Chapter 143: Most Women Are Soft-Hearted

Wen Zhixia was slightly angry.

Gu Pingsheng pursed his lips and pulled her into his arms, though he did not actually make any out-of-line movements. "Let's just say we're having an affair since you say so. Stop making a fuss with me. I'm genuinely feeling a bit unwell, so let me lean on you for a moment."

Whenever he gave her a cold face, she always managed to return an even colder one, and in the end, it was always him who had to swallow his pride and coax her. Gu Pingsheng had figured it out; there was no point in trying to outdo her in a contest of stubbornness.

Claiming that he had drunk too much and felt unwell, as he leaned against her, he still sipped from his small cup. Wen Zhixia couldn't tell whether he was faking it or deliberately making himself suffer.

Pestered to the point of losing her temper, and seeing that he no longer made any inappropriate moves, she simply let him be.

Besides, everyone else was caught up in the high spirits of the party, and no one would pay attention to what was happening in this corner.

By the time the group had played to their hearts' content, the clock slowly ticked past midnight.

Wen Zhixia yawned twice in the span of ten minutes, her eyelids already beginning to droop heavily.

Gu Pingsheng raised his wrist to check the time. As she sat there in a daze, he beckoned Zhou Anbei over, whispered a few instructions, and handed him a bank card.

Zhou Anbei nodded. "Have a safe trip back, President Gu."

Gu Pingsheng gave a slight nod and rested one of Wen Zhixia's arms—she was currently dozing against the back of the sofa—over his shoulder. Wen Zhixia's sleepiness instantly vanished quite a bit. "Is it over?"

"Not yet. Anbei will take care of the rest. Let's go back first," he said.

Wen Zhixia let out another dainty, tiny yawn and picked up her bag. "I can walk by myself."

With that, she actually started walking toward the exit on her own.

Gu Pingsheng paused for a fraction of a second before following right behind her.

After the two of them got into the car, Wen Zhixia told the driver to take her back to Jingyuan Garden. Gu Pingsheng acted as if he hadn't heard a thing; how could he possibly send his own wife to another man's home, even if that man wasn't currently there?

Just as Wen Zhixia was about to speak again, her phone rang. It was a landline number from Lanhu County.

After a brief hesitation, she answered. From the other end came a little one's milky, sleepy voice: "Mommy, when are you coming back?"

Wen Zhixia said, "I..."

She had no intention of going back.

However, Gu Guanyou said, "Book, Mommy promised to read to Dumpling."

When Wen Zhixia was leaving, Gu Guanyou had said he wanted her to tell him a story. Before she could reply, Gu Pingsheng had already answered for her: *Mommy will come back tonight and tell you a story.*

Clearly, the child had kept that promise in his heart.

Yet, considering the hour, why wasn't he asleep yet?

Just as she was filled with doubt, a cool voice came from beside her: "Guanyou usually goes to bed by ten at the latest."

Wen Zhixia turned her head sideways.

"He is waiting for you to come back," Gu Pingsheng continued.

While Wen Zhixia remained silent, the anxious voice of Aunt Zhao came through the other end of the phone: "Young Master, it's very late. Let's put the book down. Madam will be back very soon. Why don't you go to bed and rest first?"

Aunt Zhao reached out, trying to take the book from his arms, but the little fellow held on tightly, his tiny hands gripping it fiercely. "No."

Aunt Wang shook her head at Aunt Zhao, took the ongoing call from the table where Gu Guanyou had left it, and said, "When will Madam arrive home? The Young Master stubbornly refuses to sleep tonight; he insists on waiting for you to come back and finish the story before he goes to sleep. His eyes are red from staying up."

Wen Zhixia frowned slightly, because she had never planned on returning.

"If you don't go back today, Guanyou will most likely stay by the door and wait for you all night. His condition hasn't shown any significant progress lately. Can you bear to let him fall even sicker?"

Under this multi-pronged persuasion, the driver had already steered the car into Lanhu County.

Hearing the sound of the car stopping, the little fellow in the living room twitched his ears, clutched his book, and ran out in his slippers.

Aunt Wang hurriedly chased after him with his jacket. "Put on your clothes, Young Master, it's cold outside."

As soon as Wen Zhixia stepped out of the car, she saw a fair, tender little dumpling running toward her. Although the path was illuminated by lights, he didn't even look where he was going, running clumsily and stumbling along. It made Wen Zhixia's heart leap into her throat, terrified that he would trip and fall at any second. As he lunged forward, she quickly reached out and caught him in her arms.

