alienation

Gu Nan swallowed hard. Something else?

It's not like Lu Yushi never intended to ask her why the mining machine was leaked.

[Why are you talking about the bride price and dowry?]

Shen Manman came out of the bathroom and smiled gently: "It's still early, want to watch a movie?"

Gu Nan: "...Okay."

Head down, typing: 【Anything's fine with me, brother, you decide.】

The pinned message remained unanswered until the movie ended.

Gu Nan escorted Shen Manman home and ran into Shen Ming at the door. They exchanged pleasantries for a while. After leaving the Shen family villa, Gu Nan looked down at her phone.

10 o'clock sharp.

The clean and clear chat box looked like the last calm before the storm. Gu Nan got into the car and hesitated for a long time before turning around at the intersection and navigating to the location sent by Lu Yu.

Unexpectedly, the security guard let us through without asking any questions.

Gu Nan didn't want to stay any longer. She parked her car casually at the door, got out, ignored the servants' stares, and leaned against the car door, looking up at the sky.

My gaze fell on the void, where skyscrapers pierced the clouds and blended into the moonlight.

She took a deep breath, unable to fathom Lu Yushi's meaning.

Before she truly knew Lu Yushi, all her impressions of him came from hearsay: that he was extremely cruel and poisoned his own uncle, that he was ruthless and seized power in the Lu family, forcing the old man Lu to withdraw from the group's power center.

Of course, there was also the power of a punch that she had personally witnessed, which was 1700 units.

Everything seems to prove that this person is a ruthless character.

However, during the actual time they spent together, she felt that the rumors were just that—rumors. Lu Yushi had quietly helped Su Di get a refund, which, in any case, had indeed stood up for Su Wanting. These things shouldn't have been done by someone with a volatile temperament.

"Miss Gu?"

Gu Nan slowly turned around, and the maid hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.

She glanced at the time out of the corner of her eye; she had indeed been standing there for quite a while. She waved her hand and casually handed over the keys: "I'm leaving."

Take a step forward.

Before the maid could say anything, Gu Nan had already pushed the door open and gone inside, leaving her no time.

"Uh..." The maid paused for two breaths, then turned around and instructed the driver to park the inconspicuous black Phantom by the roadside in the underground garage.

The driver asked uncertainly, "Ms. Gu, this car..."

The maid was even more uncertain than the driver, turning the car keys in a dilemma. She pursed her lips and handed it over, saying, "Park it in the garage too."

It's almost 11 o'clock. If Miss Gu is coming at this time, even if Young Master Lu is clueless about romance, he wouldn't let a girl drive away in the middle of the night, would he?

Driver: "Should we wait a little longer?"

The maid looked up towards the study, where the lights were on. Since guests had come in the afternoon, Young Master Lu still hadn't come out of the study.

The tea was changed cup after cup.

"Sun Qian."

Gu Nan walked to the stairwell and saw Sun Qian carrying water downstairs, so she called out to him.

Sun Qian rubbed her eyes: "Miss Gu... Miss Gu? What brings you here at this hour?"

"Tsk," Gu Nan walked over like a good friend, put his arm around Sun Qian's neck, pushed him aside, glanced in the direction of the study, and raised his chin: "What did your boss want to talk to me about this afternoon?"

“The boss is upstairs, why don’t you just go and ask him?” Sun Qian looked completely bewildered and struggled to pull his arm away from Gu Nan’s grip.

Gu Nan clenched his fist and coughed fake, thinking to himself, "Am I feeling guilty? I'm gathering intelligence beforehand."

Not getting the answer she wanted, Sun Qian continued to struggle. Gu Nan's face showed some impatience, and she scolded softly, "What are you moving for?"

Sun Qian: ?

"I said..."

Sun Qian interrupted her, speaking righteously: "Miss Gu, it's not appropriate for you to be pulling and tugging at me under the boss's nose."

Silence is the antidote tonight.

Gu Nan met his gaze, withdrew her arm expressionlessly, met his gaze again, and then lowered her head to wipe her hands with her clothes.

Sun Qian: ? ?

"You actually want to steal your boss's girlfriend? You have a girlfriend, do you understand?"

Sun Qian: ? ? ?

