The Only One With a Mouth in the CEO Novel - Chapter 105: Gu Chenxi Was Her Gray Area

Chapter 105: Gu Chenxi Was Her Gray Area

After this incident,

Ye Jin felt she had found the key to controlling Gu Chenxi’s limits.

They began acting like a normal couple—holding hands, kissing, embracing.

This method proved remarkably effective.

At least there were no more marathon kissing sessions like that one time.

Ye Jin’s scope of work continued expanding. She now oversaw the entire industrial transformation division, no longer confined to a small studio.

With her previous work experience and connections, she handled everything with ease.

She had truly become the genuine President Ye.

Though they still didn’t work together directly, their work domains increasingly overlapped.

Today’s morning meeting was relatively brief.

So the executives gathered briefly in Gu Chenxi’s office before dispersing to their respective tasks.

The office door opened, releasing a stream of suit-clad vice presidents.

Several President’s Office staff stood nearby clutching documents, watching eagerly.

Only when the executives had left and closed the office door did they collectively exhale in relief.

Thank goodness, he didn’t come out.

My proposal will definitely pass this time.

May the signing go smoothly, may the signing go smoothly.

They clustered together murmuring these incantations.

Inside the office,

Ye Jin circled around the desk to Gu Chenxi’s side.

I just wanted to tell you we can’t have lunch together today, she said, casually catching his fingers. I took time off to accompany my mother for her medical checkup.

Ye Jin was growing accustomed to this mode of interaction:

Maintaining physical contact while speaking with Gu Chenxi, which kept him noticeably calmer.

And more amenable.

Alright.

Gu Chenxi lowered his gaze to stroke her fingers.

She had always been good at soothing people.

And he was indeed susceptible to her methods.

Even though Gu Chenxi knew perfectly well this was just her formulaic behavior—completely heartless—he still willingly indulged in her perfunctory attitude.

I’ll head out then.

Ye Jin tested the waters.

Mhm.

Gu Chenxi nodded, reluctantly releasing her fingers as he looked up at her.

As they spent more time together, his reluctance during separations seemed to have become the norm.

I’ll miss you, baby, Ye Jin said.

Lying again.

Some sweet talk she’d copied from somewhere, deployed on him word for word.

Gu Chenxi saw through it as clearly as through polished glass, yet he offered her a faint smile: Me too.

Human desire could never be fully satisfied—his longing for her included—but his adorable girlfriend didn’t seem to understand this yet.

Perfect score!

Ye Jin gave herself vigorous mental applause.

She turned to leave, but after two steps suddenly glanced back at Gu Chenxi.

He was leaning casually in his executive chair, noticing her gaze and slowly meeting her eyes.

He did appear properly pacified.

Reassured, Ye Jin exited the office.

The moment Ye Jin stepped out of Gu Chenxi’s office, she encountered the document-clutching group by the door.

All former colleagues from her President’s Office days.

What are you all doing here? Ye Jin asked curiously.

She had witnessed this scene many times before. Every time she stepped out of Gu Chenxi’s office, they would scramble to rush inside.

Today, Ye Jin couldn’t hold back any longer and voiced her confusion.

Instead of answering her question, her colleague urgently asked, How is President Gu’s mood today?

Ye Jin: Pretty good, I suppose.

Yes! The male colleague exclaimed excitedly, turning to Ye Jin, I have an important document. I’ll go report to President Gu first. Let the other two explain it to you.

With that, he took the lead and knocked on Gu Chenxi’s office door before entering.

Ye Jin looked bewildered: What’s going on here?

They just want to report work when President Gu is in a good mood, the female colleague explained. Every time President Gu spends time with you, he becomes more lenient with work matters. So whenever we have difficult tasks, we wait for this opportunity to seek his approval.

Since the worlds merged, the no-speaking setting had completely disappeared.

The President’s Office had finally returned to verbal communication, no longer as gloomy as before.

