Chapter 775 - Birthday Party (18) (2/2)
“Turn it off! Hurry up and turn it off!” The staff in the hall finally seemed to wake from their daze and rushed towards the projector to clumsily shut the projector off. The pants and moans, as well as the squeaking of the mattress all instantly vanished from the hall. The silence was jarring to everyone. Gu Yanran sighed in relief but was too ashamed to continue staying there. Prime Minister Tan was unreliable and had already run away. As for Huo Shaoheng… His eyes were too terrifying. Especially when he said, “…I never hit women. I always execute them directly.” It shook Gu Yanran to her soul and she didn’t dare go close to him again. She turned around to find Ye Xuan in the crowd and said shakily, “Xuan? Xuan? Where are you?”
…
Ye Xuan stood in the corner, face completely ashen and heart cut to pieces. The beliefs he had adhered to all these years tipped forward like a great building, ready to collapse any second. His gaze darted between Gu Yanran and Gu Nianzhi before gradually settling on Gu Nianzhi. Gu Nianzhi stood with her head hanging behind Yin s.h.i.+xiong and was playing with the little fringes on her sleeves. She looked like an obedient girl, rather than the Sailor Moon who had fiercely argued with Prime Minister Tan and Gu Yanran earlier. That felt like it had been an illusion.
Suddenly, she noticed the looks in her direction. Gu Nianzhi looked up to see Ye Xuan standing in the corner against the wall. He was no longer calm as he had been in the beginning, nor was he caustic like before. He simply looked at her, his light brown eyes filled with thick grief and remorse. Gu Nianzhi’s heart trembled as she secretly thought that Gu Yanran’s little wolf puppy had truly fallen in love with her… Just look at his mournful face… But why was he staring at her? Could he also believe that Gu Nianzhi had secretly recorded that video? Haha, he thinks too highly of her…
Gu Nianzhi’s gaze discreetly drifted in Huo Shaoheng’s direction. As soon as Gu Yanran’s little video began to play, Gu Nianzhi instantly understood that it must be Huo Shaoheng and his men’s handiwork… Also, Yin s.h.i.+xiong had once told her that Huo Shao had prepared a big gift for them, so she wasn’t dumb enough to not understand the little double entendre. Did she really think it was a “big gift?!” When Huo Shaoheng came in earlier, he was stern-faced as he’d scolded everyone for attending “the adult-rated party,” and was fairly deceptive. The audience didn’t understand and they really thought that Huo Shaoheng had come to bring justice… Just look, didn’t Gu Yanran get fooled earlier? Although Gu Nianzhi didn’t know how this video ended up in Cai Songyn’s hands, the focus of the videos and the fact that it played as Cai Songyin came downstairs–only an idiot would miss who the mastermind was…
But while Gu Yanran was dumber than an idiot, she was a brave fool who messed with the wrong people and curried favor with those she shouldn’t. Gu Nianzhi had already burned all bridges with her, yet she’d still dared to drag Gu Nianzhi into the mess. But was Huo Shaoheng someone easily messed with? Gu Nianzhi grumbled in her heart, not showing weakness as she glared back at Ye Xuan.
Ye Xuan was feeling waves of disgust and turned away to walk listlessly out of the hall. The Gu Yanran in the short video just now was the same Gu Yanran he knew so well. He also knew Gu Yanran didn’t consider him as her boyfriend, so although she spent the night with other people which made him feel uncomfortable, he didn’t have any opinion of it. He always believed that when he successfully won her heart and got her to agree to be his girlfriend that she would no longer get involved with other men. But watching the video, Ye Xuan finally understood that he couldn’t accept this behavior at all–sleeping with him while maintaining this kind of relations.h.i.+p with another man.
The other thing that he couldn’t accept as soon as he thought about it was that he seemed to have recognized the wrong person… He rushed back when the Gu family had an accident seven years ago and Gu Yanran had embraced him as she cried about the pains of supporting the family single-handedly. She also spoke about a lot of things that only Ye Xuan and the Miss Gu who chatted anonymously with him would know about. He thought Gu Yanran was the person who chatted anonymously with him and was also the one who saved him. Now, he finally realized that he had been too presumptuous. He had truly loved Gu Yanran, but even though he now realized that she was the wrong person, his feelings couldn’t be simply taken back like that.
However, he also looked down on himself for being blind enough to invest his emotions in someone like her. He headed out the doors of the Prime Minister’s official residence. The streetlamps outside the entrance glowed pale white, stretching Ye Xuan’s shadow far across the sidewalk.
Gu Yanran realized that Ye Xuan had left and hastily followed him out. The people in the hall wore a myriad of expressions as they watched the evening’s “Best Actress” quietly exit the scene.
Cai Songyin looked at her back with contempt and thought to herself about there was still another wave of viral attention to come. She should take her time enjoying it…
…
Huo Shaoheng looked around and slowly walked behind Yin s.h.i.+xiong. He stood next to Gu Nianzhi and didn’t even look at her. With both hands in his trouser pockets, he looked straight ahead and said calmly, “The new house is finished renovating. Are you coming back with me tonight, or am I coming back with you?”