Here's a refined translation of the provided text, aiming for better flow and word choice in English:
Yu Xi looked at Gong Youqi, her bright eyes searching for a hint—did he need her help right now? But the handsome man's gaze was fixed solely on Miss Su. Her eyes darted, then a charming smile suddenly graced her lips as she turned to Su Yingran. "Miss Su, you've arrived at just the right moment. Young Master Gong was actually just discussing something very important with me."
Drawing everyone's attention, Yu Xi gently dropped a bombshell: "Young Master Gong, to express his sincerity towards Miss Su, just decided to let me go. It was I who requested a final farewell embrace from the Vice Chairman." Since they all knew her identity, there was no need for pretense. Perhaps, by fulfilling their wishes, she could also free herself.
With that single statement, three pairs of eyes fixed on her. One pair held pure astonishment; another showed a mix of surprise, joy, and gratitude. The eyes beside her, she didn't bother to meet, only feeling their fiery chill, as if they wanted to pierce her through.
After her initial surprise, Miss Su's pretty face flushed faintly. She lowered her head shyly, a picture of bashful timidity. Guo Qiang, too, regained his detached composure, acting as if he were invisible. Gong Youqi's mind reeled. In front of Su Yingran, he couldn't utter a single word to refute Yu Xi, wishing only to ruthlessly throw the woman beside him out the window.
Yu Xi decided to capitalize on this sudden advantage, aiming for a swift conclusion. As she walked towards the door, she addressed the three stunned individuals, "Excuse me, shouldn't you three be heading to your meeting? Everyone else must be waiting."
Only after stepping out did she turn back to Gong Youqi, genuinely saying, "Young Master Gong, thank you for always treating me with 'courtesy.' From now on, we're officially done. I'll go back and pack my things to leave immediately." Seeing the lifeless stillness in his eyes, her heart pounded violently, but she managed another forced smile. "I hope your sincerity towards Miss Su has a good outcome."
She bowed deeply, a solemn farewell, not even wanting to say "goodbye," and then turned to stride away.
A slow smile played on her lips. So, ending things could be this simple.
She hailed a taxi directly back to the apartment to pack. A terrible premonition suddenly seized her. If she didn't manage to leave today, having defied Gong Youqi, it would be much harder to escape next time.
She hadn't had the luxury of properly examining her own heart, only thinking of leaving first. With Miss Su occupying Young Master Gong's attention, her time was limited, but it should be enough.
As she neared the apartment, she received a text message. Gong Youqi was probably in a meeting, unable to call. She simply smiled faintly at the message and switched off her phone.
His brief threat: "Dare to leave, and face the consequences."
Yu Xi scoffed. She had worn her mask of delicate deference for too long; it was time to tear it off and breathe freely.
She packed only a few clothes. Looking at the dazzling jewelry, she laughed and swept it all into a bag. It was her due; why refuse it? But she left the gold card in the drawer; it was simply too valuable.
Originally, she planned to head straight to the airport, but feeling that Chu Chu's matter was still unresolved, she wanted a few quiet days to plan. So, she instructed the driver to take her to the orphanage.
After three days of quiet eating and sleeping, she chatted with Uncle Liang and learned that Aunt Xin had once been a beloved mistress of her late father, Liang Ye. If Aunt Xin had been willing, perhaps that other woman wouldn't have gained power in the Liang family, and they wouldn't have been driven out. Aunt Xin likely adopted them out of a sense of guilt.
But Aunt Xin disliked being constrained, so Liang Ye gifted her several properties, with Xinyue being one of them. Yu Xi had always known Uncle Liang's devotion to Aunt Xin, but she hadn't realized that the person Aunt Xin held in her heart was her deceased father.
In fact, Aunt Xin's current life was much more comfortable and free than it had been in the Liang family. For a woman, at the most crucial moments, perhaps it isn't love she needs, but, like a man, a foundation for her independence.
Still, she wondered if Aunt Xin, despite her long-enjoyed freedom, ever felt lonely in the dead of night.