Yet they still feared reporting work to Gu Chenxi.

This didn’t seem right.

Ye Jin sensed something off.

Every time they parted, Gu Chenxi always appeared reluctant and in a bad mood.

That’s why she had been everywhere learning how others sweet-talk during relationships.

Then using those techniques to coax Gu Chenxi.

So he was pretending again, wasn’t he?

What’s wrong? Is there a problem? The colleague noticed Ye Jin’s strange expression and asked nervously, Is there something wrong with what we’re doing?

No problem at all, go ahead with confidence.

Ye Jin gave them reassurance.

Based on her understanding of Gu Chenxi, he was definitely putting on an act on both fronts this time.

Pretending to be reluctant in front of her.

And pretending to be tolerant in front of his colleagues.

Making them think they’d found the right way to handle him, unaware that these were deliberate vulnerabilities he exposed to manipulate them in return.

Truly worthy of being a capitalist.

The perfect score she had just given him in her mind instantly reset to zero.

This wasn’t just about being one level higher than her.

Gu Chenxi was operating at a completely different stratosphere, separated from her level by an entire galaxy.

That afternoon, while waiting in line for her medical checkup at the hospital, Ye Jin lowered her head and deleted all the relationship guides she had saved on her phone.

Suddenly, a message from Gu Chenxi popped up.

Walk the dog together tonight?

Ye Jin inexplicably blushed.

Because what he really meant wasn’t about walking the dog at all.

Ye Jin didn’t want to be intimate at the company, so they had to schedule these moments for the evenings.

Okay.

Ye Jin typed her reply.

That night, Ye Jin took Lucky downstairs but saw no sign of Gu Chenxi.

Huh? Where is he? Ye Jin wondered.

Lucky sniffed around and led Ye Jin to the fire escape, looking up at her and wagging his tail.

You want to go in here? Ye Jin asked, looking down at him.

The heavy fire escape door opened from inside.

A hand wearing a couple’s watch identical to hers reached out, grasped her wrist, and pulled her in.

Lucky, recognizing the familiar scent, followed them inside.

Gu Chenxi?

Ye Jin called his name in confusion.

It’s me.

Gu Chenxi’s voice sounded by her ear.

We’re doing it here? Ye Jin couldn’t help asking, …Aren’t you traumatized by this place?

This was the very place where they had broken up for the first time.

Yes.

Gu Chenxi’s deep voice drew closer as he said, So we need to kiss again, to overwrite the old memory.

Ye Jin found him baffling: We could just not come here in the future. What’s the point of overwriting—mmph—

Before she could finish her sentence, his lips captured hers.

Gu Chenxi’s hands firmly encircled her waist, pulling her entire body flush against him.

Ye Jin had no choice but to give up speaking and focus on kissing him.

It’s all in the past. Surprisingly cooperative today, she whispered comfortingly between kisses, Besides, aren’t we already together?

Gu Chenxi’s thoughts ran unfathomably deep.

Ye Jin couldn’t tell whether he simply wanted to kiss her here or genuinely wished to erase that memory.

She decided to play along once more, yielding to him and even taking the initiative to offer reassurance.

Beyond the stark contrast of black and white, this world was filled with ambiguous shades of gray.

And Gu Chenxi was her gray area.

Daily life and work were exhausting enough—when it came to love, Ye Jin didn’t want to overanalyze.

She only needed to savor the sweetness of being with him.

Her mind drifted for a moment.

When she snapped back to reality, she realized Gu Chenxi was kissing her with audible smacks.

So many tricks.

Keep it down, Ye Jin couldn’t help reminding him, What if someone hears and comes over?

What if? Gu Chenxi echoed her words absently.

Ye Jin: Then I’d have to make another trip to the Pacific.

The joke fell flat.

But it successfully amused Gu Chenxi.

He tightened his arms around her waist, pressing her against his chest as laughter rumbled through him, the vibrations tingling against Ye Jin.

She stayed silent, offering no resistance.

