"Who took it?" Shen Mianyin immediately asked.
"I can't say," the manager said, looking troubled. "Miss Shen, we are in a difficult position. The person who took it has a very powerful background, and we can’t afford to offend them. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have handed over such important material so easily. If the footage were to leak, it would greatly affect the business of our restaurant."
"Since this person has such a big background, even if you told me, there's nothing I could do, and I can't exactly go after them," Shen Mianyin replied. "I just want to know who took it, so I can at least have an idea."
"I am the person involved, and the one who harassed me has already been taken away, so it couldn't have been him who took the footage. Someone unrelated to the incident coming to ask for the video—what are they trying to do?" Shen Mianyin said. "I have to be cautious, after all."
"I understand, but..." The manager hesitated. "Our arms can't twist the big leg. Plus, giving out the surveillance footage isn't something a small manager like me can decide. This matter has to be reported to the boss; he's the one who can handle it."
The manager clasped his hands together in a pleading gesture toward Shen Mianyin. “Miss Shen, I really have no other option. Please don’t make this harder for me.”
“I’ll only ask you this: the person who came to request the surveillance footage—were they sent by someone with the surname Su, or is their surname Su?” Shen Mianyin asked.
The manager shook his head. “No, Miss Shen. Please don’t ask any more questions.”
Shen Mianyin lowered her gaze. Ever since seeing Su Yiqing appear in the surveillance footage, she had been convinced that this matter was definitely connected to Su Yiqing. She pressed further, “Then, is it someone with the surname Gu?”
The manager hesitated for a moment before continuing, “Miss Shen, I’m begging you, please stop asking. Our place is small; we really can’t handle this kind of trouble.”
At that, Shen Mianyin understood. If it wasn’t Su Yiqing, then it had to be Gu Luo’an.
Shen Mianyin couldn’t quite describe how she felt—cold, with a tinge of self-mockery.
She had already seen through Gu Luo’an long ago, so why was she still feeling disappointed?
As Shen Mianyin walked out of the restaurant with Gao Zhoulei, she unexpectedly ran into Su Yiqing and her group at the entrance.
Zheng Siyu and Fang Xiaoyue were on either side of Su Yiqing, holding her arms and offering comfort. Just then, a familiar Porsche pulled up hurriedly at the door.
Shen Mianyin watched as Gu Luo’an hurriedly got out of the car and went straight to Su Yiqing.
“Brother Luo’an!” Su Yiqing shook off Zheng Siyu and Fang Xiaoyue’s hands and threw herself, sobbing, into Gu Luo’an’s arms.
“It’s all right now,” Gu Luo’an said softly, gently patting Su Yiqing’s back to comfort her. As he raised his eyes, his gaze landed on a familiar figure.
Shen Mianyin!
Shen Mianyin looked at them as if watching a farce, her expression full of mockery.
Gu Luo’an froze for a moment, his movements stiffening as he saw Shen Mianyin step down the restaurant’s stairs. Unable to hold back, he called out, “Shen Mianyin!”
Shen Mianyin turned her head to look at him, but before she could respond, Su Yiqing clung tightly to Gu Luo’an’s clothes. “Brother Luo’an, thank goodness you’re here. I was so scared.”
“I’m here. It’s okay now,” Gu Luo’an reassured her, lowering his head to ask softly, “Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?”
Su Yiqing shook her head. “I can still bear it.”
“Brother Luo’an,” Su Yiqing couldn’t help but ask in a low voice, “about the surveillance…”
But Shen Mianyin was standing nearby, and she still heard it.
Her gaze narrowed—sure enough, it was Gu Luo’an!
Since Gu Luo’an knew about the surveillance footage, he must also know that she had been harassed by that fat man.
She also knew about Su Yiqing’s actions.
But Gu Luo’an still chose Su Yiqing.
Shen Mianyin sneered in cold disdain—this was it, and Gu Luo’an still had the audacity to come after her?
Unexpectedly, hearing Gu Luo’an tell Su Yiqing, “Someone took it first,” Su Yiqing was shocked for a moment, then immediately turned her gaze toward Shen Mianyin.
“Is it Shen Mianyin who took it?”
“It’s not her; she doesn’t have the capability,” Gu Luo’an knew who had taken it but wasn’t planning on telling Su Yiqing. “It’s okay, the person who took it won’t release the video.”
Although he didn’t know what the person intended to do with it, he was confident they wouldn’t make it public.
“I’ll ask him what he did with it,” Gu Luo’an said. “Don’t worry, the video won’t be made public.”
Seeing how confident Gu Luo’an was, Su Yiqing finally relaxed a bit.
On the other hand, Shen Mianyin found it strange. Gu Luo’an seemed to know exactly who took the surveillance footage and was certain that the person wouldn’t release it.
But if that was the case, why did that person take the footage in the first place?
It was clear that this matter had nothing to do with that person.
“Brother Luo’an, I’m a little tired,” Su Yiqing said in a pitiful voice.
“I’ll take you home first,” Gu Luo’an replied, glancing at Shen Mianyin again, thinking he would explain things later.
After their last unpleasant encounter, Gu Luo’an had taken some time to calm down and reflect. Each time he faced Shen Mianyin’s rejection, he couldn’t help but get upset, which was why they had never really communicated properly.
This was a habit that had been ingrained before his rebirth.
Back then, Shen Mianyin would often provoke him, and as a result, he grew increasingly impatient. Although he still loved Shen Mianyin, he often felt that he couldn’t communicate with her during those moments of conflict.
In this lifetime, if he truly wanted to be good to Shen Mianyin, he would have to practice patience and properly explain things to her. She would understand.
Moreover, it was true that Shen Mianyin had stolen nearly half of Su Yiqing’s life. He felt as though he was now making amends for Shen Mianyin’s actions.
He didn’t understand why Shen Mianyin couldn’t see his side of the story.
Gu Luo’an helped Su Yiqing into the car and then glanced at Shen Mianyin again.
Unexpectedly, Shen Mianyin just rolled her eyes at him.
Gu Luo’an lowered his head slightly, taking a deep breath before getting into the car and driving away.
Zheng Siyu let out a mocking snort and said, “I really envy Qingqing. Mr. Gu treats her so well. As soon as he heard she wasn’t feeling well, he dropped everything to come and pick her up.”
“Hey, Shen Mianyin, I seem to remember Mr. Gu was your fiancé before, right? What happened…?” Fang Xiaoyue asked with feigned innocence.
Zheng Siyu crossed her arms and sneered, saying, “Look at just now—Mr. Gu didn’t even bother with her. He must have broken off the engagement! After all, she’s just a fake, and now the real heiress has come back. Who would want her now?”
Hearing this, Gao Zhoulei was getting angry on Shen Mianyin’s behalf. However, he noticed that Shen Mianyin seemed completely unaffected, not letting those words bother her.
Seeing Shen Mianyin about to call for a ride-share, someone suddenly called out to her, “Miss Shen!”
Turning her head, Shen Mianyin saw Gu Huaizhi and Zhou Jingqi approaching.
Gu Huaizhi walked slowly up to Shen Mianyin and asked, “Did you drink tonight?”
“No, Gao Zhoulei drank for me,” Shen Mianyin replied.
Gao Zhoulei felt a bit nervous; it was the first time he had been so close to Gu Huaizhi. He quickly called out, “Mr. Gu, Assistant Zhou.”
Gu Huaizhi nodded and handed Shen Mianyin the car keys. “I’ve been drinking. You drive.”
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