Gao Ze thought to himself, "This is my chance to redeem myself! This time, no matter what President Gu says, I'll definitely applaud him and laugh heartily."
However, the next second, Gu Yizhou coldly curled his lips, "This quarterly bonus is cancelled." The air was silent for a full three seconds. Gao Ze: ... Su Mianmian: "Pfft!"
The people in the car simultaneously looked at Su Mianmian, only to see the girl covering her mouth, her eyes curving into crescents, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably. "I'm sorry, Assistant Gao, I didn't mean to laugh, I just couldn't help it."
...After returning home, Su Mianmian didn't dawdle for the first time, and went straight to the bedroom to take a shower. There were too many people at the concert, and she probably smelled of all sorts of things.
After checking the hickeys on her body in the bathroom, she felt a little dejected; even after a whole day, the marks had only faded a little. After putting on her pajamas and leaving the bathroom, she saw Gu Yizhou taking a nap on the sofa. Su Mianmian rarely saw Gu Yizhou so lazy.
He leaned back on the sofa, his head slightly tilted, his thick, long eyelashes drooping gently over his eyelids. He had taken off his suit jacket, wearing only a black shirt, his tie casually tossed aside beside the sofa, and the top two buttons of his collar undone.
Under the light, his pale skin contrasted sharply with the black shirt. His exposed collarbone and the faint outline of his chest muscles made Su Mianmian blush and her heart race. Su Mianmian didn't dare look too long, and quietly walked over, patting Gu Yizhou's shoulder.
"Gu Yizhou, I'm done showering. You can go in and shower too." Gu Yizhou slowly opened his eyes. Perhaps because he had been woken up halfway through, his eyes lacked their usual sharpness and coldness, looking confused and innocent. Su Mianmian bent down to look at Gu Yizhou and repeated herself.
"I'm done showering. If you're tired, go to bed after you're done." Gu Yizhou's eyes gradually cleared.
The young girl before him had just showered; her face was fresh and beautiful, like a lotus emerging from water. Her eyes, clear and bright, were moist, and her full lips had a slightly protruding cupid's bow, making her look both cute and alluring.
Gu Yizhou unconsciously recalled the uncontrolled kiss from last night, and a surge of heat rose in his lower abdomen. Leaning against the sofa, he reached out and pulled Su Mianmian into his arms. "Gu Yizhou!"
Su Mianmian was abruptly pulled onto the sofa, especially so close to Gu Yizhou, and felt a pang of panic. She tried to stand up, bracing herself on her arms. "Don't move," Gu Yizhou's voice was low and husky, with a slightly bubbly quality.
His large hand gently brushed Su Mianmian's long hair across her chest, then looked at her neck. "Let me see if the mark has faded." This only made the little pufferfish puff up again. "No! It only faded a little, but it's still quite noticeable!"
Gu Yizhou gently pulled Su Mianmian closer, resting his chin on her shoulder. "Still angry? Mianmian, I've already apologized." The sweet, milky fragrance of the young girl made Gu Yizhou's heart flutter.
His warm breath brushed lightly against Su Mianmian's ear, causing her to tremble involuntarily. Gu Yizhou felt it and smiled, "Mianmian, you're so sensitive…" Su Mianmian's face instantly flushed red.
"Here we go again. I think you only apologize verbally; you don't really feel any remorse." Gu Yizhou laughed, his chest heaving with each laugh.
He gripped Su Mianmian's shoulders, pulling her slightly away to force her to meet his gaze, his eyes gentle yet teasing. "What can we do to make Mianmian calm down? Or, I can let you take a few puffs too?" "No way!"
Su Mianmian finally understood. Gu Yizhou was the legendary flirting master, always teasing her! Especially when they were alone together, he was a completely different person, utterly unlike his composed and self-possessed demeanor in front of others during the day.
"I'm not talking to you anymore. Go take a shower. I need to look at some study materials." Saying this, she got up to leave, but Gu Yizhou held her hand tightly. "I won't tease you anymore. I need to go to the study to handle some business. You can sleep peacefully."
Su Mianmian's cheeks flushed. He realized she was using studying as an excuse to stay in the room because she was afraid of sleeping with him? She felt a little embarrassed.
She was the one who wanted to marry him, the one who promised not to be a marriage of convenience, and now, she was the one who kept avoiding intimacy with him. Su Mianmian gently pulled away from Gu Yizhou's hand. "I...I really do have exams."
