Just that one sentence was enough to calm Chu Yanze’s slightly anxious heart.
He wasn’t very familiar with Liang Zhiwei.
Although they were teammates, he had considered teaching her as much as he could.
Still, this wasn’t something that could be taught in just a day or two.
He had no demands for his teammates, but he was afraid he couldn’t shoulder enough of the burden for Sister Zhaoping.
Liang Zhiwei was also afraid of holding them back.
But at that moment, they suddenly realized the biggest difference between Gu Zhaoping and everyone else.
The neighboring team had previously blamed Ruan Nian’s fans for disrupting the order.
Later, they blamed Gu Zhaoye for showing up and affecting their business.
Whoever it was, they were always blaming others for dragging them down and ruining their plans.
But Gu Zhaoping was never afraid of that.
She never reminded them to follow certain rules or told them what level they needed to achieve.
She simply said she’d have their back.
If there was a problem, she’d reimburse them.
She could handle it.
She seemed so powerful that she had the confidence to not fear anyone dragging her down.
Chu Yanze thought back to the skills she’d demonstrated earlier—whether it was jujitsu or anything else, it was all real.
So now, her willingness to bet on a game of chess with Li Xunwen must mean she had some hidden abilities.
She would have their back.
Chu Yanze felt strangely certain of this.
After a moment of silence, he sent one of the few emojis in his collection—a cute, obedient nodding one that didn’t suit his usual image at all.
[Sister Zhaoping, we’ll work hard too!]
This summit had gathered leading figures from industries all over the world.
Even someone passing by casually might be a key player in a major enterprise.
Just one click of a camera could become headline news.
Shen Yifeng was attending as the representative of the Shen family.
He hadn’t been in a great mood lately, though it didn’t affect his work or daily life.
He was just spending more time at the gym and exercising alone, and seeing less of the people he usually spent time with.
This was something only those who knew him well had noticed.
Just a couple of days ago at an equestrian club, a friend had asked if something was bothering him—was it work-related?
Shen Yifeng paused—did he really look that troubled?
Had it become that obvious?
He lowered his gaze and calmly replied,
“No.”
His friend just shrugged.
“Really? You’ve been a lot less social lately. Even at networking events, you can’t seem to smile. That’s not like you.”
Shen Yifeng frowned but didn’t respond, nor did he continue the topic.
His friend didn’t pick up on anything unusual and just went on: “But hey, at least you’re still doing your job. You know your brother-in-law, Gu Zhaoye? He’s been in a bad mood recently and has shut himself away. No one can reach him. He’s turned down everything—business deals, meetings. I tried to talk to him about a collaboration but couldn’t get in touch. The deal fell through.”
He added,
“But whatever, he’s the Gu family’s eldest son. He’s not hurting for business. Even if he disappears for a while, people will still line up for partnerships once he reappears.”
His tone was half-mocking, half-joking, but without real malice—after all, he knew the Shen and Gu families were connected by marriage. It was just idle gossip.
Shen Yifeng’s movement stilled.
He turned his head and asked,
“What happened to Zhaoye?”
“Whoa, you actually care about Gu Zhaoye?”
His friend was surprised. Shen Yifeng usually didn’t show much interest in Gu family matters.
If something came up, he’d handle it, but it was rare for him to take initiative.
This was the first time he’d ever asked after Gu Zhaoye like this.
Shen Yifeng’s expression didn’t change.
“Is that so?”
“I heard it was something to do with issues at Yuanqi Technology. It’s been driving him crazy…”
Shen Yifeng already knew the details. He’d heard about it during his last visit to the Gu family.
It was tied to something he’d rather not talk about recently, so he fell silent and kept walking.
He hadn’t expected Gu Zhaoye’s emotional fallout to drag on this long.
His mood really affected his work—unlike his sister.
That thought made him pause.
After all that had happened, Gu Zhaoping hadn’t reacted at all.
He hadn’t heard any updates from her lately, probably because she was busy filming that show.
As someone about to break off an engagement, he shouldn’t be paying attention to her, and he had warned himself not to think too much.
But still, in that moment, she came to mind.
What he didn’t expect was what his friend said next: “Oh, and did you see the trending topics? A bunch of media outlets are reporting that Gu Zhaoping beat the crap out of Gu Zhaoye on that show!”
“It’s causing a huge stir. People can’t believe a wealthy CEO could be so thoroughly crushed by his own sister—it’s totally overturned their image of him…”
Shen Yifeng froze, stunned.
His friend continued chatting as he rode off on horseback.
Meanwhile, Shen Yifeng’s horse had unknowingly come to a halt.
