A BITTER LIFE

PART 51

"Yes, it seems he has a plan. What about you, what do you plan to do?" Jiyang asked. "I was thinking of locking him in the basement, but Yibo’s plan came first," Gu Wei replied. He looked at Lay. "As for the engagement party I mentioned, let’s skip that and go straight to the wedding," he said with a smile. Haoxuan and Lay exchanged glances. "Alright, if that’s what you want," Lay said, kissing Gu Wei on the forehead.

On the other, when Jiyang arrived at Liying’s house, he sat her down immediately, noticing her anxious expression. "What happened?" Jiyang asked, feigning concern. "I know you’ve already helped me a lot, but friend, I really need your help," Liying said, a hidden smile playing on Jiyang's lips.

"What kind of help?" Liying took a deep breath before speaking. "Can I borrow some money from you?" she asked hesitantly. Jiyang suddenly looked sad. "How much do you need?" Jiyang asked. "10 million. I’m completely out of money right now. I can’t approach my husband because I don’t want him to ask where I’ll use the money," she said, and Jiyang stood up, turning away from her.

"Don’t lend her the money just yet, not until she offers something in return, like shares in her company, for example," Jiyang smiled as he heard Gu Wei’s instructions over the AirPods. Jiyang turned back to Liying, looking sorrowful as he took her hand.

"Friend, I don’t think I can lend you money this time. My husband might not allow me to withdraw that much money without seeing where it’s going," he said sadly. Liying frowned, but then her face brightened with an idea.

Liying: "I know! I’ll sell you another 10% of my company’s shares, so you’ll have 30% of the company, and after all, you’re the CEO now." 

"So, we’ll both have 30% of your company’s shares?" Jiyang confirmed. Liying nodded. "Why don’t you sell me 15% instead? I’ll return it to you once you have the money to buy it back," Jiyang suggested, following Gu Wei’s instructions. "Alright, alright. Thank you so much, friend. If it weren’t for you and your husband, I wouldn’t know what to do or who to turn to," Liying said, hugging Jiyang.

"Who else will help us but our friends," Jiyang said. "You're about to crawl out of your own company," thought Jiyang.

...

By the afternoon, Gu Wei started preparing before Yibo arrived. A few minutes later, Gu Wei heard Yibo’s car horn. Before Eros could step out of the car, Gu Wei and Lay were already outside. Eros recognized Lay because Gu Wei was holding his hand. Even though Eros tried to look at Lay, he couldn’t recognize him unless Lay spoke.

"Don’t bother getting out," Gu Wei said, hugging Lay. Yibo looked away. "I’ll be back soon," Gu Wei said, kissing Lay on the cheek. Eros gripped the steering wheel tightly, honking the horn, which made them look his way. "We’re leaving," Gu Wei said as he walked to the other side of the car.

"Take care, Yibo. Make sure you take care of him," Lay said, but Yibo ignored him, immediately rolling up the window as soon as Gu Wei got in and fastened his seatbelt. Eros quickly drove off, leaving Lay shaking his head. "So, you're jealous, interesting" Lay muttered as he watched the car drive away.

While they were in the car, they were both silent, neither of them willing to speak until they reached their destination. Gu Wei was about to unbuckle his seatbelt, but Yibo quickly helped him, giving him an unexpected kiss on the cheek, which startled Gu Wei.

Eros grinned. "My kiss taste better," he joked. "You’re acting crazy again," Gu Wei said as he got out of the car. "He’s so unpredictable," Gu Wei muttered as he stepped out.

"He has changed a lot now. He used to love it when I kissed him after unbuckling his seatbelt. Now he’s not happy anymore. Do you not love me anymore? Am I too late? Do I still have a place in your heart? Do you really love him?" Yibo questioned in his mind, unsure if these questions would ever be answered. His thoughts were interrupted when Gu Wei knocked on his car window. He had been calling Yibo for a while. Yibo forced a hesitant smile and opened the door.

