I will make it up to you tonight. I never shortchange my woman.

Upon learning that Mu Xin'er had been hospitalized, Rong Xiu immediately dropped what he was doing and rushed to the hospital.

Angry voices echoed from the VIP ward.

Rong Xiu's composed expression shattered, and he raised his voice, "I do not agree to cancel the engagement banquet!"

Mu Xin'er was not gladdened by his objection. She truly could not understand Rong Xiu anymore. Since he loved Su Lan'er, why was he refusing to call off the engagement?

Did he want to play the field with both of them?

Mu Xin'er's gaze remained calm and unruffled, devoid of a single trace of jealousy or anger, as she said flatly, "You are very fond of Su Lan'er, yet you can't let go of me either. Her birthday falls on the very same day as mine, and you run back and forth between us. What is the point? Don't you feel exhausted?"

Rong Xiu's pupils contracted slightly. With his last shred of pretension abruptly stripped away, the man's gaze turned dark and frigid. "You knew all along."

Mu Xin'er: "Yes."

A sharp, agonizing spasm gripped her heart. Right up until this very second, a part of her had still harbored a faint, lingering hope for Rong Xiu's explanation.

Rong Xiu: "Xin'er, we are going to be engaged."

Mu Xin'er said coldly, "If we are engaged, then Su Lan'er becomes the other woman. Since you love her so much, how could you bear to make her a mistress forced to skulk in the shadows?"

Rong Xiu frowned. "She is not a mistress. I like her, and that has nothing to do with her. You have no need to use the word 'mistress' to humiliate her."

*Bang—!*

Mu Xin'er fiercely hurled her tablet straight at Rong Xiu's forehead, instantly splitting his skin and drawing blood.

"The pain you are feeling right now doesn't even amount to one ten-thousandth of mine!"

"I'm sorry."

At that moment, the door was pushed open, and Gu Fengyan and Su Ruannan walked inside.

Su Ruannan gently smoothed Mu Xin'er's back to help her calm down. "Take care of your health. It's not worth getting yourself worked up over someone like this."

Upon seeing Gu Fengyan, Rong Xiu wore a slightly surprised look and greeted him as Third Brother Gu.

He had heard that Xin'er had done Gu Third Brother a small favor, and in return, Gu Third Brother had agreed to guide Xin'er with her thesis.

Although Gu Third Brother's appearance here was somewhat abrupt, it was still understandable.

Gu Fengyan took in every bit of Mu Xin'er's tears and grievance, his low and stern voice cutting through the air. "She doesn't want to be engaged to you, and I also think the two of you are unsuited for marriage."

Rong Xiu casually wiped the blood from his forehead. "Third Brother, this is a matter between Xin'er and me. It has nothing to do with you, nor does it have anything to do with Su Lan'er."

Gu Fengyan continued, "Old Mr. Mu entrusted me with looking after Xin'er, so I believe this has a great deal to do with me. Furthermore, I reiterate that you and Xin'er are unfit for marriage."

Rong Xiu's previously indifferent attitude abruptly turned grave as he demanded coldly, "Third Brother, what do you mean by this?"

Gu Fengyan handed him a file folder.

"Su Lan'er bullied a dance major back in high school, permanently crippling one of her legs. Once this explosive piece of news is leaked, Su Lan'er will become a public enemy reviled by everyone. Let's make a deal: you let Mu Xin'er go, and I will let Su Lan'er go."

Rong Xiu pressed his lips into a tight line, his gaze turning sinister and his entire body radiating fury.

He did not open the file folder; given Gu Fengyan's status and standing, there was no need for him to lie.

Dead silence filled the room.

Both Gu Fengyan and Mu Xin'er waited for Rong Xiu's choice.

Su Ruannan lowered her gaze; she had already known the answer from her past life.

"If you dare to leak anything, I happen to have plenty of dirt on hand as well!" Having delivered his fierce threat, Rong Xiu turned and strode out of the ward.

Given Gu Fengyan's stature, how could a man like Rong Xiu ever hope to get any dirt on him?

Rong Xiu's subtext was clear: if Su Lan'er's reputation were ruined, he would ruin Mu Xin'er's reputation in return.

Mu Xin'er reacted a beat too late. Then, kicking off her blanket, she bolted out to the hallway and cursed at the top of her lungs, "Rong Xiu, I'll greet your entire ancestral lineage! What kind of worthless piece of trash thinks he has the guts to leak dirt on me? You piece of garbage crawling out of a cesspool, do you think you're so pure and spotless? Fine, fine! I'll just wait for your leaks and see whose reputation goes down in ruins!"

