"Shen Beitang, why don't you just stay a supporting character? Why do you have to show off like this? Aren't you ashamed?"

Bai Ling sat high above in the hall, with Gu Zhun and Shan Chengming standing on either side of her.

She knelt in the far corner, her body covered in filth.

"You're just prettier than me. If your face were ruined, would Gu Zhun still like you?"

Bai Ling took out a black bottle and handed it to Gu Zhun, giving him instructions.

"Pour this bottle of sulfuric acid in her face."

Gu Zhun took the bottle expressionlessly, walked to her side, and said, word by word.

"You're not worthy to compare with Bai Ling."

Shen Beitang screamed and covered her face with her festering hands: "No! Gu Zhun!"

...

"No, Gu Zhun!"

Shen Beitang woke up with a start, wondering why she had been having nightmares so often lately.

"What do you not want?"

Shen Beitang is really something; it seems he hates himself even in his dreams.

"Do you not want me, or do you not want me to kill you?"

Gu Zhun pulled his hand back in annoyance; it had been used as a pillow all night and was now stiff.

"Drink it."

A black thermos was handed over, and Shen Beitang's expression suddenly changed.

No way, was that just a dream? Did Gu Zhun really come to deliver sulfuric acid to me?

"What?" Gu Zhun unscrewed the lid of the thermos. "Wait for me to feed you."

As he spoke, he placed the thermos in front of her, perfectly aligning with the scene in her dream.

Shen Beitang backed away until she reached the head of the bed: "What's in here?"

"Ha, so they were afraid I would poison them."

This was porridge that he had ordered from the private chef that morning, because he remembered Aunt Lin saying that sick people should drink porridge for their first meal of the morning.

He genuinely believed that Shen Beitang wanted him to feed her.

"You're not important enough for me to take action myself."

Gu Zhun suppressed his smile and, in front of Shen Beitang, poured all the porridge from his thermos into the trash can.

"That's not what I meant, it's just..."

The rich aroma of rice filled the room, and Shen Beitang was momentarily speechless, unable to tell Gu Zhun the truth.

Last night I dreamt that he was carrying a bottle of sulfuric acid, probably to disfigure me.

Gu Zhun threw the thermos along with the thermos into the trash can, making a crisp sound.

"I secretly hope that another man will come to see you."

Gu Zhun's words were like thorns, piercing Shen Beitang's heart one by one.

"Please don't project your own assumptions onto me."

Since last night, Gu Zhun has been like a gunpowder keg, constantly firing at himself.

It's one thing to talk about Officer Gao, but to bring up other men is another. Now Gu Zhun is even feeling wronged.

"My imagination? Humph!"

Gu Zhun gave her a deep look. "I speak based on facts."

He left with those words, then slammed the door and left.

Shen Beitang was left sitting on the bed, completely bewildered, not understanding what Gu Zhun meant.

Does talking to a man casually mean you're going to start a relationship?

But when he saw the porridge in the trash can, all his anger subsided.

...

downstairs

Gu Zhun sat in his usual spot, looking at a magazine. The coffee beside him had already gone cold, and the magazine was still on the first page.

The moment Shen Beitang came downstairs, Gu Zhun's gaze couldn't help but drift upwards.

But the next second he wanted nothing more than to tear the magazine in his hand to shreds and throw it all in her face.

"Are you planning to let the whole world know that you're out partying?"

Shen Beitang was holding a scraper and scraping hard at the spot where the strawberry had been from the night before.

After this treatment, the marks that had faded considerably became bright red again.

If before, you could at least cover it up with clothes, now that the area has expanded, it's no longer something that can be easily covered up with clothes.

"Me, promiscuous?"

Shen Beitang looked at his clothes, which were completely covered up, with the largest exposed areas being his face and the scraper.

"Gu Zhun really just blurted things out without thinking," Shen Beitang took a deep breath and asked sincerely.

"Where did I go astray? Does getting a cupping treatment make me go astray?"

"Yes, wait, gua sha?"

Gu Zhun then realized that the board in Shen Beitang's hand was a jade gua sha board.

The marks on the neck are clearly from gua sha (scraping therapy), not hickeys...

Gu Zhun then realized the huge blunder he had made the night before.

He was so irrational that he lost all sense of reason because of a gua sha mark, but it was all Shen Beitang's fault.

If she had simply rejected Gao Xiao yesterday, I wouldn't have thought about it so much.

"If you expose the area below your neck when performing gua sha, it's considered dissolute."

Gu Zhun knew he was wrong but persisted in his mistake, never considering the possibility of correcting it.

This is utterly unreasonable. Shen Beitang knew that there was no way to reason with Gu Zhun when he hadn't taken his medicine.

How is your Bai Ling?

Shen Beitang pretended to drink water and asked casually.

He came back so late yesterday, he must have gone to the police station to deal with Bai Ling's matter.

That's why I got so angry with myself when I got back.

“I’ve released her on bail, and she promised me she won’t do it again. I’ve also made compensation to the employees.”

Gu Zhun's subtext was that the victim had already forgiven Bai Ling, and he hoped she wouldn't cause any more trouble.

Even the victim's side has been dealt with, which shows that Gu Zhun is as quick, accurate, and ruthless as ever.

Looking at Gu Zhun's well-defined fingers, Shen Beitang felt a void in her heart.

Gu Zhun really likes Bai Ling.

Gu Zhun seemed oblivious to Shen Beitang's unusual behavior and continued speaking to himself.

"You'll be fine for the next week, right?"

Shen Beitang hummed in agreement. The work at the company had been completed, and there was no need to go back to the school for the time being.

Gu Zhun nodded, peeking half his head out from behind the magazine: "Pack your things now, and come with me on this business trip."

"Now? I haven't booked my plane ticket yet."

Gu Zhun gestured for her to look at her phone.

No sooner had I finished speaking than I received a notification that my ticket booking had been successful.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner? I haven't packed anything."

With only two hours left before takeoff, there was simply no time to spare, and Gu Zhun had already smashed the suitcase.

Gu Zhun put down the magazine, took a sip of the cold coffee, and then swallowed it with a frown.

"Do I need to pack anything for a business trip? I can just buy whatever I need on the spot."

Clothes and cosmetics are the simplest daily necessities, but Shen Beitang has a problem.

She's not used to staying in hotels at all; she can't sleep in them. That's why Ms. Zhou never takes her with her on business trips.

"I don't like staying in hotels."

Gu Zhun shook his head, took out his phone, and dialed Linda's number.

"Linda, help me buy a house in Jincheng. Yes, right now, I need to see it as soon as I get off the plane."

Gu Zhun hung up the phone and shrugged at Chen Beitang: "No need to stay in a hotel anymore, can I go on a business trip now?"

"..."

Shen Beitang nodded.

Buying wherever he goes, is Gu Zhun a snail?