Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Gu Zechuan Loses Control Over His White Moonlight It seemed he had only just realized his girlfriend was still here. Like waking from a dream, he withdrew the hand that had been resting on Chen Wan's waist and took two steps back. Gu Zechuan's brothers followed his gaze and only then realized Ruan Chutang was still present. They quickly tried to smooth things over. "Come on, let's keep playing. Chen Wan, your stomach isn't great, so don't drink. If you lose, we'll switch to Truth or Dare." "Good idea. Truth or Dare it is." After composing himself, Gu Zechuan returned to the sofa. He expected Ruan Chutang to be jealous, to throw a little tantrum at him. But Ruan Chutang said nothing. Her indifferent attitude instead stirred a faint, inexplicable unease in Gu Zechuan's heart. He felt like something about Ruan Chutang was different from before. Silence stretched between them. Gu Zechuan hesitated, wanting to explain himself, but from the other side came another round of jeering. "Chen Wan, you lost again. Truth or Dare this time?" Gu Zechuan's attention was drawn back to Chen Wan. His gaze clung to her. "I'll pick Dare." Chen Wan turned her head, her eyes landing on Gu Zechuan, and curled her lips in an unreadable smile. "Come on, come on. The Dare prompts are all here. Draw one." Someone pulled out a stack of paper slips. Chen Wan casually drew one. The moment the person opened it, his eyes went wide. His gaze darted back and forth between Chen Wan, Gu Zechuan, and Ruan Chutang. A curious girl leaned in to look. "What did she get? Let me see." "Hiss—" The girl gasped sharply at the contents of the slip. Everyone grew curious. "What did she get?" "Come on, tell us what it says!" "Pick any member of the opposite sex present and kiss them." The guy read out the prompt, stealing a quick glance at Gu Zechuan. Sure enough, the instant Gu Zechuan heard those words, a layer of frost settled over his face. The temperature in the entire private room plummeted to freezing. But Chen Wan seemed oblivious. She stood up with a grin and walked toward a handsome man not far away. "Chen'an, mind kissing me?" Lin Chenan stole a glance at Gu Zechuan, whose expression looked murderous, and didn't dare make a sound. When Lin Chenan didn't respond, Chen Wan leaned in, wrapping her arms around his neck as if to kiss him. "Enough!" Gu Zechuan barked in fury. Unable to hold back any longer, he rushed over, grabbed Chen Wan's hand, and stormed out the door. The remaining people exchanged awkward glances, then all turned sympathetic looks toward Ruan Chutang. Ruan Chutang took a sip of her juice from the table and smiled nonchalantly. "Why are you all looking at me?" They averted their gazes—those drinking went back to drinking, those chatting went back to chatting, pretending nothing had happened. Ruan Chutang sipped her juice, her heart growing colder by the minute. In her memory, Gu Zechuan seemed indifferent to everything. This was the first time she had ever seen him lose control like this. After finishing her juice, Ruan Chutang went to the restroom. Through the door, she overheard several girls talking by the sinks outside. "Gu Zechuan's gone crazy—he left his girlfriend here and ran off with Chen Wan." "Pfft, that just shows Chen Wan is the one he truly cares about." "Yeah, did you all see just now? When Chen Wan was about to kiss Lin Chenan, Gu Zechuan's face was terrifyingly dark." "Saw it. His girlfriend is really pitiful, watching her boyfriend lose his mind over another woman." "Pretty pitiful, yeah. His girlfriend is just a stand-in." "If you ask me, Gu Zechuan and Ruan Chutang are probably close to breaking up. Even a blind man could see the one Gu Zechuan loves is Chen Wan." "Yeah, I—" The girl's unfinished words caught in her throat. Through the mirror, she saw Ruan Chutang walking out of the stall behind her and quickly shut her mouth. The other two girls also spotted Ruan Chutang. Without another word, they lowered their heads and hurried away. Ruan Chutang walked to the mirror and calmly washed her hands. Yes, she and Gu Zechuan were indeed close to breaking up. But the breakup wouldn't be initiated by him, nor because he no longer wanted her. It was because she didn't love him anymore. She no longer wanted him. ... By the time she returned to Gu Zechuan's villa, it was already eleven at night. Ruan Chutang was exhausted. After showering, she lay down in bed and quickly fell