Chapter 74: Get married within this year.

  In an eyeglasses specialty store.

  Yan Zi was facing the mirror trying on invisible glasses, occasionally glancing at Nian Qing with the corner of her eye - "You hid really well just now, I was nervous for you. However, Gu Qinghe took Nian Zi away, didn't you feel anything? Anyway, I couldn't bear to watch."

  Ning Qing's bitter smile, her pale hand rubbed her brow: "Ning Zi is his fiancée, they go out on a date, have dinner, it's only natural. What feelings do I have? I can only be calm."

  Reason, constantly warning her, she shouldn't have any thoughts like that.

  "But he wants you to go together."

  She paused at the tip of her tongue, and handed a pair of invisible glasses to Yan Zi: "Three people traveling together isn't that fun. Their side is legitimate. I... what am I? If I insert myself in between, I'd be the third party. Even if it's ambiguous, if I really do something with Gu Qingheng again, I'll have a hard time extricating myself later on. One official's trouble is enough to bother me. Gu Qingheng, I really don't dare think about it."

  "When did you break up with Guan Shao?"

  Thinking of you with a smile. "Missing you."

  Xiang thought of a difficult problem for Nian Hai to solve.

  Yan Zi muttered to herself, her mouth moving quickly as she scolded Guan Shao Yan for being crazy and ruining Nian Qing's youth. From time to time, she would mention Gu Qing Heng. In Yan Zi's mind, any woman who was not deaf, blind or stupid would choose Gu Qing Heng. Even though he had a fiancée, Nian Zi, whom she looked down on.

  Qing cried and laughed uncontrollably, couldn't bear it anymore, pushed Yuanzi away: "Please, stop reading, hurry up and pick a pair to settle the account."

  Yan Zi pointed and said: "I want this pair."

  "Are you really going for the expensive ones?"

  "It's just an average price." As he spoke, Yanzi grabbed Ning Qing's hand and shook it, humming: "I'm jealous! How much did this bracelet cost?"

  Her delicate eyebrows were tightly knitted, and she sighed deeply in despair: "What's there to be jealous of? I'll have to go back anyway."

  Yan Zi suppressed her smile and looked at Qing seriously: "He secretly put it on your hand, why did you still go back? No matter what reason you use to go back, it's just not knowing what's good for you. Qing, in this society, we still have to consider human relationships and social norms. Moreover, Gu Qingheng is your big boss, you still have to make a living under him."

  "That...can't be returned?" Nian Qing hesitated for a moment, and after seeing Yan Zi, she nodded cautiously. She knew that this bracelet really couldn't be returned.

  She can't help but feel that her relationship with Gu Qingheng will never be resolved.

  She was still afraid, and in front of Gu Qingheng, she was destined to be a weakling, she had to listen to him.

  Nian Qing felt that Gu Qing Heng was like a high wall in front of her, as if he was shielding her from the wind and rain, yet slowly surrounding her.

  She can't get over it.

  "Looks like from now on, whenever I see Gu Qingheng, I'll have to hide. No more hints or ambiguity, none of that is allowed."

  Yan Zi bought the contact lenses she liked, put them on beautifully, and replied to her with a sentence - "He is your boss, where are you hiding? In the women's restroom?"

  Qing Ning slapped her lightly, telling her to stop making a fuss.

  Yan Zi really didn't make trouble, in fact, she thought Gu Qing Heng had always been indulging Nian Qing.

  As Gu Qingheng, it's actually quite simple to make a woman surrender.

  Leave the eyeglasses store and go eat.

  Yan Zi thought about a question on her way, and gradually, an idea emerged: "I wonder, does Gu Qingheng's attitude towards you seem like he is pursuing you?"

  He shook his head, his heart trembling slightly.

  "Chase me, then, and enter the hall with Ming Zi?" said Nian Qing, whose mood was very bad at that time.

  Entered a restaurant, found a seat, sat down.

  Yanzi was in charge of ordering food and said that this meal would be on her. Nianqing bought her a pair of contact lenses, which cost quite a bit of money.

  After finishing dinner, Yan Zi started gossiping again: "Have you ever clearly rejected Gu Qingheng?"

