Chapter 96: Pet Lover

The most distant distance in the world is not between life and death, but that you hold me in your arms and almost strangle me to death!

Zhou Xiaoru had not yet had a chance to take a look at the paycheck she had traded her sex appeal, integrity, and dignity for.

She was once again taken advantage of by a certain Big Boss.

Moreover, she now felt that her life was in danger!

Because...

Not only was her heart beating extremely fast, but she was also being held so tightly by this person that she was on the verge of being suffocated.

Pushing with all her might, the person in front of her remained unmoved, and she said.

"Boss, let's talk this over properly. Are you trying to strangle me to death!"

What kind of madness is this guy having today? How is it that it hasn't even been a week since we agreed to go our separate ways and be peaceful friends, and he's already started getting handsy again!

Hearing this, Gu Liyan finally loosened his grip a little, though he still did not let go.

While holding her, he was also stroking her hair.

At this moment, Zhou Xiaoru was already sweating from being held; why did she have the feeling that she was being treated like a pet?

In fact, in the eyes of Young Master Gu, she was just a pet meow!

He was just petting a cat right now!

If Zhou Xiaoru knew that this head-patting and fur-smoothing action was actually him petting her, she would definitely bristle on the spot!

Zhou Xiaoru had already been smoothed into having no temper, and she hummed.

"Have you touched enough yet? I'm not a pet you keep."

Big Sister Zhou had already begun to flash her sharp little claws.

At this moment, a gentle smile curled at the corners of Gu Liyan's mouth, and his eyes flashed with deep affection.

"I really cannot just turn a blind eye..."

For the past few days, he had been trying his best to restrain and endure, pretending to be indifferent, not taking initiative, and not caring.

But in the end, when he saw this girl with another man today, all his willpower was shattered.

Zhou Xiaoru listened to these words, somewhat bewildered. What "cannot turn a blind eye"? What is this guy being so cryptic about all day?

"Gu Liyan... are you under too much work pressure, causing a psychological burden? How about you go see a psychiatrist?"

This guy is always flip-flopping; she now seriously suspects that Gu Liyan has psychological problems and needs to see a psychiatrist.

The gentleman's face suddenly sank, and the arms that had just loosened slightly tightened once more.

Zhou Xiaoru felt as if she had been put back into a corset, squeezed so hard she couldn't catch her breath.

Then, the handsome and low, soft voice of the handsome Gu reached her...

"Don't worry, there is nothing wrong with my body or my mind. I am indeed sick, but it is not what you are thinking in your heart."

He felt that he had come down with lovesickness; he hadn't seen this girl for a few days, and he missed her dearly.

He had nothing to do this weekend, and other than going to the gym to work out, he hadn't gone anywhere.

The rest of the time, he just stayed at home thinking about this girl.

To prevent himself from taking the initiative to call or text her, he even childishly left his phone at the company instead of bringing it home!

(Author's note: Speaking of childishness, it is truly hard to believe how childish the handsome Gu can get.)

Su Poyang had been sending him messages, asking him to go out, but could never get through on the phone, until after he called the landline at Gu Liyan's house and kept questioning him.

Only then did he find out about the handsome Gu's childish behavior.

Su Poyang even secretly decided that he must help his younger brother out.

Otherwise, he would be transferred to South Africa to run business in the second half of the year, and he didn't want that!

At this moment, when Zhou Xiaoru heard him admit that he was sick, she suddenly became a bit worried.

She raised her head in the gentleman's arms and asked.

"You said you are sick?!"

Just as she expected! She had long suspected that this guy was sick, which led to his current twisted personality and psychology!

For some reason, Gu Liyan could not bring himself to be happy upon hearing this.

He didn't make a sound, nor did he make any move; he just quietly and deeply looked back at the person in his arms.

But in Zhou Xiaoru's eyes, this appearance was automatically interpreted as him really being quite ill.

She hurriedly asked again, "What did the doctor say? Can it be cured!"

"......" Gu Liyan's face was already changing colors like a chameleon!

He didn't expect this girl to be so oblivious to romance!

Facing this guy's silence once again, Zhou Xiaoru became a bit anxious, and she didn't even care to look at the paycheck she was clutching in her hand.

"Say something! What exactly is the illness, and can it be cured?"

She had never heard before that there was anything abnormal about his body.

Just then, a bright light bulb dinged on in Zhou Xiaoru's head!

She remembered the times she had nearly crossed the line with this guy, but at every critical moment, he could always slam on the brakes even better than a saint!

Could it be...

Zhou Xiaoru's rich imagination was now online.

She thought, could it be that Gu Liyan had some serious problem in the male department?

She even wondered if that Fang Qingkong had chosen to cheat back then because she couldn't accept a platonic relationship?

One can only say that Big Sister Zhou's ability to jump to such wild conclusions was truly eye-opening.

Now, she could even understand why Gu Liyan had chosen to remain silent in the face of her repeated questioning.