Quietly, she wrapped her arms around his back.

He was aroused.

Pressed right against her.

She had noticed this many times before.

At first, she hadn’t understood what it was, but gradually, it dawned on her.

It was only natural.

Given how intensely he claimed to be physically attracted to her, such reactions during intimacy were to be expected.

Since Gu Chenxi never brought it up, Ye Jin pretended not to notice.

They tacitly avoided the topic.

Lucky had grown accustomed to their closeness, amusing himself by circling their feet, his tail occasionally brushing against Ye Jin’s calves.

A long while later.

Gu Chenxi led her out of the fire escape.

They began walking the dog in earnest.

I have a business trip next week—three days. There are a few interesting exhibitions to see, Gu Chenxi invited her, Want to come along?

Ye Jin’s first reaction: What about my work?

Set it aside or delegate it.

To Gu Chenxi, nothing was a big deal except the sky falling or them breaking up.

Ye Jin was persuaded: Alright, but I need to let my mom know.

How were your aunt’s check-up results today? Gu Chenxi played with her fingers.

Ye Jin: Pretty good. All her indicators are normal.

The hospital for the check-up was recommended by Guan Yan.

It was relatively expensive, but the service and equipment were excellent, sparing them the exhaustion of shuffling between large hospitals.

Mhm.

Every mhm from Gu Chenxi carried weight, never feeling dismissive.

As a result, Ye Jin sometimes unconsciously mimicked his tone and would always respond to others with an Mm.

He continued, I know a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner who specializes in medicinal cuisine for health regulation. There’s an appointment available this weekend. Shall I accompany you both?

The last sentence was phrased as a question.

But Ye Jin completely overlooked it.

She cheered, leaned in to wrap her arms around his neck, and affectionately gave him a good person card: Gu Chenxi, you’re so kind! I thank you on behalf of my mom.

You’re welcome. Gu Chenxi curled the corners of his lips slightly.

Pleasing a girlfriend might be difficult, but pleasing her mother was as easy as turning over one’s hand.

And this was equivalent to pleasing the girlfriend too.

Killing multiple birds with one stone.

Gu Chenxi was holding the dog leash with one hand, so he used his other hand to secure Ye Jin’s waist, allowing her to hang steadily from him.

Maintaining this posture, they shuffled along slowly for a few steps before Gu Chenxi bent down to set her back on her feet, murmuring softly, Walk properly.

Mm!

Ye Jin linked her arm through his, her entire demeanor suddenly radiating several times more enthusiasm.

A mama’s girl.

Gu Chenxi smiled faintly, repeating these three words silently in his heart once more.

They walked on like this for a while.

They passed by a young girl.

After just a couple of steps, the girl turned around and caught up to them.

She spoke with a mix of excitement and shyness, Excuse me, are you Assistant Ye and President Gu? I’m your fan—could we take a photo together?

Ye Jin nodded, Of course! Let’s find a brighter spot.

They moved together under a streetlamp.

Ye Jin promptly grabbed a random elderly man who was out for a stroll and asked him to help take the photo.

The group photo was quickly taken.

Ye Jin and the girl huddled together to look at the picture.

It kind of looks like a family of three, the girl blurted out unexpectedly.

She was still just a high school student.

Meanwhile, Ye Jin and Gu Chenxi were dressed in their daytime work attire, which leaned toward formal wear.

With the youthful girl standing between them, it really did resemble a family portrait.

Being your child must be so happy, the girl said as she put her phone away, adding hopefully, So you two must make it to the end, okay?

Gu Chenxi: Definitely.

Speaking so confidently can lead to setbacks, President Gu, Ye Jin remarked with a hint of gloom in her tone.

How could he say such things without her consent?

Gu Chenxi amended, We’ll definitely try our best.

The girl was amused.

You two are so sweet.

It was clearly nothing like some fabricated script.

Wishing you 99.

As in, lasting forever and ever.