Chapter 15 Cohabitation (3) Yes! I also wish Teacher Wen and... and Mo...
Wen Chen drove back to the studio building. As she opened the car door, the deep winter wind, carrying the familiar scent of the neighborhood, washed away the cedar fragrance that had lingered in her nose all day, a fragrance that belonged to Gu Moheng.
He needs this cold wind, but even more so, he needs to be sober.
Push open the heavy glass door of the studio.
"Bang—!" Confetti and sequins rained down from the sky, and cheers nearly lifted the roof off.
Congratulations, Teacher Wen!
"Celebrating our exoneration and resounding victory!"
Everyone in the studio rushed out, their young faces beaming with the joy of surviving a disaster. Assistant Xiao Li squeezed to the front carrying a huge cake, on which two lines of large characters were written in chocolate sauce: "Returning Home and Soaring High, Wen Chen is Invincible."
Wen Chen paused, and the astonishment on her face slowly turned into a faint smile under the expectant gazes of the crowd.
"Thank you everyone." The smile was faint, like moonlight floating on water, cool yet polite and considerate.
"Teacher Wen, please blow out the candles!"
Wen Chen was surrounded and pushed to the front of the cake, where the flickering candlelight illuminated the sincere and joyful faces.
He closed his eyes and blew out all the candles.
A recent graduate intern, her cheeks slightly flushed, leaned closer.
"Teacher Wen, this time it's all thanks to you who turned the tide! How did Luo Zheng'an suddenly back down? I heard... it was that legendary President Gu from Mosheng Capital who personally stepped in?"
The intern's voice wasn't loud, but the content was extremely gossipy, causing the surroundings to fall silent instantly as everyone's ears perked up.
“Hmm,” Wen Chen lowered his eyes, his long eyelashes casting a small shadow under his eyelids, “He is an investor in the ‘Homecoming’ project. Naturally, he won’t sit idly by when the project runs into problems.”
"Oh my god! It really is him!"
"Professor Wen is amazing! He actually managed to get such a Wall Street guru to come!"
Exclamations of praise rose and fell, carrying a natural reverence for the strong.
As Wen Chen listened, he felt as if the praise was like countless scalding steel needles piercing his eardrums, making him feel numb.
He wasn't invited.
He offered himself up.
Wen Chen's gentle smile remained unchanged, but his eyes were as cold as thin ice in early winter. He gently raised his hand and pressed down lightly.
The noisy studio instantly fell silent.
Everyone looked at him with pure admiration and reliance in their eyes.
"You've all worked hard these past few days." His voice was clear and gentle. "The project was able to come back because of the efforts of each and every one of us, not because of any external forces."
Wen Chen paused, his gaze sweeping over the young faces. "Tonight it's my treat, let's celebrate." He smiled slightly, the corners of his eyes curving into a familiar arc. "You can choose the location, no budget limit."
"Yay!"
"Long live Teacher Wen!"
After a few seconds of suppressed cheers, the cheers erupted like a volcano, and the young interns almost blew the roof off the office building.
Xiao Li squeezed through, his face still covered in cream. "Teacher Wen, I... can I invite Assistant Qin along too? He's been a great help this time."
Wen Chen's eyes flickered slightly.
Qin Shu (Book of Qin)
Gu Moheng's shadow.
He nodded, his tone flat: "Of course. Ask him if he's free." He paused, then added, "Ask Chen Qi too."
"Okay!"
Upon receiving the reply, Xiao Li excitedly ran to the side to make a phone call.
Wen Chen watched the crowd revel in the revelry and slowly exhaled. He immersed himself in the lively atmosphere, using the surrounding laughter and cheers to resist the man's pervasive influence.
This is his world. A world that functions perfectly well even without Gu Moheng.
6 PM, CEO's office at Mosheng Capital.
Gu Moheng closed the last document in front of him. He flicked his wrist, glanced at the Patek Philippe watch face, and stood up to pick up his suit jacket draped over the back of the chair.
If any senior executives were present, they would be astonished—their work machines actually clocked out right before sunset.
There was a knock on the office door.
"Enter."
Qin Shu pushed open the door and entered. "President Gu, there's a banquet tonight, it's..."
"Reject it." Gu Moheng's voice was utterly without hesitation.
At this moment, all he could think about was whether Wen Chen had already gone home from get off work.
