Chapter 5: The Playful Second Young Master × The Domineering Female CEO (Part 5)

Nan Ming smiled. She hadn’t expected she’d truly discovered a treasure. “The design department’s work this time is pretty good. It’s got a lot more energy.”

“Vice President Gu often discusses things with them. Everyone in the design department really respects him.”

“Oh?” Nan Ming tapped her finger on the table and signed her name on the new product launch document. “Everyone’s worked hard. Double the bonuses. Let’s all prepare well for Fashion Week.”

“Thank you, Director!” Bai Xin was overjoyed and hurried out to share the good news with everyone.

After Bai Xin left, Nan Ming glanced at her phone. Gu Yin had specifically taken a day off today but hadn’t said what he was going to do. Nan Ming felt a bit uneasy—maybe because she had gotten used to Gu Yin always checking in with her.

She refreshed her phone a few times but didn’t receive any messages from Gu Yin. She sighed lightly, set the phone down, and went back to her work.

In fact, today was Nan Ming’s birthday, and Gu Yin had been preparing for it early on.

Speaking of the Nan family’s story—it was quite outrageous. Nan Ming’s parents had an arranged marriage. Nan Ming’s father had a girlfriend before marriage, but his family didn’t approve, so they broke up. He then hastily married Nan Ming’s mother, but while she was pregnant, he rekindled his relationship with his ex. Nan Ming’s mother caught them red-handed.

Furious, Nan Ming’s mother ended up in the hospital. She grew increasingly moody and dark. Taking advantage of Nan Ming’s father’s guilt and vulnerability, she drugged him, thinking that even if she couldn’t be happy, she’d ensure her child inherited everything from the Nan family—as revenge against him.

When Nan Ming’s father found out, he was livid. They had a huge fight, which caused complications during childbirth. Nan Ming’s mother died shortly after giving birth.

Nan Ming’s father could no longer have children, so he was particularly fixated on Nan Ming’s marriage, always wanting her to find a husband who could marry into the Nan family and carry on the family line.

Nan Ming’s birthday wasn’t far from the anniversary of her mother’s death. She never really celebrated it. Her father avoided mentioning her mother and thus didn’t pay attention to Nan Ming’s birthday either.

Gu Yin knew about all this and felt great sympathy for her. So he had been planning for a long time to give her an unforgettable birthday—to help her forget the misfortunes passed down from the previous generation, to help her find happiness again, and to remind her that there is still love in the world.

Nan Ming finally received a message from Gu Yin at five o’clock, which immediately put her at ease. She relaxed and opened the message—Gu Yin was asking when she would be coming home.

She looked at the pile of documents on her desk and thought of everything coming up soon. She suddenly felt like giving herself a break. She replied “Soon,” put on her coat, gave Bai Xin a few brief instructions, and drove home.

Come to think of it, this was the first time she had driven herself in over a month. It felt a bit rusty, but the experience made her smile.

As soon as Nan Ming entered the elevator, she felt something was off. There was a single rose placed inside. She was curious—was someone in the building celebrating something?

When she reached the 12th floor, she saw another rose on her doorknob. Suddenly, she understood and felt a faint sense of anticipation in her heart.

She opened the door to find Gu Yin already waiting at the entrance. He knelt to help her change into slippers and handed her a bouquet of 99 roses. “Happy birthday!”

Nan Ming smiled. “How did you know?”

“I secretly looked at your ID card,” Gu Yin admitted. Nan Ming recalled that he had once asked to see her ID with some random excuse. She’d been confused at the time—but now she realized he had been planning all this.

“So, what have you prepared?” she asked as they walked toward the dining room.

“Ta-da~ My distinguished Miss Nan, may I have the honor of dining with you tonight?” Gu Yin pulled out a chair for her and whispered in her ear.

Nan Ming playfully hit him, laughing. Gu Yin had specially prepared a Western-style dinner for her—exquisite and thoughtful. As they sat facing each other, eating, Gu Yin suddenly took out a beautifully wrapped box. He opened it to reveal a sapphire necklace.

He had recently gone out of his way to bid for this sapphire and had it custom designed, resulting in this unique necklace.

“Ming-jie, we’ve been spending time together for over a month now. I think it’s time I made my intentions clear.”

Gu Yin gazed at her with gentle eyes. The time they’d spent together had only deepened his admiration for her. Everything about this woman matched his ideal type, and every move she made tugged at his heartstrings. “Let’s make this official. Let’s date.”

Looking at everything Gu Yin had done for her, Nan Ming suddenly understood why young people liked being in love. She blushed and nodded.

Gu Yin, overjoyed, lifted her up and spun her around several times before setting her down—only when she blushingly patted him to stop.

“Ming-jie, I…” Gu Yin looked at Nan Ming’s flushed face under the soft yellow lights, his gaze drawn to her lips. He leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss, testing a few times before Nan Ming playfully hit him. Then he laughed and kissed her deeply.

“Are you even any good at this?” Nan Ming lay draped over him, laughing uncontrollably. She hadn’t expected this guy to be so inexperienced—he didn’t even know how to breathe properly during a kiss. What a fool.

“A man can’t say he’s no good,” Gu Yin said through gritted teeth. He pulled her up, pressed her against the wall, and entered her again without hesitation.

…

Since they officially got together, the design department felt like their director had softened a lot. She frequently showed off her relationship in front of them. As long as she and Gu Yin exchanged glances, they would both break into smiles. It was like torture for all the single people around.

“Director! Our new product sold out!” Bai Xin burst in excitedly. The new line had just launched yesterday, and today it was already sold out. Several socialites and madams had called to request custom dresses. They were raking in profits this time. “By the way, Director, the Chairman wants to see you.”

“I know,” Nan Ming replied, unable to hide her happiness. She looked over at Gu Yin’s empty seat. That guy had been mysteriously busy again lately. She opened WeChat and sent him a message:

[Congratulations, Little Gu Vice President! Your work was a huge success—you’re famous now!]

Gu Yin didn’t respond right away—who knew what he was busy with—but Nan Ming wasn’t in a rush. She walked to her father’s office and knocked. “Dad, you wanted to see me?”

“If I hadn’t asked you to come, were you ever going to tell me anything?” Her father’s face was red with anger. “Tell me—what’s going on between you and that Gu Yin kid?”

Because of her mother, Nan Ming had always felt a bit of a barrier with her father. Since returning to the country, she had lived independently and even told him not to interfere in her private life.

Her father, deeply guilty toward his only daughter, had heard she’d kept Gu Yin at the company, but he didn’t dare to ask her directly. So he had just been quietly observing from a distance.

“We’re together,” Nan Ming said calmly, sitting down.

“You’re living together?”

“Mm.”

“You’ve only known each other for a short while and already moved in together?!” Her father slammed the table in fury.

“We’re going to have an arranged marriage anyway. What difference does it make if it’s sooner or later?”

“How can that be the same? Have you signed a prenuptial agreement? Have you discussed him marrying into the family? If you don’t set the rules early, where’s the guarantee?”

“Guarantee?” Nan Ming scoffed coldly. “Like the one you gave my mom?”

“I’m doing this for your own good,” her father said weakly, sitting down, defeated.

“For my good? I think it’s more about leaving a legacy for the Nan family. Afraid Gu Yin might back out? He’s not as shameless as you think!”

The pain her mother had endured made Nan Ming distrustful of both love and marriage. When her father suggested a political marriage, she hadn’t cared who it was. Anyone would’ve been the same. That was, until she met Gu Yin.

Gu Yin had given her respect, shown her the beauty of love, and proved to her that not all men were like her father.