At ten o'clock in the evening, Xu Nanyin finished her bath and skincare routine, planning to go to bed. Before retiring for the night, she habitually grabbed her phone to check WeChat to see if there were any work-related messages.
Xu Lei: [Shi Yu is drunk, can you come to Ya Yuan and pick him up?]
Ya Yuan is a high-end club in Jiangcheng. Xu Nanyin has been there a few times before, but she always felt uncomfortable being the only woman among a group of men.
To her surprise, Shi Yu didn't come to find her as soon as he returned from his business trip. Instead, he went to Ya Yuan to drink.
This left Xu Nanyin feeling somewhat upset and uncomfortable, but regardless, as Shi Yu's girlfriend and assistant, she still got out of bed, quickly put on her clothes, took her car keys and headed out.
This wasn't her first time at Ya Yuan. She had left her phone number with them and was familiar with the staff.
Guided by the room number Xu Lei provided, Xu Nanyin ascended to the sixth floor and quickly found their private room.
Just as she pushed the door open a crack, voices from inside reached her ears.
[Shi Yu, are you really sure about getting a marriage certificate with Xu Nanyin?]
Xu Nanyin's hand, pushing the door open, froze in place.
[I don't know.]
The familiar sound of exhaustion filtered into her ears. Xu Nanyin tightened her lips, a sense of disappointment welling up within her. After all, she and Shi Yu had been together for five years. At the request of her mother, they had planned to get their marriage certificate on the day of her twenty-fifth birthday.
On that day, however, Shi Yu suddenly announced he had to go on a business trip. She didn't mind his cancellation, understanding his work obligations. They could set another date upon his return.
But now, she got the feeling that Shi Yu did not want to marry her after all.
"I can tell that you like Gu Ran. Miss Gu also has feelings for you. It's not everyone who gets the opportunity to become the son-in-law of the Rongsheng group. You must seize it!"
Xu Nanyin's heart trembled, Chen Shiyu liked Gu Ran?
"I've been with Yinyin for five years, I can't let her down."
"You bought Xu Nanyin a house worth more than two million. If she doesn't end up with you, would she ever be able to afford a house in Jiangcheng in her life? She's treating you like an ATM! If it wasn't for the Rongsheng Group's investment of fifty million in our company back then, would we have achieved what we have today? Have you ever thought about the consequences of sleeping with the chairman of Rongsheng's daughter and not taking responsibility? Don't forget, Rongsheng currently holds thirty percent of our shares!"
Xu Nanyin's fingernails dug into her palm as she stared in disbelief at the door of the private room. What was Xu Lei talking about? Chen Shiyu and Gu Ran slept together?
How could they have slept together? Chen Shiyu had clearly told her that Gu Ran was just a spokesperson, there was nothing between them!
"Nanyin, why are you standing here? Why don't you go in?"
A voice suddenly came from behind, causing Xu Nanyin to tremble slightly. She turned around and saw Li Yun standing behind her. He shared a dorm room with Chen Shiyu and Xu Lei and was also a shareholder of the Yunfan Group.
Apart from Xu Lei, all of Chen Shiyu's roommates got along well with Xu Nanyin.
Seeing that Xu Nanyin didn't respond, Li Yun didn't notice anything unusual, so he opened the door and cheerfully announced, "Shiyu, Nanyin is here to pick you up."
As they heard this, the expressions on the faces of the men inside the room varied. Xu Lei sneered at the woman behind Li Yun. Xu Nanyin did not immediately walk in, she composed herself for about a minute, then she took a deep breath and bypassed Li Yun to walk inside.
Standing in front of Chen Shiyu, she calmly asked, "Did you sleep with Gu Ran?"
Chen Shiyu was already flustered. When he heard the challenge, he quickly put down the glass of liquor he was holding, stood up, and grabbed her hand, "Leizi is talking nonsense, don't listen to him!"
Xu Lei scoffed, "Shiyu, since she already heard it, why not take this opportunity to explain? Xu Nanyin is nowhere near your league right now!"
"Shut up!"
Chen Shiyu was about to say something when Xu Nanyin pulled her hand from his grip, saying, "We're breaking up."
After dropping those words, she turned to walk away. Without thinking, Chen Shiyu chased after her, grabbing her arm from behind. "Nanyin, let me explain. That night, I was just drunk…"
"Lost your senses under alcohol?"
Xu Nanyin still held on to a thread of hope, hoping he would deny it.
But Chen Shiyu's lips moved as he softly spoke, "Just once, can't you forgive me? If you can forgive me, we can get our marriage certificate tomorrow."
Even in infidelity, the man's arrogance remained undiminished, making her feel foolish for her five years with him.
Xu Nanyin's grip tightened around her bag, and unable to suppress her anger, she mustered all her strength and threw her bag at his face, "Go to hell! You jerk! We're done!"
The strength in her voice reached the ears of two people who had just stepped out of the elevator.
Stopping in their tracks, they watched the scene with intrigued gazes.
Both were tall, over one eighty, with good physique, handsome faces, and a natural aristocratic aura around them. They were quite a sight to behold in the corridor.
Realising they had an audience, Chen Shiyu was flustered. His patience dwindling, he blurted out to Xu Nanyin, whose disregard of propriety irked him, "Xu Nanyin, stop throwing 'break-up' around constantly. Which man doesn't make mistakes? You're already twenty-five. If you break up with me, can you find someone better?"
"Chen Shiyu, so you're loaded now, huh? I couldn't care less. What's wrong with me being twenty-five? Even if I'll be single for life, I won't take back trash like you who can't keep it in your pants. I'm saying this one last time, we're breaking up today. Don't ever let me see you again."
"Fine! Just remember, you're the one who said this, don't regret it!"
Chen Shiyu didn't try to hold on anymore. Turning on his heel, he harshly closed the door behind him as he retreated back into the private room.
Tears started falling from Xu Nanyin's eyes. She wiped her face and headed to the elevator without ever noticing the two figures standing by the other elevator.
