CHAPTER 111: CHAPTER 111: COUNTDOWN TO THE CONTRACT DEADLINE BEGINS

Sheng Qianchi was very calm, even though he was unwilling to hear these words, he quietly accepted them.

He swallowed the food in his mouth calmly and spoke in a low voice, "Jiayin, liking someone isn’t something that becomes true just because you strongly deny it. Feelings are uncontrollable."

Yes, feelings are uncontrollable.

When Chi Ye said this to him before, he sneered, believing only the weak were incapable of controlling their feelings.

But now, he deeply understands that feelings are indeed uncontrollable.

He once thought he wouldn’t love anyone, even if Gu Jiayin temporarily attracted his attention, he believed she couldn’t stir his emotions at the core.

But in the end, everything was uncontrollable.

She had always hated him, rejected him, and was always cold to him, yet he fell hopelessly in love with her.

In the face of love, all men and women are weak.

As if fueled by anger, Gu Jiayin stood up in shame and annoyance, "Sheng Qianchi, stop deceiving yourself. I don’t like you. I have liked someone before, and I know what that feels like."

Yes, she had liked Pei Nianchen for so many years that when her feelings deepened, she was willing to give herself to him, but she didn’t have the same feeling for Sheng Qianchi.

This comment indeed stung Sheng Qianchi. If it were before that night, he would surely have pinched her chin or perhaps even punished her, but at this moment, he sat calmly, neither showing emotion nor revealing any weakness.

To love someone is to love all of her, including her past love for Pei Nianchen, and he needs to accept this fact.

So, despite the waves of jealousy and discomfort surging in his heart, he still showed her a smile, "Jiayin, why deny it so vehemently? Time will prove everything."

Gu Jiayin unconsciously bit her pink lip with force, angrily pushed the chair away, and turned to leave, only to have her wrist caught in a lightning-fast grip, "Jiayin, I won’t force you into anything, there’s no pressure."

After saying this, he let her go, "I said that I’ll make you willingly become my woman, and I’ll wait until you’re willing to be touched by me."

"Go rest," he said, finishing and returning to his meal, not lingering a second longer.

...

In the following days, their way of interacting didn’t change much; they still ate together, went to work separately, one slept on the bed while the other on the floor.

Regarding the issue of sleeping on the floor, Gu Jiayin deliberately brought it up, "Sheng Qianchi, you’re injured and need to rest well. Go sleep in the guest room?"

But Sheng Qianchi, seemingly unconcerned, smiled and responded, "Either let me sleep with you, or don’t mind where I sleep."

In the end, she let him go as he pleased, after all, it wasn’t her own body.

Everything was as it was before, except for his solemn confession, which created a subtle awkwardness between them.

Of course, the awkwardness was mostly on Gu Jiayin’s part.

What was initially a contract relationship of captivity has now evolved into him pursuing her, involving elements of seemingly true love.

For her, this has already exceeded the initial definition and understanding, naturally making it awkward.

She counted the days as they passed, and he too counted his days.

The countdown to the contract’s expiration began.

She only thought of leaving once the time was up, never to entangle again.

As for him, he was no longer in a rush to figure out how to keep her in the remaining time. He was genuinely good to her, earnestly trying to keep her, as if suddenly he had a lifetime to do so.

Even if in the near future she left Shuiyunjian, she would forever remain in Sheng Qianchi’s sight. With him around, no other man could approach her.

From the heavens above to the deep earth below, it was all Sheng Qianchi’s world. She was just playing in another part of his world.

She would ultimately be his woman, an unchangeable outcome.

She wasn’t before, but she definitely will be in the future. The present is just a process.

...

During this week, Gu Jiayin never once stopped her secret investigation into all of Qin Zhennan’s secrets, nor did Sheng Qianchi stop investigating hers.

She vaguely felt that countless eyes had appeared around her, though she did not know that these eyes were arranged by Sheng Qianchi.

A game between cats.

Though she still couldn’t approach the secret safe room in Twilight that housed the true accounts, she uncovered another important piece of news.

Qin Zhennan had a treasure stored at Eagle Emperor, paying a hefty annual storage fee for it.

Eagle Emperor was in the auction business, but they also operated in insurance, relying on their immense strength to protect significant treasures for the wealthy, charging exorbitant storage fees.

The Eagle Emperor Insurance Building is located in the center of Licheng City, over sixty stories high, built in a splendid, magnificent manner with the world’s most advanced security system.

Even world-class thieves rarely dared to target the Eagle Emperor Insurance Building.

What kind of treasure could be worth such an expensive insurance fee from Qin Zhennan? Naturally, it led Gu Jiayin to think of the Blood Tears Jade.

Although there was no guarantee of the accuracy of this speculation, she didn’t want to pass up even the slightest chance, making a night visit to the Eagle Emperor Insurance Building part of her recent action plan.

Reportedly, the Eagle Emperor’s security system is extremely advanced. Bold thieves who dared break into the Eagle Emperor Insurance Building never returned.

Gu Jiayin knew that with her strength alone, it was impossible to uncover the security secrets of the Eagle Emperor Insurance Building, so she set her sights on Sheng Qianchi.

On Saturday night, Sheng Qianchi was planning to attend a high-end banquet. The venue was on a cruise ship of the Eagle Emperor, with the host naturally being the CEO of Eagle Emperor.

Eagle Emperor was in the business of dealing with the wealthy and naturally maintained relationships by holding such gatherings with Licheng’s rich and famous from time to time.

Such events naturally required men to bring female companions.

Gu Jiayin usually refused to attend such events with him, so Sheng Qianchi hadn’t brought it up to her, planning to take a secretary instead, but Gu Jiayin approached him directly, "Have you decided on your female companion?"

Sheng Qianchi was tying his tie in front of the mirror, and upon seeing the woman who had come in, he raised an eyebrow in surprise, "What, have you started caring about which women appear around me?"

Today, Gu Jiayin deliberately maintained a degree of closeness with him, stepping forward to help him with his tie, "Can I accompany you?"

Looking down at the woman gently tying his tie, Sheng Qianchi smiled without speaking, as he’d been closely monitoring her every move lately. His men were a level above Qin Zhennan’s, having reaped many insights while investigating Gu Jiayin.

So he could guess a bit of her thoughts and purposes, though he didn’t know she was after the Blood Tears Jade.

The loss of the Blood Tears Jade by the Suri Royal Family was a great secret, known only to those who handled it.

Sheng Qianchi only thought Gu Jiayin wanted to steal Qin Zhennan’s treasure, since those treasures were left by her grandfather.