Chapter 103: Thinking of Me Like This?

Gu Yan raised an eyebrow, not reacting much.

Gu Yan: 【If they want to buy it, let them. Why not make money when you can?】

Lin Wei: 【... Aren't you bothered? That person is eyeing your Mr. Shen covetously.】

Gu Yan curled the corners of her lips.

Gu Yan: 【Should I be bothered just because she covets him? There are so many people who like Shen Yanhui; I'd be doing nothing but eating vinegar all day.】

Lin Wei: 【Is there a possibility... that there aren't that many people who like him?】

Lin Wei: 【Who would dare to like Mr. Shen?】

Lin Wei: 【He is handsome, sure, and has money and power, but he's so fierce. The low pressure he radiates could freeze someone into an ice sculpture. Only you have the guts to run wild in front of a tiger.】

Gu Yan looked at the screen and gave a light hum.

Gu Yan: 【That's because their taste is poor and they can't discover how good Shen Yanhui is.】

As she was typing, a shrimp dropped into her bowl.

It was peeled perfectly clean, with a tiny bit of shell left on the tail for easy handling.

Gu Yan looked up; Shen Yanhui was wiping his hands with a wet wipe, his expression as usual, as if it were just a casual gesture.

Her eyes curved into crescents.

Those people really had no taste at all.

Her Mr. Shen was clearly so good; how was he fierce?

"Feed me," she said, lifting her face, her voice soft.

Shen Yanhui glanced at her, said nothing, picked up the shrimp, and held it to her lips.

Gu Yan bit down, smiling until her eyes turned into crescent moons.

Across the table, Gu Fanglin's chopsticks paused.

He looked at his daughter's matter-of-fact demeanor, then at Shen Yanhui's calm face, and after two seconds of silence, he picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs and extended it toward the edge of Gu Yan's bowl.

"Here, Dad will feed you too."

Gu Yan was stunned.

Yang Bing, sitting beside them, rolled her eyes in disdain: "... Gu Fanglin, how old are you?"

Gu Fanglin ignored her, holding his chopsticks and waiting.

Gu Yan was caught between laughter and tears, so she had to lean over and take a bite.

"Alright, alright," Yang Bing waved her hand, "everyone just eat."

Gu Fanglin then retracted his chopsticks, looking satisfied.

——

Over the next few days, Gu Yan was so busy she didn't have a moment to rest.

For the dozen or so paintings in the exhibition, she had to personally oversee the mounting, lighting, and placement of every single one. Lin Wei sent over a dozen messages a day, and she had to give the nod for everything from the color of the exhibition walls to the design of the invitations.

She looked even busier than Shen Yanhui.

Moreover, Gu Fanglin kept a very close watch on her. Every night after dinner, he would stop her on time to ask where she had gone, who she had met, and what time she would be back.

Gu Yan knew this was her father's observation period, so she obediently reported in, not daring to step out of line.

The frequency of her meetings with Shen Yanhui decreased visibly.

In the evening, Shen Yanhui came out from a dinner party.

Chang Su opened the car door, and he sat inside, loosening his tie.

The dinner had been a social engagement with several partners, full of clinking glasses and a mountain of empty pleasantries. He had been uninterested the entire time, only finalizing a number at the very end.

"Back to Man Island?" Chang Su started the car.

Shen Yanhui leaned back into the seat and rubbed his brow.

"No," he paused, "you can get off work first; I'll go myself."

Chang Su glanced at him through the rearview mirror, didn't ask further, and pulled the car over.

Shen Yanhui switched to the driver's seat and rolled down the window; the night breeze poured in, carrying the chill of early autumn and a faint, elusive scent of osmanthus.

The people from the dinner party were still swirling in his mind. The clinking of glasses, the endless empty talk—looking at those smiling faces, he only felt tired.

Annoyed.

He rested one hand on the steering wheel and was silent for a few seconds.

Then he turned the wheel, and the car drove onto a different road.

Twenty minutes later, the black Bentley stopped on the side of the road diagonally across from the Gu Family Villa. The shadows of the trees masked the car body; one wouldn't notice it without looking closely.

