Nian Suian furrowed her brow and pondered for half an hour, but couldn't come up with any ideas, so she simply gave up. What's past is past, and since she knew nothing about it, there was no use in overthinking.
She had always had one particular trait since childhood: she took things as they came. The good side of this personality was that she rarely worried and could let things go easily. The downside was that she was often muddled and lacked planning.
So when Gu Junxing returned after an hour-long meeting, Nian Suian was already happily scrolling through short videos.
Seeing that her mood seemed fine, Gu Junxing secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Are you hungry? Should I have some food sent over?" Gu Junxing remembered that back home, Nanny Zhang would often make afternoon snacks for Nian Suian.
"I'm not hungry. Where were we? Let's continue the conversation," Nian Suian hadn't forgotten to inquire about the important matters.
Gu Junxing pondered for a moment before speaking, "Do you remember the agreement we signed?"
"Of course I do." In fact, Nian Suian was still perplexed by that agreement, though she didn't know why.
Gu Junxing continued, "To be honest, I wasn't clear about the intention behind this agreement at first. However, because of today's events, I've come up with a guess."
"What is it?"
"Your parents are gone, and you don't have other trustworthy relatives around. A large sum of assets might not necessarily be good for you. And shares are more stable than cash."
"But that doesn't mean marriage had to be a condition, and what if your company goes bankrupt?" Nian Suian felt that while Gu Junxing's reasoning had some merit, it also had many loopholes. Clearly, Gu Junxing himself couldn't figure it out either.
"Perhaps your father saw that I'm not likely to go bankrupt so easily," Gu Junxing smiled, jokingly telling Nian Suian, "You can rest assured, it won't go bankrupt."
"I have another question," Since they were discussing this, Nian Suian took the opportunity to ask.
"Go ahead."
"Why did you agree to marry me?"
Instead of answering directly, Gu Junxing said, "I had seen you before at my parents' place." At that time, Nian Suian's father had just passed away. Her mother had died in an accident years earlier, and her father had raised her single-handedly, acting as both mother and father. Even when ill, he was still planning for his daughter's future.
"My father and your father were old acquaintances. You must have been visiting our home then, though you probably didn't notice me." The young girl, still immersed in the grief of losing a loved one, looked completely different from her lively self now. He had just happened to be home visiting his parents, but since there were guests, he left quickly. "The idea of marrying you was proposed by my parents. My mother said she hoped I could take care of you. At first, I refused, saying there were many ways to care for someone without necessarily getting married."
Hearing this, Nian Suian nodded. If it were her, she wouldn't have agreed immediately either.
"Later, my mother showed me that agreement. Three years, my company would receive a large investment, and you would get a considerable income. Although it's not nice to say, for me, it was a no-lose business deal."
After hearing Gu Junxing's words, Nian Suian fell into deep thought.
Gu Junxing thought to himself: It would be understandable if Nian Suian got angry, given that he had married her with ulterior motives.
"So..." Nian Suian looked at Gu Junxing, "You married me for money!"
"You could say that," Although it didn't sound very nice.
Gu Junxing added, "Actually, I also think that agreement is unreasonable and unfair to you. If you want a divorce, we can act as if the agreement doesn't exist."
Nian Suian widened her eyes upon hearing this, "Are you trying to keep all my money for yourself?!"
"Suian..." Gu Junxing's tone carried a hint of tenderness that even he hadn't noticed.
"Fine. But I don't plan on getting divorced right now," Nian Suian said, then looking at Gu Junxing's expression, she blurted out, "Don't ask me why."
In truth, Nian Suian herself didn't know why. She just didn't want to, and her current life wasn't bad at all.
"Is it almost time to get off work?" Nian Suian looked at her phone; it was almost six o'clock. "Did I interrupt your work by coming here today?" This afternoon, Gu Junxing hadn't done anything except attend a meeting since she arrived.
"No, I'm the boss. I don't need to do that much work," Gu Junxing said something rather provocative, "Let's go home together."
"It's still five minutes to six. How can you, as the boss, lead by leaving early?"
"Because I'm the boss, I don't need to clock in."
After leaving the office, Nian Suian looked around again, dawdling for a while. By the time they got to the elevator, it was exactly six o'clock.
When the elevator stopped at the fifth floor, the doors opened to reveal a group of people waiting outside. Nian Suian also saw the girl she had encountered in the elevator earlier today.
Silence.
Stillness.
Awkwardness.
The people outside had only one thought: What should we do when we encounter the CEO in the elevator right at clock-out time?!
"Aren't you coming in?" Gu Junxing looked at the crowd outside, his hand still pressing the elevator door open button.
Nian Suian was trying so hard not to laugh that she was about to go crazy. She quietly moved closer to Gu Junxing to make room for the others.
What else could they do but enter with trepidation?
"Boss Gu... we have a team-building event tonight, so we're leaving a bit early to avoid traffic." The implication was clear: Boss, we don't usually do this.
Well, they actually did this all the time, everyone silently added in their hearts. That's because, based on their observations, Boss Gu never left work right at six o'clock, and they had never encountered a situation like today when they tried to leave on time before.
"It's already six o'clock, the normal end of the workday," Gu Junxing wasn't about to get upset over such a small matter.
Nian Suian, having been a working person herself, understood their mindset. The boss might not mind, but riding the same elevator with him right at clock-out time was very stressful...
"Haha, Boss Gu is so understanding. Boss Gu, this lady beside you must be your wife. She's so beautiful!" A particularly sociable employee offered a small compliment.
"Thank you," Gu Junxing responded, while Nian Suian smiled faintly without speaking.
When the elevator reached the first floor, the people inside practically bolted out as soon as the doors opened.
Once the elevator doors closed again, Nian Suian burst into laughter.
"What's so funny?" Gu Junxing asked.
"I'm laughing at you, Boss Gu. It's obvious you're not an approachable boss. Everyone's terrified of you."
"I'm already very lenient. You wouldn't believe it if you came to work at the company," Gu Junxing felt wrongly accused.
Nian Suian snorted lightly, "What's the use of me trying? I'm not afraid of you even if you're fierce with me."
"When have I ever been fierce with you?"
"Miss Nian, I don't want a repeat of tonight's incident~" Nian Suian mimicked Gu Junxing's words from before in an exaggerated tone.
Gu Junxing smiled helplessly. This wasn't the first time Nian Suian had teased him about this incident.
If he had known it would come to this, Gu Junxing would never have said such words.
"I'm very sorry, Miss Nian. Please forgive me."
"Hmph~"