  "He... " muttered, furrowing his brow, and just thinking of Gu Qingheng made his heart skip a beat. "He said he wouldn't accept rejection."

  Yan Zi's eyes widened, and if they weren't in a restaurant, she really wanted to whistle - "The pursuit of mature men is to have style."

  "...it's also very stressful." Nian Qing added in a low voice.

  ……

  Another hotel's western restaurant, at noon, due to high consumption, there are not many guests, but mostly couples.

  Nian Zi had been staring at the man sitting across from her in a daze. His facial features were handsome, his expression was very calm, and his two hands holding the knife and fork were wide and long. He wore a dark-colored suit that fit him perfectly, with a tie that matched well, and a crisp white dress shirt that was spotless.

  He was just like his name - Gu Qingheng, a warm and elegant man.

  He knew she was checking him out, raised his eyes, looked at her, smiled faintly, really charming. Then, he put down his knife and fork, turned around, gazed out the window, no longer eating.

  Nian Zi returned to her senses and looked at the man's handsome profile, gently asking: "Not eating anymore?"

  "It doesn't taste good." Gu Qingheng's voice was light and calm, and he didn't turn his head back. Outside the window, it seemed like there were many interesting things.

  "I think it's pretty good." Nian Zi, in order to lose weight, hadn't eaten her main course at all. She just had soup and vegetable salad.

  But Gu Qingheng's share didn't move much either, and he only ate one-fifth of it.

  "Next time, I won't come to this house." Nian Zi said, clinging to the man.

  She chose this place because it's a holy land for couples to dine, with high-quality dishes and a great atmosphere. Unfortunately, when she ordered the couple's meal, Gu Qingheng said he didn't like such fancy things.

  Next time, Gu Qingheng raised an eyebrow and didn't speak.

  Nian Zi ate a mouthful of salad and asked in a soft voice: "Are you free tonight? I'd like to ask you out again."

  Gu Qingheng's eyes didn't move, he shook his head: "No time, recently every night, no time, I have to work overtime."

  Nian zi shi wang, dan, bu hao shuo shen me.

  Translation: Nian was disappointed, but didn't know what to say.

  Having a meal.

  "Qingheng, when will your parents be back? It's time for me to meet my in-laws too. What if they misunderstand me and think I'm not polite? How I wish I could show filial piety to them sooner."

  Nian Zi brought it up again this time, she seemed anxious and didn't want to wait any longer. She wanted to see Gu Qingheng's parents and finalize the marriage as soon as possible, which was what she had been wanting.

  "Alright—" Gu Qingheng finally turned back, looking at Nianzi with a deep smile: "As soon as they return, I'll take you to meet them. Then, we'll start preparing for the wedding and get married within this year."

  This year...

  Nian Zi was overjoyed, seeing the determination in Gu Qingheng's eyes. Her heart burst into bloom: "I... I've always been waiting for you, and I'm ready to marry you anytime. The wedding can be big or small, it doesn't matter, as long as it's with you, I'm willing."

  As long as it's soon, in Gu Qingheng's spouse column, write her name down, with or without a wedding ceremony, either is fine!

  "The wedding must be grand, even more so than the one for Officer Shao. It has to be a big celebration." Gu Qingheng's voice was cold, and in an instant, his eyes dropped, with a dark, obscure glint inside that made Nianzi's heart skip a beat.

  "Have you finished eating?" Gu Qingheng asked Nianzi, his voice calm once again. Just now, it seemed like an illusion.

  He is not an easy-tempered man.

  "Hmm." Nian Zi suddenly felt a little shy for some reason.

  Gu Qingheng was just about to get up and leave when she handed him something.

  House card.

  Knitting his brows, Gu Qinghe gave her a cold look.

  "Her eyes sparkled like purple silk, as she extended an invitation: 'I've booked a room on the upper floor of this hotel. There's still an hour before lunch break ends. Why don't you come up and rest with me?'"

  Opened a room, accompanied, rested, no doubt, this is a hint of sex and behavior.

  Thinking of Zi Yan, wanting to get on the bed with him.

