After all, men, especially wealthy men, understand what's understood.
Who doesn't have several close opposite-sex "friends"?
But these good friends often disappear automatically after a while. As executives, they still have their pride. Being humble to Gu Heng is fine, and being humble to Gu Heng's wife is also fine, but not to a lover...
Thus, they might put on a facade for the sake of Gu Heng, but deep down, they never consider these women seriously unless Gu Heng explicitly expresses that they are his girlfriends. Then they would truly take it to heart.
After all, although lovers and wives undertake the same responsibilities, their statuses are worlds apart...
However, since Gu Heng had publicly spoken to these two lovers in that way, regardless of his intention, the group of executives would take it as a signal from Gu Heng and would definitely treat He Jing and Lin Jiayun with at least basic respect; otherwise, it would be a slap in the face to Gu Heng.