Chapter 261: Chapter 261

261: Chapter 261: Backed by a Sugar Daddy 261: Chapter 261: Backed by a Sugar Daddy The birthday party was a private affair; Jiang You only invited her inner circle, and everyone knew each other.

She didn’t make a big deal about her birthday—it just wasn’t her style.

After everyone had given her their gifts, it was time for the cake and the birthday song.

Tonight, Jiang You wore a white halter-neck evening gown, looking ethereal like a fairy.

She stood in front of the cake and began to make a wish.

As soon as she finished making her wish and blew out the candles, the lights in the private room were turned back on, and Gu Beiyan looked at her and asked, “What wish did you make?

Share it with us, and your Beiyan will help you fulfill it.”

Jiang You looked at him, her exquisite face brightening with a radiant smile: “One of my wishes is to see Beiyan get married and have children this year—to not let Uncle Zhou’s earnest efforts be in vain.”

She said this on purpose.

Gu Beiyan touched his cheek with the tip of his tongue and raised his hand to ruffle her hair, saying with a smile, “I’m touched that you care so much about my future, rest assured, it will be done.”

Xiao Si overheard and said to Gu Beiyan with a teasing smile, “Oh?

Gu, have you finally come around?

Ready to enter the fortress of marriage?

I just wonder which woman would be blind enough to fall for you.”

Gu Beiyan glanced at him coolly, “Beat it.”

Wan Muqi intervened: “With a face and fortune like Gu’s, there are plenty of women who’d want to marry him, but it’s all about whether he wants them or not.”

After he spoke, his gaze landed meaningfully, and seemingly unintentionally, on Jiang You.

After that little interlude, the birthday party officially started.

Jing Xuan was pregnant and not suited for such a noisy environment, so Lu Zhiyang took her home early on.

Xing Siyang didn’t arrive until the party was nearly over.

Jiang You had invited him; he just wasn’t sure what time he’d finish work but promised to rush over as soon as he did.

“Siyang, you’re here,” Jiang You exclaimed in surprise as she got up and ran towards him.

Xing Siyang handed her the gift and wished her with a smile: “Happy Birthday, I hope you’ll always be as happy as you are now, without any worries.”

Jiang You happily accepted the gift, grinning, “Okay, okay, I definitely will, so I’ll happily accept your gift!”

Xing Siyang truly thought of her as a sister, and his gaze towards her held a hint of indulgence, but it had nothing to do with romance.

Yet, to someone else, that look might mean something entirely different.

Jiang You’s smile grew brighter, and to some, it looked like she was eager to glue her eyes to Xing Siyang.

“Hey, Ah Yan, does your sister have a thing for the Xing kid?” Wan Muqi suddenly turned to Jiang Yan to ask.

Hearing this, Jiang Yan looked towards the entrance.

The man’s black eyes narrowed slightly before relaxing, speaking indifferently, “The two of them, they’re not suited.”

The subtext of his words was: Even if there’s affection, it’s useless!

Su He listened quietly, not saying a word.

Wan Muqi clicked his tongue, “I think they’d make a pretty good match.”

The next second, Gu Beiyan sardonically countered, “With four eyes, you’re still that blind?”

He just laughed it off.

It was nearly midnight when the party dispersed.

“Sis-in-law, you and my brother send An Mi home first, I’ve got someone to take me, don’t worry about me,” Jiang You said.

Su He: “Okay, then send me a message when you get home.”

Su He looked at An Mi, “Let’s go, I’ll take you back to the An Family first.”

An Mi obediently nodded her head.

After sending An Mi back to the An Family, Su He returned to Moon Gift Villa.

On the way back, Jiang Yan suddenly asked her, “Why do I feel like you had something against Mr.

She had been on guard all evening to prevent Wan Muqi and An Mi from interacting; it was hard for him not to notice.

Su He didn’t hide her thoughts from him, candidly expressing, “I feel like Mr.

Wan’s gaze towards An Mi was a bit strange.”

It wasn’t that she distrusted Wan Muqi’s character, but sometimes…

She didn’t know how to put it—An Mi was still young, just starting her freshman year of college and had recently turned eighteen.

As her sister, she naturally had the duty to look after and protect her.

Jiang Yan understood what she meant, though it seemed unlikely, didn’t it?

“Aren’t you overthinking it?

He’s almost ten years older than An Mi.”

“I hope my worries are unnecessary.”

It wasn’t that Su He discriminated against age gaps, she just felt these two people weren’t suited for each other.

Elsewhere, after An Mi returned to the An Family home and finished her nightly routine, she lay in bed lost in thought for a moment before deciding to send a text message to Wan Muqi.

Just as Wan Muqi got back to his place, he received a message from An Mi.

