As soon as he finished speaking, the eavesdropping housekeeper saw Yue Linze’s face darken. The housekeeper thought for a moment and quietly suggested, “Perhaps I should call Miss Tao out.” Mr. Gu’s words were truly hurtful.

Yue Linze tapped his fingers rhythmically on the armrest of his wheelchair. Before he could speak, Tao Yu’s gentle voice came through the phone. “They passed away early, and I can’t quite remember if they taught me that. So, I was unintentionally disrespectful. I’m truly sorry… Did Mr. Gu’s elders also pass away early? Otherwise, why wouldn’t you know to offer a guest a seat?”

“Pfft…” The housekeeper couldn’t help but laugh, quickly covering his mouth when Yue Linze’s gaze shifted to him.

Although Mr. Gu’s family was also Mr. Yue’s family, they were the kind of family who even bullied Mr. Yue, so how could his subordinates hold them in any regard? Although it was inappropriate, he gave Tao Yu a thumbs-up in his mind.

The corners of Yue Linze’s lips curved slightly upwards, but the hint of a smile quickly disappeared.

“You!” Gu Yansheng never expected a junior to dare talk back to him like that. He was so angry that his vision blurred, and the pain in his head intensified.

“Is your head hurting again, Mr. Gu? Then you should rest. I won’t disturb you any longer.” Feeling refreshed after her retort, Tao Yu stood up to leave, seeing how angry Gu Yansheng was.

Gu Yansheng gritted his teeth. “Come back here!”

“Is there something else?” Tao Yu turned around obediently.

Gu Yansheng forced himself to calm down. After a moment, he said, “I will not agree to you and Linze’s relationship.”

Tao Yu raised an eyebrow.

“He is my son, Gu Yansheng’s son. He will not marry a woman of ordinary background. At my birthday banquet, I will personally choose a suitable young lady for him. As for you…” Gu Yansheng’s eyes flashed with contempt. “You have two choices. One, leave now, and I’ll give you ten million. Two, wait to be thrown out, and you’ll get nothing. Think it over carefully.”

Tao Yu fell silent. The listening device in her brooch transmitted this silence to Yue Linze’s room. The housekeeper was very curious whether Tao Yu would seize this opportunity to swindle ten million.

Yue Linze’s expression remained unchanged as his fingers resumed their light tapping on the armrest.

The silence stretched on, and Gu Yansheng finally broke it. “What is your choice?”

The housekeeper’s heart leaped into his throat, and then he heard Tao Yu’s voice, lacking some of its previous confidence. “Ten million is a lot. It would allow me to live without worry for the rest of my life.”

Yue Linze’s fingers stilled, resting quietly on the armrest.

“But I don’t understand what Mr. Gu means when you say Linze is your son and won’t marry an ordinary woman,” Tao Yu’s small voice was filled with great confusion. “Are you planning on having him marry into my family? How about marrying into mine? Tao-Yue Corp. has a nice ring to it…”

Before she could finish, the sound of shattering glass rang out, accompanied by Gu Yansheng’s furious roar. Yue Linze abruptly stood up, then heard Tao Yu’s light and cheerful voice, “Then I’ll be going now, Mr. Gu.”

She sounded completely uninjured. Yue Linze calmly sat back down, as if nothing had happened.

The housekeeper was first startled by the sound from the listening device, then by Yue Linze’s sudden movement. After the double shock, he felt a bit awkward. He cleared his throat and said, “Miss Tao is quite a character.” She certainly lived life to the fullest.

Yue Linze stared impassively at his phone, pretending not to hear the housekeeper.

After her verbal sparring, Tao Yu exited the room in high spirits. She’d only taken a few steps when she saw Zhou Yanran waiting for her in a corner.

…So busy. Why did Yue Linze have to push all this adult drama onto her?

A minute later, the two women were in the ladies' restroom. Zhou Yanran stared at Tao Yu for a long moment, then sneered. “Dr. Tao, allow me to introduce myself.”

Tao Yu looked surprised. “You know I’m a doctor?”

“I not only know you’re a doctor, but I also know you’re not Linze’s girlfriend.” Zhou Yanran’s lips curled into a smile. She had clearly heard the housekeeper accidentally reveal Tao Yu’s profession, and she herself had heard Tao Yu address Linze as “Mr. Yue.”

She didn’t know any woman who would address her boyfriend so formally.

Tao Yu raised an eyebrow, thinking for a moment. She figured out how Zhou Yanran had guessed. She couldn’t help but say sincerely, “Miss Zhou, you may seem a bit… naive, but your woman’s intuition is quite sharp.”

“Don’t try to provoke me. I know you’re scared,” Zhou Yanran said with a look of disdain. “If Uncle Gu finds out the truth, you’ll have no reason to be near Linze anymore, will you?”

Tao Yu smiled. “I’m afraid you’re mistaken, Miss Zhou. I am Linze’s girlfriend. That’s the truth. Of course, my profession is a doctor. That’s also true.”

“Really? Then perhaps this morning, when I heard you call Linze ‘Mr. Yue,’ that was also fake?” Zhou Yanran scoffed.

Tao Yu sighed dramatically and lowered her head, feigning embarrassment. “At that moment, I saw Mr. Gu about to hit Linze. I was so scared that I accidentally used our private pet name…”

“Pet name? You call that a pet name?” Zhou Yanran was amused by her blatant lie.

Tao Yu nodded earnestly. “It really is a pet name. Linze has… certain preferences in bed. He loves it when I cry and call him ‘Mister.’ So, in that moment of panic, it just slipped out.”

Zhou Yanran was shocked, so did the housekeeper, and Yue Linze, who was completely unaware of these supposed preferences.