Chapter 106: Making Something Out of Nothing
"Mr. Gu, I can’t sleep like this..."
Shen Xi protested in a small voice, trying to wriggle out of the man’s embrace. She had just gotten up, and being in such an intimate position felt way too awkward.
But her protest was useless!
Gu Hanling didn’t budge. His deep, magnetic voice sounded right by her ear.
"Move again, and deal with the consequences yourself."
Shen Xi immediately froze, completely giving up on struggling. With a helpless expression, she obediently stayed still.
Maybe it was the effect of the cold medicine, but she soon noticed the breathing above her head becoming slower and steadier. Curious, she peeked up at him. He had really fallen asleep.
Like a little kitten, she carefully shifted her soft body and slipped out from under his arm.
Now at a slight distance, she looked at Gu Hanling’s sleeping face. His sharp features had softened in sleep, making him seem much gentler than usual.
Unable to resist, she reached out and lightly poked his impossibly handsome, almost unrealistically perfect face.
"How is it fair for someone to look this good? It’s enough to make people jealous."
At some point, this so-called "broke girl" had actually started feeling sorry for a “billionaire”. It made no sense at all.
And when had she stopped putting on an act in front of him? She used to insist she was madly in love with Shi Jingyan, but now, she only responded with silence whenever the topic came up.
In her past life, she had been single since birth, dreaming about the kind of pure love found in anime and novels.
A boy hesitantly testing the waters with a girl, working up the courage to confess, chatting late into the night, going on their first nervous date, experiencing the shy thrill of holding hands, hugging, maybe even sharing their first kiss…
But with this man in front of her? They had completely skipped all those stages. They had gone straight from holding hands to… well, hugging each other. They were even skipping a simple kiss for a deep French kiss.
But what exactly was this relationship?
Were they just employer and employee?
A married couple in name only?
Or… sworn brothers?
The strangest part was that Gu Hanling seemed interested in nothing but kissing her. He had never pushed for anything beyond that.
Honestly, she should be grateful. If he had tried something more, she might have been so overwhelmed she’d want to just drop dead on the spot.
As the man's body temperature gradually returned to normal, Shen Xi carefully got out of bed. She tucked the thin blanket around him and quietly left the room.
Slipping out of the villa’s front door like a sneaky thief, she made her way to a secluded corner of the lawn. After making sure no one was around, she pulled out her phone and dialed a number.
"Hello, Sister Na?"
Lowering her voice, Shen Xi continued,
"You're experienced in these things, so I have a question... for a friend."
On the other end of the line, Sister Na chuckled heartily.
"Xiao Xi? Aren’t you busy filming? How do you have time to call me? Go on, what’s up?"
"I just wrapped up."
Shen Xi pursed her lips, carefully choosing her words.
"So, my friend... she's really pretty, but deep down, she's like a tough guy. Oh, and she might also be a foreign princess."
"Huh? And then?"
Sister Na was confused. A tough guy trapped in a woman's body who might be a princess?
"And then... she met this insanely rich and ridiculously handsome guy. Do you think there’s a chance he likes my friend?"
"How rich? And how handsome?"
"Rich enough to rival a nation. Comes from an elite family. Uh... probably the most handsome man in the whole country? Way better-looking than those celebrity heartthrobs on TV."
Sister Na laughed.
"Girl, tell your friend to go to sleep early. She can have whatever she wants in her dreams."
Shen Xi’s mind was a tangled mess.
"Sister Na, I’m serious!"
Sister Na couldn’t hold back a laugh.
"Silly girl, if there really were such a perfect man, he wouldn’t turn down a beautiful woman throwing herself at him."
"But... he definitely wouldn’t take any responsibility either. At most, he’d throw some money at her and be done with it."
After a short pause, Sister Na sighed.
"Tell your friend to stay away from him before she gets in too deep. Otherwise, she’ll end up used and discarded without a second thought."
Shen Xi let out a thoughtful “hmm,” then hung up. Feeling frustrated for no reason, she swung a punch at the empty air. After thinking for a moment, Shen Xi decided to gather more opinions and made another call.
"Hello, Xiaoxiao..."