When his friend came riding around again, he reined in and asked in surprise,
“Hey, where’s Shen Yifeng? He only rode two laps and disappeared?”
Zhaoping.
Shen Yifeng changed out of his riding gear.
He no longer felt like riding.
As he walked out, he pulled out his phone and went online.
The news was in full blaze—absolutely everywhere.
A quick scroll showed countless articles talking about Gu Zhaoping.
Her actions were no longer described as outrageous or disgraceful, but impressive and bold.
It was as if she had always been deliberately avoiding the spotlight, but now, everything about her was flooding into his view like a broken dam.
Not long ago, he’d heard she was hiring a jujitsu coach and wondered if she was just doing it to get attention.
Back then, Shen Yifeng didn’t think there was anything wrong with that assumption.
That had always been her image, and it was hard to shake.
But as he numbly scrolled through the countless reports about her, he realized so many people—random netizens, even—seemed to know her better than he did.
They were excitedly and enthusiastically discussing what she had done—her impressive jujitsu skills, how she easily took down a coach who challenged her, how she bought that coach’s dojo to settle the issue, and didn’t even make a fuss about it.
How during filming, she grabbed Gu Zhaoye’s hand as he tried to confront another woman and said,
“She’s with me.”
How she slapped him without hesitation, and he couldn’t even break free—just swallowed his pride and apologized.
It took repeated reminders for Shen Yifeng to truly grasp the weight and meaning of what he had heard.
Gu Zhaoye had told him that Gu Zhaoping hit him.
At the time, he had thought it absurd and hadn’t given it more thought.
The more he recalled, the more shocked he felt.
The more he saw, the more confused he became.
Watching her finish sparring with the jujitsu coach, crouch down, and calmly ask, “Was that enough?”
—He didn’t know what was going through his mind in that moment.
In any case, he put away his phone.
He heard that a new episode of the show was about to air, but he wasn’t interested and couldn’t allow himself to care.
Even if it aired tomorrow, he had more important things to deal with.
This summit was very important.
He needed to use work to distract his mind and prevent his attention from wandering to strange places.
“President Shen, long time no see.”
A business partner, whom he hadn’t seen in a while, smiled warmly and shook his hand.
Shen Yifeng also put on a slight, polite smile.
“President Li, long time no see.”
“This time you came alone, President Shen. You’re really taking on more responsibility.”
“Just that others in the family are busy with their own matters and couldn’t come,”
Shen Yifeng replied politely. The other party then recalled something and said,
“By the way, Director Gu’s side held a gathering yesterday. I didn’t see you there. Did you come only today?”
The other person still remembered that Shen Yifeng was Director Gu’s grandson-in-law, though he didn’t know which granddaughter he was engaged to or much about the Gu family.
After thinking carefully, he vaguely recalled: oh right, Shen Yifeng’s fiancée is the eldest daughter of the Gu family!
His face immediately lit up with a smile, and he shook Shen Yifeng’s hand firmly, nodding up and down, saying,
“Yifeng, you’re really lucky. Miss Gu is truly outstanding!”
Shen Yifeng’s smile slightly stiffened.
He wondered why this topic suddenly came up — was it because of recent news?
They hadn’t publicly broken off the engagement, so those who knew about their relationship occasionally brought it up to make small talk, which was understandable.
Shen Yifeng just smiled again and said,
“Hmm.”
“That’s just a passing topic. There’s more to discuss,” the other party continued,
“By the way, the first forum session is today. Do you know who’s going to speak? This is a great opportunity, but unfortunately our group is just here to fill seats this time, no big ideas.”
“You’re being modest. If your company doesn’t have good ideas, then no one else does,”
Shen Yifeng politely exchanged a few words. The forum was about to start.
He took his seat at the reserved place with his nameplate, put on his glasses, crossed his hands, and focused on the podium ahead.
The organizer’s speech was long and redundant, making it easy to lose focus or feel sleepy.
Someone beside him grew impatient and started doodling on a notebook.
Shen Yifeng did not move; his eyes remained focused forward.
During a break, he took off his glasses and went to the restroom.
Outside in the corridor, many people gathered in small groups, chatting and laughing with varying tones.
After washing his hands, he walked out and seemed to catch a familiar voice for a moment.
He paused, looking up, but the crowd blocked his view.
Frowning, he took a couple steps forward, but his peripheral vision caught a familiar figure again.
He froze, turned back to look.
His heart sensed something before his eyes could fully register, but just as he was about to move forward, a group came out ahead, blocking his path.
Someone smiled and came up to shake his hand, saying they had wanted to greet him earlier but couldn’t get through the crowd.
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