Chapter 246 – Report to the CEO: Madam Has Run Away Again – Causing Trouble (10)
“But I don’t know where the band-aids are,” Gu Yan said with a smile in his eyes. How could he not tell that Bai Tang was saying one thing but meant another?
“So troublesome…”
The young man muttered as he pulled Gu Yan into the room by the hand.
He had completely forgotten that when he got injured at the Gu Corporation before, it was Gu Yan who brought the first-aid kit. Knowing that a first-aid kit would contain band-aids was just common sense—there was no way Gu Yan didn’t know.
Jiang Hongzhe had gone to the K-room to help out and, when he came back out, saw the two of them tenderly applying medicine to a wound.
That posture, that expression—just watching it made Jiang Hongzhe unusually angry.
Wasn’t Gu Yan always going on about how much he liked Sha Yao? Then what was he doing entangled with Bai Tang now?
Even a blind person could tell the two of them had something going on.
“Tang Tang, what happened to you?” Sha Yao came out and saw the open first-aid kit in front of Bai Tang. She immediately thought Bai Tang had gotten hurt again.
She hurried over to him, only to see that it wasn’t Bai Tang’s hand with a bandage on it—but Gu Yan’s, the person she disliked most.
“So it was President Gu who got hurt. How careless,” Sha Yao said with a slight pout, her tone full of fake concern.
Oh, it was Gu Yan who got hurt? Then it’s no big deal.
Jiang Hongzhe seethed with resentment. As long as Gu Yan hadn’t won Sha Yao over yet, they weren’t officially a thing. And someone like Gu Yan—so scummy—didn’t deserve such a good girl.
“Ah Yan cut his hand while helping me chop vegetables,” Bai Tang explained. He then turned to Gu Yan and said, “You go rest. I’ll go finish cooking.” With that, he got up and walked out.
Jiang Hongzhe exchanged a glance with Gu Yan. “I’ll help too. I used to cook for myself all the time when I was abroad—my cooking’s not bad.”
“A grown man who can cook? Don’t come over and mess things up,” Sha Yao scoffed, following behind Bai Tang.
Her dear Tang Tang was a magnet for trouble—it seemed like no matter what, bad things always happened to him. No, she had to keep an eye on him. She couldn’t let someone else end up hurting him instead.
In Sha Yao’s eyes, Jiang Hongzhe and Gu Yan were the same type of person—she didn’t trust either of them.
Zhao Lou and the others sensed the tense atmosphere and dragged Mei Li and the rest into the K-room to sing, leaving only the entangled quartet outside.
Clearly, starting the fire wasn’t a job suited for the girls. Jiang Hongzhe wouldn’t let Sha Yao crouch in front of the stove and get her face covered in soot either.
Since girls were more meticulous, Sha Yao took over Gu Yan’s spot chopping vegetables, while Jiang Hongzhe handled the fire.
Jiang Hongzhe stayed close to Bai Tang. He didn’t know if Bai Tang was aware of what was going on with Gu Yan. Given how close the two of them were—and the fact that Bai Tang was Sha Yao’s cousin—did he realize that what he was doing could be considered trying to steal his cousin’s boyfriend?
After hesitating for a while, Jiang Hongzhe finally spoke up. “Tang Tang—everyone calls you that, so I’ll go with that too.”
“It’s nothing,” the young man replied kindly, his voice gentle, like a warm breeze in spring.
Jiang Hongzhe probed cautiously, “You seem pretty close with Gu Yan.”
Bai Tang instinctively glanced toward the house. Gu Yan was leaning against the doorframe, watching them cook.
“Mm, we get along okay, I guess.”
Everyone kept asking about his relationship with Gu Yan. Bai Tang hadn’t realized until now just how nosy some people could be.
Jiang Hongzhe hit a wall, but he wasn’t discouraged and continued talking as if to himself. “I met Gu Yan back in college. He was really popular with the girls then. But it seemed like he preferred girls with black hair and black eyes.”
He emphasized the words “girls” heavily, but Bai Tang didn’t react. “Oh.”