She repeated everything she had just told Sister Na. On the other end, Xiaoxiao sounded excited.
"Xixi, is this a novel or a TV drama? What's the title? It actually sounds pretty interesting!"
"Uh..."
Hanging up once again, Shen Xi collapsed onto the lawn, rolling around in frustration.
……………………………………
The Next Day.
After another night of playing the role of a "sleep companion doll," she woke up to find that Gu Hanling was already gone. He must have recovered from his cold. That worked out well, she had important things to do today.
She pulled out her AI music transcription laptop, which she hadn't used in a while, and tried singing once. It didn’t feel quite right.
Which song should I go with instead…?
At the recording studio arranged by the “Landscape is Like a Painting” production team, she handed over the freshly completed instrumental track to the recording technician.
The song's melody was deep and emotional, carrying a rich historical feel. It felt like stepping through time, blending past and present, perfectly mirroring the ups and downs of the main lead’s fate in the drama.
By the time the recording was finished, evening had fallen.
She took the opportunity to arrange a gathering with her "Heartbreak Alliance" trio at a discreet restaurant where they could eat and chat in peace.
"I have a friend who's dealing with a relationship problem and could use some advice."
Keke’s eyes lit up instantly as she leaned in.
"Sister Xixi, tell us, tell us!"
Shen Xi was speechless. This girl’s love for gossip…
Clearing her throat, she once again repeated the story she had told Sister Na and Xiaoxiao.
After hearing everything, her two friends, who were well aware of the truth, could barely hold back their laughter.
Keke, grinning mischievously, didn't hesitate to expose Shen Xi’s so-called “friend’s” nonexistent problem.
She blinked playfully and said with a meaningful smile,
"Sister Xixi, you’re so amazing! Of course, Mr. Gu likes you. I mean, you two are already married! I can see that little spark between you two."
"Uh..."
Hearing this, Shen Xi could only hold her forehead in resignation. Great. Another blindly loyal supporter who thinks I’m the most beautiful woman in the world and that anyone should like me.
Shen Zekai frowned and put down his utensils.
"Sister, you must be talking about Shi Jingyan."
"Huh? How did you come up with that?"
Shen Xi was stunned. What nonsense is this?
Zekai looked serious.
"Sister, back then, you did a lot to deal with Lin Yueyue and other love rivals for him."
"So obviously, you’re talking about Shi Jingyan. He’s your true soulmate."
Keke, clearly annoyed, slapped the table lightly and immediately refuted him. She no longer had her usual timid demeanor.
"Sister Xixi belongs to Mr. Gu now. How could Shi Jingyan compare?"
"Shi Jingyan is the one Sister truly loves! They’re meant to be together!"
Listening to the two of them argue back and forth, Shen Xi clutched her head, feeling like her brain was about to explode.
"Enough, enough! Let’s stop talking about this."
Honestly, getting three former love-obsessed people to come to a conclusion was wishful thinking.
Taking a deep breath, she tried to change the topic and turned to Shen Zekai.
"Zekai, why are you still driving that old, cheap car? Wasn't Susie’s case already settled? Didn’t you get your money back?"
After all, it was a fraud case involving 800 million yuan. The investigation and trial had moved surprisingly fast, though she couldn’t help but wonder if a certain man had given it a push behind the scenes.
The fake Susie had no money of her own. Most of what she swindled from Zekai ended up in the hands of Wu Hao from the Wu family, who had used it to cover up embezzled public funds.
After the verdict, Wu Hao’s assets were liquidated. The original plan was to divide the recovered funds proportionally with the Gu Corporation, but Gu Hanling had no interest in a small sum like that. Instead, he made sure that Shen Zekai’s loss, several million, was fully reimbursed.
Yet Zekai sighed, looking miserable, his tone filled with helplessness.
"Sister, I didn’t want to say anything because I didn’t want to bother you."
"Mom and Dad said I’m too easy to get scammed, so they gave both the money and Shen Corporation’s management rights to Wanru’s fiancé."
"What?! They gave everything to Shen Wanru’s fiancé?!"
Hearing this, Shen Xi felt a surge of anger rise inside her. Where did this so-called fiancé come from, daring to take her brother’s assets?!