Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Jiang Shixu Remembers Even the Posts She Casually Made She called Jiang Shixu. He picked up quickly, his voice gentle. "Tangtang, do you like those three dresses?" "Mm." Ruan Chutang said, "Which one do you think looks the best?" Jiang Shixu seemed to chuckle on the other end of the line, his tone indulgent. "Didn't I say if you like them, just buy them all? I already had my assistant order all three." "That fast? I only just sent them not long ago." Jiang Shixu: "I was afraid if we waited too long, they'd be sold out. These are limited editions." "Mm, thank you for the trouble, Brother Shixu." "Tangtang, you're my fiancée now. We're family. There's no need to talk about trouble." That was true, but she still couldn't quite get into the role of fiancée. In Ruan Chutang's heart, Jiang Shixu was still the boy-next-door who patiently tutored her. "By the way, Tangtang, since getting around by taxi in Haicheng isn't convenient, I bought you a car. The paperwork just went through. Give me an address, and I'll have someone drive it over to you." Hearing this, Ruan Chutang felt deeply embarrassed. Back then, she had run away from home to avoid the arranged marriage with Jiang Shixu, and Ruan Shaodong had cut off her cards. There was no way Jiang Shixu didn't know about that. She truly had no car and no house in Haicheng, living the life of an ordinary working person. Although her two best friends had offered to "support" her before, Chutang had refused. She had only accepted a sum of money from her friends in the first two months as a transition period. After her job became stable, she stopped taking their money. And she had paid back that initial sum bit by bit after receiving her salary. She had come to Haicheng precisely to escape the marriage with him, yet Jiang Shixu not only didn't blame her, he wanted to buy her a car. Ruan Chutang felt a pang of shame, her grip on the phone tightening. "No need, it's convenient enough for me to take taxis." Jiang Shixu's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible hurt. "Tangtang, are you being this polite with me because deep down you still don't want to go through with our engagement?" Chutang instinctively shook her head, only realizing a moment later that they were on the phone—Jiang Shixu couldn't see her expression or actions. She explained softly, "That's not it, Brother Shixu. Since I agreed to the engagement, I'm willing in my heart. I just thought that since I'm returning to Jiangcheng in a few days anyway, there's no need to buy a car now." Jiang Shixu replied, "That's fine. When you come back to Jiangcheng, I'll have someone drive it back." "This..." Ruan Chutang wanted to refuse again. "Aren't you going to the neighboring city for a court hearing in a few days? Having a car will be more convenient." Ruan Chutang was somewhat surprised. "How did you know I have a court hearing in the neighboring city in a few days?" "I saw it in your Moments post two months ago." Ruan Chutang was stunned. That hearing had indeed been scheduled two months ago—September 25th, at the intermediate court in the neighboring city. At the time, she had casually posted on Moments, joking about a work-funded trip, saying she'd grab a bowl of the spicy rice noodles she'd been craving after the hearing, and visit some famous scenic spot. Jiang Shixu's voice carried a gentle smile. "Having a car makes things much easier. After the hearing, you can even drive around the nearby scenic areas." At that moment, Jiang Shixu stood by the floor-to-ceiling window of the CEO's office at the top of the group's tower, overlooking the sea of city lights, his eyes soft as water. God knows how much he had wanted to buy her a car, a house, and send her money three years ago when he learned how strapped she was living in Haicheng. But he lacked a proper standing back then—if he sent her gifts out of nowhere, she definitely wouldn't accept them. Fortunately, times had changed. She had agreed to the engagement, and he finally had the rightful standing to give her gifts. After hearing Jiang Shixu's words, Ruan Chutang was momentarily dazed, deeply moved. It felt like a small pebble dropping into the lake of her heart, stirring ripples in concentric