Chapter 18
Yun Daixi didn't know why, but after secretly using his face cream that night, she became bolder and bolder, and wanted to see how he would handle it if she continued to be so willful.
Some were even curious about what it would be like to descend all the way to the eighteenth level of hell.
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Gu Li'an stopped talking, after all, there was a third person present.
Looking at the copy of Freud's "The Interpretation of Dreams" stuck under his side window, Yun Daixi said in a declarative tone, "I didn't expect Mr. Gu to eventually go and take the books I bought."
"I haven't been sleeping well lately." He was still the same, one hand resting on the edge of the car window.
That night, lying on his bed in Chenghuayuan, disturbed by the lingering scent of Yun Daixi, he tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep.
The tears I thought I didn't care about started appearing in my dreams countless times from that day on, each one a violent accusation against him.
The red and green lights outside the car shone in, taking on a deep gray hue under the privacy film, perfectly matching his temperament, like fireworks bursting in the darkness, fleeting and ephemeral.
This time she remained silent, with a proud self-abandonment. She acted as if she were a concubine in the deep palace, stripped naked and carried away by palace maids wrapped in blankets to be served.
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You can go to any territory he has.
Getting out of the car was unexpected; it turned out to be a private villa with a European-style dry-hung stone facade. There were already many people in the foyer, presumably for a private cocktail party.
Upon seeing Gu Li'an arrive, a lady came to greet him, wearing an extremely elaborate lace crochet dress, and the pigeon egg on her ring finger almost blinded Yun Daixi.
Before Gu Li'an could introduce them, a glass of iced water was handed to him, and the person hurriedly asked, "Mr. Gu, who is this?"
"My female companion, Yun Daixi." He said, taking her hand and linking it with his arm.
People around him were probably secretly observing him, otherwise the entire banquet hall wouldn't have fallen silent at the same time so coincidentally.
I had heard that, unlike others in the financial circle, Gu Li'an was not the kind of man who liked women and had never brought any female guests to events.
The woman extended her hand with the pigeon-egg-sized diamond: "Hello, Miss Yun."
Gu Li'an introduced her as a gentleman: "You can just call this Mrs. He."
Yun Daixi obediently called her "Mrs. He," and her smile and polite bow were impeccable, making her appear generous and poised.
He walked around with Gu Li'an's arm in his, chatting with a group of seemingly glamorous people about the global economy, stock market and futures, or which company bought which piece of land at what good price.
The champagne glasses clinked together, making a tinkling sound.
To Yun Daixi, it sounded like the coin pusher machines she'd seen in arcades as a child. You know there are countless coins at the bottom, but you have to endlessly expend your energy, and you never know when you'll finally be able to push all those coins down and collect them.
Some people lose everything, while others return with great joy.
The people in this room didn't know much about the entertainment industry, and none of them recognized Yun Daixi, who was arm in arm with President Gu.
Gu Li'an didn't shy away from the topic and introduced her to everyone generously: "She is a professional agent."
When people mention that Yun Daixi is in the entertainment industry, there's an indescribable look in their eyes.
A polite reply: "Wow, that means I can see lots of celebrities!"
Some performers are more exaggerated, making faces and asking, "Tell me, is there any gossip that no one knows?"
Yun Daixi smiled and simply deflected the question, saying, "I'm tired of seeing celebrities, and as for gossip, it's the same. You get tired of seeing too much of it. It's better to know a little bit about it, to keep it mysterious, that's what makes it interesting."
She spoke politely on the surface, but Yun Daixi knew that in the eyes of these powerful and wealthy people, she was just like the madam of a brothel.
However, out of consideration for Gu Li'an, everyone forced themselves to talk about certain topics.
There's been a lot of discussion lately about interesting new dramas and some celebrities whose names I don't know, with everyone saying, "Oh, right, that's him..."
Yun Daixi had seen many such scenes before, and moreover, most of the conversations revolved around this Mr. Gu. Amidst the gossip, one could glean some information about Gu Li'an's hobbies, whether true or false.
She didn't find Mr. Gu boring at all.
After exchanging greetings with everyone, Gu Li'an whispered in her ear, "Shall we go?"
Yun Daixi obediently replied, "Whatever you say."
He pulled Yun Daixi to say goodbye to Mrs. He: "There are still some important things to take care of, so we have to go back first."
It was already night outside, and it was Saturday, so these words were too suspicious. Mrs. He replied, "Alright, I understand. President Gu's willingness to attend today is already a great honor."
They went out hand in hand, got into the car, and Gu Li'an seemed to have exhausted all her strength. After giving the address, she tilted her head back and closed her eyes.
