Chapter 17: The CEO's Substitute Wife - Please, Wake Up

The butler felt a jolt of fear when he saw Gong Ye's fierce appearance.

His eyes gleamed with a green light as he greedily stared at Gong Ye.

He reached out and climbed onto Gong Ye's shoulder.

She called out softly, "Mr. Gong, you can do whatever you want..."

Gong Ye's eyes were blurry from the alcohol, as if veiled by a layer of mist.

The alcohol numbed his reason and also caused the emotions he had been desperately suppressing to surge forth.

The gaze he gave the person beneath him was so tender it could drown water.

The butler's body went limp under the man's gaze.

She urged him in a low voice, "Mr. Gong, I miss you so much."

That affectedly coquettish tone sent chills down one's spine.

The same clothes, the same smell, and he was still speaking those sweet words he wanted to hear.

Gong Ye's reason crumbled in an instant, and he kissed the person beneath him...

The two bodyguards guarding the door exchanged a glance, and one of them spoke with a puzzled expression.

"You know, the butler took way too long to go in. Should we knock on the door and go in to check on him?"

The other person hesitated and shook his head, "No, that's Mr. Gong's housekeeper. Perhaps Mr. Gong had some instructions, which is why it took a while."

The two were unaware of what was happening in the room.

The butler closed his eyes with a blissful expression, welcoming Gong Ye's kiss.

However, after waiting for a long time, the expected kiss did not fall.

The butler opened his eyes and saw Gong Ye with his brows furrowed and eyes narrowed, his gaze filled with an unreadable expression.

"Mr. Gong, why aren't you moving?"

The butler blinked pitifully, then unbuttoned two buttons on his shirt, giving Gong Ye a seductive look.

"Mr. Gong, I really want to..."

This time, before the butler could finish speaking, a sharp pain shot through his neck.

Gong Ye reached out and quickly and accurately grabbed the butler's neck.

The voice that came out was extremely cold, "Speak, who are you, and why are you wearing Gu Shanshan's clothes!"

He intended to lean down and kiss her, but instead smelled a cloyingly sweet artificial perfume emanating from the person beneath him.

The scent was nothing like the faint gardenia fragrance on Gu Shanshan.

The shock brought him back to his senses, but because he had drunk too much alcohol, he had ingested too much of it.

He could only instinctively identify people by their scent; as for his eyes, he couldn't see clearly at all.

The butler was startled by this sudden turn of events. Seeing that Gong Ye squinted and didn't recognize him, he steadied himself and gave Gong Ye a stiff smile.

She said in a sweet voice, "Mr. Gong, you've had too much to drink. I'm Gu Shanshan, the Gu Shanshan you like."

"nonsense!"

Gong Ye's subordinate suddenly increased the force of his grip, saying viciously, "You are not him at all, how could you possibly be him!"

His tone was full of certainty and a chilling coldness.

The butler panicked; he had never imagined that Gu Shanshan had such a significant influence on Gong Ye.

After the divorce, Gong Ye not only ordered the fourth-floor studio to be sealed off, but also disguised himself as someone else every night to sleep with Gu Shanshan.

Now, after being given special drugs and getting drunk, she can't see clearly, but she can still recognize that he is not Gu Shanshan.

Fearing that Gong Ye would make a big commotion and attract the attention of the bodyguards outside, he panicked and wanted to run away.

But Gong Ye pinched him very hard, and the butler couldn't break free at all.

"Tell me, who are you?!"

Gong Ye gripped the butler's neck tightly with one hand and rubbed his throbbing forehead with the other.

He frowned in discomfort.

A strong feeling of heat rose within him.

He longed to hold Gu Shanshan in his arms and do everything lovers should do.

He desperately wanted to sleep with Gu Shanshan.

As the drug took effect, Gong Ye let go and pushed away the clothes that were tearing at her body.

"Cough cough cough..."

The butler was nearly strangled to death, but was finally released and ran outside while coughing.

Before he could run more than a few steps, Gong Ye kicked him to the ground, knocking over a chair and making a loud noise.

Gong Ye pinched his palms, trying to stay awake.

He stomped hard on the butler's chest and crushed him with great force.

With a few cracking sounds, the ribs were broken.

"ah......"

The butler could no longer hide his scream and let out a sharp, agonizing cry.

Hearing the commotion, the bodyguards outside rushed in and saw the butler's swallowtail coat lying on the ground, with Gong Ye stepping on the butler's chest, whose clothes were disheveled.

He was stunned for a moment, then asked tremblingly, "Mr. Gong, this..."

Gong Ye's rationality was almost completely destroyed by the effects of the drug, and he couldn't care less who the person in front of him was.

He could only vaguely recognize his subordinates by their voices.

The immediate order was given: "Take me to Gu Shanshan right now!"

He could have easily found someone here to vent his frustrations on.

But the thought that the person he possessed wasn't Gu Shanshan made him feel nothing at all.

He only wanted to take care of Shan Shan.

I accept Gu Shanshan alone, both physically and mentally.

The bodyguards didn't dare delay and immediately helped Gong Ye out.

As for the butler who was lying on the ground, unconscious from the pain, no one paid him any attention.

