Chapter 25 - Exposed
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Cen Simiao flipped through the recorded information on customers, which had their price quotes written on the side as added remarks. The table lamp by her bedside was on, casting a silhouette of her cheeks upon the wall. Her expression was rather elusive. Lu Mi had intentionally forgotten and left it in her office when he visited earlier in the day.
The information in the table was quite detailed. After a rough skim over, her eyes were fixed on the four words on the lower right corner.
Now we’re only missing the east wind[1]…
Imitate Gu Yu's handwriting.
The next morning, she went to knock on Gu Yu's door. After entering, she found that he was putting on his tie with one hand while the other was going through and picking which suit he was going to wear. And so, as if it was natural, Cen Simiao took over for him with the tie. When she exhaled, her breaths landed on his Adam’s apple while her eyes remained serious on the task.
Just by lowering his eyes, Gu Yu could see her beautiful eyebrows.
After she finished helping him with the tie, she inadvertently bumped his chin. Cen Simiao’s eyes curved while his eyes darkened, but then she just simply turned and walked to the front of the wardrobe.
While holding up one of the suits, she gently asked, "How about wearing this one?"
His eyes were redirected, and he nodded.
In the past few days, Gu Yu was suddenly badly battered by a wave of work, where all his orders that were originally just one step from being finalized, have now fallen through.
The reason why Father Gu was able to see him in a new light was inseparable from his achievements at work. However, lately, he had successively missed the mark and was now far behind his peers.
Gu Yu gritted his teeth, and he was completely irascible.
Cen Simiao was very gentle and considerate during this period. When he needed to stay up late, she would always remember to send up a bowl of soup for him. On the other hand, Wu Yunrui hasn’t been able to get in touch with him for a while and started to become a little flustered.
Even in the cases when she called over, it would be Cen Simiao who picked up, telling her in a lowered voice, "My brother is busy right now. If you have an urgent matter, just tell me first, I'll relay him the message."
But Wu Yunrui couldn't say a word at all. Thus after ‘hearing’ the lack of a response from the other side, Cen Simiao would just directly hang up.
Calling again after a few days, it was finally Gu Yu, but his tone was very impatient. And so Wu Yunrui's mood, which she had repressed, finally broke out, and she cried and complained a few sentences.
Coincidentally, at this time, he received news that some new company had robbed one of the deals he was currently discussing.
Exasperated, he hurled the phone in a fit of anger.
Father Gu's eyes were getting colder and colder, such that he would scold Gu Yu every time he saw the other. Which immediately afterward, Cen Simiao would comfort him with a guilty expression, and at times, her eyes would even be reddened.
From repressing himself at the beginning, Gu Yu slowly started to vent and shout at Cen Simiao, to finally grabbing her arm as he would ferociously ask, "Just where exactly did I do wrong to be scolded like this?!"
Cen Simiao lowered her lashes and didn’t give a response
Gu Yu became angrier and angrier. Then, just as he was about to lose his mind, suddenly, he felt a splash of warmth on the back of his hand. He was stunned for a second, then saw that Cen Simiao crying.
He stiffened, pursed his lips, and went to wipe the tears on her face but only felt as if it burned his fingertips. His heart quivered.
Things were going well. The only shortcoming was that the new company was short on staff.
Cen Simiao and Lu Mi discussed recruiting people, but not even a few sentences in, Lu Mi again brought up when they were going to resign. She was sketching with the pen in hand, and just told him to wait a few days, that it was still not yet time.
Lu Mi tilted his head and suddenly asked, "You won’t be pitting me, right?"
She raised her eyes. "How could I? I particularly care about credibility."
Lu Mi didn't believe her at all.
Recently, she had been busy with Gu Yu’s situation and just didn’t have the time to worry about An Zeru. Atypically, he also didn’t come looking for her, instead, frequently asking for work leave.
Cen Simiao pondered for a while then decided to call.
An Zeru was nestled at home -- sketching and designing. He had already scrapped more than a dozen drafts before finally designing one that was pleasing to the eye. His phone was right next to him, and he gave it a glance.
Right as he grabbed the phone, it also began to ring.
The voice on the other side was soft. "I miss you."
An Zeru’s breathing paused for a second before he scoffed, then he heard the other side ask, "How about coming over in the afternoon?"
His attitude was particularly scornful. "Is there any benefit?"
The Gu family had many dishes prepared with good wine just waiting on the side. Father Gu appeared unhappy and reproached Cen Simiao for not mentioning it to him in advance.
