Chapter 103: Shu Congxuan Arrives—Bonus Chapter for Those Who Gifted Tourmaline Diamonds

Luo Ange arrived shortly, followed by the others. They were chattering away about something. Yong Changzhi asked a question, and Luo Ange just shook his head at me.

Bai Xue covered her mouth to hide a giggle, and I suddenly understood: they thought I was pregnant.

In the days that followed, Guan Shanyuan brought Yong Changzhi and the others to the villa every day. While the men played cards or chess, Bai Xue would keep me company, watching movies, doing puzzles, or playing games.

One day, Bai Xue didn't come; Guan Shanyuan said she had gone back to her parents' home and wouldn't be back for a couple of days. Bored, I went to watch them play cards.

Gai Nie and Long Jue, who had been playing chess, abandoned their game for some reason and came over to watch, surrounding Luo Ange.

Seeing me approach, Luo Ange swatted the two of them away and pulled me onto his lap.

I fidgeted, but I immediately felt something changing between his legs. I was so terrified that I sat there like a statue, completely frozen.

They seemed to be playing for high stakes. I didn't understand mahjong very well, but I could tell that Luo Ange was losing money steadily.

Yet, he kept smiling, looking to be in a great mood. The way he drew the tiles was incredibly handsome.

Just as I was about to walk away, he grabbed me. It turned out he wanted me to play for him. I shook my head to signal that I wasn't good at it.

He chuckled, took my hand, and drew a tile—it was the South Wind. He guided my hand to discard it.

Zhou Yang said something, and Luo Ange grabbed that very tile and threw it at him.

I don't know if I just had good luck, but after that, Luo Ange kept winning and winning. Zhou Yang lost the most miserably, eventually shooting me pleading looks to show mercy.

I laughed and stood up. Luo Ange wrote a note asking me, "Want to play chess? Find Gai Nie."

I nodded and started to leave, but he wouldn't let go, leaning his face toward me.

After a few seconds, I caught on and kissed him on the cheek. He smiled with satisfaction and said something to Gai Nie.

Gai Nie nodded and, with great gentlemanly flair, invited me to a match.

Thinking back, I had been so resistant when Grandfather first taught me to play chess; he used to say I had a "sharp bottom" and couldn't sit still. Later, he came up with a brilliant idea: he used the multi-talented Yi Huayang to provoke me. I fell for it, hook, line, and sinker, and practiced with great enthusiasm.

Because of Grandfather's careful tutelage back then, I was able to leave Gai Nie without a single piece to his name.

He was unconvinced time and again, and time and again, I forced him into a corner.

Eventually, Luo Ange and the others stopped their card game and crowded around to watch us.

Luo Ange, in particular, acted as if he were the one winning. He rolled up his sleeves, looking eager to jump in, seemingly wishing he could pin Gai Nie down onto the chessboard.

In the end, Gai Nie lost all his assets to me. I counted it up—it was over a hundred thousand.

I felt embarrassed and wanted to return the money. One shouldn't accept rewards for no merit, and besides, they were just playing with me; how could I take their money?

Gai Nie kept his hands behind his back and refused. Luo Ange held me down and showed me a note: "Why return it? This seventy or eighty thousand is just money he saved from not ruining some little girl."

Gai Nie’s expression changed instantly, and he grabbed an apple to throw at him. Luo Ange dodged it skillfully, and the apple hit me square on the forehead.

Gai Nie was horrified and rushed over to apologize, only to be kicked by Luo Ange.

It didn't actually hurt, but Luo Ange held my face, inspecting it left and right, looking as ridiculous as could be.

Because I had been injured lately, Luo Ange had insisted the chef keep all meals light. Tonight, however, there was a rare basin of spicy boiled fish, poached spicy meat slices, pickled vegetables, and chicken feet in pickled chili.

The men kept reaching for the spicy, mouth-watering dishes, while Luo Ange ate the bland food with me.

Long Jue and the others must have been doing it on purpose. It was just fish and meat—was it really that good? They made such exaggerated expressions that I felt a desperate craving.

Luo Ange ignored my pleas; he even told Zhou Yang to move the dishes away. I tugged on his hem, begging for even a bite, or just a lick to satisfy my craving.

He shook his head ruthlessly. Fortunately, Long Jue threw a piece of pickled vegetable at me with lightning speed, and I caught it and popped it into my mouth just as fast.

Perhaps because it had been so long since I'd eaten anything spicy, my nose, mouth, and chest felt like they were on fire. The spice made tears stream down my face.

Luo Ange brought me water and patted my back. Then he said something to Long Jue, who sheepishly took his bowl and left the table for the living room.

After dinner, I said I had eaten too much and wanted to take a walk. Long Jue offered to accompany me to make amends, and for once, Luo Ange was in a good mood and agreed with a smile.

We wandered to the tree by the swing set. As if by magic, Long Jue produced a plate of chicken feet in pickled chili, and he had even prepared juice.

I ate with such delight that I finished the plate quickly, my mouth wide open to gasp for air from the spice.

Suddenly, I saw Long Jue stand up, looking as if his soul had left his body, staring behind me.

I turned around and saw Luo Ange glaring, walking toward us with a feather duster in hand.

Long Jue took flight, and unable to find the culprit, Luo Ange took his anger out on me. I couldn't hear what he was saying, but I could feel his fury.

