Chapter 109

Chapter 109: Tangtang, Let's Break Up The surroundings were utterly silent, making the phone's vibration sound especially clear. Jiang Shixu picked up his phone and glanced at it—it was a call from Chu Tang. His eyes darkened slightly as he answered, his voice hoarse. "Hello, Tangtang." Hearing the raspiness in Jiang Shixu's voice, the girl on the other end asked with concern, "What's wrong, Shixu? Did you run into any danger on the way back?" "No." Chu Tang fell silent for a moment. Then she reported, "I've arrived safely. Nothing dangerous happened on the way. This place is very secluded, and the auntie taking care of me is kind and attentive. Everything is fine." It's just that I can't see you, and I miss you so much, and I worry about your safety. Those words, Chu Tang didn't say aloud. She didn't want to be overly sentimental. Now wasn't the time for romance with Jiang Shixu—he still had something very important to do. All she needed to do was obediently listen to him and stay put. Jiang Shixu made an ambiguous "Mm" sound. Chu Tang noticed he was especially cold today. She figured it was probably because he hadn't yet processed what had happened on the road earlier. "Then..." Chu Tang hesitated before speaking. "I'll hang up now. You go ahead and take care of your business." Jiang Shixu lifted his head with hollow eyes, staring at the bright sunlight outside the window. As if mustering every ounce of strength he had, with red-rimmed eyes, he said word by word, "Tangtang, let's break up." No more deliberation needed. Grandfather was right. The Ruan family were legitimate businesspeople—they truly couldn't withstand Fu Yuanzhou's ruthless and vicious methods. Every extra day of delay meant one more day of danger for the Ruan family. Chu Tang stood frozen, clutching her phone. Her lips moved, but she couldn't utter a single word. Tears fell before she could stop them. After a long moment, Chu Tang finally spoke, her lips trembling and voice thick with tears. "Is it because you're afraid of dragging me into this?" "No. I suddenly realized this isn't that interesting anymore. You..." Jiang Shixu took a deep breath before he could hold back his tears and force himself to continue. "The reason I was good to you before was because I thought you'd make a qualified Mrs. Jiang in the future. Only a girl like you—talented, beautiful, and from a good family—would be worthy of being the young mistress of the Jiang family. But..." Jiang Shixu closed his eyes, suppressing the pain in his heart, and said with difficulty, "But now I've thought it through. I haven't had my fill of fun yet. I don't want to spend my whole life with just one woman. So, let's break up. Forget about me. I'm the one who's sorry." The house on the estate was a two-story Western-style villa with a small garden. From the window of Chu Tang's room, she could look down and see the garden below. At this time of year, the garden was a scene of desolation—as bleak as its owner's mood. Chu Tang curled up on the bed, hugging her blanket and crying silently. Over an hour had passed since the call ended, and her tears hadn't stopped. How could a person have so many tears? It was as if they would never run dry no matter how much she cried. She didn't believe that the reason Jiang Shixu gave for breaking up—that he hadn't had enough fun—was the truth. He wasn't that kind of person. It had to be because of Fu Yuanzhou. He didn't want Fu Yuanzhou to hurt her, so he was rushing to cut ties with her. But those words really hurt. She couldn't just act like she was unaffected. She didn't want to cry either, but she simply couldn't control her tears. In winter, it got dark early. By a little past six in the evening, dusk had already settled in. A knock sounded at the door—"knock, knock, knock." The housekeeper stood outside and called softly, "Miss Ruan, dinner is ready." Chu Tang sniffled, her voice slightly hoarse. "Auntie, I'm not eating." Perhaps the auntie didn't hear her, because she knocked twice more. "Miss Ruan, are you asleep?" Chu Tang wiped her tears, got up from the bed, tidied her hair and clothes, and walked to the door to open it. "Auntie, I don't have much of an appetite tonight. You go ahead and eat." Seeing Chu Tang's eyes swollen from crying, the housekeeper's expression changed. "Miss Ruan, what happened?" Chu Tang shook her head gently, her voice thick with congestion. "I'm fine." The housekeeper looked worried and asked, "Should I contact Mr. Jiang?" Bringing up exactly the topic she didn't want to hear. The housekeeper meant no harm—it was an innocent mistake. Chu Tang forced a smile—one that looked worse than crying—and pretended to be strong. "I'm really fine. Maybe I'm just not used to being here yet. I was thinking about my father's injuries and couldn't hold back my tears. Please don't worry about me." The housekeeper didn't know about Ruan Shaodong being hospitalized. Hearing Chu Tang's explanation, she didn't press further and simply said, "I'm glad you're alright. You scared me—I thought something had happened to you. Mr. Jiang specifically told me that you can reach out to him anytime for anything. Even things like not liking the food or not sleeping well—you can contact him about those too." Chu Tang was momentarily stunned. "He really said that?" The housekeeper smiled warmly like a doting elder. "Yes, Miss Ruan. You can tell that Mr. Jiang cares about you very much." Chu Tang fell silent. The housekeeper continued, "Well then, you rest for now. If you get hungry later, just call me anytime and I'll make you something to eat." "No need to trouble yourself. I won't be eating anything tonight. Once you're done with your work, go ahead and rest." The nanny looked somewhat troubled. "Mr. Jiang has instructed that we must take good care of you. I'm staying in the room directly across from yours—just knock on my door if you need anything." "Alright." ...... Inside a villa somewhere. Fu Yuanzhou sat on the sofa, arms draped over the backrest, long legs crossed, lazily propping one leg over the other. The man appeared relaxed and carefree, yet a dangerous glint flickered in his eyes. He gritted his teeth and said, "Are you telling me the three of you couldn't take down Jiang Shixu when he had a woman with him?" The man kneeling on the floor had bandages wrapped around his head and arm. He was the one who had been chasing Jiang Shixu in an Aston Martin on the road that afternoon. After Jiang Shixu shot him in the arm, his car crashed into the guardrail, and he suffered a severe head injury before losing consciousness. He had been rushed to the hospital by ambulance and resuscitated, but ignoring his injuries, he pulled out his IV tube and hurried straight to Fu Yuanzhou's villa to report. The man's face was deathly pale—whether from his wounds or from fear was unclear. Trembling slightly, he replied, "Y-yes... that's right..." "Those two useless pieces of trash—still haven't found them?" Fu Yuanzhou narrowed his eyes, murderous intent flashing within them. At that moment, his personal bodyguard Zhou Yu, standing behind him, leaned down and whispered in his ear, "Brother Zhou, we just got a call. The police have already found the bodies of Jack and A-Cheng." Jack was the mercenary who had been firing the heavy rifle that afternoon—a citizen of Country A. A-Cheng was from Huaxia, one of the killers under Zhou Yu's command. Both of them had been in that Porsche 918. After the car crashed through the guardrail and plunged off the cliff, there was almost no chance they'd survived. The police finding their bodies came as no surprise. But here was the problem—Jack had still been holding his gun when he fell off the cliff. Which meant that gun was now in police hands. That was trouble. Fu Yuanzhou's gaze was sharp, cold as a blade. He raised his foot and kicked the man in front of him hard, not caring how badly he was injured. "You're useless now. Get lost!"