The two men quickly followed out of the banquet hall and stood behind a large tree in the garden, watching Doctor Lin help the unsteady Su Qianqian over to a bench in front of the tree.
Once seated, Su Qianqian tilted her head slightly. The alcohol made her almond-shaped eyes even more dewy and dazed. The evening breeze lifted the stray hairs by her cheeks, and she rubbed them away with the back of her hand, seeming uncomfortable.
Doctor Lin stood before her, his expression gentle, his voice soft and measured: "Miss Su, look into my eyes and listen to me, alright?"
Su Qianqian blinked, but her gaze was unfocused, her little head swaying gently from side to side, refusing to settle and focus properly. She seemed to find this amusing, the corners of her lips even lifting slightly into a hazy, charmingly naive smile.
Doctor Lin had no choice but to follow the sway of her head, turning this way and that, trying to catch her gaze, but to no avail. Instead, Su Qianqian seemed to be enjoying herself more and more.
The temperature had risen today, and after a while of this, a thin layer of sweat began to bead on Doctor Lin's temples.
Hidden in the shadow of the tree, Gu Chengyu's initially tense expression gradually relaxed, even becoming somewhat amused and exasperated. Watching his little lady's dazed yet mischievous appearance, the irritation and unease in his heart slowly smoothed away.
Doctor Lin clearly hadn't anticipated this situation either. He helplessly stopped his futile pursuit and walked quickly behind the tree, speaking to Zhou Yu'an in a low voice:
"Doctor Zhou, you see Miss Su's state. I cannot guide her at all."
Hearing this, Gu Chengyu spoke directly: "Then don't try."
He looked at Zhou Yu'an, his eyes regaining their usual arrogance and confidence: "Yu'an, I, Gu Chengyu, have seen all sorts of people in my life."
"If I couldn't even distinguish between sincerity and pretense, how could I lead the Gu family?"
"No need for these methods. I trust my own judgment, and I trust her."
With that, he made to stride towards Su Qianqian.
"Chengyu!" Zhou Yu'an, however, grabbed his arm, unwilling to let all this effort go to waste.
He glanced at Su Qianqian on the bench, who had started swinging her legs boredly now that no one was playing with her, his eyes darkening as he instructed Doctor Lin:
"Then ask directly."
"Ask her the questions I told you about, directly."
Gu Chengyu's face darkened: "Zhou Yu'an!"
"Just this once!" Zhou Yu'an gripped his arm tightly, his tone unusually insistent.
"If her answers are sincere, I will never question it again."
"Don't you want to hear, in her most relaxed and unguarded state, what her most instinctive answers are?"
Gu Chengyu paused, struggling internally again. He looked at the charmingly naive figure not far away, took a deep breath, and did not step forward again, tacitly giving his consent.
Doctor Lin walked back to Su Qianqian, abandoning all hypnosis techniques, and spoke directly. His voice wasn't loud, but it was clear enough for the two men not far away to hear:
"Shen Que, did you deliberately get close to him?"
On the bench, the drunken Su Qianqian almost immediately frowned in disgust, her delicate willow-leaf brows knitting together. Her little head shook like a rattle-drum, her voice laced with unconcealed aversion:
"No, he attached himself to me. He's so annoying, so disgusting..."
This answer set Gu Chengyu's mind slightly at ease, but the next question immediately made his heart clench again.
"Then who do you like the most?" Doctor Lin coaxed gently.
This time, Su Qianqian didn't hesitate at all. Even with a hint of pride, she gave a soft, affirmative answer: "Of course it's Susu's Power Bank~"
Gu Chengyu couldn't help but chuckle softly. He turned his head to raise an eyebrow at Zhou Yu'an, whispering triumphantly:
"Hear that? Susu's Power Bank, that's me."
"A little nickname the girl came up with. Cute, right?"
Zhou Yu'an, however, frowned slightly. His intuition told him this nickname wasn't quite so simple. Meeting Doctor Lin's inquiring gaze, he subtly moved his lips.
Understanding, Doctor Lin continued to ask: "Then why do you call him Susu's Power Bank?"
Su Qianqian tilted her head, seeming to struggle to organize her words, then slowly explained:
"Because... before, my health wasn't good. I'd often feel dizzy and weak."
She extended a slender, pale finger and poked at herself, a light pink flush spreading across her cheeks, her voice taking on a shy sweetness:
"But, after being with A-Yu, as long as he's in bed with me, after he does this and that to me..."
"The next day, I feel much better, with enough strength to get through the day."
"Later on, the reason I could keep acting was all because A-Yu nourished me so well."
"So, he's Susu's Power Bank..."
After finishing, she even gave a firm little nod, feeling she had explained things very clearly.
However, the two men behind the tree were utterly frozen.
The triumphant smile on Gu Chengyu's face solidified, as if doused with cold water, his blood running half-cold. He looked incredulously at the innocent-faced girl on the bench.
Zhou Yu'an was also shocked.
Then came understanding and scorn.
So that was it.
He finally understood why he always felt something was off.
Those women outside, greedy for money and power, no matter how good their acting, ultimately had an agenda, something that couldn't escape the eyes of men like them.
But Su Qianqian's affection was so pure, so instinctive, with no trace of performance, because her liking was genuine—she genuinely liked Gu Chengyu the person, unrelated to anything else.
That's why she couldn't be easily seen through. Only a top psychologist like him occasionally sensed that something was off.
But if her sincerity was because Chengyu inexplicably nourished her body, if she saw Chengyu as a tonic...
Then what difference was there between her, Su Qianqian, and those women who loved Chengyu's money?
Zhou Yu'an glanced at the stunned Gu Chengyu beside him, his eyes turning cold as he signaled Doctor Lin once more.
Doctor Lin took a deep breath and asked the final question:
"Then, putting aside the fact that he makes your body better, do you like Gu Chengyu the person?"
The question hung in the air. Su Qianqian on the bench fell silent.
Several seconds later, she first gave a tiny nod, so slight only Doctor Lin saw it.
Then, as if disgusted by something, she shook her head forcefully, decisively.
"Don't like..."
Her voice dropped, carrying rejection and grievance as she mumbled drunkenly:
"He had so, so many women before. He's too dirty. I could never like him."
It was as if a thunderclap exploded in Gu Chengyu's mind.
All his arrogance and certainty were crushed to dust by these words.
His heart constricted violently, leaving only sharp, bone-chilling pain and an indescribable sense of humiliation.
So in her heart, he was dirty.
She depended on him, was intimate with him, only because he could improve her physical constitution—a real, tangible improvement, not the psychological "recharging" he had previously believed.
If he didn't have this inexplicable tonic effect, she actually found him repulsive, disgusting...
Gu Chengyu drove his fist hard into the tree.
"Thud!"
A dull thud echoed as the large tree shuddered, shaking loose a few leaves. Blood welled from his split knuckles and snaked down his hand, a shocking sight.
Zhou Yu'an was startled by his sudden self-inflicted violence and instinctively moved to stop him.
"Chengyu! Don't hurt yourself."
But Gu Chengyu brushed his hand away, utterly deaf to anyone's words.
His chest heaved violently, his reddened eyes fixed with an intense, pained stare on the young woman he had always cherished and placed at the very center of his heart.
