Chapter 34: I've Always Liked You!

“But I’ve regretted! I’ve come to realize that I’ve always liked you, so please, can we get married?”

Regret?

Always liked him?

He had wished for her to say these words from the very beginning. However, he felt a wave of irritation and anger rising within him: she had declared her feelings in such an indifferent tone.

Si Zhengting clenched his fists and fought to control his growing rage. He shot Zhuang Nainai a cold glance and walked briskly to his car, his mood foul.

He had to leave before he does something he would regret.

Zhuang Nainai was perplexed.

He asked for a reason, but now he was going to just leave?

What was that all about?

Zhuang Nainai took a step forward, “Hey… Si Zhengting, you…”

He turned with a blood-red death glare that startled Zhuang Nainai.

The rest of her sentence got stuck in her throat.

She then heard Si Zhengting threaten in a harsh tone devoid of any warmth, “Zhuang Nainai, if you dare cross me again, I will make the Gu Corporation disappear! Now! Immediately! Right this instant!”

He was shrouded in a formidable air of aggression.

Zhuang Nainai was stunned into silence. She watched unmoving as he climbed into the car and drove off.

Even long after the entourage left, she did not regain her senses.

Why did it end this way when Si Zhengting’s attitude towards her just turned for the better? They even kissed!

She was baffled. As the cars moved out of sight, Lin Xi’er ran over and waved the camera in her hands. “I got the shots! But are you sure you want to send them to the press? If all the headlines in the papers are about your impending marriage, Mr. Si will know that you used him. You guys may never… work it out again…”

Zhuang Nainai chased her puzzlement from her mind and looked at Lin Xi’er. She hesitated and sighed, “Xi’er, do you think we’ve still got a chance?”

Lin Xi’er paused. She thought about Si Zhengting’s actions and kept quiet.

Zhuang Nainai drew in a deep breath. “You wait for my news, I will go to the Gu’s now. If they… we will have no use for these photos.”

Lin Xi’er nodded. “You explain nicely to your father. He is, after all, your family. He would not make it difficult for you.”

Zhuang Nainai smiled helplessly. Wouldn’t they?

It was already 10pm when Zhuang Nainai reached the Gu’s house. Gu Deshou and Li Yufeng were still up and watching television in the living room. Gu Deshou was surprised when he saw Zhuang Nainai. He stood and anxiously asked, “Qingyan, did Mr. Si agree to it?”

He was not concerned with the fact that she did not return home for the past two nights – the first question he had instead was regarding Si Zhengting’s answer?

Could he really be her biological father?

Zhuang Nainai snorted. Why did it feel like these two “parents” had no feelings for her, that the only reason they sought her was for the arranged marriage to Si Zhengting?

She had always been sensitive to such conspiracies, having been brought up in a broken family. Furthermore, she always trusted her intuitions.

She always felt that her mother had complicated entanglements with this family.

And between her mother and this family, she trusted her mother more.

Zhuang Nainai paused and did not answer him. Instead, she asked, “Dad, tomorrow is the deadline for the 500 thousand yuan. Is it really impossible for you to get that money for me?”

Gu Deshou was lost for words.

Gu Deshou’s silence made Zhuang Nainai’s blood run cold.

Her original guess was also nearer to the truth.

Although the Gu’s were frequently close to bankruptcy, to a family whose financial resource was once worth several hundreds of millions, 500 thousand yuan may only be a single piece of Li Yufeng’s jewelry. But now!

They are now using this affair as a bargaining chip…

Gu Deshou sighed. “Nainai, it’s not that we don’t have 500 thousand, but you must know, with our family situation now, once we are bankrupt, we won’t have a place to stay… You and Mr. Si…”

Without letting him finish, Li Yufeng coldly snorted. “Why are you being so meticulous to that thief?! Our family doesn’t owe her anything, serves her right if she is taken to court! She should count her blessings that we did not sue her! If you have that energy, you should think about how to please Mr. Si so that he’ll go through with the engagement!”

After hearing this, Zhuang Nainai furrowed her brows and said, “My mom isn’t a thief!”

“She is a thief, a thief who steals children! We have witnesses and material evidence, what can you still argue about?”

Zhuang Nainai clenched her fists tightly. “Anyway, according to what we initially agreed, if I help you through this difficult time, you will give me 50 thousand.”

Li Yufeng sneered. “At this moment, have you already helped us?”

With Li Yufeng’s coercion, the remaining feelings of guilt and insecurity in Zhuang Nainai’s heart disappeared.

She paused, her expression returned to normal, and she now had a relaxed expression on her face.

Seeing this, Gu Deshou suddenly stood up excitedly. “Really?”

Li Yufeng also looked at her, revealing an expression of disbelief.

Zhuang Nainai smiled. “It’s true, there should be a report on this coming out tomorrow. You should know, towards other women, he’d always decline advances, but towards me…”

Upon saying this, Zhuang Nainai lowered her head, shyly saying, “He has been busy these last few days, with regards to the wedding and other matters… Dad, we need you to find time to meet the people in his family.”

Gu Deshou repeatedly nodded his head, excitedly rubbing his hands. “This is natural, this is how it should be.”

Zhuang Nainai looked towards him again. “That 500 thousand…”

“When we see the relevant reports tomorrow, we will give it to you,” Li Yufeng said before Gu Deshou could open his mouth to speak.

Zhuang Nainai’s heart sank. She nodded her head then headed to the room that was especially prepared for her to rest in.

As she entered the room, her expression sank all of a sudden. She sat down on the sofa dispiritedly, hugging her own knees.

When the photos get sent out to the public tomorrow, the Gu’s should immediately proceed to the bank to take a loan.

However, when Si Zhengting finds out that she had made use of him, will his anger at that time affect the Gu Corporation?

Zhuang Nainai took a deep breath, hoping it would not be like that. She really had no other choice.

Taking out her cell phone, she found Lin Xi’er’s number from her contacts. She stared at that number, dazed.

…

Late at night…

Si Zhengting stood on the villa’s balcony, surrounded by the smoky air. Cold wind blew and scattered his hair, but it could not blow away his cold expression.

Lifelessly, he looked straight ahead, yet his pupils were not focused. At the moment, his mind was full of the lines Zhuang Nainai had shouted today.

“… Because I still like you, I love you, so I want to marry you!”

“I regret it, I have always liked you, shall we get married?”

Irritably snuffling the cigar in his hands, he picked up his cell phone to call executive assistant Ji Chen. “Clear my schedule for the next two months.”

His executive assistant was stunned. “Sir, may I ask why?”

“I want to prepare for the wedding.”