The two young girls had never seen such a scene; tears were welling up in their eyes.
One of them, possessing a quick wit, tried to salvage the situation. "Mr. Gu, please don't be angry. A dog's intelligence really can't compare to yours."
"............"
Gu Chenxi shifted his posture slightly.
"No, no, no... what I actually meant was... you are far more formidable than a dog. I mean, dogs look so silly, but you look much more..."
Her voice grew thinner and thinner. "Please, stop glaring at me... I'll just shut up, won't I?"
Cold.
Cold and rigid.
The entire scene felt like someone wearing floral shorts to the Northeast in the dead of winter—even though their hyaluronic acid injections were freezing solid, they were still foolishly determined to get a glimpse of the Ice and Snow World.
Gu Chenxi’s face was livid.
He was wearing a dark gray suit today, and the somber fabric made his complexion appear even ashier, as if he were an emissary from hell.
No one knew what was wrong with the CEO, except for Zhou Heng.
He began making frantic eye signals toward the two girls.
Just as he widened his mouth and closed one eye, Gu Chenxi turned his head to look at him.
"If your face is having spasms, go see a doctor. Stop letting these people stay so idle that they spend their time gossiping about other people's marital status in the office."
Sisi had been quite ill this time, and it took nearly half a month of dragging on before she fully recovered.
Lin Qian had spent entire nights watching over her, and she had grown thin from the exhaustion.
That day, when she left Leng Jin's office and returned to the ward, Sisi was gone.
Panic-stricken, Lin Qian rushed to the nurses' station to ask, only to find the vice president, whom she had met briefly at a banquet, already standing there smiling, waiting to explain.
The man chided Lin Qian for not giving notice beforehand and told her that Sisi had already been moved to a private room, where the head of the pediatrics department was already keeping her company.
Lin Qian knew clearly that this had been arranged by Gu Chenxi. Though he had been cold toward her for the past two years, he had always been attentive when it came to Sisi.
Once she recovered, Sisi's spirits gradually improved, and she was currently out on the lawn playing soccer with her brother, Xiaoxi.
They say daughters take after their fathers; since birth, Sisi’s features were essentially a female version of Gu Chenxi.
As she grew older, the resemblance only became more striking.
Lin Qian had once complained to Gu Chenxi that she had only participated in the act of giving birth and felt no sense of accomplishment.
Watching the dimples at the corners of her daughter’s mouth—identical to her father’s—Lin Qian decided that since Sisi was better, she should let him know so he wouldn’t worry.
The last time Lin Qian had left Gu Chenxi’s office in a rage, she had removed him from her phone’s favorites and changed his contact name from his nickname back to his full name.
Lin Qian scrolled through her recent calls for a long while before finding Gu Chenxi’s name.
She counted to three in her heart before pressing the call button.
She comforted herself by thinking it was unlikely he would answer anyway, so there was no need to be nervous.
After the call connected, Lin Qian put it on speakerphone and intentionally held it at a distance.
"Beep... beep..."
The phone rang twice, then was abruptly hung up.
She called again, and it was hung up again.
A string inside her heart suddenly went taut; Lin Qian found herself determined to get through.
She called, it was cut off; she called again, it was cut off again. She refused to give up and kept dialing, over and over.
It wasn't until her daughter walked over and asked timidly, "Mommy, are you crying?"
Inside the Deep Space Matrix office, Zhou Heng held Gu Chenxi’s phone.
"Mr. Gu, it’s... it’s Mrs. Gu’s call again. Should I answer?"
"Hang it up."
"But, it’s still..."
"Don't ask," Gu Chenxi said without raising his head.
Huo Haowen, who had been away on a business trip for half a month, walked in.
"Young Master Gu, there’s an investor banquet tonight. I know you aren't going, just letting you know."
"Time and location."
Gu Chenxi snapped his folder shut. "Send over the arrangements for all the banquets for the rest of the month."
"That’s strange." Huo Haowen exchanged a look with the sweat-drenched Zhou Heng.
"What’s wrong with everyone in the company lately? The new business lines are progressing so smoothly, why is everyone acting like they’re facing a life-or-death battle?"
Zhou Heng shook his head silently at Huo Haowen, his eyes filled with tragic resignation.
Gu Chenxi’s phone wouldn't connect, but Reporter Fang’s call came uninvited.
"Mrs. Gu, I know you’ve been looking into the 'water army' bots in the live stream rooms lately. I have a lead here—do you want to hear it?"
"How much?"
Lin Qian waved her hand, signaling Aunt Li to take Sisi and Xiaoxi inside first.
"It’s free. Since I already owed you a favor last time, one more won't hurt."
"I’m not accepting an exclusive interview with News Weekly. If that’s your goal, you can save your breath."
"Why can’t you see that I’m here to help you? If you ask me, if you weren’t so sentimental about the past, Su Yurou wouldn’t be in a position to provoke you, the legitimate wife, right now."
"The police conclusion regarding that matter was very clear: it was an accident."
Reporter Fang tutted. "It’s good that you can convince yourself. Regardless, I’ll never have the experience of having a dead person in my own womb."
Lin Qian pressed down hard on her index finger; the pain in her knuckles helped her keep a clear head.
"Tell me, exactly how much were you paid to come and say this to me?"
"I’m just a small character with a sense of justice. Besides, hearing me out about the bot situation won't cost you anything. You can always just choose not to believe me."
"...Go on," Lin Qian said, holding her breath.
She wasn't entirely ignorant about who was behind the incident.
If someone hoped to slander her with rumors, then someone else would inevitably benefit from the whole affair.
And it had been a trending topic that Su Yurou’s live stream room had hit record-high sales figures last week.
Several high-profile brands she previously couldn't afford to associate with had also appeared in her own "Double 11" promotional videos.
"Don't be nervous, Mrs. Gu. Did you think I was going to tell you that Su Yurou was the one who hired someone to do this?"
"I wouldn't be surprised by any name coming out of your mouth. Your goal is simply to make me lose my composure."
Having been called out, Reporter Fang stopped playing games.
"Then I’ll be direct: it was your husband, Gu Chenxi."
"............"
"Don't believe it?" Reporter Fang sneered.
"That’s normal. But you can call that money-grubbing agent of yours to verify it. We’re all in the same circle; everyone knows what’s real and what’s fake."
Reporter Fang hung up quite decisively, and Lin Qian dialed Lu Yuanzheng.
"About this matter... for now, it’s just, it’s just hearsay. You know how it is, those studios don't tell the truth often. Anyway, I haven't... I haven't seen any evidence with my own eyes."
Lu Yuanzheng picked and chose the easier parts to say, stringing them into sentences that reached Lin Qian’s ears.
He was trying to make the result sound less like a foregone conclusion.
"But there is one thing I think you should know."
Lu Yuanzheng seemed to have made a difficult decision. "The issue with your press release in Paris—it was indeed Gu Chenxi who blocked it."