All he could offer was this kind of entertainment value.
His body moved stiffly, like a long-unlubricated robot creaking to life.
Shen Yifeng opened his mouth and let out a hoarse, ugly sound: “No. I won’t stay.… I didn’t know this was your banquet.”
“I’m sorry.”
Shen Yifeng paused, took half a step back, and then turned to leave.
He seemed to want to say something more to Gu Zhaoping ,but it felt like nothing he could say would matter to her.
In the end, all he could muster was this feeble apology— one she likely neither valued nor needed.
For his past neglect, for his former arrogance.
For missing the Gu Zhaoping who had earnestly tried to maintain their engagement.
All that time, he had thought Gu Zhaoping’s indulgence in fleeting pleasures was absurd and unbecoming.
Yet he had never considered: if he assumed the engagement required no emotional investment on his part, why did he expect absolute loyalty from her?
Shen Yifeng walked out the door, glanced back, and saw the banquet hall return to its lively chatter.
Not a single person paid him any attention or spared him a glance.
He was just an embarrassing interlude.
They were all gathered around Gu Zhaoping.
Gu Zhaoping didn’t spare him another look.
In an instant, he felt like he had fallen from heaven to earth.
Ni Tiansong, witnessing all this, was briefly stunned.
Then he realized he hadn’t heard about this engagement before.
After being introduced to the Gu family by Uncle Qi, he had thought he was the first in line, but he hadn’t expected Miss Gu to have been engaged before.
… Fortunately, it was over now, and in such a way—declared publicly in front of everyone.
That man must have crossed some absolute line with Miss Gu, and she would never give him a second chance.
The crisis had barely appeared before it was resolved, but even as Ni Tiansong breathed a sigh of relief, a greater sense of unease crept in.
He glanced at Valentine beside Gu Zhaoping, noticing their conversation seemed to linger too long.
He recalled that right after her speech,
Miss Gu had been talking with him and another man, and now, here they both were.
The more he was aware of his own intentions, the easier it was to notice others’ as well.
Ni Tiansong, lost in thought, took a glass of wine from a passing waiter.
The wine was freshly chilled, and perhaps because he was distracted, he choked slightly after a sip, coughing twice.
The waiter, startled, handed him a napkin.
He wiped his mouth and said,
“Thank you.”
Gu Zhaoping noticed, glanced at him, and Ni Tiansong, seeing her turn, put down his glass, smiled at her, and said,
“Sorry for interrupting your conversation.”
“No, it’s fine, you’re not interrupting,” she replied.
“By the way, Miss Gu, about that chess game this morning— I have a question I’d like to discuss with you, if you have time?”
“We can discuss it now,”
Gu Zhaoping said.
“What’s the question?”
She handled every topic from the guests with ease, never showing favoritism or getting overly close to anyone.
This was both good and bad.
Good, because she didn’t show special treatment to others.
Bad, because she didn’t show it to him either.
Theodore, completely unfazed by the sudden appearance and disappearance of her ex-fiancé, acted as if he hadn’t seen anything.
Back on the snowy mountain, that man had confronted him, but Theodore already knew this broken man had no real competition.
Still, when that man had provoked him, even questioning if he knew about his brother and Gu Zhaoping,
Theodore had harbored a slight desire for revenge.
So, as Shen Yifeng turned back,
Theodore ended his conversation with the Gu patriarch and walked toward Gu Zhaoping.
His hand lightly rested on Valentine’s shoulder.
Valentine stiffened, looking at him, unsure why this usually aloof man was suddenly so familiar.
Instinct told him it was because of Gu Zhaoping’s presence.
After a long pause, Valentine suppressed his odd feelings and politely called him “brother.”
Shen Yifeng, a few steps away, turned back and caught this scene, his pupils contracting sharply.
From his angle, the two looked strikingly similar.
What exactly he realized,
Theodore didn’t care to know.
Theodore finally greeted Gu Zhaoping, inserting himself into her conversation with Ni Tiansong.
Ni Tiansong’s smile remained, but his gaze grew heavier.
The Gu patriarch’s face still showed a hint of reluctance to end the conversation.
Despite the decades of age difference, he had clearly enjoyed chatting with this young man.
Though Theodore was only a few years older than Gu Zhaoping, he was just as adept as she was at navigating topics among these old men,
handling them with ease.
Tch, people destined to inherit family businesses are different— they have to master a bit of everything.
The Gu patriarch saw him approach his granddaughter, and his gaze sharpened again.
Though he was curious about what they’d all talk about together, he also felt it wasn’t quite right.
Clearing his throat, he said to those nearby,
“This celebration banquet can probably wrap up now.”
The entrepreneurs in attendance began to say their goodbyes.
But at this moment, one person was still dissatisfied.
Hearing that the event was about to end, his frustration grew.
He had come here today hoping to have a deeper conversation with Gu Zhaoping about the project issues she mentioned in her speech.
But she was constantly surrounded by too many people, leaving him little chance to talk, and the few words they exchanged didn’t get to the heart of what he wanted.
He wanted to pry more specific information from Gu Zhaoping.
