Night Fire Lingering

Wen Yan blinked, sat up straight, and lied through her teeth without batting an eye: "I'm here to deliver some documents to President Gu."

The general counsel was puzzled: "Weren't you no longer with the Mingke project team?"

Wen Yan: "..."

Why do you, a director, remember the members of the vendor's team so clearly?

"Mr. Gu, otherwise we..." the marketing director began, intending to leave.

"Come in."

Gu Yanci let them come in and then sat back down in the chair behind his desk.

The two had no choice but to bite the bullet and walk into the office.

Wen Yan stood up, intending to leave to avoid the situation: "President Gu, I'll go first—"

"What are you going to do first?" Gu Yanci looked up. "Wen Yan, don't even think about running around."

Wen Yan: "..."

She came to deliver documents; is he deaf and didn't he hear her?

The atmosphere in the office became unusually tense. The two directors looked at each other, while Gu Yanci, sitting in the president's chair, seemed completely at ease, as if nothing strange was happening.

The two directors were there to report on the Mingke merger case. The law firm's work was nearing completion, and the marketing department would take over the market integration work after the merger was completed.

Gu Yanci pointed to a section of the report and asked the legal director for details.

The general counsel looked at it for a while and said, "This part is handled by Jinhe Law Firm. I'll ask Attorney Sun for more details later."

Upon hearing the words "Jinhe Law Firm," Wen Yan instinctively looked over and met Gu Yanci's gaze.

Gu Yanci said, "Come here."

Wen Yan didn't want to move, but remembering the persona she had created for herself as someone "delivering documents," she hesitated for two seconds before walking over anyway.

"Take a look at this." Gu Yanci threw the question from earlier to Wen Yan.

"President Gu, I am neither your employee nor a member of the project team. When it comes to work-related matters, there is always a question of responsibility." Wen Yan retorted, these were the very things he had taught her.

General Counsel: "..."

He shouldn't have said that Wen Lu wasn't in the project team!

Gu Yanci tapped the document and said, "I didn't ask you to act as an employee or a contractor."

The legal director and the marketing director exchanged another glance: If they weren't employees and service providers... then weren't they the boss's woman?

Wen Yan understood the coded message between the two executives, took a deep breath, and glanced at the lengthy English description.

"This is a difference caused by the difference between the civil law system and the common law system. Mingke involves cross-border mergers and acquisitions, which involve multiple legal entities, multiple shareholders and multiple intangible assets. Therefore, this part needs to be specifically explained in terms of differences and compensation measures."

With Wen Yan's reminder, the general counsel immediately remembered the key point and understood.

He looked at Wen Yan with admiration: "Wen Lu's basic knowledge is really solid. Why don't you consider working for our company after graduation? Our work as a client is definitely not as hard as that of a service provider!"

After speaking, he glanced at Gu Yanci again, waiting for the boss's reaction.

Gu Yanci asked Wen Yan with a leisurely air, "What do you think?"

Wen Yan suddenly realized that Gu Yanci hadn't asked her to come and answer her questions at all; he was clearly waiting for her here!

He wanted to keep her under his nose!

Wen Yan gave a forced smile: "I plan to continue my studies. Working and serving the boss is too tiring."

General Counsel and Marketing Director: "..."

I felt subtly insulted!

Wen Yan sat back down on the sofa, trying to remain invisible.

After the legal director and marketing director left, the office fell into a deathly silence.

Unable to watch any more horror movies, Wen Yan took off her headphones and turned to look at the man in the CEO's chair.

Gu Yanci.

Gu Yanci, who was looking at the documents, paused when he heard this and looked up at her.

Wen Yan opened her mouth, then swallowed back the words that were about to come out. After a couple of seconds, she asked, "When is He Tingchuan coming?"

"Twelve o'clock."

Gu Yanci and He Tingchuan had arranged to discuss cooperation, but today's lunch was not specifically for discussing cooperation, but rather to gauge each other's attitudes, which is standard procedure.

Wen Yan said "Oh" and looked away.

"What were you trying to say just now?" Gu Yanci pressed her for an answer.

Wen Yan was slightly taken aback, not expecting him to have seen through it.

She wanted to ask him what he really meant now? What was he planning to do?

She wanted to reiterate her point of view to him: she still wanted a divorce.

……

Lunch was at that upscale private restaurant near the Gu Group building.

The last time I came here, I left with a burn on my hand.

Even now, her hands are still wrapped in gauze.

Wen Yan felt unhappy when she thought of these two things. She didn't want to look at Gu Yanci anymore, so she called Luo Beiqing again, but no one answered.

"Mr. Gu, your guests have arrived." Before the waiter could finish speaking, the footsteps behind him grew closer and closer, sounding like two people.