Qin Shu's smile froze. He wanted to explain, but Gu Moheng had already walked around him and strode away. His footsteps were much faster than usual, with an unusual urgency.
Qin Shu stood there for half a minute, rubbing his temples with a wry smile. Looking at the enthusiastic restaurant location Xiao Li had just sent him on his phone, he felt utterly overwhelmed.
He sighed and walked out of the office, intending to make a polite phone call to decline. Just as he reached the elevator, he bumped into Chen Qi, the second most workaholic at Mosheng.
"Assistant Qin," Chen Qi greeted him with a familiar smile.
Qin Shu tentatively asked, "Are you going to the celebration party at Zhumeng?"
Chen Qi's smile vanished, and he slapped his thigh, his face full of regret. "Don't even mention it! My mom just called and said my sister is back from abroad, and we have to be home for the family reunion dinner tonight! Orders are orders!"
He patted Qin Shu on the shoulder with a pained expression, "Brother, you eat my share for me!"
Watching Chen Qi's hurried departure, Qin Shu stood alone in the empty elevator lobby.
The evening breeze blew in through the ventilation window, making him feel extremely cold.
The boss isn't going.
Chen Qi did not go.
On Teacher Wen's side, the entire studio was waiting for their "representative" from Mosheng Capital. Qin Shu took a deep breath. If he went over now, would he be representing President Gu, or himself?
This life-or-death question was even harder than when he took the CFA exam.
In the end, he pressed the down button on the elevator.
The Maybach smoothly entered the underground parking garage of the "Sky Dome".
Gu Moheng sat quietly in the driver's seat for a moment. In his mind, he could feel the fleeting, icy touch of Wen Chen's fingertips as she handed him the suit jacket.
The elevator ascended silently.
"bite--"
The door opened.
It was pitch black.
The lamp that was expected did not light up.
He didn't come back. This realization was like a bucket of ice water poured over my head, extinguishing the burning, unspoken hope I had felt as I sped home from the Mosheng Building.
Gu Moheng didn't turn on the lights. He changed his shoes by letting the city's dazzling yet cold neon lights shine through the window. The huge floor-to-ceiling windows reflected the city's prosperity and loneliness into his unfathomable eyes. He walked to the sofa and sat down, not sinking in, his back ramrod straight like a silent sculpture.
Time passed by, second by second.
The ticking of the clock on the wall, the sound of its second hand, was amplified infinitely in the extreme silence.
Seven o'clock.
Eight o'clock.
Nine o'clock.
Wen Chen still hasn't returned.
He got up and walked to the door of the guest room where Wen Chen was staying.
The door was tightly shut.
He raised his hand, his fingertips stopping just an inch before touching the cold doorknob.
What qualifications does he have?
In what capacity?
Gu Moheng's Adam's apple bobbed painfully. He slowly withdrew his hand, turned, and walked to the kitchen. He took a bottle of ice water from the refrigerator and gulped it down. The icy liquid slid down his esophagus into his stomach, but it couldn't quell the growing fire of anxiety burning within him. He irritably loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt, revealing his well-defined collarbone.
Then, he sat back down on the sofa and took out his phone.
The light from the screen illuminated his taut jawline.
He opened his contacts, his long, slender fingers hovering over the name he knew by heart.
Call out?
Ask him, "Where are you?"
Why haven't you come back yet?
That questioning attitude would instantly expose all his caution and only push Wen Chen further away.
Gu Moheng's fingertips trembled slightly. Just then, a message from Qin Shu popped up at the top of the screen.
【video】
Gu Moheng's brow furrowed unconsciously. At this hour, Qin Shu would only send work-related messages. He suppressed his frustration and clicked on the video.
A cacophony of youthful cheers instantly pierced the phone receiver, shattering the tranquility of the apartment.
The camera was shaking violently, as if we were in a lively private room.
In the center of the image, young faces smile freely and unrestrainedly, raising their wine glasses high.
Gu Moheng's gaze was instantly fixed on a figure in the corner of the frame. The person had their back to the camera, revealing only a slender profile. He was tilting his head slightly, listening to a young girl beside him, a faint and gentle smile playing on his lips.
Even though it was just a blurry profile, Gu Moheng recognized it at a glance.
This person is Wen Chen.
My heart sank suddenly.
He turned the phone volume up to the maximum.