asleep. Gu Zechuan didn't come back until the afternoon of the next day. He pushed open the bedroom door and saw an open suitcase spread out on the floor. A flicker of confusion crossed his eyes. "What are you doing?" Ruan Chutang poked her head out from behind the wardrobe. "You're back. I'm going back to my hometown for a while soon." She had a lot of things—after all, she'd lived here for two years. Some clothes, shoes, and miscellaneous trinkets didn't need to be taken back to Jiangcheng, but they still had to be sorted out, packed up, and thrown away. When she left, she wouldn't leave a single trace of herself behind. Just as she finished speaking, her gaze brushed against the telltale red marks on Gu Zechuan's neck. Ruan Chutang froze for a moment, then casually looked away. She was already dead to Gu Zechuan. So whoever he fooled around with had nothing to do with her anymore. At this, Gu Zechuan's brow furrowed. "Why the sudden trip back to your hometown? Still upset about last night? Going back to hide from me?" "No, I just miss my parents and want to go see them." Hearing Ruan Chutang's answer, Gu Zechuan's brow relaxed. "It's good to go back and visit." In the past three years, Ruan Chutang had never once returned to her hometown. Even during the New Year, she had spent it all alone. He couldn't abandon his family to spend the holiday with her, nor could he bring her home for the New Year. Because he knew his mother, Ms. Meng, would never accept a girl without family background or connections. After a pause of a few seconds, Gu Zechuan continued, "It's just that I've been quite busy lately, so I can't accompany you back. What day is your flight? I'll have the driver take you to the airport." Ruan Chutang picked out a few of her favorite outfits and laid them on the bed, folding each one neatly before placing them into the suitcase. "No need to trouble yourself. I'll call a car myself—someone will pick me up and drop me off." Hearing this, Gu Zechuan let out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief. He had been afraid Ruan Chutang would ask him to go back to her hometown with her to meet her parents. They had been dating for three years now. If he were an ordinary man, it would be time to meet the parents and discuss marriage. But he wasn't an ordinary man. He was the only son of the Gu family, the sole heir to the Gu Corporation. The gap between their families was a chasm they could never cross. Gu Zechuan knew well that there was no future for him and Ruan Chutang. So meeting the parents was unnecessary. Fortunately, Ruan Chutang understood this as well and didn't cling to him or beg him to come along. Thinking of this, Gu Zechuan once again marveled inwardly at how obedient and sensible Ruan Chutang was. Last night, in a moment of impulse, he had left her behind and run off with Chen Wan. He had expected Ruan Chutang to make a scene today, but instead she neither cried nor threw a tantrum—it made things easy for him. In their three years of dating, Ruan Chutang had never checked up on him like other women did, nor had she ever fought with him over his dalliances outside. At that moment, his best friend's words suddenly echoed in his ears. "Just date both of them. If you feel guilty toward Ruan Chutang, just buy her more gifts to appease her. Women are easy to please." Perhaps he really could consider marrying Chen Wan and keeping Ruan Chutang as his secret lover. After all, a man of his caliber—with family background and status—was someone a girl like Ruan Chutang would never encounter a second time. Ruan Chutang loved him too much to ever leave him. He would have a proper talk with her once she returned from her hometown. Gu Zechuan said, "Then take care on the road. Let me know when you get home, and tell me when you're back in Haicheng—I'll come pick you up." Ruan Chutang lowered her eyes demurely and softly replied, "Okay." She would never come back. She said it quietly in her heart. Gu Zechuan was about to say something more when his phone rang. He answered the call. A few minutes later, Gu Zechuan hung up and said to Ruan Chutang, "I need to go out for something. What happened last night was my fault—I shouldn't have left you there alone. I bought you a gift; my assistant will bring it over shortly." Ruan Chutang responded with a lukewarm, indifferent acknowledgment. Gu Zechuan said nothing more and turned to leave. Not long after he was gone, Ruan Chutang received a message from Jiang Shixu.