Substitute For CEO's Lover

The grand hall was filled soft chatter and laughter.

Today was a special night for Joey Gu, CEO of the Gu Consortium. It was his fifth wedding anniversary with Lois Shen.

It went without saying that Lois Shen was beautiful, and she looked exceptionally stunning in the long evening gown she wore for tonight.

As she went downstairs slowly, her right hand was slightly lifting up the hem of her dress so that she wouldn't trip over. All of the guests stared at her in awe, admiring her beauty and elegance.

In the crowd, Joey Gu had a bitter smile on his face. He gave his glass of wine to a waiter nearby and approached his wife.

Lois Shen was a little surprised when she saw Joey Gu extend his hand out to her.

"Thank you," she said as she took his warm hand in hers.

'Well,' Joey Gu thought in shock, 'When did she learn to be this polite? Normally she would just shy away from me.'

They went through the crowd, Lois Shen walking closely beside Joey Gu. It was customary for him to greet his business partners with her by his side.

The program began shortly after. The host went up on the stage to welcome the guests. Lois Shen took a glass of champagne from one of the waiters going around serving drinks. "Thank you," she said softly with a smile.

The young and shy waiter blushed and left, making her laugh silently.

"Let's welcome our star of the night! The lovely wife of the CEO of the Gu Consortium -- Mrs. Gu!" The host smiled and applauded along with the audience.

There was a slight flush on Lois Shen's face.

It was probably because of the champagne she had drunk. Over the past five years, she had not really drunk much alcohol. And so, a single glass was more than enough to make her face hot.

With a faint smile, Lois Shen went up on stage.

Wherever she was, there was always a bright smile on her face. It was so welcoming and warm, much like the sun in early spring.

The crowd sighed at the sight of her. They were either thinking how beautiful she was or how she and Joey Gu were just so perfect for each other.

"Welcome to tonight's celebration," Lois Shen said. "Thank you all that you were able to celebrate our wedding anniversary with us. So for those who don't know yet, my full name is Lois Shen."

She took a big deep breath in, smiling a bit wider. "The reason why I wanted to introduce myself like this is because Mr. Gu and I are going to get divorced."

The crowd was silent for a moment, completely stunned by the sudden news. Even Joey Gu looked at Lois Shen in disbelief. 'What is she talking about? When did she come up with this idea?' Joey Gu sneered to himself.

After a few seconds, everyone came back to their senses, murmuring to each other and casting quick glances at Joey Gu. Some people knew that their marriage was only a shotgun wedding because Lois Shen got pregnant. "Do you think they're getting divorced because it didn't work out?" one guest whispered.

"I don't know. Maybe they weren't as compatible as they appeared to be," another said.

Even if their relationship wasn't working out, it didn't make sense to a lot of people that Joey Gu wasn't the one to break the news. After all, he was the one who was more well-known and important. It just didn't make sense the Lois Shen would be the one to do it, especially since she had remained in the sidelines for so long.

Everyone's imaginations ran wildly as they started to gossip among themselves, and Joey Gu could do nothing but keep silent. Suppressing his anger, he looked up coldly at Lois Shen. There was still a smile on her face, and her eyes were calm and determined.

'You will pay for this!' he thought.

Forcing a smile, he went over to the general manager of the AH Group. "Mr. Zack! I think we should step up our cooperation a bit longer, don't you think so?" he said as warmly as he could.

Zack Zhao was stunned, but he didn't show it on his face. "There are too many things to do recently. It's not the right time for my company to get involved," he stammered.

The business world was full of ups and downs. A divorce easily brought upon bad press, especially when it wasn't handled that well. The best thing to do in times like this was to take it lightly and pretend that nothing was wrong.

"Anyway, I hope everyone can still enjoy the rest of the night," Lois Shen continued. "I've drunk more than I can handle, so I'll be taking my leave now."

Still smiling, she stepped down the stage, leaving a lot of the guests still wondering the truth behind the new she had just shared.

Walking out of the hall, Lois Shen took out her car keys from her bag. Just when she was about to reach her car, someone suddenly grabbed her from behind. She was about to scream for help until the person's hand went up to cover her mouth. "Shut up! Do you want to cause more embarrassment for yourself?"

Hearing the familiar voice, Lois Shen felt relieved. Although she didn't feel ashamed for what she did, she was worrying that the Gu Consortium might get affected.

After letting her go, Joey Gu took her arm and pulled her towards his car.

"Get in," he sneered at her. Lois Shen hesitated for a second, but then thought that he wouldn't do anything to her since she had just announced their separation. It would be too obvious, and if she went missing, he'd be a primary suspect.

However, when he had drove out of the city center, she started to panic. "Joey, where on earth are we going? Aren't we going back to the villa?"

"Shut up!" Joey Gu scolded. There was so much anger boiling up inside him.

"Just calm down! Can't we talk for a minute?" she retorted.

In a second, Joey stepped on the brakes, making her lunge forward. It was a good thing she was wearing her seat belt. Otherwise, she would gone straight through the windshield. Taking a deep breath to compose herself, Lois looked out the window. It was dark outside, and she couldn't help but feel a bit scared.

"Do you know how much the Gu Consortium will lose because of your reckless actions?" Joey asked, his voice trembling with anger.

Although Lois was surprised, she felt a bit relieved.

'At least he doesn't look like he's going to hurt me,' she thought.

For five whole years, Lois had taken care of Joey, and had stayed by his side. However, now that she was asking for a divorce, he cared about nothing else but his company. How sad.

"I'm not being reckless, Joey." Then, she took out some documents from her bag and handed them over to him. "I was serious when I said that we're getting a divorce."

It was divorce papers. He tried his best to look calm as he took the papers and skimmed through it.

As written on the terms, Lois had emphasized that she didn't want any money or asset from Joey. The only thing she wanted to take with her was their daughter.