Unraveled

Rumors

When Gu Quan finally heard gossip about herself, it didn’t come from her company colleagues—it came from Yuan Ye.

After their second rendezvous, the two had reached a silent understanding. Whenever they wanted, they contacted each other, meeting another two or three times. Hotel bills were split evenly, and beyond that, there wasn’t much else between them.

With more meetings, Gu Quan gradually learned the basics of his background. He was a graduate student at Haicheng Medical University, in his sixth year of the combined bachelor’s-master’s program, only twenty-four this year—four years younger than her. He specialized in cardiac surgery.

When she heard that, her expression shifted, and she looked at him with new eyes. “Oh? Didn’t expect you to be that impressive.”

Hearing her, Yuan Ye’s naturally drooping eyes narrowed further in amusement. Throwing off the blanket, he rose to his feet. His skin was fair, his shoulders broad and waist narrow, muscles taut and defined. Standing there stark and unashamed before her, he made no effort to hide himself.

Gu Quan turned her head away, reaching for her phone—when his voice drifted over:

“You’re impressive too. I heard you don’t just have me as a bed partner. Word is, you’ve also hooked up with your married director at work?”

He said it with total calm, without even a trace of jealousy. It wasn’t worth feeling jealous over—it sounded more like idle chatter tossed out casually.

The words jolted Gu Quan. She sat upright at once. “Where did you hear that?”

Yuan Ye arched a brow, casually pulling on his pants before sitting back down. “Where else? I heard it a couple of weeks ago.” He studied her face with curiosity. “But a married director? Doesn’t seem likely. Judging from your condition after being with me these times, you don’t look like a woman who’s seeing another man.”

Gu Quan thought for a moment. The only source he could have was Molly. But what puzzled her was: where had Molly gotten such baseless nonsense in the first place?

She decided she’d ask her colleague Liang Xixi later. Even though none of it was true, she wasn’t about to waste time explaining herself to Yuan Ye.

Tilting her head, she countered with a sly look: “By the way, did Molly dump you recently? Twice I went to the set, I saw her being awfully cozy with one of our actors. Tsk, Yuan Ye, when the fishpond’s too big, eventually one fish is bound to swim away.”

Yuan Ye gave a low laugh, then suddenly pinned her down beneath him. One large hand cradled the back of her head as he lowered his mouth to her ear, lips brushing her earlobe with heat and dampness.

In a hushed murmur he said, “Gu Quan, you’re already twenty-eight. How is it that your schemes are still not as deep as a girl barely past twenty like Molly?”

His words made something click in her mind, though not completely clear. She lifted her hands to push him away, but he only lifted his upper body slightly. His striking face was so close that she could feel the warmth of his breath, tinged with a sweet undertone. Her heart sped up, and she deliberately averted her eyes, refusing to meet his gaze.

“What are you dodging for? I’ll teach you how to kiss. Didn’t that director of yours ever kiss you?” he teased, gripping her chin with his fingers.

After a few times together, he had realized just how inexperienced Gu Quan was. She didn’t even know how to kiss properly. During s*x, he rarely kissed her either. Now, staring at her lips—moist, pale pink, delicate—his desire stirred restlessly.

Gu Quan snatched up a pillow and smacked it into his face. “You keep bringing up that director. What—do you want to meet him? Or are you into both men and women?”

Catching the pillow, Yuan Ye straightened and said matter-of-factly, “Oh, can’t you tell? I’m jealous.”

Gu Quan met his eyes, expression unreadable. “Could’ve fooled me. I don’t hear it at all.”

He grinned, then hopped off the bed and went into the bathroom to shower. For some reason, he felt oddly defeated—like this older “missy” of his didn’t harbor the slightest fantasy or expectation toward him.

Water rushed noisily from the bathroom. Left alone, Gu Quan finally unlocked her phone. Opening her chat with Liang Xixi, she typed: Xixi, what kind of rumors are being spread about me at the company right now?

The reply came almost instantly: You only just found out? I thought you knew already. That’s why I didn’t bother telling you.