Wen Yan thought it was Luo Beiqing traveling with her, and stood up happily. Just as she was about to go out to greet her, she froze on the spot when she saw the woman walking in.

Qiao Weiwei took off her coat and tossed it to the waiter, her smile full of victorious provocation: "Wen Yan, long time no see. Are you so happy to see me?"

Wen Yan ignored her, her cold, piercing gaze fixed on He Tingchuan: "Young Master He, should I not be here?"

He Tingchuan walked ahead of Qiao Weiwei from the very beginning and did not communicate with her at all.

He was about to sit down when he heard this and asked Wen Yan, "What do you mean, Miss Wen?"

"That's my question to you. What's the meaning of bringing Miss Qiao to dinner with me? What, do you look down on me?"

Qiao Weiwei immediately became displeased: "Wen Yan, what do you mean?"

Wen Yan replied in a clear and articulate voice: "It means I look down on you."

"you--!"

“I am still Mrs. Gu, and even after the divorce, I am still Miss Wen. Qiao Weiwei, who do you think you are, sitting at the same table with me? And you're seen with my best friend's man?”

Qiao Weiwei looked at He Tingchuan pitifully, as if she had suffered a great injustice: "Young Master He, look at her! I am your woman, and if she looks down on me, isn't that looking down on you?"

He Tingchuan ignored Qiao Weiwei's coquettish complaints, and after taking his seat, he raised his glass to Gu Yanci across the distance, and the two men each took a sip of wine.

Qiao Weiwei, having made a fool of herself, was so angry that her face turned pale and then red.

"He Tingchuan, where is Bei Qingren?" Wen Yan asked.

"I'm resting at home."

As soon as He Tingchuan finished speaking, Qiao Weiwei touched her curly hair and said, "So Young Master He was going to bring her to dinner, but she threw a tantrum and refused, and even asked Young Master He to bring me instead. Wen Yan, it seems that you and Bei Qing's sisterly relationship isn't very good either."

Being at home means it's safe. As for not answering the phone, it's probably because his phone isn't with him. Wen Yan breathed a sigh of relief.

Wen Yan completely understood Luo Beiqing's actions. She didn't want to see the stinky man or the cheap woman. Why not let the bitch and the dog disappear from her sight together?

Qiao Weiwei's words were too provocative. Gu Yanci glanced at her, his eyes flashing with undisguised contempt.

I'm having a bout of phobia!

"I'm a little hungry. I can be hungry, but the baby in my belly can't go hungry!" Without anyone offering her a seat, Qiao Weiwei sat down next to He Tingchuan and prepared to eat.

When the topic of children came up, everyone's eyes instinctively turned to Qiao Weiwei's flat stomach.

Wen Yan was already in a bad mood, and Qiao Weiwei just happened to walk right into her trap.

Every time Qiao Weiwei wanted to eat something, Wen Yan would turn the table around, deliberately preventing Qiao Weiwei from eating it.

"Wen Yan, what do you mean?" Qiao Weiwei said angrily, "Such a low and clumsy method, aren't you ashamed of your childishness!"

Wen Yan widened her almond-shaped eyes in disbelief: "Qiao Weiwei, you're not ashamed to sleep with a married man and be a mistress, so why should I be ashamed?"

Wen Yan felt that wasn't enough, so she turned to He Tingchuan with a smile and asked, "Young Master He, don't you think so?"

Gu Yanci watched the show with amusement and did nothing to stop Wen Yan.

He felt the scene was familiar.

Wasn't this the same thing Luo Beiqing did, helping Wen Yan to speak ill of him?

Fortune changes, and these two people are like sisters.

Qiao Weiwei originally wanted to retort, but Wen Yan turned her attention to He Tingchuan. She didn't believe that He Tingchuan wouldn't get angry; He Tingchuan wasn't known for his good temper!

Unexpectedly, He Tingchuan took a sip of wine and nodded: "Yes."

Before Qiao Weiwei could be shocked, He Tingchuan continued, "Miss Wen should also know that Bei Qing's situation is different from yours; divorce is not a good thing for her."

"You want me to persuade her not to get a divorce?" Wen Yan understood what he meant.

Qiao Weiwei looked terrified, and her hands on the table clenched unconsciously.

She always knew this relationship was one-sided. But how many women in this circle didn't become wives only after initially being in a one-sided relationship? Why couldn't she?

He Tingchuan did not answer.

Wen Yan chuckled: "Young Master He, to be honest, do some good for your unborn illegitimate child, and make the divorce quick!"

Should we ask her to mediate?

What's the point of advising a lousy man? Are you going to keep him around for the New Year or to visit his grave?

Wen Yan finished the last sip of soup, put down the porcelain spoon, and stood up: "Please enjoy your meal, both of you."

She ignored everyone else's reactions and left.

Gu Yanci instinctively wanted to grab her wrist, but he clenched his fist and held back.

