Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Gu Zechuan Drools with Envy Ruan Chutang smiled nonchalantly and replied, "Yeah, because you don't know me." With that, she turned to Chen Wan with a mischievous grin. "Miss Chen, are you sure you don't want a photo? If not, I'm driving off." Chen Wan's face turned green with frustration. She really wanted to take a photo! But with Ruan Chutang sitting in the car, she couldn't bring herself to ask no matter what. "I don't care about it," Chen Wan said stubbornly. "Alright then, bye-bye!" Ruan Chutang waved at them and stepped on the gas, the car speeding away in a cloud of dust. The blue Bentley disappeared from their sight. Chen Wan fumed, "Zechuan, how could you fall for such a vain woman?" Gu Zechuan rubbed his brow. "She wasn't this vain before. I don't know what's gotten into her lately—first the marriage ultimatum, now renting a car." Chen Wan said, "She's probably feeling threatened seeing how close you and I are. Renting the car is likely her way of trying to fit into our circle." Chen Wan crossed her arms, shook her head, and let out a sigh, a hint of sympathy in her eyes. "Tsk tsk, too bad a rental is just a rental—it's never really hers. She can only take photos with it. How pitiful." "Stop it. I'm embarrassed enough as it is." Gu Zechuan turned and went back into the villa. ... Ruan Chutang drove around for a while before finally parking the car at a paid parking lot outside the villa district. She didn't want to park the car in Gu Zechuan's garage. It wasn't time to reveal everything to him yet. Ruan Chutang had originally planned to tell Gu Zechuan about her family background in person, but now she no longer wanted to. That evening, the table was again set with plain vegetarian dishes. Ruan Chutang carried the food she'd ordered from a specialty private kitchen to the table, sat down, and opened the boxes as if no one else was there. The aroma instantly filled the entire dining room. Gu Zechuan couldn't help but glance at what Ruan Chutang had ordered. Spicy crayfish, fragrant chili crab—they looked delicious, and the bold, spicy scent irresistibly tugged at his senses, whetting his appetite. Before long, saliva was practically pooling in his mouth. He looked back at the dishes in front of him—bland, watery, and utterly tasteless. He had no appetite at all. Ruan Chutang put on disposable gloves and began peeling the crayfish with full focus. He loved spicy crayfish too. Back when he and Ruan Chutang used to eat crayfish together, she would always peel them for him by hand. Gu Zechuan's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. He glanced at Ruan Chutang, pretending not to care, hoping she'd place a peeled crayfish into his plate. But Ruan Chutang peeled one and popped it into her own mouth, savoring it with relish. Noticing Gu Zechuan's gaze, Ruan Chutang turned to look at him, swallowed her food, and asked, "What's wrong? Why are you staring at me?" Gu Zechuan coughed to cover his embarrassment and said in a calm tone, "Can you not eat something with such a strong smell?" Before Ruan Chutang could answer, Chen Wan jumped in, "Oh dear, the poorer people are, the more they love these heavy, spicy foods. Miss Ruan, the smell really is too strong. Why don't you take it outside to eat?" Gu Zechuan's expression darkened at her words. He'd just been eyeing that food longingly, and now Chen Wan had to say that only poor people like it? Ruan Chutang licked her lips and started peeling another crayfish, her tone carrying a hint of mischief. "Miss Chen, it seems you don't know Gu Zechuan very well. Why don't you ask him if he likes it?" Chen Wan froze for a moment, then turned to Gu Zechuan. "Zechuan, you..." Gu Zechuan's brow twitched. Suppressing his irritation, he picked up a piece of greens with his chopsticks. "Forget it. Don't mind her. Let's eat." Ruan Chutang hummed a little tune as she polished off the entire box of spicy crayfish and chili crab by herself, feeling utterly delighted. After dinner, Chen Wan walked around the living room and critiqued, "Zechuan, this curtain doesn't look good, and the vase on the table doesn't match the living room's color scheme at all." Then, pinching her nose, she looked at the fresh flowers in the vase with disgust. "Also, I'm allergic to pollen. Can we throw these flowers away?" The curtains were ones Ruan Chutang had replaced, the vase was something she'd bought, and the flower arrangement inside was carefully put together by her. Chen Wan probably knew all that, which was why she deliberately found fault with them. Gu Zechuan said casually, "If you don't like them, change them to whatever you like." His gaze lingered on Ruan Chutang for a moment, and he added in a slightly defiant tone, "Since you're allergic to pollen, let's just throw them out." Ruan Chutang watched the two of them play off each other in silence, saying nothing. After all, it wasn't her house. They could do whatever they wanted. But Chen Wan took Ruan Chutang's silence as a sign of hurt. A flicker of triumph passed through her eyes as she thought to herself, Ruan Chutang, you've lost. Gu Zechuan called for the housekeeper and told her to take the vase and flowers out and throw them away. The housekeeper looked at Ruan Chutang with a troubled expression, then said to Gu Zechuan, "Sir, but these flowers... Miss Ruan bought them." Gu Zechuan's face darkened, and his voice rose a few notches. "So what if she bought them? Have you forgotten who the master of this house is? Who pays your salary?" Ruan Chutang said calmly, "It's fine, Aunt Zhang. Throw them away if that's what he wants." The nanny picked up the vase and headed for the door, muttering under her breath: lunatic, always looking for trouble, what's he throwing a fit about every day! And that Chen Wan is a madwoman too—since she moved in these past two days, she's only eaten vegetables, which means she hasn't been able to eat meat either. When will this ever end! In the living room, Chen Wan smiled and linked her arm through Gu Zechuan's, speaking in a coquettish tone: "Zechuan, come with me tomorrow to pick out curtains." Gu Zechuan glanced at Ruan Chutang, and seeing her calm expression with not a hint of jealousy, an inexplicable irritation rose in his chest. Why wasn't Ruan Chutang jealous? He'd had someone throw away her flowers—why wasn't she angry? Gu Zechuan felt restless and unsettled, unable to name the feeling. What he'd always loved most about Ruan Chutang was her obedience and thoughtfulness, how she never caused him worry—but was she now being a little too obedient? Sometimes it wouldn't hurt to be a little jealous. He suddenly found himself weary of Ruan Chutang's compliance and consideration. Seeing that Gu Zechuan hadn't answered, Chen Wan shook his arm, growing even more petulant: "Zechuan, are you even listening to me?" Gu Zechuan withdrew his gaze and gave a low, muffled "mm" in response. ... The next day, Chen Wan made a grand show of buying a large haul of items, directing the delivery workers to replace the curtains and the living room decor. She threw everything Ruan Chutang had bought before into the trash. When Ruan Chutang returned from outside, Chen Wan met her gaze with the smug look of someone who'd gotten her way. Ruan Chutang paid Chen Wan no mind, merely sweeping a blank expression over the messy living room and the busy workers before heading upstairs to her room. She packed up the luggage she planned to take with her, and the things she intended to throw away were mostly bundled up as well. Now she'd only left out some daily necessities and a few changes of clothes for these last days. She'd thought she and Chen Wan would keep the peace for these final days, but it turned out Chen Wan would stop at nothing to drive her out.