Cen Simiao relaxedly responded, "He’s not even considered an outsider, simply having something casual would be enough."
As soon as this was said, Gu Yu froze. He tried to see Cen Simiao's expression through his lowered lashes, only to find that her head was lowered as she chatted with An Zeru on her phone. The smile on her face was obvious.
His angled eyes were full of doubts. After waiting until there was no one else in the living room, he stood up and walked to her. Before Cen Simiao had even noticed him, Gu Yu already tensed his chin and asked, "What are you doing?"
Cen Simiao had yet to react to this sudden question and just raised her eyes, somewhat stupefied. "Ge?"
He asked again in a rather erratic tone while grabbing her upper arm, his eyes narrowed, "Since when have you two become so close?"
Cen Simiao stared at him for a long time, then suddenly laughed happily. She tossed her phone aside and hugged his arm as she murmured, "I'm very happy."
When it was mealtime, Cen Simiao was sitting on the sofa in the living room while using a mirror to look at her makeup. Gu Yu had been called upstairs by Father Gu, so it was currently a bit boring. Suddenly, the doorbell rang, she instantly became energetic.
An Zeru was dressed very sharply and appeared very much like a promising young man. She raised an eyebrow, then bent to get him some slippers to change into. An Zeru lowered his eyes and saw her posture -- her slender waist -- then pursed his lips.
Cen Simiao led him directly to the living room to sit down.
He raised his eyes and looked upstairs, it was very quiet. "Am I late?"
The corners of her lips curled up as she responded, "Not late, you came just right."
Gu Yu's expression was somewhat dispirited. But when he saw An Zeru, a hint of a smile appeared in his eyes, and his spirit brightened a bit more. He went over to sit down and wanted to chat with the other but saw that An Zeru was busy chatting happily with Cen Simiao.
He pursed his lips and didn’t continue to try to engage. An Zeru pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and tossed it on the coffee table. He then turned his head to Gu Yu’s side and said, "This cigarette is pretty good. You can try it when you’re free."
But heard in response: "Xichen doesn’t like the smell of cigarettes, so I try not to smoke now."
An Zeru raised his eyebrows and took a glance at Cen Simiao, which was filled with quite the meaning, then chuckled.
After a while, Father Gu still hadn't come down from upstairs, so Gu Yu got up to look for him, leaving only the two of them in the living room. Cen Simiao didn’t speak and just got up to walk to the dining table, footsteps soon followed behind her.
An Zeru lowered his eyes and pulled out a chair -- the sound it made as it was dragged against the floor was particularly harsh -- but didn’t sit in it yet. With his hand on the table, he slightly leaned over as if about to sit down. Cen Simiao was pouring the wine and gave him a quick glance.
"How many days haven’t you eaten, your eyes look like a hungry wolf’s."
An Zeru raised his chin slightly, then suddenly moved, going over to her side. He placed his arms around her shoulders, then replied with a smile on his lips, "However long I’ve lived is however long I’ve been in hunger."
"Why, are you planning to satisfy my appetite?"
Cen Simiao turned her head away and didn't look at him. But suddenly, she felt something tighten about her waist, and her feet were lifted off the ground. He picked her completely up from the ground. She quickly hugged his neck before raising her eyes and exclaimed, which gave him a feeling of itchiness in his chest.
He walked to the kitchen and placed Cen Simiao on the counter -- her feet dangling in the air. She just stared at him as he raised his brows and asked, "What do you think, how should I cook it for it to taste better?"
Cen Simiao was about to speak when she heard the sound of Gu Yu calling from upstairs. She was slightly distracted and looked towards the stairs. A hint of teasing was in his eyes. "Since when were you not even able to stand the smell of cigarettes?"
Cen Simiao's voice softened. "What do you want to do?"
His eyes darkened. There was a fruit platter next to him, he reached out and picked up a piece. "Open your mouth."
Cen Simiao obeyed and bit half of it.
She slightly frowned as she heard a slight noise from the stairs. Her lips curved as she moved to one side and put her arms around his neck -- the tips of their noses touching.
Biting the other half of the fruit, their lips gently touched which then became a fierce kiss. Cen Simiao was breathless as she gasped for air, her eyes moist.
Gu Yu stood at the foot of the stairs, his face blue, and body stiff.
An Zeru panted slightly and asked in a hoarse voice, "Do you like me?"
[1] Meaning that the plan was only waiting on one final touch. For more information, you can google “Zhuge Liang East Wind”
YinYue has something to say:
Posting this chapter all in one go to celebrate finishing chapters 1-7~
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