Chapter 43: I Want To Kiss You
Yan Xi took off her dress and stepped into the bathtub. The warm water covered her body, but the moment she closed her eyes, she recalled the scene earlier where everything was covered in blood and gunshots were firing into skulls.
She was so scared that she quickly opened her eyes. She didn't stay in the bathtub for long. After washing up, she changed into comfortable clothes.
The dress that she wore today was already torn and creased. She probably had to get rid of it.
After putting on her clothes, Yan Xi went to the dining room downstairs. After waiting for a while, Gu Shen came out of the elevator.
After swallowing a mouthful of food, Yan Xi found she had no appetite at all.
Gu Shen looked at her and gestured to Gu Er to come over. "Bring me the bubble wine in the wine cabinet and prepare some ice."
Gu Er went to get the bubble wine immediately upon receiving the order. Gu Shen spoke again, "You don't have to force yourself to eat if you don't have an appetite. Drink some wine and you'll feel much better."
"Okay." Yan Xi put down the utensils in her hand.
Gu Er returned very quickly. He opened the bubble wine and poured Yan Xi a glass, then placed a few ice cubes in it.
The ice and glass collided, emitting a crisp sound that reminded people of summer. The corners of Yan Xi's lips curled up as she picked it up and drank it in one gulp. The ice that had yet to melt swirled in the glass and fell back into the glass with a clang.
Feeling satisfied, Yan Xi put down the glass and demanded, "Fill it up!"
The concentration of alcohol in the bubble wine was not high, and it even had a slight sweetness to it. Yan Xi did not take it to heart and soon finished a bottle. In the end, she leaned against the table and was dizzy, muttering something.
Gu Er listened carefully and his expression gradually became strange.
Gu Shen asked, "What is she muttering?"
"Madam is scolding."
Gu Shen raised his eyebrows. "Scolding whom?"
After a moment, Gu Er said in fear, "You."
As if to prove Gu Er's words, Yan Xi stood up shakily and walked to Gu Shen. One of her hands was holding the wheelchair, while the other was touching his chin.
"Idiot! Does it hurt when I touch you like this?"
Gu Shen looked at her, his eyes dark and deep. "Put your hand down."
Yan Xi felt aggrieved and stuttered as she spoke. "No, I'm very afraid today and want to pinch you. You pinched me like this too. I haven't used any force yet. But your face is so handsome, I can't bring myself to use any force."
With that, Yan Xi's body slid down a little. Her hand went from holding the wheelchair to holding Gu Shen's thigh.
For some reason, his thigh could feel an itchy sensation when she touched it. Gu Shen then helped her up and looked at her.
"What on earth are you trying to do?"
"H-Hubby is so handsome." Yan Xi pounced on his body. "I want to kiss you!" Then she nibbled on Gu Shen's right cheek.
Even Uncle Hai, who was usually the calmest, could not help but rush over to pull her away. Gu Er also came up to help.
"No... No!" Yan Xi put her hands on her hips in a domineering manner. "I'm telling you, even if you throw me five million, I won't leave my husband! 50 million, I can think about it!"
Gu Shen chuckled at her drunken behavior. He asked someone to send Yan Xi back upstairs to rest and reminded, "Take good care of Madam."
Yan Xi went on with her drama. "Hubby, I don't want to leave you. But... But they gave me 50 million... I can't refuse that."
"What nonsense is this!"
After Yan Xi left, the dining room finally quieted down. Gu Er commented. "If I knew Madam's alcohol tolerance was so bad, I would have just brought two cans of Cola instead of bubble wines."
"She's probably too scared today." Gu Shen spoke up for her. "She'll wake up feeling better after making a fuss."
Hearing that, Uncle Hai was shocked. He felt that he hadn't met his master and madam for ages because they changed so much.
Yan Xi slept until evening before waking up. She stayed in bed for a while more before getting out. Because the concentration of bubble wine was not high, she did not feel a hangover at all, and she recalled the drama she put on while she was drunk.
Yan Xi's smile froze and she fell back onto the bed.
She was too embarrassed to go downstairs. Not only did she embarrass herself in front of Gu Shen, but she also embarrassed herself in front of all the Gu family staff.
Yan Xi hammered the blanket in frustration, angry at herself for failing to forget the embarrassing things she had done.