  Gu Qingheng took the room card and fiddled with it in his hand for a few moments, thinking that Zi Xi's raised eyebrows were an invitation to her body.

  "In less than a second, his voice was icy cold: 'I refuse premarital sex.'"

  When Zi Yun spoke, her face stiffened and her expression was comical: "Why? As long as it's you, I'm willing. I'm your fiancée, and having sex with you is normal. You're a man, and normally you need to have sex and release your desires. Instead of finding some other woman who isn't even clean, why not find me? I can satisfy you in bed."

  Gu Qingheng's face remained expressionless as he stared at Nian Zi, his voice cold and sharp: "Retrieve your composure, I like women to be more reserved."

  Her face turned purple with shame and anger, she hadn't expected Gu Qingheng to reject her, nor had she expected him to do so without leaving any room for maneuver.

  He didn't have premarital sex with her, so who did he have it with?

  She didn't believe him, a mature man, in his daily life, no other woman could satisfy him!

  Nian Zi was unwilling to give up, she had already opened the room, she wanted to try again, men are easily tempted.

  The words were not spoken, but a clear sternness flashed through Gu Qingheng's cold eyes, and Nian Zi was so frightened that she stopped speaking, realizing that this gentle and elegant man also had times when he got angry.

  Gu Qingheng's face was expressionless as he stood up, one hand propping himself on the dinner table, the other hand grasping Nian Zi's face with great force. His voice low and warning, "Your father had previously sent women to me for a project. Now, you want to sleep with me also for this project? Have you forgotten what I said before our engagement? I said that there should be no business involvement between us."

  Nian Zi's face was pinched by Gu Qingheng and it hurt a lot. It is estimated that red marks have already appeared.

  But she didn't dare to move, intimidated by his cold and stern aura. At the same time, she was also afraid that he had seen through her thoughts. Indeed, she had planned to satisfy him in bed first, then ask for that project.

  Men, at this time, are easily led astray by their thoughts.

  But Gu Qingheng was obviously not this type of man.

  "Qingheng, it's not that I want you to give me the project, I just...I just want to be your real woman."

  "From now on, remember my words. I refuse premarital sex, behavior, and listen to me, can you do it?" Gu Qingheng said word by word, without anger, but his coldness was enough to make people fearful.

  Nian zi, an fen dian tou, bu gan zai you bie de xin si.

  English Translation:

  Thinking of purple, nodding in agreement, not daring to have any other thoughts.

  "Here's your key card back." Gu Qingheng returned the key card, his handsome face calm and expressionless, no longer showing any anger towards Nianzi.

  Nian Zi secretly let out a sigh of relief.

  Gu Qingheng is a very mature man who has always been a gentleman towards women.

  Nian Zi thinks this matter can be turned over now.

  She stretched out her hand to take the room card, but Gu Qingheng suddenly let go, and the room card fell straight into her bowl of hot soup, splashing onto her face, clothes, and even a drop got into her eyes, stinging painfully.

  "Sorry, I'm a bit angry." Gu Qingheng calmly stated the fact, his hands picking up the handkerchief to wipe the soup stain on his clothes, elegant. "Recently, don't come looking for me."

  After finishing speaking, Gu Qingheng turned around and left, without looking at Nian Zi again.

  When he went out, Duān Wǔ was already waiting for him. He checked the time and found that it was more than ten minutes later than expected.

  Duanwu raised an eyebrow, and after seeing Gu Qingheng's not-too-pleased expression, tactfully didn't ask anything, opened the car door, and invited him to get in.

  Drive back to the company.

  He occasionally glanced through the rearview mirror to observe Gu Qingheng. He was very clear that Gu Qingheng's temperament had always been calm and he rarely got angry.

  He followed Gu Qingheng for nearly 10 years, and the number of times Gu Qingheng got angry could be counted on one hand.

  The most severe and only once is being betrayed by a friend.

  ……

  Afternoon.

  Su Mei held a meeting to roughly explain the next task - Gu Shi will cooperate with Huo Zhi again after half a year, starting from next week. Su Mei will select people to accompany her to socialize. Nian Qing is the newest and most junior member, this cooperation is very important, she doesn't qualify to go out with Su Mei.