When they arrived at the Star Hotel, Xuan Lu and Ziyi were already there. The moment they saw Yibo and Gu Wei, their eyes widened in surprise. But before they could react, Eros introduced them to each other, leaving them all in shock.

"This is the friend I was telling you about. She’s Xuan Lu," Yibo said, introducing Ziyi. "And this is Meng Ziyi," he added, pointing to Xuan Lu. The three of them were speechless at Yibo’s introduction. They exchanged glances, as if silently asking each other what was happening. It wasn’t the unexpected meeting that shocked them, but rather the way Yibo introduced them.

"Why aren’t you saying anything?" Yibo asked, puzzled. When he looked at Gu Wei, he noticed the confusion on his face, so he turned his gaze to Xuan Lu and Ziyi. "Didn't Xuan Lu mention what they would be wearing?" Yibo questioned himself.

Flashback.

Lulu was about to hang up but Yibo spoke. "Wait Jie, mmnn can i ask you something?" He asked hesitatingly. "Yeah, go ahead" she said calmly, hearing Yibo sigh on the other line. "Is there a problem, Yibo?" she asked worriedly.

"Ahh, no, Jie. I just wanted to ask what you’ll be wearing tonight," Eros replied directly, hoping she wouldn’t ask why. But she cut him off with a question. "Pardon?" Eros laughed awkwardly on the other line.

"Because we haven't seen each other in a long time, I might not recognize you," Eros explained, and Lulu didn’t suspect anything. "My girlfriend will wear black pants and a white long-sleeved shirt, while I’ll be in a blue dress," Lulu replied, smiling.

"Okay, Jie, what brand of perfume do you use?" Lulu put her hand on her hip, as if Yibo could see her. "Yibo, you're making me wonder," Lulu said, her voice full of curiosity. But she still told him.

"Okay, Jie, thanks."

End of Flashback

"Hehehe, why aren’t you speaking?" Eros asked again. "Yibo" Xuan Lu called out to him, causing Eros to silently curse. "Shitttt."

"Hehe, didn’t you say you were going to wear a dress?" Erod asked quietly, though Gu Wei could hear him. "Ahh, Ziyi wasn’t comfortable with how short my dress was, so we switched in the bathroom earlier" Lulu explained. Eros glanced at Gu Wei and could see the questions in his eyes—questions he didn’t want to answer. He quickly looked away and invited everyone to sit at the table he had reserved.

"That was weird. What on earth is going on?" Gu Wei wondered to himself.

[Their situation this afternoon:]

Yibo, Gu Wei, Xuan Lu, and Ziyi were meeting because Yibo was worried about what had happened to Gu Wei at his house.

Meanwhile, Mianmian, Katrina, and Lara were meeting to discuss how they could convince Yibo to undergo surgery.

As they sat down, Eros noticed that Gu Wei was looking at him, and even though he didn’t turn to meet his gaze, he could feel Gu Wei's eyes on him. Silently, Eros scolded himself, "You're so stupid, Yibo. You made a mistake, and right in front of him"

"Something’s wrong here," Gu Wei thought, and then excused himself to go to the restroom. "Do you want me to go with you?" Yibo asked. Gu Wei smiled at him, "No need, just take care of your friends. I’ll be quick," he said, patting Yibo's shoulder before heading to the bathroom.

Once inside, he quickly pulled out his phone. "Can you come to the Star Hotel? Wear the same clothes you wore at the auction, and bring an extra set of clothes," Gu Wei said without even giving Haoxuan and Jiyang a chance to speak. Though confused, they agreed and asked what they needed to do.

Meanwhile, Lulu couldn’t help but ask Yibo if something was wrong, though she didn’t specifically mention the mistake he made earlier when introducing them. Eros gave them a small smile. "No, Jie," he replied briefly, glancing towards the restroom where Gu Wei had gone. Lulu didn’t press the issue further and just exchanged a look with Ziyi, who was observing Yibo.

In the restroom, after explaining their plan, Gu Wei quickly left to rejoin the group.

THANK YOU FOR READING IT 💚 ❤️ 😊