Chu Luyu hadn’t expected Jiang Hezhou to be so efficient.
It was almost quitting time when she’d finally seen off the workers who’d been busy at the art class all day—and then he showed up, carrying surveillance equipment.
“How did you get here so fast?” Chu Luyu looked surprised. “There’s no rush, is there?”
Jiang Hezhou simply replied, “I happened to have time today,” and started working right away. Throughout the process, he didn’t say a word. His expression was faint, and the aura around him seemed somewhat low.
Chu Luyu watched quietly from the side and said to the system: [Cuihua, I feel like the male lead seems a bit unhappy?]
System Cuihua: [Not really. He always has that deadpan, unsmiling look—serious and upright.]
Chu Luyu scratched her head. She felt her instincts were right, but if she had to articulate exactly what was different about him today compared to usual, she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
Jiang Hezhou worked quickly—in about an hour, he’d installed surveillance throughout the entire art class studio.
He adjusted the remote feed on his phone and directed Chu Luyu: “Go stand in the corner for a moment. Let me see if the image is clear on my phone.”
Chu Luyu obediently walked over and stood there. But after a moment, she sensed something off. “Why is the art class surveillance connected to your phone?”
“Remote monitoring can be linked to multiple devices. I’ll set it up on your phone too later. As for mine—”
He lifted his eyes from behind his lenses, his expression calm as he looked at her. “We’re engaged now—we’re essentially each other’s half-guardians. Since you’ve suddenly started working, it’s my duty to ensure your safety. If an emergency occurs, the monitoring program will sound an alarm, and I can come help you immediately.”
Chu Luyu felt that made sense, yet something still seemed off. After thinking it over, she decided not to dwell on it.
After all, Jiang Hezhou was the male lead—the very embodiment of justice in the story. Whatever he said must be right!
Later, they left the art class and headed home.
In the car, Jiang Hezhou suddenly asked Chu Luyu out of the blue whether she knew how to drive.
Chu Luyu felt like she was facing a major crisis and quickly asked the system: [Cuihua, did the original owner know how to drive? As for me, I got my license back in the real world, but I’ve only driven on the road three times—I’m basically a complete newbie…]
System Cuihua: [The original owner knew how to drive and used to have a car. But once she wanted to buy a bag and was short on cash, so she sold the car to get the money.]
Hearing that, Chu Luyu hesitated for a moment, then answered Jiang Hezhou: “I can drive, but I haven’t done it much. I don’t have much road experience.”
Jiang Hezhou paused thoughtfully on the other side, as if turning something over in his mind. After a long moment, he simply replied: “Alright, good to know.”
Good to know? Know what?
Chu Luyu was completely baffled, her head full of question marks.
Back home, the two of them naturally went their separate ways—Jiang Hezhou changed clothes, washed his hands, and headed into the kitchen, while Chu Luyu also changed into loungewear, lay down on the bed, and scrolled through her phone aimlessly.
She actually wanted to talk to the system about the male lead’s behavior, but she was afraid the system would just say there was nothing wrong with him…
But Chu Luyu really didn’t think it was her imagination. This man had been acting strange since noon—his mood swinging back and forth. By evening, it had become quite abnormal.
She could sense something off in his aura. He seemed angry, yet on the surface he appeared… calm?
Chu Luyu felt like she was having such a hard time. She tossed and turned on the bed a couple of times when her phone suddenly rang—
It was Chen Zhou, her stepbrother.
She’d been in this story for so long now, and aside from that one encounter at home at the very beginning, this was the first time he’d contacted her separately.
She thought something might have happened to Chu Fanyin and answered in a hurry: “Hello, big brother.”
Chen Zhou’s tone was still gentle and deep, his voice coming through the receiver like jade beads falling on a plate—clear and melodious.
“Xiaolu, I heard from Auntie that the renovation of your art class is almost done, and you’re about to start trial classes?” Chen Zhou paused, his voice warm. “How’s it going? Do you need any help from your big brother?”
“I don’t need any help. I’m just messing around on my own—no need to trouble the family…” Chu Luyu was still worried about her mom and quickly asked, “Big brother, did you call just to ask me about this? Or is something wrong at home?”
Chen Zhou paused on the other end, his tone still relatively relaxed: “Nothing’s wrong at home. We just happened to talk about you during dinner and wanted to see how you’re doing. Oh, by the way—I’m having dinner with your brother Mubai right now. Do you want to come?”
Brother Mubai?
Chu Luyu was confused for a moment. The system immediately guessed what she was thinking and quickly reminded her: [That’s the male lead number two—Qi Mubai.]
Chu Luyu: [??? Is he insane? Why would they call me to dinner?]
System Cuihua: [Don’t you remember? In everyone else’s eyes, before you met the male lead, you were absolutely head over heels for male lead number two! You chased him so relentlessly that you almost traumatized everyone around you. I’m guessing your stepbrother remembered how much you used to like him and wanted to hook you up with a benefit.]
Chu Luyu: [But I have a fiancé now! Even if I liked another man before, now that I’m in a stable relationship with a committed partner, I should keep my distance from other men! Any normal person would help me avoid suspicion… This stepbrother is also weird.]
System Cuihua: [What’s so weird about that? Your family on that side has always spoiled you rotten. For other people, this kind of moral issue would be a big deal, but for you, they’re tolerant and understanding. But if you don’t want to deal with that male lead number two, just don’t go.]
Chu Luyu: [I wasn’t going to go anyway!]
Chu Luyu chose her words carefully and declined in a polite, tactful tone: “Big brother, I’ve already gone home with my fiancé, and he’s already started cooking. I won’t come. You and… and brother Mubai enjoy your meal.”
