Boundary - Chapter 5

Jin Nanting has always been a man of his word. He allowed Gu Yetong to sleep a little longer, and after taking her once more on the washbasin and the soft couch in the dressing room, the exhausted woman fell asleep as soon as she lay back on the bed. He held her and pretended to rest for about half an hour before getting up to inform the butler to prepare lunch, then headed to his study to deal with the emails he hadn’t finished replying to from last night.

He has never been a man of indulgence.

From high school to his master’s graduation, he had only been in four or five relationships.

Not many, but certainly not as many as those playboys.

Apart from Gu Yetang, he had never actively pursued any woman, but he had indeed been attracted to women with different qualities. However, after experiencing a variety of beauties and charms, he felt that the dynamics of relationships, both physically and mentally, were more or less the same.

What attracted him wasn’t necessarily a particular woman, but rather the sense of novelty.
So, after taking over the U.S. division of the family business, he set clear goals for his succession plan and expansion ambitions, as well as his expectations for a partner.
He wanted a wife, one who could grow old with him.

And Gu Yetong had never been within his considerations.

Their marriage was purely an impulsive product of mutual provocation and testing of boundaries. But so far, he was satisfied with how they got along. It was just that his obsession with and desire for her body had exceeded his expectations.

Especially considering that they hadn’t even started planning for children.

He admitted that her fair and delicate body was an unexpected surprise. But there had been several times when he lay alone on a hotel bed, suddenly thinking of her to the point of arousal, and today he couldn’t resist taking her twice outside the bedroom.

All of this had crossed the line.

Perhaps it was because he had been so focused on his career in recent years, staying away from women, and in the months since their marriage, he had been traveling frequently both domestically and abroad, while Gu Yetong had also been busy with several projects. They hadn’t had much time to see each other, so the novelty naturally faded more slowly.
Jin Nanting thought this way.

When Gu Yetong stepped out of the bedroom, it was almost noon. He didn’t have the butler set up brunch in the dining room but arranged it in the small living room connected to the living area. After all, the marble dining table that could seat ten for a French dinner was too large, and no matter how they sat, it felt empty and distant.

“What time did you get back last night?”

Jin Nanting watched as his wife gracefully took a seat across from him, picking up her coffee cup and taking a small sip.

“Around one in the morning,” Gu Yetong replied, pouring herself a cup of coffee and adding a bit of milk.

Both of them had lived independently abroad and didn’t share the older generation’s preference for having servants handle everything. After serving the meal, the butler returned to the kitchen, leaving them privacy and freedom.

“What project kept you so busy last night?”

“Hidden World East Shore,” Gu Yetong’s answer surprised him a little. “The deadline was at midnight last night.”

“You know this is a Shengshi project, right?” Jin Nanting raised an eyebrow slightly. “You once said you wouldn’t take on Shengshi projects.”

Shengshi was the real estate group under the Jin family. Since he took over three years ago, he had diversified the business from solely residential properties to include high-end vacation properties, with the “Hidden World” series being one of the newer ventures in recent years.

“If I accepted Shengshi’s commissions, wouldn’t I always be under your control? If Tangtang ever got hurt, how could I stand up for her?!”

Back then, for the sake of her sister, she had proudly and resolutely rejected the olive branch he extended.

“The situation is different now,” Gu Yetong lowered her head, cutting the omelette on her plate as if deliberately avoiding his probing gaze. What did she mean by “different”? Was it the sluggish economic environment, or that she no longer feared being under his control?
Because she no longer feared that her most cherished sister would be hurt by him.

When he first met Gu Yetang in New York, he knew she would be the perfect wife for him. At just twenty years old, the girl was like a blooming lily, beautiful and pure. A cello major, she exuded elegance and had a gentle temperament. That year, she had come to the Juilliard School in New York for a semester as an exchange student. His father, at the request of Old Master Gu, asked him to take care of the girl who was traveling alone for the first time.

And that’s exactly what he did, carefully and thoughtfully looking after the girl six years his junior. He knew the Gu family’s background well. Gu Yetang had lost her parents at the age of four and was raised by her grandfather and older sister. The family structure was simple, and Old Master Gu had a good reputation in the business world, conducting his affairs cleanly. As for Gu Yetong’s character and intelligence, he had long understood. In terms of appearance, temperament, and family background, Gu Yetang was his ideal marriage partner.

