The press conference attracted many business tycoons. Gu Chao kept one hand in his pocket while holding a wine glass in the other, chatting with each business elite who came to inquire about the new product.
Song Weiwei walked over to the waiter, took a glass of champagne, and stood at a distance. Only when the crowd around the man gradually thinned did she slowly approach.
"President, these, these, and these—should I compile a summary plan?" An Ruo brought over the backend calculation data and presented it to the man.
Gu Chao glanced at it indifferently. "Take these to President Shen."
"Huh?" An Ruo was taken aback. "Isn't it inappropriate to show these directly to President Shen?"
This was their company's internal confidential data. Shouldn't sales figures be immediately summarized and handed over to the finance department?
"He's our company's biggest client. This quarter's new product is personally reviewed by him. You can safely hand it over to him."
He was the幕后 big boss of the entire Lan Zhen Group. Who else could make the call on these sales figures if not him?
An Ruo nodded. "Alright, I'll take them to him now."
As they walked along, a slender figure suddenly appeared from the opposite direction, crashing into Gu Chao without warning.
A full glass of champagne spilled all over the man's chest, instantly soaking his shirt.
"Ah, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..." Song Weiwei pulled out tissues and frantically wiped at him.
Gu Chao, with his gentle temperament, immediately stepped back to keep his distance. "No need, I'll handle it myself."
He pulled a handkerchief from his chest pocket and casually dabbed at it a few times.
"Miss Song?" An Ruo recognized her and greeted with a smile. "You haven't left yet?"
Hearing the words "Miss Song," Gu Chao's alarm bells rang. He abruptly looked up and saw the woman wearing an elegant, composed smile. "A few fans want interviews, so I can't leave."
She shifted her gaze to the man's face, which perfectly overlapped with the one from his youth, and stood there stunned, unable to speak.
Gu Chao also found her strangely familiar, but this face was clearly someone else's—it just felt a lot like Mu Yan.
"Miss Song, I still have some matters to attend to. I'll talk to you later."
An Ruo watched the two of them staring blankly at each other, called out twice with no response, awkwardly licked her lips, and walked away with the documents in her arms.
After she left, nearly ten or twenty minutes passed before the two snapped out of it.
"Sorry, I was in a hurry earlier and didn't see you..." Song Weiwei clutched the tissues tightly. "How about I help you wipe it again?"
With that, she moved to lunge forward and wipe the man's chest.
Little Six had a cinnabar mole on his left chest. When they were kids, he once jumped into the water shirtless to save her, and she accidentally discovered it.
"No need." Gu Chao took a step back to avoid her, raising a hand to stop her approach. "I'll go change my clothes."
"Little..." Song Weiwei almost blurted it out but corrected herself in time. "President Gu, there should be clothes in the backstage dressing room. Go change into something else."
The man's dark eyes glanced at her without a ripple, and he gave a slight nod.
"I'll take you there."
"Mm."
...
Song Weiwei pushed open the dressing room door. The hotel's makeup room was spacious, designed to accommodate guests' needs for situations like this during the ball.
"President Gu, please."
She explained, "There should be men's shirts in the fitting room over there. Go change in there, and I'll wait outside."
The man responded faintly, "Mm."
Watching her leave the room, Gu Chao finally stepped into the fitting room.
Inside, there was a full selection of men's clothing. Though not up to world-class brand standards, the quality was excellent—perfect for handling minor wardrobe mishaps at the venue, since the shirt would be hidden underneath anyway.
The door slowly creaked open. Song Weiwei lifted her skirt and tiptoed in, quickly tapping open her camera lens as she stealthily crept into the men's fitting room.
There was a screen in the fitting room. Through it, she saw the man taking off his clothes—tall and straight, lean yet with a solid, muscular build when bare.
Song Weiwei had no time to admire his physique. She crouched down, carefully extending her phone past the screen. The angle wasn't great; the man was too tall, making it hard to capture his chest clearly.
Forget it, she'd zoom in later!
She quickly pressed the shutter. A "click" sounded, followed by a flash of light!
Damn it!
How could she forget to turn off the flash!?
Panic struck the woman instantly. Terrified, she clutched her phone and tried to flee.
Before she could stand up, a pair of long legs stood before her. She froze, slowly lifting her head to follow those legs up to their owner...
Gu Chao's expression was cold. "What are you doing?"
Wasn't it obvious what she was doing?
Trying to sneak a photo of you, but unluckily forgot to turn off the flash, and now you've caught me red-handed.
So embarrassing!
Gu Chao crouched down and extended his hand. "Give me the phone."
Song Weiwei bit her lip and reluctantly handed it over. The man's long fingers tapped open the photo album and deleted the most recent picture of himself.
Song Weiwei stood up, her gaze fixed on the red cinnabar mole on his left chest. In her mind, she recalled that summer when she was being mischievous and fell into the lake. On the verge of despair, the boy plunged into the water with a splash and effortlessly pulled her out.
She had choked on water, and when she groggily woke up, she saw the cinnabar mole on the boy's chest.
Song Weiwei's gaze burned. Memories surged like a flood breaking through a dam. Without thinking, she raised her hand to touch the mole on his chest.
Gu Chao watched her instinctive movement, furrowing his dark brows slightly. He coldly intercepted her reaching hand and handed the phone back to her.
Mercilessly, he said, "Get out."
Song Weiwei's breath caught. She slowly came to her senses. "Ah... sorry, I just wanted to see if there's anything I can help you with."
"..."
"I mean, with so many shirts, you must be overwhelmed. Let me pick one that fits you." Song Weiwei didn't look at him again. She walked straight to the rack and started choosing for him. "This one looks good. Try it."
Gu Chao was cold by nature. If the person weren't Mu Yan, he would keep a polite distance and never offer a shred of tenderness.
He grabbed a random shirt and was about to change when Song Weiwei rushed over. But because her dress was too long, in her haste, her high heel caught the hem, and she toppled toward the man—
Gu Chao instinctively wanted to dodge, but the rack was behind him. This woman made her living with her face—if she crashed into it, wouldn't she be disfigured?
In that brief hesitation, the woman collided with him, and they both fell heavily onto the rack, sending it clattering to the floor.
His back hit the ground, and the sharp edges of the rack scraped his skin, stinging with pain.
Song Weiwei landed steadily in his arms, her face pressed against his strong chest, listening to the powerful heartbeat. Her own heart inexplicably began to race in sync.
Her Little Six always caught her steadily the moment she fell.
Gu Chao clenched his jaw, gently pushing her away by the shoulders. He stood up, righted the fallen rack, and his dark eyes deepened with a shadowed intensity. In a low voice, he said, "Miss Song, we're only business partners. Please don't resort to petty tricks behind my back. It makes me question your character and consider whether to terminate our cooperation."
Song Weiwei's eyes reddened slightly. She lifted her gaze and stared deeply at him.
He was Little Six, but... he didn't recognize her now.
In the past, Little Six would never have spoken to her so harshly. He had always protected her with his life, saving her from danger more than once.