Chapter 203

Chapter 203: If You Don't Want It, I'll Throw It Away Chutang paused, seemingly not expecting him to ask that. She let out an "mm." "He also knows you like blue." Jiang Shixu's lips curved slightly, appearing to smile, yet his tone was sourer than a lemon. "How nice." Chutang pressed her lips together, her gaze subtly fixed on the bouquet of blue flowers in the passenger seat of the man's car. His taste had always been impeccable, and the flowers he gave were always carefully chosen—that bouquet suited her aesthetic perfectly. Seeing Chutang staring at the flowers in the passenger seat. Jiang Shixu's tone betrayed no emotion as he said, "I originally wanted to give them to you, but since you already have a bouquet, I suppose these would be redundant." Hearing him say that, Chutang didn't know what to say, so she simply replied, "Then... I'll be going now?" With that, she turned to leave. "Wait!" Jiang Shixu's tone was a bit more urgent than before. "Two bouquets aren't hard to carry. Why don't you take these too? They're taking up space in the car." Chutang, with her back to Jiang Shixu, curved her lips in a barely perceptible smile. She turned around, meeting the man's gaze once more. "Taking up space?" "Mm." The man said in a low voice, "If you don't want them, I'll throw them away." Chutang nearly laughed for a moment. "Then I'd better take them. It'd be a shame to throw away such beautiful flowers." Jiang Shixu got out of the car, walked around the front to her side, opened the door, picked up the bouquet, and handed it to her. Chutang held the flowers and said thank you. Hearing the words "thank you," the man's gaze darkened again. Chutang noticed but said nothing. After all, given their current relationship, it was only proper to be polite and courteous. Chutang returned to her car carrying both bouquets. Yang Xuelian was surprised. "Tangtang, where did you get another bouquet? Who gave you these?" From where their car was parked, Jiang Shixu's Cullinan wasn't visible, so Ruan Shaodong and Yang Xuelian naturally hadn't seen Jiang Shixu giving Chutang flowers. Ruan Shaodong, sitting in the front row, turned his head to glance at Chutang but said nothing. Knowing that Ruan Shaodong currently disliked the Jiang family and strongly opposed her associating with Jiang Shixu, Chutang didn't want to ruin the mood, so she replied ambiguously, "A friend." Yang Xuelian: "Oh, oh." Seeing that Chutang didn't want to elaborate, she didn't press further. Ruan Shaodong said nothing, only speaking calmly to the driver, "Let's go." When they returned to the Ruan residence, Ruan Jiaojiao was sitting on the living room sofa watching Peppa Pig. Seeing her older sister return, Ruan Jiaojiao broke into a smile, ran over excitedly in her little leather shoes, hugged Chutang tightly, and sweetly called out, "Sister." Chutang smiled, gently stroking Ruan Jiaojiao's head. "Jiaojiao, did you miss your sister while she was away?" The little girl said crisply, "Yes." The psychologist beside them smiled and said to Chutang in English, "Jiaojiao's condition has fully recovered. She can now live a normal life and attend school." Chutang's eyes lit up with surprise. "That's wonderful. Thank you, Alice." The female doctor smiled and said, "You're welcome. Mr. Jiang has already settled my fees in full. I'll be heading back tomorrow." Chutang asked, "So soon?" The female doctor nodded. "There's a patient back home who has booked an appointment with me." Chutang said, "Alright, what time is your flight tomorrow? I'll have the driver take you." "Three in the afternoon." Ruan Shaodong said in English, "Thank you, Dr. Alice. Jiaojiao's recovery is all thanks to you." "You're welcome, sir." Ruan Shaodong glanced at Yang Xuelian. Yang Xuelian understood and said to the doctor in English, "Alice, I have something to give you. Please come with me." Yang Xuelian led Dr. Alice upstairs and brought out a gift she had prepared along with an envelope. Inside the envelope was a thick stack of US dollar bills. "Alice, thank you for treating Jiaojiao during this time. I know Mr. Jiang has already paid you—what he paid is his. This is a small token of appreciation from our family. Please don't refuse." Unable to decline such sincere hospitality, Alice accepted. That evening, Yang Xuelian personally cooked a table full of Chutang's favorite dishes. Ruan Jiaojiao's illness was cured, and Chutang had recovered and been discharged from the hospital—today was a good day for the Ruan family. The whole family sat together in harmony, a warm scene that hadn't been seen in a long time. ... The next afternoon, after Dr. Alice had left, Chutang was at home watching cartoons with her little sister. A WeChat video call from Lu Shuci suddenly popped up. Ruan Chutang was puzzled. Why would Lu Shuci suddenly video call her? Usually, for important matters, he would call, and for unimportant ones, he would send text messages on WeChat. This was the first time he'd directly sent a video call. Puzzled, Chutang tapped accept. To her surprise, the face that appeared on the video wasn't Lu Shuci's, but his little cousin, little Gu Tian. The adorable little Gu Tian was wearing the pink Prada hair clip Chutang had given her, with her hair tied in double ponytails. Seeing Ruan Chutang answer the video, Gu Tian smiled so wide her eyes curved into crescents, revealing a pair of dimples on her cheeks. "Chu Tang, sister." Gu Tian's voice was soft and sweet, just like her. When she called Chu Tang's name, her voice seemed to carry a little wave. Chu Tang liked Gu Tian, so she smiled and responded, "Oh, it's Tian Tian." It turned out that Gu Tian had been playing with Lu Shuci's phone and had video-called her. Ruan Jiaojiao, who was sitting beside Chu Tang, heard Gu Tian's voice and leaned in with her fluffy little head, waving at the camera to greet Gu Tian. "Tian Tian!" "Jiaojiao, sister." Gu Tian smiled back. Ruan Jiaojiao leaned in even closer, her slightly chubby face magnified on the screen, looking adorable. In her childish voice, Ruan Jiaojiao asked, "Tian Tian, when are you coming over to my house to play again?" Gu Tian, equally childish, replied, "Tomorrow is Saturday. Can I have my brother bring me over to your house to play?" Ruan Jiaojiao answered, "Sure! I'll have my mom make something delicious for you." Gu Tian said, "I want to eat the bear-shaped cookies your auntie made last time." "Okay, I'll tell my mom to make bear-shaped cookies tomorrow." The two children chatted away enthusiastically, and Chu Tang handed the phone to Ruan Jiaojiao so she could video chat with Gu Tian. After more than ten minutes, the person on the other end of the video changed to Lu Shuci. Ruan Jiaojiao handed the phone back to Ruan Chu Tang and said obediently, "Sister, I'm done chatting with Tian Tian. Tian Tian's brother wants to talk to you." Chu Tang took the phone, and Lu Shuci's face came into view. There was a smile in his eyes. "Sorry, Attorney Ruan. I gave my phone to the kids to watch cartoons, and I don't know how she managed to open WeChat and video-call you. I hope I'm not disturbing you?" "No, not at all." "That's good." Chu Tang smiled. "Tian Tian is very cute. Jiaojiao likes playing with her, and I like her too." Lu Shuci's expression was gentle, a smile curving at his lips as he replied, "Jiaojiao is very cute too. I heard from Tian Tian that she and Jiaojiao have made plans to play together tomorrow. I'll bring her over—would that be convenient?" Chu Tang replied, "How could that be inconvenient?" "Alright then. I'll bring her over tomorrow morning. It just so happens I have a few cases I'd like to discuss with you." "Okay."