The little fellow still carried the warmth from indoors, pressing his soft, chubby face against hers as his milky voice sounded somewhat aggrieved: "Mommy."

Wen Zhixia could never explain why her heart always melted into a puddle of softness whenever she saw him. "Why did you come out without a coat? If you catch a cold, getting an injection hurts a lot."

The little fellow burrowed deeper into her embrace. The greenery in Lanhu County was lush, carrying the vast, empty chill of a winter night.

Wen Zhixia stood up, took the coat from Aunt Wang's hands, draped it over the little fellow's shoulders, and the two of them walked inside hand in hand.

Gu Pingsheng followed behind, one hand tucked into his pocket, watching the large and small figures walking ahead. The corners of his thin lips unconsciously curled into a faint, gentle smile.

Inside the room, Wen Zhixia had already removed her coat. Tucked under the duvet was a fair, tender, soft, and sweet little dumpling, opening his wide, innocent eyes to hand her a fairy tale book, his entire face written with expectation.

Wen Zhixia was amused by his soft, adorable appearance. "How can you sleep lying on your tummy? Lie down properly and close your eyes to listen."

The little fellow was utterly obedient and immediately shut his eyes. As she turned the pages of the book, his little ears twitched.

"One day, Little Hippo caught a bad cold and couldn't stop sneezing. So he went to the hospital to see the doctor, and Dr. Bear gave him a big bag of medicine and a large face mask..."

Wen Zhixia's voice became low and gentle, allowing little Guanyou to drift peacefully into sleep within the sound of her voice.

"Mommy, will you be here tomorrow too?" halfway through the story, the little fellow suddenly opened his eyes and asked.

Wen Zhixia paused. She had no way to answer this question, while little Guanyou was still waiting with eager eyes: "The other children get to see their mommy every day."

For no reason, Wen Zhixia felt a stinging sensation in the bridge of her nose.

A child of this age indeed needed the companionship of his parents, but she... was not his mother.

"When listening to a bedtime story, you can't open your eyes. Be a good boy, Dumpling, close your eyes." She chose to dodge the question.

Gu Guanyou was young after all, and upon hearing her words, he forgot the answer he had just wanted.

Once the little fellow fell asleep, Wen Zhixia put the book aside and prepared to get up to turn off the bedside lamp, only to find that the hem of her shirt was tightly gripped in Gu Guanyou's small fist.

She stepped out of the children's room, carefully closed the door behind her, and suddenly, a pair of large palms reached out from behind, wrapping around her slender waist.

Startled, Wen Zhixia was about to gasp when Gu Pingsheng covered her mouth.

"Did I scare you?"

Wen Zhixia struck him with her fist, pried his hands away from her waist, shot him a glare, and walked toward the guest bedroom.

Gu Pingsheng chuckled softly and followed behind. "I came to tell you that the bathwater is already drawn. I wanted to call you to take a bath and have a good sleep, and I didn't expect to frighten you."

Wen Zhixia ignored him and didn't ask which room he had drawn the bath in.

Gu Pingsheng pinned her in place. "The guest rooms haven't been tidied up yet. Are you really going to sleep there?"

Wen Zhixia paused her steps, pressing her fingertips to the bridge of her brows. "Gu Pingsheng, I am very tired today."

Gu Pingsheng froze for a second, then abruptly picked her up horizontally and strode toward the master bedroom.

Wen Zhixia grew somewhat irritated. Hadn't she just told him she was exhausted?! Didn't he hear her?!

"I said I want to rest, put me down! Put me down! Gu Pingsheng, are you out of your mind? I told you to put me down!" Enraged, she kicked and punched him, her nails leaving a bloody scratch on his neck.

As if he had merely been scratched by a cat, Gu Pingsheng kicked open the door to the master bedroom, placed her onto the bed, and pinned her down as she tried to get up, gazing down at the furious woman with calm eyes. "The master bedroom is for you to sleep in; I'll sleep in the guest room. The bathwater is ready; take a bath before you sleep."

With that, he released his grip, touched his scratched neck with his fingertip, and without saying another word, turned and left.

Wen Zhixia watched the man leave just like that, momentarily unable to react. He... just left like that?

Pushing open the bathroom door, she found that the water had indeed been drawn, infused with sleep-inducing essential oils.

