Chapter 17 – Their Second Kiss

Jiang Ning noticed the look of disgust and warning in Gu Beicheng’s eyes as he gazed at Bai Zehan. Tilting her small face up with curiosity, she asked, “President Gu, do you have a grudge against Bai Zehan? Did that scoundrel steal your girlfriend?”

“In the past, not really. But now…” The man’s deep black eyes held a hint of meaning, and a faint curve played at his lips. “Now, he’s after you.”

Jiang Ning was momentarily speechless. She cocked her head, smiling sweetly at him. “After me? No one can have me.”

“Jiang Ning, do you think I could win you over?”

Gu Beicheng shifted to stand directly in front of Jiang Ning, his broad chest enveloping her comparatively delicate frame. He bent down, his face nearly touching hers.

Jiang Ning’s beautiful eyes widened slightly as she breathed in the mature, fresh scent he exuded. A blush crept across her pale cheeks. “We agreed this was all an act, President Gu. You can’t go back on your word.”

Sensing her embarrassment, Gu Beicheng straightened with satisfaction. “I never promised you anything. Feelings are strange things. My feelings for you are different from those I’ve had for other women.”

The atmosphere between them grew tinged with ambiguity.

Jiang Ning was at a loss for how to respond. She didn’t want this man to become an unexpected variable in her path of revenge.

If she couldn’t avoid it, she would have to accept it with grace.

“Hmm? Why so quiet?” Gu Beicheng gently squeezed her small hand, his magnetic voice setting her heart aflutter.

Jiang Ning bit her lip and, feigning composure, met his gaze. The tilt of her eyes accidentally revealed a trace of allure. “Still not letting go? My hand’s getting sweaty.”

Unbeknownst to them, the camera crew had moved closer and were now streaming live from behind, at just the right distance.

On the livestream, Gu Beicheng and Jiang Ning were dressed in matching outfits, holding hands. The man gazed down at her with deep affection, while the woman looked up at him, shy but blossoming.

The comments scrolled in:

"Are you sure they've only been on one date???"
"They look like a couple who’ve been together forever!"
"Jiang Ning is clever!"
"That scandal-plagued actress knows what she's doing!"
"Are they about to kiss?"
"Jiang Ning is disgusting, always playing the casting couch game!"
"I don’t care! I ship this couple!"

Jiang Ning tried to pull her hand free, but Gu Beicheng only chuckled, straightening up, yet refusing to release her. “So you’re going to drop me now that you’ve used me? We’ve already kissed—what’s a little handholding?”

Standing tall in the sunlight, his expression was hard to read. Jiang Ning retorted coolly, “That wasn’t a kiss—it was artificial respiration. And if you hadn’t made me drink that juice, I wouldn’t have had an allergic reaction! It’s your fault!”

Her cheeks flushed, she wrenched her hand from his grasp and wiped the sweat away. “President Gu, do you have feelings for me?”

Gu Beicheng was silent for a moment, then walked to her other side, taking her other hand. His tone was calm. “What do you think?”

Jiang Ning couldn’t figure out what this man was up to. Weren’t they both just acting, pretending to date, pretending to be a couple?

But the way he behaved made it seem all too real.

A lazy male voice sounded again, “The camera crew is following us.”

Jiang Ning glanced back—sure enough, Gu Beicheng was only being affectionate for the sake of Old Master Gu, who was watching the livestream.

For some reason, a trace of disappointment flickered in her heart.

“Jiang Ning, you did the right thing. Stay away from Bai Zehan.” Suddenly, Gu Beicheng lowered his head, his handsome face close to hers, his flushed lips only a few centimeters from her own.

Jiang Ning instinctively backed away, covering her mouth, her eyes full of reproach. She muttered, “Do you have to stand so close? My first kiss is already gone—what, you want another? You’re insufferable!”

“What was that?” Gu Beicheng raised his eyebrows, the corners of his lips unmistakably turned up in amusement.

“Nothing,” she replied.

Jiang Ning glanced at the nearby camera, then tiptoed to pat his shoulder, motioning for him to lean down. “So, did Bai Zehan really steal your girlfriend?”

Whenever she thought of that freeloader’s pale, fawning face, she couldn’t hide her loathing.

Gu Beicheng was a bit taken aback by her eager expression. He shook his head. “No. If he ever tried to steal my woman, I’d make him pay with his life.”

His calm tone was laced with menace. Jiang Ning felt a rush of excitement. “Why not take care of him now, just in case?”

