Next to the banquet hall, in a makeshift lounge.
Compared to the dazzling opulence of the main hall, this cramped and simple rest area, packed with celebrity assistants, felt particularly shabby.
A few folding tables and plastic chairs, the air thick with the smell of takeout food.
The assistants either wolfed down quick bites or exchanged hushed updates about their employers' schedules.
Su Qianqian sat quietly in the corner on a plastic chair.
Her head was slightly bowed, the heavy black-framed glasses slipping down the bridge of her nose.
To others, she seemed to be resting, but in truth, she was watching everything happening in the main hall through the shared vision of her system, 007.
The scene focused on the two men radiating powerful auras.
Gu Chengyu set down his champagne and downed a glass of whiskey instead. The strong liquor burned its way down, igniting a visible restlessness in his expression.
He undid another button on his shirt.
Shen Que leaned in, his voice laced with provocation, carrying clearly to Su Qianqian’s ears:
"Chengyu, it’s been over half a month since you’ve had any fun, hasn’t it?"
"Bottling up that fire isn’t good for you."
He jerked his chin toward the radiant Lin Shu in the distance, grinning like a sly fox. "Why not make it tonight? Win her over, and you win the bet outright. How satisfying."
"And there’s that dinner with the investors in a couple of days—have her accompany them. Two birds, one stone..."
In the vision, Gu Chengyu fell silent for a few seconds.
His eyes churned with the desire for conquest and the heat that Shen Que’s words had stirred.
Finally, he gave a slight nod, accepting the crude proposal.
Alcohol and desire clashed in his veins, making him too impatient for mind games.
Su Qianqian’s heart sank, a wave of disgust rising in her throat.
And panic.
If they reconciled—or if things blew up—would she still have a chance?
...
Gu Chengyu cut through the perfumed crowd, heading straight for Lin Shu, who was deep in conversation.
Under the stunned gazes of onlookers, he seized her wrist with an iron grip, dragging her toward the quieter backstage hallway. His steps were forceful, unsteady from the alcohol.
"Mr. Gu! What are you doing? Let go of me!" Lin Shu’s protests were swallowed by the music and chatter.
Backstage hallway.
"Bang!" Lin Shu wrenched her wrist free with all her strength.
She stumbled back, her spine hitting the cold wall. The color drained from her beautiful face, leaving only shock, fury, and the sting of humiliation.
A few strands of her meticulously styled updo had come loose.
"Gu Chengyu, what the hell is wrong with you?"
Her chest heaved, her voice trembling with rage and fear. Those usually tender eyes now brimmed with grievance, glaring at the man radiating danger.
Gu Chengyu was momentarily taken aback by her fierce resistance.
Then his brows furrowed, his expression darkening.
He stepped closer, his towering frame casting her entirely in shadow. "Cut the act."
Lin Shu took in the raw desire and impatience in his gaze, a chill shooting up her spine.
She was sharp enough to realize: if he had his way tonight, she’d be nothing more than a plaything in his eyes.
Any hope of climbing higher would vanish—even her former status as his pampered songbird would be gone.
A surge of survival instinct gave her unexpected courage.
Instead of shrinking back, she straightened her posture, lifting her chin. Her voice was sharp with emotion, edged with desperate defiance:
"Me? Acting? Gu Chengyu, you bastard!"
"What do you take me for, huh?"
She pointed at the red marks on her wrist, her voice shaking. "Some toy you can summon and discard whenever you please?"
"We’re broken up. Who gave you the right?"
Gu Chengyu’s expression turned even uglier. No woman—especially not one he’d once kept—had ever dared call him a bastard to his face.
Lin Shu’s tears welled up but refused to fall.
She took a deep breath, her voice suddenly quieter: "Yes! I loved you! So much that I used to tiptoe around you! So much that I stupidly hoped you’d notice me, even while you cycled through women!"
Her gaze was a storm of emotions—hatred, pain, resentment, yet still layered with deep affection.
"But my feelings, my heart—they’re not for you to trample on!"
"Gu Chengyu, you... you’ve let me down. You don’t deserve my love!"
She called him a bastard in one breath and professed her love in the next, painting herself as the devoted admirer wronged by his cruelty.
When she first hurled "bastard" at him, Gu Chengyu had half a mind to blacklist her from the industry.
An actress, thinking she mattered?
But as her accusations—laced with declarations of love—continued, his baser instincts stirred.
After all, being adored by a beauty like her wasn’t entirely unpleasant.