Jiang Hongzhe thought: That’s such a flat response. Did he not get what I meant?
He went on, “Gu Yan’s a pretty outstanding guy. A lot of girls like him. Even some… guys do too. But you know how it is abroad—things are more open. Some rich young men like Gu Yan just treat it like a game, and sometimes they even sign some kind of agreement about it.”
Bai Tang paused for a moment. He remembered the contract he had signed before—but also recalled how Gu Yan had torn it up right in front of him. His hands didn’t stop; he kept stir-frying the vegetables. “Oh.”
“???” That’s not the reaction I expected. He had been so obvious—surely Bai Tang understood?
Bai Tang picked up a bowl and dumped the contents into the wok. The vegetables hit the hot oil with a loud sizzling sound.
Jiang Hongzhe stood up and went to the faucet beside Bai Tang to wash his hands.
Whether Bai Tang really didn’t understand, or was just pretending not to, Jiang Hongzhe was determined to make things clear today. If Bai Tang insisted on getting between Gu Yan and Sha Yao, then he wasn’t going to give her up without a fight.
“Let me put it this way,” he said. “On the way here just now, Gu Yan told me he liked Sha Yao. You’re her cousin, and she really cares about you. But if there’s anything going on between you and Gu Yan… don’t you think that’s a bit wrong? It’s not just morally questionable—it could also ruin the bond you have with Sha Yao as cousins.”
The sound of stir-frying vegetables drowned out their conversation. Even Sha Yao, who was closest, couldn’t hear what they were saying—let alone Gu Yan, who was leaning by the door.
All Gu Yan could see was Bai Tang and Jiang Hongzhe talking, their mouths moving—but he had no idea what they were saying.
Bai Tang glanced at Sha Yao, who stood not far away, completely unaware of what was going on.
“He really said that to you?”
The despondent look on the young man’s face caught Jiang Hongzhe off guard. For a moment, he felt a pang of guilt—was it really okay to be this blunt?
But then he reminded himself: better a short pain than a long one. If things got truly tangled between the three of them, the damage would be even worse.
“I’ll be honest with you,” Jiang Hongzhe said, “I’m currently Sha Yao’s supervisor. She’s a hardworking and ambitious girl, and I genuinely admire her. Her goal is to become a top-tier bid planner. A lot of people let life change their dreams, but I don’t want someone with that much potential to be held back because of… certain things.”
After he finished speaking, he looked over, trying to gauge Bai Tang’s reaction.
But to his surprise, the young man stood there, head bowed in front of the stove, silently crying.
Jiang Hongzhe panicked. He had actually made him cry.
What now? Help, someone answer fast—online emergency.
Gu Yan, who had been watching Bai Tang closely from the start, quickly rushed toward the kitchen.
“What’s wrong, baby? Did the hot oil burn you?”
He pushed past Jiang Hongzhe, placing a large hand on Bai Tang’s shoulder.
Leaning down, he tried to get a look at the young man’s expression.
Bai Tang shook his head. “I’m fine. The smoke from the cooking oil just stung my eyes, that’s all.”
But Bai Tang didn’t want to jump to conclusions based on someone else’s words. So he followed Gu Yan out to an open area, away from the cooking smoke.
“Just now… Mr. Jiang said that you told him the person you like is—”
Gu Yan smiled. “That’s right. I did tell Hongzhe. And I meant it—I’m not going to give up.”
He stared at Bai Tang without blinking, hoping to see a look of surprise or happiness.
But instead, the young man’s whole body went stiff. The skin beneath Gu Yan’s hand felt ice cold.
Bai Tang felt as if all the blood in his body had reversed course. All he could hear in his ears was Gu Yan’s voice repeating:
“I’m not going to give up.”
Not going to give up…
…
Then what did that make him?
All those promises from before, all the kindness—what were they?
Had Gu Yan suddenly realized how good Ling Xue was? And because Ling Xue had a bias against him, had Gu Yan used Bai Tang as a stepping stone to get close to her?
Bai Tang couldn’t stop trembling.