Having tossed and turned until now, Wen Zhixia was genuinely fatigued. After soaking for a while, she lay down on the bed and fell fast asleep.

She hadn't driven her car back yesterday, so the next morning, Gu Pingsheng drove her to work.

Before they even got close to *Yihe Zhixia*, Wen Zhixia told him to pull over.

Gu Pingsheng looked at the distance, which was at least a few hundred meters away. "We haven't arrived yet."

Of course Wen Zhixia knew they hadn't arrived, but after leaving together yesterday and being dropped off right outside her company's building today by him, she shuddered to think what gossip would spread if anyone saw them. "I'll walk the rest of the way."

"Reason?"

Wen Zhixia felt he was asking the obvious. "It doesn't look good."

Gu Pingsheng let out a scoff, and just when she thought he wouldn't stop, he actually stepped on the brake.

Ever since last night, he had been acting somewhat strange—almost too easy to talk to.

When she said she wanted to rest, he gave up the master bedroom, went to sleep in the guest room, and hadn't disturbed her for the entire night.

Now that she wanted to avoid suspicion, he didn't insist on dropping her off right at the front door to assert his presence.

As she got out of the car, Wen Zhixia still felt a lingering trace of suspicion, wondering why he had suddenly changed his tune.

"Director Wen, Ms. Wu sent over the second revision of the commercial yesterday, saying she is very satisfied and has already transferred the final payment." Assistant Xiao Chen hurried forward to report the moment she arrived.

Wen Zhixia nodded.

"Also... Guia Group has also transferred the funds for the reshot commercial from last time." Assistant Xiao Chen continued her report.

Wen Zhixia, who had just seated herself at her desk, froze for a second and looked up skeptically. "Wasn't the reshoot supposed to be free of charge?"

Why would money be transferred over?

Assistant Xiao Chen explained, "As for that, I called Secretary Zhou to verify. He said it was President Gu's arrangement. Perhaps... they were very satisfied with this commercial?"

Whether they were satisfied or not, Wen Zhixia didn't know, but Gu Pingsheng's actions were undeniably bizarre.

"Since they've transferred it, let it be. Go ahead with your work for now."

Wen Zhixia's phone rang; it was a call from Xu Qichen. She waved for the assistant to step out first and then answered the call.

Xu Qichen's voice carried a hint of fatigue. Wen Zhixia asked, "Is things not going smoothly over there?"

"It's still in progress and should take another two or three days. The housekeeper mentioned... you haven't been back to Jingyuan Garden these past two days. Were you away on a business trip?" he asked with concern.

His words caused Wen Zhixia to fall silent for two or three seconds before she softly replied, "Mm."

She had lied, because she couldn't bring herself to say that she had spent the last two nights sleeping in Lanhu County.

Xu Qichen said, "...The company has just started, you don't have to push yourself so hard. If anything comes up, you can talk to me. Don't push yourself too much. If location shoots can be handed over to the people below, don't go out yourself. Don't force yourself, you understand?"

Faced with his concern, Wen Zhixia's posture stiffened slightly.

"Too tired? Why aren't you saying anything?" Xu Qichen asked with a chuckle.

Wen Zhixia pursed her lips. "No, it's probably because I went to bed a bit late yesterday. Let's not talk about me; did something happen on the Xu family's side?"

"...Nothing major. It's just that I've been living abroad for many years and have no children of my own, so some people have started entertaining thoughts they shouldn't have. It's been too long, and they need a bit of a reminder to keep them from stirring up major chaos in the future..."

A century-old family was deeply rooted with intertwined and flourishing branches. Xu Qichen had been in poor health since childhood, and had he not possessed formidable methods, he would have been swallowed whole long ago. Yet even in his position, there was no shortage of people harboring crooked intentions. The proud and haughty descendants of the Xu family naturally had those who were unwilling to submit to others, reluctant to take orders from a sickly man.

It was just that these people had probably forgotten how Xu Qichen had dealt with dissenting voices in the past, terrifying them into keeping their ambitions in check for years.

The mention of children caused Wen Zhixia's breathing to hitch. A prominent family like the Xu family enjoyed prestige and status, but naturally shouldered heavy responsibilities alongside them. The saying "of the three unfilial acts, having no descendants is the worst" held true even for ordinary families, let alone the Xu clan.

If there was no heir, the question of who would inherit the mantle of family head would inevitably trigger massive turmoil.

"I..." *What was she going to say?*

Wen Zhixia frowned. Her lips parted, but she had no idea what to say next.

