The night he dropped Lin Qing Yun off at the park to meet Xu Wei Ran, Gu Ze Yan spent hours pacing in his apartment like a caged beast.
He tried pouring himself wine but left it untouched on the table. He opened documents on his laptop, yet his eyes blurred over the words. The city outside Liangcheng sparkled with neon lights, couples walking hand in hand below his window, but none of it soothed him.
What did they talk about?
Did she smile the way she smiled at him?
Was she happy, or…?
The questions swirled endlessly. In the silence of his apartment, even the ticking clock mocked him. For the first time in years, Gu Ze Yan hated not knowing.
The next morning, he drove to pick her up as usual.
Qing Yun stepped out of her building in a simple cream blouse and light blue skirt, hair tied back in her usual low ponytail. She greeted him with that same radiant smile, slipping into the passenger seat as though nothing in the world was wrong.
He hesitated, fingers tightening on the steering wheel before asking quietly, "How was yesterday?"
Qing Yun turned to him, eyes curved like crescents. "Everything good."
Her voice was so bright, so easy, it was like spring sunlight pouring through the window. Relief washed over him like a tide. His shoulders loosened, his chest lightened. Whatever happened yesterday, she said everything was good. That was enough.
At least, that's what he told himself.
At Luminar, while waiting for the elevator, he overheard two female employees chatting behind him.
"Did you see the news? Xu Wei Ran was spotted in a park with some girl. Hugging, even a forehead kiss—so sweet!"
"Yeah, the photos are everywhere. I wonder who the girl is. Her face is blurred, but she looked slim, long hair… maybe a model?"
Ze Yan frowned. His heart gave a strange jolt, but he brushed it off. Gossip magazines were full of baseless rumors. Still, once in his office, curiosity gnawed at him. He opened his laptop and typed Xu Wei Ran's name into the search bar.
And froze.
The headline blared: "Xu Wei Ran suspected dating mystery girl—romantic night in Liangcheng park."
The photos were grainy but unmistakable. Wei Ran's tall figure, the blurred girl leaning against his shoulder, his hand stroking her hair. Another showed him kissing her forehead under the streetlight. One more—her head resting quietly against him.
To others, the girl was anonymous. But to Gu Ze Yan… he knew.
It was Sunny.
His stomach plummeted. The relief he felt this morning shattered into jagged shards. So that's what she meant by "everything good". She had accepted Wei Ran's feelings.
He slammed his laptop shut, breath uneven.
Right then, Chen Rui walked in carrying documents. He nearly jumped seeing his boss's stormy face, then noticed the gossip page still lingering on the laptop screen.
"Boss… since when are you interested in celebrity gossip? Don't tell me you're a Xu Wei Ran fanboy?" Chen Rui teased cautiously.
Gu Ze Yan glared at him.
Chen Rui, misinterpreting the glare, muttered under his breath, "…ah, maybe Boss isn't straight after all. Poor Miss Lin."
Gu Ze Yan: "…"
If looks could kill, Chen Rui would've evaporated on the spot.
From that moment on, Gu Ze Yan entered sulking mode.
During a board meeting, while Shen Qiao presented fluently, Ze Yan stared blankly at his notepad, stabbing his pen into the paper like a sulky child.
At a client lunch, Shen Qiao charmed their guests while Ze Yan sat stiff, muttering to his steak, jabbing it with unnecessary force.
"Gu Ze Yan." Shen Qiao hissed under her breath, glaring daggers.
"What." He looked up innocently, but his knife continued massacring the poor steak.
By the time they returned to Luminar, Shen Qiao had given up, muttering about how even presidents weren't immune to mood swings.
That afternoon, Qing Yun was waiting for the elevator with two heavy bags of coffee for the management team.
When the doors opened, she was greeted by Shen Qiao's warm smile and Ze Yan's cold face. Sunny beamed as usual.
"Hi!"
Shen Qiao nodded back. Ze Yan reached out… and pressed the "close" button right in front of Qing Yun.
The doors slid shut before she could step in.
Qing Yun blinked in confusion, holding the coffee bags. Shen Qiao turned to him with raised brows.
"What are you doing?"
Gu Ze Yan smirked smugly, offering no explanation.
Later in the hallway, Qing Yun passed him again, balancing the two bags of coffee. She offered him a cheerful smile. He stopped, reached out, and snatched one cup of coffee without a word, walking away.
Qing Yun stood frozen, speechless. …He's sulking.
Evening came. Qing Yun finished her bookstore shift, stepping outside expecting to walk home. And there he was—Gu Ze Yan leaning against his car, holding her favorite fragrant tea.
But instead of his usual teasing smile, he wore the same sulky face.
She accepted the tea, warmth spreading through her chest, but when she tried to start conversation in the car, all she got were short replies.
"Did you have dinner yet?"
"Hm."
"How was the meeting today?"
"Oh."
"You look tired, maybe sleep early?"
Shrug.
Qing Yun tilted her head, watching him pout in silence. It was almost funny. The great Gu Ze Yan, admired and feared in the business world, reduced to a sulky boy in her passenger seat.
When they arrived at her apartment, he still dutifully got out and opened her door. Qing Yun stepped out, then turned to him with a thoughtful gaze.
Suddenly, she reached out and cupped his cheeks with both hands.
His entire body froze.
Her hands were soft, her palms cool from holding the tea cup earlier. She tilted his sulking face toward her, eyes glimmering with mischief.
"Gu Ze Yan," she said gently.
His heart thundered. He had prepared himself for reproach, for her to tease him, even to scold him. But her tone… it was so soft, so tender.
"Is Luminar in trouble?" she asked playfully. "Did Chen Rui tease you too much? Did Shen Qiao scold you again? Or did your brothers annoy you?"
He shook his head silently, lips pressed together.
Qing Yun's smile deepened, her eyes curling. "It's fine if you don't want to tell me. But you know what? You look kind of cute when you sulk."
His breath caught.
Before he could respond, she withdrew her hands, chuckled softly, and dashed upstairs, her skirt swishing behind her.
Gu Ze Yan stood rooted to the spot, still feeling the warmth of her hands on his cheeks.
He wanted to stay angry. He wanted to sulk until she explained everything.
But the memory of her smile, the way she looked at him so softly, kept replaying in his mind, dissolving his defenses piece by piece.
A sigh escaped his lips.
Perhaps… he didn't mind sulking forever, if it meant she would smile at him like that.