Chapter 5

I hadn’t even had a chance to agree when Gu Jingshen sprang to his feet.

“I’m coming, too.”

“But… weren’t you busy?”

Gu Jingshen put on his coat.

“I’m not busy now.”

Five minutes later, the three of us stood downstairs, facing one another in the cold wind.

Jiang Ye was extremely unhappy. He tugged at my hand.

“Niannian, why did you bring him along?”

Gu Jingshen lowered his eyes to look at the hands we were holding.

Then he copied Jiang Ye and took my other hand.

Me: “……”

Damn it.

Why did the three of us look like a string of connected light bulbs?

“Uh, he gets lonely by himself.”

I explained as I tried to pull my hands free from both of them.

When it was time to get in a car, I had another headache. Whose should I choose?

I looked at Jiang Ye’s flashy red Maserati, then chose Gu Jingshen’s understated business-style Maybach.

But the moment I opened the door, Jiang Ye squeezed in.

“I just remembered I forgot my keys. Let’s ride with Mr. Gu for now.”

Me: “……”

Then how did you get here just now?

So Jiang Ye and Gu Jingshen sat in the front in silence.

Jiang Ye especially looked dark enough to murder someone.

At last, we reached the restaurant Jiang Ye had booked.

It seemed he’d reserved the whole place. There was no one else around.

A single table stood quietly in the middle of the room, with red candles burning on it.

As soon as we walked in, the violinist who’d been waiting nearby began to play.

A romantic rendition of “Love Story” filled the room.

Everything would have been perfect if the three of us weren’t sitting at the same table.

There had only been two chairs to begin with.

Jiang Ye had provocatively claimed one first. Then he looked up and raised his brows.

“There’s another table over there.”

Gu Jingshen nodded.

“Thanks for pointing that out.”

Then he went over to the other table, picked up a chair, brought it back, set it down with a clack, and sat on my left.

Jiang Ye: “……”

Not to be outdone, he shifted his chair with his butt until he was on my right, practically pressed against me.

Gu Jingshen looked at us.

Then he stood up, moved his chair, and sat close to me, too.

Me: “……”

Jiang Ye leaned his head against my shoulder and rubbed it there.

“Niannian, what do you want to eat?”

Gu Jingshen saw that and rested his head on my other shoulder.

Me: “……”

What was the point of eating now?

Damn it, what did the three of us even look like?

The violinist beside us was laughing so hard his hands shook. The music sounded like someone sawing wood.

I pushed both their heads away.

“Get off me! Aren’t you hot?”

In the end, all three of us ate while harboring our own thoughts.

Then someone suggested going to see a movie.

Jiang Ye picked a horror film.

I frowned.

“I’m scared of ghosts.”

Jiang Ye thumped his chest.

“Don’t worry, I’m not. You can hide in my arms.”

But in the end…

The ghost hadn’t even appeared yet when Jiang Ye screamed and tried to burrow into my arms.

He was trembling all over with fear.

“Niannian, I’m so scared! I’m scared! There’s a ghost! A ghost! Boo-hoo…”

I helplessly cradled his head and comforted him.

“It’s all fake. Don’t be scared.”

Gu Jingshen glanced at us.

Then he suddenly leaned over and burrowed into my arms, too.

His face didn’t change as he said, “I’m scared, too.”

Me: “……”

We didn’t even get to finish the movie.

The two of them started fighting.

Jiang Ye struck first, grabbing Gu Jingshen by the hair.

“Where did this wild man come from? I’m Niannian’s childhood friend, understand? Childhood friends! We’re made for each other! We’re getting married someday!”

“You’re just some stray dog, and you dare compete with me for Niannian?”

“Wait, no. I’m Niannian’s dog, too! But I’m a good dog, and you’re a bad dog!”

“Go to hell!”

Gu Jingshen took several punches without fighting back. He curled up on the ground, covering his head, and lay perfectly still.

Jiang Ye was stunned.

“Hey, what’s wrong with you?”

He even kicked him a few times.

Gu Jingshen still didn’t move.

“Man, are you faking it?”

Jiang Ye’s face went white. He immediately pulled out his phone and called 120.

“Hello! Doctor, help! I think I killed someone…”

I panicked, too, and ran over to press Gu Jingshen’s philtrum.