Xu Qichen prompted, "Hmm?"

Wen Zhixia replied, "It's nothing. Take good care of yourself when you're busy."

In the end, Wen Zhixia never brought up the topic of children.

After hanging up the phone, Xu Qichen sat in the mahogany armchair of the old residence, his fingers tapping lightly on the desktop as he let out a silent sigh.

Jin Mao handed him a cup of hot tea and tentatively asked, "Madam... did she not take up the matter of children?"

Xu Qichen raised his hand, gracefully using the lid to brush aside the tea leaves floating on the surface. "No."

"What is Madam thinking? Does she not want children, or... does she have some other plan in mind?" That plan clearly pointed toward someone, such as... Gu Pingsheng.

"Sir, please don't blame me for speaking out of turn, but Gu Pingsheng never plays by the rules, and he has so many years of entanglement with Madam. Most women are soft-hearted; even though Madam currently seems to have her heart set on you, there's no guarantee that she won't be swayed after Gu Pingsheng pesters her a few more times..."

"Jin Mao." Xu Qichen lowered the teacup, his gaze turning heavy.

Jin Mao shuddered and immediately clamped his mouth shut. "It was my place to overstep."

"She is my wife. I don't want to hear such talk again." He disliked people gossiping behind her back, even if it came from his most trusted confidant.

"Please forgive me, sir. I'm only afraid that everything you've done will end up like fetching water with a bamboo basket—all for nothing," Jin Mao said in a low voice.

Two days later.

Wu Wenjing's jewelry store held a grand anniversary celebration, inviting Wen Zhixia and numerous socialites to attend.

Wen Zhixia found it rather strange to run into Gu Pingsheng on an occasion like this. Although the jewelry store was by no means small, it was clearly an upscale boutique opened by a wealthy matron as a pastime. Given Gu Pingsheng's current status and prestige, there was practically no possibility of him attending such an event.

Yet he had appeared. Not only him, but Wen Zhixia also saw Zhang Zhiyan entertaining guests here, while Zhang Zhanrong was also present at the scene. The father and son mingled and laughed with the arriving guests just like the hosts of the party.

Everything about this seemed somewhat bizarre. While she was lost in speculation and doubt, Gu Pingsheng had already walked up to her. "Why are you here?"

That was the very question Wen Zhixia wanted to ask him. "I received an invitation."

As her words fell—whether it was an illusion on her part or not—she thought she caught a flash of complexity and inscrutability in Gu Pingsheng's eyes. "You know that woman Wu Wenjing?"

Wen Zhixia nodded. "She is my..."

"Respected guests, welcome and thank you for making time in your busy schedules to join us..." On the stage, Wu Wenjing held a microphone to deliver her opening remarks, concluding with a smile toward Zhang Zhiyan and Zhang Zhanrong in the audience, expressing her gratitude to her family.

When Wu Wenjing spoke her son's and husband's names, Wen Zhixia failed to process it for a fraction of a second.

Wu Wenjing was the very mistress Gu Pingsheng had mentioned, the one who destroyed his family and drove his mother to her death?

Stunned, she looked toward Gu Pingsheng. Yet at that exact moment, Wu Wenjing even mentioned her name, announcing that the commercial to be screened today was crafted by Wen Zhixia herself. Taking the opportunity, she also gave a round of publicity to Wen Zhixia's advertising firm, making it appear to anyone that the two women shared a rather pleasant and amicable relationship.

However, Wen Zhixia couldn't bring herself to feel happy at all.

Was Wu Wenjing seeking her out for collaboration a coincidence born of ignorance? Or... was there some other motive behind it?

Gu Pingsheng's expression was grim. The only reason he had appeared here today to face people who disgusted him was because he had received a message from Wu Wenjing claiming she had found his mother's belongings while tidying up and telling him to come collect them himself, complete with a photograph.

Yet he had never anticipated running into Wen Zhixia here.

Much less had he expected Wen Zhixia to be entangled with this woman.

"Wu Wenjing is a vicious-hearted woman. You'd better stay away from her in the future," Gu Pingsheng looked at Wen Zhixia and said in a deep voice.

Before Wen Zhixia could nod, several large screens at the venue suddenly began playing a commercial simultaneously. The commercial was roughly two minutes long; everything seemed normal at first, but midway through, the content of the video was abruptly switched.

Switched into evidence of Gu Pingsheng's bribery.