—It's no use trying to keep her here now!

Wen Yan said "two people," not including Qiao Weiwei at all. Qiao Weiwei was so angry that her face turned red. Perhaps due to her emotions, she felt a churning in her stomach and hurriedly stood up, covering her mouth.

The waiter immediately helped Qiao Weiwei to the restroom.

Wen Yan's departure displeased Gu Yanci, who then sought revenge on He Tingchuan: "Young Master He, your words are quite interesting. What do you mean by saying that Wen Yan and Luo Beiqing's situations are different?"

Is it a good thing that Wen Yan divorced him?

He Tingchuan raised his glass and took a sip of wine, indicating that he had misspoke.

Two seconds later, she still couldn't help but retort, "But, do you think your relationship with Wen Muzhi before was appropriate?"

Gu Yanci retorted dismissively: "My relationship with Wen Muzhi is just a rumor, but your relationship with Qiao Weiwei is a fact."

"Who said it's true that she and I are real?" He Tingchuan's sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes appeared even more arrogant and unrestrained. "Gu Yanci, you've been in this industry for so many years, haven't you ever seen two people wake up naked in bed, and actually nothing happened?"

Gu Yanci had indeed made this guess, raising an eyebrow slightly and letting out an interested "Oh?"

The two men stared at each other for a few seconds.

Gu Yanci had made up his mind and said, "It seems that things haven't been peaceful for the He family lately."

He Tingchuan clicked his tongue: "Unlike you, who was personally trained by the old man and has had a stable position since childhood."

He paused, then said with schadenfreude, "It's bad enough that someone with such an unstable position like me has eyes stuffed in my side, but how come you can't put out the fire in your own backyard?"

Gu Yanci's feigned smile faded: "He Tingchuan, you want to fight, don't you?"

-

Wen Yan went out the back door and hailed a taxi directly to Luo Beiqing's house.

The maid knew Wen Yan well and led her straight into the room.

Luo Beiqing sat in the courtyard basking in the sun, fiddling with her collection of gemstones, the various gems sparkling and dazzling in the sunlight.

“Bei Qing!” Wen Yan called out.

Luo Beiqing looked up upon hearing the sound, ran over in surprise, and gave Wen Yan a big hug.

"I called you several times, but no one answered. I was so worried!" Wen Yan breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that she wasn't sad or upset.

"I left my phone at Night, and that bastard He Tingchuan won't let me go get it!" Luo Beiqing said bitterly. "This man is not only physically unclean, but he also has a tendency to confine others and a mental illness. I must get a divorce as soon as possible!"

"I ran into He Tingchuan taking Qiao Weiwei out for lunch today. Qiao Weiwei even tried to sow discord between us." Wen Yan said, while observing Luo Beiqing's expression, afraid that she would be upset.

Luo Beiqing rolled her eyes: "Having a child with such an idiot, isn't He Tingchuan worried about lowering the IQ of his offspring!"

The maid brought Wen Yan a cup of milk tea with a mix of milk and coffee. Seeing that Wen Yan's hands were not in a convenient position, the maid thoughtfully took out a straw.

Wen Yan thought for a moment and said, "I think He Tingchuan's attitude towards Qiao Weiwei is really cold, it doesn't seem like he likes her."

“I know that the man surnamed Qiao has been coming to see He Tingchuan every day lately.” Luo Beiqing could see it all. “But, Yan Yan, a man’s act of cheating can have absolutely nothing to do with liking someone.”

Luo Bei gazed at the ginkgo trees not far away, a beautiful expanse of golden yellow.

“I originally thought I could be a dutiful, superficial couple with He Tingchuan, and I did play that role well for the past two years. But now, I’m tired of it.”

The title of Mrs. He was a beautiful cage, protecting her from being exploited by her relatives, but also trapping her freedom and dignity.

Wen Yan stayed with Luo Beiqing until evening, and only went home after dinner.

Of course, it wasn't going back to Longyu Bay, but back to my own apartment.

The moment the door opened, Wen Yan sensed something was wrong!

The living room lights are on!

She felt a chill run down her spine and instinctively took a step back, thinking a thief had broken in.

Footsteps are approaching!

Wen Yan took a few steps back, already taking out her phone to dial the police, when she heard a familiar male voice—

"Wen Yan".

The next moment, Gu Yanci's figure came into view.

Wen Yan let out a long sigh of relief, then immediately flew into a rage: "Gu Yanci, what are you doing here? How did you get into my house?"

The man had already taken off his suit jacket and was wearing a pair of men's slippers, which he probably brought with him.

"Did you have fun with Luo Beiqing?" Gu Yanci did not answer her question.

Wen Yan stormed into the house, pointed outside, and said to Gu Yanci, "This is my house, please leave!"