Several times he raised the feather duster; I pouted and slumped my shoulders, looking at him.

He dropped the duster and hauled me away, finally dumping me in the living room.

Long Jue was already hiding behind Guan Shanyuan, and Yong Changzhi and the others were watching the show, looking as if they were waiting to see how Luo Ange would deal with me.

I tugged on Luo Ange’s sleeve and mouthed, "I was wrong, I won't do it again..."

He wanted to say something else, but I preempted him by raising my hand to promise I wouldn't dare do it again.

Luo Ange saw Guan Shanyuan and the others out. Standing on the balcony, I watched them walk away with their arms around each other’s shoulders. For a moment, I was reminded of that movie popular with all the teenagers, "Young and Dangerous."

A cloak was draped over my shoulders. I leaned back into Luo Ange’s arms. Recently, I had developed a habit of tugging at his buttons, a habit of relying on him like this.

I slept soundly in his arms that night. Waking up to see him sleeping beside me felt more secure than ever before.

After breakfast, Luo Ange received a phone call and his expression darkened. He told me he had to go out and asked if I wanted to come along.

I saw Zhou Yang mouth the word "Zhu Bang" to me. I guessed it must be company business; after all, he had been staying with me in Jingnan for days without going back.

I shook my head. He pondered for a moment, told me to be good and stay home, and left Zhou Yang behind to look after me.

After he left with Long Jue, I played games and chess with Zhou Yang, having a wonderful time.

I had been so happy and carefree lately that I never expected Shu Congxuan to track me down. When I saw him, it felt like a dream, and for a moment, I forgot how to react.

His eyes were red as he grabbed my hand and said something. Seeing me shake my head, he looked like he was about to cry, and suddenly he yanked me toward the door.

Fourth Sister-in-law rushed over to pull me back, but he shoved her away. She screamed in fright, and then Zhou Yang charged down from upstairs and, without a word, punched Shu Congxuan in the chin.

The scene descended into chaos. I couldn't hold Zhou Yang back, so I stood in front of Shu Congxuan. When Zhou Yang realized his fist was heading toward me, it was too late to pull back.

The punch landed squarely on my cheek. I could hear a crunching sound—either a tooth coming loose or my nose bridge shifting.

Words like "seeing stars," "dizzy," "bloody mess," or "feeling like a boulder hit my chest" were not enough to describe how I felt. I felt as if my eyeballs were about to pop out. After enduring for a few seconds, I opened my mouth and spat out blood.

My teeth, gums, and jaw were completely numb. I felt as if Zhou Yang’s punch had shattered every tooth in my head.

Seeing me spit blood, both Shu Congxuan and Zhou Yang were terrified. They both rushed over to help me, glared at each other, and shoved each other away.

I was afraid they would start fighting again, but I had no way to stop them. It was a truly difficult problem—both were dear to me, and I didn't know who to side with.

The two were arguing about something. I sat on the sofa, sighed, and moved the ice pack from my cheek to my temple.

My teeth didn't hurt anymore; it was my head that was throbbing.

Shu Congxuan suddenly shoved Zhou Yang, and they started fighting again, but this time they went out into the yard.

Afraid something would happen, I wanted to follow, but Fourth Sister-in-law stopped me.

She shook her head at me, and I understood what she meant: don't interfere in men’s business.

But even if they were going to fight, the person who should be fighting Shu Congxuan wasn't Zhou Yang.

Zhou Yang was usually playful and teasing, but when he got vicious, he was like a venomous snake. After a few moves, Shu Congxuan was forced into a frantic defense, unable to hold his own.

I was anxious and borrowed a phone from Fourth Sister-in-law to call Luo Ange; perhaps only he could handle such an explosive situation.

The moment Fourth Sister-in-law handed me the phone, the main gate opened, and Luo Ange strode in.

I didn't know if he had been notified or just happened to return, and I couldn't read his expression, but I dropped the phone and ran toward him.

Because I was in such a hurry, I stumbled. He opened his arms, and I threw myself into them.

The fighting in the corner of the yard was still going on. I was sweating with anxiety, clutching his collar.

He patted my back and walked over with me in his arms.

Zhou Yang clapped his hands and walked toward us. Sensing that Luo Ange might be angry, he actually pretended to be injured, clutching his chest in a clumsy imitation.

Shu Congxuan stood there, looking at me with total disbelief. I could feel the aura radiating from him: "Yi Lanshan, how could you do this to me?"

I instinctively hid behind Luo Ange, but his back, like his face, was a block of eternal ice.

The fact that Shu Congxuan found this place meant he knew about my relationship with Luo Ange. He must have been searching for me like a madman these past few days—carpet-searching, digging three feet into the ground—in any case, he was much thinner than when he was in Kangcheng.

My heart ached as if someone had grabbed it. I opened my mouth, wanting to explain that this wasn't what it looked like.

But I was already in that kind of relationship with Luo Ange—how could I explain it?

Luo Ange took a step toward Shu Congxuan and said something. I saw Shu Congxuan’s lips tremble violently, and then he swung his fist into Luo Ange’s face.

I screamed, "Luo Ange!" He held out a hand to stop me from moving forward. I was too scared to move, just whispering his name over and over, like a witch casting a spell.

Shu Congxuan pointed at me, bent over shouting something, and then grabbed Luo Ange by the collar, forced him against a large rock, and landed another punch.