"You're crazy!" Xie Bingxia grabbed Gu Bei's arm. "He didn't do anything!"
Gu Bei was truly enraged and blinded by anger. He didn't listen to Xie Bingxia's explanation at all and shook her off forcefully. With a cry of pain, Xie Bingxia flew out and hit a shelf beside her, then slumped to the ground.
"Bingxia!" Gu Bei regained a bit of his senses and quickly went to check if she was hurt.
By now, quite a few classmates had gathered outside the door, whispering and gossiping. Li Duo squeezed through the crowd. Seeing the scene, he was too scared to get any closer.
Xie Bingxia quickly called out to him, "Li Duo, come and take Qin Feng away."
"Okay..." Li Duo tiptoed past Gu Bei and hoisted the unconscious Qin Feng onto his shoulder. Yan Xiaoyi rushed in to help. Xie Bingxia added, "He was drugged. Help him deal with it. Otherwise, it'll be bad for his health."
Li Duo didn't understand at first. Yan Xiaoyi nodded and said, "Got it. Leave it to us."
One on each side, they supported Qin Feng and left. Gu Bei reached out to help Xie Bingxia up, but she slapped his hand away. "No need. I can do it myself."
Xie Bingxia stood up, and the crowd at the door automatically made way for her. She walked out of the room slowly and found that this place was indeed far from the main area of the resort. It was an old and shabby warehouse. Exhausted both physically and mentally, all she wanted now was to go back and have a good rest.
Gu Bei followed closely behind her until they reached the hotel room. Finally, when they were calm and facing each other, it was time to have a good talk.
"What's the deal with what happened tonight?" Gu Bei spoke first. Xie Bingxia shook her head and sighed. "Gu Bei, you're so naive. Can't you see that we've been set up by Yuan Yiyun?"
Gu Bei didn't know the whole story, so he asked, "How so?"
"Dou Qian put drugs in the coffee for you, but Qin Feng drank it." Xie Bingxia forced a smile. "Your fiancée really will stop at nothing to get you."
Gu Bei thought for a moment and recalled that after he came out of the reception building, he heard from his classmates that Qin Feng and Xie Bingxia were having a tryst in the warehouse. Connecting the dots, he quickly understood. "You and Qin Feng being locked in the warehouse was also her doing?"
"She has accomplices. They're probably her lovers." Xie Bingxia was annoyed. She didn't expect Yuan Yiyun to involve Dou Qian and also leave other people as backups. It was her mistake.
"Yuan Yiyun probably counted on you on one hand and trapped me and Qin Feng on the other. Then she'd let you catch us in the act. It's a win - win for her. Although it failed on your side, it had an unexpected effect on our side. She didn't lose out."
"Even so, Qin Feng shouldn't have... " Gu Bei turned his head away, still fuming. "That scumbag who took advantage of the situation!"
When it came to this, Xie Bingxia got even angrier. "He took the fall for you. You almost beat him to death. Have you no conscience?"
Gu Bei couldn't stand seeing Xie Bingxia defending that scumbag, so he retorted, "Even if I had drunk the coffee, I would never have had anything to do with Yuan Yiyun. Humph, Qin Feng is different. He's had his eye on you for a long time. If I hadn't arrived in time, he might have attacked you."
"Are you saying that just because Qin Feng was drugged, I would have compromised and had something to do with him? You trust yourself but not me?"
Xie Bingxia had a point, and Gu Bei was at a loss for words. Finally, he murmured weakly, "Anyway, it's just not okay for him to touch you..."
"I'm too lazy to argue with you." Xie Bingxia issued an order to evict him and pushed Gu Bei towards the door. "I'm tired. Go back to your own room."
Gu Bei didn't want to leave at all. He mumbled, "I haven't charged up yet..."
Charge up your head! Xie Bingxia raised her hand and slammed the door in Gu Bei's face. She flopped onto the bed, feeling really aggrieved. She tossed and turned, unable to calm down. Then she heard the sound of a lighter clicking outside the door. Gu Bei must still be there.
