When Gu Bei saw the appearance of the Yellow-haired Guy, he knew that he had been careless. Xie Shuwen had already established a connection with Chen Laojiu through the Yellow-haired Guy. The Yellow-haired Guy was a leader in the underworld. Gu Bei also bought some underground information from him and regularly entertained him with beautiful women and fine wine. They were not in a very loyal superior - subordinate relationship. He never expected that the Yellow-haired Guy would be associated with someone like Chen Laojiu.
And it showed a bit of Xie Shuwen's ability to have established this connection with the Yellow-haired Guy.
Chen Laojiu came up and kicked the Yellow-haired Guy on the calf. The latter staggered and directly knelt on the ground. "Miss Xie, you are magnanimous. I was wrong that day. Please forgive me!"
"It's all my subordinate who doesn't know his place and offended Miss Xie," Chen Laojiu said, waving his hand. Several black - suited bodyguards presented a jewelry box. Inside, there was a ruby necklace, shining brightly. "This is for Miss Xie as an apology!"
Gu Bei clearly felt the body of Xie Bingxia in his arms go stiff. She seemed to be suppressing some emotions. She stared at the necklace for a long time before saying, "I don't need it. Please take it back."
"This..." Chen Laojiu looked embarrassed. Gu Bei was very perceptive and immediately gave a look to Secretary Zhang. Secretary Zhang stepped forward and respectfully took the jewelry box.
"Boss Chen is too kind. It was a misunderstanding that day. I also accidentally injured your subordinate. Let's just call it even," Gu Bei quickly smoothed things over. Only then did Chen Laojiu show a satisfied smile. "Yes, yes. Boss Gu, you are magnanimous. Don't be bothered by us Hong Kong upstarts."
"Ah, right. In a few days, I'll host a dinner at Dongxingge to apologize to Boss Gu and Miss Xie. You must come!" Chen Laojiu walked a few steps forward and looked at Xie Bingxia with a smile. "You should give me Chen Laojiu this face, right?"
Xie Bingxia saw her unhappy expression reflected in his narrow eyes. She instinctively wanted to refuse, but Gu Bei stepped in first and said, "Of course. We will surely attend the dinner on time."
"That's good, that's good." Chen Laojiu nodded. "I still have something to do. I'll leave first. Boss Gu, stay here. No need to see me off."
Xie Shuwen stepped forward. "Boss Chen, let me see you off."
Chen Laojiu walked out with big steps in his famous - brand slippers, making a slapping sound. When he reached the door, he seemed to remember something. He turned to Gu Bei and said, "Oh, my mind. Mr. Vincent asked me to pass a message to Boss Gu."
"Boss Gu has done a good job in his North American business. His old acquaintance misses you very much." As Chen Laojiu spoke, the upturned corners of his mouth finally dropped, and a cold glint flashed in his squinted eyes.
The cold glint was just fleeting. Chen Laojiu quickly resumed his playboy demeanor. Finally, he gave Xie Bingxia a meaningful look and said, "I'm leaving, Boss Gu."
Xie Shuwen saw him off to the door and helped him into the car. Then she returned to the living room and saw Xie Bingxia picking up the ruby necklace, about to throw it into the trash can. "I don't want this kind of thing!"
"Bingxia, Bingxia!" Xie Shuwen grabbed her and whispered in her ear, "Don't be so willful. We can't offend Boss Chen." Then she turned to Gu Bei with a concerned look. "How are you getting along with Bingxia? She still has a childish personality. You should be more tolerant."
Gu Bei's eyes met Xie Bingxia's. He could clearly feel that she was angry. Her eyes behind the glasses seemed to be saying, You wanted to drive me away. Now tell Xie Shuwen.
Gu Bei thought for a moment and then called Xiaomei over, whispering instructions, "Take her back to the room first. She's still sick."
Phew, finally, this farce came to an end. Xiaomei finally let out a sigh of relief. After this commotion, Xie Bingxia was really exhausted. Every nerve in her brain was throbbing with pain. Then her body went weak, and she collapsed on the sofa.
Gu Bei was about to reach out to help her but retracted his hand. In the end, it was Xiaomei who helped Xie Bingxia back. Xie Bingxia swallowed the pills with warm water. All she wanted now was to have a good sleep. Xiaomei tucked the quilt in for her and said, "Today's incident was really absurd, but... actually, I'm quite happy."
