Chapter 148: True Love Misplaced
Four o'clock in the afternoon.
Su Qianqian was having afternoon tea in her room, while Gu Chengyu was invited to Zhou Yuan's room on the pretext of "trying the newly brewed coffee".
Zhou Yu'an's suite is themed on health preservation in the resort. It has a simple and elegant style, and the air is filled with a faint scent of sandalwood.
He stood by the small bar, grinding coffee beans slowly and methodically.
He didn't get to the point right away, but instead started chatting: "The environment in South Bay is indeed good."
Gu Chengyu had no patience to beat around the bush with him, so he leaned casually on the sofa, his eyes sweeping across the sea view outside the window, and said in a light tone:
"You didn't call me here to discuss this, did you?"
Zhou Yu'an fixed the ground coffee powder, slowly poured in hot water, and the aroma of coffee spread.
He raised his eyes and glanced at Gu Chengyu: "Chengyu, have you been too reckless recently?"
Gu Chengyu raised his eyebrows and motioned him to continue.
"The night of the last Yunque gambling game, if I hadn't had people check everyone's phone and suppress the messages, your name and that of Miss Su would have been all over the entertainment headlines."
"What would the family your mother has chosen for the marriage alliance think when they see this?"
Gu Chengyu sneered, not caring at all: "What do they think? Does it matter?"
Zhou Yu'an handed him the first cup of coffee, his tone still gentle:
“What about Shen Nian’an? She also came to Nanwan today, you should know her, right?”
Gu Chengyu took the coffee, took a sip, and said, "Hmm, the quality is good."
He said nonchalantly, "So what if I come?"
Zhou Yu'an poured himself a glass, leaned against the bar, looked at Gu Chengyu and said:
“The Shen family, especially Shen Nian’an and her mother, are determined to get the position of the young lady of the Gu family.”
"And she should be at the top of your mother's list of potential marriage candidates."
"If she knew you had such a beautiful girl by your side, would she let it go, considering her personality?"
"If she deliberately targets you, how can the delicate girl you are protecting withstand such a beating?"
Gu Chengyu finally raised his eyes, his eyes full of arrogance and disdain, as if he had heard some joke: "Targeting?"
He put down his coffee cup with a crisp sound, and leaned forward slightly, his expression full of contempt:
"Shen Nian'an? She is nothing right now."
"As a potential marriage partner who doesn't even have a formal relationship, what right do you have to make a scene in front of me? What qualifications do you have to dictate my affairs?"
“What’s more, no matter who the young lady of the Gu family is in the future, whether it’s Shen Nian’an, Song Qingwan, or some other cat or dog…”
He stared at Zhou Yu'an and said seriously, "First and foremost, the first principle is to learn to bow your head in front of Qianqian."
"You can't put on airs in front of Qianqian, and you can't make a scene in front of her. This needs to be written into the prenuptial agreement."
Zhou Yu'an paused as he held the coffee cup, almost suspecting that he had heard it wrong.
He looked at Gu Chengyu in disbelief, as if he was truly getting to know this friend for the first time:
"Cheng Yu, what nonsense are you talking about?"
His tone was full of absurdity: "You want a noble lady carefully trained by an aristocratic family, the daughter of a wealthy family, to bow down to a commoner girl with no background?"
"How is this possible?"
"Especially those aristocratic families who still have elders from the last century. They have conservative ideas and attach the most importance to class reputation."
"If you do this, it will only backfire and make them even more jealous and targeted."
Gu Chengyu sneered, "If anyone dares to target Qianqian or give her a hard time, I will destroy their family's foundation."
"Look, without money and power to rely on, what else can they use to put on airs in front of Qianqian?"
Zhou Yu'an was completely speechless and looked at Gu Chengyu as if he was looking at an unreasonable madman.
For the sake of a girl, they actually had to suppress other families and even cut off their roots?
Did he know how many people would be disheartened by this? And how bad a reputation this would leave him in the industry?
Is lust blinding one's mind? Is he desperate for a beautiful woman?
Gu Chengyu looked at his friend's unusually shocked expression, and with rare patience, he leaned back on the sofa, his tone slightly softened:
"Yuan, I know you meant well by helping me suppress the news last time."
He swirled the liquid in the cup, his voice condescending and indifferent:
"But you really think too much. I don't care who my wife is."
"As long as she can skillfully accompany my mother in socializing and can handle the clan's complicated and outdated rules, and serve as the Gu family's external face, that's all that's needed."
"There are so many aristocratic families down there, there must be some smart people who know how to educate their daughters, and there will be many people who meet the requirements."
He paused, and said as a matter of course: "Anyway, I won't live with my so-called wife in the future."
"I will live outside with Qianqian, just like we do now."
"She can't influence Qianqian."
Zhou Yu'an didn't know how to react for a moment.
He was silent for a long time and asked the most crucial question:
"In that case, Chengyu, why don't you just marry Su Qianqian?"
Upon hearing this, Gu Chengyu immediately frowned. This suggestion was too unreliable.
He put down his coffee cup and said firmly, "She can't."
"Why?"
Gu Chengyu cast his gaze towards the blue sea outside the window, his voice lowered with mixed emotions:
"She is an orphan and has no one to rely on."
"If we put her on the stage and put her in the position of the Gu family's young lady, countless people will talk about her in private, look at her with all kinds of prejudice, explore her past, and even maliciously slander her."
"And then there are the social gatherings of the ladies of the aristocratic families, where their words are sharp and witty, and she's too simple-minded to handle it."
"She might not even be able to find fault with those ladies, and would just grieve in silence."
He paused, almost convinced:
"She's not suitable to stand next to me at those events. She just needs to stay quietly in my apartment and watch over me."
Zhou Yu'an looked at his friend's handsome yet paranoid face and finally understood his logic.
He treated Su Qianqian as a delicate bird that had to be carefully raised, pampering and protecting her, but never thought of letting her stand shoulder to shoulder with him.
Zhou Yu'an sighed silently and said no more.
She was just a commoner girl, not worthy of his attention.
It was only because he saw how deeply Cheng Yu was depressed that he asked a few more questions.
Zhou Yu'an picked up the slightly cold coffee and took a sip.
A bitter taste spread across the tip of the tongue.
Does Su Qianqian really like Cheng Yu?
Is she worthy of Cheng Yu's careful care?
I have to find an opportunity in the future to take Cheng Yu to test her, so that he won't give his true love to the wrong person.
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