Xie Bingxia got out of bed and opened the door. "Why aren't you leaving?"
Gu Bei was leaning against the wall in the corridor, a cigarette between his lips. He looked a bit aggrieved. "I didn't book a room because I thought I'd be with you."
Xie Bingxia didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Book another one then."
"Don't worry about me. You go to sleep." Gu Bei took a deep puff of his cigarette and pinched the bridge of his nose. Was he going to stand there all night? Xie Bingxia thought to herself. She stared at him for a while. Finally, unable to bear it, she stepped aside and said, "Come in."
Although they were sleeping in the same bed, they lay with their backs to each other. Gu Bei tried to hug Xie Bingxia, but she dodged. Knowing he was in the wrong, he didn't force it anymore. It was a long and sleepless night until dawn.
Early in the morning, Secretary Zhang called, sounding anxious. "Boss, President Yuan is back from the US. According to our informants, he may have met Vincent."
"Got it. I'll take the earliest flight back right away." Gu Bei hung up the phone and looked back at Xie Bingxia on the bed. Her back was so hard to part with. However, he had official duties and couldn't stay any longer.
Three hours later, Gu Bei returned to the Xie Group. He told Secretary Zhang to arrange a dinner to prepare for a meeting with Yuan Zhentian. The two parties met in a restaurant they often frequented. Yuan Zhentian was quite familiar with Gu Bei, so he didn't bother with pleasantries and got straight to the point. "Do you still want to marry Yiyun?"
What he meant was, do you still want the shares of the Xia Group?
The annexation of the Xia Group back then was arranged by Grandpa Xie, and the Yuan family was also involved. Although their share was not large, some important institutions were under their name. Even some old employees who had made great contributions to the Xia Group were under the Yuan family.
There was no doubt that a big part of the reason why Gu Bei agreed to the marriage was the shares of the Xia Group.
Yuan Zhentian was a cunning old fox. He could tell from Gu Bei's expression. He picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks and put it into his mouth. "If you don't want it, I'm going to give it to Cent Company."
Sure enough, the person he went to see in the US was Vincent. Gu Bei felt something was wrong. "Uncle Yuan, this may not be appropriate. We can discuss it further."
"Recently, I heard from Yiyun that you've been paying less and less attention to her." Yuan Zhentian wiped his mouth. "Do you have another woman?"
"..."
"Alright. Marry Yiyun within a month. First, hold an engagement banquet. The wedding can be prepared slowly later." Yuan Zhentian issued a firm order. "If you want to get something, you have to pay a price. Understand?" With that, he got up and left, leaving Gu Bei facing the table full of dishes.
After Yuan Zhentian walked away, Gu Bei slammed his fist on the table, making the dishes rattle.
"Secretary Zhang, do as President Yuan said. Go and make the arrangements."
"Boss, are you sure?" Secretary Zhang didn't expect Gu Bei to compromise. "What about Miss Xie..."
"I know what I'm doing. Just do as I say."
Seeing that the boss was on the verge of exploding, Secretary Zhang didn't dare to say anything more. He quickly went out to pay the bill and took the boss back to the company.
Two days later, Xie Bingxia returned to the Gu Mansion after the off - campus teaching. Xiao Mei had been waiting for her at the door early. Seeing her pale face, she felt so心疼 and insisted on cooking some good dishes for her to replenish her energy.
How could Xie Bingxia be in a good mood? This time, instead of catching Yuan Yiyun's mistake, she was outmaneuvered. The current situation was a draw between the two of them. She just couldn't swallow this anger!
Xiao Mei took Xie Bingxia's suitcase. Then, the sound of high - heeled shoes clattering came from outside. Yuan Yiyun was also dragging several suitcases and walked into the living room. Xie Bingxia glared at her. "You're not welcome here!"
Yuan Yiyun wasn't annoyed. She ordered Xiao Mei, "Come here and take these to Gu Bei's bedroom."
"What are you doing?"
Yuan Yiyun laughed triumphantly. "What am I doing? Of course, I'm moving in here as the mistress!"