Ch. 6 - Already Found Another Person To Marry Again?
The arrival hall was already bustling with people waiting for passengers from the early morning flight.
Gu Jinhan stood near the front of the crowd, and not far behind her was Lu Jingchen. Of all places, he never expected to run into her at the airport.
But then again, Gu Jinhan had always been skilled at orchestrating these so-called "coincidences."
Who had she pestered this time to get my schedule? My assistant? He thought to himself.
She’d done it countless times before. Whenever she couldn’t reach him, she would go straight to his assistant.
If his assistant truly was the one who leaked his schedule again, it could only mean one thing: he was ready to be fired from his job.
Sigh. Women, they were always so good at coming up with new ways to grab my attention.
A cold, mocking smile curled at the corner of his lips.
He truly looked down on how desperate Gu Jinhan was for his attention.
Today, he had arrived at the airport early to personally welcome an important overseas client for a contract worth hundreds of millions was at stake.
But before his client arrived, he had coincidentally seen Gu Jinhan at the airport too. Surprisingly, she did not smell like incense today.
His expression darkened. Had she really stopped making incense altogether?
Meanwhile, Gu Jinhan kept her eyes fixed on the arrivals gate until she faintly caught a familiar whiff of the incense she used to make behind her.
It reminded her of Lu Jingchen.
She turned her head and, sure enough, there he stood behind her, his eyes filled with undisguised disdain.
Lu Jingchen had always been aloof, looking down on the world from his high perch as if he were some untouchable deity.
"Did you seriously think cheap tricks like this would catch my attention?" he asked, his voice cold and condescending
"..." Had he always been this full of himself?
Gu Jinhan ignored him. But suddenly, it dawned on her that every time they quarrelled and gave each other the silent treatment, he must have thought the same thing too. In his mind, she always had some calculated ploy to reel him back in.
Her silent indifference only fueled his irritation further.
"Gu Jinhan, you were once the top student at Qing University, yet you couldn’t even come up with a more sophisticated way to create a 'chance encounter'?"
"Mr. Lu,” she replied calmly without looking at him, “I’m not here for you. I’m here to pick someone up."
Just as she finished speaking, she spotted Fu Junyu walking out from the arrivals gate. Fu Nanyan had shown her his photo the night before. From the photo, she could tell he was composed yet unmistakably commanding. There was something about him that conveyed stability and quiet power.
"Mr. Fu, I hope you had a pleasant flight! Nanyan had a last-minute work emergency and couldn’t make it today, so she asked me to come in her place instead."
"Thank you for your trouble, Miss Gu," Fu Junyu replied, recognising Gu Jinhan instantly from Fu Nanyan’s description over text last night..
"Mr. Fu, this way, please," Gu Jinhan said as she took his luggage from his hands.
In the business world, the name “Fu Junyu” needed no introduction. Born the youngest son of the Fu family, he had been excessively doted on by his father as he was a late-born child.
Still, he had lived up to everyone's expectations and was fiercely accomplished. He had built an empire that spanned continents and gained influence stretching far beyond national borders. There was hardly anyone who didn't know his name.
Naturally, Lu Jingchen recognised him too.
But it had never crossed Lu Jingchen’s mind that Gu Jinhan was there for Fu Junyu, and not him. All this time, he had boldly assumed she was trying to manufacture a ‘chance encounter’ with him.
So tutoring Fu Yiyang was just a ploy to get close to Fu Junyu? He thought, a bitter anger rising within him. Was she refusing to come back to him because she had already set her sights on her next marriage target?
"President Lu, that woman over there…quite the beauty, isn’t she? You’ve got good taste! She’s a real stunner," his client, Chen Yunman, remarked as she followed his gaze and glanced at Gu Jinhan’s retreating figure.
Hadn’t Lu Jingchen pursued Gu Jinhan relentlessly because he was captivated by her stunning looks?
But no amount of beauty was worth burying himself in the grave of marriage.
"She may have a pretty face, but that's where it ends. How could she possibly compare to a powerful woman like you, President Chen? Someone who can stir storms in the business world with a wave of her hand?"
"President Lu, you flatter me!“ Chen Yunman laughed, smoothly linking her arm with his. The mature, strong career woman instantly transformed into a soft, delicate lady.
“Come, let’s go have breakfast first."
Rumors of Chen Yunman’s colourful private life had long reached Lu Jingchen’s ears even before they started working together. But playing along was second nature to him.
Letting her cling to him with their arms linked, the two of them strolled out of the airport. They weren’t romantically involved but looked closer than most couples do.