During these three days, Yu Xi thought a lot. She realized she liked Young Master Gong. Whether it was physical attraction, a coveting of his good looks and wealth, or if she had unknowingly fallen for him, she missed him nonetheless.
She also liked John Doe, but had always considered him a kindred spirit who understood her; out of sight, he wasn't missed, but upon meeting, it felt natural as ever. To her, friendship was more precious than a romantic relationship, because lovers could be replaced, but friends' feelings remained. So, she deeply cherished John Doe and didn't want him to be hurt.
Her liking for Gong Youqi wasn't deep enough. Perhaps her heart had always resisted love, only dabbling in emotions before wanting to leave. She didn't want to get trapped; she wanted to live as freely and unrestrainedly as Aunt Xin, regardless of any true inner longings, at least outwardly calm and unburdened.
On the fourth day, as Yu Xi opened her door in the early morning, she saw his tall figure leaning against the wall. The golden, warm sunlight softened his disheveled hair, and his handsomely sculpted face, like a Greek god's, shone so brightly she couldn't tear her eyes away.
"Let's go."
His tone was incredibly light, as if he were waiting downstairs for her to go to work, as usual.
She quietly gathered her belongings for a few tens of seconds, then silently followed behind him, like a lost child trailing a police officer home.
They drove in silence, returning to the apartment where everything was as it had been: his shirts for changing hung on the clothes rack, and one of her sapphire earrings lay scattered by the pillow.
Three days, yet it felt like a lifetime, a rebirth.
Gong Youqi tossed aside the luggage in her hand, forcefully lifted her chin, and his lips were already waiting.
Expecting a rough kiss, she didn't resist and closed her eyes, but felt his tenderness instead. After a long, lingering embrace, she was still slowly savoring the taste on her lips. He pulled her down onto the bed, pinning her beneath him. His dark eyes held a complexity she couldn't decipher, so she only registered the dark circles under his eyes and his exhausted expression.
"You heartless woman."
He uttered only that one hateful accusation. He didn't force her, but simply held her, burying his head in the crook of her neck. Soon, Yu Xi heard his even breathing.
Her heart, however, instantly throbbed, like pinpricks. She shifted her body to make him more comfortable, and sensing he'd been roused, she wrapped her arms around his lean waist, whispering, "Sleep."
His body relaxed again. Yu Xi inhaled his familiar fresh scent, closed her eyes, and felt an unprecedented sense of peace.
Her leaving seemed to have never happened. He started staying overnight again, rarely touching her, only holding her in his sleep.
However, Yu Xi refused to go to the company anymore. He didn't force her, allowing her to spend her days lazily sleeping or aimlessly shopping. Yu Xi wasn't sure if he was spending all his time with her because he'd argued with Miss Su, or if he was subtly keeping her under surveillance.
So one day, she went empty-handed straight to the airport. As soon as she entered the main hall, a muscular man in a suit, very much resembling a bodyguard, walked up to her and politely asked if she had gone to the wrong place.
Yu Xi stammered out a laugh and was immediately escorted into a car by the suit-clad man, who unceremoniously took her straight back to the apartment. Even she, as foolish as she was, knew she was now being tracked 24/7. Young Master Gong had actually assigned people to monitor her every move.
Returning from a walk that evening, she saw the handsome man on the sofa wearing his long-unseen ice-cold expression. She quickly sat down and bowed her head in apology. "Um, I really wasn't trying to run away. I wasn't carrying anything at the time."
Gong Youqi remained unmoved, staring at her coldly. "Can I still trust you?"
She instantly felt guilty. He turned her body to face him, and asked her for the second time, "Do you really want to leave that much?"
Though frightened and conflicted, she risked it and nodded sincerely. What should be let go, should be let go—that was the truth.
He finally exploded again, pinning her to the sofa, but desperately held back from hurting her. Finally, he slammed his fist into the back of the sofa, roaring, "I won't let go!"
