After Chen Zhou returned home, the servant was the first to tell him about everything that had happened recently.
He didn’t even have time to put his luggage away or change his clothes. He went straight to Chu Fanyin.
At the time, Chu Luyu was helping Chu Fanyin pack. Chen Zhou knocked and entered, greeting his elder first, then gave Chu Luyu a gentle nod.
“Xiaoyu.”
Chu Luyu responded politely. Even though her impression of her stepbrother had soured somewhat, since they were about to leave the Chen household, she still smiled and replied, “Big brother.”
Chen Zhou didn’t say anything more to her. He turned to Chu Fanyin.
“Auntie Chu, I heard from Chen Ma about what happened. My father and my mother… I’m wondering, could there be some misunderstanding? Have you and my father had a proper talk?”
Chu Fanyin smiled. After a few days of settling, she had regained control over her emotions. Mentioning the matter no longer made her want to cry.
She replied to Chen Zhou: “I did think about giving your father and me another chance. But that day, when I went to his office with Xiaoyu, he was with your mother… Xiaozhou, Auntie knows you’re a good kid. Since things have come to this between your father and me, maybe it’s fate telling us it’s time to part. So you don’t need to try to talk me out of it. This ending is for the best—a relief for both of us.”
Chu Fanyin actually wanted to add that once she left, Chen Huanian’s ex-wife could openly come back. But since that woman was Chen Zhou’s biological mother, she held back, not wanting to make him uncomfortable.
Chen Zhou seemed lost in thought for a moment. After hearing Chu Fanyin’s words, his expression looked somewhat downcast. “Auntie, no matter what, the one who ruined your relationship with my father this time was my mother. I… I apologize to you on her behalf. I’m sorry.”
Chu Fanyin shook her head, smiled, and stepped forward to pat Chen Zhou on the shoulder.
“From any angle, you don’t need to apologize for this. Besides, I still remember how you used to take care of Xiaoyu when you were both kids. I’ll never forget that kindness.”
Hearing this, Chu Luyu was confused.
She quickly asked the system: [Cuihua, did the original host actually grow up being looked after by this stepbrother?]
System Cuihua: [How would I know? That’s development outside the main plot, and it’s so far back that I can’t find any trace of it in the storyline…]
Chu Luyu was incredibly curious. So after Chen Zhou left, she went up to Chu Fanyin and quietly asked, “Mom, why did you say big brother took care of me when we were little?”
“You don’t remember?” Chu Fanyin looked at her daughter with a helpless smile. “That’s understandable—you were so young back then, only two or three years old. Your Uncle Chen and I had just gotten married, and his company needed to expand its market. He had to go on business trips almost every month. I went with him to different cities, leaving you and Chen Zhou at home with the nanny. But that nanny was terrible—she didn’t take good care of either of you. Chen Zhou was only four years older than you, just a six- or seven-year-old kid, but he took on the role of both big brother and caretaker, raising you day by day. That went on for about half a year, until we caught the nanny stealing money. Only then did we find out what the two of you had been going through… After that, I cut back on traveling with your Uncle Chen and stayed home to focus on raising you both.”
Chu Luyu was a bit surprised. She thought for a moment, then asked, “But that doesn’t add up. If Chen Zhou was old enough to remember and tell right from wrong, why didn’t he just call you guys directly? How did that situation drag on for half a year?”
Chu Fanyin shook her head. “I don’t know either. Your Uncle Chen asked him the same question when he was older. He just said he was too scared at the time—afraid the nanny would find out he’d tattled and make things even worse.”
Chu Luyu frowned, still finding it a little strange, but she didn’t press further.
Not long after Chen Zhou went back to his room to wash up and change, Chen Mian came home.
Hearing that his big brother was finally back from his trip, he was thrilled. He barged right into Chen Zhou’s room without knocking.
Chen Zhou had just stepped out of the bathroom, still drying his hair with a towel. When he saw Chen Mian, a look of helplessness crossed his face.
“With everything going on at home, how can you still be so reckless?”
“So what? I’ve already decided to go with Mom and the others. You and Dad were never home much anyway—my day-to-day life won’t change much.”
Chen Zhou’s hand paused mid-motion as he dried his hair. After hearing that, he said casually, “I heard that this time, Auntie was the one who brought up the divorce?”
“Yeah. Mom walked in on Dad with your mom… ahem, anyway, it was something not-so-great. And she caught them twice! Who wouldn’t lose it after that?”
