TGSS - Chapter 40

Chapter 40: Encounter

"Ah, resigning." Chu He leaned back a little, her gaze flickering as if she wanted to avoid the topic.

Liang Zhouyi stared intently at Chu He. "You don't want to stay with me?"

Chu He quickly denied it. "Of course I do, but give me some time to handle it."

"It's fine. If you have reservations, you don't have to force yourself." There was no discernible emotion in Liang Zhouyi's voice, only her hand resting on the sofa tightened slightly.

"What reservations would I have!" Chu He immediately declared her loyalty. "I'll go hand in my notice tomorrow."

Liang Zhouyi tugged at the corner of her mouth. "You don't have to go that far, the way you put it... it makes me feel like I'm pressuring you into marriage."

Chu He froze at the word, panic winding its way up her face. She pushed herself up to her knees on the sofa, opened her arms to loosely encircle Liang Zhouyi's neck, and buried her head against her rounded shoulder, nuzzling her. "Stop joking, Zhou Yi."

A familiar cool fragrance drifted over. Liang Zhouyi's throat bobbed, and she half closed her eyes, reluctant to break this brief moment of peace.

That evening Chu He received a message from Chu Ze saying he wanted to prepare clothes for her. She rejected him irritably and insisted she would tidy herself up and definitely not embarrass him, and only then did he drop it.

So much so that when Liang Zhouyi went out the next morning and saw Chu He wearing a Chanel-style suit, a valuable watch on her wrist, and her hair freshly styled, she was a little dazzled and also a bit puzzled. "You're dressed so formally to see a client. This person must be pretty important."

Chu He's breath caught, but she kept a straight face. "It's nothing much."

Liang Zhouyi looked at her with even more suspicion. Perhaps Chu He herself had not noticed, but she was usually very talkative, and whenever she spoke so briefly and seriously like now, it most likely meant she was hiding something. Liang Zhouyi just did not call her out on it.

---

When Chu He drove to the agreed place, Chu Ze was waiting for her in the corridor by the entrance.

He himself was dressed sharply in a suit, looking every inch the polished gentleman. Those sharp, blade-like eyes swept over Chu He before he gave a nod. "That watch of yours looks good on its own, but it doesn't match as well as the bracelet I gave you."

Chu He rolled her eyes, barely restraining herself from flaring up, and followed close behind Chu Ze as they walked inside.

"Do you know anyone from the Zhou family? They've been doing quite well in the medical industry lately." Chu Ze's tone was lazy as he probed.

"Which Zhou family?" Chu He shook her head. There was no such information in the memories the System had given her, so she probably did not know them.

"Is that so?" Chu Ze's thin lips moved, and he said nothing more.

She had taken an hour off to arrive on time. As soon as Chu He sat down, she saw Chu Ze hand her several exquisitely wrapped gift boxes, signaling her to present them later. Chu He curled her lip in disdain and only took them after a moment of silence.

She sat on a white cushioned chair. Above her head was a huge reflective mirrored ceiling, the lighting soft and dim. Fresh bouquets sat on the table, petals still beaded with glistening dew. The decor was understated, yet every detail revealed elegance and refinement.

They did not have to wait long before the guests arrived. Chu He lifted her eyes indifferently and saw a silver head. She was briefly stunned before dredging the familiar person from her memory, Zhou Mindan.

"Xiao He, long time no see." The one who greeted her was Zhou's Mother. With a kind smile, she walked straight to Chu He's side and reached out as if to take her hand.

Chu He habitually put on a smile, though her eyes behind her lenses were somewhat shadowed. From the corner of her eye she shot a glance at the unruly Zhou Mindan, a faint ripple rising in her heart.

"So you know each other." Chu Ze's tone carried just the right amount of surprise and delight as he warmly invited everyone to sit.

Zhou Mindan stared straight at Chu He and naturally walked to her side, pulled out the chair, and sat down.