  Other colleagues all sighed and lamented, as if a great disaster was imminent.

  I don't understand, I asked.

  Colleagues secretly said: "This Huo Gongzi, I don't know if he's born with a psychological bias or has a vendetta against General Gu. Clearly it's a win-win cooperation, but every time he intentionally makes things difficult. Last time's cooperation, he dragged on for three whole months before signing. This time, who knows how long he'll toy with us like monkeys before agreeing to sign."

  "Is it that serious?" Nian Qing was astonished. Someone actually dared to openly oppose Gu Qingheng like this?

  Another colleague chimed in: "It's a bit fierce, I heard that the red background behind him is very deep. Moreover, his company is also powerful. Mainly because last time we cooperated with him on a series of villas, this time we changed to another company, and it feels like we won't be able to keep up."

  "Suit yourselves then."

  One colleague sighed: "I envy you, a young newcomer, but at your age, if you encounter him, I'm afraid you'll end up crying."

  Nian Qing shook her head, not understanding.

  Su Mei has already explained at the meeting, don't let her go, lest she doesn't understand and messes things up.

  There's nothing much to know about her either.

  ……

  After work hours.

  Nian Qing wanted to stay and work overtime, but yesterday, her colleague swapped shifts with her.

  She sent a text message to Yanzi, asking her to go home by herself and also help buy dinner. During overtime hours, the company rules that you can't eat, of course, since there's no one else in the office, secretly eating is okay too. But she planned to eat after going home.

  ……

  At half past seven, it started raining heavily outside.

  Ning Qing stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing out for a while before furrowing her brow.

  She had an umbrella with her, but it was raining so heavily that even with an umbrella, it wasn't easy to walk.

  However, there is still half an hour before overtime ends, and by then, perhaps the rain will let up.

  ……

  At eight o'clock, the rain was getting heavier and heavier.

  Nian Qing isn't in a hurry, tomorrow is Saturday, can spend the whole day resting at home.

  She's just very sleepy now. Last night, she went to a social gathering with Gu Qingheng and got drunk, so she didn't get enough sleep. Her energy has been a bit off all day today.

  Looking out at the heavy rain outside, Ning Qing thought for a moment and set her phone's alarm clock to 9 o'clock in the evening.

  She can sleep for an hour first and then go home, it's not too late.

  ……

  At nine o'clock, the heavy rain outside had lessened a lot and turned into a gentle patter.

  After meditating for an hour, I felt much better. Taking advantage of the fact that it's not raining heavily now, I quickly gathered my things and left the office, taking the elevator downstairs.

  The last bus is at 10 o'clock in the evening, now it's just over 9 o'clock, don't worry about missing it.

  ……

  Gu Qingheng finished his shift and was about to call Duanyu to let him know he could take the car out when he exited the elevator.

  In an instant, her gaze caught sight of Nian Qing standing in front of the company's main gate.

  She held a cartoon umbrella in her hand, stretching out her white hand to check the size of the rain outside, as if she was afraid that the wind outside would blow her hair into disarray. She inserted the umbrella between her slender legs, found an elastic band and tied up her hair, revealing her ivory-colored neck.

  Very charming.

  Gu Qingheng looked at her, opened his umbrella and was about to leave when he instinctively called out to her - "Nianqing."

  The man's voice was clear and warm, loud enough to hear.

  But he didn't stop, still walking straight ahead.

  In an instant, Gu Qingheng narrowed his eyes, noticing that her pace had quickened slightly - she must have heard him calling out to her!

  Knitting his brow, Gu Qinghe hastened his pace and chased after him.

  Outside, it was drizzling. Gu Qinghe didn't have an umbrella and got rained on as he chased after Nian Qing, who had deliberately avoided him. He took three steps at a time to catch up to her, grasped her hand tightly, and gave her no chance to escape again. "I'm calling you, can't you hear me?"

  He awkwardly muttered something incoherent, took off his headphones and dryly laughed: "I was wearing headphones... didn't hear anything."

  Today's update is free, with an extra 800 words as a gift.