Chapter 112: The Locked Room

Gu Yan also picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork rib and, imitating his manner just now, held it out to him.

Shen Yanhui opened his mouth very cooperatively.

Her eyes were bright as she watched him chew: "Is it good?"

"Mm."

She continued to feed him, and he continued to eat. When she reached the third bite, she suddenly laughed.

"Shen Yanhui," she said, her eyes curving, "do you know what you look like right now?"

Shen Yanhui raised an eyebrow: "A big doggy?"

Gu Yan was surprised: "How did you know?"

He didn't speak, but reached his hand into his suit's inner pocket, took out a folded piece of paper, and unfolded it.

It was a sketch.

He had been drawn in the style of a big doggy.

In Paris, she had drawn it casually.

"Why do you still carry this around with you?" Gu Yan curled her lips into a smile; she snatched the drawing to look at it, finding it funnier the more she looked.

"A gift from my wife, of course I must keep it close."

Gu Yan let out a "humph," leaned over, and reached into his suit: "Let me see what else is in your inner pocket? You even pulled out a Marriage Certificate last time; can you fit anything in there?"

He didn't dodge, letting her rummage.

Gu Yan felt the lining of the inner pocket, her fingertips touching a small square packet.

She pulled it out.

Gold packaging, a thin little sheet, lying in her palm.

A condom.

Gu Yan stared at this thing for two seconds, shocked by Shen Yanhui's shamelessness: "... Obscene!"

Shen Yanhui, however, was extremely calm, his expression not changing in the slightest as he plucked the item back from her hand and leisurely placed it back in its original spot.

"Just being prepared."

"..."

Gu Yan stuffed another pork rib into his mouth and said in a low voice: "Hurry up and shut your mouth!"

Shen Yanhui didn't speak, just let out a low laugh.

She glared at him and shoved the chopsticks into his hand: "I'm not feeding you anymore, eat it yourself."

He took the chopsticks, didn't say anything, and lowered his head to continue eating.

Gu Yan simply rested her chin on her hands and tilted her head to watch him.

Sunlight shone in from the floor-to-ceiling window, casting a layer of pale gold light on his profile. His movements while eating were very slow, his grip on the chopsticks steady, every action carrying an inherent air of nobility.

Even though he was just eating a boxed lunch, he somehow made it look like a three-star Michelin meal.

As she watched, Gu Yan suddenly called out to him: "Shen Yanhui."

He raised his eyes to look at her.

"Who exactly is that mysterious buyer who keeps buying my paintings?" Her tone carried a hint of probing.

Shen Yanhui continued to pick up food, replying nonchalantly: "Why ask about this all of a sudden?"

Gu Yan changed her posture, resting her chin on the back of her hand: "I'm curious, they've been buying for four years, they're quite persistent."

He swallowed the food in his mouth, set down his chopsticks, and picked up his water glass to take a sip.

"Who do you think it is?"

"I wouldn't be asking you if I knew, would I?" She blinked, feigning an innocent look, "Aren't you curious?"

Shen Yanhui wiped his mouth with a paper napkin and chuckled: "Do you want me to be curious?"

Gu Yan choked: "I do not."

Shen Yanhui laughed again.

"I heard from Lin Wei that the buyer will come to collect the paintings in person in a few days; you'll know who it is then."

Gu Yan pursed her lips—still pretending, still pretending—she already knew.

Just then, the office door was suddenly knocked upon.

A middle-aged man in a suit and leather shoes entered, holding a stack of documents; he froze for a moment upon seeing Gu Yan, but quickly returned to normal.

He was the head of the company's legal department and rarely came to the office directly; today, there was clearly some urgent matter.

"President Shen, there are a few details regarding the disclosure process after the equity change that require your confirmation."

Shen Yanhui didn't take the documents, just said faintly: "Handle it according to the process, no need to ask me specifically."

The man looked at him, then at Gu Yan sitting beside him, wanting to say something but holding back. The equity change involved a change in the actual controller, and according to disclosure rules, the marital status of the actual controller needed to be updated simultaneously. This was a set-in-stone matter that couldn't be hidden.

Yet the boss's attitude clearly showed he didn't want to discuss it on this occasion.

"Anything else?"

"... Yes, according to the disclosure requirements, your marr—"

Shen Yanhui glanced at him, the faint sense of oppression in his gaze making the man fall silent involuntarily.

"Handle everything according to legal regulations and the company's articles of association, do you understand?"

"Understood, understood."

The man nodded hurriedly, set down the documents, and retreated.

Gu Yan was left confused by what she heard, tilting her head to look at him: "What was he talking about just now?"

Shen Yanhui: "Nothing, company business."

She said "Oh," and didn't ask further. She had never been interested in those complicated equity and disclosure things, and was too lazy to delve into them.

Even for her own family's company, she had never bothered to learn about it. In any case, her eldest brother's ability to make money was top-notch, and she and Gu Lin only needed to be responsible for enjoying life.

——

After lunch, Gu Yan accompanied him to sleep for a while on the bed in the lounge. She didn't leave until two in the afternoon.

After leaving Shen Corporation, she went straight to Man Island.

She wanted to verify her conjecture about that locked room.

Gu Yan headed straight to the end of the corridor and entered her birthday into the keypad lock.

A beep sounded: Error.

She frowned; it wasn't her birthday?

Yet in this house, every password she knew was her birthday—the front door, the bedroom, the safe, all of them.

She thought for a moment, then entered another date.

The day "Morning Mist" was auctioned off in Paris.

Beep.

The lock opened.

Gu Yan stood before the door, her heartbeat suddenly quickening.

The door pushed open to reveal a very large room. The lighting was soft, hitting the walls from different angles, and the temperature and humidity were controlled perfectly.

She was too familiar with this type of lighting setup; it was the configuration used only for professional art exhibitions.

Hanging on the walls were all her paintings.

From the few she completed early on in Paris to the works from every exhibition thereafter. Dozens of paintings, large and small, hung neatly on the walls.

The angles of the lights were all meticulously adjusted, and every painting was cared for perfectly.

She walked inside, step by step, as if treading in a dream.

Her fingertips lightly brushed over the edges of the frames, over those familiar brushstrokes.

"Morning Mist" hung in the very center of the space, the light hitting it just right, making that layer of gray-blue mist seem alive.

As expected.

Gu Yan curled the corners of her lips.

She continued walking forward; on a shelf in the corner sat a wooden box. It looked very old, appearing completely out of place with the exquisite framing surrounding it.

She opened it out of curiosity, and a white handkerchief came into view. It was a very ordinary cotton handkerchief, save for the crooked rose in the corner that marked it as unique.

Gu Yan was completely stunned.

Four years ago, a rainy night in Paris.

She had once met an injured man and helped him with a simple bandage. Because he looked particularly dejected, she had even invited him to come see her debut exhibition.

She had thought it was just a chance encounter.

Yet it turned out he had kept it in his heart all along; he had bought her first painting, and then one after another, silently collecting them.

He was Shen Yanhui.

Gu Yan couldn't describe what she was feeling at this moment; she only felt a swelling in her chest and remained motionless for a long time.

Shen Group, in the office.

Shen Yanhui watched the surveillance feed on the screen.

He watched the young woman stand before that wooden box for a very, very long time. He watched her curl the corners of her lips and carefully place the handkerchief back into the wooden box.

He didn't move, just watched the screen like that.

He watched her, in this secret room he had hidden for four years, touch every one of his secrets, painting by painting.