Chapter 101

Chapter 101: Keeping Him Away from Chu Tang—He Couldn't Do It! He Anyu helplessly pressed her hand to her forehead. "If you act like this, she'll only loathe you more. No one likes an extreme person." "Yes." Gu Zechuan lowered his sleeve, his expression faint. "She told me that. She said that from now on, I shouldn't try to kill myself anymore. Doctor, doesn't her saying that prove she still cares about me?" He Anyu didn't follow his line of thinking. In a few brief words, she shifted the topic and guided Gu Zechuan's thoughts elsewhere. She patiently led him along, conducting psychological therapy for Gu Zechuan. The session that day lasted about four hours. When it ended, He Anyu gave her advice with complete sincerity. She suggested that Gu Zechuan slowly try to distance himself from this relationship, from the person in his heart. He Anyu told Gu Zechuan that he needed to shift the focus of his life and stop directing his attention toward that person. Gu Zechuan seemed to have taken it in. When he left, he even nodded as if he half-understood. In truth, he hadn't absorbed a single word. Keeping him away from Chu Tang—he couldn't do it! ... Night fell, and Gu Zechuan lay awake, unable to sleep. He still lived in the apartment next to Chu Tang's, but she had already moved out. The night was silent and still. Gu Zechuan lay in bed. The room was dark, with no lights on. Gu Zechuan closed his eyes, and Ruan Chutang's face surfaced in his mind again and again. Suddenly, a repulsive-looking man forcibly barged into his thoughts. Jiang Shixu shot him a provocative smile, cupped Ruan Chutang's face, and kissed her passionately. "No! Don't!" Gu Zechuan suddenly shouted. "Don't touch her! Get out! Get away!" Gu Zechuan screamed and yelled like a madman in the dark room. Over and over, he masochistically conjured images of Jiang Shixu and Ruan Chutang together in sweet moments, even fantasizing about them indulging in wild passion. "Don't... Chu Tang... don't..." Gu Zechuan curled up on the bed, and the sound of his suppressed sobbing echoed through the dark room. "Wuuu... wuuu..." A grown man over six feet tall, now shrunk into a ball, crying uncontrollably. ... Not long after Chu Tang woke from her afternoon nap, she was feeling hungry when the doorbell rang. She ran a comb through her hair a few times, casually threw on a cream-colored fur coat, and padded over in her fuzzy slippers to open the door. "Miss Ruan, hello. I'm the auntie Mr. Jiang hired to cook for you." Outside the door stood a woman nearing fifty, dressed in a black padded jacket, with a kind face. Chu Tang paused. "Just a moment, let me confirm." After all, she couldn't just let a stranger in without checking. "Alright! No problem, you go ahead and ask Mr. Jiang. I'll wait right here outside the door," the auntie said with a cheerful smile. Chu Tang dialed Jiang Shixu's number. "Did you hire a cooking auntie?" "Yeah. She's Grandma Wang's daughter-in-law. Grandma Wang is too old to come over now, but fortunately her daughter-in-law has learned her cooking skills. I specifically asked her to cook for you, so you should find the food to your liking." Chu Tang froze when she heard this. She remembered Grandma Wang. The former nanny of the Su family. Her mother, Su Qingyun, had learned to cook from Grandma Wang, and Jiang Shixu had even taken her to Grandma Wang's house before. At the time, Chu Tang had only met Grandma Wang and her son. The daughter-in-law hadn't been home then, so she hadn't seen her. She hadn't expected Jiang Shixu to be so thoughtful, even going out of his way to hire Grandma Wang's daughter-in-law to cook for her. Girls always notice these little details. Chu Tang's heart instantly softened, like cotton candy—fluffy and sweet. "Okay, got it." Chu Tang hung up and said politely to Grandma Wang's daughter-in-law, "Please, come in, Auntie." During their chat, Chu Tang learned that the auntie's name was Zhang Caixia, forty-seven years old, with a daughter two years younger than Chu Tang who now worked as a primary school teacher. "Miss Ruan, Mr. Jiang told me you like these dishes, so I bought a bit of everything. What would you like for dinner tonight?" Zhang Caixia carried two large bags of fresh vegetables and meat from the membership-only supermarket into the house. Chu Tang smiled. "Since Brother Shixu said so, I should like all of it. I'm fine with anything—just cook whatever you think is best." "Alright! Mr. Jiang specifically instructed that groceries had to be bought from that big supermarket in the west of the city. It was my first time in a place like that—you have to get a membership just to get in. Oh my, the things in there were so expensive! But looking at the labels, everything was imported from abroad, and the vegetables were all organic. Should be top-quality stuff, safe to eat." Zhang Caixia was warm and down-to-earth, a bit familiar with newcomers, and Chu Tang rather liked her personality. "Miss Ruan, you're all grown up now. I don't know if you still remember me, but when you were little, I used to hold you." Chu Tang was taken aback. With Zhang Caixia saying that, she seemed to have a vague memory of it. Chu Tang smiled. "No need to be so formal. Just call me Tangtang." Zhang Caixia asked, "Then it's settled—I'll call you Tangtang from now on. Tangtang, where's the kitchen?" Chu Tang pointed in a direction. "It's over there." "Then I'll go start cooking. Mr. Jiang said he's coming back for dinner tonight, so I'll make three dishes and a soup, alright?" Chutang nodded. "Alright." ... Jiang Shixu finished up the work at hand and had his driver take him to Tinglanyuan. The villa he had purchased for Chutang was located here. To avoid the awkwardness of having no change of clothes if he stayed overnight again, Jiang Shixu had someone buy brand-new toiletries, bathrobes, loungewear, and everyday clothes this time—several large suitcases full. When he arrived at the door, Jiang Shixu rang the doorbell. Chutang opened the door and was genuinely startled. "Why did you bring so much stuff?" Jiang Shixu raised an eyebrow slightly, a smile tugging at his lips. "In case I stay over and have no clothes to wear next time." Chutang muttered inwardly: There's no need to bring this much, is there? This is no different from living together. But on second thought, if Jiang Shixu proposed they live together, she didn't think she'd mind. Seeing that he had come but still rang the doorbell, Chutang asked curiously, "Don't you have a key to the front gate? Why do you still ring the doorbell when you come?" "This is the house I bought for you. You're the only owner here now, so of course I have to get your permission before I can have a key." Chutang looked at him with amusement. "Alright then, I'll give you a spare key later." Jiang Shixu followed Chutang inside as the bodyguards behind him carried the suitcases in. "Don't wait until later. Let's do it today—I'm afraid you'll forget." Chutang laughed. "I'm not that forgetful." ... Chen Wan had been sulking with Gu Zechuan lately. Gu Zechuan had attempted suicide over Ruan Chutang, and the first thing he asked upon waking up was where Ruan Chutang was. Chen Wan was heartbroken. In the noisy, chaotic bar, lights flashed everywhere as people danced wildly. Chen Wan sat in a booth with her best friend Su Qiuyi, drinking. Su Qiuyi swirled her glass. "I never expected Ruan Chutang to be the young miss of the Ruan family in Jiangcheng. I really couldn't tell before." "Heh." Chen Wan laughed bitterly. "Qiuyi, do you think I'm a joke?" Su Qiuyi awkwardly twitched the corner of her mouth. To be honest, she really did seem like one.