He seemed to finally realize that his girlfriend was still here, withdrawing his hand from Chen Wan’s waist as if waking from a dream and taking two steps back.
Gu Zechuan’s friends followed his gaze and only then remembered that Ruan Chutang was still present. They quickly tried to smooth things over.
“Come on, let’s keep playing. Chen Wan, since your stomach isn’t good, don’t drink. If you lose, let’s switch to truth or dare.”
“That’s a good idea—truth or dare it is.”
After calming his emotions, Gu Zechuan returned to the sofa.
He thought Ruan Chutang would be jealous, that she would throw a small tantrum.
But Ruan Chutang said nothing.
Her detached attitude instead stirred an inexplicable unease in Gu Zechuan’s heart.
It felt as though Ruan Chutang was different from before in some way.
Silence stretched between them.
Gu Zechuan hesitated, wanting to explain, but just then, cheers erupted from the other side.
“Chen Wan, you lost again! Truth or dare this time?”
Gu Zechuan’s attention was drawn back to Chen Wan.
His gaze lingered on her.
“I choose dare.”
Chen Wan turned her head, her eyes settling on Gu Zechuan, a faint, ambiguous smile curling her lips.
“Come on, come on, all the dare prompts are here. Pick one,” someone said, pulling out a stack of paper slips.
Chen Wan randomly drew one. The moment the person unfolded it, his eyes widened.
His gaze shifted repeatedly among Chen Wan, Gu Zechuan, and Ruan Chutang.
A curious girl leaned over to look. “What did she get? Let me see.”
“Hiss—” The girl gasped in shock upon reading the slip.
Everyone grew curious.
“What did she draw?”
“Hurry up, what is it?”
“Randomly choose a member of the opposite sex present and kiss them,” the boy announced, quickly glancing at Gu Zechuan.
Sure enough, the moment Gu Zechuan heard this, a frosty expression clouded his face.
The temperature in the entire private room seemed to drop to freezing.
Chen Wan, however, acted as if she didn’t notice. Smiling, she stood up and walked toward a handsome man not far away.
“Chen’an, mind kissing me?”
Lin Chen’an stole a glance at Gu Zechuan, whose expression looked murderous, and didn’t dare breathe.
Seeing Lin Chen’an remain silent, Chen Wan moved closer, wrapping her arms around his neck as if to kiss him.
“Enough!”
Gu Zechuan roared, unable to hold back any longer. He rushed over, grabbed Chen Wan’s hand, and stormed out the door.
The remaining people exchanged glances, their sympathetic eyes eventually settling on Ruan Chutang.
Ruan Chutang picked up the juice on the table and took a sip, smiling indifferently. “Why are you all looking at me?”
They averted their gazes, returning to drinking or chatting, pretending nothing had happened.
As she sipped her juice, Ruan Chutang’s heart gradually grew cold.
In her memory, Gu Zechuan had always 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 heard the voices of several girls chatting by the sinks outside.
“Gu Zechuan has gone crazy, leaving his girlfriend here and running off with Chen Wan.”
“Well, it just shows Chen Wan is the one he cares about most.”
“Yeah, did you see earlier? When Chen Wan was about to kiss Lin Chen’an, Gu Zechuan’s face turned terrifyingly dark.”
“I saw it. His girlfriend is so pitiful, having to watch her boyfriend go crazy over another woman right in front of her.”
“She is quite pitiful, she’s just a substitute for his girlfriend.”
“In my opinion, Gu Zechuan and Ruan Chutang are probably not far from breaking up. Even a blind person can see that the one Gu Zechuan loves is Chen Wan.”
“Yeah, I also…” The girl’s unfinished words stuck in her throat as she saw Ruan Chutang emerge from a toilet stall behind her in the mirror, and she quickly shut her mouth.
The other two girls also saw Ruan Chutang. They didn’t say anything more, lowering their heads and hurriedly walking away.
Ruan Chutang walked to the mirror and calmly washed her hands.
Yes, she and Gu Zechuan were indeed not far from breaking up.
