Chapter 31: Name Your Price

The man fixed his gaze on her. “What right do you have to negotiate with me?”

“None at all, which is why I’m begging you.” Gu Shenshen remained unfailingly polite. Though she cursed him a thousand times over in her heart, her face wore the same bright, easy smile.

Zhou Ci, for reasons unknown even to himself, bent his head and slowly moved closer to her face.

“Is this how you beg for something?”

As an old hand at such matters, Gu Shenshen knew perfectly well what he meant. So, right there in the bustling airport, she rose on tiptoe and gently pressed a kiss to his cheek.

Zhou Ci was momentarily stunned, not expecting that Gu Shenshen would do something like this in public.

“Is this good enough?” she asked, continuing to look at him.

His eyes were searching, filled with complicated intent. Her behavior only deepened his interest in her.

Just as he stepped in closer, Gu Shenshen retreated. “Ah Ci, I have something very important tomorrow.”

Zhou Ci knew she understood everything—she knew exactly what he wanted. She played the game of push and pull to perfection.

He reached out, pinching her chin. “Play these tricks too often and I might just grow to hate them.”

Unable to move, Gu Shenshen could only blink. “I understand.”

He released her. “You can have your day off now.”

Swallowing, Gu Shenshen thanked him, then turned and walked away without a backward glance.

Only after her figure vanished completely from his sight did Zhou Ci answer the call that had been ringing for some time.

“Mother.” His voice instinctively deepened as he answered his mother's call.

The next afternoon at three, autumn sunlight streamed in, bright and clear.

Gu Shenshen was, as usual, fashionably late to the meeting.

Inside the antique tea room of a private club, Qin Ying sat by a grand window, dressed in elegant, light-colored attire befitting a lady of status. She was adorned with a full set of sapphire jewelry, her every movement emanating a wealth that could not be concealed.

When Qin Ying saw her enter, she motioned for the attendant preparing tea to leave.

Once the room was empty save for the two of them, Qin Ying, hair elegantly pinned, appeared not only youthful but possessed of a refinement that belied her age.

“How much will it take for you to leave him?” Qin Ying asked as Gu Shenshen sat down, pouring tea for her in a manner that was casual, almost capricious.

Gu Shenshen could only offer a helpless smile. “Madam Qin, no matter what price I name, it’s pointless.”

“Two years ago, you asked for a hundred million. You can name your price again—I’m hardly short of money.” Qin Ying’s face was gentle, but her eyes and tone betrayed an undercurrent of disdain.

Gu Shenshen regarded her calmly, her expression serene and unruffled, betraying not a hint of emotion.

“Madam Qin, you were the one who insisted on giving me money. I’m no saint—if I refused, would you not have taken your son away? At the very least, I once saved his life and cared for him for two years.”

Qin Ying bristled at her use of the word “cared.” Given Gu Shenshen’s reputation in Rong City, it was easy to imagine she treated all the men around her as kept boys. Her own son, born of gold and jade, could hardly be one.

“He only let you do as you pleased because he'd lost his memory!” Qin Ying’s voice was sharp, her displeasure palpable.

Gu Shenshen’s lips curved lightly. “I know, Madam Qin, you find it disgraceful that your son once played the kept man. But I have my principles—what should not be said, I won’t say, unless someone holds a knife to my throat.”

Qin Ying’s brows knitted, a trace of anger flickering across her refined features.

At last, unable to restrain herself, she burst out, “You call yourself principled, yet after taking my money you come back to entangle yourself with him. How shameless can you be?”