo’an froze, his gaze slowly drifting to Shen Mianyin's ankle. He noticed how noticeably swollen her left ankle had become.
Especially with her ankle being so delicate to begin with, the contrast between her swollen left ankle and the other foot was even more noticeable.
Gu Luo’an immediately recalled how he had dragged Shen Mianyin out of the car, pulling her all the way to his own vehicle. His face turned ashen in an instant.
Gu Huaizhi stopped paying attention to him and instead carried Shen Mianyin into the car.
Zhou jingqi drove off, and Gu Luo'an watched the car grow more distant, feeling a strange emptiness in his heart, as though something important had been lost.
In the car, Gu Huaizhi turned to Zhou Jingqi, who was sitting in the front seat, and said, "Give me an alcohol wipe."
Zhou Jingqi quickly retrieved a pack of alcohol wipes from the storage compartment, took one out, and handed it to Gu Huaizhi.
Without saying a word, Gu Huaizhi gently took Shen Mianyin’s hand, carefully avoiding the glass shards, and began to clean the blood on her hand with the wipe.
The alcohol stung the wound like a sharp knife. Shen Mianyin winced in pain, unable to hold back a sharp gasp, and instinctively pulled her hand back. "Mr. Gu, I can do it myself," she said.
Gu Huaizhi glanced at her but didn’t speak, his grip on her hand never loosening.
Shen Mianyin understood his unspoken meaning — he wouldn’t allow her to do it herself.
This man, could he not just say it directly?
"Endure it for a bit," Gu Huaizhi said in a low voice, then turned to Chang He'an and added, "Take her to the hospital."
"This small injury isn’t a big deal," Shen Mianyin replied, "Just drop me off somewhere with people around, and I’ll call a ride to the company."
"Mr. Gu, thank you," Shen Mianyin lowered her gaze, her lashes casting a faint shadow under her eyes. "Otherwise, I really don’t know what would have happened to me."
Gu Huaizhi turned to Zhou Jingqi and said, "Call Lin Jinshen, tell him that the cooperation with Director Shen is going well and we need to discuss the details. Director Shen will be getting back a bit later."
Zhou Jingqi hesitated for a moment before saying, "The Jincheng cars were all damaged. When the driver returns, Lin Jinshen will know exactly what happened."
"It’s not for Lin Jinshen to hear," Gu Huaizhi corrected him. "It’s for the people in their company to hear. Given Lin Jinshen's relationship with Shen Mianyin, he’ll naturally protect her."
"Understood."
With that, Zhou Jingqi immediately called Lin Jinshen's assistant, passing the information through a third party to ensure that the situation would spread within Jincheng.
"Can we go to the hospital now?" Gu Huaizhi glanced at her.
In truth, Shen Mianyin really thought it was just a small injury, and a bit of iodine would be enough; there was no need to go to the hospital. But it seemed that Gu Huaizhi had guessed her thoughts. He unusually explained, "Some very small glass shards may not be cleaned out thoroughly."
Shen Mianyin had no choice but to nod in agreement. "Thank you, Mr. Gu."
"Gu Huaizhi," he suddenly said.
"What?" Shen Mianyin looked up in surprise.
"You were calling Gu Huaizhi pretty smoothly last night," Gu Huaizhi said, his gaze fixed on her.