Chapter 16 — How dare you interrupt when the proprietress is speaking!

Jiang Ning lifted her gaze, eyes twinkling mischievously as she looked at Gu Beicheng, just as their eyes met. The man lowered his lashes, a gentle smile curling on his lips. He picked up a napkin and softly wiped the corner of her mouth, his previously cold gaze now warm and tender, as if filled with indulgence. “Do you always eat so carelessly? Don’t forget you have fans watching you.”

Almost caught in Gu Beicheng’s gentle trap, Jiang Ning suddenly remembered—her fans? Yes, the grandfather of this powerful man sitting before her! Jiang Ning knew that Gu Beicheng’s tenderness was merely for show; the distance in his deep, dark eyes was unmistakable.

“Jiang Ning, you—!” Bai Zehan interrupted their exchange.

The intimacy between these two stung Bai Zehan’s eyes and pierced his heart. He couldn’t believe that the woman who once clung to him now treated him with such indifference.

“Mr. Bai, are you disregarding me? Hmm? What did your agent teach you? When the boss and his wife are speaking, what gives you the right to interrupt?”

Throughout the conversation, Gu Beicheng’s gaze never left Jiang Ning’s face, not sparing even a glance for the man he regarded as a clown. His dark, powerful presence weighed heavily, making it hard for Bai Zehan to breathe.

Bai Zehan felt a surge of panic—boss’s wife? Had Jiang Ning really gotten close to Gu Beicheng?

“Impossible, Mr. Gu! How could you possibly be interested in Jiang Ning?” The words slipped out, and Bai Zehan instantly regretted them.

“No, that’s not what I meant. I just meant there’s such a gap in status between you two, Mr. Gu, you—”

Gu Beicheng slowly raised his chin, his gaze filled with contempt as he tossed the napkin aside and stood, his imposing stature bearing down on Bai Zehan.

“Mr. Gu, please don’t misunderstand—”

Bai Zehan’s gaze darted around, not daring to meet Gu Beicheng’s eyes. Suddenly, he spotted the cameraman who usually filmed Jiang Ning approaching. A flicker of hope appeared in Bai Zehan’s eyes and he relaxed a little—Gu Beicheng wouldn’t dare do anything with the live cameras around.

“Do you think I care about that?” Gu Beicheng followed Bai Zehan’s gaze.

But just as the cameraman was about to reach them, the chief director, Gao Minglang, called him away.

Bai Zehan froze, breath caught. He sensed the man beside him was on the verge of explosion, icy and intimidating.

“So, you haven’t even left Chengxing, yet you dare speak to me like this?”

The wicked, chilling voice made Bai Zehan’s scalp tingle and his legs tremble. He was shocked—how did Gu Beicheng know he was leaving?

Nothing escapes Gu Beicheng, who controls everything.

“No, Mr. Gu, we were at least high school classmates, there’s no need for things to be so tense.” Bai Zehan forced a laugh, hoping that invoking their “old classmate” relationship might earn him some leniency.

Jiang Ning, who had been quietly eating, paused, setting aside her bun and resting her chin in her palm, her bright eyes darting between the two. So they were classmates—no wonder Bai Zehan always tried to ingratiate himself with Gu Beicheng.

“High school classmates?” Gu Beicheng’s voice was murderous. “You think you’re worthy?”

Bai Zehan’s face darkened. “Even if it was just a day, it still counts.”

Gu Beicheng fell silent, clearly unwilling to engage further. He turned to the curious woman beside him, his tone softening slightly. “Finished eating?”

“Mm.” Jiang Ning nodded and rose, moving closer to Gu Beicheng.

He lifted his hand, gently touching her hair, lips forming a subtle smile as he bent to take her hand. “Let me take you somewhere.”

Jiang Ning gripped his large hand, smiling up at him. “Alright.”

Bai Zehan stood rooted in place, blocking their way, his gaze fixed on Jiang Ning’s radiant smile, jealousy flaring within him. Jiang Ning had never smiled at him like that.

He felt a pang of inferiority; the confident Jiang Ning now seemed out of his reach.

“Move aside!” Jiang Ning raised her hand and forcefully shoved the sanctimonious man before her.

But Bai Zehan wouldn’t let it go. He quickly grabbed her hand, his face grim as he looked at Gu Beicheng. “Mr. Gu, Jiang Ning hasn’t broken up with me yet. Do you want to see photos of her in bed with me?”

“Whether she’s broken up with you or not, she’s mine,” Gu Beicheng declared, bringing his hand down hard on Bai Zehan’s arm.

Bai Zehan’s temple bulged in pain, his grip on Jiang Ning’s arm weakening. He felt a fierce, hateful gaze—this time not from Gu Beicheng, but from Jiang Ning.

He forced a smile at her. “Ha, Jiang Ning, am I wrong?”

Jiang Ning’s face was icy, her eyes cold as frost. Suddenly, she smiled strangely and turned, tiptoeing closer to Gu Beicheng.

Gu Beicheng bent down intimately, her soft lips almost brushing his ear. “Mr. Gu, will you block for me in a moment?”

Seeing him nod, Jiang Ning raised her middle finger at Bai Zehan. “Mr. Bai, look over here.”

Bai Zehan glared furiously at her, about to speak when a sharp pain shot through his knee. He looked down in shock as Jiang Ning withdrew her foot. “Jiang Ning, are you forgetting your place?”

Jiang Ning kicked him again, making his legs tremble.

“Stubborn bones,” she narrowed her eyes, her whole figure shrouded in a dark aura. She kicked his calf once more.

Bai Zehan collapsed heavily to his knees before her.

Gu Beicheng moved aside, blocking Bai Zehan’s kneeling figure from view. Onlookers could only see Gu Beicheng and Jiang Ning.

“Bai Zehan, I told you not to provoke me!” All her hatred for him erupted; her gaze was chilling as she stared at his disgusting face.

Before Bai Zehan could speak, Jiang Ning seized his throat with both hands, tendons standing out on her slender wrists. “You slandered me, humiliated me, framed me—Bai Zehan, I’ll personally destroy you. Tell me, did anything ever happen between us?”

Bai Zehan’s face flushed, close to suffocation. He grabbed her hands desperately, shocked by her strength. Terrified, he choked out, “No, nothing.”

Jiang Ning scoffed. “I know you approached me with ulterior motives. Once I uncover the truth, I’ll come for you myself.”

The grip on his neck loosened, and Bai Zehan gasped for air, his head bowed in shame and resentment. He had hoped to talk things through with Jiang Ning, thinking he’d forgive her if she returned—but now she’d teamed up with Gu Beicheng against him.

The next moment, Jiang Ning, face cold and disdainful, told him to get lost, then took Gu Beicheng’s hand and left.

Bai Zehan struggled to his feet, gripping a nearby chair, his gaze vicious as he stared at Jiang Ning's retreating figure.

Suddenly, Gu Beicheng turned back, his bottomless black eyes full of warning.

Not until Gu Beicheng and Jiang Ning had completely disappeared from sight did the air around Bai Zehan finally clear. He exhaled slowly, his gaze deepening, thoughts swirling in his mind.