Su Mianmian recalled the awkward silence she'd shared with them on her way here, and a sense of resistance welled up inside her.
"Manager He, you can go ahead. I ran into an acquaintance here; I'll go with him." An acquaintance… what acquaintance that requires throwing oneself at someone? He Suyan silently hung up the phone. A hint of sarcasm flickered in his already cold eyes.
He gave Su Mianmian a cold look, then turned and left. …Su Mianmian returned to Yushui Bay in her father's car. As she entered the house, Aunt Zhou was carrying a bowl of soup downstairs. Seeing Su Mianmian, her eyes lit up. "Madam, you're back."
Su Mianmian nodded, glancing at the bowl of soup Aunt Zhou was carrying. "Is Gu Yizhou only having dinner now?"
Aunt Zhou sighed. "No, he hasn't. He went straight to his study when he got home. Dinner was ready, but he didn't come down to eat. I thought it wouldn't be good for him to work on an empty stomach, so I made some soup and brought it to him. But look, Madam, he hasn't touched it at all."
Su Mianmian looked worried. "Why isn't he eating? Is he feeling unwell?" "No, not really." Aunt Zhou glanced at Su Mianmian. "Probably because Madam isn't home, he doesn't have much of an appetite."
Su Mianmian blushed. "Does he often skip meals when I'm not home?" Aunt Zhou nodded. "Of course. He takes his work so seriously, he often forgets to eat. Only when Madam is home does his eating become regular."
Su Mianmian remembered how Gu Yizhou used to personally cook every meal for her at Yuejing Tiancheng, as if afraid she wouldn't get enough nutrition if she missed a meal. At that time, Su Mianmian thought Gu Yizhou was a very health-conscious person.
Now it seemed he only cared about her health, but when it came to his own, he was so perfunctory. Thinking of this, Su Mianmian felt a pang of bitterness. She bit her lip and looked at Aunt Zhou, "Aunt Zhou, could you teach me how to make noodles?"
...Gu Yizhou was reviewing documents in his study when he heard a soft knock on the door. Thinking it was Aunt Zhou, he didn't look up and called out, "Come in." Two seconds later, the study door was slowly opened a crack.
Gu Yizhou looked over suspiciously. First, he saw a cat lazily squeezing in through the crack. Then, the door opened wider, and Su Mianmian carefully entered carrying a bowl of noodles.
Perhaps because the bowl was a little hot, Su Mianmian's slender fingers alternately pressed against the rim of the bowl, her fingertips turning slightly red from the heat. Gu Yizhou put down his pen and quickly stood up to take the bowl. "Why didn't you let Aunt Zhou bring it up? What if you burned your hand?"
Su Mianmian, her fingers free, quickly pinched her earlobe to cool it down. "It's so late, I told Aunt Zhou to rest first." Gu Yizhou placed the bowl on the table, then took Su Mianmian's hand, carefully examining her fingers several times before he was at ease.
"Don't do that next time. I'd be heartbroken if you burned your hand." Su Mianmian's ears flushed red as she pointed to the noodles on the table. "Aunt Zhou said you didn't eat dinner, and not eating dinner isn't good for your stomach. Have some noodles."
Gu Yizhou didn't really have much of an appetite, but since the young lady had brought it herself, he had to give her face. He pulled Su Mianmian to sit down at the table. "Let's eat together." "I've already eaten." Su Mianmian's dark eyes sparkled.
"There were lots of desserts at the event, and I ate a lot," Gu Yizhou said with a smile. "Looks like your first interpreting session went smoothly." Su Mianmian's eyes crinkled. "It was better than I expected, but I was still a little nervous at first."
Gu Yizhou pinched Su Mianmian's rosy cheek. "You did very well. Take it slow, don't put too much pressure on yourself." Su Mianmian hummed in agreement. "You should eat your noodles first, otherwise they'll get soggy and won't taste good."
Gu Yizhou picked up a mouthful of noodles, blew on it, and put it in his mouth. He chewed a bite, felt something was off, and frowned. He glanced at the little girl who was resting her chin on her hand, looking at him expectantly, and his eyes flickered. He swallowed with difficulty. "Mianmian, did you make these noodles?"
Su Mianmian blinked her big eyes, her long eyelashes like two rows of small fans. "Aunt Zhou was giving instructions. What's wrong? Is it not good?" Gu Yizhou raised an eyebrow, calmly taking a sip of water. "No, it tastes pretty good."
He hadn't expected that this girl, who never lifted a finger in the kitchen, would one day cook for him herself. He felt sweeter than if he'd eaten honey. "Really? Let me try some." Su Mianmian said, reaching for the chopsticks in Gu Yizhou's hand, but he dodged her.
"This bowl is too small. It's not even enough for me. You shouldn't eat any." Gu Yizhou said, then ate two more bites.