"...Teacher Wen, this toast is for you! May we 'return home' and soar high!"
"Yes! I also wish Professor Wen and... Mr. Gu of Hemosheng a pleasant cooperation!"
The video ends abruptly here.
Gu Moheng's breath caught in his throat.
The words Qin Shu had said before leaving the office that afternoon suddenly exploded in his mind—
"Mr. Gu, there's a banquet tonight..."
What did he say at that time?
It was rejected.
Without hesitation, he pushed it away.
"Heh." A very low, cold laugh escaped from Gu Moheng's throat.
He suddenly stood up and strode towards the balcony.
"Splash—"
He roughly pulled open the huge floor-to-ceiling glass door, and the cold night wind rushed in instantly, making his expensive silk shirt flutter loudly.
“Clatter.”
The metal lighter made a crisp click, and a small cluster of orange flame lit up at his trembling fingertips, illuminating his scarlet, shadowy eyes.
He took a deep drag. The pungent smoke filled his lungs, bringing a familiar, almost masochistic sting.
When Wen Chen opened the door, carrying a banyan tree in one arm and an antique wooden gift box in the other, the first thing she saw was Gu Moheng standing in front of the French windows.
The dimly lit room was illuminated only by the city neon lights streaming in from the window, outlining Gu Moheng's tall and solitary figure. Wen Chen didn't turn on the lights, quietly changing her shoes. That vibrant green, like a drop of paint accidentally spilled into a black and white painting, instantly softened the coldness of the entire space.
He placed the fiddle-leaf fig by the window, gently brushing his fingertips across the leaves to adjust it to an angle where it could receive ample sunlight.
After doing all this, he turned around and met Gu Moheng's gaze. Those deep eyes shone brightly in the dim light, like a lurking beast.
“It’s too deserted here,” Wen Chen said, looking away first. “Adding some living things would make it better.”
Gu Moheng stood motionless, his gaze fixed on the potted plant. His voice was low and deep: "I thought you weren't coming back."
These words were so blunt that even he himself was unaware of the tension within them. Wen Chen was about to speak when his gaze passed over Gu Moheng's broad shoulders and landed on the small metal round table on the balcony. The crystal ashtray was densely packed with cigarette butts, like a silent tomb proclaiming some kind of anxiety.
Wen Chen's brows furrowed instantly, and he looked away.
Gu Moheng's body stiffened instantly. He clearly saw the fleeting emotion in Wen Chen's eyes—not a question, but one that chilled him to the bone, an almost indifferent coldness. He instinctively reached to close the balcony door, to shut out the incriminating evidence, but his movement was halted halfway by Wen Chen's next action, which froze him in place.
Wen Chen withdrew her gaze and gently placed the wooden gift box she had been carrying on the table.
"Here, take this."
"What is it?" Gu Moheng's gaze followed closely, his voice terribly dry.
Wen Chen did not answer, but deftly pried open the metal clasp of the gift box with her fingertips.
"Click." The lid opened, revealing an exquisite Ru ware tea set. The sky-blue glaze was as warm and smooth as jade, gleaming softly under the cold light, and lay quietly on bright yellow silk, clearly indicating its high value.
"Thank you so much, Mr. Gu, for getting me out of that predicament." Wen Chen pushed the gift box a little closer to him. "It's a small token of my gratitude."
As soon as he finished speaking, he tried to back away. But the instant he stepped back, Gu Moheng reached out and grabbed his wrist.
"Just a thank-you gift?" Gu Moheng took a step closer, the lingering smell of tobacco on him mixed with the coldness of cedar, overwhelming him forcefully.
Wen Chen did not struggle, her eyes cold and clear: "Otherwise, what does President Gu think it should be?"
His calmness stirred even deeper emotions in Gu Moheng's eyes. Gu Moheng's fingers tightened slightly, his fingertips caressing the delicate skin on his wrist, his voice lowered even further: "You know I'm waiting for you."
Wen Chen remained silent for a moment, then gently but firmly withdrew her hand.
“The gift has been delivered,” he said, taking a step back to maintain a safe social distance.
Then he turned and left without the slightest hesitation.
"Get some rest, Mr. Gu." The voice drifted in the cold air, polite yet distant.
"Also, you don't need to wait for me anymore. Waiting for someone is not a pleasant experience."
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