I was exposed for adding my female boss to my group of female friends.

“I didn’t expect you to know about this,” Chen Ya laughed. “It’s okay, once my game comes out, it will dominate half the market.”

Gu Yuqing stared at him.

The more she looked at his overly confident self, the more suspicious she became.

People who are so confident that they can talk about billions are usually liars.

"You're not thinking of running away, are you?" Gu Yuqing asked, frowning. "I'm warning you, the Gu family's power is much greater than you think. If you dare to run away, they have a million ways to get rid of you."

Chen Ya smiled and shrugged, saying, "Don't worry, I won't run away. Even if I do, I'll take you with me."

Gu Yuqing's emotions calmed down a little: "Really? You want to elope too?"

"Isn't it more enjoyable to run away with a beautiful woman by my side than to run away alone? Do you think I'm that stupid?"

Gu Yuqing smiled and said, "Although I know I'm pretty, I'll still be proud even if you exaggerate like that."

"Be proud, you really are beautiful."

Gu Yuqing's smile faded, and she said, "Hey, I'm asking you, what exactly are you planning to do?"

"Let's make a viral marketing hit game first," Chen Ya said casually.

"This idea is indeed correct, but can you guarantee that you will succeed on the first try? You don't have many chances to try and fail."

Chen Ya said, "If I were to rate my confidence, it would be 120%. Whether you succeed or not depends on whether you dare to invest in the early stages."

Gu Yuqing looked at his face, hesitated for a long time, and finally decided to trust him.

There's nothing I can do if I don't believe him.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the two of them are now bound together.

What was thought to be a fun, casual move turned out to be a pivotal piece that changed his destiny.

Gu Yuqing, a chess player who was unwilling to live as a pawn, finally finished her long deliberation and made the move she had hesitated on for a long time on the chessboard.

"Well then, it's a pleasure to cooperate with you. I wish you success."

Wish me luck.

The two held hands on the table.

Chapter 321 A tangled web of relationships and awkward feelings

After reaching an agreement with Gu Yuqing, their appetites improved considerably, and Chen Ya finally had the time to observe this little "private chef".

A European-style candlestick lamp hangs overhead, with real candles carefully covered in glass domes.

On a brown sandalwood table with fine textures, there is an iron incense burner shaped like an animal, from which a faint fragrance of ambergris wafts.

The flickering candlelight reflected off the wine glasses on the table, while charcoal burned quietly in the fireplace.

Bathed in the glow of the firelight, Gu Yuqing looked exceptionally beautiful.

Chen Ya lifted the lid of the incense burner with his hand, sniffed it, and found a layer of fine white ash inside, but he couldn't quite make it out.

"Is this incense? I heard it's very expensive?"

“There are expensive ones and cheap ones. Cheap incense costs a few dozen yuan, while top-quality ambergris is worth the same as gold,” Gu Yuqing said.

"Equivalent to gold."

Chen Ya repeated it and took a deep sniff.

I couldn't smell any fundamental difference between it and mosquito coils.

"How much did this cost?"

Gu Yuqing covered her mouth and laughed, "This isn't ambergris, but it's not bad either. It's the kind that costs three thousand yuan a pound."

Chen Ya opened his mouth and looked up: "So expensive?"

"Do you know how much this meal cost? It cost more than ten thousand yuan for two people."

So that's where all the money was spent.

Chen Ya was beginning to understand what "rich people mainly eat for the atmosphere" meant.

"This club isn't a professional private kitchen, so if they want to stand out, they can only focus on these kinds of details," Gu Yuqing said casually.

Chen Ya put some kind of pastry in his mouth, but he couldn't taste anything other than sweetness.

Chen Ya put down his fork and asked, "May I ask a question?"

"please say."

"What motivates you wealthy people to eat at places with such exorbitant premiums?"

"What's the motive?" Gu Yuqing looked puzzled. "There's no particular motive."

"No, no, let me give you an example," Chen Ya said. "In my own understanding, when I entertain distinguished guests, I take them to very expensive restaurants. It's more prestigious and shows respect for the guests. But if you bring me here..."

Gu Yuqing covered her mouth and laughed, "Don't you think you're a distinguished guest to me?"

Does it count?

"Not counting."

"..."

Seeing Chen Ya's speechless expression, Gu Yuqing chuckled, then tiptoed and rubbed her foot against Chen Ya's calf under the table.

"There's nothing particularly special about it. For example, if I want to find a place where I can eat and play tennis, I'll come here."

"This place isn't good value for money, what about other places..."

"Where else?" Gu Yuqing asked, tilting her head.

"For example, a tennis court..."

"There are too many people, and I feel uncomfortable with a lot of eyes staring at me." Gu Yuqing rested her hand on her cheek.

Chen Ya glanced at the heavy burden she had placed on the table, swallowed, and nodded: "Indeed."

"For ten or twenty thousand yuan, you can enjoy a whole day of peace and quiet here. It's convenient and affordable, much more cost-effective than other places. For me, it's not expensive at all, but rather a great deal."

"...Our understanding of what constitutes a good deal is a little different."