But someone grabbed my hand.

I looked down.

Gu Jingshen’s eyes were smiling.

“Run.”

So the two of us stood and ran off.

Jiang Ye was left helplessly calling someone from the corner.

“Dad, I really screwed up! Get ten million ready for me. I killed someone, boo-hoo…”

When he finished the call and turned around, the two of us were gone.

“Damn it! I’m being blamed for nothing.”

11

When we got home, we laughed so hard we could barely stand.

We kept laughing and laughing…

Then something started to feel off.

Gu Jingshen’s fingers were laced tightly with mine.

His body was so warm, that heat steadily seeping into my heart.

Gu Jingshen abruptly stopped laughing. He stood and looked at me, completely serious. His dark eyes were deep and intense, as though something inside him could no longer be held back.

I took a step back, a little frightened.

“G-Gu, what’s wrong?”

Gu Jingshen moved closer, one step at a time, until he had me cornered against the wall.

I braced my hands against his shoulders.

“Gu…”

Before I could finish, Gu Jingshen lowered his head and kissed me.

My eyes flew open.

All I could feel was the soft warmth of his lips moving slowly, tentatively, over mine.

When I didn’t pull away, he deepened the kiss.

At last, my lashes trembled, damp, and I pushed him back.

“All right. That’s enough.”

Even after we stopped kissing, my mind was still hazy.

“You’re kissing your good bro?”

Gu Jingshen seemed at a loss. He rested his head in the hollow of my neck.

“Yeah. I like my good bro.”

After he said that, he raised his head a little anxiously to look at me.

I was licking my lips, my eyes bright.

“That felt pretty nice. Want to kiss me again?”

Gu Jingshen smiled.

“Sure.”

The comments floated by:

【I thought the male lead would use an endless pursuit strategy to win the female lead, but the villainous second male lead is a copycat—and a real green tea, too. He’s even one step ahead, ha-ha-ha.】

12

The next day was the day Dad would come home.

The day he was supposed to announce I was the fake heiress and kick me out.

Gu Jingshen hugged me.

“Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”

It was true.

With him there, I really didn’t need to be afraid anymore.

Because Gu Jingshen’s father was dead.

But Gu Jingshen hadn’t killed him.

They said he’d died of a stroke.

Gu Jingshen was his only son, so he inherited all his father’s assets and company.

The people at the company didn’t accept him, but they were all afraid of him.

After all, how long had this son been back?

Just over ten days.

And then his father had suddenly died of a mysterious stroke.

Who knew whether Gu Jingshen had deliberately provoked him?

I took a deep breath at the gate of the house.

Then I walked in.

Auntie Liu was dancing. When she saw me, she called out happily,

“Young Miss is home!”

Young Miss?

I was still the Young Miss?

Hadn’t Dad come back already?

He must have seen the test results on the desk.

But then I saw Dad waving to me cheerfully.

“Come here. I have a present for you—the latest Hermès bag you like.”

I walked over in confusion, glanced around, and whispered,

“Uncle, I’m not your daughter, right? Isn’t there a test report on your desk?”

Then Dad chased me around, trying to hit me.

“What did you call me? Uncle? You’ve got some nerve!”

After he’d chased me for a while, I finally found out the report was fake.

That day, Secretary Wang had gotten into an argument with Dad and had wanted to make him angry.

In a fit of rage, he’d forged two paternity tests: one for Dad and his own son, and another for me and Dad. He’d altered both results to say there was no biological relationship, just to humiliate Dad.

The one for my brother must have gotten mixed in with another stack of papers, so I hadn’t seen it.

By a cruel twist of fate, I’d found only my own.

“That’s too much! How could he humiliate you like that?”

I said angrily.

I’d worried for so long because of him.

“Did you fire him yet, Dad? How could he insult you like that?”

Dad lowered his head guiltily.

“Ha-ha. Well, I did used to beat him and his son, too.”

Me: “……”

“So… I really am your daughter?”

Dad tapped me lightly on the head.

“There’s no doubt about it. You look exactly like your mother did when she was young.”

That was wonderful.

I could go back to doing whatever I wanted at home.

The first thing I did after learning the truth was to forget where I came from.

I kicked my little brother’s door open.

“Go pick up my delivery! Hurry up!”

The End.

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