That was nice.
Since arriving, Gu Zhaoping had realized that Miss Gu wasn’t as talentless or aimless as others had claimed.
For someone of her status, that kind of hollowness would’ve been the real anomaly.
She put the snow goggles back into the wardrobe.
Then she saw the message —
Chu Yanze asking if he could ask about her birthday.
Even though she didn’t like birthdays, she knew it was useful information.
Last time, she had already used Miss Gu’s ID to unlock the company’s encrypted documents.
But she still felt it wasn’t that necessary: [No need. I don’t like birthdays.]
The other end seemed stunned.
A moment later, Chu Yanze’s screen showed “typing…” several times as he wrote and deleted messages over and over.
He was clearly anxious — did he say something wrong?
Did she have a taboo about it?
Gu Zhaoping was doing her bedtime meditation.
She glanced at the screen and replied casually:
[Don’t overthink it. I just don’t like using age to divide life’s stages. Birthdays don’t mean much to me — they’re just an excuse for people to socialize with me.]
Chu Yanze finally stopped his flustered typing.
He had been slightly embarrassed, but her words reassured him.
They were so her.
She really was that kind of cool, detached person.
But then — he suddenly froze.
Wait a minute.
A wave of unease surged through him.
If Su Yubai already knew she didn’t care about birthdays…
Then why had he told him to ask about it?
Did he really want to know her birthday?
Or was he testing how familiar he was with her?
It was as if a giant bell rang beside his ears — loud and deafening.
Chu Yanze jolted in shock.
What exactly is the relationship between Su Yubai and Sister Zhaoping?
His phone rang.
Gu Zhaoping looked at the screen — it was the old master calling.
“Grandpa, you’re still awake this late?”
Over on the other end, Old Master Gu was still full of vigor, fretting over what had happened earlier today: “Don’t even mention it, I’m so angry at that grandson of mine, Gu Zhaoye, I can’t sleep.”
“I thought things were already ugly enough with him entangled with that actress for so many years. But who would’ve guessed he had another one in private?! How are we supposed to explain this to the Fang family? To Yining?”
Gu Zhaoping gently reminded him,
“Grandfather, with Ruan Nian in the picture, we couldn’t explain things to Fang Yining anyway.”
Old Master Gu choked at that and fell silent.
Right.
Suddenly, something felt off.
Why was it that when Gu Zhaoye and Ruan Nian were hot and heavy, he had felt it was a bit improper but not a major issue—yet now that things had blown up with this Liang Zhiwei, he was furious?
Two-timing or even three-timing—wasn’t it all still cheating?
The old man furrowed his brows deeply, as if he were starting to analyze his own psychological issues.
What was going on?
Why had he never really noticed this before?
Was it because in wealthy circles like theirs, emotional estrangement and playing around outside of marriage were just too common?
And besides, they were only engaged, not married.
Why hadn’t he disliked Ruan Nian that much before?
Strange.
The old man murmured to himself.
It felt like a veil over his eyes had finally been lifted, and he came to a realization.
“This whole thing is Gu Zhaoye’s fault. I’ll personally go to apologize to Fang Yining, and drag Gu Zhaoye over to the Fang family to make amends.”
“Of course he should apologize,”
Gu Zhaoping said.
“But Yining’s been really busy lately, so you might want to schedule a time with her before visiting.”
Old Master Gu paused, caught off guard by that.
He could only nod along,
“Oh, right, sure.”
He briefly wondered what Fang Yining could be so busy with—but decided it wasn’t important.
He continued,
“Hurry up and pack your things. We’re heading to Los Angeles. The flight’s been arranged. You’re ready, right?”
Gu Zhaoping replied calmly,
“Everything’s taken care of.”
After hanging up the phone, she noticed a video message from Fang Yining.
Scrolling up, she saw several more.
The videos were dazzling—flashing lights, a colorful dance floor filled with handsome men.
In the center of it all, Fang Yining was happily dancing and shouting,
“Turn it up! Everyone turn it up!”
Gu Zhaoping remained expressionless and sent back a simple
[Thumbs up].
***
In stark contrast to their side’s festive atmosphere—
Gu Zhaoye had kicked out the driver and assistant and was now speeding along the highway himself.
Ruan Nian sat in the passenger seat, silent and nervous.
She bit her lip, trying to explain, but couldn’t find the words.
Somehow, opening her mouth now would only make things worse.
Finally, Gu Zhaoye, expression grim, asked,
“What exactly did you tell them about me?”
Ruan Nian panicked and replied quickly,
“Zhaoye, I didn’t say anything! It’s just that they kept speculating that we broke up, and I panicked. I didn’t want them talking behind your back, so I made up a decent excuse to show that you’re still filial and respected by Grandpa. I just didn’t want them to misunderstand you…”
It was the best excuse she could think of—framing it as being for Gu Zhaoye’s benefit, to avoid him looking cold or uncaring.
But Gu Zhaoye’s expression only darkened further.
“Nian Nian, I hate to ask you this, but tell me—have you lied to me before, over the years?”
Though his tone wasn’t harsh, Ruan Nian’s heart was about to leap out of her chest.
It was the first time he had ever questioned her like this.
If she answered badly, it could mean the end.
At the very least, it would be a long, difficult cold war.
The last time they had one of those, Gu Zhaoye went to find Liang Zhiwei.
That was when Ruan Nian got truly scared.
She had thought a bit of attitude would make him treasure her more—but she hadn’t realized that Gu Zhaoye was someone with endless options.
If she didn’t coddle him, someone else would.
So she had changed her tactics.
She hated it, but couldn’t figure out how Liang Zhiwei had managed to soothe Gu Zhaoye.
After all, she and Gu Zhaoping both had no “manual.”
“No, Zhaoye, I haven’t lied to you. How could you think that?”
Ruan Nian said softly.