"Happy that Gu Bei is driving me away?"
"No, no, no. Miss, please don't misunderstand," Xiaomei quickly waved her hand and explained. "It's been a long time since the house was this lively. Yesterday was special. Last year, the young master would get really angry and drunk unconscious at this time. But this year is different. The young master seems to be as cheerful as before."
Yesterday... was it a special day? Xie Bingxia thought carefully and suddenly understood. Yesterday was Xia Jingwei's memorial day.
"Moreover, you've done a great job in making the young master willing to touch a woman!"
"Is he really that chaste?" Xie Bingxia said with a smile. "It seems that just a few days ago, he said he would ask the madam to get a few busty women to have fun with."
"Eh, what? Really? Has our young master finally awakened?" As soon as she said it, Xiaomei regretted it and quickly corrected herself. "Impossible, impossible. Since I entered this family, I've never seen the young master indulge in debauchery or bring strange women home. Let alone in these past few years. I once thought he would be a bachelor for life."
"What about his fiancée?"
"Miss Yuan Yiyun really has a good personality. She doesn't mind that the young master ignores her." Xiaomei said with a pitying tone. "Maybe that's how family - arranged marriages are. You don't need much affection. As a servant, I don't really understand."
"Um..." Xie Bingxia buried her head in the quilt. Her eyes were a bit hot. She once imagined that after she came back, she would see Gu Bei's true face - cold, cruel, unscrupulous, and debauched, sitting on the throne like a great demon king, looking down on the defeated enemies under his feet.
Maybe if Gu Bei became the way she imagined, she could be determined to hurt him. However, what was this inexplicable emotion lingering in her chest that she couldn't get rid of?
Xie Bingxia rubbed the corners of her eyes and called Xiaomei. "Is the little white rabbit still there?"
Xiaomei's eyes lit up. "Yes. The butler put it away that day. It's in your drawer."
"Please get it for me."
Xie Bingxia didn't choose to continue sleeping. Holding the little white rabbit sculpture, she came to the door of the study. The door was slightly ajar. Gu Bei was standing by the window, smoking. The room was filled with smoke. It seemed that he had smoked more than one cigarette.
On that rainy night, Gu Bei rushed back to the company overnight. The next day, the butler drained the water from the swimming pool to "rescue" the little white rabbit.
"Fortunately, it's not broken." The butler put the dried little white rabbit in Xie Bingxia's palm. "The young master told me to throw it away, but I thought it would be better for you, miss."
"The young master's temper has been very strange these past few years. It's as if he's trapped in a shell. He must be reluctant to part with this little white rabbit. If he regrets it one day, you can take it out and return it to him." The butler's kind words still echoed in her ears. Recalling his look at that time, it was full of love for Gu Bei.
"You all keep speaking well of him. What does that mean!" Xie Bingxia muttered to herself. Her voice was very soft, but Gu Bei heard it.
"Why aren't you having a good rest? Come here to quarrel with me again -" Gu Bei stubbed out the cigarette butt. Before he could say the word "quarrel", he saw the little white rabbit sculpture in Xie Bingxia's hand.
Xie Bingxia walked to the desk, put down the little white rabbit, and carefully adjusted its position. "It seems that you're about to regret throwing it away. I'm here to return it to you."
"With this, the punishment is over."
"Humph..." Gu Bei gave a soft laugh. He took out a new cigarette from the cigarette case and put it in his mouth. Just as he was about to light it, Xie Bingxia pinched it and took it away.
"Smoking too much is bad for your health."
Gu Bei was stunned for a while. His thoughts were pulled back. Xia Jingwei's gentle voice seemed to be just yesterday.
- You should quit smoking! Smoking too much is bad for your health...
Gu Bei twitched the corners of his mouth and sighed. "You know, sometimes people are really contradictory. They know it's bad for themselves but can't bear to give it up." As he spoke, his eyes passed through Xie Bingxia's figure and landed on the sculpture on the table. "Seeing it makes me recall the warmth of the past, but it also constantly reminds me of how cruel I was."
Xie Bingxia's pupils instantly constricted. She understood the meaning behind Gu Bei's words. On one hand, he couldn't let go of that affection, and on the other hand, he had committed cruel betrayal.
"Gu Bei, you're too selfish."