She had been silent the whole way and assumed he was asleep. Unexpectedly, he suddenly reached over across the armrest between the seats, grabbed her hand, and eagerly clasped their fingers together.
His hands were still cold, and when she reached out to touch them, the coldness startled her.
The car drove smoothly in the dark, and his breathing gradually stabilized.
This was the first time she had ever seen him so relaxed.
He looked completely peaceful in his sleep, with long eyelashes drooping down, somewhat resembling the man who stood at her door in white that day, exuding youthful energy.
To make sure he was asleep, Yun Daixi waved her hand in the air in front of his eyes, but there was no reaction.
Then, mustering her courage, she reached out and touched the tip of his nose.
Once she was sure it was true, she asked the driver in front, "Besides me, has any other woman gotten into Mr. Gu's car?"
The driver had never seen anyone dare to treat President Gu like this before, and he was so nervous that he didn't know what to do. He didn't know whether to answer or not, and his hands slid back and forth on the steering wheel.
"You can answer. He's asleep, and I won't tell him."
After hesitating for a long time, he finally answered, "No, you are the only one."
Gu Li'an's palms warmed up a bit in the heat of Yun Daixi's crossing, but they were still lower than her body temperature.
She wanted to take off her clothes and cover him with them, but just as she was about to pull her hand away from his, he grabbed her tightly and she couldn't move anymore.
She simply gave up, asked the driver to turn the air conditioning up higher, turned around and leaned back in her seat, tilting her head to look at him.
So this is what it looks like when the demon is asleep. I wonder what he's dreaming about, his brow is furrowed.
The car was parked in an underground garage. Yun Daixi knew, of course, that this was one of the top luxury residences in Beijing, a place that was often talked about by many people.
Gu Li'an woke up as soon as he entered the garage and the bumper vibrated, but he still didn't let go of her hand.
As a child, she imagined countless scenarios of her first romantic hand-holding with her boyfriend: under cherry blossom trees in Japan, on a beach in Hawaii, in the Sahara Desert, or on a mountaintop where fireworks were blooming.
I never imagined it would happen in a car driving at night, with no music, no atmosphere, and the person was asleep.
There was no tenderness; it was more like plunder.
After the car came to a stop, Yun Daixi asked, "Mr. Gu, can you let go of my hand? It's a little numb."
After all, he had held her hand tightly the whole way.
He quietly let go of her hand, got out of the car still sleepily, and very gentlemanly came over to open the door for her.
As she got out of the car, his hand was already outstretched, like a silent invitation. Yun Daixi placed her hand in his palm.
He told the driver, "You can go back now."
He took her hand and walked towards the elevator lobby.
Yun Daixi asked, "Is this another gilded cage belonging to Mr. Gu?" @Unlimited good stories, all at Jinjiang Literature City
He didn't shy away from the question, answering, "I guess so. It's one I use often."
After entering the elevator and unlocking the door, I pressed the floor button. It didn't stop in between; it was a private elevator for entering the apartment.
The elevator doors opened, and I was already inside my home.
This time, he didn't even give her a chance to hesitate. He took off his suit jacket, threw it on the sofa, and told her, "Go wash up."
The finger pointed to some unknown room in the huge single-level apartment.
"I didn't bring any toiletries," she said truthfully.
"It's all inside." He was already sitting on the sofa, as if to preserve her last bit of dignity, and didn't watch her walk into that room.
She said nothing more, took off her shoes, and stepped barefoot onto the wooden floor. The underfloor heating wasn't very warm, but perhaps it was comfortable for him.
As she passed the French windows, she noticed it had started snowing outside. The snow was very light, almost weightless, and was gently swirled up by the wind.
On the sink in the bathroom, there was another jar of the same cleansing balm, with a note underneath: "Mr. Gu, the other skincare products you arranged are all in the cabinet on the right."
Yun Daixi reached out and opened the cabinet on the right. It was full of women's skincare products, including commonly used luxury brands and some top European brands, arranged in order.
It's so detailed that it even includes German MBR technology.
Was it prepared specifically for her? The thought flashed through my mind, and I immediately felt utterly ridiculous. She might be the first woman to fall into this abyss, and after she perished, countless other women would line up to jump.
After removing my makeup and taking off my clothes, I went to the bathroom, which was filled with various women's facial cleansers.
She stubbornly took the men's version he used, which seemed to have French printed on the bottle. This time, she finally got to discover the brand that she couldn't smell with her nose.
After showering, I put on the prepared pure white cotton pajamas. I didn't choose any skincare products from the right cabinet, but instead opened the left cabinet and took a look, deciding to use his instead.
After she finished drying her hair, she called out to Gu Li'an, who was reading a book in front of the reading lamp on the sofa, "I'm done."
