"Leng Jin? You've finished your advanced studies?"
Lin Qian, Leng Jin, and Su Yurou had shared a dormitory back in college. Leng Jin was the quintessential "tough talker who rarely speaks." Lin Qian still vividly remembered her back in the day—the way she’d flicked a cigarette butt away and shoved a troublemaker at the school gate straight into a pond.
"Sisi is sick again, huh?" Leng Jin hooked her arm around Lin Qian’s neck. "Come on, let's find a spot for you to get her an IV."
Relying on Leng Jin’s influence, Lin Qian managed to borrow a bed in the cardiology department for her daughter. Dr. Leng rolled up her sleeves, gave Sisi’s chubby little hand a couple of pats, and with one swift prick of the needle, blood flowed back into the tube.
As she released the tourniquet and watched the medication slowly drip into Sisi’s veins, Lin Qian felt her own body warming up, bit by bit. She reached into her medical bag and pulled out a thermos. "Can I head to your office to get some hot water?"
Leng Jin glanced at the tiny, yarn-wrapped thermos—barely 180ml—and clicked her tongue. "You could hold that much water in your mouth. Why even bother with a cup?"
A black Bentley pulled up to the hospital entrance. A new security guard stepped forward, demanding that the people inside roll down their windows. The moment Zhou Heng revealed half his face, the head of security rushed over with a wide, ingratiating smile to salute him and hastily raised the barrier. Inside the rearview mirror, the young guard was soundly slapped twice on the head.
"From today on, you’d better memorize that license plate as well as you know your own father’s name!"
"Where’s your sidekick?" Leng Jin shoved her own half-meter-tall water bottle into Lin Qian’s hands. "He didn’t leave your side when you were hospitalized last time. How come I don’t see him today?"
Lin Qian lowered her eyes. "He’s probably busy."
Leng Jin was referring to when Lin Qian had suffered a miscarriage; back then, Gu Chenxi had hovered around her every single day. Sisi, chronologically speaking, was Lin Qian’s second child. The first one had turned into a pool of blood the moment she was pushed off a stage. At that time, the hospital elevator happened to be broken, and Gu Chenxi had carried the unconscious Lin Qian all the way up fourteen flights of stairs. Lin Qian still remembered coming out of the ultrasound room, sobbing uncontrollably. The man had held her, whispering over and over in her ear, "It’s enough that you’re okay."
Three days after her D&C surgery, Lin Qian woke up from a nightmare in the middle of the night and couldn't find Gu Chenxi. She pushed open the door to the patient room and saw him sitting on the floor, leaning against the hallway wall, staring blankly at the ultrasound printout from earlier. The tiny echo on the scan looked like it was waving to someone in the unknown. Lin Qian walked over and tapped him on the shoulder.
His eyes were bloodshot. It was the first time he had ever cried in front of her. Gu Chenxi held her tightly—so tightly it felt as if he wanted to crush them both, break them apart, and piece them back together again.
After that, Gu Chenxi suddenly became incredibly busy. So busy that they could barely even see each other.
When Lin Qian found out she was pregnant with Sisi, it happened to coincide with the Deep Space Matrix annual meeting. The administrative department hadn't sent her an invitation, but she wanted to see Gu Chenxi, so she swallowed her pride and asked Huo Haowen for the address. She dressed with great care, but by the time she reached the venue, the proceedings were already halfway through. Gu Chenxi was on stage, taking questions from the host.
"I heard that you and your wife had a whirlwind marriage. Was it out of love, or was it just a matter of convenience?"
It was an over-the-line question. Everyone in the room held their breath, waiting for the answer. Zhou Heng stepped onto the stage to intervene, but Gu Chenxi stopped him with a look.
The bartender beside Lin Qian tripped on the carpet, and a glass shattered with a loud crash. In that very instant, Lin Qian knew with absolute certainty that Gu Chenxi had seen her. He took the microphone, his face devoid of expression.
"It was primarily a matter of time costs. It would be quite troublesome to change to someone else."
Lin Qian’s body began to tremble uncontrollably. Her chest felt as if it were being submerged in water; she couldn’t breathe, but her legs were frozen in place. She stood there, enduring the thousand arrows piercing her heart. Someone nearby recognized her and whispered "Mrs. Gu" in surprise, though their eyes were filled with undisguised contempt. Lin Qian lifted her dress and fled the venue as if escaping.
Ever since that day, she had been like an ostrich, only wanting to bury her head in the sand. It felt as if, as long as she didn't hear, see, or believe it, the outcome she feared would never come to pass. But could she really live like that?
Memories surged, and a sharp pain pierced Lin Qian’s chest. She pressed down hard on her finger joint, trying to put on an air of indifference. Only in this way could she make it look like she hadn't lost quite so completely.
"Why don't you... just divorce him?" Leng Jin held Lin Qian’s hand. Her hands were always cool, and there was a comforting, refreshing quality to her touch. "Let’s do what we said before: neither of us gets married, we buy a house and live together, and we can just raise Sisi together."
*Together forever.* That was the vow the three of them had made under the locust tree, back when they were young and naive. But Leng Jin had deliberately ignored Su Yurou’s existence.
"Alright, a divorce it is. I don't want to see Gu Chenxi’s dead-faced expression ever again anyway. He’s not even as friendly as that Tibetan Mastiff in the backyard."
Footsteps in the hallway stopped abruptly. Zhou Heng, following behind Gu Chenxi, came to a sudden halt, nearly spilling soup on his clothes.
"Mr. Gu, Dr. Leng’s office is right ahead. That... Mrs. Gu should be inside as well." Zhou Heng kept his head slightly lowered, cautiously gauging the CEO’s mood.
"Forget it. Back to the company."
As Gu Chenxi turned, he stirred up a breeze, bone-chilling as if it came from the underworld.
"And the dinner we prepared... should I deliver it before we go?" Zhou Heng looked at the bags full of food in his hands.
"Let her starve."
Everyone said Gu Chenxi was a genius. It had taken him only four short years to go from the most aimless playboy in Jinggang City to a promising young entrepreneur. And that was without the help of the Gu Group as a backer. But there were no such things as geniuses in this world; there were only people who worked incredibly hard, plus a little bit of luck.
After returning from the hospital, all expression had completely vanished from Gu Chenxi’s face. He worked night and day with a grim look, for a full week straight. He worked until even Zhou Heng, his assistant who usually acted like he was fueled by adrenaline, was on the verge of wilting. A dark cloud hung over everyone at Deep Space Matrix, as no one knew when the CEO’s wrath might strike them.
During dinner, a rare moment of relaxation, two young administrative assistants sat with bowls of pork bone ramen, discussing whether it was better to keep a cat or a dog.
"It’s definitely dogs. They greet you by barking and jumping around when you get home—the emotional value is off the charts."
"That’s true... cats are too cold and detached. Working is tiring enough; who doesn't want to come home to an enthusiastic face?"
Gu Chenxi, who had been walking past, heard them. Even though he had already passed them, he turned around and walked back.
"Right. Anything is better than my 'dead face,' isn't it? Should I have HR issue a statement and hire a dog to be your CEO instead?"