Chapter 14: Who Am I to You

Gu Lin watched as Shen Yanhui held his younger sister and prepared to get into the car; only then did his brain seem to reconnect its signal, and he rushed forward with a start.

"Mr. Shen!" He blocked the car door, keeping his tone as polite as possible, but his gesture of obstructing the door was very clear. "Where are you taking Yanyan?"

Shen Yanhui's footsteps paused; the person in his arms seemed to stir because of her brother's voice, but she still buried her face in his neck and did not look up.

He turned his head to the side and cast a cold glance at Gu Lin.

Gu Lin subconsciously tensed his spine; he was the one who had led the street racing, and having gotten her into this state, he was already in the wrong and feeling distressed.

Being looked at like this, his heart drummed even harder.

In that moment of hesitation, Shen Yanhui had already turned slightly and bypassed him.

Chang Su alertly pulled open the back seat door. Shen Yanhui leaned over, carefully placed Gu Yan into the spacious back seat, and then sat in himself.

The car door closed, cutting off the inside from the outside.

Gu Lin stood where he was, a shiver running through him from the night wind, his mind still a bit dazed.

A brother beside him leaned over and asked cautiously, "Brother Lin, are you alright? That Mr. Shen and Sister Yanyan..."

Gu Lin irritably raked his hair: "I want to know too, damn it!"

——

The cramped space inside the car cut off the clamor of the outside world.

Gu Yan was placed on the soft seat, with a comfortable cushion propped behind her back. Shen Yanhui took out a bottle of water, unscrewed it, and handed it to her lips.

"Drink some water." His voice was low, yet carried warmth.

Gu Yan closed her eyes and, with his help, sipped it in small mouthfuls. The warm water slid down her parched throat, slightly easing the discomfort in her stomach and the burning sensation in her throat.

After a few mouthfuls, she felt a belated sense of shame.

That line she had said while buried in his arms, crying, "I feel so uncomfortable."

Gu Yan: "..."

She carefully opened one eye to peek at the man beside her, only to be caught red-handed by his pitch-black eyes.

As their eyes met, her body stiffened.

Looking at the way the corners of his lips were curled, she suddenly realized that she was clearly still angry.

She! Was! Angry!

Gu Yan pushed away the water bottle at her lips, her movements somewhat hurried, causing some water to spill and dampen the cuff of Shen Yanhui's suit.

"I..." She deliberately turned her face away, her tone sour. "I can walk myself; I don't need your fake kindness."

Shen Yanhui didn't mind the water stain on his cuff; he tightened the bottle cap and set it aside.

He looked at the back of her head, which she had deliberately turned away, and that slender neck flushed with a rosy hue.

"Fake kindness?" he repeated slowly and leisurely.

"Otherwise what?" Gu Yan refused to look at him even more. "Stop the car, I want to get out..."

She didn't finish her sentence because Shen Yanhui suddenly leaned in close.

A shadow carrying the scent of cedarwood loomed over her; he reached out, his slightly cool fingertips pinching her chin—the force was not heavy, but enough to force her to turn her face and confront him directly.

"Gu Yan," he looked at her instantly widened eyes and her lips, which were glistening with moisture, his voice dropping lower. "Don't be unreasonable."

He actually said she was being unreasonable?

A sense of grievance surged up instantly, even more violently than the churning in her stomach just now.

"I'm being unreasonable?" Her voice trembled, and her eyes grew redder. "Shen Yanhui, are you being reasonable? I'm already this uncomfortable... and you're still scolding me..."

The more she spoke, the more aggrieved she felt, and the emotions she had accumulated over the past few days erupted completely: "Men really are all like this; once they get what they want, they don't cherish it. So now you come running here... Mmph!"

Her incessant accusations were suddenly blocked.

Shen Yanhui lowered his head and kissed her lips.

His lips were slightly cool, pressing against her warm, soft lips, blocking all her unfinished words.

Gu Yan froze, her eyes opening even wider, filled with astonishment.

This kiss was very brief.

Shen Yanhui pulled back quickly, but his fingertips remained on her chin, gently stroking that delicate skin.

"How did I not cherish you?" He looked at her instantly stunned expression, his voice seeming to carry a trace of a faint smile. "Didn't you receive the gifts I had people send every day?"

Gu Yan came back to her senses, her cheeks flushing bright red—half from anger, half from... something else.

She slapped his hand away abruptly, as if she had been scalded.

"You think you can dismiss me with those things?" She lifted her chin, struggling to maintain her pride. "Is the great boss Shen really this stingy?"

