TGSS - Chapter 47

Chapter 47: Girlfriend

When Chu He opened the door, she found Chu Ze's brows tightly knit, as if no one had ever made him wait so long. Those long eyes so similar to Chu He's were tinged with sharpness, but quickly concealed once he saw Chu He's calm expression. His ink-dark eyes swept lightly over Chu He as he said, "So slow."

Chu He snorted coldly, "I'm not your subordinate, don't use that tone with me."

Chu Ze hooked his lips helplessly, "I'm your brother."

After saying this, Chu Ze unceremoniously took a pair of slippers from the entryway and put them on. His overcoat was pressed without a single wrinkle. He looked around and saw Liang Zhouyi sitting upright. He nodded and gave her a polite smile, appearing quite friendly.

Chu He subconsciously shifted half a step to block their line of sight and asked Chu Ze, "What do you want with me that you had to come in person? Have you been too idle lately?"

Chu Ze gently brushed her aside, and seeing Chu He so wary, his voice carrying a hint of magnetism, he smiled, "Can't I come visit you if there's nothing wrong? Aren't you going to introduce us?"

Liang Zhouyi quietly watched the tall man walk over and sit opposite her, then scrutinize her with an appraising gaze.

"Chu Ze." When Chu He's palm-sized face turned cold it also looked quite imposing. She narrowed her eyes dangerously, "If you have something to say, let's talk outside."

"It's fine, let's talk here." It was Liang Zhouyi who spoke now. There was no trace of fear on her face, she only looked calmly at the siblings as they argued a little because of her.

"Hello, I'm Chu He's brother, Chu Ze." Chu Ze extended his hand and introduced himself to Liang Zhouyi.

Liang Zhouyi lightly clasped his hand, a brief touch before immediately letting go.

"Hello, Liang Zhouyi."

Chu Ze curled his thin lips, exuding an air of nobility from head to toe. He glanced at Chu He and said cuttingly, "If you were half as sensible as Miss Liang, I wouldn't have to come looking for you time and again."

He paused and continued, "A friend like Xiao He must have caused you a lot of trouble. When Xiao He gets engaged, we must invite Miss Liang to come."

Chu Ze's voice was slow but brooked no argument. Liang Zhouyi naturally heard the implication. She smiled neither servile nor overbearing, "I wouldn't dare claim to be just a friend. Besides, what I feel for Chu He is not mere friendship."

Chu Ze frowned slightly upon hearing this, coldness spreading from him. Half mocking and half teasing, he said, "Oh, that's a bit beyond my expectations. I always thought Miss Liang was a clever person."

"Stop being so passive-aggressive in front of me, I'm still here." Chu He's tone was impatient. She tugged irritably at her turtleneck sweater, feeling an uncomfortable itch on her neck. With her movement, a patch of bruising was revealed and immediately caught Chu Ze's eye. His gaze landed precisely on that spot, his expression turning exceptionally ugly.

Chu He noticed. She suddenly felt there was no need to be polite with someone like Chu Ze, so she joked deliberately, "Brother, what's with that expression? Did you see something you shouldn't have?"

"You!" Chu Ze flew into a rage, but his good upbringing kept him from saying anything too harsh. He only sneered with a livid face, "I think you shouldn't be called Chu He anymore, you should just change your name to Outrageous. What kind of outrageous things are you doing all day long?"

His words made Chu He think of the little black cat he had named Middleman, and her thoughts wandered for an instant. She didn't waste more words with Chu Ze, just walked straight over to Liang Zhouyi and sat down, crossing her legs with an indifferent smile.

"Chu He, I'm not joking with you, wipe that flippant smile off your face, you..." Chu Ze stopped mid-sentence when his peripheral vision caught the pair of silver handcuffs not far away. He stiffly turned his neck to glare at Chu He, as if all color had drained from him in that second. His figure swayed slightly, as if even looking at the thing sullied his eyes, and he gritted his teeth, "What is this?"

"Oh, Brother, you don't recognize it?" Chu He teased leisurely, "You're in your thirties, surely you have at least this much experience?"

Chu Ze rubbed his throbbing temples, exhaling a breath of foul air before barely maintaining his composure, "Chu He, I'm asking you one last time, will you be good and get engaged?"

After saying this, his dark, unfathomable gaze fell on Liang Zhouyi's face, but unexpectedly Liang Zhouyi showed no intention of looking away. That calm composure made him reassess his impression of Liang Zhouyi. She was indeed not as timid and fearful as the files had described.

"Brother, it's not very nice to say these things in front of the person I like." Chu He's tone was lazy yet hid a faint hostility. She stretched out her arm and pulled Liang Zhouyi close, instinctively enclosing her within her territory.

Under the eerily calm atmosphere, Chu He looked at him without yielding. At this moment, even the slightest retreat would let the man before her seize her weakness and press the attack relentlessly.

In the end, Chu Ze was the one to back down. Furious to the point of laughing, a cold malice seeped from the corners of his eyes, "Fine, Chu He, well done. Then remember to guard your person well. I'll just pretend I don't have a sister like you."

Chu He smiled faintly, Well, you never really did, you know.

The hand hidden in Chu Ze's sleeve clenched until his knuckles cracked. Even though his heart was knotted with frustration, he could not quarrel more fiercely with Chu He. He just walked with a dark face as if he could not stay a moment longer. He pulled the door shut with great force, but still did not slam it, closing it with restraint.

Chu He closed her eyes and sighed. It seemed he was officially ready to make trouble for her. She did not think Chu Ze was someone easy to deal with. What clean methods could someone who mixed in business circles have? She herself had come up that way, and reckoned he had countless ways to force her to submit.