“Is that so?” Chen Zhou’s tone carried a hint of meaning. “But didn’t Auntie care a lot about Xiaoyu’s engagement to the Jiang family? If she divorces Dad, isn’t she worried about something happening to their marriage? After all, that engagement originally belonged to our Chen family.”
Chen Mian nodded and replied, “Of course she’s worried. She even hesitated over it before. You know my mom—she treats my sister like the apple of her eye. But this time, it seems like my sister said she wants to break up with Jiang Er, so Mom felt more certain about going through with the divorce.”
A look of obvious surprise crossed Chen Zhou’s face, as if he hadn’t expected that.
“Xiaoyu wants to separate from that second young master of the Jiang family? She said that herself?”
“Yeah. She said even without Mom and Dad’s situation, she and Jiang Er were about to break up soon anyway… I don’t know the details—she won’t tell me when I ask.”
A glint of interest flickered beneath Chen Zhou’s eyes.
Earlier, during his business trip, someone in his circle had mentioned that the Jiang family’s second son had booked the entire top floor of a hotel specifically for a proposal setup. Someone had even spotted him personally supervising the work in recent days—clearly he placed great importance on it.
That man was planning a proposal, yet over here, Chu Luyu was planning a breakup?
Chen Zhou couldn’t help the smile that tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Interesting.
—
After dinner, Chu Luyu came downstairs carrying a small bag, dressed warmly from head to toe, looking like she was about to go out.
Chen Zhou happened to be in the kitchen getting water, and they ran into each other at the bottom of the stairs.
A flicker of surprise crossed Chen Zhou’s face. “It’s this late—are you going out?”
Chu Luyu nodded. “Jiang Hezhou is here to pick me up. He said he’s finished with his recent work, so he’s taking me back to the apartment tonight.”
In truth, Chu Luyu had also been surprised when Jiang Hezhou asked her to come back at this hour. That morning when they talked on the phone, he hadn’t mentioned anything about picking her up. But during their evening chat, when he heard that Chen Zhou had returned, he asked if she wanted to come back to the apartment.
At the time, his voice over the phone had carried its usual low, cool magnetic tone: “Since there’s an extra person at home now, it’s probably not as convenient. How about I come pick you up and you stay at the apartment?”
The way he said it struck Chu Luyu as odd. The Chen household might not have been as grand as the old Jiang mansion, but it was still a three-story villa with plenty of rooms—how could it be inconvenient?
But the system had advised her to agree, since the release of the final task was drawing very close. If she went back with the male lead this time, it would make things easier for completing the task later.
Hearing that, Chu Luyu had no reason to refuse, so she went along with Jiang Hezhou’s suggestion.
It was now around ten at night, and the sky outside the villa had long gone dark. December in Jingzhou had entered the depths of winter, with temperatures dropping to below minus ten degrees Celsius at dawn and dusk.
Jiang Hezhou stood beside the car. The moment Chu Luyu appeared, he spotted her.
The girl had listened well today. When he’d called and told her it was cold outside and to dress warmly, she had really bundled herself up like a little round dumpling—from a distance, she looked like an adorable, snow-white rice ball.
Jiang Hezhou had never missed anyone this much before. They had only been apart for a few days, yet he ached for her down to the marrow of his bones. Every night, he worked late setting up the proposal site and didn’t get home until late, but even then, he’d toss and turn, unable to sleep. Eventually, he found a pair of her pajamas that she’d worn before and hadn’t yet been washed. The moment he caught her scent on the fabric, he felt a little calmer and fell asleep holding them.
Tonight, when he called, he had already been thinking of asking her to come back to the apartment, but he’d held back, not wanting to be a bother while her family was going through something. But the moment he heard that her stepbrother had returned, he couldn’t care about that anymore.
That man, in his eyes, was no simple character. He still couldn’t figure out what the man’s feelings toward Chu Luyu really were, and it bothered him deeply that he was around his girl.
Fortunately, when he brought up the idea of her coming back, she agreed without much hesitation.
Jiang Hezhou thought—she must miss him a little too, right? Just as he missed her, she must also be thinking of him.
Now, as Chu Luyu walked out of the villa gate with her little bag, Jiang Hezhou immediately went up to meet her.
He took the bag from her hand, and before he could stop himself, he leaned down and pressed a light kiss to her lips.
“Did you miss me?”
His voice was low, and in the winter night, it sounded even more magnetic. Seeing him again at this moment, Chu Luyu felt a mix of emotions and a bit uneasy. In response to his question, she just acted a little shy and gave him a gentle push.
“Let’s get in the car first—it’s freezing out here.”
