Chapter 224

Chapter 224 She Couldn't Even Remember His Phone Number Chu Tang didn't have a habit of memorizing phone numbers. Her family and friends' numbers were all saved in her contacts—whenever she needed to reach someone, she'd just look them up and call. She never expected to end up in a situation like this. Right now her phone was broken, A Wen's phone was dead, and she didn't memorize numbers. Even if she could borrow Yang Mengyuan's phone to make a call, she couldn't dial a single number. Yang Mengyuan was full of self-blame. "If I'd known there would be a flood, I never would've asked you to come. I should've just gone to Jiangcheng with my husband to find you instead." Chu Tang said, "Don't say that. If you and your husband had come to Jiangcheng to find me, what would you have done with your son?" Yang Mengyuan's son was only two years old and needed someone to take care of him. Her in-laws had both passed away, and on her side of the family, only her frail, sickly mother remained—there was no way she could help with childcare. It was precisely because of the child that Yang Mengyuan had asked Chu Tang to make this trip in the first place. Chu Tang said, "Don't blame yourself. This isn't your fault. A natural disaster like this isn't something you could've predicted. The rescue team should be here soon. I've been out of contact for a day, but it's fine—I already called my dad to let him know I'm safe." The day Chu Tang arrived had been clear and sunny, and the weather forecast had predicted clear skies for the next three days. But on the very day Chu Tang was supposed to leave, a torrential rain suddenly poured down. No one had anticipated the rain would last this long or even trigger a flood. Because there was no electricity for lighting, Yang Mengyuan started making dinner at five in the afternoon. The heavy rain had finally stopped. The water in the house had receded a bit too. Last night in the middle of the night, it had risen to mid-calf, but now it had gone down—just barely above the ankles. Yang Mengyuan brought out her spare pair of rain boots for Chu Tang to wear. "I'm really sorry, we only have two pairs of women's rain boots in the house, no extras." Yang Mengyuan looked at A Wen with an apologetic expression. A Wen was walking barefoot through the water, her face expressionless. "It's fine." Chu Tang worried A Wen might catch a chill and get sick. "A Wen, why don't you go upstairs and rest? I'll bring your dinner up when it's ready. Don't keep walking in the water—you might catch cold." "What's this? Back in training, I ran five kilometers barefoot in ice and snow." Yang Mengyuan was stunned. "What kind of training is that brutal?" A Wen didn't say anything. If she said any more, she'd give herself away. Chu Tang smiled, covering for her. "A Wen participated in an extreme challenge program before." Yang Mengyuan looked at her with admiration, her expression excited. "Wow, you're amazing!" And just like that, the little incident passed. In the kitchen. Chu Tang had nothing to do, so she helped Yang Mengyuan wash vegetables. "Chu Tang, have you been doing okay these past two years?" Yang Mengyuan asked while chopping vegetables. Chu Tang carefully washed the lettuce leaf by leaf and replied, "Pretty good." Yang Mengyuan didn't know about Chu Tang's family background—she just assumed she was an ordinary small-town lawyer. Yang Mengyuan asked, "After you went back to your hometown, did you settle in well at the law firm there? Is the pay in Jiangcheng decent?" "It's alright, about the same as Haicheng." "After you broke up with that Gu... whatever his name was, did you date anyone else?" Back before Yang Mengyuan had returned to her hometown, she'd met Gu Zechuan once. It was when she and Chu Tang were out shopping and a sudden downpour hit. Gu Zechuan had come to pick Chu Tang up. Yang Mengyuan's first impression of Gu Zechuan had been very good—she thought he was handsome and wealthy, a perfect match for a stunning beauty like Chu Tang. Later, she moved back to her hometown and lost touch with Chu Tang. Once, she happened to ask when Chu Tang and Gu Zechuan planned to get married, and Chu Tang said they'd broken up. Yang Mengyuan hadn't pressed further. Now hearing Yang Mengyuan ask