"Ah," Shen Mianyin remembered and said, "Saturday, then. I get home too late during the week. Even if there isn't much to move, I'll still need time to organize everything."
"Let's move on Saturday, so I can properly tidy up at home," she added.
Gu Huaizhi nodded, "I'll come pick you up on Saturday."
His words filled Shen Mianyin's heart with warmth and reassurance.
"Let's head back. It's chilly at night," Gu Huaizhi said.
Shen Mianyin nodded, took two steps forward, then couldn’t resist turning back to glance at Gu Huaizhi.
He stood where he was, bathed in the moonlight, as steadfast as a pine tree and as elegant as jade, yet his gaze rested solely on her.
Such a cool and aloof person seemed, at this moment, to have descended into the mortal world.
Noticing her limp had worsened, Gu Huaizhi took two steps forward, frowning as he asked, “Did you run too much just now? Does your foot hurt again?”
“It’s not too bad. I’ll be fine after some rest. I’m already much better now,” Shen Mianyin replied.
She figured that in another couple of days, while she might not be able to run or jump, walking would no longer be an issue.
“I’ll help you upstairs,” Gu Huaizhi said as he reached out to steady her arm.
“I’m really fine,” Shen Mianyin insisted.
Gu Huaizhi lowered his gaze and looked at her quietly for a few seconds before saying, “Shen Mianyin, even though you don’t have family, you’re not alone. You don’t have to shoulder everything by yourself.”
The wind made Shen Mianyin’s eyes sting slightly.
Gu Huaizhi placed his hand on the door handle and said, “You enter the password.”
Shen Mianyin didn’t argue with him further and keyed in the password. Gu Huaizhi held the door open for her and helped her inside.
Lin Wanran hadn’t returned yet; they had noticed the house was dark when they were downstairs.
Gu Huaizhi only left after making sure Shen Mianyin was safely inside.
He went back downstairs but didn’t get into his car right away. Instead, he looked up again. The lights in the house were already on.
What Gu Huaizhi didn’t know was that Shen Mianyin had also stepped onto the balcony and saw him standing below, looking up.
Her heart suddenly raced.
No one had ever told her before—Gu Huaizhi was this good.
Gu Huaizhi got into the car, absentmindedly raising his hand to touch his lips. The delicate sensation of Shen Mianyin's forehead still lingered there, refusing to fade.
Meanwhile, Shen Mianyin took a shower, finished her nighttime routine, and climbed into bed with a hint of fatigue.
She opened her tablet, intending to watch a variety show, but the programs she usually enjoyed couldn’t hold her attention.
All she could hear was the laughter and chatter of the people in the show, but not a single word truly registered.
Shen Mianyin raised her hand to touch her forehead. Even though she had already washed her face, it still felt as if the soft sensation of Gu Huaizhi's lips lingered there.
She shook her head, then decisively lay down and pulled the blanket over her head, letting the sounds of the variety show continue playing on the tablet.
***
Su’s mother and Su Yiqing returned home after dinner. Over an hour later, Su’s father finally came back, reeking of alcohol.
Su’s mother asked Aunt Yang to prepare a glass of honey water and bring over some hangover pills.
After Su’s father took them and seemed to feel better, she finally said, “Tonight, Yiqing and I went out for dinner and saw Shen Mianyin with Gu Huaizhi.”
The last traces of Su’s father’s drunkenness vanished upon hearing this. “Shen Mianyin and Gu Huaizhi? How did she manage to connect with Gu Huaizhi?”
“They said it’s to discuss a collaboration,” Su’s mother replied.
“Shen Mianyin is working on something with Gu Huaizhi, but I don’t know what kind of collaboration it is.”
"When she was at the Su family, why didn't we ever see her discussing a collaboration with Gu Huaizhi for Su’s? Now that she’s at Jincheng, she’s going after such a big deal!" Su’s mother grew more and more angry.
"She’s been hiding bad intentions all along. Even if she didn’t know she’s not our biological daughter, it seems like she was never really close to us, so she wasn’t as dedicated to Su’s."
Su’s father remained silent, his face dark, not showing any sign of what he was thinking.
Su’s mother glanced at Su’s father’s reaction, then continued, “Gu Huaizhi actually agreed to meet her and discuss the collaboration over dinner. Don’t you think that means their negotiations are going quite well?”
“Indeed,” Su’s father said, his face stern. “It’s always difficult to cooperate with Gu Huaizhi. If they’ve gotten this far, it means their collaboration is basically a done deal.”
“Old Su, we need to come up with a plan. We can’t let Shen Mianyin close this deal,” Su’s mother said in a harsh tone.
Su’s father looked at Su’s mother, somewhat confused, and then heard her explain, “If she successfully closes the deal with Gu Huaizhi, she’ll definitely be more valued in the company and make more money. Her life would be much better and more comfortable. In that case, how could she possibly come back?”
“Yiqing is still waiting to use her kidney,” Su’s mother said with a calculating expression.
“We need to make sure she can’t continue living outside, so she’ll have no choice but to come back on her own.”
“You’re right,” Su’s father nodded, a calculating gleam flashing in his eyes. “We can’t let her close the deal!”
***
The next day, Shen Mianyin arrived at the office. It hadn’t been long since work started when Zhang Qiyuan followed Mr. Gao directly into Shen Mianyin’s office.
"What are you two doing?" Shen Mianyin sat there, unafraid, already having a rough idea of their purpose.
“You’re so focused on stealing the business that you’ve disregarded the company’s interests,” Mr. Gao pointed at Shen Mianyin, saying, “Because of you, the company lost the Zhilan collaboration!”
“That deal was practically set in stone, and now it’s gone. How are you going to make up for it?” Zhang Qiyuan shouted as well.
Shen Mianyin calmly looked at them, unfazed. "Mr. Gao, Vice President Zhang, this isn't your first day in business. Whoever was in charge of the Zhilan collaboration and lost it should take responsibility. Don’t waste your time blaming me."
"How am I supposed to compensate? I never expected such childish words to come from Vice President Zhang," Shen Mianyin sneered coldly.
"The Zhilan deal has nothing to do with me."
"Yesterday, President Zhou asked you to go to Zhilan, but you refused to go just to steal Gu Huaizhi’s business. And now you’re saying it has nothing to do with you?" Zhang Qiyuan shouted angrily.
Shen Mianyin only asked Mr. Gao, “Mr. Gao, I wonder what Vice President Zhang told you?”
“Did he mention why President Zhou was unavailable?” Shen Mianyin said calmly.
“President Zhou was attending to Gu Huaizhi,” Mr. Gao replied.
“When our CEO is absent, an important guest like Gu Huaizhi must be hosted by President Zhou. He couldn’t make it, so what’s the problem with you going to Zhilan instead?”
"First, I’ve never been involved with the Zhilan or Jincheng collaborations. If I were to temporarily replace President Zhou and go to Zhilan, it would be a big problem. I’m unfamiliar with it, which makes it more likely for me to make mistakes. It would be safer for President Zhou to go.
Second, the CEO may not be here, but Vice President Zhang is. Doesn’t Vice President Zhang hold a higher position in the company than President Zhou? Why is it that only President Zhou can host Gu Huaizhi?"
"It seems Director Gao knew about this but deliberately made things difficult for me," Shen Mianyin said calmly.
"What kind of attitude is that?!" Zhang Qiyuan slammed Shen Mianyin's desk. "Do you think I wouldn’t dare to fire you right now?"
"Fire me?" Shen Mianyin took out her phone and played a recording of a conversation.
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