Chapter 23

Shen An could have easily said he had just casually poured a glass of juice, he could even have mocked Lu Yu for being overly sensitive to dispel his suspicions.But Shen An said nothing.

Sometimes silence is a form of admission, which made Lu Yu's heart sink completely, when he had been wondering if he was being too paranoid.

"To think I considered you a friend!" Lu Yu said through gritted teeth.

Seeing that things had come to this point, Shen An finally spoke, though his tone remained cold.

"Don't tell me you still believe in that."

In their circle, where were there any true friends? There were only intertwined interests. Today's friend could be tomorrow's rival; the person smiling at you today might stab you in the back tomorrow.

Besides, he hadn't really done anything, had he?

In fact, although Shen An was accustomed to the scheming in the business world, he was actually a decent person, at least he had never taken advantage of others' misfortunes before.

Previously, although Shen An had harbored some unspoken thoughts, he had never crossed the line. This time, the discovery of his secret was purely accidental. He hadn't expected that Lu Yu, who used to be solely focused on developing his company, would become so perceptive now. Shen An had tried his best to restrain himself, but still failed in the details.

Thinking of this, Shen An didn't feel regret, but rather a sense of relief now that things were out in the open, unlike the oppressive feeling from before.

Seeing his nonchalant attitude and lack of remorse, Lu Yu became even more enraged.

"Those who think you're a good person should really see what you're truly like!"

Lu Yu spoke with sarcasm, Shen An just smiled, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Lu Yu's expression turned completely cold, and he warned through clenched teeth: "Gu Wan is my wife. I advise you not to have any designs on her, otherwise don't blame me for being unpleasant!"

Hearing this, Shen An didn't answer directly, but a look of understanding flashed in his eyes. He said, "It seems you've finally started to feel afraid."

"I thought you could really remain indifferent."

The way Gu Wan used to look at him, even outsiders like them could see it was heart-stirring.

Who wouldn't want that kind of affection?

There was a moment of distraction in Shen An's eyes, but he quickly concealed it the next second, not letting anyone notice.

And at this moment, Lu Yu's harsh words just exposed his worry, fear, and dread.

"It looks like the situation between you two is even worse than I imagined."

"Indeed, not cherishing what you've obtained is bound to bring bad karma."

The once abundant feelings that could be lavishly squandered were now nearly depleted.

As soon as he finished speaking, ignoring Lu Yu's suddenly tense expression that looked like a sore spot had been hit, Shen An changed the subject and continued, "Don't worry, I don't intend to be your enemy, nor do I plan to actually do anything."

Lu Yu didn't believe a single word of what he said.

How could someone who had designs on a friend's wife be any good?

In fact, it was indeed so. Although Shen An didn't intend to interfere while their marriage was still intact, once they divorced, it would be a different story.

And Gu Wan happened to be a woman who couldn't be kept even with money. Once she fell for someone, no matter who they were or what their status was, even if they were just an ordinary person, Lu Yu's looks, wealth, and social status would no longer be advantages in her eyes.

There's never anything perfect in this world. They were attracted by her purity, and they would be constrained by this purity.

Looking at Shen An's calm expression that seemed to silently say "I'm just waiting for that day to come," Lu Yu finally couldn't hold back and punched him in the face.

"Bastard!!!"

...

About five minutes later, when Lu Yu returned to his seat, he looked around but couldn't see Gu Wan anywhere. He couldn't help but recall Shen An's words "no matter who, regardless of status," especially when he learned from others that Gu Wan had left her seat nearly half an hour ago. Lu Yu couldn't sit still anymore.

On the other side, seeing that not only had he failed to clean the wine stains on his clothes, but his lip was also cut due to Lu Yu's punch, Shen An looked at himself in the mirror for a while, then wiped his hands without any expression and walked out of the bathroom.

However, as soon as he came out, he ran into the smoky purple figure who had also come to the bathroom to freshen up.

Gu Wan had just spent quite a while on the terrace enjoying the breeze, and then chatted for a good while with several girls who were interested in Lu Yu but didn't dare to say it outright due to their status, and were only quietly inquiring about the couple's relationship status.

Gu Wan thought that would be the end of it, but after those girls left, she was forced by Zhong Yi to reminisce about the past, compelled to recall their youthful days together. Although Gu Wan finally learned from Zhong Yi the specific details of how she met Lu Yu, Gu Wan felt that her carefully done hairstyle was on the verge of collapse after all this.

So she came here, but didn't expect to coincidentally meet Shen An, who had left his seat half an hour ago.

Although staying in the bathroom for half an hour was a bit long, Gu Wan chose to respect it. Seeing him look over, Gu Wan even greeted him naturally: "Mr. Shen."