Hearing the noises Yan Xi made, Xiaoyue, who waited outside, immediately knocked on the door and asked, "Madam, are you awake?"
Chapter 44: Can I Sleep With You?
Yan Xi replied reluctantly. "Yes, I'm awake. I'll come out after dressing up."
Xiaoyue added. "Dinner is ready downstairs. You can go down to eat after you're done dressing up."
"Got it."
After dawdling for a long time, Yan Xi finally got out of bed. Xiaoyue was still waiting at the door. When she saw her come out, she stole a glance at her.
Yan Xi pretended not to know and walked downstairs calmly.
The dining room was not much different from noon. Gu Shen was seated opposite her and said calmly, "After dinner, the family physical therapist will come and massage you."
Yan Xi said awkwardly, "Thank you."
The meal was very peaceful and quiet. Yan Xi had almost forgotten about what happened in lunch, but Gu Er, who was standing at the side, could not help but burst out laughing.
This laugh was so contagious that it made everyone in the room burst out laughing. Suddenly, Yan Xi's face turned red.
Gu Shen looked at Gu Er unhappily. He coughed to warn him.
"I'm sorry, President. I was just thinking about a Kung Fu movie I watched this afternoon. The actors are really hilarious."
"The people who smiled just now, your bonus for this month is canceled." Gu Shen looked at Yan Xi and the corners of his lips curled up as he saw the gloating smile on her face.
She was easy to coax.
Not long after dinner, the family physical therapist was led to Yan Xi's room by Xiaoyue.
"Madam, do you feel uncomfortable anywhere or sore?"
"My back." Yesterday at the Gu family's old mansion, she kept her back straight. Although she was already used to it, she still felt a little sore.
"Okay, let me massage you." The physical therapist took out an unopened white towel from her bag and placed it on Yan Xi's back. "Please tell me if I use too much strength."
"I will."
The physical therapist was indeed not bad. The strength was just right and it made Yan Xi feel very comfortable. She narrowed her eyes and was about to fall asleep. Seeing that Yan Xi was getting more and more sleepy, she walked out quietly with Xiaoyue.
Xiaoyue closed the door and walked to the stairs before whispering to the physical therapist, "Master was worried that Madam couldn't fall asleep tonight so he wanted you to give Madam a massage."
The physical therapist nodded. "Why do I feel that Madam is different from before?"
"There are indeed some changes. Luckily, it's a change for the better."
"Did she make things difficult for you guys again lately?"
Xiaoyue thought about it and shook her head. "No. As a matter of fact, now that I think about it, I think Madam actually treats me quite well these days."
As they were chitchatting, Yan Xi sneaked out of her room, holding a pillow.
*****
In the study room, Gu Shen was listening to Gu Er's daily report.
"Gu Si went to investigate Zhou Chuan in the afternoon. His account received a transfer of 30 million yuan three days ago. The transfer was from Lin City. Qi Feng's secretary went to Lin City for a business trip a week ago and only returned yesterday. Gu Qi brought people to interrogate that secretary and he admitted it."
"Reason?"
"He said that it's because you competed with them over a piece of land in the north of the city."
The land in the northern part of the city was now very popular. The new policy indicated that the government would extend subway lines to that area. Some business office centers would also be moved there. In the future, the price of land in that area would definitely skyrocket as it became a central business district.
In the Land Auction House, one of the most prosperous and largest pieces of land was auctioned for one billion yuan. Gu Shen bought it for seven billion yuan. He didn't care about the price at that time and didn't care if anyone was competing with him.
"Even if I die, this land won't end up in their hands."
"Qi Feng understood it too. He was just angry and paid Zhou Chuan to kill you." Gu Er's tone was mocking. "He is a despicable person."
"Bring him to see me."
"Yes."
After dealing with today's business, Gu Shen returned to his room. The moment he entered, he saw Yan Xi sitting obediently by the bed, hugging a pillow. When she saw him enter, she said sadly, "Gu Shen, I'm still afraid. Can I sleep with you?"
"No."
"I'll sleep on the sofa, not on the bed." Yan Xi dragged the tone of her voice and acted cutely. "I'll definitely not disturb you. Unless I sleep here, I can fall asleep. I beg you, Hubby."
Gu Shen's attitude softened. In the end, he compromised. "I'll get someone to bring a make-shift bed over."