He pointed to himself: "Me? Eh, no!"

"Thump, thump, thump." Gu Nan's footsteps on the stairs became heavier, heading straight for the study.

Sun Qian was stunned for a moment, then quickly realized what she meant: "No, Miss Gu, please wait a moment."

He got up and chased after them.

Gu Nan gave him a haughty back view, then turned around just before opening the door and solemnly said, "Give up, I will definitely tell your boss."

"Don't……"

The door was pushed open.

Sun Qian opened his mouth, and Gu Nan turned his head and smiled provocatively.

Sun Qianxin leaned against the pillar, exhausted, and muttered softly, "I really wanted to remind you, but you didn't listen, so you can't blame me."

"Bang!" The study door slammed shut.

The earthquake shook the heavens and the earth.

Lu Yushi looked up, his brows furrowed, his expression displeased.

Their eyes met, Gu Nan shrugged, turned around and pointed to the door, saying innocently, "It wasn't me, there was a breeze."

Receiving no reply, Lu Yushi looked away and continued working on the computer.

Gu Nan stared at it for a while, then raised her hand to rub the tip of her nose, thinking to herself, what is this, a show of force?

You've misjudged the wrong person.

He wandered around the study on his own, looking around curiously. He successfully dismantled all the ornaments on the desk, then turned around and trimmed the brightly growing indoor flowers on the windowsill until they were bald. He then turned his attention to the fish tank.

A voice came from behind me.

"A golden arowana, 130,000 yuan each."

Gu Nan twirled her outstretched hand: "Um...it looks good."

"Coming to my place to tear it apart in the middle of the night." Lu Yushi closed his notebook, propped his forehead up with one hand, and twirled a pen in the other.

Gu Nan walked over confidently with her hands behind her back: "Didn't you come looking for me?"

Lu Yushi glanced at his phone: "What time is it?"

11:13.

When did I send the message?

Gu Nan rubbed the tip of her nose, lowered her voice, and took small steps to the table. Without changing her expression, she explained, "I was busy. I saw the message after ten o'clock, so I drove over to find you."

He raised his chin high, as if to say, "Look how much I care about you."

Lu Yushi glanced at her from head to toe: "Are you busy having dinner with Shen Ming or busy..."

!

Gu Nan's expression suddenly turned cold: "Following me?"

The atmosphere instantly froze. When she met Lu Yushi's gaze, Gu Nan regretfully closed her eyes, her expression softening as she caught her breath. She braced herself on the table with one hand, slid her leg to Lu Yushi, sat down on the table, and looked down at him, her voice light and flirtatious: "Boyfriend, you're not jealous, are you?"

"Hmm?" Lu Yushi leaned back, amplifying the sound of the office chair wheels rolling. Maintaining sufficient social distance between them, Lu Yushi asked pointedly, "Jealous...Shen Ming or Shen Manman?"

Gu Nan couldn't figure out what he meant. Judging from his expression, he didn't seem to be questioning whether she had told Shen Ming. Gu Nan was even more puzzled. Knowing that she had been in contact with Shen Ming and Shen Manman, what was he up to?

For safety's sake, regardless of whether it's black or white, just call it yellow.

Gu Nan stretched out her leg, hooked her toes on the gas lever and reached back, not giving Lu Yushi a chance to back away. In the instant she slid, she used the back of the chair to prop herself up and slid onto the armrest of the office chair, her arm wrapping around Lu Yushi's neck to his other shoulder.

"It's one thing to be jealous of men, but to be jealous of women too?"

She spoke very slowly, and perhaps because she was too close, her breath brushed against his eyes, and Lu Yushi's eyelashes trembled slightly.

Their eyes met, their bodies separated only by a few layers of fabric. Lu Yushi's deep gaze and probing eyes seemed to carry another meaning.

Gu Nan belatedly realized she shouldn't have dragged Shen Ming into this, so she awkwardly looked away and stared at his cufflinks, fiddling with them: "What do you want?"

"Get down."

"No way," Gu Nan not only didn't move away from the armrest, but instead moved even closer, with half of her long legs resting on Lu Yushi's knees. "Isn't it said that absence makes the heart grow fonder? We haven't seen each other for so long, why are you being so distant with me, boyfriend?"

