Others saw his attitude so amiable, almost fawning, as he went out to take a call, and they were somewhat puzzled.
When he returned, someone thoughtfully asked,
“Is it about your eldest uncle?”
This Young Master Ni glanced at the second-generation heirs present, subtly furrowing his brow.
Originally, his family was unaware of him mingling with these people, and even if they knew, they wouldn’t approve.
He used to get along well with this group, sharing similar tastes and having a great time, but now that his eldest uncle was sending his cousin back to the country, and recently planned to bring his cousin to act in Hai City, this group seemed a bit too low-class.
He knew his cousin, Ni Tiansong, definitely wouldn’t like the vibe of this crowd and would never attend their gatherings.
He also didn’t want his cousin to know he was fooling around with these people, so Young Master Ni cleared his throat and coughed,
“Yeah, my cousin has something important going on.”
A few people close to him showed delight,
“That means your cousin values you! Doesn’t this give you more say in the family?”
Young Master Ni looked somewhat proud, but he didn’t want to say too much about his cousin, only saying,
“You guys discuss this matter first. Contact me when it’s time to act. I need to go prepare to receive my cousin.”
Knowing Ni Tiansong’s matters were important, the others didn’t dare delay him and quickly let him leave.
Then they started discussing.
“Gu Zhaoping should be back in the country by now, right?”
“She made such a big splash abroad. If she can’t follow up with something equally big back home, she’ll become a laughingstock.”
“But…oh, right, I just heard Gu Zhaoping did something huge.”
“What huge thing?”
“Her engagement with Shen Yifeng…it’s over.”
“What? How could it end at a time like this?”
Someone looked shocked.
To say the one thing Gu Zhaoping had over Gu Zhaoye was her outstanding fiancé, and now even he didn’t want her—wouldn’t that put her at an even greater disadvantage?
“Logically, if she wanted to compete with Gu Zhaoye, she’d hold onto this fiancé for dear life, right?”
“Well…I heard she publicly called it off.”
The person said awkwardly,
“It was Gu Zhaoping who proposed it. In front of everyone, Shen Yifeng’s face turned green, and he was escorted out, couldn’t even attend her celebration banquet.”
In that instant, someone spat out their drink, and the entire private room fell silent, as if they’d heard a ghost story.
This…this, Shen Yifeng lost so much face?
And Gu Zhaoping did this?
“Now it’s spread everywhere. Everyone knows Shen Yifeng didn’t take responsibility for their engagement, so Gu Zhaoping decided to return him, saying she didn’t focus on her career before because Shen Yifeng held her back…”
The group was stunned, and after processing, they felt a chill!
Being publicly called out as an irresponsible scumbag was one thing—they’d all been criticized before—but raising the issue of Shen Yifeng’s irresponsibility in such a setting, with such status and attitude, had entirely different consequences.
Shen Yifeng didn’t just fail Gu Zhaoping; he failed the alliance between the Gu and Shen families.
Because of his attitude, he affected the decades-long partnership between the two families.
To others, this meant he lacked the responsibility to bear the family’s duties.
And being “returned” by Gu Zhaoping, who in their circle would dare form an engagement with him now?
Whoever did would be picking up what Gu Zhaoping clearly labeled as defective, taking her scraps.
Which young lady would lower herself to that?
Which wealthy family would lose face like that?
He might even be questioned about his business ethics and partnership integrity…
This wasn’t just about losing face!
They were truly shocked.
Gu Zhaoping was that bold?!
Beating up her brother and her fiancé???
What was she trying to do?!
In the minds of these young masters, it was always them breaking off engagements with their betrothed, never the other way around.
This was the first time they realized how terrifying the consequences of being dumped could be at their level. None of them wanted to face it.
The idea of giving Gu Zhaoping a show of strength even briefly faded from their minds.
But they’d promised Gu Zhaoye, so they couldn’t back out.
Fine…they’d just have to grit their teeth and hope for the best.
Gu Zhaoping—upon landing, she received a call from Fang Yining.
Fang, just sobering up from last night’s revelry, was still basking in the joy when she suddenly realized something was off.
She grabbed her phone and checked the call history.
It wasn’t a dream!
It really happened—she had actually gone off on Gu Zhaoye.
Fang Yining froze, then hurriedly called Gu Zhaoping.
“Zhaoping! Why didn’t you tell me you were speaking at the summit? I had no idea!”