Su Mianmian belatedly sensed something was amiss. Given Gu Yizhou's usual doting on her, even if he was starving, he would never hesitate to give her food if she wanted it. Thinking of this, Su Mianmian suddenly realized something, puffing out her cheeks.
"Gu Yizhou, you're lying to me. Is it really that bad?" Gu Yizhou's expression stiffened slightly upon hearing this. "It's not that bad, it's just a little bit salty." "Salty? No way, I only put in a tiny bit of salt."
Su Mianmian didn't believe him, snatched the chopsticks from Gu Yizhou's hand, picked up a piece, and tasted it. Upon tasting it, her face instantly scrunched up, and she hurriedly grabbed some water. Good heavens, this wasn't just a little bit salty, it was absolutely suffocatingly salty!
It was unimaginable how Gu Yizhou had swallowed those few bites of noodles. Su Mianmian drank some water and recovered, then sheepishly moved the bowl away from Gu Yizhou. "It's too salty, don't eat it."
Gu Yizhou looked at Su Mianmian's adorable expression, his chest heaving, and he forced out two laughs. "My goodness, how can you be so lovable?" Hearing this, Su Mianmian felt even more ashamed, her head drooping, her little mouth muttering.
"I can't even make a decent bowl of noodles, how could I be likable?" Gu Yizhou pulled Su Mianmian onto his lap. "So what if you can't make noodles? Our Mianmian is kind, cute, can dance, and will be an excellent translator in the future. So, isn't it normal to be likable?"
Su Mianmian thought Gu Yizhou was really good at praising people. Every time he praised her, it made her feel like he really liked her. Su Mianmian's face involuntarily turned red again and again. "So you like me because of these things?"
Gu Yizhou kissed Su Mianmian's earlobe. "Not entirely." Su Mianmian trembled slightly from the heat of his breath, but in her heart, she wondered if she had other merits?
Then she heard Gu Yizhou whisper in her ear, "As long as it's Mianmian, I like her." As long as it was her, he liked her… Before she could recover from the inner turmoil, Gu Yizhou's kiss was already on her slender neck.
His lips moved lower, warm breaths mingling with his own, causing Su Mianmian's head to tilt back involuntarily. When Gu Yizhou's kiss reached her collarbone, he felt the girl tremble violently in his arms.
His mouth still holding a button from her shirt, he looked up and saw her cheeks flushed, her beautiful eyes slightly narrowed, her pearly white teeth gently biting her pink lower lip—a look of enjoyment mixed with desperate restraint.
His throat tightened, and Gu Yizhou's tongue moved, easily unbuttoning one button, then the second, the third… Su Mianmian felt a cool sensation on her chest, her fingers reflexively digging into Gu Yizhou's hair.
This only fueled the man's passion, his lips working even harder. Su Mianmian, inexperienced in such matters, quickly crumbled. She moaned softly, her small hands pushing him away. "Gu Yizhou…" Gu Yizhou was used to being stopped by the girl at crucial moments.
When he looked up, enduring the intense discomfort, his eyes still burned with burning desire. He pinched the girl's waist, his tone both fierce and seductive, "Sweetie, on your birthday, I'm going to collect everything you owe me these past few days."
Su Mianmian hadn't expected that after painstakingly making a bowl of noodles, only a few strands would end up in Gu Yizhou's stomach, while she herself would become his meal. Looking at Gu Yizhou, unsatisfied and calmly smoking on the balcony, Su Mianmian felt a little guilty.
She wondered if it was really necessary to wait until his birthday to be with him. ...The next morning, Su Mianmian rode in Gu Yizhou's car to the company.
Before getting out of the car, Gu Yizhou called her back, took her hand, and placed a delicate bracelet around her wrist. Su Mianmian was surprised to receive a gift, looking at it for a long time, her eyes sparkling. "Why did you suddenly give me a bracelet?"
Gu Yizhou smiled, "Mrs. Gu has been wronged; this is compensation." Wronged? Su Mianmian realized Gu Yizhou was referring to the rumors about him and Xue Jing from yesterday.
She was partly to blame, after all, it was she who asked Gu Yizhou to rescue Xue Jing, and it was she who asked him to hug Xue Jing. Su Mianmian felt guilty, "I'm not wronged. Besides, didn't you clarify things on the official website yesterday?"
Gu Yizhou pinched her cheek, "Then consider this my way of making Mrs. Gu happy. I hope this bracelet will bring Mrs. Gu a happy day." It has to be said, Gu Yizhou was incredibly good at it.
Su Mianmian was blushing from his teasing early in the morning, and a smile still lingered on her lips as she got out of the car. She didn't notice a pair of cold eyes silently sweeping over her from a Jeep Wrangler not far away.