Chapter 33: Actually Kissed There

Gu Yan clutched her chest, and when she walked back to the main table, the flush on her cheeks had not yet fully faded.

Yang Bing was talking to a lady, and seeing her approach, she naturally reached out to tuck a stray lock of hair behind Gu Yan's ear.

"Where did you run off to? Why is your face so red?"

The voice was not loud, yet it caused several gazes at the table to converge.

Gu Chen lifted his eyes, his gaze lingering on her reddened earlobes. Su Jin gently touched the back of his hand and passed him an almond cookie.

Gu Lin sat opposite with his legs crossed and scoffed, "Where else could she go? She must have gone off to do something bad in secret."

Gu Yan glared at him: "Gu Lin!"

"Why are you glaring at me?" Gu Lin smiled mischievously, lowered his voice, and silently mouthed three words: Shen, Yan, hui.

Gu Yan was speechless and turned her face away, not wanting to pay him any mind.

The spot on her chest where he had kissed her still retained a burning sensation.

That wicked man, to think he...

To think he kissed her there.

She subconsciously pulled her collar tighter.

Fortunately, the servants pushed over a seven-tiered longevity peach cake, and everyone's attention shifted instantly.

Gu Laoyezi stood up with a chuckle and beckoned to Gu Yan: "Yanyan, come here, cut it with Grandpa."

Low murmurs broke out among the guests.

"This one from the Gu Family is truly spoiled to the heavens."

"Indeed, look at the way Old Gu is looking at her, he treasures her like nothing else."

"She's also beautiful... Hey, look at that pair of pearls by her ears, the quality is superb."

"..."

Gu Yan walked to her grandfather's side.

The old man handed her the cake knife wrapped in red silk, placed his large hand over hers, and held it firmly.

"Come, Yanyan, make the first cut." The old man's voice was resonant, his eyes full of affection.

The first cut was made.

Fireworks suddenly rose and burst in the night sky.

With a boom, the sky was filled with flowing colors.

Gu Yan lifted her eyes amidst the brilliant light and shadows.

Across the bustling crowd, she saw Shen Yanhui standing at the edge of the terrace, quietly watching this side.

Sensing her gaze, he reached out and tugged at his tie.

Gu Yan's hand trembled, and she almost lost her grip on the cake knife.

Stay steady, Gu Yan, it's a small scene.

The cake was finally cut, the servants began to distribute the plates, and the guests raised their glasses to offer congratulations once more.

Gu Yan retreated to her seat and took a sip of the juice in front of her; the cold liquid slid down her throat, finally suppressing the heat on her cheeks.

Gu Lin leaned over, poked a peach on the cake with his fork, and lowered his voice: "Yanyan, your lipstick is smudged."

Gu Yan was stunned for a moment and hurriedly checked herself using her phone screen.

"I'm lying to you." Gu Lin's shoulders shook with laughter, and he didn't restrain himself even after being glared at fiercely by her. "But the way you look... it seems you really did do something bad."

"Shut up!" she gritted her teeth.

Gu Lin continued to enjoy the spectacle, "Remember to lock your door tonight, I'm afraid someone might climb over the wall."

Gu Yan wanted to kick him, but as soon as she lifted her foot, she was stopped by the cold gaze sweeping over from Gu Chen opposite her.

She paused, retracted her foot with an innocent expression, and calmly ate her cake.

——

After the birthday banquet, Gu Lin was forcibly dragged into the company, under the guise of gaining experience.

And Gu Yan regained her freedom once again.

She had originally thought the first thing to do was to properly coax Shen Yanhui, but given his excessively wicked behavior, she decided to put it off for a while longer.

It just so happened that Lin Wei invited her to dinner, so she accepted.

Entering June, the weather gradually turned hot. Especially these past few days, the temperature had already climbed to a high of 30 degrees.

Gu Yan picked through her wardrobe and chose a haze-blue thin silk dress, paired with a pair of silver high heels.

Looking at her bright and beautiful self in the mirror, she was very satisfied.

