Cinderella Innocent and Boss Charming - Chapter 205

Chapter 205 It’s Inconceivable
Although Du Xiaoxian had left, Gu Nianbin did not go back. He was afraid of the empty house, and he was even more afraid of the yearning that accompanied him. There were traces of Du Xiaoxian everywhere in the house, and those things would drive him crazy.

He was a silent person, and now he was even more silent. No matter how Shao Boqing teased him and joked about him, he did not say a word. He only lowered his head to look at the wine in the glass.

Shao Boqing also found it strange. When he learned from Zhou Ting that Gu Nianbin had been staying in a hotel for the past few days, he was shocked beyond everything. Given Gu Nianbin’s fascination with Du Xiaoxian, there was no way the little girl would offend him. In his impression, Gu Nianbin could leave aside his principles to be good to Du Xiaoxian. He once jokingly told Nina that even if Du Xiaoxian cheated on Gu Nianbin, as long as Du Xiaoxian didn’t leave, Gu Nianbin would never kick her away. Nina spat at him and said that Du Xiaoxian was not that kind of person. Even if Gu Nianbin kept a woman outside, Du Xiaoxian would not cheat on him. Seeing that Nina was angry, he quickly comforted her and said that he was just assuming a condition. Nina blamed him for assuming that. And they argued with each other fiercely as to which one of Gu Nianbin and Du Xiaoxian was more loyal. Finally they came to the conclusion that the two of them were almost the same and would never do anything harmful to the other.

Since Gu Nianbin had already stayed in the hotel, this matter was a little too serious. Today, he tried every effort to ask Gu Nianbin out for dinner together, and the two of them booked a private room, ordered a large table of dishes, and opened a bottle of red wine. However, Gu Nianbin did not pick up his chopsticks at all, only drinking sullenly. This was not like him. Shao Boqing felt that things were not as simple as he had imagined.

When he was at his house that day, the two of them were still intimate to the extreme. In just a few days’ time, how did things end up like this?

“Can’t you just tell me?” Shao Boqing put away his smiling face and said seriously, “Nianbin, we are friends. What is the use of friends? They come to help you when something happens to you. Don’t keep everything to yourself. It’s not good. Tell me and see if I can help you.”

Gu Nianbin only smiled bitterly, swaying the wine in his glass, but he did not say a word.

“You want to drink?” Shao Boqing raised his glass and clinked it against his, “Come, I’ll drink with you.”

Gu Nianbin drank up his wine and stood up, “I’m off to go.”

“Don’t,” Shao Boqing quickly pulled him back. “Come on, you’re making me so anxious. It’s only been a few days. Look at yourself, your face is so skinny. Even if you don’t want to say it, you can’t go on like this. You’re President Gu of the Gu Group, and tens of thousands of employees are relying on you. You can’t be so depressed, okay?”

“I’m not depressed,” Gu Nianbin finally said. “I don’t want to think about anything right now. I just want to run the company well.”

Shao Boqing looked him in the eye and said without fear of death, “Not even think about Du Xiaoxian?”

Gu Nianbin fell silent again.

Shao Boqing asked again, “Where’s Du Xiaoxian? Her phone is turned off and she’s not at home.”

“You went to look for her?”

“Zhou Ting did.”

Gu Nianbin paused for a moment and sat down slowly. Shao Boqing hurriedly poured the wine for him and put a few more dishes in his bowl. “At least have some food. The dishes are cold. When Du Xiaoxian comes back, she will worry about you seeing you’re so thin.”

Gu Nianbin picked up the wine glass and sighed, saying gloomily, “She’s not coming back.”

Shao Boqing was shocked, then smiled and said, “How is that possible? Can she bear to part with you?”

Gu Nianbin took a sip of wine and suddenly picked up his chopsticks to have dishes. His expression was much calmer than before.

Shao Boqing asked tentatively, “Is she…really not coming back?”

“No.” Gu Nianbin took another sip of wine and continued eating.

Shao Boqing asked again, “Why?”

“Did you quarrel?”

“Did she run away from home like last time?”

However, Gu Nianbin seemed to have made up his mind not to say anything, and would not reveal any more information no matter how he asked.

“Even if she leaves angrily, it doesn’t matter. Just find her back like last time and it’ll be fine, right? Do you want me to inform Shen Li and Old Ling? We can send people to look for her everywhere through both proper and improper ways. I’m sure we can find her.”

Gu Nianbin just shook his head and didn’t say anything.

“Are you going to let her go just like this?” Shao Boqing didn’t believe it. Du Xiaoxian was Gu Nianbin’s sweetheart. If she left, could Gu Nianbin live by himself?

“Leave this matter to me. I’ll find her for you. I don’t believe that I can’t find her.”

Gu Nianbin took another sip of wine and finally said, “It’s no use even if you find her back.”

“Why?” Shao Boqing was puzzled. “You don’t want her anymore?”

Gu Nianbin gazed at somewhere blankly in the void, and he was silent again. Shao Boqing felt like there was a ball of burning fire in his heart, but he couldn’t force him. He intended to rack his brains and find a way to coax him into telling the truth.

Gu Nianbin suddenly said in a flat tone, “I slept with Xia Xiaowan.”

Shao Boqing was so shocked that his chopsticks fell to the ground and he forgot to pick them up. He just looked at Gu Nianbin in shock and asked in disbelief, “You slept with Xia Xiaowan?”

Gu Nianbin smiled bitterly, poured all the wine in the glass into his mouth, then filled up another glass and opened his red eyes to ask him, “Isn’t that inconceivable?”