He agreed and got up to go in another direction.
Yun Daixi thought he had gone the wrong way and reminded him from behind, "This way."
Without turning around, he simply replied, "There's another one over here."
He didn't say it directly, but she understood: he didn't like things that others had used.
Yun Daixi then sat down on the sofa.
She looked around curiously. The apartment wasn't anything special; it had probably been furnished like this when it was handed over to owners. There was nothing that revealed personal information.
There isn't even a single private photo.
The floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room were piled high with the books she had sent to Mercury headquarters last time.
Instead of touching the book that Gu Lian was reading, she took a new one from the pile of books and opened it.
I flipped through the book, reading every line, but I still couldn't understand its meaning at all.
Philosophy books require a highly introspective environment to read, and she is certainly not in that state now.
After taking a shower, Gu Li'an changed into light-colored pajamas that matched her outfit.
Although he is over thirty years old, he still looks like a teenager even without a suit.
He beckoned to her, "Come here."
Yun Daixi put down her book and followed him into a bedroom.
When she went in, he was already lying on his side on the bed, propping his head up with his hand and waiting for her.
"Do I need to take it off myself?" she asked sincerely as she closed the door and stood by the bed.
Recalling his previous outburst, Gu Li'an mustered all his strength to activate the muscles in his face that he hadn't used in a long time, and smiled gently: "No need."
He lifted the covers again and called to her, "Come in."
Yun Daixi obediently crawled inside; the blankets were already warm and moist.
I lay down and casually placed my phone next to my pillow.
She was used to it and never knew what emergencies might happen at any time.
She thought he would enter her brutally like last time, but to her surprise, he simply lay on his side and pulled her into his arms.
He buried his head in her neck, breathing heavily, and said, "I prepared so much for you, but you still used my things."
A single sentence contains a wealth of information.
The things in those cabinets were prepared specifically for her, but she "still" used his things just like she did at Chengheyuan last time.
She was eventually caught as a thief.
"Is it not okay?" she asked sincerely, curious about his answer.
"I said I would grant you any request, so consider this one of them."
She thought he would tease her indirectly as usual.
"Why did you suddenly bring me to that kind of party today?"
"Having a female companion can avoid a lot of unnecessary disturbances."
She thought of Qiao Zhinuo on the rooftop.
"But my relationship with Chi Muye hasn't ended yet, they'll think you've been played."
Gu Li'an laughed dismissively: "They're dirtier than you think. We're all the same."
Coincidentally, Yun Daixi's phone vibrated beside her pillow. A quick glance revealed it was Chi Muye, who must have seen the message and was calling her back.
She wanted to press the red hang-up button before Gu Li'an noticed, but before she could touch it, his fair arm, which passed through her neck, beat her to it, and his slender fingers pressed the green connect button.
Then I moved to the hands-free button and turned it on.
Chi Muye's voice rang out in the room: "Xixi, I was busy and didn't answer the phone. I've been looking for you all day."
Yun Daixi's ears were burning hot. She knew that just the name "Xixi" was enough to infuriate Gu Li'an.
Sure enough, he wrapped his arms tightly around her as she turned to hang up the phone, and pressed his lips to her ear.
She composed herself and replied, "I have something to do... I'll call you back later."
As he spoke, his tongue had already slipped into his ear.
Her hearing was already limited because her left ear was pressed into the pillow, and now her other ear was also filled with moisture, so she could only vaguely hear Chi Muye's voice on the other end of the phone.
"Xixi, I know you've already prepared all the documents to break up with me. Can you wait a little longer? Wait for me next time..."
She couldn't hear the rest; Gu Li'an's kisses continued from her ear to her neck.
The forbidden paradise has been breached once again.
This time, unlike the tranquil landscape painting, she found herself in the boundless sea, where the surging tides made her feel extremely dizzy as she floated on the water.
Whether it was true or she had lost her sense of time, this time it was even faster than last time.
Her whole body curled up in a trembling fit.
When I calmed down, I finally heard Chi Muye's voice clearly.
The voice on the other end of the phone kept calling, "Xixi, Xixi..."
Gu Li'an finally reached out and hung up the phone.
The screen was covered with damp evidence of the crime.
She snapped out of her daze and turned towards Gu Li'an, extremely afraid that he might do something to Chi Muye.
All of this is because of her selfishness and greed; she shouldn't have dragged others down with her.
Without thinking twice, she leaned her face close and pleaded softly, "Please, don't touch him."
After saying that, she pushed his shoulder and used the momentum to lift her head and kiss him.
He didn't respond, but pushed her away with the hand that had led her to the deep sea.
"I said I would agree to anything you ask for. You don't need to beg me with a kiss for another man."