After getting into the car, Xiang Wanniao turned sideways across the center console, reached out to cup Gu Jingzhan's face, and forced him to look at her.
Still dwelling on his reaction to her earlier question, she stubbornly asked him again, "Do I look pretty today?"
"Mm, pretty."
Gu Jingzhan answered her word by word, his attitude remaining entirely flat.
Xiang Wanniao furrowed her brow and said with dissatisfaction, "Since I look pretty, why was your reaction so bland?"
Though the man looked calm on the surface, Xiang Wanniao was sitting so close that his heartbeat and breathing refused to settle down.
Words can lie, but a heart cannot.
Gu Jingzhan's prominent Adam's apple bobbed slightly. He reached out to wrap an arm around her impossibly slender waist, his voice husky, "You dressed up so nicely today just to come find me and have lunch together?"
"Right!" Xiang Wanniao gave him an alluring, sultry look, tracing circles on his chest with her finger. "Don't you like it?"
Gu Jingzhan pressed his thin lips together, his tone probing, "What are you really trying to achieve by doing this?"
"I wanted to please you."
Hearing this reply, a bitter smile slipped from the corners of Gu Jingzhan's mouth, and he instantly released his grip on her waist.
He straightened his posture, his hands slowly clenching into fists. "You don't need to go through so much trouble anymore."
"Huh?" Xiang Wanniao was baffled.
"I know you're doing this for the West City Tourism Resort Development Project. The Xiao Group is also bidding for it, and you want to help Xiao Xu'an get the Gu Group's bidding reserve price from me. That's why you've gone to such lengths to please me these past few days."
Panic flared in Xiang Wanniao's heart, and she hurriedly explained, "No, I didn't mean to help—"
"I said, I can give you whatever you want. There's no need for you to wrong yourself like this."
Gu Jingzhan's knuckles turned white as he gripped his hands, desperately holding back the demons inside him, terrified that a sudden outburst might frighten her.
"The divorce agre—"
Before he could finish, Xiang Wanniao pulled the man's face toward her once more, sealing his thin lips with hers and cutting off whatever he was about to say.
When the kiss ended, she looked at Gu Jingzhan with a wronged expression. "Didn't we agree that bringing up divorce is forbidden from now on?"
"I'm setting you free. Isn't that a good thing?"
Gu Jingzhan struggled to maintain his composure and his fragile sense of dignity.
"No, I don't want freedom." Xiang Wanniao cupped his face in her hands, gazing fixedly into his eyes as she said with deep earnestness, "In this lifetime, I only want to stay by your side and love you properly."
At these words, Gu Jingzhan responded only with silence.
"Azhan, trust me, okay?"
"Qiaoqiao, you'd better think carefully. Once you make this promise today, you will never be allowed to leave me again, you won't be allowed to deceive me, and you're even less allowed to..."
"And even less allowed to see Xiao Xu'an, contact him, or have anything to do with him, right?"
Guessing what he was going to say next, Xiang Wanniao cut in and finished the sentence for him.
Gu Jingzhan: "Mm."
"I promise you all of it." Xiang Wanniao agreed without a moment's hesitation.
Gu Jingzhan raised an eyebrow slightly, half-doubtful. "Really?"
"Really, I swear!" With that, Xiang Wanniao raised three fingers. "If I'm lying to you, I will..."
Before she could finish, Gu Jingzhan pressed his thumb against her lips, blocking the words she was about to speak.
"Alright, don't say unpropitious things."
"Then do you believe me now?"
"Mm."
Happily leaning forward, Xiang Wanniao kissed him on the cheek and promised, "Don't worry, I won't let you down this time."
Gu Jingzhan gazed at her tenderly, reaching out to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
Qiaoqiao, I hope you really won't let me down this time.
...
—Xicui Pavilion
Gu Jingzhan and Xiang Wanniao had just finished ordering their dishes when a man swaggered into the private dining room with a grinning expression that screamed trouble.
"Yo, Brother Zhan has arrived."
Hearing the voice, Xiang Wanniao raised her eyes to look at the newcomer.
Qi Xiaoyi. He, Gu Jingzhan, and Lu Qingzhou were close friends who had grown up together, and he was also the owner of this Xicui Pavilion.
In her past life, she had loathed Gu Jingzhan to the core, which meant she had equally despised everyone connected to him.
Although she hadn't interacted much with Qi Xiaoyi and Lu Qingzhou, she knew that Gu Jingzhan's two best friends were fiercely loyal to him.
Without a shred of politeness, Qi Xiaoyi sauntered over to Gu Jingzhan, pulled out a chair, sat down, and crossed his legs in an utterly carefree and uninhibited posture.
"I just heard the restaurant manager say that Brother Zhan had graced us with his presence, so I dropped what I was doing and rushed over, lest my people neglect you."
Gu Jingzhan maintained a bland expression, ignoring the joke.
Qi Xiaoyi's gaze swept past Gu Jingzhan to land on Xiang Wanniao sitting opposite. A smile still lingered on his face, but his words were dripping with sarcasm.
"Well, well! Isn't this the Xiang family's eldest daughter who spent half a year after marrying Brother Zhan making a fuss about dying? Didn't she try to commit suicide just a few days ago? How did she turn out so meek and obedient today?"
Xiang Wanniao: "..."
Qi Xiaoyi was definitely doing this on purpose. He knew full well that Gu Jingzhan's sorest spot was her suicide attempt over the divorce a few days ago, yet here he was bringing it up right in front of him.
Wasn't this deliberately making things awkward for her?
Some people just loved watching the show!
Gu Jingzhan's gaze instantly went cold, a gathering haze shrouding his eyes as his expression turned far uglier than before.
"Why aren't you saying anything? Weren't you always throwing tantrums before? Why've you gone silent as a quail now?" Qi Xiaoyi continued to mock her.
Far from being angry, Xiang Wanniao curved her lips into a smile. "So I tried to commit suicide, so what? If you don't nearly die once, how else are you supposed to find out who truly loves you?"
With that, she intertwined her fingers with Gu Jingzhan's.
Gu Jingzhan lowered his gaze to look at their tightly clasped hands, his expression instantly softening considerably as a smile began to bloom across his tense lips.
Noticing the change in his face, Xiang Wanniao cast an alluring glance at him and said sweetly, "I've grown up now. I like men like Azhan—mature, steady, capable, and handsome."
She had to admit, those words went straight to Gu Jingzhan's heart.
He smiled indulgently, his stern features taking on a hint of gentleness as the cold aloofness faded from him.
Qi Xiaoyi broke out in goosebumps, shuddering involuntarily before rolling his eyes hard at Xiang Wanniao.
"Who knows if what you're saying is true or false," he said with a hint of disdain. "Not so long ago you were head over heels for Xiao Xu'an, and now you claim you like a man like Brother Zhan. I'm afraid you must have some ulterior motive toward Brother Zhan."
"Yes, I do have an ulterior motive toward Azhan," Xiang Wanniao admitted.