—
Parking Lot
After loading Fu Junyu’s luggage into the car, Gu Jinhan remembered that airplane food was mediocre at best.
"Mr. Fu, have you had breakfast yet?"
"Any recommendations?" he asked.
"There’s a Hong Kong-style tea house nearby. The food there is rather decent."
"Let’s go, then."
Gu Jinhan drove them to the restaurant, which was already lively with the morning crowd. She then ordered a spread of signature dishes: shrimp dumplings, steamed shumai, barbecue pork buns, egg tarts, and century egg congee.
"Is this alright, Mr. Fu?" she asked.
"Yes, it’s fine."
The two of them sat by the window, steam rising gently from the baskets between them.
Fu Junyu sampled each dish with refined grace.
Gu Jinhan’s understanding of him came solely from the stories Fu Nanyan had shared.
Though only a few years older than her, he had made huge waves in the business world, leading several major projects on Wall Street and earning widespread admiration. Yet, he was surprisingly down-to-earth and carried himself with approachable grace.
A sudden memory surfaced.
Gu Jinhan realised she had gone to that restaurant with Lu Jingchen a few times before. He had always been a picky eater and was incredibly hard to please.
As they finished their meals, Fu Junyu discreetly paid for their breakfast.
"The food was good," he remarked.
"This kind of food suits busy businessmen like you who are always on the go."
She looked up at him, and he smiled faintly in acknowledgment.
He gave her a slight nod, sensing her thoughtfulness in choosing this restaurant.
Just then, his phone buzzed incessantly. With a faint frown, he excused himself. "Miss Gu, pardon me for a moment. I have to take this call."
She nodded and took the chance to visit the restroom.
When she stepped out, Lu Jingchen was standing in front of her, blocking her path.
Coincidentally, he had also brought Chen Yunman to the same restaurant, only to catch sight of Gu Jinhan and Fu Junyu laughing and chatting happily over breakfast.
How could she bring another man here? This place was filled with memories of their time together!
As Lu Jingchen hated airplane food, Gu Jinhan would always reserve a table there whenever he returned from a business trip.
But now, she had even gone to the airport to pick up another man and brought him to the restaurant they used to frequent together.
His gaze raked over her quickly. There was no trace of misery from their breakup on her face. If anything, she looked even more beautiful, her skin radiant and her energy vibrant.
It only fueled the fire burning inside him.
"Switching up your tactics,Gu Jinhan? You’re even trying to use other men to get under my skin now?"
In the past, whenever they fought, she would simply go shopping or hang out with her female friends, but never with men.
Gu Jinhan smiled faintly and replied, "Mr. Lu, we’re no longer together. What I do now has nothing to do with you."
Her calm and composed demeanor only served to irritate him further.
"You showed up right in front of me with another man. Isn’t that YOU deliberately trying to provoke me?"
"Your imagination certainly is rich, Mr Lu." Gu Jinhan retorted, her gaze flicking briefly towards Chen Yunman. "Mr. Fu and I arrived here first."
From her seat by the window earlier, she had seen Lu Jingchen walk in with Chen Yunman clinging to his arm, both of them looking every bit like a couple.
It turned out Lu Jingchen didn’t just keep his childhood sweetheart close by. He also blurred professional lines with his clients too.
What did that make Gu Jinhan, then?
"Fu Junyu, huh?" Lu Jingchen’s lips curled into a faint smirk, mocking her. "Did you befriend Fu Nanyan just to use her as a stepping stone to climb your way into the Fu family?"
Even Gu Jinhan’s patience had its limits. No matter how good her temper was, she would never allow him to insult her friendship with Fu Nanyan.
Her expression darkened. "Lu Jingchen, keep your paranoid suspicions to yourself. Nanyan and I have been friends for years; our friendship is genuine."
"Genuine? Nothing in this world is genuine!" he shot back, scoffing at her naivety.
"That’s because you’re rotten to the core.” She replied with a hint of frustration in her voice.
Without waiting for his response, she stepped around him. “I have things to do, now if you’ll excuse me,"
She brushed past him, refusing to waste her breath on such a ridiculous conversation.
But as she walked toward Fu Junyu who was still on the phone outside, a surge of rage flared inside him.
"Gu Jinhan, have you lost your mind wanting to get married so desperately? Do you even have any idea how high the Fu family’s standards are? Who do you think you are? Why would Fu Junyu ever marry someone like you?” He shouted after her retreating figure.