But she was slippery, always painting grand pictures, as if she wouldn’t reveal her true cards unless he showed real sincerity.
Just as this Mr. Lin was about to interject, he saw Theodore approaching, and his words were interrupted once again.
He couldn’t hold back his impatience any longer.
Watching Gu Zhaoping chat and laugh with those around her, he finally spoke up, cutting them off:
“Miss Gu, have you really not considered the issue I raised earlier? You know there aren’t any strong battery manufacturing companies in your country right now. If you want to pursue this path, you’ll have to collaborate with leading enterprises— there’s no avoiding it. I’ve been bringing this up to you, hoping to see your sincerity.”
“But you keep talking about concepts without giving us a clear direction. I genuinely want to foster cooperation and push new energy development together. But your lack of openness— is it because there’s something wrong with the project itself, and you’re afraid I’ll find out if you reveal too much?”
His voice carried a hint of agitation.
“I’ve always thought young people should be bolder. If you’re confident in your direction, you shouldn’t be so secretive. If you don’t show something substantial today, it’ll be hard to gain others’ trust in the future.”
He glanced around, noticing some people’s attention drawn by his words, and his tone grew even more provocative:
“I thought you were a reformer in the energy sector, but you’re so stingy about sharing ideas. Perhaps you’re not ready yet— were all those so-called innovative claims premature?”
At this, the guests who had been preparing to leave paused, watching the two of them with bated breath, anticipating a clash.
Everyone could see that Mr. Lin was getting impatient.
He was eager to secure a cooperative intent today, but Gu Zhaoping hadn’t given him the slightest opening, so he was growing anxious.
Yet there was also a hint of him leveraging his seniority, not bothering to negotiate with Gu Zhaoping sincerely, but instead goading her, implying that if she didn’t share her real ideas and specific operational details, she was either dodging or painting empty promises.
This was a tactic he often used, but he hadn’t expected that as soon as he finished speaking, the people around Gu Zhaoping turned to look at him before she did.
Gu Zhaoping herself only gave him a faint glance, then smiled and said: “It seems you have such high expectations for what I’ve shared because you don’t have any fresh ideas of your own to offer and can only hope to borrow from me?”
“People with real capability act with careful consideration. They don’t start slandering others’ reputations after just a few words of negotiation, looking so desperate and graceless.”
Her tone was calm, but her words were sharp, showing no mercy.
Mr. Lin’s expression changed.
“It’s a bit too undignified. A truly good project doesn’t need to be hidden. But using the guise of cooperation to fish for information, only to reveal your true colors when caught and make a scene— that’s hardly commendable.”
Gu Zhaoping continued in her composed tone: “Of course, regardless of anyone’s lack of grace, I’ll maintain mine. After all, this is the main direction for the Gu family for the next twenty years. Until we meet a partner with genuine sincerity, we won’t rashly reveal core details— that would be irresponsible to our future collaborators.”
The old man was momentarily stunned.
The Gu family’s direction for the next twenty years?
Good lord, even I didn’t know that.
But he coughed twice and turned away, pretending not to hear.
“Today is the Gu family’s celebration banquet, so we’d prefer to keep the conversation light. Sincere partners will naturally bring their proposals in a more formal setting with formal terms. We don’t take such casual remarks seriously.”
Mr. Lin was momentarily stunned by her retort.
He hadn’t expected her to be so sharp-tongued, effortlessly dismantling the carefully crafted argument he’d spent so long preparing.
His chest tightened with frustration, and his expression darkened slightly.
After a moment, he mustered a smile laced with veiled aggression and said: “Miss Gu, are you planning to hold out for the highest bidder? I’m sorry, but I’ve been in business for a long time and have seen too many empty promises and hollow projects. The blueprints are always enticing, but they lack any feasibility. We all want to reach a deal—who here isn’t cautious? Surely Miss Gu understands that.”
He glanced around, confirming everyone’s attention, then continued with even less courtesy: “And from what I know, among all the battery energy companies here, only ours can provide the latest technology. For your ideas to come to fruition, you can’t bypass this. So why do you think even our company isn’t competitive enough?”
His smile remained, but his words were loaded with barbs.
Mr. Lin was indeed a bit desperate; otherwise, he wouldn’t have resorted to this.
His major shareholders were very interested in Gu Zhaoping’s project and had demanded he seize the opportunity to secure it.
But after all his talking, Gu Zhaoping showed no interest in them , so he had to resort to some underhanded tactics.
Even if he couldn’t force her to cooperate with him, if he could pry some real information from her and steer his company in that direction, it would still be a gain.
But he hadn’t expected Gu Zhaoping to simply ask,
“Is that so?”
In the moment he was caught off guard, someone walked in, their voice booming:
“Who says we don’t have strong battery energy companies in our country?”
Everyone turned to look.
Gu Zhaoping greeted him: “Mr. Hou, you’re here.”
After all the waiting, Mr. Hou had finally arrived.
This was Mr. Hou from Aurora Green Energy Group, the one who had dined at their restaurant on the show.
It was also he who had decisively withdrawn his investment plan in Gu Zhaoye.