Shen Youjin pursed her lips. The Li family's mother and daughter were the ones who provoked her first. She didn't think she had done anything wrong.
However, it was obvious that Gu Zhiyuan was deliberately teasing her. She didn't want to argue with him about this either. Instead, she just asked him, "I don't remember telling you I was here."
"If the Li family can know, why can't I?" Gu Zhiyuan looked at the studio behind her and showed an ambiguous smile. "Are you finally going to fulfill your dream?"
Hearing this, Shen Youjin's eyes were filled with caution.
She instinctively resisted a man who didn't allow her to have dreams.
"Will you bless me?" she asked.
"Of course." Gu Zhiyuan turned to look at her. "When are you planning to open?"
"I haven't decided yet." Shen Youjin paused. "I haven't found a suitable partner yet, and there are still many areas that need improvement."
She didn't want to rush. To be precise, she wanted to do it perfectly within her capabilities.
"Is there anything I can help with?" Gu Zhiyuan smiled charmingly and looked extremely gentle. "I'd be happy to help."
The sweltering summer wind blew by, but Shen Youjin felt a little creeped out.
He looked just like an old fox waiting for its prey to fall into the trap.
And his gentle and handsome face was the perfect bait.
Even if he killed someone, probably no one would suspect him easily.
"No." She replied firmly. "I can handle it myself."
She refused very directly. Gu Zhiyuan could also sense her avoidance of him. A fleeting, indescribable emotion flashed across his deep eyes behind the silver-rimmed glasses, but it quickly returned to normal.
"You're capable of handling things on your own. That's good. In that case, I'll prepare a big gift for you when your studio opens. How about that?"
A big gift? Shen Youjin suddenly had a bad feeling. She always felt that the gift he was going to give wasn't going to be a good one!
Just as she was about to refuse, Gu Zhiyuan suddenly suggested having dinner with her.
Shen Youjin originally wanted to refuse this as well, but she knew this man's temperament. If she refused him repeatedly, he would hold a grudge.
"Okay." She glanced at the time. "But I've made an appointment for skin care. I have to be there before eight o'clock."
This was also something he had taught her before. For gatherings that she had to attend, she could state her limitations in advance so as not to be completely led by others.
"It doesn't matter." Gu Zhiyuan pushed up his silver-rimmed glasses on his high nose bridge. He seemed to understand everything but didn't say it out loud. He reached out to open the car door for her. "I'll follow your lead."
During the whole journey, Gu Zhiyuan didn't say a word. She was also constantly thinking about things related to the studio and had no desire to chat. The atmosphere was extremely silent.
When they arrived at the restaurant and all the dishes were served, Gu Zhiyuan casually said, "I heard you gave Jiang Zeshen a limited-edition tie from TS?"
TS was a new brand that emerged five years ago. It had a strong momentum and a good reputation.
It released one limited-edition item every year. It wasn't very expensive, but for a woman to give a man a tie, he couldn't help but feel jealous.
"My studio was invested in by Jiang Zeshen. I just gave him a gift to show my gratitude!" She looked at him naturally. "You're a businessman. Isn't this what you taught me?"
"Hmm?" Gu Zhiyuan sized her up for a few seconds and suddenly asked with a smile, "Is it too late for me to invest now?"
"No." Shen Youjin refused even faster than before. "I suggest you invest in someone else."
"You really break my heart." Gu Zhiyuan said in a sarcastic tone. "Then why did you give Li Nanchuan a crystal bracelet? He didn't invest in your studio."
Shen Youjin frowned. How did this man know everything?
Jiang Zeshen loved to show off, so it was normal for others to know about the tie.
But with Li Nanchuan's low-key personality, he wouldn't go around talking about it.
"Did you send someone to monitor me?" she asked unhappily.
"You've misunderstood me." Gu Zhiyuan chuckled softly. "On the day of the Panshan Highway race, many people saw the black crystal bracelet on his hand. With Li Nanchuan's status, would he wear a crystal bracelet? Unless it was given by you."
Shen Youjin fell silent immediately and started thinking about how to demote Gu Zhiyuan. This man was sometimes scarily smart.
"Next time, if you give him a diamond, no one will know it was from you." Seeing her like this, Gu Zhiyuan added another hurtful sentence. "Actually, you did it on purpose, didn't you?"
Shen Youjin was stunned. "What did I do on purpose?"
"You still have feelings for him, which is why you gave him that bracelet." Gu Zhiyuan's deep eyes stared at her, like an abyss that could reach out a hand at any time to drag people down. "After all this time, can't you move on?"
"You've misunderstood." Shen Youjin tightened her grip on the knife and fork instantly. "I just made a bet with Jiang Zeshen. If Li Nanchuan showed up, I would have a better chance of winning. So I just randomly chose a gift to give to him. That's all."
Among her five ex-boyfriends, the only one whose feelings she didn't want to face was Li Nanchuan's. Every time she saw him, she felt as if she was still stuck in that heavy rain.
Completely soaked, as if she could never light the lamp in her heart.
"Is that so?" Gu Zhiyuan's shrewd eyes rolled. He didn't comment. "What about me? Can you also randomly give me a gift? Just as... a consolation prize for me, the loser, to congratulate you on beating me?"
Shen Youjin was a little surprised. This was the first time she had seen Gu Zhiyuan show this side of him. He rarely wanted to be the same as others.
Just as she was thinking about how to refuse, a voice suddenly sounded behind her along with footsteps: "Does President Gu actually need a little girl to console him? How interesting."
There was no one else in the entire capital with such a familiar and arrogant voice other than Fu Qingye.
She turned around and sure enough saw Fu Qingye wearing a silver-gray shirt, striding towards them with his long legs.
Shen Youjin didn't expect to run into Fu Qingye here, and he was alone.
This was the first time they had seen each other since she slammed the car door and walked away a few days ago.
"Mr. Fu, what a coincidence." Gu Zhiyuan still looked elegant, but his smile had no warmth. "Are you here alone? It seems a bit lonely!"
Fu Qingye curled his lips. He didn't say that a friend had seen Shen Youjin come to this restaurant with Gu Zhiyuan, so he had driven here specifically.
"Loneliness isn't a bad thing. At least it proves that I'm devoted. I don't have to scheme to send my woman to someone else's bed to gain benefits, right, President Gu?"
Goodness! As soon as he opened his mouth, he was a master of sarcasm! He truly lives up to his name, Fu Qingye. What a venomous tongue!
Shen Youjin couldn't help but look at Gu Zhiyuan. She saw that the smile on his face had completely disappeared, and he was staring coldly at Fu Qingye!