Fang Yining shouted,
“I saw the video spreading and was floored. How are you that amazing?!”
“I mentioned before, I learned a bit in college,”
Gu Zhaoping said calmly, casually, yet seemingly truthful.
“Learned a bit? If this is learning a bit, what are the rest of us?”
Fang Yining was shocked.
Whatever, she let it go, assuming her bestie had been quietly grinding all these years.
Her first thought was how hard her friend must’ve hidden it, and now she could finally unleash and slap faces.
“Nice, nice, nice, as expected of you, too awesome! Oh, right, I need to tell you something. Yesterday, your brother called me, and I hung up on him.”
No big deal.
Gu Zhaoping didn’t care, just humming in response, though she wondered why Gu Zhaoye suddenly called the fiancée he usually ignored.
Probably to throw a tantrum or ask for help.
“I don’t know what he wanted to say because I cut him off before he could start, then chewed him out and hung up,”
Fang Yining said with a pause, but that wasn’t important.
What mattered was what she wanted to tell her friend.
“Oh, and I heard about you canceling your engagement with Shen Yifeng. It’s everywhere now—everyone knows you dumped him, didn’t want him!”
Gu Zhaoping raised an eyebrow, hearing the excitement in her tone,
“You sound thrilled?”
“Ugh, I’ve been fed up with him forever, such a poser!”
No matter how great a friend’s man was, as a bestie, you’d always think he wasn’t good enough, especially when he wasn’t even that great.
Before, Gu Zhaoping was too lovesick, too obsessed with him, so Fang Yining kept her mouth shut.
Now, finally, she could let loose,
I’ve long been annoyed with his fake act, like he’s the only elite CEO in the world, responsible for everyone, caring for everyone.
Sounds nice, it’s paternal; sounds bad, it’s patronizing!
“And men over 25 are basically 50. He’s 30—what’s he good for? Zhaoping, I’m not judging, but your taste back then was beyond me. You usually like young, fit, sweet-talking guys who pamper you. Why were you so obsessed with a fiancé who didn’t match your taste at all?”
Gu Zhaoping paused.
That didn’t add up.
But she had never had much time or interest in dwelling on this before.
Now, thinking back, when she first arrived here, she was at that male model club, surrounded entirely by young, sweet-talking boys.
The one who later contacted her about his birthday was the same type.
Even in the male model files she accessed, almost none were over 25—each with bright eyes, youthful charm, and calling her “sister” with sparkling gazes.
How could such a Miss Gu be so crazily infatuated with Shen Yifeng?
This wasn’t just a matter of incompatible styles.
It was about the psychological dynamics of power in relationships.
Based on her consistent tastes, Miss Gu seemed more inclined to be the leader.
Her preferences were obvious.
So why would she willingly look up to Shen Yifeng?
Perhaps Miss Gu was also a soul trapped by the constraints of the plot.
Her calling off the engagement was, in a way, helping Miss Gu achieve true clarity and fulfillment in her life’s mission.
More importantly…
“Zhaoping, thanks to you, I got this inspiration. After thinking it over, I’ve decided to call off my engagement with Gu Zhaoye too!”
This decision was hard for Fang Yining, given the years of cooperation and shared interests between their families.
She had hesitated and struggled for a long time.
But hearing that Zhaoping had ended her engagement with Shen Yifeng, she was instantly thrilled by the thought of it!
Why should these so-called domineering CEOs keep draining and tormenting their fiancées?
Whether it was neglecting their feelings or outright cheating to “find true love,” it was utterly disgusting to her.
Now, there was finally a role model.
Gu Zhaoping had fired the first shot in breaking off an engagement.
While she was urgently figuring out how to do it, Gu Zhaoye caused such a massive public uproar.
Fang Yining slapped her thigh and immediately thought of calling off the engagement!
Gu Zhaoping paused briefly, very approving of her attitude.
As expected of Miss Gu’s best friend—decisive and no-nonsense.
Once someone set an example, she quickly saw what could be done, what should be done, and what she’d been misled about all along.
She thought for a moment and said,
“What does the Fang family think about this?”
“I’ve talked to my mom. She thinks breaking it off is fine; she can’t stand that jerk Gu Zhaoye either. But the rest of the Fang family might need to think it over. They’ll probably look at how Gu Zhaoye handles this situation…”
Fang Yining was a bit disappointed that the Fang family didn’t immediately support her decision, but she knew they had to consider the bigger picture.
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