As soon as Gu Zhaoye returned to the country, before he could even start thinking of ways to solve the issue, the solution came knocking on his door.
He suddenly felt a sense of relief, as there was nothing he needed to personally handle in the special zone.
Instead, it was the frustration he had endured recently that he needed to properly process.
How did all of this even begin?
It all started because Gu Zhaoping suddenly changed, out of nowhere, and began tormenting him.
Gu Zhaoye couldn’t help but wonder: during the time Gu Zhaoping was studying abroad, could she have actually learned something?
Could it be that her previous act of being an uneducated slacker was just a facade to deceive them, only to challenge him now?
Knowing she could never measure up to him, had she been making such long-term plans to catch him off guard?
Gu Zhaoye’s face darkened.
On one hand, he instinctively felt a faint fear whenever Gu Zhaoping’s name came up, due to her recent attacks on him; on the other, he was furious and breaking down over it.
Once he resolved this crisis, he would truly shift his focus to taking on Gu Zhaoping.
With these resources still in his hands, he had to seize this opportunity to ruthlessly suppress Gu Zhaoping, ensuring she had no chance to rise.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and his thoughts inevitably drifted to Ruan Nian.
If he hadn’t agreed to that TV show recording to help her, how would he have ended up in such a massive PR storm?
As he pondered, he suddenly realized that despite how much he had doted on Ruan Nian before, he was now blaming her without hesitation.
It was only now that the domineering CEO Gu Zhaoye realized that none of the women he had once pampered truly connected with him or made him feel at ease.
Each one brought bigger troubles than the last, but even Liang Zhiwei, who was supposed to look up to him and depend on him completely…
Suddenly, another person came to mind—
Fang Yining.
It seemed like he hadn’t seen his fiancée in a long time.
But this whole mess with Gu Zhaoping started because he had ditched Fang Yining to celebrate Ruan Nian’s birthday, which led to Gu Zhaoping confronting him.
Could it be…?
Of course, Gu Zhaoye knew that Fang Yining was Gu Zhaoping’s friend.
He was also aware that Fang Yining had gotten close to Gu Zhaoping to build a connection with him.
Her familiarity with Gu Zhaoping was all for the sake of getting along better with the Gu family after marrying into it.
But did she realize that, as his fiancée, she had become the spark and excuse for Gu Zhaoping to try to take him down?
The more Gu Zhaoye thought about it, the angrier he got, unsure what was going on with this fiancée of his.
But then, a spark of inspiration hit him.
He vaguely recalled that Fang Yining seemed to like him a lot, though he hadn’t paid much attention to her before, which had left her heartbroken.
Since she was so close to Gu Zhaoping, could she know something?
Like what Gu Zhaoping was planning to do to him this time, or how she had secretly gained the old man’s favor?
Gu Zhaoye calmed himself and thought it over, suppressing his temper and, for once, called Fang Yining.
Though their engagement had been set for a long time, they rarely contacted each other, and when they did, it was always Fang Yining reaching out to him.
In Gu Zhaoye’s memory, she always seemed hurt by his lack of attention.
This time, to gather some information, he lowered himself, preparing a few caring words before making the call, waiting for Fang Yining’s response.
The call rang for a minute before automatically disconnecting.
Gu Zhaoye was stunned. It wasn’t a particularly important time—why wouldn’t Fang Yining answer?
Frowning, he dialed again, but it disconnected after a minute.
Maybe she was busy and didn’t check her phone.
Gu Zhaoye calmed himself, waited a bit, and called again.
This time, it was disconnected after just 20 seconds.
Gu Zhaoye’s eyelid twitched, a wave of shock washing over him as he stared at the phone screen showing the call was in progress.
No way—did Fang Yining just hang up on him?
That didn’t make sense.
Why would she hang up on him?
He took a deep breath, suppressing his rising frustration, and sent her a message first.
[I have something important to discuss with you.]
His tone was curt, full of the domineering CEO’s aura.
After waiting a bit, assuming she had seen the message, he called her again.
This time, it rang for just a few seconds.
Gu Zhaoye, patiently rubbing his brow, was still wondering what Fang Yining was up to.
But then the call connected, and his frown instantly relaxed.
That’s more like it.
What was Fang Yining doing earlier?
Didn’t she know he had something important to discuss, or was she throwing a tantrum?
“Fang Yi…”
He barely started saying her name when, within two seconds, a deafening noise blasted through the phone, nearly bursting his eardrums!
Bang!
In that moment, Gu Zhaoye felt like his eardrums were about to tear apart!
He quickly pulled the phone away from his ear, staring at the screen in disbelief and anger.
Only then did he make out what was happening on the other end—gongs and drums?
How could the noise be so loud?
Had Fang Yining lost her mind?
What was she doing?
The other end was filled with the chaotic sounds of heavy metal music, fiercely vying for attention, raw and ear-splitting, with the lead singer occasionally belting out rap.
The atmosphere was so intense that the person on the other end couldn’t even hear what was being said, and, slightly drunk from drinking, they fumbled for the phone, picked it up, and put it to their ear.
“Who are you?” the person asked, slurring drunkenly.
Hearing this, Gu Zhaoye, who had been standing with one hand on his hip, gloomily staring out at the bustling city from the 30th-floor window, suddenly froze, his brow furrowing with incredulous anger.
How could it be a man’s voice?!
Where was Fang Yining?
What was she doing?
Gu Zhaoye immediately shouted,
“Where’s Fang Yining? Where is she? Who are you? What are you doing?”
The male model on the other end wiped his tired face, yawned, and looked ahead.
Fang-jie?
Isn’t she over there, dancing with two hot guys?
“Sorry, Fang-jie’s busy right now. If you’ve got something to say, try her later.”
The male model, hearing the tone, curled his lip, his attitude instantly cooling.
This guy, freaking out like that, was probably just another one trying to steal their business.
Could it be because Fang-jie didn’t go see him, so he’s here trying to poach her?
Green tea jerk.
He casually glanced at the caller ID—
TD, what’s that?
Initials?
Not some important person, so the male model hung up and set the phone aside.
Gu Zhaoye’s face turned ashen.
Sensing the call was about to end, he shouted,
“Hey, hey, hey!” but he couldn’t stop it. With a beep, the call was gone.
Gu Zhaoye’s face was darker than ever before!
He stared at the phone in disbelief, his hands trembling with rage.
What was Fang Yining doing?
Why was there a drunken man answering her phone so casually and intimately at this hour?
Where was she?
Why was it so noisy?
People singing, gongs and drums banging—
Could she be at a nightclub?
Fang Yining, finally exhausted from dancing, slumped back into her seat and took a sip of her drink.
At that moment, the drunken male model beside her suddenly said,
“Oh, right, Fang-jie, someone called you earlier. I picked up without thinking. His attitude was awful—seriously, don’t book him again…The guys here are sweet-talkers, keep themselves in top shape, and would never get impatient with you. That kind of guy? Pfft, ditch him!”
Fang Yining rubbed her temples.
Ugh, who could it be, calling her at this hour?
Didn’t they know she wasn’t to be disturbed?
So desperate for her business?
This male model was too impatient.
She glanced at her phone and saw the contact labeled “TD.”
This guy must be crazy, calling her a dozen times in a row, each call ringing for dozens of seconds, like he was losing his mind.
Fang Yining rolled her eyes, grumbling about what kind of delivery or takeout guy would be this frantic.
Then, her arm around the handsome guy froze as she sobered up from her drunken haze, realizing…
Wait a second.
This contact…
“Gu Zhaoye?!”