The next day, at the Cloud Pavilion private room, the same decadent atmosphere as that night lingered, but now tinged with a sense of voyeuristic anticipation.
Gu Chengyu remained the center of attention, lounging lazily on the sofa, a cigar between his fingers, his long legs casually crossed.
Shen Que, Qin Yu, and Zhou Yu'an were all present, their gazes teasing, all clearly there for the spectacle.
The private room door was pushed open gently, and Lin Shu walked in.
She had obviously dressed with care. Her gown accentuated her slender curves, and she presented a picture of alluring charm, but the unease in her eyes betrayed her nervousness.
Her gaze went directly to Gu Chengyu. Her voice softened, carrying an obvious note of ingratiation. "Chengyu..."
Gu Chengyu looked up, his phoenix eyes sweeping over her without much emotion.
He didn't speak, merely gesturing casually towards an empty seat beside him.
Lin Shu felt a slight relief and carefully sat down, adopting an extremely humble posture. "Chengyu, I know I was wrong."
"I was too immature before, too impulsive."
"All that talk about terminating our agreement was just said in anger. I was just too afraid of losing you."
She watched his expression. Seeing no reaction, she mustered her courage and moved a little closer, her voice growing even more silky and seductive:
"Let's get back together, okay? From now on, I'll listen to you. I won't be willful ever again."
She reached out, attempting to touch his sleeve, testing the waters.
Just as her fingertips were about to make contact, Gu Chengyu finally moved.
He shifted slightly to the side, avoiding her touch, then slowly crushed his cigar in the ashtray.
The action was deliberate, yet carried an intangible pressure and disdain.
He spoke, his voice devoid of any ripple. "Lin Shu, do you still think, even now, that I can't bear to part with you? That we can just get back together because you say so?"
Lin Shu's smile froze on her face.
Gu Chengyu raised his eyes, a cold mockery in their depths as he looked at her. "What makes you think I couldn't see through those cheap little tricks of yours, your repeated attempts at playing hard to get?"
Lin Shu's face paled. She tried to defend herself. "I wasn't..."
Gu Chengyu cut her off, his tone caustic. "Weren't what?"
"Weren't scheming about how to latch onto me? Weren't testing my limits, banking on that bit of novelty?"
"Lin Shu, you think too highly of yourself."
"There's never a shortage of women around Gu Chengyu, let alone ones like you who think a pretty face is enough to manipulate me."
He let out a derisive snort. "As for being obedient? When were you ever truly obedient? You were just acting the whole time—acting obedient, acting devoted, acting the long-suffering martyr."
"Pity your acting has gotten worse and worse. It's enough to kill a man's appetite."
Every word was laced with humiliation, piercing Lin Shu's heart. She looked at him in disbelief.
She hadn't expected him to be so brutally frank, tearing all her pretenses and self-respect to shreds.
"Chengyu, how can you say such things to me..."
Her voice trembled. "At the very least, my feelings for you were real..."
"Feelings?" Gu Chengyu sounded as if he'd heard a joke.
"Your 'feelings' did serve a purpose, I suppose."
He glanced at the others beside him. Shen Que cooperatively shrugged, a look of amusement on his face.
Gu Chengyu then delivered the final, cruel blow, his tone leisurely. "It seems I've won this three-month bet, where your attempt to reconcile was the wager."
Lin Shu's eyes widened in shock.
A bet? She was the wager?
Her three months of torment, scheming, and waiting were nothing but a wager for his friends' amusement in his eyes?
"You used me as a bet?" Her body trembled uncontrollably.
Gu Chengyu merely watched her breakdown coldly, as if observing an unrelated farce.
He had lost his patience and couldn't be bothered to look at her any longer, his tone contemptuous. "Get out."
"Don't continue making a spectacle of yourself here."
Lin Shu could bear it no longer. She shot to her feet, staggered back, knocking over a glass on the table without even noticing.
She stared fixedly at Gu Chengyu, her eyes filled with humiliation, before finally turning and fleeing the private room in utter disgrace.
The door slammed shut heavily, muffling the sound of her collapsing sobs.
"Tsk."
Qin Yu broke the silence first. "Chengyu, you really have no idea how to be gentle with a woman."
Shen Que swirled his glass, smiling like a fox. "I'm afraid our beauty Lin must hate you now."
"But what I'm more curious about is, what kind of heavenly fairy could make our Young Master Gu win his bet so decisively, without even sparing a shred of sentiment for his old flame?"
He leaned forward. "Keeping her hidden so well? Won't you bring her out for us to meet?"
Zhou Yu'an also adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, his gaze curious.
Gu Chengyu flicked the ash from his (imaginary) cigarette, thinking of that soft little thing at home. The corner of his mouth unconsciously lifted in a smile.
"She's timid, shy around strangers," he said, his tone noticeably indulgent.
This demeanor only piqued everyone's interest further.
"Shy? A woman of Gu Chengyu's would be shy?" Qin Yu egged him on.
"No way, you have to call her over! Let us see what kind of goddess she is!"
"Exactly," Shen Que chimed in. "Make a call, have someone bring her over. Perfect timing to celebrate your win!"
Gu Chengyu was annoyed by their clamor, but a certain secret desire to show off stirred within him.
He took out his phone and dialed his special assistant.
"Go to the apartment and pick up Qianqian," he instructed succinctly.
...
In the underground garage, Lin Shu sat in her sports car, utterly despondent. Tears streamed down her face, her carefully applied eyeliner smudged into a messy mess. She was a complete wreck.
She didn't understand. How could things have turned out like this?
Just as she was lost in her fury and despair, a Rolls-Royce slowly entered the garage and parked in a reserved spot not far away.
The car was all too familiar—one of Gu Chengyu's regular vehicles.
Lin Shu's heart gave a violent jolt. She instinctively held her breath.
The driver's door opened. Stepping out was actually Gu Chengyu's chief special assistant?
The man who had never shown her anything but a single, impassive expression was now walking respectfully around to the rear passenger door and opening it.
A delicate foot clad in an exquisite stiletto sandal tentatively emerged, touching the ground. Then, a delicate and slender figure was helped out of the car by the assistant.
The girl had slightly wavy hair cascading over her shoulders. Her profile was exquisite, her skin glowing with a pale luminescence even under the dim garage lights.
She seemed somewhat nervous, saying something softly to the assistant.
The assistant gave a slight nod, his attitude respectful.
It was Su Qianqian?
Lin Shu felt as if struck by lightning, her pupils contracting.
How could it be her? Why would Gu Chengyu's special assistant personally chauffeur her? And to the Cloud Pavilion?
In a flash of insight, all the previous puzzling pieces connected: Su Qianqian's sudden resources, her sick leave that one time, Gu Chengyu's abrupt coldness...
An answer she had suspected but absolutely refused to believe surfaced.
How was it possible? How could it be this little assistant? What right did she have?
Watching Su Qianqian being led by that special assistant towards the private elevator that went directly to the top-floor private rooms, Lin Shu, as if possessed, suddenly pushed her car door open and followed.
She had to know the truth! She had to see it with her own eyes!