But he wasn’t in a hurry to pursue her, knowing that a lonely soul in a foreign land was more susceptible to falling for the warmth others offered. But what he wanted wasn’t a fleeting infatuation but a stable and lasting marriage.

He waited patiently, until Gu Yetang finished her exchange program and returned home, and until his father officially recalled him to China to take over the real estate business.
His plan had been progressing smoothly.

“Did Gu Architects initiate the bid?”

“…Someone came to invite us,” Gu Yetong paused before answering. “The project’s concept and budget were very appealing.”

His long index finger lightly tapped the rim of his cup. Jin Nanting made a mental note to have his secretary send him the backgrounds of the Hidden World East Shore project team members later.

“What’s your design concept for the bid?” the man continued.

Gu Yetong finally looked up, slightly surprised, then narrowed her eyes.

“I’ve already approved the budget and strategic direction for this project,” he knew what she was wary of. “I won’t be involved in more detailed decisions.”

He wasn’t lying. As a manager, he only personally involved himself in the investment planning and resource allocation of new projects or the restructuring and optimization of existing businesses. Once the strategic direction was set and the right people were in charge, he generally didn’t interfere with his subordinates’ decisions.

However, not interfering didn’t mean he wouldn’t inquire.

“The future,” Gu Yetong replied after some thought, deciding he wasn’t lying. “Our proposal this time aims to create a futuristic vacation ark.”

He seemed to see starlight falling from the galaxy in Gu Yetong’s eyes. Unlike the hazy, fleeting light that flickered when she moaned beneath him, the light in her eyes now was filled with pride and determination, illuminating her entire face.

“A vacation isn’t just about relaxation; it’s also about recharging. We want to design Hidden World East Shore in a post-modern style, with large interactive installations for guests to explore.”

“Isn’t that a bit too bold? Might it be hard for domestic guests to accept?”

“We considered that from the beginning…”

He suspected this was the first time in months that Gu Yetong had spoken so much to him in one go, from design concepts to sources of inspiration, from her team members to her admiration for the architect Gaudí.

He knew that after graduating from high school, Gu Yetong had been admitted to a top domestic university’s architecture program while minoring in business administration. In her final year, she secured an opportunity to study in Germany and worked at a local architecture firm for a year. Five years ago, she officially joined her family’s Gu Architects. Before that, Gu Architects had been struggling under the efforts of Old Master Gu. During the hottest years of the real estate boom, Gu Architects had missed several key projects, failing to seize the opportunity for further growth and being overtaken by several smaller competitors.

After taking over Gu Architects, Gu Yetong quickly found the right niche for the company, shifting from large-scale residential designs to focusing on commercial and residential spaces, accumulating many successful cases and a solid reputation in fields like hotels and medical centers.

He wasn’t surprised that his employees had approached her for the bid. Back when he had used another project as bait to win her over, it hadn’t been solely for nepotism.

“Do you think you’ll win the bid?” He was eager to see their proposal and watch their design come to life.

Gu Yetong, who had been animated moments ago, pursed her lips and thought seriously. “I know my senior also invited PinYi. If we’re competing against them, I’d say our chances are fifty-fifty.”

So the person who invited her was her university senior. Jin Nanting noted this clue.

“I remember that name. They did Hidden World West Mountain.” Although he didn’t involve himself in specific decisions or project execution, he had been keeping an eye on the project’s progress.

“Do you like their design?” Gu Yetong asked.

“If it makes money, I like it,” Jin Nanting replied indifferently. As the company’s manager, his personal preferences didn’t matter; what mattered was the clients’ preferences.

“I personally like it a lot,” Gu Yetong praised her competitors sincerely and openly. “Their new Chinese style is very poetic. I admire the skill of their design team, so I only have a fifty percent chance against them.”

“Have you been to the hotel at West Mountain?” Since its opening half a year ago, Jin Nanting hadn’t visited it himself.

Gu Yetong shook her head. “I wanted to, but I haven’t had the time.”

“Don’t you have time today?”