"Know each other is an understatement." Zhou Mindan propped her chin with her hand and looked at Chu He. Seeing that she still wore that calm and composed look, she felt a little annoyed, completely unable to see the emotions she had imagined on Chu He's face.

Zhou's Father and Zhou's Mother subtly changed the subject, deliberately avoiding what had happened back then.

Chu Ze played along, picking up the thread and chatting with them about business. Exquisite dishes were served one after another. Chu He wore a perfect smile as she watched them exchange pleasantries, her knuckles tapping lightly and rhythmically on the table.

In the midst of her boredom, Chu He felt someone bump her leg under the table. She lowered her eyes and saw Zhou Mindan holding her phone beneath the table, a QR code bright on the screen.

Chu He frowned slightly, but still quietly took out her phone and scanned it. On the surface, however, she kept smiling and nodding frequently, looking as if she were listening intently to the conversation at the table.

Her right hand under the table tapped rapidly as she sent Zhou Mindan a message. "What are you doing?"

Zhou Mindan did not have Chu He's steady composure. She lowered her head, glanced at the others, and then carefully cradled her phone to type.

"Surprised! Hmph, serves you right for secretly blocking me back then."

"So this is your revenge?"

Chu He typed forcefully, a hint of irritation in her movements. She had never thought she would get entangled with this person again.

Zhou Mindan widened her almond eyes to glance at Chu He, but was so frightened by the inorganic cold light in the person beside her that her body slipped and she nearly fell off her chair.

"Mindan, what are you doing?" The speaker was Zhou's Mother. Seeing Zhou Mindan fidgeting like a monkey, unable to sit still, her beautiful eyes unconsciously took on a stern glint.

"Look at Chu He, how steady she is, listening to us the whole time. Who are you absentmindedly messaging over there? Did you think we wouldn't notice those little tricks of yours?" Zhou's Father scolded her with a cold face. "If I had a daughter like Xiao He, I'd be laughing in my sleep. Learn from her."

Zhou Mindan widened her almond eyes, clutched her phone and glanced at Chu He, wanting very much to say something but swallowing it hard. Meeting Chu He's reserved, smiling expression, she felt like she was about to burst.

"I'm going to the restroom!" Zhou Mindan tossed down her chopsticks and rushed out.

"Look at this child..."

After mechanically taking a couple of bites, Chu He put down her utensils and said softly, "I'll go check on her, it's easy to get lost on the way here."

Although he knew Chu He was making an excuse, Chu Ze could not expose her in front of everyone, and only gave her a warning look.

Once the door closed, the politeness Chu He had maintained vanished without a trace. She went to find Zhou Mindan with a chill all over her. This guy had really tricked her, no wonder Chu Ze had asked if she knew anyone from the Zhou family, it turned out she had been pulling strings behind the scenes.

Chu He walked very fast, her heeled boots making a regular sound in the corridor. She slipped into the restroom and found Zhou Mindan leaning leisurely against the sink waiting for her.

"Hey, don't look at me like that." Zhou Mindan quickly raised her hands, huffing a little unhappily. "I just thought that compared to other people, you're a pretty good candidate for a marriage alliance."

Seeing the chill on Chu He's face deepen, Zhou Mindan felt an inexplicable flicker of panic and scratched her hair irritably. "Alright, alright, don't get me wrong. What I mean is, maybe the two of us can pretend to go along with our families, to buy time for as long as we can. You have no idea, although my parents have accepted my orientation, they still can't help picking a suitable marriage partner for me. But I already... already have someone I like, it's just that my parents would definitely not approve."

Hearing her quiet complaints, Chu He's thin lips pressed together. Thinking of her ex girlfriend, she looked at her as if she were an idiot, this woman...

"Hey." Zhou Mindan exploded. "This time it's different, she's different, anyway, I can't be bothered to explain to you."

"I'm not interested in your affairs." Chu He curled her lip and sized her up coldly, as if inspecting whether a piece of merchandise was up to standard. "But I can consider the deal you mentioned."

Anyway, Chu Ze did not look like he was going to let her off, and if Zhou Mindan could cooperate, it might save a lot of trouble.