Long after the sound of the door slamming faded, Yu Xi was still patting her chest, her heart pounding. She sighed to herself, this was a tiger that could go mad at any moment; how could she possibly feel at ease living with a tiger? This only strengthened her resolve to leave.
Her phone suddenly rang. She saw it was Chu Chu's number and quickly answered.
Xiao Chuchu's tired and heartbreaking voice came softly, "Xi Xi, find a way to help me leave."
Yu Xi paused. It seemed Gong Youkai had indeed hurt Chu Chu. They truly were somewhat "birds of a feather." After a few seconds of thought, she quietly replied, "Okay, Chu Chu, let's leave together."
He never told anyone that he walked the path of the underworld because of a girl he secretly admired in junior high.
Gong Youkai still remembered the girl had a gentle, melodious name: Wen Xiaorou.
That girl, excellent in both character and academics, with a delicate appearance, became his daily motivation for going to school, until that night.
After evening self-study, he, as usual, secretly followed the girl, acting as her guardian. In a dark alley, he suddenly heard Wen Xiaorou scream. He sprinted in, seeing three ruffian hoodlums cornering Wen Xiaorou against a wall, making lewd gestures.
He, full of youthful vigor, yelled, "Stop!" Moreover, she was the girl he had always liked.
Unfortunately, even with his strong physique and his years of practicing karate, he was no match for three adults armed with weapons. The next hour became the longest, most agonizing period of cruel torment in Gong Youkai's life.
Beaten and bruised, he was pinned under a man's foot, forced to watch helplessly as the girl he adored was brutally tortured to death by the three beasts. Wen Xiaorou couldn't even close her eyes at the end; that gaze, filled with panic and resentment, became the root cause of his persistent insomnia for many years afterward.
Before he lost consciousness, he remembered one of the thugs saying, "If you've got the guts, come find your daddy for revenge. We're part of the infamous You Gang..."
The You Gang.
So, when he later saved the dying Heiye in a dark alley one night, he accepted that so-called gang leader's emblem, solely because of those two deeply ingrained words.
In his first year of high school, he resolutely dropped out and joined an unknown small gang. In fact, everything was arranged by Zuo Ming for him. It took two years, step by step, to ascend to the position of You Gang leader. And the first thing he did upon taking office was to thoroughly investigate the thugs who had killed Wen Xiaorou that year.
One of them had already died in a gang fight, another had left the gang to seek other opportunities. Only one remained, who, when brought before him, fainted on the spot at the sight of his sharp, lightning-like gaze.
He used extremely brutal methods on those two, causing everyone in the You Gang to be wary of the newly appointed young leader. Later, he rectified the entire gang's unruly conduct, gradually developing the You Gang into Shanghai's most powerful yet principled underworld organization.
Perhaps by the time he became accustomed to the title of triad boss, he had almost forgotten that the initial reason for joining the gang was to avenge that girl.
But when he first saw Xiao Chuchu, her panicked, wide eyes stirred all his memories.
He impulsively took Xiao Chuchu away, and later used excessive means to punish Zhao Qianfei, who had bullied Chu Chu, all stemming from a tragedy years ago that he couldn't prevent.
However, after the impulse, he didn't know how to handle the woman who always looked so pitiful. He understood it wasn't because he had taken her when he was drunk that night, nor because Xiao Chuchu was infinitely charming, but simply because those familiar large eyes made him unable to escape, yet also unable to let go.
Even Zuo Ming, who knew him so well and had been with him every step of the way, couldn't fathom his thoughts. Believing he had fallen for the poor, pitiable woman, but being rejected by Xiao Chuchu, Zuo Ming took it upon himself that night to drug the woman and send her to his room.
He coldly watched the slightly frail yet well-figured woman writhe in pain on the bed. Faced with such a blood-boiling scene for a man, his body showed no reaction, nor did he have any intention of rescuing her from her torment.
Fifteen years was enough for a boy to grow into a cold-blooded, heartless gang leader, enough for him to cut off emotions and remain unshaken by any temptation or test of softness. Love, for him, was nonexistent. When he witnessed the death of the girl he loved, he forbade himself from loving again.