Wan, I’m very grateful for your willingness to help.

I know your fees are high, but that’s not a problem.

As long as you can solve Yang Jie’s issue, any amount will do.”

Wan Muqi sat down on the couch, pondered for a moment, and replied with a message: “Okay, regarding the fees, my assistant will contact you.”

It was a very formal response.

After getting the reply, An Mi didn’t respond further.

She put away her phone and then closed her eyes to sleep.

Wan Muqi sat in the living room waiting for a while, but she didn’t reply.

He clicked his tongue, “Heartless girl.”

When Jiang You woke up, her head felt as if it was about to explode.

She opened her eyes groggily, only to see a pure white ceiling before her.

After a while, she remembered fragments of the previous evening.

Last night, after Su He and the others left, she had intended to go back too, but was suddenly pulled by Long He Song to stay and drink for another hour.

and then she was taken away by Gu Beiyan…

Suddenly, a terrifying image flashed through her mind—last night, she seemed to have…

Her mind blew up in an instant.

Could someone please tell her this wasn’t real?

The next second, she lifted the covers to check her body.

Thankfully, her clothes were intact, and there were no signs of intimacy.

She then covertly surveyed the room, realizing it must be a hotel.

Seeing no one, she quietly got out of bed, climbed off, and prepared to leave.

However, as she approached the door, the bathroom door behind her was suddenly opened.

A deep voice resonated from behind her, “What is it, trying to make a run for it?”

Jiang You stiffened on the spot, leisurely turning around.

She chuckled and feigned ignorance, “Huh, Beiyan, you’re here too?

Gu Beiyan was dressed in a black T-shirt and casual long pants, his bangs still damp— probably from a recent shower—giving off the look of a refined, stay-at-home guy.

But that face was incredibly impactful.

Despite being used to seeing it for so many years, at that moment, she felt somewhat…

The man approached with long strides, looking down at her from above with a voice that was both enchanting and nonchalant, “Why do you think I’m here?”

“Xiao Youzi, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten everything you did to me last night after waking up?”

Jiang You blinked her eyes innocently at him, carefully swallowing before asking, “What, what else did I do?”

It was just an accidental forceful kiss, wasn’t it?

Is that worth making a fuss about?

We’re all adults here, it was just a kiss, does it merit such a fuss?

That was her first kiss since adulthood, she hadn’t even complained yet!

The man didn’t speak, his profound black eyes fixed intently on her.

Jiang You felt a tingling in her scalp under his gaze and couldn’t help but speak first, “It was just an accidental kiss, right?

You’re not petty enough to mind that, are you?

Besides, we kissed when we were kids, you can’t be holding that against me now, can you?”

She remembered that as a child, besides sticking to her own biological brother, Su He, she was clammiest to Gu Beiyan, because she also viewed him as an older brother.

Her own brother always looked down on her, wouldn’t let her hug him, nor get close, so since she was little, she was very familiar with Gu Beiyan.

After growing up, her relationship with him didn’t change much.

But now it’s sort of…

Especially after that day at Yihe Manor, when he said those words, it was even more the case.

Gu Beiyan watched her conflicted little face, lips with a slight smirk, stepped forward, his body leaning slightly, his eyebrows revealing a strong sense of amusement.

“Are you sure it was just a peck?”

Jiang You faced his gaze, her thick black eyelashes fluttering like little fans.

“Wasn’t it?” she retorted.

Right then, Gu Beiyan suddenly yanked open his collar, exposing an enticing collarbone.

Jiang You was not surprised, her eyes unflinchingly calm as she looked at the appealing collarbone.

She also did not expect that a man’s collarbone could be this beautiful, this attractive.

But her fascination was cut short when she was startled by the bite mark on it.

She raised her hand, pointed with her index finger at the location above his collarbone, and asked tentatively.

The bite mark was clear, and the wound was deep, suggesting the aggressiveness of the biter’s action, now with faint traces of blood on it.

It looked painful to her…

Gu Beiyan raised an eyebrow playfully, “Or, maybe I bit myself?”

Jiang You had no recollection of biting him.

She racked her brains, but couldn’t recall, “You’re not trying to set me up, are you?”

She was still somewhat skeptical.

Gu Beiyan chuckled, as if he had expected her disbelief, stood up straight, and pulled out a cell phone from his pocket.

The moment Jiang You saw him take out the phone, for some reason, a sense of panic set in, a bad feeling overwhelming her.

He wouldn’t have recorded a video, would he?

The next second, he said, “Here, take a look for yourself.”

He handed the phone to her.

It was really a damn video…

In the video, she clung to him like an octopus, her entire body…

resting on his shoulder…

Then, she suddenly lifted her head, gave him a goofy smile, and without hesitation, bit down on his shoulder.

