Huang Yuan knew that Gu Chenan's girlfriend was Su Qianmo, so he didn't think Gu Chenan could have a very close relationship with Liu Mingrui given that he already had Su Qianmo as his girlfriend.
Moreover, Liu Mingrui was so stunningly beautiful, with an alluring figure. She clearly wouldn't get involved with Gu Chenan knowing he had a girlfriend.
"You, Gu Chenan, think you're so smug because you have Miss Liu? Well then, I'll pay her a huge sum to poach her from you!" Huang Yuan thought.
"What do you say, Miss Liu? Our Zhenhua's strength is incomparable to Caiying. Just name your price, and we can sign a contract on the spot," Huang Yuan said confidently.
Gu Chenan almost laughed out loud hearing this.
What's this? Planning to negotiate directly with Liu Mingrui and bypass me?
If that's the case, I'll just see how this plays out.
Gu Chenan remained silent, standing with his arms crossed and an expectant look on his face.
"Just name my price, is that right?" Liu Mingrui asked, raising an eyebrow.
Hearing this, Huang Yuan thought he had a chance. He glanced at Gu Chenan with a smug and disdainful look.
Hah, what a complete fool. If you really didn't want Miss Liu to have any contact with Zhenhua, you should have hidden her away from us.
But instead, you brought Miss Liu right to Zhenhua. Who do you think you are? Do you really think you're worthy of Miss Liu's undying loyalty?
Huang Yuan spread his hands. "That's right. Whatever Miss Liu has in mind, just say it."
"Very well," Liu Mingrui nodded. Under Huang Yuan's triumphant gaze, she held up one slender finger and said, "One billion."
"You..." Huang Yuan was stunned. He furrowed his brow in confusion, "Miss Liu, what do you mean by this?"
Liu Mingrui smiled mischievously, "Didn't Mr. Huang say I should just name my price? How is it that now that I've named it, Mr. Huang won't agree?"
"One billion? Can Gu Chenan give you one billion?" Huang Yuan asked angrily.
"Chenan?" Liu Mingrui turned to look at Gu Chenan and said, "His price is free. Your price is one billion. Do you understand now?"
"This..."
Huang Yuan froze, suddenly realizing.
This Miss Liu was completely on Gu Chenan's side, through and through!
But why? Doesn't Gu Chenan already have a girlfriend? So what is this Miss Liu to him?
His sister?
No, that's not right. One surnamed Gu and the other Liu, how could they be siblings? Even if they were cousins, she should have agreed under the temptation of money.
"It seems you can't come to an agreement," Gu Chenan stepped forward and said, "Mr. Huang, let me give you a piece of advice before we leave. Don't let Song Xiaoli use you like a dog. Even if you're boyfriend and girlfriend, you should be able to distinguish right from wrong. Most importantly... it's very tasteless to act this way."
With that, Gu Chenan turned to leave, and Liu Mingrui quickly linked arms with him.
Watching Gu Chenan's retreating figure, Huang Yuan clenched his teeth.
Who exactly was this Gu Chenan?
Why did it seem like he had calculated every move?
According to Xiaoli, Gu Chenan was just a shut-in who stayed at home all year playing video games. But what shut-in could act like this?
No, that's not right. Gu Chenan definitely isn't that simple!
Today's events were the best proof. He brought Miss Liu to Zhenhua, and from start to finish, his face wore a calm and collected expression, as if everything was under his control!
Xiaoli once said that at the class reunion, Gu Chenan insisted on drinking with her, and when she refused, he started verbally abusing her.
But think about it - with a woman as stunning as Miss Liu by his side, why would Gu Chenan harass Xiaoli?
Xiaoli is certainly beautiful, but compared to Miss Liu... how can a firefly's glow dare to compete with the sun and moon?
As soon as Gu Chenan left, the conference room door suddenly opened.
A female secretary adjusted her glasses and said, "Mr. Huang, the board of directors is looking for you."
"The board..."
Huang Yuan's face changed drastically, a terrified expression instantly appearing.
"I-I understand. I'll go right away."
......
"You're not going to finish off that Huang Yuan?" In the Mercedes, Liu Mingrui turned her head and asked, looking puzzled.
Gu Chenan frowned and turned away. "Finish him off?"
"Yes," Liu Mingrui nodded. "According to your style of doing things in the novel world, even if you didn't kill him, you'd at least teach him a lesson, right?"
Gu Chenan pursed his lips and said, "As you said, that's the novel world. This is the real world."
"In your novel world, the police presence is almost zero. The real world is different. If I made a move, the police would be here in five minutes."
As he spoke, Gu Chenan smiled and said, "Besides, Zhenhua has made such a big loss-making deal. If they had managed to crush our Caiying in one fell swoop, that would be fine. But now... their board of directors definitely won't let Huang Yuan off the hook."
"Moreover, the beauty industry in Shanghai is only so big. Huang Yuan's earth-shattering brilliant plan will definitely become known to everyone. If he gets fired from Zhenhua, he won't have a place to stand in Shanghai anymore."
"I see," Liu Mingrui said.
The dappled shadows of leaves filtered through the car window onto Liu Mingrui's face. She looked up and saw the huge plane trees lining both sides of the road, their canopies blocking out the sky.
Suddenly, her eyes trembled, and she seemed to fall into a trance.
"What's wrong?" Gu Chenan noticed Liu Mingrui's unusual state.
"It's nothing," Liu Mingrui shook her head. "This scene seems familiar."
"I remember when you left Donghai for Suhang, we also walked along a small road lined with plane trees."
"Mm, it was a long time ago," Gu Chenan nodded.
"Can we pull over and take a look?" Liu Mingrui asked, looking at the plane trees flashing by outside the window.
"This..." Gu Chenan looked around and saw that they were surrounded by pedestrians. He hesitated, "I don't think that's a good idea. You're at the center of attention online right now. If we get out, we'll definitely be surrounded."
Liu Mingrui lowered her head and bit her lip. "So does that mean we'll never have the chance to appear in public together again?"
"Of course not," Gu Chenan shook his head. "Once this blows over, we'll have plenty of chances to..."
At this point, Gu Chenan suddenly paused.
He realized something. If Liu Mingrui really went into the entertainment industry, they would never have the chance to meet alone again. Even if they wanted to meet, they'd have to sneak around like thieves, wary of everyone.
"I don't want to go," Liu Mingrui said softly, her head still lowered.
"What?" Gu Chenan didn't hear clearly.
Liu Mingrui suddenly raised her head, her beautiful eyes brimming with tears. She enunciated each word clearly, "I said, I don't want to go!"
"I don't want to become some damn female celebrity. I just want to be with you freely, without worrying about what others think or how they look at us."
"I came to this world because I wanted to be with you always, always, always. I didn't come here to become some damn celebrity who, even though she's in the spotlight, can't even boldly hug you when you're right in front of her!"
"I don't want fame, I don't want fortune, and I certainly don't want anything else."
As she spoke, tears rolled down her cheeks, and she uttered a few words with firm resolve: "I... I just want to be with you forever."