Such a thing would hurt a man's self-esteem so much, and what's more, such a beautiful and handsome man had actually contracted a male disease?!

If this got out, wouldn't all those women who admire him weep for three days and three nights?

She could probably understand Gu Liyan's changes during this period of time.

After thinking for a moment, she changed her tone and comforted him.

"Don't carry such a heavy mental burden. Medicine is so advanced now that women can even become men; that little problem of yours can definitely be cured."

Upon hearing this, the gentleman was already struggling to suppress the urge to strangle this girl.

"That little problem of mine... what kind of illness do you think I have?"

A perfectly good case of lovesickness was actually described by this girl as "that little problem of his"?

How could Gu Liyan not guess what that so-called "little problem" was!

As soon as Zhou Xiaoru heard this gloomy tone, she wanted to slap her own mouth!

Why did she have to be so obvious? Wasn't this causing secondary damage to this guy's self-esteem?

She hurriedly changed her tune, "That... anyway, don't let your imagination run wild. Everyone has some minor issues, but I believe you will definitely be cured and regain your virility!"

After she finished the last sentence, the man's mouth twitched, and he was so angry he almost laughed out loud.

Zhou Xiaoru, however, felt annoyed and regretful again. What was wrong with her mouth? Why did she keep saying such sensitive words?

Regain his virility! Was she afraid Gu Liyan wouldn't know what kind of illness she thought he had?

She was now doubting what exactly was inside her brain! Was it organic fertilizer? It smelled worse than poop!

"I... I'm sorry, Boss. I... I didn't mean anything else. I was just..."

She was in a rush to explain, only to find that the more she tried to cover it up, the worse it got.

"Just what?"

Gu Liyan secretly decided that if this girl said one more wrong word, he would kiss her immediately!

"J-just... just worried about your health. Don't think the wrong way, hehe..."

Cold sweat dripped down in embarrassment...

But right now, was it a bit strange for them to be discussing male medical issues in this way?

"That... is your arm sore? How about you let go first?" If he wasn't sore, she was! Her waist was about to be crushed by this guy!

(Author's note: You have a waist?! The character design I gave you doesn't have a waist.)

Slowly, following that sentence, the arm around her waist finally loosened.

Now, Zhou Xiaoru could finally breathe in some fresh air.

Turning around, after taking a few deep breaths, she began to look at her payslip.

Below the final settlement amount in the last column, she seemed to see a staggering number!

She couldn't help but turn her head in surprise to look at the man beside her and ask.

"How many months of salary is this?!"

She did a rough calculation; this had to be a year's worth of intern salary! Was this guy crazy?

Or was he thinking...

Suddenly, a popular, tacky modern term flashed into Zhou Xiaoru's mind.

Keeping!

Was she being kept?!

As soon as Gu Liyan saw her round, wide-eyed expression of terror, he couldn't help but want to tease her.

He replied calmly, "This is two months' salary."

Two months???

She had almost thought it was a year's worth just now!

Back when she was about to come to Tengyuan for her internship, she had already inquired about the intern salary at Tengyuan.

Intern salaries varied depending on the department.

The intern salary for the Personnel Department should be the lowest of all departments, less than three thousand yuan.

But on this payslip, after deducting insurance and the housing provident fund, the settled salary was as high as nearly twenty thousand!!

If it wasn't the legendary "keeping," Zhou Xiaoru could only suspect that Gu Liyan had taken the wrong payslip, or that the Finance Department had made a mistake with the name when issuing it.

Deep down, she still trusted Gu Liyan's character; why would this guy do something like "keeping" someone? If he wanted to keep her, he might as well just go home and make soup.

She preferred to believe the latter; it must have been the wrong one or a typo in the name.

"Did you take the wrong one? This shouldn't be my payslip."

"Is your name on it?"

She looked down, "Yes."

"If your name is on it, how could it be wrong?"

"Then maybe the Finance Department made a mistake with the name when they issued the slip."

"This slip was printed using the printer in my office; it can't be wrong."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xiaoru instantly caught the subtext.

The implication was that her payslip was printed by Gu Liyan, so her salary was also paid directly by this guy!

Still unable to believe or understand, she asked, "Are you sure it's for me?"

The gentleman nodded slightly.

"You aren't up to some crooked scheme again, are you!"

"For example?"

"For example..." something like keeping...

The words were on the tip of her tongue, but Zhou Xiaoru swallowed them back. If she kept being so tactless, she was really afraid that this duck that was about to be eaten would just fly away.

"Why is there so much?"

She could only ask so tactfully; no one with a brain would see their salary increase and then press the person who paid it to ask if they intended to keep her as a mistress.

At this moment, Gu Liyan moved, stepping a little closer to Zhou Xiaoru, and leaned down slightly to say something that made her completely unable to think.

"The extra amount is pocket money for my girlfriend to buy clothes..."