"Why did you refuse?" Liang Zhouyi asked her in a stiff tone, seeming somewhat confused.

Chu He smiled, "No reason. I thought about it, since no amount of explaining or arguing with you works, then I'll show you. To prove that everything I told you is true. Since you feel insecure, I'll give you security. If you don't trust me, I'll act until you do."

Chu He gazed deeply at the dazed Liang Zhouyi, her heart aching with a dense, prickling pain. I'm trying hard to prove that I like you, and trying hard to help you achieve your wish, yet this process is gradually pushing me away from you. From the moment I decided not to stay by your side in the name of friendship, the sand in the hourglass started falling again. But even so, I can't bear to let you feel even a trace of sadness.

Who says brief happiness isn't real happiness? Besides, the time I've spent with Liang Zhouyi is enough for me to remember for a lifetime.

"Let's go, I'll take you to meet someone." Chu He tried hard to force back the scalding heat in her eyes and swallowed the bitterness in her throat. She had always been decisive, and since she had changed her plan, she would not waste any more time.

Liang Zhouyi suddenly felt like crying. She complained softly, "You're always like this." So mysterious from the first meeting, so unattainable, and now that the dazzling sun had personally landed beside her, she still hardly dared to reach out and touch it.

"I'm taking you to see Zhou Mindan. I don't want to waste our time on inexplicable misunderstandings." When Chu He said this, though her lips and tone were full of smiles, her eyes were lowered so Liang Zhouyi could not see her expression at all.

---

When Zhou Mindan arrived for the appointment, she had not expected there to be two people opposite her. She looked at Liang Zhouyi suspiciously, feeling she looked somewhat familiar. When she tried to look a little longer, she happened to meet Liang Zhouyi's clear eyes. She instinctively looked away, then felt annoyed at her own reaction and craned her neck to meet Liang Zhouyi's gaze again.

"Who is she?" Zhou Mindan asked Chu He.

"Liang Zhouyi." Chu He handed the coffee to Liang Zhouyi, her gaze flickering between their faces, "You've met before, buyer and seller."

"It's you." Zhou Mindan's expression changed, "So you're that very important friend Chu He mentioned."

"No." Chu He took Liang Zhouyi's hand, her face seeming to glow with happiness, "She's my girlfriend."

Zhou Mindan's hand holding the cup trembled, and some coffee spilled over. She wiped it in a fluster, her voice a little unnatural, "Well then, congratulations."

"Thank you." Chu He's slender fingers worked hard to squeeze between Liang Zhouyi's fingers, holding on tightly, "So I can't keep our agreement to get engaged. I also wish you will get what you want soon."

Zhou Mindan nodded, her expression deliberately exaggerated, "Oh, I thought it was something big. It's fine, do you think I can't find someone else to help me?"

After saying that, she looked at Liang Zhouyi again, tears glistening in her eyes, "Congratulations to you too. Back then Chu He let me pinch her hand until it was all swollen for your sake and didn't even get angry. With her temper, it was really hard for her to keep up pretenses with me for so long. Cherish each other well, don't be like before... looking so hopeless as if you had lost all will to live. I returned the camera to you, and Chu He, you should cherish it well too. We're actually quite fated..."

Liang Zhouyi nodded, her gaze calm, "I will."

Zhou Mindan smiled, her expression a little dim. She stayed distractedly for a while before finding an excuse to slip away.

"Happy now?" Chu He slurped the fruit tea in front of her, so cold it made her grimace.

Liang Zhouyi's mind was in chaos. She stirred her coffee unconsciously with a spoon, and only after sorting through her thoughts for a long time did she say, "Who's your girlfriend?"

Chu He widened her eyes, "Wow, are you going to wipe your mouth and deny it after you've had your fill? Who was it that day in bed..."

Liang Zhouyi immediately glared at her, a little embarrassed by Chu He's words, but that phrase "girlfriend" still made her nose sting and her eyes sore. She said in a muffled voice, "You haven't given me anything. How did I become your girlfriend?"

"There is." Chu He's voice was very soft but solemn. She grinned to reveal neat teeth, her face bright with a smile.

Liang Zhouyi was puzzled. In a moment of distraction, Chu He had somehow seized her fingers, and a cool silver metal band slipped onto her knuckle.

That bright luster stabbed straight into her eyes. The hand Liang Zhouyi had tightly held by Chu He began to tremble uncontrollably, the shiver instantly spreading through her whole body, and even her voice was thick with tears, "What is this?"

Chu He's expression was very gentle, the fine glimmers in her eyes more beautiful than the softest starry sky on a summer night. Although it seemed a bit rushed and sudden, she did not want to wait any longer. In fact she had prepared it long ago and had imagined many most suitable moments, but this moment seemed not bad at all.

No extra scene or props were needed, only Liang Zhouyi being there. And this plain silver band she had polished little by little with her own hands, on whose inner wall she had engraved her name stroke by stroke. She had originally planned to give it to Liang Zhouyi before leaving, perhaps it could be kept, so it could stay with Liang Zhouyi in her place as she traveled around the world, a roundabout way of witnessing her future.

"Liang Zhouyi." Chu He leaned forward slightly and cupped Liang Zhouyi's face. Seeing her tears streaming down and eyes red, she could not help her own eyes growing moist. Chu He gently wiped away her tears with her fingertips, her movements careful as if holding a precious, fragile treasure, "I like you, I like you so, so much. So, will you be my girlfriend?"

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