Chapter 64: A Drop of a Tear Fell on Her

The man held her enclosed in his arms, but he knew her relationship with Lu Shenyang and did not overstep.

Meng Shutang could clearly smell the crisp cedar scent on him; her fingers gripping the magnifying glass tightened slightly, forcing herself to focus on the gold-inlaid jade before her.

"Look here," she pointed to an extremely narrow polishing mark on the inner wall of the gold object.

"Is it here?" His voice was low and hoarse, his breath brushing past the curve of her ear.

For some reason, Meng Shutang detected a trace of disappointment in his tone; she didn't understand—just looking at an artifact, what was there to be disappointed about?

Even if it was a forgery, it was still an insignificant speck among Gu Yunci's vast wealth.

She spoke earnestly.

She didn't know that Gu Yunci behind her had long since been pushed to his limit.

He sat behind her like that, at a distance neither close nor far, watching her without moving.

Those elegant, peerless eyes that had always been cold and hard were now gradually reddening.

Longing, the wild ecstasy of regaining what was lost, and the complexity of having to offer his blessing—all of it surged violently in his chest.

He clenched his back teeth fiercely, suppressing every sound, but his tears still disobediently welled up.

He didn't dare step forward, didn't dare touch her, didn't dare make the slightest sound.

Afraid of disturbing her, shattering this fragile dream.

Meng Shutang thought he had seen it clearly and was about to give his conclusion.

The next second, a scalding teardrop fell onto the back of her hand without any warning.

Her body stiffened and she snapped her head up.

Her gaze collided with a pair of red-rimmed eyes—that man who had always been haughty, domineering, and never one to show weakness had eyes red to the rims, a taut jaw, and even his breathing trembled.

He didn't dodge, didn't flee, just stood there with red eyes.

Meng Shutang's chest ached sharply; for the first time, she saw his vulnerable side with perfect clarity.

She didn't know why he was weeping, only knew that the man who had always been insufferably arrogant had crumbled completely before her.

She looked at him quietly, saying nothing.

Gu Yunci looked at her, his thin lips pressed lightly together, about to say something.

Meng Shutang's phone rang inappropriately.

She saw it was Xin Xin and pressed the phone to her chest. "Excuse me."

Then she took the phone and hurried away in a fluster.

As soon as she stepped outside, the girl's sweet, soft voice came from the other end of the line. "Mommy, are you still busy?"

Talking with her daughter, Meng Shutang's voice grew gentle too. "Yes. What about Xin Xin—have you been eating and sleeping well?"

"Yes. Mommy, I got first place in this painting competition. The teacher said I'm a promising talent and told you to nurture me well."

Meng Shutang smiled. "Okay."

As her words fell, she caught a whiff of a crisp cedar scent, drawing closer and closer, and Meng Shutang's spine instantly straightened.

"I won't talk to you anymore, see you later."

She hung up and turned around; the man had already come up behind her.

"Who were you on the phone with?"

Meng Shutang said, "A call from home."

Gu Yunci's chest twinged with pain. "You were… so gentle with Lu Shenyang."

After saying that, he raised his wrist and checked his watch. "There's a group meeting shortly, so I won't keep you company.

That's a forgery. Gather all the materials related to it. In a while, I'll have Xiao Zhou come pick them up.

What I promised to donate to the Palace Museum won't be short a single item—just pick a replacement from other museum collection artifacts. No need to ask my opinion."

After speaking, he turned and left, leaving her only with a taut, solitary silhouette.

Meng Shutang's chest suddenly ached in a dense, prickling wave.

It was only a fleeting moment to brush aside; she walked into the work area and immersed herself in work again.

Gu Yunci returned to the 28th floor and was about to walk up the central staircase to his office.

Suddenly he heard Wang Jiaojiao say to Xiao Zhou, "If you can't handle it, don't show off—go find Han Cheng from the tech department.

At an event once, I heard him say when he was drunk that he'd helped Bai Cixian produce some photos or other, and even the rigorous President Gu couldn't tell real from fake."

Xiao Zhou said, "Really?"

Wang Jiaojiao raised her eyes to answer, but suddenly saw Gu Yunci standing before her and scrambled to her feet in a panic.

She still had half a lollipop in her mouth, but reluctant to spit it out, she frantically chewed it in a flurry and swallowed it whole.

"President Gu, I didn't mean to sneak a snack—it's mainly that if I didn't eat it now, it would have melted."

Only Wang Jiaojiao could come up with an excuse like that.

The man looked at her. "Han Cheng, right? Go call him to my office."

Wang Jiaojiao was taken aback. "You're not going to punish me for eating candy during work hours?"

"Mm."

The man gave a slight nod, turned, and went up the central staircase to the executive upper level.

Ten minutes later, Han Cheng appeared before Gu Yunci, panting heavily.

Gu Yunci was very polite to him, asked him to sit, and even poured him a cup of tea.

"I heard you helped Bai Cixian produce some photos that could pass for the real thing?"

Han Cheng froze for a moment, then laughed. "President Gu… I… I don't know what you're talking about…"

"Four years ago, Bai Cixian came to you and had you retouch a batch of photos and letters, didn't she?"

Han Cheng thought for a moment and immediately knew what he was asking about; his face went deathly pale. "I, I didn't…"

You don't have?

The man chuckled lightly, arms crossed as he sat on the table beside him. "I specifically looked at your resume; you're just an insignificant technician at the technical department, while outstanding talents there are as numerous as cow hairs. Believe it or not, if I want to find something, within half an hour I can recover deleted files and dig up every shady thing you've done, leaving nothing untouched."

"President Gu," Han Cheng stammered as he stood up.

"Four years ago, after work one day, Bai Cixian suddenly approached me, asking me to seamlessly composite several photos, changing the background and swapping the faces."

"As for those letters, she also had me alter them."

Gu Yunci looked at him and asked, "Do you still remember who the photos were supposed to be altered to?"

Han Cheng thought, "I don't know the man, I have no impression."

"But I remember the woman; I've seen her around the company these past few days."

Gu Yunci stood up and asked, "Who?"

"Meng Shutang."

"Why do you remember it so clearly?"

"She's beautiful, a goddess in the hearts of many men in our technical department; I only helped Bai Cixian this once, so of course I remember."

The man's voice was cold without a trace of warmth: "Write down everything you know, every detail, don't omit anything."

Gu Yunci watched him open the computer and restore the previous content.

Only then did he discover that the original man and woman in the photos were not Gu Jin Xing and Meng Shutang, but a publicly known couple from the Gu Group.

As for the letters, it was even more absurd—they were completely downloaded from the internet by Bai Cixian at random.

Meng Shutang had never betrayed him; it was Bai Cixian who framed him, yet he actually believed it.

Half an hour later, he placed the technical appraisal report stamped with a red seal and Han Cheng's handwritten statement into the bottom office drawer.

He knew that, for Meng Shutang, the current truth was just belated nonsense.

He picked up his car keys and went downstairs, intending to drive straight to Qian Shui Wan, but just as last time...

The Maybach took her toward Qingluju.

From the Gu Group building to Qingluju, passing through a busy district with many people, he slowed down.

As his deep eyes casually glanced outward, he caught sight of Meng Shutang.

Her graceful figure stood in a children's clothing store; cute outfits slipped through her slender fingers, finally coming to rest on a pink little dress.

Gu Yunci saw her pick it up; the size was about 100 centimeters, fit for a child over three years old.

Recalling that she had just become pregnant when she left, if she had given birth, the child would likely be about that size.