Inside the Gu family villa.

The once bustling Gu family home has become eerily quiet since Gong Ye bought it, with all the servants dismissed.

As for Gu's father, mother, and son, Gu Ziqing, it's unknown where they were sent.

It's unclear what kind of medicine the housekeeper gave Gong Ye, but as time went on, it became increasingly unbearable.

When the bodyguards escorted him to the warehouse door, Gong Ye's eyes were frighteningly bloodshot as he suppressed his intense desire.

"Stand guard outside. No one is allowed to approach without my order."

After giving the orders, Gong Ye pushed open the warehouse door and went inside.

This wasn't the first time the two bodyguards had guarded the Gu family's gate. Not daring to stay outside the door, they moved a little further away, keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings to ensure their master wouldn't be disturbed.

Tonight, the moonlight is obscured by dark clouds, and the warehouse is so dark you can't see your hand in front of your face.

Gong Ye called out in a hoarse voice, "Gu Shanshan, Shanshan..."

I called her several times, but Gu Shanshan didn't answer.

Gong Ye gradually lost patience, and while trying to suppress his agitation, he kicked over the wheelchair that was placed next to him.

Clang!

The wheelchair fell to the ground, making a loud noise.

But the room quickly fell silent again, and Gu Shanshan still didn't answer.

"Damn it."

Gong Ye cursed under his breath and, relying on his past memories, walked step by step toward the bed in the corner.

Because it was too dark, he couldn't see where Gu Shanshan was.

He went up to the bed and groped around for a while, finally finding a bulge in the innermost corner of the bed.

Upon smelling the faint scent of gardenias lingering at the tip of her nose, Gong Ye felt a sense of relief.

Yes, the person in the blanket is definitely his Gu Shanshan.

"Shanshan, wake up, your husband is feeling unwell."

Numbed by alcohol, Gong Ye had long forgotten that he and Gu Shanshan had already signed divorce papers.

He thought he was still married to Gu Shanshan, or rather, in his heart, he never even considered divorcing Gu Shanshan.

His only wife was Gu Shanshan.

"Shanshan, get up and serve!"

Gong Ye shouted a couple of times in annoyance.

But the person in the corner didn't react at all, as if they hadn't heard anything.

Gong Ye lost his patience. "Tsk, so naughty."

As he spoke, he ripped off the blankets covering Gu Shanshan and threw them all onto the ground.

It was really dark inside, so Gong Ye didn't see that Gu Shanshan was frowning tightly, her small face pale and bloodless.

His lips were pale and cracked, as if he had been dehydrated for a long time, and his breathing was so weak that it was almost inaudible.

After saying several things without getting a response from Gu Shanshan, Gong Ye completely lost his patience.

He ripped off his extra clothes and fiercely scooped up Gu Shanshan from the corner, pulling her into his arms.

Because the medicine was too strong, and I forced myself to endure it for so long.

Completely under the influence of alcohol and drugs, Gong Ye lost his reason and was completely unaware of the abnormal state of the person in his arms, pressing down on him fiercely...

After everything finally calmed down, I don't know how much time had passed.

As the sky began to lighten with the first hint of dawn, Gong Ye slowly woke up, frowning.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I found that my arms were burning hot, as if I were holding a furnace.

As he slowly recalled how he had been ambushed and killed the night before, his face darkened with a frightening expression.

He instinctively wanted to kick the person in his arms off, but when he looked down and saw the familiar face in his arms, he stopped in his tracks.

She immediately felt the intense heat, and her little face turned bright red.

He had angrily thrown the bedding on the floor last night, meaning they hadn't covered themselves with blankets all night.

He could clearly see the mottled purplish-blue marks all over Gu Shanshan's body.

Gong Ye's eyes darkened.

He reached out and touched Gu Shanshan's forehead, and his heart sank immediately at the heat.

He immediately picked up his own clothes from the ground, wrapped them around Gu Shanshan's body, and walked out with heavy steps, carrying her in his arms.

"Mr. Gong..."

Gong Ye interrupted the bodyguard and hurriedly ordered, "Stop talking nonsense, drive immediately and notify the hospital to prepare for emergency treatment."

"Yes, Mr. Gong."

Upon receiving the order, one bodyguard drove the car while the other contacted the hospital.

Gong Ye put his clothes on Gu Shanshan, while he himself was only wearing pants. He held Gu Shanshan in his arms and sat in the back seat, his face extremely gloomy and terrifying.

"Sparkling, wake up..."

The person in my arms had a persistently high fever that wouldn't go down.

That pretty little face, which was initially flushed and hot, gradually turned as pale as paper.

Gong Ye was almost frantic with worry.

He gently patted Gu Shanshan's face, whispering, "Gu Shanshan, wake up..."

He himself did not realize that his voice was trembling when he called Gu Shanshan's name.

But the person in his arms didn't move at all, which made Gong Ye even more anxious.

The nearest hospital was far from the Gu family's home, and Gong Ye was so anxious that he wished he could grow wings and get Gu Shanshan to the hospital immediately.

The longer it dragged on, the more serious Gu Shanshan's condition became.

The fever gradually subsided, but the body temperature continued to drop, cooling down inch by inch...