After going bankrupt, the school beauty I was dating became my boss.

Gu Yannian took Su Yanxi to the stir-fry stall she had mentioned. After ordering a few dishes, while waiting for the food, Gu Yannian began to set out bowls and chopsticks for Su Yanxi.

"I ordered some of the restaurant's signature dishes. Try them first. If you don't like them, we'll change them."

"Is there any wine?"

"what?"

Gu Yannian was somewhat surprised. After confirming that Su Yanxi wanted alcohol, Gu Yannian got up, took out two bottles of beer from a box piled up to the side, and then returned to place them on the table.

"There's no red wine here, only this!"

Su Yanxi didn't mind at all. She took a bottle opener, poured herself a full glass, and drank it all in one gulp.

After putting down her cup, Su Yanxi instructed Gu Yannian, "These two bottles aren't enough, bring over a whole case."

"Row."

Gu Yannian didn't hesitate and went over to bring over a case of beer.

Soon, all the dishes Gu Yannian ordered were served. Compared to the dishes Zhang Yaodong had just ordered, these dishes were much simpler, but fortunately, they were delicious and visually appealing.

Gu Yannian picked up a piece of food for Su Yanxi with her chopsticks. Seeing that Su Yanxi was eating with relish, she laughed and said, "I thought you would dislike this place and not be able to eat this kind of food."

"Why are you complaining about this place? Do you think I can't handle hardship?"

“That’s not what I meant. I was thinking that now that you’re the chairman of a business group, your tastes might have changed.”

"No, I haven't changed at all, from the past to the present."

Su Yanxi stared intently at Gu Yannian, her gaze fixed on him meaningfully.

Gu Yannian wasn't stupid; he knew exactly what Su Yanxi was thinking.

He also knew that Su Yanxi had been waiting for an answer, the answer to why he had left without saying goodbye.

But what good will it do to say it? It won't change anything!

"Really? My tastes are different now than before. I used to not like spicy food, but now I can't live without it."

As if to prove her point, Gu Yannian picked up a piece of chili pepper and put it in her mouth.

Seeing that Gu Yannian's answer was irrelevant, Su Yanxi knew she wouldn't get the answer she wanted, so she stopped talking and silently ate her food with her head down.

The surroundings were noisy, but the two people here were unusually quiet, as if they were strangers.

By the time we finished eating, it was already quite late.

"Let's go sit at your place."

While waiting for the car, Su Yanxi suddenly spoke up.

Gu Yannian raised an eyebrow and subconsciously refused: "It's so late, let's do it another day."

"No, today, I want to go see where you live."

"Didn't you already go there? It's a small place, you can see everything in a glance, what's there to see?"

Gu Yannian didn't really want Su Yanxi to come to his place. He couldn't refuse last time, but this time he wanted to insist.

"What, are you afraid to be alone with me?" Su Yanxi reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Gu Yannian, don't forget, you're being kept by me. You do whatever I say, don't keep contradicting me and rejecting me. Playing the 'rejection and acceptance' game too much gets boring."

Gu Yannian exhaled a breath of stale air and nodded nonchalantly, "Okay, since you've said so, let's go."

……

Gu Yannian lives in an old neighborhood with inconvenient transportation, poor sound insulation, and a worrying environment. The only advantage is that it's cheap.

Following Gu Yannian up the narrow, dimly lit staircase, Su Yanxi's mind was in a mess.

The last time she came, she was so excited about finding Gu Yannian that she didn't even get a proper look at the place. Now, looking at it closely, she was increasingly alarmed.

How could Gu Yannian possibly live in a place like this?

Gu Yannian stopped on the fourth floor, took out her key and opened the door: "Although my place is a bit out of the way, it's still quite comfortable to live here."

Su Yanxi followed her inside, but before she could reply, the sound of a chair falling over came from upstairs, followed by shouts and curses, and then the sound of a child crying.

How could anyone possibly live comfortably in a place like this?

Gu Yannian chuckled a few times and turned on the light.

When the light came on, Gu Yannian belatedly realized that the things on the table had not been cleared away.

These things were romantic yesterday, but are a joke today.

Gu Yannian asked Su Yanxi to sit down on the sofa, then rolled up her sleeves and began tidying up. She threw all the leftovers from yesterday into the trash can, put the dishes and chopsticks in the sink, and took a clean cloth to wipe the grease off the table.

Su Yanxi watched Gu Yannian skillfully doing housework, and felt a mix of emotions.

How could the former Gu Yannian have ever done these things?

Gu Yannian quickly washed the dishes and chopsticks, boiled a kettle of water, and made Su Yanxi a cup of honey water: "It's late, so I won't make you tea, so you won't have trouble sleeping later. Drink some honey water to sober up."

Su Yanxi's gaze fell on the honey water on the coffee table. These were things she had done to Gu Yannian. Now, after all this time, it was Gu Yannian's turn to treat her this way.

"Don't stay here, come with me."

"Didn't you mention this yesterday? I told you, I don't want to go to your place!"

Do you have to be so stubborn?

"Yes."

Gu Yannian didn't want to explain further, so she simply chose to give up.

Su Yanxi raised her eyes and gave Gu Yannian a deep look: "How come you don't have any awareness that you're being kept?"

"If by 'being kept' you mean I have to obey your every word, that might be a bit difficult. Of course, if you like that kind of attitude, I can act it out for you."

Gu Yannian spoke frankly, but Su Yanxi couldn't bear to listen anymore. She seemed to have thought of something and got up to leave.

Seeing Su Yanxi about to leave, Gu Yannian didn't try to stop her and saw her to the door. Before leaving, Su Yanxi turned back and asked, "When you first went bankrupt, were you having a hard time?"

"It's not bitter at all. There's wine, meat, and beautiful women. Life is pretty carefree."

Su Yanxi stared at Gu Yannian for a long time, seemingly trying to find a flaw in Gu Yannian's face.

Gu Yannian looked serious, showing no sign of anything amiss. Su Yanxi withdrew her gaze, gave a self-deprecating laugh, and turned to leave.

When Su Yanxi went downstairs, she ran into Gu Yannian's neighbor across the street.

The neighbor watched Su Yanxi go downstairs, then glanced at Gu Yannian standing at the door and teased, "Oh, so you've hooked up with a rich and beautiful woman? How did you do it? Teach me!"

"First, you need to have a face like mine. Second, you need to have a body like mine. But that's difficult, after all, my looks and body are one of a kind."