Shao Boqing was still dumbfounded. “It is inconceivable.” The news seemed to knock him out of his wits.

“I also think so,” Gu Nianbin laughed self-deprecatingly. “That something like this is happening to me is inconceivable.”

“But, why?” Shao Boqing asked, “Do you still like Xia Xiaowan? You’re not over her, so you can’t help it?” Gu Nianbin was one of the most devoted men he knew, who could even be comparable to a monk who wouldn’t be disturbed with a woman in his lap. How could such a thing happen?

Gu Nianbin shook his head. “You know me well. I can’t like two women at the same time. I was drunk that night and she was by the side when I woke up in the morning. I was shocked. I don’t know how it happened.”

“Is that why Du Xiaoxian left?”

“This happened after she left.”

Shao Boqing was quite experienced in such things, so he frowned and asked, “You… Are you sure you did have sex with her?”

“I was drunk, and I couldn’t remember anything afterward.”

“You… Didn’t you feel anything?” Shao Boqing said, “You could at least feel something, huh?”

Gu Nianbin shook his head.

Shao Boqing said, “Like the time when Nina and I did it. I was also drunk, but I had some impressions as to what I did and what I did not do. It can’t be that you didn’t feel anything at all.”

Gu Nianbin only shook his head.

“Xia Xiaowan told you that you had sex?”

“Of course she didn’t say it out loud, but she hinted at it and told me not to take it to heart. She also said she wouldn’t refuse me, which makes me have to hide from her now.” Since Gu Nianbin had started the conversation, he decided to tell him everything.

“If it really happened, there would always be traces left behind. Just recall it carefully.” The more Shao Boqing thought about it, the more he felt that it was strange. He was an expert in this kind of thing. It was not like Gu Nianbin was unconsciously drunk. If he was having sex, he couldn’t be left with no memories at all.

Hearing what he said, Gu Nianbin tried to recall something. Although he was naked, his underwear was still on him. When he woke up, his back was facing Xia Xiaowan. The two of them weren’t leaning together. Xia Xiaowan was hiding under the quilt, so he actually didn’t know if she was wearing anything. And when he was showering, he didn’t notice anything unusual about himself. Thinking about it carefully, he found that there was indeed something wrong. But he was only guessing. Xia Xiaowan would not joke about such a thing, which was not good for her.

Shao Boqing said, “Since Xia Xiaowan came back this time, I’ve found that she has changed and is a little different from before. That’s why I told you last time to be careful and not to let the history repeat itself on Xia Xiaowan like it did on Xia Manyin.”

“Xiaowan is not that kind of person. She is not malicious.”

“I hope she isn’t,” Shao Boqing took a sip of the wine. “Just be careful.”

Gu Nianbin was silent. Although he also felt that Xia Xiaowan had changed a little, after a few years, everyone would change a little. In his mind, Xia Xiaowan was still the lively and beautiful little girl who always liked to follow behind him.

It took them a long time to finish this meal.

Gu Nianbin sat in the car, staring at the bustling night in a daze. The stream of people was flowing, with the neon lights flickering. It was the most luxurious and unrestrained time of the day when all sorts of scenery lights outlined the tall buildings into huge crystal boxes, and they looked so bizarre and motley. In such a chaotic world, it was really difficult to be able to maintain a pure heart by oneself. Even he couldn’t do it, so he made such a mistake.

When he returned to the hotel, he did not insert the room card and just walked into the room. The curtains were tightly shut without letting in any light, and he stood in the deep darkness, so deep that nothing could be seen. Gu Nianbin suddenly remembered that Du Xiaoxian had said that she liked to stay in the dark because it made her feel safe.

He slowly squatted down, sat on the ground, hugged his legs, put his chin on his knees, and closed his eyes. In this way, he felt more peaceful in his heart because no one could find him.

He maintained this posture and it was indeed effective. He emptied his brain and didn’t think about anything. There was only endless darkness. Until his limbs were numb, but he still didn’t want to stand up, so he just relaxed and lay on the ground and fell asleep.

He woke up in the middle of the night due to coldness, so he got up, inserted in his room card, turned on the heating, took a hot bath, and then went back to sleep. When he was bathing, he made a decision. There were some things he couldn’t avoid, so it was better to solve them face to face. This was his usual way of doing things.

The next day, he took the initiative to call Xia Xiaowan and ask her out for dinner. Xia Xiaowan happily agreed. She even arrived earlier than him. Xia Xiaowan was admiring a large craft vase by the wall when Gu Nianbin entered. When she heard the sound of the door, she turned around and smiled, “Brother Nianbin, you’re here.”

Gu Nianbin asked, “Have you been waiting long?”

“I’ve just arrived,” Xia Xiaowan walked up and intended to take the coat he was about to take off. Gu Nianbin avoided her and handed it to the waiter beside him.

“Have you ordered yet?”

“Not yet. I was waiting for you to order.” Xia Xiaowan’s tone was coquettish.

Gu Nianbin picked up the menu and ordered a few dishes. The waiter took the menu and left. After a while, he came back to ask if he wanted any wine. Gu Nianbin hesitated for a moment and said no.

Xia Xiaowan looked at him and smiled. She knew what Gu Nianbin was worried about, but she didn’t expose him.

Gu Nianbin sat down, lit a cigarette, and suddenly asked her as if he remembered something, “May I?”

Xia Xiaowan smiled and said, “Of course. You don’t have to restrain yourself in my presence.”

Gu Nianbin smiled, took a puff, and slowly spat out the smoke. The grey smoke spread out like a veil, covering his face. For some reason, Xia Xiaowan suddenly had a bad feeling in her heart, and the smile on her face faded a little.