Gu Yizhou saw through her but didn't say anything. "Well, even with exams, you can't stay up all night. You'll get dark circles under your eyes." Su Mianmian felt that Gu Yizhou genuinely cared about her and obediently replied, "Oh, okay then, I'll go to sleep first."
Halfway there, she remembered something, turned around, and looked at Gu Yizhou. "By the way, I made things clear with Tang Yunzheng about our marriage today. He won't bother me anymore, don't worry."
Gu Yizhou's gaze had been following Su Mianmian. Hearing this, the corners of his lips slightly curved, his gaze burning. "Thank you, Mrs. Gu, for giving me my due recognition."...Gu Yizhou left the bedroom, and Su Mianmian finally breathed a sigh of relief.
When Gu Yizhou said those words, his expression and tone seemed to reveal a hint of pleasure. Su Mianmian didn't understand why Gu Yizhou cared so much about this title. For someone like him, no matter who he was with, it should be the woman who demanded a title, right?
She thought about it for a while, unable to find an answer, but her spirits were rising. She took out her phone and saw that Song Zhi had replied to her message. "Wow! An autographed photo of Allen!!!" "Su Mianmian! Where did you get this?
Did you secretly go to Allen's concert today without me knowing?" Seeing that Su Mianmian didn't reply, Song Zhi angrily sent a string of frustrated and devastated emojis below.
Su Mianmian's eyes crinkled with delight as she read the message; she could almost picture Song Zhi's furious expression as she sent those emojis. So, to make matters worse, she sent several photos of herself with Allen. "Not only an autographed photo, but also a close-up picture."
This time, Song Zhi didn't even bother with a message and just sent a video call. As soon as the call connected, her loud voice boomed through the air. "Su Mianmian! You went to the concert without telling me!" Su Mianmian held the phone slightly away, waiting for Song Zhi to finish venting her frustration before smiling and speaking.
"Tang Yunzheng bought the tickets. I wasn't planning on going, but I needed to talk to him about something, so I decided to go at the last minute."
Song Zhi ignored her explanation, her red lips pouting. "Your betrayal of your best friend is cursed in today's society! May you never have a seasoning packet in your instant noodles, never have a straw in your milk tea, and never have watermelon seeds in your watermelon!"
Su Mianmian blinked, incredulous. "So vicious? Fine, I'll keep the autographed ticket I got from Allen specifically for you for now." Upon hearing this, Song Zhi's furious expression vanished instantly. "What did you say? A signed photo specially for me?" Su Mianmian sighed, her tone regretful. "Yes, it even has a blessing written on it for you, but it doesn't matter anyway, you don't really want it."
"I want it, I want it, Mianmian, my beautiful girl! I was just being impulsive and said something outrageous. Please don't hold it against me, okay?" Su Mianmian pouted, feigning difficulty. "But you just cursed me."
"I changed my mind, I took it back, no, no, I don't care if those curses come true!" Seeing Song Zhi's anxious and sweaty face, Su Mianmian finally let her go. "Okay, I'll bring it to school for you tomorrow."
"Wow, I knew Mianmian was the best! *kiss*, *muah*!" Su Mianmian thought Song Zhi was incredibly cute, and pretended to be cheesy as she held her phone away. Then Song Zhi suddenly exclaimed. "Su Mianmian! You, you, you! Where are you?
This doesn't seem to be your bedroom, does it?" Su Mianmian panicked and reflexively looked at her phone, only to realize that she had accidentally glimpsed the room's layout.
Song Zhi had visited her house a few times before and was very familiar with her bedroom, so she immediately noticed the difference.
"Wow, there's even a men's suit on the sofa! Su Mianmian, you're something else! You wouldn't be with Mr. Z..." Song Zhi was interrupted halfway through her sentence by Su Mianmian.
"No, don't think like that. Um, I'll explain to you at school tomorrow. You should get some rest!" Su Mianmian said, and before Song Zhi could react, she hurriedly hung up the phone. She let out a sigh of relief; it seemed she couldn't hide her affair with Gu Yizhou from Song Zhi for much longer.
...On Tang Yunzheng's side, after leaving the milk tea shop, he found it increasingly absurd. He couldn't understand what had happened to make the Su family change their marriage proposal from Su Yang to Su Mianmian at the last minute.
Su Mianmian had just turned twenty and was still a junior in college. Besides, she had just said herself that she didn't love Gu Yizhou. Tang Yunzheng, filled with questions, unknowingly drove his car to the front gate of the Su family's house.