"No, this can't be true. Xiao, you must be doing this out of guilt, right? If my brother knew that we loved each other, he would definitely give us his blessing."
Watching Song Xuan spiral into hysteria, Gu Qixiao felt an intense impatience.
Especially when he heard her bringing up her brother again, the disgust on his face deepened.
"Enough. I've already told you it's impossible for us to be together. I don't want to hear such nonsense from you ever again."
Gu Qixiao, with a pounding headache, quickly delegated the issue to Assistant Li and went straight to the private room. However, when he arrived and saw Ji Yu sitting inside, an intense irritation welled up in him.
He had clearly told her before not to disrupt each other's lives anymore—especially since this woman was acquainted with the wife who had humiliated him with infidelity.
At this thought, Gu Qixiao didn't even bother to enter the room and left directly. Before leaving, he deliberately sent Assistant Li a message and turned to book another private room nearby.
He wanted to see for himself what this married woman, who had gone to great lengths to contact his father to lure him out, was truly after!
Meanwhile, Ji Yu kept glancing at the time on her phone, watching the minutes tick by. After waiting nearly an hour without seeing Gu Qixiao, she simply got up and left.
"Hey, Qinqin, this matter might require us to think it through long-term."
Feng Qinqin, who already knew Ji Yu hadn't managed to meet Gu Qixiao as planned, wasn't overly concerned. The Gu family, after halting the collaboration abruptly, would naturally have to give the Feng family an explanation.
Still, if Gu Qixiao didn't even show respect for his own father, alternative strategies would be necessary.
After hanging up the call, Ji Yu drove off, heading directly to meet Feng Qinqin.
At the Feng residence, inside Feng Qinqin's bedroom.
When Ji Yu arrived, she was greeted by the sight of Feng Qinqin only just getting out of bed. Even though she was used to her friend's disheveled appearance, in that moment, Ji Yu couldn't help but feel a surge of irritation.
Not for any other reason—Gu Qixiao had stood her up.
"President Ji, don't be like this... I-I'm getting up right now!"
Although Feng Qinqin knew Ji Yu's anger wasn't directed at her, she was still slightly panicked and quickly got up.
After a few short minutes of tidying up, the two of them began their 'trial' against Gu Qixiao.
"That Gu Qixiao is just ridiculous! You were married for three years—how has it now come to a point where even meeting him has become so difficult?"
"Especially since this time, it wasn't even you who…"
Hearing Feng Qinqin start to bring up the fact that she didn't directly contact Gu Qixiao—afraid her best friend might find out how embarrassing it was that she didn't even have her husband's phone number after three years of marriage—Ji Yu quickly interrupted her.
"Alright, alright, that's not important right now. What we need is a long-term strategy."
"For the Gu family, canceling a collaboration isn't a big deal. But for the Feng family, being forced into cancellation will undoubtedly damage their reputation."
Feng Qinqin understood Ji Yu's point. Even though her father hadn't explained much to her, she wasn't oblivious to the potential implications.
She could distinguish between relationships built on trust and those founded on pure material gain.
Considering these factors, Feng Qinqin and Ji Yu began brainstorming alternative solutions to this predicament…
At the same time, Gu Qixiao, who had been in the neighboring private room, noticed the unusual silence. He was about to go check when his phone suddenly rang.
Seeing the caller ID, Gu Qixiao pinched the throbbing spot on his temple.
"Hello."
Before Gu Qixiao could ask anything, Song Xuan's voice came blaring from the other end of the line.
"I refuse to go through with treatment! If even Xiao doesn't want to see me, then what's the point? I've been struggling to survive all these years—it's enough!"
"Get out! All of you, leave me alone! I don't want the treatment!"
Listening to Song Xuan's frenzied cries, Gu Qixiao felt helpless.
He didn't need Assistant Li to spell it out—he already understood what this meant.
So, before Assistant Li could even utter the words "help me," Gu Qixiao hung up and headed straight for the hospital.
Even though he truly didn't like Song Xuan, he still couldn't stand by and let her endanger her life with such reckless behavior.
For three years, he had been repaying this debt. He couldn't allow an incident to happen when he was just beginning to feel a slight ease from it.
...
All along, Mr. Gu had thought Ji Yu and Gu Qixiao were in pleasant conversation. He didn't bother them, hoping for the best.
It wasn't until evening that he reached out to Ji Yu to ask about how things were going.
"Yu, how did your chat with that fool go?"
Ji Yu, who had just pulled up outside the Ji residence, quickly parked her car and answered the phone. Upon hearing Mr. Gu's question, though, she froze for a moment.
Did Mr. Gu really not know that Gu Qixiao hadn't shown up?
Well, considering he was bold enough to keep a mistress, this little thing probably didn't bother him in the slightest.
"Dad, after waiting in the private room for a while, I had to leave because of something urgent at the hospital."
Mr. Gu, familiar with her demanding job, didn't push and let her change the subject without bringing up the no-show explicitly.
He understood what Ji Yu's words implied.
Still, the fact that the couple had been married for three years yet needed him to coordinate their meetings troubled him.
That two people who should have been intimate now acted like strangers undeniably hinted at deeper issues.
Ji Yu understood Mr. Gu's concerns. However, since their divorce wasn't yet public knowledge and Gu Qixiao hadn't broached it first, she couldn't initiate the topic herself.
That said, the Feng family's current situation was indeed tricky.
Even if she couldn't salvage the partnership, she at least wanted to know the reason behind its sudden termination.
Even a criminal sentenced to death is informed of their crime beforehand—how could the established Feng family not deserve the same?
The Gu family's actions were baffling, and if the Feng family made one wrong move, it could spell disaster for them.
"Dad, actually, it's about my best friend…"
Ji Yu wasn't trying to use her status as the Gu family's daughter-in-law to solve Feng Qinqin's problem. But in times like these, lending a helping hand seemed unavoidable.
Finally, in the Ji family garage, Ji Yu explained the sudden cancellation of the partnership between the Gu and Feng families to Mr. Gu. She repeatedly emphasized she only wanted to understand the specific reasons behind it.
Her earnest tone convinced Mr. Gu that she wasn't seeking any undue advantages and strengthened his belief that he had chosen well for his son.
Especially since, over the past three years, Ji Yu had never stirred up scandal or drama, even as Gu Qixiao buried himself in work. She neither complained nor made a scene.
"Don't worry—I'll get to the bottom of this for you."
Mr. Gu's reassurance eased Ji Yu's mind. She and Feng Qinqin had spent the entire afternoon brainstorming, but every idea seemed fraught with risk.
Now that Mr. Gu was taking the initiative, getting the answer would definitely be much more straightforward.
As for whether to resume the collaboration with the Gu family, that would depend on their attitude.
The Feng family wouldn't go bankrupt due to severing this one partnership. However, the abrupt cancellation had caused other partners to speculate that there was a problem within the Feng family.
If this issue could be clarified, the Feng family's foundation would remain secure.
Just as Ji Yu was finally ready to head home for dinner, Gu Qixiao—who had just slammed the door coming out of Song Xuan's hospital room—received a call from Mr. Gu.
"You brat, get your ass home right now!"