Lin Wei saw her and "tsk-ed": "Miss, do you need to dress this beautifully just to see me?"

Gu Yan tossed her hair, "I'm naturally gifted."

Lin Wei didn't know what to say for a moment.

The restaurant was hidden in an old alley, with white walls and black tiles, and a century-old wisteria in the courtyard was blooming vibrantly.

Gu Yan ran over and touched the petals, "How did you find this place? These flowers are blooming so beautifully."

She struck a pose and looked at Lin Wei coquettishly, "Good Weiwei, help me take a picture~"

Lin Wei was happy to take it for her; after all, taking photos of a great beauty wasn't a chore, it was a pleasure.

"How long has it been since you went online? This place has been super popular lately; it was opened by Zhou Shuyao, the eldest daughter of the Zhou Family. Don't the young ladies in the group post photos here every day? It's become a check-in spot for showing off one's taste." Lin Wei said while taking pictures.

Zhou Shuyao?

Gu Yan remembered that woman wearing a moon-white cheongsam.

So it was opened by her.

Gu Yan said lazily: "I'm busy painting, where would I have time to look at those boring messages?"

The group chat the two were talking about was called Jingcheng Haomen Shunu Jiaoliu Qun.

Basically every socialite in Jingcheng whose name carries any weight is in it; it usually just serves the purpose of showing off and posturing.

Gu Yan is usually too lazy to look at it.

Lin Wei put down her phone, a playful look on her face, "I think you're just busy falling in love."

The two walked toward the private room together.

Gu Yan ordered a few light dishes; her period had arrived recently, so she couldn't eat anything too spicy.

"Right, the gallery contacted me and gave two time slots, late August or early September. Which one do you choose?"

Gu Yan thought for a moment: "September. August is too rushed, I don't have enough paintings."

"Fine. Also," Lin Wei paused, "still not planning to show your face?"

Gu Yan: "Mm."

"That's fine too. Anyway, whether you show your face or not, your paintings sell just as well." Lin Wei teased, "Master Yan, you are currently the hottest one among the new generation of Impressionists, you know~"

Gu Yan blushed a little at being told this.

Of course she didn't doubt her own paintings; if someone in art didn't even have that bit of confidence, it would be a laughingstock to say it out loud.

But honestly, there was indeed an element of luck in her rise to fame.

Back then, when she was in Paris, she entrusted "Morning Mist" to a gallery owner to help sell the painting.

No one expected that a student's painting would win the favor of two collectors, eventually being auctioned off for the astronomical price of 500,000 Euros.

This made the name Yan rise to fame in the European art scene overnight.

Over these years, her paintings have had other buyers one after another.

But the mysterious person who acquired "Morning Mist" is the one who has bought the most.

It wasn't that she wasn't curious, but the other party had never revealed any information, nor had they ever had any contact with her.

She thought, perhaps the other party truly just appreciated her paintings.

The sky had already darkened, so the two prepared to leave.

As they came out of the restaurant, they happened to run into a group of people carefully carrying a painting covered with a white cloth inside.

Gu Yan and Lin Wei stepped aside toward the door.

The frame was not small; four people were carrying it with cautious steps.

Following behind them as they entered was Zhou Shuyao.

Today she had changed into a sky-blue cheongsam embroidered with bamboo leaves. Seeing Gu Yan and Lin Wei, she paused slightly and revealed a proper, shallow smile: "Miss Gu, Miss Lin."

Lin Wei was naturally familiar, nodding with a smile: "Miss Zhou, this is... you bought a new painting?"

Zhou Shuyao signaled for the people carrying the painting to wait a moment, then reached out and gently lifted a corner of the white cloth: "Yes, I just acquired it at an auction house; I want to hang it in the dining room."

The cloth fell back down.

Gu Yan followed the line of sight and looked over, then froze.

The image was familiar to her.

The water lily pond at dusk shimmered with golden-purple light, and in the bottom right corner, her unique "Y" pattern was hidden in the shadows of the leaves.

It was her "Twilight".