He Siyu's dark eyes momentarily froze, his fingers tightening around the wine glass as he shot a cold glance. "Mind your own business."
Gu Xingchen blinked in surprise. What was wrong with him?
"Hey, I’m just giving you some friendly advice. You like her anyway, and no one in your family can control you. Why not just get married?" Gu Xingchen grinned.
At least then he wouldn’t get dumped again.
He Siyu’s voice was icy. "Marriage hasn’t done you any good."
Gu Xingchen’s smile instantly stiffened.
He Siyu leisurely poured himself another glass of wine, his tone indifferent. "My eldest and second brothers aren’t married yet. It’s improper for me to jump the line. I’m in no hurry—we’re already together, so it doesn’t matter when we tie the knot."
Gu Xingchen forced a smirk. "Guess I worried for nothing."
He Siyu gave him a sidelong glance. "You should worry about yourself. What’s the difference between your marriage and being single?"
Gu Xingchen: "..."
His smile completely froze.
Meng Lai suddenly brought up, "Song Han’s been in Australia for a month now, right? When’s he coming back? Or is he planning to stay another year?"
Zhong Shu chimed in, "I talked to him the other day. He said he’s not sure yet—depends on how smoothly the business negotiations go."
Meng Lai scoffed. "Cut the crap. ‘Business negotiations’? He’s just dodging matchmaking. Didn’t you know the Pei family started arranging marriages for him again after New Year’s? He left to avoid dealing with it."
"Oh? Really?" Zhong Shu sounded intrigued. "I thought he got dumped and went abroad to clear his head."
The moment the words left his mouth, the room fell dead silent for three seconds.
Zhong Shu suddenly realized his blunder. Without daring to look back, he forced an awkward laugh. "I meant me! I just got dumped recently, haha..."
Finally stealing a glance at He Siyu’s expression, he was surprised to see the man completely unbothered, as if it had nothing to do with him.
Zhong Shu exhaled in relief—seems the man was in a good mood lately.
Meng Lai suddenly added, "Now that you mention it, he did seem pretty down recently. Maybe he really did go through a breakup. I never understood why he called off his engagement back then."
"Really?"
Gu Xingchen’s brow twitched, and he glanced at He Siyu again, who remained composed as he sipped his wine.
Biting back his burning curiosity, Gu Xingchen firmly shut his mouth.
The dinner dragged on, and He Siyu grew bored. He checked his phone—still no messages from her. She must still be busy.
Setting down his glass, he typed: When are you off work?
Half an hour later, she replied: Around 9.
He checked the time. 8 PM.
Without hesitation, he stood. "I have to go."
Gu Xingchen and the others, mid-laugh, stared in confusion. "What could you possibly have to do this late?"
He grabbed his suit jacket. "Picking up my girlfriend."
"..."
The room plunged into silence once more.
Three seconds later, as the door closed behind He Siyu, the atmosphere finally thawed.
"Damn, He Siyu in love is terrifying."
Gu Xingchen shook his head with a chuckle. "That’s what happens when an old tree finally blooms."
"Honestly, I still can’t wrap my head around him dating Nan Sangning, of all people—the epitome of a prim and proper girl. Whose rules do they even follow?"
"Isn’t it obvious? He already got dumped once."
"..."
---
At 9:30 PM, Sangning finally stepped out of the office. Under the glow of the streetlamp, a Maybach waited quietly by the curb.
She opened the back door and slid inside. He Siyu, eyes closed in rest, stirred at the sound and turned to her, his dark gaze lazy yet attentive. "Done?"
She nodded. "Some data kept glitching. Took a while to fix."
"Sorted now?"
Her eyes brightened. "Yeah. We finally debugged it. Mass production can start tomorrow."
He took her hand. "Don’t push yourself too hard. If needed, I can ask Haoyong for another month’s extension. Take your time."
Sangning shook her head. "Better to deliver sooner. Delays hurt Nan Group’s reputation."
She couldn’t let the company rely solely on He Siyu’s connections. A business without its own credibility, leaning entirely on external support, was playing with fire.
His brow furrowed. "You’re exhausted."
"Just a little longer. It’ll ease up after this."
Her voice betrayed her fatigue. The nonstop workload had worn her thin.
Before he could reply, a soft weight settled against his shoulder.
His muscles tensed briefly before relaxing. Glancing down, he saw her nestled into the crook of his neck, eyes shut, instinctively nuzzling for comfort.
His heart melted at the sight of her delicate face.
She trusted him completely.
Pulling her closer, he gently stroked her hair. After a pause, he murmured, "Yangyang."
"Hmm?" Her reply was drowsy, teetering on the edge of sleep.
His throat tightened. "Once you’re less busy... there’s something I want to tell you."
Silence.
Three seconds passed with no response. He looked down—she was already fast asleep, her breathing slow and steady.