this, Chu Tang's hands paused mid-wash, her lashes lowering. "I dated someone. We broke up too." Yang Mengyuan could hear the unhappiness in Chu Tang's tone, so she didn't continue asking. She changed the subject. "For dinner tonight, I'll make chestnut chicken and braised pork, with blanched lettuce and cucumber salad for the vegetables. How does that sound?" Chu Tang said, "Sounds good." Yang Mengyuan's husband sat behind the stove, tending the fire. A Wen was on the side, playing with Yang Mengyuan's two-year-old son, Xiao Hai. Chu Tang finished washing the vegetables and turned around to see A Wen and Xiao Hai having a good time. She raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, "A Wen, I never would've guessed you like kids." She was always so cold-faced, radiating a ruthless, deadly edge. She didn't seem like the type to like children at all. A Wen was holding an Ultraman toy, entertaining the little boy, her face mostly blank as she said, "The little thing is pretty amusing." Chu Tang: "..." Yang Mengyuan and her husband: "..." The scene froze. Silence. Awkward silence. A moment later, Chu Tang let out two awkward laughs and said apologetically to Yang Mengyuan, "Sorry, sorry—my friend has low emotional intelligence and doesn't know how to talk. Please don't take offense. She didn't mean it that way—she was just saying Xiao Hai is cute." Yang Mengyuan's mouth twitched. "Your friend is... quite unique." Chu Tang: "She rarely interacts with kids, so she finds it novel." ... When the food was ready, everyone gathered around a round table to eat. Just then, Yang Mengyuan's phone rang. She picked it up and glanced at it, then said to Chu Tang, "It's a Jiangcheng number. Could it be for you?" Chu Tang: "I don't know. Why don't you answer and see?" Yang Mengyuan answered the call. "Hello, may I ask what this is regarding?" The person on the other end said something. Yang Mengyuan looked up at Chu Tang. "Yes, she's at my place." With that, Yang Mengyuan handed the phone to Chu Tang. "It's for you. They say they're your friend." Chu Tang took the phone. "Hello?" Upon hearing her voice, the person on the other end seemed to let out a sigh of relief. The next second, a familiar male voice came through the phone, deep and magnetic. "Tangtang, are you okay? I couldn't reach you." Before Chu Tang could speak, Jiang Shixu continued, "I called you over a hundred times today, and not a single one went through. I sent messages too, but got no replies. I was going out of my mind with worry." "I called Zhou Xueluo and Chen Yuanyuan to ask about you, and they both said they didn't know where you'd gone. Then I went to your law firm, and they told me you'd gone to Haicheng to see someone named Yang Mengyuan." Jiang Shixu's tone was urgent. "I saw the news about the flooding in Haicheng and I was so worried about you. Tangtang, why wasn't your phone going through? Did something happen?" Chu Tang was stunned for a moment, then pressed her lips together and said, "I'm fine. I just accidentally dropped my phone in the water." There was a brief silence on Jiang Shixu's end before he spoke in a muffled voice, "You couldn't have borrowed someone's phone to call me back? I was worried out of my mind." Chu Tang instinctively replied, "My phone fell in the water last night, and it's only been a day since then—not even twenty-four hours. How was I supposed to know you'd try to contact me? And besides..." She paused, feeling a bit guilty, "I don't have your phone number memorized." Jiang Shixu fell silent. Fine. Just fine. She couldn't even remember his phone number. The man took a deep breath. This wasn't the time to dwell on that. Jiang Shixu spoke in a hoarse voice, "The flights to Haicheng kept getting delayed, and the high-speed rail was suspended too. I left the law firm this afternoon and drove straight here. I just arrived in Lincheng now, and I should reach Haicheng around one in the morning." "You drove here?" Chu Tang couldn't believe it. Jiang Shixu hummed in confirmation. Chu Tang instinctively raised her voice. "It's over nine hundred kilometers from Jiangcheng to here! You drove all that way alone? It's been pouring rain here for days, and there's flooding everywhere. Why would you come to Haicheng? Go back!"