Shen Yanhui killed the engine, leaned back into the seat, and looked at that familiar window on the second floor.

The light was on.

The curtains weren't drawn tight, and shadows occasionally flickered past. He knew she was inside, perhaps reading a book, perhaps on the phone with Lin Wei.

Just watching from this distance, imagining what she might be doing, all the fatigue and annoyance of the entire evening dissipated.

Shen Yanhui let out a low, soft chuckle.

I don't know how much time passed, but that window on the second floor was suddenly pushed open.

Gu Yan leaned half her body out, seemingly looking for something.

Then, her gaze fixed in this direction.

Across the distance of an entire street, Shen Yanhui saw her curl the corners of her lips.

Two minutes later, Gu Yan ran out wearing a thin knit sweater.

She pulled open the passenger door and climbed in, bringing with her a gust of cool air and a faint floral scent.

"Why are you here?" Her eyes were bright, and she was slightly breathless from running downstairs.

Shen Yanhui looked at her, not saying a word.

"Waiting for me?"

"Mm."

"Then why didn't you call me?"

Shen Yanhui raised his hand and tucked a stray lock of hair by her cheek behind her ear.

"Afraid you were asleep."

Gu Yan stared at him for two seconds.

"Missed me?"

"Mm."

Gu Yan leaned in to his lips and planted a kiss, her eyes more dazzling than the stars in the night sky: "I missed you too."

She paused, her eyes curving as she added: "Come on, I'll take you somewhere."

The car stopped at a fork in the road, unable to go any further.

The two got out of the car and walked inward along a path covered in fallen leaves.

The night was deep, the moon had not yet risen, and it was pitch black all around; one could only vaguely see the shadows of trees and the reflection of water in the distance.

"Where is this?" Shen Yanhui asked.

"A secret." Gu Yan held his hand, walking with righteous confidence, "I discovered it when I was little, and I've never told anyone."

She led him through a patch of woods and stopped in front of a gentle slope.

"We're here."

Shen Yanhui looked around.

It was pitch black; he couldn't see anything.

"... Looking at what?"

Gu Yan was also stunned for a moment, then laughed out loud.

"Forgot, you can't see at night."

She felt a bit annoyed, yet also found it funny, and tugged on his sleeve, shaking it.

"I'll bring you here during the day next time. It's really beautiful; there's a lake, wildflowers, and you can see West Mountain."

Shen Yanhui looked down at her, the gloom in his eyes dissipating slightly.

"Okay."

A gust of night wind blew by, and Gu Yan gave a small sneeze.

Shen Yanhui took hold of her hand; it was cold.

He put her hand into his own coat pocket and cupped it: "Let's go back."

Back in the car, both of them curled up in the back seat.

Gu Yan leaned against Shen Yanhui, her hand still in his pocket, and once it warmed up, she began to get restless.

She pulled her hand out and went to touch his tie. It was silk, cool and smooth, fun to wind around her fingertips.

Then she went to touch his shirt buttons, counting them one by one.

"What are you counting?" his voice was low.

"Counting whether you dressed properly today."

"Counted them all?"

"No." She said with righteous confidence, "There are too many buttons."

She went to touch his cufflinks, metallic and cool, with tiny letters engraved on them.

Then she followed the cuff upward, touching his wrist and his forearm. The lines of his muscles could be felt through the shirt.

She touched him intently, as if studying the structure of a painting.

Shen Yanhui pressed down on her hand.

"Gu Yan."

"Hm?"

He looked down at her.

Her eyes were bright, carrying a hint of mischief, not afraid at all.

He didn't speak again.

He lowered his head and kissed her.

Gu Yan was stunned for an instant, then raised her arms to wrap them around his neck, responding just as fervently.

She was circled into his embrace, her back pressed against the soft leather seat. His palm cradled the back of her head, and he kissed her deep and heavy, as if to make up for the distance of the past few days.

She laughed softly against his lips.

"Missed me that much, Shen Yanhui?"

Shen Yanhui lightly bit her lip: "Missed you, missed you until it *hurts."