Seeing Gu Mingze Again

Gu Mingze looked at me, his gaze still gentle and full of affection.

There was urgency in his voice. "Hanhan, do you really not want to see me again? Why haven't you been answering my calls?"

My chest tightened, and the scene from that phone call suddenly flashed through my mind...

Back then, Gu Hansheng had been pinning me down on the sofa. Gu Mingze... he must have heard something.

At the thought, my face burned.

Seeing each other now was unbearably awkward for both of us.

I violently shook off his hand, my tone stiff and distant. "Gu Mingze, I've already made myself perfectly clear. What we had ended long ago. There will never be a chance for us again. Pestering me like this really is ugly."

But Gu Mingze refused to back down, his expression resolute. "Yu Hui told me everything about your situation. You only got back together with Gu Hansheng for the Yu Family. Whatever he can give you, I can give you too. Leave him, all right?"

A wave of aching bitterness rose in my heart.

"Gu Mingze, what do you take me for?" I stared at him, my voice trembling with coldness. "A whore who'll spread her legs for anyone and go with the highest bidder?"

Gu Mingze clearly hadn't expected me to say that, and his expression turned visibly flustered. "Hanhan, you know I didn't mean that."

Yu Hui chimed in from beside us, his tone coaxing. "Sis, now that Brother Mingze is back, you can absolutely leave Gu Hansheng. You know how our family treated him during the years you were married. He must be holding a grudge. He might find a chance to torment you later. You've finally got a way out. You need to think this through."

I whipped my head around to stare at Yu Hui.

With his personality, he would never have come up with those words.

I asked coldly, "Yu Hui, what did you get from him?"

A thought suddenly flashed through my mind.

Yu Hui had said on the phone that he wanted to start a business. With what he had now, what could he possibly use to start one?

There was a good chance this had something to do with Gu Mingze.

Sure enough, at my question, Yu Hui immediately looked guilty and wouldn't even meet my eyes.

"Sis, what are you talking about? I'm only thinking of you. I don't want you suffering at Gu Hansheng's hands either."

His gaze kept darting about, and the cloud of suspicion in my heart grew heavier.

Seeing that I was getting agitated, Gu Mingze gently guided me onto the sofa and handed me a glass of liquor. "Hanhan, calm down first."

I took the glass and drained it in one gulp. It burned my throat, but it really did leave me feeling somewhat clearer.

Gu Mingze's voice was low and magnetic. "Hanhan, think about what kind of man Gu Hansheng is. He went from a lowly illegitimate son to one of the capital's powerful elite in a single leap, standing at the very pinnacle of capital. For four years, he concealed his strength and bided his time without even you noticing. Just how deep must his schemes run? How could I rest easy letting you stay beside a man like that?"

I raised my eyes, my gaze settling on Gu Mingze's gentle face, yet an indescribable bitterness churned inside me.

Yes, that was exactly how Gu Hansheng was. Without a sound, he had changed his status, climbing step by step to a position everyone had to look up to. His ability, his forbearance, his calculating depths-all of it was beyond my imagination.

But whatever the case, I was now Gu Hansheng's contract lover. That was already settled, and there was no way to change it.

Even less could I throw myself back into Gu Mingze's arms without any misgivings.

Seeing me silently thinking, Gu Mingze spoke again, his voice even lower. "I know Gu Hansheng has helped you a lot. However much he's spent on the Yu Family, I can pay him back double. You don't even have to agree to be with me. I just want you to leave him."

My fingers clenched around the empty glass, and waves of cold washed through my heart.

Was this the "way out" Gu Mingze was offering?

But I knew I could no longer go back.

After he finished speaking, Gu Mingze reached into his pocket, took out a card, and held it out to me.

"Use the money on this card however you like. Don't deprive yourself. As for what Gu Hansheng has spent on you, find some time to add it up. I'll pay it all back. Then you won't owe him anything, and there'll be no reason for him to keep you locked by his side."

The card gleamed coldly in the dim light, like a piece of life-saving driftwood.

My fingers trembled, but I didn't accept it. I was just about to push the card back.

Just then, a slender hand suddenly reached out from behind me and deftly plucked the card from between my fingertips.

I froze, then whipped my head around!

It was Gu Hansheng!

What was he doing here?

Could it be... he'd put a tracker on me?

This was the second time he'd caught me meeting Gu Mingze. I was completely done for!

Gu Hansheng stood in the neon light, his brows and eyes cold and sharply chiseled. The shifting lines of his Adam's apple exuded an air of wealth and distinction, and his every movement was that of a born ruler.

He held the card between his index and middle fingers, his movements unhurried. His thin lips curved slightly as he studied me with an amused look, then slowly turned his gaze toward Gu Mingze, an irresistible pressure lurking in its depths.

The air suddenly tightened, as though someone had sucked out all the oxygen.

Gu Hansheng gave a cold laugh, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "You'll pay her debt? Gu Mingze, can you afford it as you are now?"