Silence spread through the study.

Gu Nan looked up at the light, wondering if it was too bright, so even though she was almost sitting on Lu Yushi's lap, there wasn't a trace of ambiguity between them.

Disappointed, he stood up and, as if to ease the awkwardness, patted off imaginary dust.

"Tang Li came over this afternoon. She heard that you can hypnotize and wanted to ask you to help her regain her memories."

Upon hearing this, Gu Nan breathed a sigh of relief, "So that's what it is."

"What do you think?" Lu Yushi asked, looking directly at her. He glanced at her clenched fists and paused, his intimidating aura showing signs of dissipating slightly.

"I..." He trailed off, unable to say that he thought the mining machine information leak was something he was supposed to prove. He replied in a muffled voice, "No."

Turning around, the probing look in his eyes became even more pronounced.

Gu Nan paused for a moment, then forced a smile: "Shall we reschedule?"

"She's not curious about her past memories. Since it's inconvenient for you, maybe another time."

"Oh." Gu Nan replied blankly, but in her heart she admired Lu Yushi even more.

That's amazing. In just a few days, he managed to invite the prudent Mrs. Wan to his home, and they even managed to talk about helping her regain her memories.

When she secretly glanced at Lu Yu, the fluorescent light outlined his profile, revealing sharp eyebrows and indifferent eyes. Only his slightly pursed lips hinted at his displeasure.

The last message he sent was about what he wanted to talk to her about.

Gu Nan dared to think, but dared not ask.

She hadn't found an excuse to clear herself of the situation, or rather, she couldn't clear herself at all. Shen Ming had tampered with the computer case first, and Lu Yushi found out about her dinner with Shen Ming afterward. No matter how she explained it, it seemed impossible to avoid conflict.

"It's getting foggy, let's stay here tonight."

"Huh?" Gu Nan looked up from her thoughts. The lights outside the window were shrouded in mist, casting a warm glow that spread and gradually blurred the buildings outside the window.

Lu Yushi stood by the window, hands in his pockets, back straight.

It was as if the thick fog outside the window had already permeated the study, enveloping his body and making him afraid to approach, afraid to meet his gaze, lest he easily discover his sordid and unsavory thoughts.

Gu Nan stared intently at Lu Yushi's back for a long time before explaining, "I was going to come over this afternoon, but on the way I saw Miss Shen being bullied. How could I, a righteous person, just sit idly by?" Her voice trailed off, partly from guilt, but more so from the realization that Lu Yushi wasn't listening to her explanation at all.

Or perhaps, Lu Yushi already knew the truth, so he had no interest in listening to her fabricated lies.

He swallowed the rest of his words and quietly ended with, "I didn't mean to stand you up."

Lu Yushi turned around, looked at her in silence for a long time, as if he had a thousand words to say, but only said one sentence: "The guest room is downstairs."

The atmosphere in the room was slightly tense.

Gu Nan closed her eyes briefly, deciding to go all in.

What are you trying to say?

"It's getting late, go and get some rest."

A clear order to leave.

At this point, Gu Nan actually hoped that Lu Yushi would question her. If he were to question her, at least he should care about her. Silent estrangement was far more terrifying.

she……

His fists clenched at his sides; they couldn't break up yet.

"What do you mean? Are you kicking me out?" Gu Nan mustered her courage and walked behind Lu Yushi, wrapped her arms around his waist, and muttered, "It's just that I was a little late, why are you being so petty? I've already explained it to you, but you still won't let it go."

The muffled voice sounded as if the person had suffered a great injustice.

"Gu Nan."

Gu Nan let go of his hand, watching him turn around and meet her gaze.

In the silence, Gu Nan dropped a bombshell: "I want to sleep with my brother."

After the words were spoken, the first person to speak was not Lu Yushi, but the person behind him who came through the small door to the rest room inside the study.

With a "smack".

Gu Nan was stunned for a moment, countless possibilities flashing through her mind: "You've hidden someone?"

...

Lu Yushi: "My mom."

Gu Nan looked completely bewildered: "Mom?"

The small door was pushed open from behind, and Shi Nian'an responded, "Hey."