But the breakup wouldn’t be initiated by him, nor would it be because he didn’t want her anymore.
It was because she didn’t love him anymore; she was the one who didn’t want him.
…
Returning to Gu Zechuan’s villa, it was already 11 p.m.
Ruan Chutang was very tired. After taking a shower and lying down on the bed, she quickly fell asleep.
Gu Zechuan returned the next afternoon.
He pushed open the bedroom door and saw the open suitcase sprawled on the floor, a flicker of confusion passing through his eyes.
“What’s going on here?”
Ruan Chutang peeked her head out from behind the wardrobe. “You’re back. I’m going back to my hometown for a while.”
She had a lot of things. After all, she had lived here for two years. Some clothes, shoes, and miscellaneous little 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 behind any items belonging to her.
Just after saying that, her gaze fell upon the ambiguous red marks on Gu Zechuan’s neck. Ruan Chutang froze for a moment, then shifted her gaze away as if nothing had happened.
She had already given up on Gu Zechuan.
So, whoever he fooled around with had nothing to do with her anymore.
Hearing this, Gu Zechuan frowned. “Why are you suddenly going back to your hometown? Still angry about last night? Going back to your hometown to avoid me?”
“No, I just miss my parents and want to go back to see them.”
Hearing Ruan Chutang’s response, Gu Zechuan’s frown eased. “It’s good to go back and see them.”
Over the past three years, Ruan Chutang had never returned to her hometown.
Even during the New Year, she was alone.
He couldn’t abandon his family to spend the New Year with her, nor could he take her home for the New Year.
Because he knew his mother, Mrs. Meng, would never accept a girl with no family background.
After pausing for a few seconds, Gu Zechuan continued, “It’s just that I’ve been quite busy lately and can’t accompany you back to your hometown. What day is your flight? I’ll have the driver take you to the airport.”
Ruan Chutang selected a few of her favorite clothes and laid them out on the bed, folding them one by one and placing them into the suitcase.
“No need to trouble yourself. I’ll call a car myself; someone will pick me up.”
Hearing this, Gu Zechuan breathed an almost imperceptible sigh of relief.
He was afraid Ruan Chutang would say she wanted to take him back to her hometown to meet her parents.
They had been dating for three years. If they were ordinary people, it would be time to meet the parents and discuss marriage.
But he wasn’t an ordinary person.
He was the only son of the Gu family, the sole heir of the Gu Group.
The gap in their family backgrounds was an insurmountable chasm between them.
Gu Zechuan deeply understood that he and Ruan Chutang had no future.
So, meeting the parents was unnecessary.
Fortunately, Ruan Chutang also understood this principle and didn’t pester him to take her home.
Thinking of this, Gu Zechuan once again inwardly sighed at Ruan Chutang’s obedience and understanding.
Last night, he had impulsively left her behind and ran off with Chen Wan. He had thought Ruan Chutang would make a scene with him today, but instead, she didn’t cry or make a fuss, which made things very easy for him.
After three years of dating, Ruan Chutang never checked up on him like other women did, nor did she ever argue with him over his flirtations outside.
At this moment, his good friend’s words suddenly echoed in his ears.
“Why not date both? If you feel guilty about 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 girl as ordinary as Ruan Chutang would never come across another outstanding man like him, with his family background and status.
Ruan Chutang loved him so much—she wouldn’t have the heart to leave him.
He’d 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 arrive safely, and remember to tell me when you’re back in Haicheng. I’ll come pick you up.”
Ruan Chutang lowered her eyes submissively and softly replied, “Okay.”
I won’t be coming back.
She whispered silently in her heart.
Gu Zechuan wanted to say something more, but his phone rang.
He answered the call.
A few minutes later, Gu Zechuan hung up and said to Ruan Chutang, “I have 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 in a bit.”
Ruan Chutang responded indifferently.
Gu Zechuan said nothing more and turned to leave.
Not long after he left, Ruan Chutang received a message from Jiang Shixu.