In the video, Gu Beiyan’s eyebrows instantly furrowed, but he didn’t stop her; he just let her bite.

“Why didn’t you stop me, are you stupid?” she asked, looking up at him.

Gu Beiyan: “Keep watching.”

“…” A dozen seconds later, Jiang You was at a loss for words.

This was definitely the most mortifying moment of her life!

Damn alcohol really messes things up!

She swore she’d never touch alcohol again in her life!

So damn embarrassing!

She cleared her throat in an attempt to alleviate the cringeworthy awkwardness.

“I didn’t mean it, I was drunk at the time and not in my right mind,” she said, her gaze darting away.

Gu Beiyan put away his phone, his deep eyes fixed on her, “What, you planning to welsh on this?”

Jiang You, with her head tilted back, “I’m not, just tell me how much you want, I’ll pay your medical bills.”

“Do I look like I’m in need of that little medical fee?” the man questioned her.

“Then what compensation do you want?

Besides money, I have nothing else,” Jiang You said.

Gu Beiyan fell silent for a moment and said, “Then you owe me for now, I’ll tell you what it is when I think of it.”

Jiang You, not being foolish, quickly added, “Let me make it clear first, I’m not selling my body!”

Gu Beiyan looked at her, his thin lips curling into an arc, raised his hand and lightly tapped her forehead with his index and middle fingers.

“What’s that in your head, thinking all kinds of nonsense?

Do you think your brother Beiyan is such an immoral person?”

Jiang You pouted her little mouth and slightly lowered her head, muttering under her breath, “Indeed sketchy, who knows if this might be a huge trap.”

When it comes to being sly, her own brother is the first, and he is the second.

She wasn’t tricked by him less when they were young!

“What are you muttering?” Gu Beiyan asked.

Jiang You shook her head, indicating she wasn’t muttering anything.

Suddenly, she realized something was amiss.

“No, wait, that video doesn’t look like it was taken by yourself.

She had a look of realization after the fact.

Gu Beiyan thought she would not notice this.

But he didn’t hide it from her, “Your assistant filmed it.”

“She wanted to take you away then, but you were clinging to me, refusing to let go no matter how much she persuaded you.

You were holding on tighter and tighter, leaving her no choice but to leave you with me.”

She was left speechless and turned around to leave this embarrassing place, her own birthday turning into a day she didn’t want to remember.

Gu Beiyan saw her frowning face and her messy hair, reminding her, “Are you sure you want to go out looking ?”

Sure enough, she stopped in her tracks.

Gu Beiyan said, “There are clean clothes for you on the bedside table, go take a bath, and I’ll drive you home later.”

After struggling internally for a few seconds, Jiang You resolutely turned around, picked up the clothes from the bedside table, then dashed into the bathroom.

Then, with a “bam,” she shut the door as if there was a tiger chasing her.

She even locked it from inside.

Gu Beiyan stood outside the door, a smile curling up at the corner of his mouth as he heard her lock the door.

If he really wanted to do something to her, he would have done it last night.

It was all because he was afraid of scaring this girl away.

Half an hour later, they left the hotel together.

But, to their surprise, the moment they stepped out, they were swarmed by a group of journalists wielding long and short lenses.

The “click click” of cameras sounded.

Jiang You was bewildered, not having time to react.

Everything happened too fast, too suddenly.

Luckily, Gu Beiyan acted quickly, scooping her into his arms and then pushing her head against his chest.

Jiang You was an up-and-coming starlet in the entertainment circle with a certain influence, and the journalists received a tip early this morning that the rising star had gone to a nearby hotel with a mysterious man after her birthday celebration with friends last night.

To get the first-hand information, the paparazzi had been waiting here since early in the morning.

They wanted to sneak in, but the hotel’s security was too strict.

Seeing that they were reporters, the security firmly refused them entry, so they had no choice but to wait outside the hotel entrance.

“Miss Jiang, is this your boyfriend?”

“Right, Miss Jiang, we heard that there’s someone financially supporting you from behind the scenes, is it this man holding you?”

“Miss Jiang, you’re not even a year into your debut, and you’re already getting resources several times better than many newcomers.

Do you have a sugar daddy backing you?”

“Can you answer our questions?”

“Somebody said that Miss Jiang, you’ve snatched a lot of resources from others in your company, is that true?”

A swarm of sharp questions fell into Jiang You’s ears.

She wanted to speak, but for a moment she didn’t know what to say.

Because the journalists’ target was Jiang You, they didn’t notice Gu Beiyan right away.

Gu Beiyan was different from Jiang Yan and the others; he was frequently seen by major media.

At this moment, someone shouted, “Mr.