Shen An's footsteps, which were about to leave, immediately paused.

Since the sinks in this area were shared, and there were quite a lot of guests today, the hotel staff probably hadn't noticed yet, but someone had splashed a small puddle of water under the washstand.

This small puddle was nothing for Shen An, but for Gu Wan in her floor-length dress, it was a problem.

Just as Gu Wan was hesitating whether to change to another bathroom, she saw the man beside her move slightly, and then she felt her skirt being lifted slightly, just enough to avoid being soaked by the water.

"Is this okay?" Shen An asked as if casually.

The familiar action didn't make Gu Wan think too much, and since there was no one nearby at this time, Gu Wan nodded while thinking to herself that he was cold on the outside but warm-hearted: "It's fine."

Then she added, "Thank you, Mr. Shen."

Shen An pressed his lips together: "You're welcome."

Gu Wan didn't want to keep him waiting, so she quickly took out a few things from her handbag.

Gu Wan looked in the mirror and found that her hairstyle had indeed been messed up a bit by the wind on the terrace. It wouldn't matter usually, but now it would be better to fix it up again.

However, Gu Wan didn't know how to do complex hairstyles, so fortunately she had brought a hair clip when she left home.

So, Shen An watched as Gu Wan removed the black hairpins fixing her hair one by one. In no time, her long hair fell down like a waterfall. If he were closer, he might have been able to smell a faint fragrance.

But Shen An didn't move forward.

His eyes reflected Gu Wan's deft movements. With just a light twist of her hand, a simple hairstyle appeared, with some slightly loose strands making her look casual and relaxed.

As her hair was pinned up again, Gu Wan's white, slender nape was revealed...

Shen An very restrainedly averted his gaze.

Then Gu Wan touched up her makeup where it had slightly faded. In his peripheral vision, Shen An only saw her carefully applying makeup, like a flower about to bloom.

Gu Wan's lipstick had already been rubbed off while eating earlier. As she was hesitating which shade to use, she saw Shen An inconspicuously push one of them forward slightly.

Gu Wan didn't really mind which one to use, so she didn't refuse.

When she applied the lipstick, she found that his aesthetic sense was indeed on point.

"I didn't expect you to understand this," Gu Wan said with some surprise.

Shen An didn't answer, nor did he say that he had seen her many times before, and among all the lipsticks, this one looked best on her. Sёarᴄh the nôvel_Fire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Fortunately, despite having only one short night to get accustomed, Gu Wan had already grown used to his silence and didn't find it strange when he didn't respond.

It wasn't until Gu Wan finished touching up her makeup and turned around that she noticed Shen An seemed to be injured.

By this time, the two of them were already preparing to head back.

"Wait, your face..."

Shen An belatedly touched the side of his face, only then realizing that not only was his lip split, but one side of his face was also swollen.

Lu Yu's punch hadn't held back one bit.

Considering he had helped her with her dress, Gu Wan couldn't just ignore it. Moreover, given his status, if someone were to see him like this later, it might cause additional trouble.

"Wait here for a moment. I'll go get some medicine for you."

Unable to call for an attendant, Gu Wan had no choice but to make a trip to the hotel lobby herself.

Watching Gu Wan's hastily retreating figure, Shen An couldn't help but wonder how she would react if she knew this injury was inflicted by her husband.

But Shen An would never tell her.

Besides cleaning and disinfecting the wound, he also needed to conceal the surface swelling.

Gu Wan wouldn't go so far as to personally apply the disinfectant and medicine, as they weren't that familiar yet. But when it came to concealer, even if Shen An had no intention of taking advantage of her, he was utterly incapable of doing it himself. Besides, Gu Wan's foundation shade was far too light for his skin tone.

Seeing him fumble for a while, not only failing to cover the swelling but making his face look even more of a mess with patches of light and dark skin, Gu Wan couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Never mind, let me do it."

Without further ado, she interrupted his attempt to keep powdering his face. Gu Wan used a makeup brush to blend two shades of concealer, tested it on his skin, and once satisfied, began carefully dabbing it onto the swollen areas of his face.

Shen An could only feel the tickle of the animal-hair brush on his skin, the sensation seemingly reaching all the way to his heart.

As Shen An lowered his head, he could see Gu Wan's slightly fluttering eyelashes and her gentle, focused expression.

Gentle and focused... on him?

Shen An's hands, resting at his sides, tightened.

When Lu Yu finally managed to find them, this was the scene he encountered—

Gu Wan and Shen An were extremely close, as if Shen An could easily kiss her beautiful rose-petal lips in the next second if he wanted to.

Lu Yu's mind exploded with a "buzz."