"You agreed?" Zhou Mindan jumped up, as if she had not expected things to be resolved so easily. She breathed a slight sigh of relief, excitement coloring her brows and eyes.

Chu He could not help sighing, looking at her childish appearance with some disdain. She turned to leave, but Zhou Mindan grabbed her sleeve. She turned back impatiently, only to meet a pair of shining almond eyes, and quickly pulled her sleeve back.

"Chu He, thank you." Zhou Mindan lifted her face to look at her, her expression a little awkward but sincere. "Anyway, thank you for what you said to me back then, that's how I was able to find my true friends, and someone who truly likes me."

Chu He said nothing, thinking to herself, you'd better be right about that and not have run into another person with ulterior motives.

"Hey, what's that expression, do you look down on me that much?" Zhou Mindan stamped her foot on the spot in exasperation, but still gritted her teeth and followed Chu He's straight figure.

Inside the private room, Chu Ze and Zhou Mindan's parents chatted very pleasantly, and the atmosphere was harmonious. As for the matter between Chu He and Zhou Mindan, it was tacitly accepted without being stated outright.

Throughout, Chu He behaved like a perfect puppet, flawless yet showing not a trace of enthusiasm, earning several gloomy looks from Chu Ze along the way.

"I'm so happy to see Xiao He again today." When Zhou's Mother walked with Chu He to the doorway, she still reluctantly held her wrist. "The first time I saw you I thought you were a good child, I never expected we would have the fate to become family."

Chu He glanced at the somewhat gloating Zhou Mindan and maintained her smile, pretending to lower her head shyly. In that instant of lowering her head, she seemed to see a familiar face flash by at the end of the corridor. It seemed to be Tan Qing. She suppressed the shock in her eyes. How could he be here, acting so furtively?

On the other side, after Tan Qing saw the group clearly, he quickly tried to block Liang Zhouyi's view. Liang Zhouyi's expression froze for an instant, and she rather forcefully pushed Tan Qing's hand away, craning her neck to take a look. She immediately recognized the brown, curly-haired figure, and beside her stood an equally familiar girl with short silver hair, enough to startle her.

And directly opposite them was the man she had seen in the elevator, so he was probably Chu He's brother or something similar. The identities of the kindly smiling middle-aged couple who resembled Zhou Mindan were self-evident.

Liang Zhouyi's feet felt as if they had taken root and she could not move. She took a deep breath, not knowing how much self control it took to turn back to look at Tan Qing. Tan Qing was chilled to the bone by that look. A kind of obsessive madness spilled from Liang Zhouyi's eyes, but when he blinked, he could only see Liang Zhouyi's calm, undisturbed face.

"Zhou Yi, wait for me."

Tan Qing turned to chase after Liang Zhouyi who was walking away quickly, feeling miserable inside, how did it feel like he was the one stuck in the most difficult position between the two. From the very beginning he had hesitated about whether to tell Liang Zhouyi something Chu Ze had mentioned at the time, but thinking of Chu He's intimidating power, he could only remain silent.

Liang Zhouyi walked extremely fast, leaving Tan Qing far behind. He panted as he thought, he took back his earlier remark that there were generally few girls in the photography industry because moving equipment was physically demanding, it turned out he was the clown.

"Liang Zhouyi!" Tan Qing had just finished eating not long ago, and he chased until his guts felt knotted before he managed to grab her shoulder. "Where are you going?"

"Home." Liang Zhouyi's tone was unexpectedly calm, but the calmer she was, the more Tan Qing could sense the storm that was about to come.

These past few days Liang Zhouyi had been taking on private jobs with Tan Qing after work. Tan Qing had just taken on a few orders from celebrity studios and brought Liang Zhouyi along to help him. Liang Zhouyi happened to be saving money, so they hit it off and agreed she would help Tan Qing with the work. Liang Zhouyi had originally declined today's offline gathering, but when she heard Chu He had something to do, she came to keep the appointment, never expecting to witness that scene.

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