Gu Fengyan hurriedly rushed forward to steady her. The gentle and cultured Third Brother Gu was utterly dumbfounded, as if he were witnessing such a fierce, formidable woman for the very first time.

Mu Xin'er hollered, "What are you staring at?"

Gu Fengyan hastily reined in his look of shock.

Gu Jinzhou, who had arrived at some point without them noticing, crooked his knuckles and indolently knocked twice on the door. He had come to take Ruannan home.

Su Ruannan: "Third Brother, I'll have to trouble you to look after Xin'er."

Gu Fengyan: "No trouble at all. It is a pleasure."

Inside the elevator,

Gu Jinzhou stroked her cool, delicate cheek and pressed a tender kiss to it. "Why did you run off to the hospital again?"

Answering a question with a question, Su Ruannan draped her arms around his neck and cooed with soft spoiled affection, "I don't want to walk. Carry me on your back."

The refined and prestigious young master bowed slightly, his elegant and magnetic voice dripping with indulgence.

"Hop on, little ancestor."

"Gu Jinzhou, you're the best!"

Su Ruannan gleefully leaped onto his back, and fearing she might be watched by others, she buried her fair, delicate face into the crook of his neck.

Feeling the soft, plump weight against his arms, the man asked in a lazy, low murmur a moment later, "Did you lose weight?"

"Did I? I've been very obedient lately. I eat whatever you tell me to eat. If I've lost weight, then it must mean you've been starving me."

"I've been starving you?" Amusement flickered in the man's eyes, the curve of his lips carrying a trace of roguishness. "I'll nourish you back up tonight. I never mistreat my woman."

Su Ruannan rubbed her fair, tender face against him, her sweet little voice chirping excitedly, "Are you treating me to late-night snacks, Brother Jinzhou? I want barbecue!"

Gu Jinzhou wasn't always swayed by her sweet talk; otherwise, he would simply be a foolish, wrapped-around-her-finger kind of man.

In a pitch-black street,

The Maybach, which had been rocking energetically for over an hour, finally fell quiet.

The sparkly, silk-textured slip dress could no longer be worn. Ruannan adored that dress, and she glared at Gu Jinzhou with tear-filled, seductive eyes, demanding that he wash the slip dress with his own hands. Sending it to a dry cleaner was entirely out of the question—she would simply die of embarrassment.

With deep affection, Gu Jinzhou kissed her hair and her cheeks, his extraordinarily handsome face strikingly devout as he acquiesced to every single one of her demands.

"I'm sick to death of you, Gu Jinzhou. You only ever listen to me *after* it's over."

"I've always listened to you."

"That's not true. When I told you to stop and that I couldn't take any more, you didn't listen at all."

"Perhaps my darling's voice was simply too soft. You should speak louder next time."

"Okay then."

Gu Jinzhou's Adam's apple bobbed. With cool self-control, his long-jointed fingers fastened his buttons from bottom to top, unhurriedly restoring his appearance as a graceful and distinguished gentleman.

No wonder Ruannan frequently complained that he was a wolf in sheep's clothing.

-

Silver Lake Manor.

Su Ruannan sat atop the bathroom vanity, wearing one of the man's white shirts. It was slightly oversized, making her frame look porcelain-white and exquisitely delicate. Her bare, slender legs, marred with faint traces, dangled lazily, swinging back and forth with a blatant disregard for the man's sanity as she contentedly snacked on grapes.

"You'd better wash my dress properly. No slacking off."

The premium, exclusive male servant Gu Jinzhou was currently washing the little fairy's dress. He scrubbed with utmost diligence, though his mind was entirely elsewhere. The man stood tall and straight, his slender, lanky physique upright in every conceivable way.

At that moment, Ruannan's phone rang.

Liu Qing: "Ruannan, you're not asleep yet, are you?"

Su Ruannan replied, "No, I'm supervising someone doing laundry."

Liu Qing: "I remember your classical dance is exceptionally good. There's an S-plus web drama currently casting a dance director. Are you interested? I can privately introduce you to the producer and director on WeChat."

Su Ruannan excitedly tapped Gu Jinzhou on the shoulder. "I'm interested!"

If she found herself a job, she wouldn't have to spend all day getting her legs bent this way and that by him.