Chapter 5: 005 Sleep with me_1
Not many people in the company knew that Jiang Xi and Gu Bichen were husband and wife, and Director Chen was one of the few in the know. Seeing that the couple had private matters to discuss, he quickly found an excuse to leave.
With the door closed, the office was left with only Jiang Xi and Gu Bichen.
Gu Bichen's gaze darkly fell upon Jiang Xi, sizing her up from head to toe, a look that made Jiang Xi very uncomfortable.
"President Gu, if you don't have any other orders, I'll be leaving now."
Gu Bichen's face darkened. He suddenly stood up, circled the desk to face Jiang Xi, grabbed the back of her neck, and pressed her face onto the desk.
This posture made Jiang Xi feel humiliated.
"Gu Bichen, what are you doing?"
"Not coming home at night? Jiang Xi, who gave you the guts to fool around outside?" Gu Bichen leaned close to her neck and sniffed like a pervert, "You reek of alcohol, it's disgusting."
Gu Bichen was a typical double-standard man. He could be away from home all day, fooling around with women, but he would never allow Jiang Xi to mess around with others.
She had once been secretly pleased by this, thinking he cared about her.
Later, she realized that this was just a common fault among men. His belongings, even if he scorned them and left them to gather dust in a corner, were not to be touched by others.
Jiang Xi was so angry that her eyes turned red. She struggled to get up but was pressed down firmly by Gu Bichen, unable to move.
"Gu Bichen, you have no right to control me."
"If I don't have the right, then who does?" Eyelids lowered, Gu Bichen looked at Jiang Xi. Her upper body was tightly pressed against the desk surface; that chest, that waist, those legs were simply flawless.
He had slept with so many women, yet he hadn't realized the finest was right beside him.
Gu Bichen's mind entertained some lascivious thoughts. Patting Jiang Xi's buttocks, he spoke with a frivolous tone, "Jiang Xi, although I despise you as a person, your figure surprisingly fits my taste. I haven't bedded a woman like you yet. You must be lonely keeping watch over an empty bed, how about sleeping with me for one night?"
Jiang Xi heard the insult in Gu Bichen's words; he treated her like those women who would sleep with anyone for money, devoid of all respect.
Unable to bear it any longer, she unexpectedly kicked at Gu Bichen's crotch.
"Ow!"
A squeal like that of a slaughtered pig emanated from the office as Gu Bichen clutched his groin, hopping and jumping in pain. Jiang Xi seized her freedom, immediately putting distance between them.
"Jiang Xi, don't be so ungrateful!" Gu Bichen roared in embarrassment and fury.
A trace of hurt flickered through Jiang Xi's eyes. The bright, sunny boy she once deeply loved had long become unrecognizable.
It was her refusal to accept this that had allowed her to fall deeper and become so pathetic.
"Gu Bichen," Jiang Xi closed her eyes, forcing back the tears welling up, "I owe you nothing."
Gu Bichen, enduring the intense pain below, with veins throbbing on his forehead, said, "Jiang Xi, don't you feel guilty saying that? If it weren't for you, Wanwan wouldn't have died in front of me!"
Jiang Xi's face paled suddenly, "Since you brought up Bai Wanwan, let's clarify this matter once and for all today."
She wasn't a pushover; for all these years, she tolerated and indulged Gu Bichen because she still harbored hope, thinking there might be a chance for them.
Now, she was tired and just wanted to end this life-draining marriage swiftly.
Gu Bichen was no longer worth her complete devotion.
"What do you want to clarify, saying that Wanwan didn't commit suicide because of you?" Pointing at her nose, Gu Bichen bellowed, "Jiang Xi, you are a murderer!"
Jiang Xi looked at Gu Bichen's glaring eyes, filled with rage, and didn't want to say anything else.
Was what Gu Bichen thought of her important? Ever since he had made the unreasonable demand for her to provide long-term financial support to Bai Wanwan, the affection between them had soured.
It was her who couldn't let go, desperately trying to grasp at something to prove that they once shared an intimate bond.
"Gu Bichen, if you have evidence, then let the police come and arrest me," she said. "Otherwise, don't make baseless accusations that make you look like you're making a fuss for no good reason, especially when it's unimpressive."
Gu Bichen watched as Jiang Xi turned around and walked toward the door. His face tense, he said stubbornly, "Just wait, I will eventually find the evidence that will make you pay for what you did to Wanwan!"
All that responded to him was the sound of the door slamming shut with a "bang."
Gu Bichen stared deathly at the door, his eyes growing sore until he rubbed them hard, his anger culminating in a punch on the office desk.
Jiang Xi, I won't let you off easy!
*
Jiang Xi sat down at her workstation, and seeing her return, a colleague slid over on their chair, quickly noticing the bruise around her neck.
The marks on her neck led to speculation, especially since she had gone to President Gu's office and returned with a fresh bruise. Could it have been President Gu who caused it?
"Jiang Xi, what happened to your neck? Who did this to you? They were really rough," the colleague said, poking at the bruise on Jiang Xi's neck.
Jiang Xi reflexively touched her neck and, thinking of how Gu Bichen had choked her fiercely, said dismissively, "I just bumped into a door earlier, it's nothing."
Who did she think she was fooling?
The colleague eyed the obvious finger marks on her fair skin, muttering to themselves but said aloud, "You should be more careful. Oh, by the way, Tianlu Group called Director Chen this morning, saying we need to pause the project."
Jiang Xi frowned.
No wonder Gu Bichen had urgently summoned her early in the morning. Tianlu Group putting a halt to the project was a major loss for Baize Group.
"I'll call Director Zhang."
Jiang Xi picked up her phone and dialed Director Zhang's number. After two rings, the call was hung up on the other end, clearly indicating his displeasure for being stood up the day before and his reluctance to speak to her.
She persistently made several calls, all of which were hung up by Director Zhang, and finally gave up.
During the department's morning meeting, the supervisor blasted Jiang Xi about the issue, demanding that she resolve it within two days or face a salary deduction.
Jiang Xi didn't argue; the responsibility was indeed hers.
After the meeting, Jiang Xi returned to her desk to contemplate a solution.
An '82 Lafite was her medium of promise; she had committed to gifting Director Zhang a bottle and needed to find one to deliver, because a person who breaks promises cannot be taken seriously.
Having worked for several years, Jiang Xi had quite a few resources in wineries and started sending messages to inquire.
There was only one winery that still had a bottle of '82 Lafite in storage; it was expensive, but biting back the pain, she asked the owner to reserve it for her, and she would go pick it up immediately.
Jiang Xi told her colleague she was stepping out for a bit, grabbed her bag, and left. The colleague watched her silhouette disappear from the office area and then turned to gossip with another colleague about the origins of the bruise on Jiang Xi's neck.
As soon as Jiang Xi arrived at Kangyue Winery, she stepped through the door and saw Gu Bichen with his arm around the actress from the day before, who was holding the very bottle of '82 Lafite Jiang Xi had asked the owner to reserve.
Jiang Xi felt numb.
Why was that bastard Gu Bichen everywhere?
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone