The new club Zhang Jiting had opened was located in the new district west of the city. It wasn’t as bustling as the old town, but it was surrounded by commercial areas, and its clientele consisted mostly of young professionals—gold-collar and white-collar workers.
The membership threshold for this club wasn’t set very high—an annual fee of seven figures per person was enough to become a VIP here.
When Jiang Hezhou brought Chu Luyu over, Zhang Jiting, Xiao Yan, Ji Chen, and the others were already waiting in the private room. Zhang Jiting had mentioned in their group chat earlier that this room would be their exclusive spot for gatherings and wouldn’t be open to other members.
The door to the private room swung open, and with a bang, confetti and streamers came raining down on them. Jiang Hezhou instinctively shielded Chu Luyu, ending up with a bunch of colorful debris dangling from his own head.
“Celebrating our friend Jiang Er’s successful proposal to little Chu Luyu!! Wishing you a lifetime of happiness and sweet love! Woo-hoo!”
All three of them were loud, and for a moment, Chu Luyu felt like her eardrums had taken a hit.
Once the cheers were over, Xiao Yan was the first to toss aside her confetti cannon, wearing a disgusted expression: “I told you this surprise was tacky as hell, and you two still insisted on doing it!”
Jiang Hezhou, standing nearby, was expressionlessly picking streamers off his head. Hearing Xiao Yan’s words, he added coolly: “It really is tacky.”
“Damn it, you guys have no taste! The big confetti cannon goes bang and sprays out—it’s so festive and atmospheric!”
They bantered and laughed for a bit before closing the door and settling into today’s gathering.
Xiao Yan had originally wanted to pull Chu Luyu aside to grill her about the proposal details, but seeing Jiang Hezhou sticking to the girl’s side like a guardian deity, she hesitated.
She tugged at Zhang Jiting’s sleeve and whispered, “Go call Jiang Hezhou over to sit with you guys. I want to go chat with his little girl privately.”
Zhang Jiting didn’t think much of it. He just turned and yelled across the room, “Jiang Er, come over and talk with us for a bit! Stop clinging to your little fiancée all day—she might get sick of you!”
He said it without thinking, but Jiang Hezhou actually took it to heart.
He noticed Xiao Yan staring longingly in their direction, clearly wanting to chat with Chu Luyu. He had no desire to accommodate her—he didn’t want anyone diverting his girl’s attention, not even another woman.
But now… he still didn’t know what Chu Luyu was really thinking. Just like at breakfast, he had instinctively worried that she might find his usual closeness suffocating, that she might think he was too clingy. Now Zhang Jiting’s words stirred up that same anxious, insecure feeling again.
He paused for a moment, then instead of leaving immediately, turned to the girl beside him.
“I’m going to talk with them for a bit. You’ll stay with Zhang Jiting’s girlfriend for a while?”
Chu Luyu was more than willing and nodded eagerly.
Jiang Hezhou was like a ticking time bomb right now. Though she didn’t dislike him for it, she was still a little scared.
If she could have even a short break from him, she could at least relax for a moment.
Jiang Hezhou didn’t say anything more. He got up, picked out a few pieces from each fruit platter on the table, arranged them on a single plate, and set it in front of Chu Luyu. Then he called a waiter to bring a fresh glass of pineapple juice. After making sure everything was settled, he ruffled her hair and said, “Call me if you need anything.”
When he went over to his two childhood friends, both of them wore expressions of utter disbelief, looking at him like he was impossible.
“We’re all in the same room—it’s only seven or eight meters from here to there. Jiang Er, are you for real?!” Hand-feeding her? The fruit was right there, and he still had to make a separate plate and hand it to her personally? That’s way too much!
Jiang Hezhou didn’t seem the least bit self-conscious. His strikingly handsome face remained calm and composed.
“She’s my fiancée, and she’s younger than me. Isn’t it normal for me to take extra care of her?”
“This isn’t ‘extra care’—this is cradling her in your hands!” Ji Chen looked exasperated. “Zhang Jiting has been dating for years, and we’ve never seen him act like this. You’re really like an old house catching fire—either you stay single forever, or when you burn, you burn across ten thousand miles.”
“He can’t do it, that’s his problem. I don’t see anything wrong with what I’m doing.” With that, Jiang Hezhou couldn’t help glancing over again.
The girl was currently being pulled into conversation by Xiao Yan, who seemed unable to resist getting close. She was even holding her arm while talking, their posture intimate.
Seeing how tightly the other woman was clinging to her, Jiang Hezhou felt that overwhelming possessiveness surge up again—
See? That’s how lovable his little girl was. Even another woman couldn’t help but be drawn to her cuteness and sweetness. There were too many people in this world coveting her. If he didn’t try harder to keep them at bay, one day she really would be taken away.
He would never let that happen. Never.
On Chu Luyu’s side, she could faintly feel that gaze pressing down on her from across the room. She didn’t even need to look up to know Jiang Hezhou was watching her.
She took a quiet, deep breath. Xiao Yan was still chattering beside her, prying for proposal details.
“You have no idea—today Zhang Jiting said Jiang Er took you to the penthouse out of nowhere to propose. So surprising! He spent nearly a whole month planning this thing, from the initial idea to setting everything up! We’d all discussed how we were going to film the scene from multiple angles when the big day came. We put so much thought into the little touches and details, and he just threw it all away—he just casually took you there and popped the question!”
Her words made Chu Luyu feel a bit guilty. She couldn’t exactly say that Jiang Hezhou had lost his mind after discovering she’d tried to run away and had acted on a sudden impulse.
After a moment’s thought, she could only force a dry laugh and say, “Maybe he was just in a really good mood that night and went with the spur of the moment…”
“Ugh, men are so unreliable.” Xiao Yan sighed, then asked, “I heard from Zhang Jiting today that you two were originally planning to go get your marriage certificate today? But then you canceled because of the date?”
“…Yeah.”
“Then that really shows how much Jiang Hezhou likes you.” Xiao Yan mused, “In my impression, he’s an extremely rational and rigid person. Even though he works with dead bodies all day, he never seemed to believe in metaphysics or feng shui. The fact that he canceled the plan to register just because Zhang Jiting casually said the date was unlucky—that clearly shows how much he values this relationship with you.”
Xiao Yan suddenly grinned and added, “You lucky girl, finding someone who likes you that much.”
Chu Luyu didn’t even know what to say. If she had transmigrated as the female lead, hearing someone say how much the male lead liked her, how much he cared—she would have been over the moon.
But the key was that she was the supporting character…
Now even an outsider could easily tell that the male lead was deeply in love with her. This, this…
Chu Luyu couldn’t muster any spirit. Though she managed to keep her expression in check, her mood was clearly low.
Xiao Yan chatted with her a bit longer and noticed something was off. “What’s wrong? You seem a little down?”
“No,” Chu Luyu instinctively denied it. “I’m not unhappy. I… I think I’m just overheated from the heating in here. I feel really warm.”
“They laid extra pipes when this place was renovated, so the heating does get pretty high.” Xiao Yan thought for a moment, then said, “How about I take you out for some air? I need to use the restroom anyway.”
Chu Luyu didn’t hesitate and nodded.
But the moment they made a move, Jiang Hezhou noticed from across the room.
He looked over, his dark, deep gaze pinning her down through his lenses: “What are you doing?”
At that moment, Chu Luyu felt very vividly that she was trapped under a large, invisible dome. The dome was unseen and untouchable, yet it followed her everywhere. She didn’t necessarily feel like rebelling, but this constant surveillance and control was indeed stifling.
She glanced back at Jiang Hezhou and said helplessly, “I’m a little hot…”
Xiao Yan cut in, saying, “Geez, she’s too hot—she’s totally out of it. I’m taking her out for some air and also hitting the restroom.” Then she shot Jiang Hezhou a look of disdain. “You big guys are way too clingy! She only agreed to marry you—she’s not your prisoner!”
Jiang Hezhou ignored her. His gaze remained fixed on Chu Luyu: “Do you need me to come with you?”
Of course not! Chu Luyu shook her head immediately.
A distinct feeling of something sinking deep inside him arose, but Jiang Hezhou didn’t show it. He just kept looking at her with a calm expression.
“You’ll be right back, won’t you?”
No one else in the room would understand the true meaning behind those words—only the two of them. Chu Luyu knew exactly what he meant. She bit her lip unconsciously and nodded.
Once they were outside the private room, Xiao Yan kept complaining: “Jiang Hezhou is way too much. We’re just stepping out for some air—why does he act like he’s afraid you’re going to run away?”
Chu Luyu sighed inwardly, thinking that he was indeed afraid she would run away—because she actually had run…
Thinking about how Jiang Hezhou had been acting these past two days, she suddenly felt a bit soft-hearted. She didn’t know what the future held, but she also didn’t want to see the person she liked so insecure and anxious.
So she paused and said to Xiao Yan, “Let’s just go to the restroom and head back. I already feel much better just being out of the room—no need to go outside.”
“Alright, let’s go then.”
The public restroom on this floor of the club was at the corner. The two girls walked over together. When they came out, Chu Luyu went to the sink to wash her hands. After a moment, she heard Xiao Yan’s weak voice coming from one of the stalls.
“Chu Luyu? Chu Luyu?”
Chu Luyu heard her and quickly walked over: “What’s wrong?”
“I got my period… but the dispenser here is empty. Can you go ask a waiter for a pad?”
“Okay, don’t worry. I’ll go right now.”
Chu Luyu left the restroom and headed back the way they came. But after only a few steps, she suddenly saw a few men approaching from the opposite direction.
The one in the lead was tall and lean, with decent looks and an air of rebellious arrogance.
Someone beside him must have said something, because he suddenly looked at Chu Luyu with interest and smirked. A moment later, he walked toward her.
“So you’re Jiang Er’s fiancée?” The man smiled lazily, his demeanor casual. “I heard he’s crazy about you—spent a few million on the proposal setup?”
The way he spoke gave Chu Luyu a bad feeling. She felt his gaze was a little too casual, with a hint of ill intent. She didn’t want to engage with him, so she kept her face expressionless and made it clear she wanted no part of this: “If you’re looking for Jiang Hezhou, he’s in that private room over there.”
“Why would I look for him? I’m sick of him.” The man tilted his head and sized up Chu Luyu with a smile. “You’re a pretty girl—why would you be so set on being with him? He’s stiff and boring, completely unromantic. Don’t you feel stifled being with him—”
Not far away, Meng Wantian, wearing the club’s standard staff uniform, was walking over from that direction.
She almost instantly recognized the face of the man standing there. She froze on the spot, her whole body going cold.
It was Zhou Chao—the man who had schemed to seduce her into cheating in her previous life, only to dump her afterward!
In her past life, almost all the love, hate, and heartache in her romantic life had centered on him. If her relationship with Jiang Hezhou felt like fate’s arrangement—everything falling perfectly into place—then with him, it was a storm of passion and resentment, a battle to the death.
At the height of her hatred for him in her previous life, Meng Wantian had even thought of finding a way to kill him, and then ending herself afterward. That man was truly despicable. He didn’t love her, yet because he saw Jiang Hezhou as his arch-rival, he toyed with her genuine feelings.
Now that she wasn’t by Jiang Hezhou’s side in this life, was he trying to pull the same trick on someone else?
Meng Wantian watched the man’s demeanor, feeling both familiar and disgusted. Chu Luyu had her back to her, so she couldn’t see her expression clearly, but judging by the atmosphere over there, she was probably being cornered and harassed by those men…
Should she help?
The thought had barely crossed her mind when a darker idea surfaced—maybe she shouldn’t interfere. Let Zhou Chao latch onto that woman the way he had latched onto her in her past life. If that woman left, perhaps Jiang Hezhou would notice her again.
Thinking this, Meng Wantian instinctively clenched her fists and stood frozen for several seconds. In the end, she suddenly deflated.
No. She might resent Chu Luyu for taking the place that should have been hers, but even so, she couldn’t bring herself to stand by and watch another girl be ruined by Zhou Chao.
She had fallen into that disgusting pit once—she absolutely didn’t want to see anyone else fall into it too.
Earlier, when Jiang Hezhou and the others had arrived, Meng Wantian had noticed them. Zhang Jiting had quietly arranged this job for her. Previously, at her part-time hotel job, the manager had inexplicably told her she didn’t need to come back. Back then, Meng Wantian already knew it must have been Jiang Hezhou’s doing.
As for Zhang Jiting, he probably felt bad because she was Jiang Hezhou’s student and seemed financially strained—getting suddenly let go was rough. So a couple of days later, he reached out and asked if she wanted to work part-time at the club.
Of course, Meng Wantian agreed. After all, without the opportunity to get close to Jiang Hezhou in this life, her future was uncertain. She was strapped for cash right now, so she had to take whatever work came her way.
With that in mind, she recalled the private room they were using, hesitated for a moment, and then quietly made her way over to it.
Back on Chu Luyu’s side, she hadn’t expected the man blocking her to be so persistent.
It was as if he was determined to waste her time with pointless chatter. Every time she tried to leave, he blocked her way. After several rounds, Chu Luyu had run out of patience and shot him a cold look.
“I didn’t want to say much at first, but after listening to you, I’ve realized that all your points revolve around badmouthing Jiang Hezhou. I can’t help but speak up. You say he’s rigid and lacks charm—but isn’t that, from another angle, a sign that he’s more steady and reliable than most? You say he always has a cold face and no one genuinely likes him, but in my view, the quality of friends matters more than quantity. The few friends he has are people who would go all out for him. As for the ones around you…”
Chu Luyu paused deliberately, a slight curl at the corner of her lips, her expression loaded with meaning.
A moment later, she spoke again, her voice as soft as ever, but dripping with sarcasm: “You’ve been running your mouth, belittling Jiang Hezhou in front of me—but really, it’s because you’ve never managed to beat him, isn’t it? You probably see him as your rival, your nemesis. You can’t stand that he’s doing well, so you want to use me to make him fail in love, to get the upper hand.”
The mockery on Chu Luyu’s face deepened. She didn’t care about the man’s increasingly dark expression and continued: “As a man, if you want to take down your rival, you should face him head-on—not go after the girls around him. With such despicable tactics, no wonder you’ve always fallen short compared to Jiang Hezhou.”
Zhou Chao’s sore spot had been hit. His expression turned icy cold.
“The hell did you just say?! You’re saying I can’t beat Jiang Er?!”
“Why, is that not the case?” Chu Luyu showed no fear, meeting his gaze expressionlessly. “No matter what, Jiang Hezhou is a man of good character—kind, honest, and upright. On that front alone, when it comes to him, you’ll always be the failure. The loser.”
Zhou Chao had been compared to Jiang Hezhou by his family his whole life. In school, he could never outperform him in grades. As they grew older, Jiang Hezhou became the one shining bright in his professional field. In the eyes of everyone around them, whenever Jiang Hezhou was mentioned, he seemed to pale in comparison… Even though he knew Jiang Hezhou didn’t care enough to compete with him, didn’t even bother acknowledging him, and had had no contact with him for years.
Still, Zhou Chao always carried that resentment deep down, instinctively seeing him as an enemy. He always thought that someday in his life, he had to beat Jiang Hezhou at something—so that his life, forever overshadowed, could finally stand tall.
But now, not only had he failed to find an opportunity to bring Jiang Hezhou down, he had even been humiliated by the little girl beside him?!
How could Zhou Chao swallow this insult!
Seeing her roll her eyes and prepare to leave, Zhou Chao acted without thinking and grabbed her arm.
“The hell did you just say? Who do you think—”
But before he could finish, a furious, deep voice suddenly erupted from behind: “Let go of her!”
Zhou Chao instinctively turned around. Before he could react, he sensed a figure charging toward him. By the time he recognized who it was, the other man’s fist had already landed on his face.
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