Chen Zhou was quiet for two or three seconds on the other end. Then she heard him chuckle again. “It seems you’re getting along quite well with that Second Young Master Jiang.”
“Yeah, we’re doing great.”
“Is that so?” For some reason, his voice from the receiver suddenly carried a hint of meaning. “That’s good to hear. In that case, I won’t disturb you.”
“Mmhm, bye, big brother.”
After hanging up, Chu Luyu let out a relieved sigh.
She was about to put down her phone and lie back down on the bed when she turned around and suddenly discovered that Jiang Hezhou had appeared there silently, without her knowing when—
He was standing there with his arms crossed, his tall, lean figure leaning against the doorframe. He wore only a clean white shirt and a pair of black trousers, with only the top button of his collar undone, revealing a small patch of pale, cool-toned skin below his Adam’s apple.
He was watching her quietly—she had no idea how long he’d been standing there.
When she turned back, his gaze fell calmly on her face.
“Your stepbrother?”
“Ah, yeah.”
“What did he want?”
“Nothing much. He just wanted to invite me out to dinner. But I said we’d already come home and you’d started cooking, so I couldn’t go out—I turned him down.”
After hearing her explanation, Jiang Hezhou’s gaze remained deep and intense as he looked at her. Chu Luyu felt like his stare was trying to bore right through her.
The feeling made her uncomfortable.
After a few more seconds of silence, he finally responded again: “Who’s ‘Brother Mubai’?”
Chu Luyu immediately understood.
So this was why he was acting like this—because he’d heard her using a rather intimate term of address for another man?
She quickly stepped forward to explain: “He’s that man we saw at noon—the kid’s parent. I didn’t tell you I knew him before because I really can’t stand him, and I figured we’d never see each other again anyway, so I didn’t mention it… I only called him that because I was just following what my stepbrother said. I mean, it would be rude for me to call someone older than me by their full name, but dropping the surname would be too intimate. So I just went along with what my stepbrother said and called him that too.”
As she spoke, she tugged at his shirt cuff, tilting her head up to look at him with pleading eyes.
“Are you mad? Because I called someone else that?”
The little girl used her usual coquettish manner to cajole him.
Her hand was so small, pale and soft, tugging at his cuff and swaying back and forth. Her eyes, like a fawn’s, were fixed intently on him.
Jiang Hezhou’s Adam’s apple rolled imperceptibly. He instinctively reached out and grabbed her wrist—but this time, he didn’t control his strength well again, and Chu Luyu’s wrist hurt from his grip.
She was about to pull away when his phone on the coffee table in the living room suddenly rang.
Chu Luyu thought he’d let go of her to answer the call, but instead, he kept holding her wrist and walked her all the way to the living room.
Once they stopped, he picked up the phone from the coffee table with his other hand, his tall frame leaning forward slightly.
He hadn’t even held the phone to his ear for two seconds before his expression suddenly turned serious.
“I know. I’m on my way now.”
After hanging up, Jiang Hezhou immediately turned to Chu Luyu.
“There’s been a homicide at a meat processing plant in the suburbs. The bureau needs me to head over now.”
Chu Luyu let out an “ah.” “Then go ahead—don’t worry about me. I’ll just order some takeout or something.”
Jiang Hezhou looked at her deeply for two seconds. She had no idea what he was thinking—his eyes behind his lenses were dark and fathomless, his gaze fixed intently on her face.
“You’re coming with me. I’ll have a colleague help you with the registration paperwork. You’re staying at my dormitory tonight.”
Chu Luyu was extremely surprised and immediately asked: “Why?”
“Your hand is injured. It’s not convenient for you to stay alone.”
That reason…
Chu Luyu thought it was a stretch, but she went along with it: “It’s okay—I promise I won’t get my finger wet.”
“That won’t work either.” Jiang Hezhou was uncharacteristically firm, his grip on her hand not letting go. “You’re coming with me tonight.”
It wasn’t until they were downstairs and in the car, heading to the municipal bureau, that Chu Luyu still didn’t understand how things had escalated to this point…
Chu Luyu: [Cuihua, I told you the male lead was acting weird today, and you didn’t believe me. Can you see it now?]
System Cuihua: [He is acting odd. But there’s a reason—I just found out!]
Chu Luyu: [What reason?]
System Cuihua: [At this plot point, the original owner went to the male lead’s dormitory on her own and pestered him there while he was busy. I don’t know exactly what happens, but once you get there, there will definitely be a task.]
Chu Luyu was somewhat surprised: [You mean his strange behavior might be driven by the plot?]
System Cuihua: [One hundred percent! Otherwise, why would he suddenly insist on taking you to his workplace and making you stay in his dorm?]
Chu Luyu thought about it and agreed, feeling a bit more at ease.
When they arrived at the bureau, Jiang Hezhou pulled out the registration paperwork a colleague had helped apply for on the way. After the duty officer confirmed everything, they issued Chu Luyu a pass.
This pass was clearly different from the temporary one she’d gotten last time—it felt like a card with a magnetic strip.
From a distance, Chu Luyu spotted the female deputy captain she’d met before walking toward them. When she saw the two of them, she waved.
“Hurry up and go—the location of the meat plant has been posted in the group. Everyone should be there by now.” Yao Meng said, then put an arm around Chu Luyu. “As for your little one here, I’ve got her. I’ll make sure she’s well taken care of!”
Jiang Hezhou nodded. Before leaving, he gave Chu Luyu one last deep look. “Make sure to eat properly with Sister Yao later. If you get tired, go rest in my dormitory. There’s a curfew here at night—no unauthorized going out.”
Chu Luyu wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but she felt like those last two sentences carried a hidden meaning. But before she could think it over, he had already turned and walked away swiftly.
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