Ever since this year, aside from necessary appearances during major holidays and festivals, Gu Chenxi had used work as an excuse to avoid stepping foot into this home almost entirely.
As his wife, Lin Qian most frequently saw her husband on television news.
Clearly, the office and their home were only a half-hour drive apart.
Lin Qian settled their daughter Sisi, changed into the purple qipao that Gu Chenxi liked, and pinned her hair up in a gentle bun.
She picked up the soup she had been simmering for three hours and several dishes that Gu Chenxi loved, and drove to Deep Space Matrix.
Deep Space Matrix was located in the most prosperous CBD center of Jinggang City. Day or night, this place was always lively and brightly lit.
This was her first time here since the company moved to its new location.
Lin Qian parked the car, looked up at the skyscraper that seemed to pierce the clouds, and felt a trace of timidity in her heart.
"Hello, do you have an appointment?" An unfamiliar receptionist looked at Lin Qian with a respectful smile.
"No, but I am Lin Qian."
"Lin Qian... who is that?" The receptionist looked dazed and timidly waved her hand. "President Gu is very busy, you cannot go in without an appointment."
Lin Qian did not want to make things difficult for a working person, so she tried calling Gu Chenxi twice herself, but both times went unanswered.
Just as she was about to leave, Huo Haowen called out to her.
"Big Star Lin? How do you have the time to come to the company?"
This teasing address made Lin Qian somewhat uncomfortable. His previous affectionate attitude of calling her sister-in-law this and that was completely different from the condescending posture in front of her now.
Huo Haowen was Gu Chenxi's childhood friend and one of the co-founders of Deep Space Matrix.
There were three co-founders of Deep Space Matrix in total, and the other one was Lin Qian.
However, considering later that joint management by husband and wife was not conducive to the company's future development, and that Sisi was still young and needed a mother's care as well, she had transferred her shares to Gu Chenxi, shifting her own focus to the family.
Huo Haowen had known the reason back then and had even praised Lin Qian several times, saying she was broad-minded and had great foresight.
Thinking that they were at the company now, Huo Haowen was probably just putting on such an aggressive front to save face, so Lin Qian didn't take it to heart.
"I'm here to find Gu Chenxi. Is he in his office?"
"He's definitely in, but his schedule requires an appointment. As for the waiting list, it won't be until three months later."
Lin Qian lifted her chin. "What?"
"Haha, but since you have such a special status, I can just take you right up. Coincidentally, I have two documents that need his signature."
Whether it was because he saw the smile vanish from Lin Qian's face, Huo Haowen dropped his previous airs and began bantering with Lin Qian.
She turned to leave, her gaze meeting the receptionist who had just greeted her. The little girl immediately looked away, buried her head low, and sighed softly.
"It's fine, relax." Lin Qian stepped forward and patted her shoulder.
The elevator made a "ding" sound and stopped on the top floor. Lin Qian prepared to step out, but Huo Haowen walked straight out ahead of her.
"Do you still watch the news when you're taking care of the kid?" Huo Haowen glanced sideways at Lin Qian.
"Young Master Gu is truly a genius when it comes to management. Barring any accidents, Deep Space Matrix will be able to ring the bell on NASDAQ early next year."
"A bit faster than I expected. Congratulations."
"I was even joking with them the other day, saying that since you married such an outstanding husband, you should be kneeling and washing his feet every day."
Lin Qian stopped in her tracks. "Excuse me, what did you just say?"
"I said you should..." Huo Haowen abruptly cut himself off.
"Haha, it was all just a joke. Isn't this newly purchased office building gorgeous? This entire floor is Young Master Gu's office. Unless my fingerprint is scanned, not a third person can barge in uninvited."
Seeing that Lin Qian did not respond, Huo Haowen had no choice but to shut his mouth.
Gu Chenxi disliked being disturbed the most when he was working, and this floor was extremely quiet as well, with only the crisp sound of heels echoing in the corridor.
"Let her in."
From the video intercom, Gu Chenxi's deep voice came through. The chief assistant respectfully stepped aside, and the door lock clicked open.
Inside the minimalist-style office, the familiar scent of cedarwood washed over her.
Heaven knows how much she had missed this scent.
When they entered, Gu Chenxi was still busy with a conference call. He placed his slender fingers against his lips and gave a slight shush.
"...Just remembered I have another meeting."
Receiving a warning look from Gu Chenxi, Huo Haowen put down his documents and slipped away immediately.
Lin Qian unpacked the lunchboxes one by one and arranged them neatly on the coffee table. The aroma of the food immediately filled the entire space. Seeing that he had hung up the phone, Lin Qian handed the utensils over.
Yet Gu Chenxi had no intention of raising his hand at all. "I've said it before, don't come to disturb me when I'm working."
"It's already off-work hours, and Chen Sao happened to make the dishes you like today."
"Making a special trip like this, don't you find it troublesome."
The cap of the pen made a "click" sound as it was unscrewed. Gu Chenxi pinched the nib of the fountain pen between his index finger and thumb and signed his name on the documents that had just been brought in.
His handwriting flowed like water, and the sound of the pen nib rubbing against the paper sounded sharp and crisp.
When the two of them first met, Lin Qian was still a popular movie star in the industry, with hit dramas airing one after another. Among numerous suitors, even with Gu Chenxi's exceptionally prominent family background, he had failed to command much attention from Lin Qian.
Back then, in order to make Lin Qian spare him a second glance, he was even willing to wear the heavy Iron Man armor to appear at a fan meeting, bribing the organizers to fake the host's cue to create a program effect.
"...Sisi said she misses her daddy."
"I know, I'll try my best to make time."
"When?"
Gu Chenxi frowned. "Why are you always so pushy? I'm already busy enough, and you still come to make trouble."
Make trouble.
Lin Qian drew back her hand. "People from the media contacted me today."
"Hmm," Gu Chenxi acknowledged, his deep voice reverberating in the empty room.
"Regarding Yurou, you should have told me in advance."
"There's no need for that. You no longer participate in the company's management; taking good care of Sisi is your most important task now."
Lin Qian was sick of hearing this. It seemed that ever since Sisi was born, her own name had suddenly vanished into thin air.
"But Sisi is still young. Have you considered what she should do when she finds out about this?"
"Sisi is just a child not even three years old; just make up some random excuse to fool her and that's it. Is such a trivial matter that difficult?"
"Fooling her is easy, but what about fooling me?"
"Here you go again." Gu Chenxi tugged at his tie.
"I just want to hear you say it yourself: where on earth did you go that night?"