circles. Her Moments were set to visible for three days only. Sometimes she herself would forget things she'd posted after a while, yet Jiang Shixu remembered them so clearly. Gu Zechuan had never paid any attention to the posts she made. Sometimes she would tell Gu Zechuan in advance where she was going on a business trip, but on the day of the trip, he would still call and ask why she wasn't in Haicheng. She had also mentioned many times before places she wanted to travel to, and Gu Zechuan never took it to heart. The places she'd wanted to go with him two years ago, she still hadn't been to. So this was what it felt like to be cared about. Ruan Chutang stopped refusing and gave the address of Gu Zechuan's villa. Jiang Shixu said, "You should be home tomorrow morning, right? I'll have someone drive the car over in the morning." "I will be." Not long after she hung up, Gu Zechuan returned, together with Chen Wan. When they came in, Ruan Chutang was watching TV in the first-floor living room. Ruan Chutang glanced at the two of them from the corner of her eye but said nothing. Gu Zechuan didn't speak either. It was Chen Wan who greeted her first: "Miss Ruan, we meet again." Ruan Chutang lounged lazily against the sofa, her eyes fixed on the legal affairs program on TV, offering no response. Chen Wan wasn't bothered. She smiled and walked over to sit on the sofa. "Miss Ruan usually enjoys watching these kinds of shows?" Gu Zechuan tossed out a curt "I'm going to take a shower" and headed upstairs, though it wasn't clear who he was addressing. "You saw that video, didn't you?" The moment Gu Zechuan left, Chen Wan's smile vanished, replaced by a different expression. "Zechuan loves me." Ruan Chutang didn't care who Gu Zechuan loved. She merely nodded, not even shifting her gaze. "Mm, got it." This dismissive attitude irritated Chen Wan. She made no effort to hide the contempt in her eyes. "You're quite good at playing calm. Let's see how long you can keep it up." Ruan Chutang replied coldly, "Not as good as you." "Ha." Chen Wan let out a cold snort and rose to head upstairs. "Zechuan, I'll shower with you." She turned back to shoot Ruan Chutang a provocative smile, but unfortunately, Ruan Chutang wasn't even looking at her. At dinner, Gu Zechuan and Chen Wan sat on one side, while Ruan Chutang sat alone on the other. The housekeeper, Aunt Zhang, set down a plate of blanched choy sum. "All the dishes are served." Ruan Chutang frowned at her. "Aunt Zhang, why is everything like this today?" Bok choy, lettuce, water spinach, choy sum, broccoli, and cucumber salad. Every single dish was vegetarian, an unsettling sea of green, with not a trace of meat. Gu Zechuan said flatly, "These are all Chen Wan's favorites. She likes vegetables." "Likes vegetables?" Ruan Chutang gave a half-smile. "I think it's a hint that I've been cuckolded?" "Ruan Chutang! What's wrong with you now?" Gu Zechuan's face flushed with anger. "You can say whatever you want, but don't talk nonsense!" Ruan Chutang stared at Gu Zechuan's neck, where the hickey was especially glaring. Chen Wan had deliberately planted that mark there for her to see. Ruan Chutang smiled sweetly at the man across from her, who was now furious and embarrassed. "Don't you know in your heart whether I'm talking nonsense?" Gu Zechuan's face darkened. "Eat or don't eat, it's up to you. Also, Chen Wan has nowhere to stay, so she'll be living here for the next few days. We'll probably be eating vegetarian often from now on. If you can't stand it, cook for yourself." There was clearly a housekeeper, and adding two extra dishes would have been no trouble, yet Gu Zechuan wouldn't allow it. If she remembered correctly, Gu Zechuan wasn't that fond of vegetarian food. This was plainly meant to humiliate her. To make her miserable, Gu Zechuan was going all out, even willing to eat vegetarian at every meal with Chen Wan. A true case of hurting himself to spite her. Ruan Chutang knew he was still angry about the watch incident, but she had no intention of explaining, let alone bowing her head to apologize. She hadn't done anything wrong. She set down her chopsticks and rose to leave. Fine, if she couldn't eat here, she could always order takeout. The next day, Jiang Shixu had the car sent over.