Chapter 82 Part 1

Chi Nuan blew dry her hair and turned off the living room lights. After lightly knocking on her own bedroom door a few times, she pushed it open. The sight that greeted her was Gu Ningzi sitting on the bed reading Grimm’s Fairy Tales.

Just like before.

Chi Nuan spaced out for a moment before walking in. She closed the window most of the way, leaving a small gap for ventilation.

“Shall I read you a story?” She stopped by the bedside and pulled over the chair from the desk to sit down.

Gu Ningzi handed her the Grimm’s Fairy Tales book.

They had already finished the entire collection of fairy tales. Gu Ningzi had been looking at Sleeping Beauty just now, so Chi Nuan asked, “Shall I read Sleeping Beauty?”

Gu Ningzi took off her glasses and placed them neatly on the bedside table. She picked up her eye mask, put it on, lay down on the bed, and then hummed nasally in response: “Mm.”

The evening breeze blew in through the window crack, making the curtains sway slightly. Under the soft lighting, Chi Nuan read softly: “…The prince arrived at the tower. He climbed the stairs, opened the little door, and at once saw the princess lying on a bed inside.”

A faint rustling sound came from the bed—Gu Ningzi had turned over, facing the edge of the bed.

Chi Nuan continued reading: “She was still as beautiful and enchanting as ever. The prince gazed at her without blinking…”

As Chi Nuan read, she couldn’t help glancing at Gu Ningzi. The black eye mask made her skin look as smooth as congealed cream. Chi Nuan barely restrained the urge to touch her.

“…He walked forward uncontrollably…”

Chi Nuan paused. The usually quiet Gu Ningzi suddenly reached out, following the direction of the voice, and placed her finger on Chi Nuan’s forehead.

Her fingertip slid slowly down along the bridge of her nose.

Chi Nuan’s heart raced. She forced herself to stare at the words on the page, steadying her mind as she read: “…walked forward, and gently kissed her…”

Gu Ningzi’s finger traced over her philtrum and landed on Chi Nuan’s soft Cupid’s bow.

The fingertip was slightly cool against the warm lips, touching inch by inch, patiently outlining their shape.

Chi Nuan couldn’t read anymore. She held her breath, all her senses focused on her lips… What… what was Gu Ningzi doing?

Gu Ningzi: “…Breathe.”

Huh?

Gu Ningzi withdrew her hand and repeated: “Breathe.”

Chi Nuan snapped back to reality, took a deep breath, turned away, and coughed. Her cheeks flushed bright red.

Amid the coughing, Gu Ningzi said: “Principal and interest.”

That night, sleeping in Little Wutong’s room, Chi Nuan kept wondering what Gu Ningzi meant by “principal and interest.” In a half-dreaming, half-awake state, realization suddenly hit her, and she bolted upright in bed.

…That night at He Nan Shan, after reading the legal clauses, she had secretly touched Gu Ningzi’s lips… So Gu Ningzi hadn’t been asleep at all???

“…”

The next morning when they met, Gu Ningzi acted perfectly natural, but Chi Nuan felt that unlike Xu Dan’s misunderstanding, she and Gu Ningzi had fallen into some ambiguous, unclear atmosphere.

He Zhen had rushed through the night and delivered the proposal the moment Gu Ningzi arrived at the company.

Secretary Yang sneaked bites of her bun. Her heel slipped, and her chair rolled over to Chi Nuan’s side. “Assistant Chi, have you had breakfast? I have a bun here—my mom made it herself. It’s a hundred times better than the ones you buy outside!”

Chi Nuan smiled. “I’ve eaten already. You have more.”

“This bun isn’t big; one won’t fill you up. Just try it.” Secretary Yang held up the bun with a crescent-shaped bite, trying to persuade Chi Nuan, when she suddenly choked and lowered her head. She hurriedly covered the bun and wheeled her chair away.

Chi Nuan: “…”

Chi Nuan looked up. Through the geometrically patterned glass wall of Gu Ningzi’s office, with the blinds open, she could see He Zhen and the Yun Chu Project Lead presenting the proposal to Gu Ningzi.

Secretary Yang gulped down the bun in two bites. “That scared me to death. President Gu suddenly looked over just now…”

Chi Nuan smiled and pulled up Gu Ningzi’s schedule for the day.

After finishing her report, He Zhen stopped at Secretary Yang’s desk and tapped it with her knuckles. “BOSS wants you in there.”

Secretary Yang said uneasily, “President Gu isn’t going to specially call me in just to scold me for eating a bun during work hours, is she?”

He Zhen looked at her speechlessly. “Secretary Yang, what are you thinking? Is BOSS that petty?”

“…” Secretary Yang went to see Gu Ningzi with a bitter face.

Chi Nuan peered through the glass wall. Gu Ningzi said something to Secretary Yang, then her gaze shifted and noticed Chi Nuan.

Gu Ningzi picked up the remote and closed the blinds.

Chi Nuan: “…”

Secretary Yang stayed inside for over ten minutes. When she came out, her face was full of confusion.

He Zhen asked her, “How’d it go? Did BOSS chew you out?”

“No…” Secretary Yang was baffled. “But she told me to keep today’s conversation confidential…”

He Zhen had only asked casually, but this piqued her curiosity. She exchanged a glance with Chi Nuan, who smiled and dialed the restaurant’s ordering number—Gu Ningzi had a dinner scheduled with people from the bank.

In the afternoon, Chi Nuan accompanied Gu Ningzi to the logistics company whose equity Siqin urgently needed to sell. A small negotiation meeting was supposed to be held there, but Gu Ningzi didn’t hit it off with Siqin’s executives, so they ended the trip early.

This freed up more than two hours. Chi Nuan asked Gu Ningzi, “Back to the company? Or other plans?”