He watched her fall off the bed, bite her lip, and slowly crawl to his feet, looking up at him in pain. He had originally intended to mercilessly kick her away; he loathed women who willingly threw themselves at him, even if under duress.
But the woman, with great difficulty, uttered a phrase, repeating it, which drifted directly into his mind from his ears, settling into the most secret place in his heart.
She repeated in a low moan, "Please, kill me."
Those confused, pained eyes suddenly overlapped with the scene from fifteen years ago, and Wen Xiaorou's already broken voice silently echoed, "Kill me..."
He suddenly felt panicked and helpless. He knelt on the floor, holding the woman. He couldn't bear to see her in such agony, yet he couldn't bring himself to end her life. He merely trembled as he tried to lick the redness from her lips, but it slowly transformed into a deep kiss, and he couldn't control himself, like a moth drawn to a flame, as he lunged towards her burning body.
From then on, it became an addiction.
Gong Youkai never lacked women, but he had never brought a woman back to the You Gang.
So when he brought the woman he had impulsively saved, yet who persistently insisted on leaving, back to the You Gang, the three major gate masters and four hall masters gathered to watch the spectacle.
He felt inexplicably irritated. "What are you looking at? Haven't you ever seen a woman before?"
Xiao Chuchu's eyes were terrified, but she stubbornly refused to hide behind him, letting the sword-like gazes of the gang members strip away her clothes with their eyes, eager to see what kind of extraordinary woman she was to receive such special treatment from the leader.
Liuli, the only woman among the gang's management and the Autumn Jade Hall Master, chuckled. "Leader, is this beauty your new chieftain's wife?"
Yage of the Meiji Hall chimed in teasingly, "Too bad Liuli's dream of being the leader's wife is shattered."
Liuli snorted. In truth, everyone knew she had always admired the Right Guardian, who was even more mysterious and rarely seen than the leader himself. She took Xiao Chuchu's hand and said softly, "Since you're here, treat this place as your home. Although our leader seems cool and aloof, he's actually a good man with a cold exterior but a warm heart."
Gong Youkai's face darkened. "Who dares to spout nonsense? This woman is just a plaything I took a fancy to."
Luo Lan, the White Gate Master, who liked to meddle in everything, stroked his chin, chuckling. "I like this type. How about when the leader gets tired of her, he rewards her to me? I'll teach her a good lesson."
Xiao Chuchu's face turned pale. Gong Youkai's cold eyes flared, and he spat out, "She's mine. Even if I tire of her, no one else is allowed to touch her!" He then pulled Xiao Chuchu into his private building.
The rest of the group gathered, laughing and chatting, discussing that perhaps the You Gang would soon have a celebration it hadn't seen in decades.
He began to subtly observe the woman.
Although he knew she usually stayed in her room, he still deliberately took her out to some necessary balls. Of course, he had investigated her and showed no disdain when he learned she was a singer. A singer who could maintain her chastity, he knew she wasn't a loose woman.
At the ball, when she gazed at her brother from afar, he suddenly feared they might have known each other for a long time. He couldn't steal Youqi's person, yet he couldn't control his jealousy, and he dragged her away from the scene. After realizing it was a misunderstanding, he reflected on himself: When did he start caring so much about a woman?
He merely warned her that if she dared to try and escape, he'd send people to flatten Xinyue. She, trembling and wronged, indeed nodded and promised not to leave. This made him later replay his exact words in front of a mirror: Was he really that terrifying?
However, he knew she wasn't afraid of him. Otherwise, how could she repeatedly challenge his patience, refusing to properly nourish herself by finishing the meals he personally ordered, refusing to bathe with him, and refusing to smile at him as she did at others?
So, he resorted to ordering her to finish her meal before she could answer her good friend's call, brazenly pushing open the door while she was bathing, trying every method to force a smile from her, and stubbornly insisting on holding her while they slept every night.