So that’s what he was.
Just a joke.
“Tang Tang, your forehead is so cold—are you feeling unwell? Let Hongzhe do the cooking, I’ll take you to rest for a bit.” Gu Yan touched Bai Tang’s forehead, which was icy cold, and noticed that Bai Tang’s expression didn’t look right either.
“Tang Tang, say something—don’t scare me…”
Bai Tang stared at the familiar handsome face in front of him. The concern on Gu Yan’s face didn’t seem fake.
“Tang Tang? Why are you standing out here in the sun? Go inside and rest.”
Sha Yao walked over holding a freshly washed grill. Seeing Gu Yan in front of Bai Tang, she put one hand on her hip.
“Did President Gu bully you again?”
Bai Tang’s eyes were red, and his pale lips trembled, but he couldn’t get a word out.
“Gu Yan, are you even a man? All you do is bully the weak—what kind of guy does that make you?” Sha Yao looked at Bai Tang’s miserable expression and immediately assumed Gu Yan was up to his usual tricks.
Gu Yan’s fists clenched. Being repeatedly scolded to his face by a woman—any normal person would snap.
Seeing the argument escalate, Jiang Hongzhe quickly came out to break things up.
“Hey, we’re all here to have a good time, not to fight.” He turned to Bai Tang, rubbing his nose awkwardly, clearly feeling guilty.
“Why don’t you go rest for a bit? I can handle the kitchen.”
Bai Tang didn’t even know how he made it back to the room. His mind was a complete mess—he didn’t know how to react anymore.
Gu Yan and Sha Yao each sat in a chair, both worried about Bai Tang, who had suddenly fallen silent.
Why had Tang Tang’s mood suddenly shifted so drastically?
Just now, even when Gu Yan helped him walk back, Tang Tang had noticeably resisted his touch.
Gu Yan mentally retraced everything that had happened leading up to Bai Tang’s change in mood.
There was probably only one person who knew the reason.
He stood up and walked out, ignoring the disgusted look in Sha Yao’s eyes.
“Hongzhe, did you say something to Tang Tang?” Otherwise, Tang Tang wouldn’t have suddenly brought up “Mr. Jiang.”
Jiang Hongzhe turned off the stove and plated the last dish.
His eyes flickered, and he looked uneasy.
“Nothing much… You just repeated what we talked about.”
But Gu Yan and Jiang Hongzhe had only had one real conversation—back when they first arrived at the farmhouse—and Gu Yan remembered exactly what was said.
“You told Tang Tang who I said I liked.”
Jiang Hongzhe set the dish down.
“Gu Yan, if you didn’t want people to know, you shouldn’t have done it. Even a rabbit doesn’t eat the grass near its own burrow. You told me yourself that you were going after Sha Yao—then turned around and started cozying up to Bai Tang. Do you think that’s okay?!”
Gu Yan took a step forward, his powerful presence bearing down on Jiang Hongzhe.
“Who told you I liked Sha Yao?”
“You did! I asked you, and you answered—”
Jiang Hongzhe trailed off mid-sentence.
He suddenly remembered—yes, Gu Yan had indeed picked up both Sha Yao and Bai Tang… but it was Bai Tang’s door he had opened, Bai Tang’s luggage he had carried…
“Wait… Did I misunderstand?”
Crap. This was bad.
Looking at Gu Yan’s dark expression, Jiang Hongzhe cautiously swallowed.
“The person you like… is Bai Tang?”
Gu Yan gritted his teeth.
“What do you think?”
“But… you never said a name,” Jiang Hongzhe mumbled.
Right now, Gu Yan could’ve strangled him.
He had worked so hard to slowly win Tang Tang over, and now, thanks to this misunderstanding, everything had been reset to square one.
He was furious—on the verge of swearing out loud.
Author’s Note :
Bai Tang: Wuwuwu~ You don’t love me anymore…
Jiang Hongzhe: I didn’t mean to! Yao Yao, sob sob sob~
Gu Yan: Thank. You. So. Very. Much.
Sha Yao: Both of you—get lost.