"Thank you, Hubby... Hubby is the best!" Yan Xi hugged the pillow tightly, looking very obedient.
Chapter 45: Business Empire
The next day, when she opened her eyes, Gu Shen had already gone to the office. Yan Xi carried the pillow back to her room and casually washed up.
It was the second time she slept with Gu Shen yesterday. She did not think it was weird. Instead, she was very at ease, as if it was meant to be this way.
After breakfast, Yan Xi dived into medical books, looking for a way to treat Gu Shen's leg. After finishing a book, she took a break. Just as she turned on her phone, she saw the news from the Financial News.
The content happened to be related to Gu Shen.
Gu Shen was going to replace Gu Zhong and become the new chairman of the Gu family's hotel.
It sounded like good news, but Yan Xi knew that the Gu family's hotel was now like a big ship full of holes.
Moreover, Gu Zhong was headstrong and unscrupulous in the past. Just this quarter alone, the hotel had lost 300 million yuan. Their reputation was ruined, and there were countless complaints every day. It was unknown how much time and effort it would take to restore the hotel's reputation.
Hence, Gu Shen didn't take over the hotel to reap its benefits but rather to clean up the mess his good-for-nothing uncle caused.
Yan Xi pouted. Old Master Gu was really biased. No matter how useless Gu Zhong was, he still handed over the management rights of the hotel and part of the financial industry to him. On the other hand, Gu Shen was obviously very capable, but he was also asked to clean up the mess. The more she thought about it, the angrier she got.
Yan Xi turned off the news and opened the search engine. She entered a semiconductor on it.
As a traditional company, the Gu family had been pursuing the footsteps of the times for the past few years. They wanted to change the internal problems of the Gu family through innovation. Over the last few years, the Gu family had invested in the internet and electronics industries. However, the results were minimal and did not promote internal innovation.
Last year, Gu Shen also established the Gu Electronics company. However, because it was not valued by the family, there was a shortage of funding and talent. The project now remained stagnant.
People didn't think highly of Gu Electronics because they were shortsighted. Only Yan Xi knew that in a few years, the Gu Electronics would become the core industry of the Gu Group, injecting new vitality into the Gu Group.
In this era, people valued technology and high-end technology, such as chip semiconductors. She didn't know if Gu Shen could foresee this.
Yan Xi felt that she could give him a hint, so she turned on the computer and created a document—"Business Plan".
*****
At night, Gu Shen returned home and sat in the living room for a long time, but Yan Xi did not come looking for him.
"Liar." Gu Shen thought unhappily. Yesterday, she insisted on saying that she would only be at ease if she was with him. Today, she was nowhere to be seen.
After sitting for a while longer, he couldn't help but ask, "Where's Madam?"
"Madam is still in the study room. I don't know what she's busy with, but she didn't eat anything today."
"She didn't eat anything?"
Xiaoyue replied, "Madam only ate some breakfast and never came out of the study after that. She left the food we sent her untouched."
Frowning, Gu Shen said, "Heat up the food. I'll go take a look."
The study room door was closed tightly. As Gu Shen pushed it open, Yan Xi said, "Leave the food here. I'll eat when I'm hungry."
Yan Xi thought it was Xiaoyue, so she continued tapping on the computer without looking up.
"Eat now. What is keeping you so busy?"
Yan Xi looked up. "Why are you back so early?"
"Am I not supposed to come back? Do you know what time it is now?"
Yan Xi glanced at the time on the computer and realized that it was already eight in the evening. Her stomach, which was neglected by Gu Xi for the entire day, started to rumble, urging Yan Xi to feed it.
"Hurry up." Gu Shen pushed the wheelchair. "The food is getting heated up."
Yan Xi saved the document. "Coming!" She quickly went up and pushed the wheelchair into the elevator.
"Will you eat with me?"
Gu Shen glanced at her and asked, "Why? Are you not gonna eat anything when I'm not around?"
"No, I was just too busy to check the time. I saw the news and knew you would be back a bit late today."
Gu Shen did not reply, but there was a hint of irritation in his eyes. He did not look happy.
Yan Xi interpreted it as he was dissatisfied with taking over the hotel, so she comforted him. "Although the Gu family's hotel doesn't have a good reputation, is in deep water, and doesn't have much money, if you can restore it to its former glory, people will definitely see your ability. Come on, I believe you can do it."
"...Is this how you comfort people?"