How little trust must the old lady have in her own grandson!
Seeing this, Gu Nanyan helped Lu Beicheng with his vegetables and said, "Thank you for handling the agency matter, you should eat more."
Lu Beicheng shot her a cold glance, and Gu Nanyan responded with a smile that turned her eyes into a slender line.
Having secured the legal agency, she felt very pleased.
At that moment, Qin Haiyun seized the opportunity to say, "Beicheng, Nanyan, it's rare for you both to come back, so don't leave tonight."
The old lady said, "Our old house has good feng shui. If you two stay here tonight, Nanyan might just get pregnant with a baby."
Immediately after, the old lady added, "Beicheng, you make sure to put in a little effort later, try to have twins in one go."
...Lu Beicheng.
In the end, the family still wanted to hurry them into having children sooner.
So, upon returning to the upstairs bedroom, Gu Nanyan asked, "Shall we have a baby?"
Lu Beicheng looked at her indifferently, "Gu Nanyan, can you not think of anything else?"
Gu Nanyan laughed, "Seeing that you don't think about it, what else could I possibly think about? Besides, if I were to think about this with someone else, would you be willing?"
Lu Beicheng stepped closer, pinching her face, "You really have no shame at all."
Gu Nanyan pulled away his hand and wrapped her arms around his neck, "You're my husband, why would I need all that pretense?"
After knowing each other for so many years, why bother with all that nonsense?
Moreover, she had long lost her image in Lu Beicheng's eyes.
Gazing down at the person before him, Lu Beicheng said, "Gu Nanyan, that's not how a woman is supposed to be."
"Nonsense." Gu Nanyan retorted, "This is exactly the kind of woman I am."
With that, she stood on tiptoe, her lips nearly touching his as she called out, "Lu Beicheng."
"Hmm?" Lu Beicheng replied, his voice filled with layers of tone.
Seeing this, Gu Nanyan kissed his lips directly.
At the feel of Gu Nanyan's soft lips, Lu Beicheng's heart tightened, and his hands wrapped around her waist. As he intended to push her away, he unwittingly gave her a couple of squeezes instead.
At that moment, he was struggling to maintain control.
Until a wave of restlessness and an underlying current surged through his body, Gu Nanyan's little scheme, along with his parents and grandparents' intentions, once again became crystal clear to him.
Hence, he pushed Gu Nanyan away and went straight to the bathroom.
The prey that was in his mouth had flown away again.
For a moment, Gu Nanyan's mindset exploded. She took off the slippers from her feet and flung them violently towards the bathroom, "Lu Beicheng, are you still a man?"
Prefering to relieve himself in the bathroom rather than touch her, Gu Nanyan felt humiliated.
Half an hour later, when Lu Beicheng came out of the bathroom, Gu Nanyan had already turned her back to him and lay down to sleep.
When Lu Beicheng accidentally touched her as he sat down beside her, Gu Nanyan turned and kicked him several times. Caught off guard, Lu Beicheng was sent to the floor by her kicks.
"Gu Nanyan."
Lu Beicheng shouted in a low, angry voice, but Gu Nanyan continued to face away, silent.
Propping himself up, Lu Beicheng touched his forehead, realizing that she was truly angry this time.
Sitting down beside her again, when Gu Nanyan tried to kick him, Lu Beicheng lifted his leg and pressed down on her, stopping her from thrashing about.
Seeing she was no match for Lu Beicheng, Gu Nanyan propped herself up with her hands on the bed and sat up, "Fine, I'll go back then, is that what you want?"
Gu Nanyan couldn't accept what had just happened with Lu Beicheng.
No wife should feel as stifled as she did in that role.
Lu Beicheng's face turned dark, "Gu Nanyan, can't you settle down for the night?"
She should settle down?
Gu Nanyan suddenly felt wronged, her eyes reddening as she laughed mockingly.
Quickly regaining her composure, she said, "Lu Beicheng, if you really don't want to continue this life, then you go and make it clear to your father."
It had been two years, and she was fed up with this coldness and being left alone in this marriage.
"If it won't work, then let's just call it quits sooner rather than later. This marriage is making too big of a deal."
After speaking, she went to the wardrobe to grab her outerwear.
Lu Beicheng saw that she was serious and went forward to grab her arm, but Gu Nanyan threw off his hand, and with a forceful pull from him, she was thrown onto the bed.
Gu Nanyan propped herself up to get up, but Lu Beicheng pressed down on her, pinning her hands, "Gu Nanyan, don't make a scene that you can't back out of."
They had just put on a perfect show of marital harmony. What would the elders think if she turned her back and left now?
With red-rimmed eyes, Gu Nanyan turned her head away, refusing to look at Lu Beicheng.
A twinge struck Lu Beicheng's heart, and he leaned in to kiss her, but Gu Nanyan turned her head away farther, burying her face in the pillow.
Now, she wanted none of it, nor did she care about Lu Beicheng.
Lu Beicheng felt helpless and spoke to her in a calm and kind voice, "Didn't we agree before coming back? That we would visit once every week."
They had been married for two years, and this was the first time Lu Beicheng had softened his stance with her, the first time he had spoken to her with such patience.
Gu Nanyan remained unresponsive.
Later, Lu Beicheng slept while holding her in his arms.
Gu Nanyan lay with her back to him, devoid of any emotions.
She knew Lu Beicheng's earlier patience was out of consideration for his family's feelings. In his heart, what was she, Gu Nanyan, but a shameless woman, a lowly creature that climbed into his bed?
So even though they were married, even though she willingly threw herself at him, he still wouldn't touch her.
That night, Gu Nanyan suffered from insomnia.
Lu Beicheng, however, held her as he slept more soundly than ever before.
But when he awoke, the bed was cold and empty; Gu Nanyan was long gone.
Lu Beicheng turned to look at the other side of the bed, thinking of her stubbornness the night before, how she wouldn't even let him touch her in the end, always turning her back to him.
It left a bitter taste in his heart.
In the past, no matter what he said or did, no matter how he frowned at her, she would always greet him with a smile and tease him.
This time, she didn't.
--
Meanwhile, it wasn't time to go to work yet, but Gu Nanyan was already at the law firm early, getting Lu's contract ready.
Because Lu Tianyang had given a heads-up in advance, Gu Nanyan didn't go to see Lu Beicheng after arriving at Lu's. She went straight to legal affairs to sign the contract.
When Xia Cheng reported the matter to Lu Beicheng, his face turned unsightly on the spot.
When nothing's going on, she doesn't even look for him.
As a newcomer who secured Lu's legal affairs representation, Gu Nanyan caused quite a stir in the circle for some time.
No one in the firm had really expected Gu Nanyan to land Lu's contract; they just let her try it out. They didn't anticipate that Gu Nanyan would secure it so quickly.
Gu Nanyan's director was overjoyed and hosted a dinner that very evening to celebrate with the entire staff.
At the dinner table, the director, beaming with joy, toasted Gu Nanyan, "Ms. Gu, you really are full of surprises and delights! I didn't expect that the partnership we haven't secured in years, you managed to land on your first attempt."
"You, my dear, had unbounded potential from the first time I saw you. Here's the first toast to you."
Gu Nanyan stood up with her glass, "Director, you flatter me."
The director downed his glass in one gulp, and Gu Nanyan also politely finished hers in one go.
"Nanyan, here's to you."
"Nanyan..."
--
Yulin Bay No.1.
In the study.
Lu Beicheng rarely came back, and at this time, Gu Nanyan still hadn't returned home.
He got up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window. Still not seeing any sign of Gu Nanyan returning, Lu Beicheng's expression grew even darker.