Jiang Hezhou hadn’t seen her like this in days, and it made his heart itch. Smiling, he took her hand and led her into the car together.
After the car door closed, the interior became completely sealed off. Jiang Hezhou had set the air conditioning to the most comfortable temperature long ago, so now that Chu Luyu had taken off her down jacket, it was just right—neither too hot nor too cold.
The man in the driver’s seat seemed unable to wait a moment longer. His tall frame leaned over, and Chu Luyu felt her vision darken. The next second, her lips were captured by his.
This time, he kissed her urgently, as if all the longing from the past few days had transformed into searing heat and ragged breaths between their lips. Before long, Chu Luyu’s lips felt numb and slightly sore, her tongue also tingling and swollen.
After a long while, Jiang Hezhou finally released her.
He rested his forehead against hers, his voice still carrying a light gasp when he spoke. “Did you miss me?”
At that moment, it felt as if he had drained all the oxygen from her body. Her mind went blank in waves, and it took her a long time to register what he had asked.
Instead of answering right away, she stared into his eyes and asked back, “What about you? Did you miss me?”
“Yes. Very much.” He brushed his lips against her swollen, tender ones again, his voice husky beyond measure. “I ached all over from missing you.”
Liar.
Chu Luyu glanced at the disgust value above Jiang Hezhou’s head. After that kiss, it had jumped straight from -96 to -97. Someone whose disgust value increased even when she kissed him—how could he possibly have missed her while they were apart?
Realizing that, Chu Luyu felt a little down, but after a moment, she thought it didn’t really matter anymore. The final task was coming soon, and she and Jiang Hezhou would be parting ways shortly.
So none of it mattered. Nothing mattered now.
On the way back, as the car passed a shopping mall in the city center, Chu Luyu noticed a promotional poster on the building’s facade for a 40th-anniversary re-release of some overseas film.
She hesitated for a moment, then spoke up: “Jiang Hezhou, I’m not sleepy yet. How about we go see a movie?”
Jiang Hezhou almost always said yes to the girl’s requests. And since it was such a simple thing, naturally he agreed.
It was already late, and the cinema only had one more showing after midnight. They weren’t in a hurry, so they strolled through the food street near the mall, bought two portions of late-night snacks, and fed each other bite by bite. Afterward, they walked around a couple more laps to digest their food, checked the time, and when it felt about right, took the side elevator that went directly up to the cinema.
Chu Luyu had seen this movie before in the real world. It told the story of two lovers who, when faced with a shipwreck, see the boy protect the girl onto a wooden plank while he himself froze to death in the water.
The cinematography had a vintage feel, but the story was still deeply moving. After watching, the heaviness in Chu Luyu’s heart only grew. When the lights in the theater came on after the screening, she sat still in her seat and suddenly asked Jiang Hezhou a question.
“Jiang Hezhou, if you were the male lead in this movie, would you also give up your chance to survive for the female lead?”
What she really wanted to ask was whether he would love someone more than himself.
But Jiang Hezhou—whether he understood her implication or not—paused for a moment before replying in a low voice, “I probably wouldn’t.”
Chu Luyu was a little surprised. She looked at him. Under the warm yellow overhead light, the lines of his side profile were even more pronounced—his jawline sharp as if carved by a blade.
He didn’t turn to look at her, instead keeping his eyes fixed ahead. Behind his glasses, his gaze was deep and distant. After a moment, he continued, “If I were in that situation with someone I loved, I would choose to die with them. In my view, once I’ve decided on someone, I can’t be selfless enough to let them go on without me and choose someone else. I’d want them to live—but only if I were still by their side. Otherwise, perhaps facing death together would also be a good option.”
His words stunned Chu Luyu. In her memory, the male lead’s character was cold but selfless. In the original story, he and the female lead had discussed a similar question, and he had told her that he hoped she would live on happily—even if she forgot him.
So why was he saying this now?
Before she could dwell on it further, a long-unheard task notification suddenly rang out in her mind—
[Ding! New task! Within the next three days, forcibly make the male lead drink a knockout drug, put a cat-ear collar on him, force him to take humiliating photos, and say the key line: “Brother Hezhou, if you beg me, I’ll help you out.”]
[Please note: This is the host’s final task for this transmigration. Upon completion, the host will break free from the character’s trajectory and take control of her own life.]
[In the days ahead, we wish the host a happy life. Goodbye.]
After the notification ended, Chu Luyu’s heart suddenly felt as if it had dropped. She continued to stare at Jiang Hezhou’s profile, thinking to herself in a daze—
The day of parting had finally arrived.
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