Chapter 364: What Did You Do Behind My Back?

Night fell, and a bright moon hung high in the sky.

Inside the kitchen of the mountaintop villa, two chefs in crisp white uniforms were stir-frying New Year’s Eve dinner over a roaring flame. Meanwhile, Gu Heng, dressed in black silk pajamas, sat on the sofa and turned on the Spring Festival Gala for the first time in four years.

The screen filled with songs and dances celebrating peace and prosperity, accompanied by joyful laughter.

Ever since Uncle Ben Shan had retired from it, the Spring Festival Gala had been getting worse year after year. It drew countless complaints after every broadcast. A bizarre niche had even emerged on Bilibili where people would live-stream themselves roasting the gala.

But no matter how much people complained, on New Year’s Eve, they would still tune their TVs to the CCTV-1 channel early. The moment the sounds of the Spring Festival Gala began, the New Year’s spirit would naturally emerge.

This was also why Gu Heng had never watched the Spring Festival Gala in previous years. The holiday atmosphere it created only made him feel more lonely, more desolate, and more sorrowful.

This year, however, he had Lin Qingge for company. She was also stuck in Beichun, unable to reunite with her family. With the two of them huddling together for warmth, Gu Heng no longer resisted the idea of turning on the television to watch the Spring Festival Gala.

The show opened with a song called “Dragon’s Dance of Inspiration.” A dozen or so stars stood in a line at the center of the stage, all dressed in various festive red outfits, each one of them radiant and full of energy.

Behind them were large traditional drums, accompanied by a troupe of highly skilled dancers. The joyous and celebratory atmosphere was instantly palpable.

Gu Heng took a sip from his wine glass, inhaling the fragrant aromas wafting from the kitchen.

Originally, Gu Heng had instructed the general manager of Banquet Fusion to just have the New Year’s Eve dinner prepared and delivered. However, if the general manager had actually done that, it would have meant all his years of experience were for nothing.

The chairman’s New Year’s Eve dinner had to be cooked and served fresh on the spot!

It had to have that essential, fresh-from-the-wok aroma!

It had to be served piping hot!

And so, at seven in the evening, the general manager of Banquet Fusion arrived in person with two head chefs and an array of top-tier ingredients. While he was there, he also took the opportunity to wish Gu Heng a happy New Year face-to-face.

Gu Heng offered a few words of mild “criticism” for how the general manager had “misinterpreted” his instructions, but ultimately let him proceed with the arrangement.

While waiting for Lin Qingge to arrive, Gu Heng picked up his phone and continued replying to messages.

Currently, Gu Heng had seven wholly-owned companies under his control: Zhen Cui Group, Junlan Hotel, Zhao De Inheritance, Dingdun Capital, Changze United, Celestial Travel Airlines, and Xingyao Culture. These companies employed thousands of people in total.

Even though only senior executives had access to his personal WhatsApp, that still amounted to over a hundred people. And with the Lunar New Year in full swing, how could these subordinates not send him holiday greetings?

In addition, Gu Heng was also a director at Junyao Group, Ruyi Airlines, and Xingchuan International. Many people at these three companies also had his personal WhatsApp, and plenty of them were sending greetings today as well.

Add to that his friends from Zhonghai and various other professional contacts he’d made over the years, and all Gu Heng could say was:

‘There are too many to reply to. It’s impossible!’

Even though he could use a broadcast message to reply to most of them, there were still quite a few people who required a more personal response.

However, just as Gu Heng was focused on handling the holiday greetings, a message from Jiang Ruan suddenly popped up.

Jiang Ruan: I love you!

Jiang Ruan: I love you so, so much!

Gu Heng, in the middle of replying to greetings, couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at Jiang Ruan’s sudden messages. He sent back a “?”, quickly followed by a voice message.

“Did you do something behind my back that you need to apologize for?”

After Gu Heng sent the voice message, Jiang Ruan replied with a “?” of her own, along with a confused-looking sticker.

Seeing this, Gu Heng leaned back against the sofa.

[Connecting video call…]

About ten seconds later, Jiang Ruan answered the call.

“What’s up~”

“Just checking up on you~”

Jiang Ruan gazed at Gu Heng’s handsome face on the screen, her eyes filled with unconcealable delight. “I was just expressing my love for you. How does that turn into me doing something to apologize for behind your back~”

“Well, you did it so suddenly, without any warning.”

“Haven’t you seen those kinds of videos online?”

Gu Heng said with a grin, “Usually, a woman only sends her man a sudden ‘I love you’ message like that when she feels guilty about something she did.”

“Oh, so that’s how it is…”

A slight smile played on Jiang Ruan’s lips. “I haven’t done anything to be sorry for. I just finished New Year’s Eve dinner with my family, and I feel so happy right now. And since all the happiness I’m enjoying is because of you, I couldn’t help but message you.”

Listening to Jiang Ruan’s explanation and looking at her expression, Gu Heng could guess—based on their deep, intimate relationship where they knew each other inside and out—that something had probably happened after she went home, but it had been resolved perfectly.

“Have you eaten dinner yet?”

Jiang Ruan asked with concern.

“They’re making it now.”

Gu Heng flipped the camera around, showing Jiang Ruan the two chefs in the distance, busy stir-frying the New Year’s Eve dinner in the kitchen.

“Well, make sure you eat a lot later~”

“If you get bored, I can stay on the video call with you~”