He picked up the golden beast-shaped incense burner beside him, played with it for a while, thought for a moment, and then said:

"You said this incense costs three thousand yuan per kilogram. That must be what the seller claims, right? If the seller is selling inferior goods as superior ones, how would we know?"

“I know,” Gu Yuqing said while eating her steak with a knife and fork. “I can tell the difference just by smelling it. There’s quite a big difference between inferior and superior aromas.”

"..."

I was unwittingly shown off again.

Previously, "aristocratic family" was just a distant title for Chen Ya.

It wasn't until he met Gu Yuqing that he understood what the concept of a "noble family" really meant.

He also realized just how rich people really are.

Although he had made a lot of money in the past, he wasn't really rich.

Essentially, the money he earned was from his own work; to put it bluntly, it was hard-earned money.

He'd seen many celebrities of that caliber, like Jiang Xinhai and Xu Xiangxiao.

In the realm of ordinary people's imagination, celebrities of this caliber are already incredibly wealthy.

But their money was earned song by song and concert by concert.

They earned their money through hard work.

The truly wealthy are different.

The truly wealthy spend other people's hard-earned money.

Gu Yuqing is a truly wealthy person.

Previously, I sat across from Gu Yuqing at a table. At that time, the investors were on the other side of the table.

The two are still sitting across from each other at a table, but their identities have changed to that of "friends".

However, the distance between these tables remains an insurmountable distance between the two social classes.

The closer Chen Ya got to her world, the more he understood that he and she belonged to different worlds.

Earlier at that bar, Chen Ya was momentarily captivated by the environment and atmosphere, and had a fleeting desire and ambition for Gu Yuqing.

But Gu Yuqing's words later dispelled his idea, and he was still annoyed about it for a while.

Looking back now, Gu Yuqing's words saved his life.

People like her, who have lived in different worlds since childhood, are destined to have no future together.

After figuring this out, Chen Ya slowly pulled his foot back from under the table.

Originally, their feet were very close together, but after Chen Ya pulled back a little, the distance between them suddenly seemed much greater.

Gu Yuqing was a great diner and companion. While eating, she would explain to Chen Ya how to eat the various dishes and their origins.

She could keep bringing up new topics, and they were all very interesting, keeping the whole meal lively and engaging.

However, Chen Ya's attitude became inexplicably colder after his realization.

Gu Yuqing may appear careless, but she is actually very sensitive. She naturally sensed the change in Chen Ya's attitude.

This change left her feeling bewildered and somewhat irritated.

She was conflicted. She didn't want Chen Ya to have feelings for her and pursue her—because that would mean losing someone she could talk to and who was pleasing to the eye.

She didn't want Chen Ya to have no feelings for her at all.

This is a source of pride for beautiful girls. If he has no interest in her, it means she lacks charm and will feel frustrated.

Besides, if the man she's interested in doesn't like her back, wouldn't all that makeup and time she spends choosing clothes before seeing him every day be for nothing?

As a result, the atmosphere between the two became somewhat awkward. One felt like he was being snubbed, while the other felt he needed to maintain a closer distance.

Gu Yuqing really wanted to ask him what his opinion was about her, but she was too embarrassed to ask.

Because Chen Ya didn't actually show anything, it's just that the way he looked at her wasn't as emotional as before, it was as if...

It was like going back to the time at Takasugi Capital, when the two of them were giving investment reports across a table.

It was a look that suggested a purely business partnership.

If Gu Yuqing were to ask, she guessed that Chen Ya would most likely say, "Aren't you being too sensitive? I didn't do anything to you."

That would make Gu Yuqing seem like she was just being presumptuous.

Gu Yuqing never wanted to date Chen Ya in the first place, and even if they were to date—her principle was that she absolutely could not show that she liked the other person first.

Because whoever falls in love with the other first loses.

Gu Yuqing will never be a loser.

What she didn't realize was that she had already lost while she was in such distress.

……

The meal was finished quickly.

So-called private kitchen dishes are nothing more than the same old three dishes: beef, roast duck, and Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. After eating them, you'll be just barely full.

After sitting at the table for a while and chatting casually about nothing of substance, Gu Yuqing, feeling frustrated, said she wanted to take Chen Ya to play tennis.

The so-called tennis court here is actually a half-floor on the rooftop. It offers a wide view, and the walls and ceiling are made of energy-absorbing materials so the tennis balls won't fly around.

Gu Yuqing has a private counter here. She changed into a pink sportswear outfit in the changing room, still showing off her voluptuous long legs.

But Chen Ya wouldn't be fooled by the cute color of the sportswear; he knew all too well that the pinker the clothes, the harder the beating.

"This is yours, go change." Gu Yuqing tossed a men's tracksuit to Chen Ya, who was waiting outside, with a cold expression.

She's come to terms with it now; Chen Ya's relationship with her is lukewarm, so she doesn't treat Chen Ya any differently.

The first principle is to act fairly.

Chen Ya picked it up and glanced at what Gu Yuqing had thrown at him. It was brand new, with the tags still on.

Remembering that she had given him the clothes last time, he looked up apologetically and said, "I'm sorry, you're always the one who gives me these."