“You seem to have a lot of animosity toward him.”

Jiang Ning’s earlier ruthless confrontation with Bai Zehan was hardly the behavior of a jilted ex. It was more as if Bai Zehan had committed some heinous crime.

“It’s more than a little. President Gu, come closer and I’ll tell you.”

She grabbed his sleeve, shaking it mysteriously.

Gu Beicheng smiled, letting go of her hand but staying put, enjoying her playful demeanor.

Jiang Ning had no choice but to stand on tiptoe, wrapping her arms around his neck, trying to pull his head down. “I’ll whisper it in your ear—come closer.”

The man was so tall; at 167 centimeters, she could barely reach his neck on tiptoe. “Forget it if you don’t want to hear.”

She was about to let go when a pair of hot hands gripped her waist. She turned, “What are you—mmm!”

Jiang Ning stared in shock at his handsome face, so close to her own. Her eyes dropped to his lips, which were pressed firmly to hers.

A moment later, a slight pain at the corner of her mouth snapped her out of her daze.

She pushed against his chest with both hands. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Gu Beicheng’s eyes sparkled with mischief as he glanced at her moist lips. “I bent down, and your face came right up to mine.”

His nonchalance infuriated her. “What was I going to tell you? Nothing! If you didn’t want to listen, forget it! Get out of my way!”

Jiang Ning shoved him aside and stormed off in a fury.

Standing there, Gu Beicheng touched his lips, savoring the taste. The mischief in his eyes melted into indulgence.

“Ah, my little darling is throwing a tantrum. She’ll forgive me soon enough.”

He walked over to the cameraman, gave a helpless smile to the camera, then strode after his “little darling.”

The livestream comments rolled in:

“I can’t take it anymore, guys.”
“This man is so smooth.”
“Jiang Ning and Cheng Beigu—lock them in together!”
“Isn’t Cheng Beigu the classic domineering CEO?”
“My grandson is doing great!”
“Hey, watch your mouth!”

“Ning, what’s wrong? You look like you swallowed a stick of dynamite.” Qi Jun was sitting by the tent, munching on bread and watching the drama unfold. Before he could get his fill, Jiang Ning came stomping back, clearly upset. Maybe Cheng Beigu’s breath offended her?

Jiang Ning shot him a glare. “Wipe that smirk off your face. And pay me back what you owe.”

“Oh come on... Why bring up money now?” Qi Jun immediately lost his appetite.

He shuffled closer, full of grievance. “Ning, I’ve got my own problems. My stepmother talked my old man into cutting off my allowance. I even had to borrow clubbing money from my agent!”

“Your stepmother?” Jiang Ning arched an eyebrow, lips curling with interest. She loved juicy gossip.

Seeing she wasn’t insisting on payment, Qi Jun relaxed, though his tone was bitter. “She’s twenty-five, just a year older than me. She hooked up with my dad when she was eighteen. If I told you her name, you’d definitely know her!”

“Who?” Jiang Ning feigned disinterest.

“Gao Tiange’s younger sister, the up-and-coming actress Gao Tiantian!”

Jiang Ning frowned in disbelief. “Gao Tiantian?”

If she remembered correctly, Gao Tiantian and Qi Jun had both fallen from grace around the same time in her previous life.

Gao Tiantian was once dubbed the “Worst Celebrity of the Year” by netizens, openly trading favors in the entertainment world.

A couple months later, Gao Tiantian and Qi Jun joined a reality show together. Paparazzi caught them being intimate, and rumors of their affair spread wildly online. In the end, both were blacklisted.

“Ning, what’s wrong? After ‘Love on the Road,’ I still have to do a mystery-solving show with her. The thought makes me sick.” Qi Jun still resented his lecherous father for forgetting his son once he took a young wife.

Jiang Ning shook her head, a trace of sympathy in her eyes. “You probably shouldn’t do that show—it won’t be good for you.”

“Huh? Why not?” Qi Jun leaned in, confused. “Not good for me?”

“Because she’s the only female guest on the show. Ask your agent if you don’t believe me.” Jiang Ning was right; the show had five male guests and only one female—Gao Tiantian.

When Gao Tiantian’s scandal broke, it was exposed online that she’d been involved with each of the four other male guests.

Qi Jun shot to his feet, grateful. “Ning, thanks for the warning! I can’t handle being the only guy without a girl around. I’ll talk to my agent as soon as we’re back—I can’t stand that kind of misery!”