"Stingy?" Shen Yanhui leaned back against the seat, watching her with composure. "The 19th-century antique feather brooch that was the finale of last month's Sotheby's spring auction, the piece of field-yellow frozen seal stone once in the collection of Duan Qirui, and that set of sapphire jewelry from yesterday—the main stone is Kashmir Cornflower Blue, unheated, with IF clarity."

He paused, adding, "Each piece is enough to buy another Lotus-Holding Guanyin."

His tone was as flat as if he were stating the weather, but it left Gu Yan choked for words.

She hadn't even opened the boxes; how was she supposed to know what those things were?

The guilty conscience in her heart began to surface, but she absolutely could not admit defeat on the surface.

"Oh..." she muttered, lacking confidence, her gaze drifting elsewhere.

Shen Yanhui took in her subtle guilty conscience, but he didn't point it out. He suddenly changed the subject, his voice deepening:

"Aren't you going to explain what happened just now?"

Gu Yan was startled: "Explain what?"

Shen Yanhui's gaze landed on her still-messy hair and pale face, his eyes darkening.

"In the middle of the night," he said slowly, every word clear, "street racing with a man?"

Gu Yan's heart skipped a beat.

"That's my brother," she immediately retorted, her voice rising involuntarily. "My brother was taking me for a drive."

She said the last two words with a bit of a guilty conscience.

She had already cursed Gu Lin ten thousand times in her heart, but in front of Shen Yanhui, she still decided to maintain his face.

"Going for a drive turned into this?"

"You're meddling too much, Mr. Shen?" Gu Yan raised an eyebrow, "May I ask who you are to me?"

Shen Yanhui: "Who do you think I am to you?"

Gu Yan: "How would I know?"

——

The car sped along, not heading toward the Gu Family or the hospital, but toward the east side of the city.

The scenery outside the window gradually changed from bustling streets to sparse, tree-lined avenues, finally driving onto a private driveway.

At the end of the driveway was a bridge.

After crossing the bridge, one entered Shen Yanhui's territory, Man Island. His residence occupied an entire man-made island; tall, imposing trees lined the road, and the house was hidden among the woods, brilliantly lit.

He basically lived here on ordinary days, except during the holidays, when he would return to the Shen Family Old Residence by Cuiwei Lake.

The car stopped, and Gu Yan was still looking out the window.

Without waiting for her to dawdle, Shen Yanhui had already leaned over and scooped her up horizontally once again.

"I can walk myself..." Gu Yan protested in a low voice.

Shen Yanhui ignored her, carrying her as he stepped onto the stairs with a steady gait, while the security guard at the door bowed to him.

When Gu Yan was carried into the villa, she couldn't help but curiously lift her eyes to look around.

The interior had an extremely high ceiling, with a black, white, and gray color scheme and exquisite lighting. There was a crisp, woody scent in the air.

Shen Yanhui carried her straight through the empty living room, walked up the spiral staircase, and arrived on the second floor.

He pushed open a door to reveal a guest room decorated in a comfortable and warm style, different from the cold, hard style downstairs; it used a lot of off-white, light gray, and natural wood tones, looking much softer.

What surprised Gu Yan even more was that a female doctor of traditional Chinese medicine was already waiting in the room.

"Mr. Shen." The doctor nodded slightly.

Gu Yan: "..."

She was so embarrassed that her toes curled, and when she was carefully placed into a soft armchair by Shen Yanhui, she couldn't help but mutter in a low voice: "This is making too much of a fuss... I don't have anything serious."

Shen Yanhui didn't respond, just stood to the side and said to the doctor: "Take a look."

The doctor stepped forward, her attitude gentle and professional. She first asked about the specific sensations of Gu Yan's discomfort, then signaled for Gu Yan to extend her wrist.

Cool fingertips touched the pulse, and the doctor focused her attention to listen carefully.

The room was very quiet, with only the faint sound of wind coming from outside the window.

After a moment, the doctor let go and said: "There is nothing seriously wrong; it is mainly dizziness and gastrointestinal discomfort caused by sudden, strenuous exercise. Just rest for a while and drink some warm water to soothe the stomach. However..."

She paused, then continued: "Are your hands and feet usually prone to being cold, are you sensitive to the cold, and is your menstrual cycle somewhat irregular?"

Gu Yan was stunned for a moment and nodded subconsciously.

"This needs to be properly regulated," the doctor said with a serious tone, "A girl's cold constitution is not a trivial matter. If you don't pay attention when you are young, it may have some effects later on."

"What kind of effects?" Shen Yanhui asked.

The doctor weighed her words: "For example, your constitution will be more prone to feeling unwell, and it may also affect future fertility; both conception and maintaining a pregnancy will be relatively more difficult."

Gu Yan: "............"

"Who told you to look at this!"