Chapter 248 – Report to the CEO: Madam Has Run Away Again – Tang Tang’s New Comrade (12)
Bai Tang found a hotel. With Xiao A’s signal-blocking assistance, Gu Yan absolutely wouldn’t be able to track him down.
After wandering aimlessly for a whole day and exhausting his mental energy, Bai Tang quickly drifted into sleep.
On the other side, things weren’t going smoothly for Gu Yan either—one wave hadn’t settled before another hit.
He still hadn’t found his wife when he received another phone call: Grandpa Gu had been in an incident.
When Gu Yan rushed to the hospital, Grandpa Gu was still waiting for his test results.
“Hello, I’m a family member of Gu Dekang. Could you tell me how he is doing right now?” Gu Yan asked.
The nurse he stopped was working at the front desk handling registration. She was just about to finish her shift, but since someone had come to ask, she checked for him first.
“Gu Dekang is in the examination room on the third floor.”
“Thank you.”
Gu Yan went up to the third floor and saw Grandpa Gu sitting in the corridor.
“Grandpa, are you alright?” He looked Grandpa Gu over. Aside from his clothes being a bit wrinkled, there were no visible injuries.
Gu Yan let out a sigh of relief. Grandpa Gu chuckled and said, “What could possibly be wrong? I feel great.”
After speaking with the officer accompanying him, Gu Yan learned that Grandpa Gu had encountered a mugging in the park. Fortunately, a young man had stepped in to help and managed to stop the thief. Still, for the sake of the elderly man’s health, the officer brought Grandpa Gu to the hospital for a check-up.
“Where is that young man? I’d like to thank him in person,” Gu Yan said.
Grandpa Gu replied with a touch of regret, “That kid was really handsome and kind-hearted too. He helped without asking for anything in return. After calling the police for me, he just left.”
The officer handed over a statement provided by the park security. “The young man’s name is Bai Tang.”
Gu Yan saw the signed testimony on the officer’s phone and immediately recognized the neat, graceful handwriting—it was Bai Tang’s.
Tang Tang always wrote very carefully, using standard, elegant block script. It was quite beautiful.
“Grandpa, tell me—was the Bai Tang you saw this one?”
He took out his phone and pulled up a photo of Bai Tang from his gallery.
Grandpa Gu chuckled and said, “Yes, that was him. So you know him? That’ll make it easier for me to thank him.”
A look of defeat crossed Gu Yan’s face. “I can’t find him either.”
Noticing the change in Gu Yan’s expression, Grandpa Gu raised an eyebrow and asked, “Oh? What could possibly trouble you?”
In Grandpa Gu’s memory, his grandson had always been self-reliant and strong-minded since childhood. Even Gu Yan’s parents barely had to worry about him. He had studied abroad at the age of eleven or twelve and stayed in a boarding school. They never needed a nanny. After taking over the company, he managed everything in an orderly fashion, never needing help from either him or Gu Yan’s father.
“Grandpa, did Tang Tang leave you any other information? Like where he was going?”
“No specific location, but he was pulling a small suitcase and mentioned he was in a hurry to check into a hotel,” Grandpa Gu replied.
Just then, the on-duty nurse came out with Grandpa Gu’s report. “Gu Dekang?”
“Over here,” Gu Yan stood up and responded.
The young nurse couldn’t help but steal a few glances at the tall and handsome Gu Yan.
Clearing her throat softly, she spoke in the gentlest voice she could manage. “Mr. Gu Dekang’s health is very good. Nothing serious—just a few common issues older people tend to have. Pay attention to his diet, and make sure his blood pressure doesn’t go up…”
She gave a long list of instructions, and Gu Yan nodded to each one. “Thank you, nurse.”
“You… you’re welcome.”
The nurse was clearly charmed by Gu Yan’s polite demeanor. Just as he was about to leave with Grandpa Gu, she gathered her courage and asked, “Would you mind leaving your phone number? If anything happens with the elderly gentleman, I could be contacted—or you could consult me anytime.”
Grandpa Gu looked at the nurse, who was trying hard to remain composed, and teased Gu Yan, “Well? Are you going to give her your number or not?”
Gu Yan had seen plenty of situations like this. He easily recognized the nurse’s intentions—there had been quite a few women over the years who tried to get his private contact information just like this.
He politely declined, “The contact number for the attending physician is on the medical report. If anything comes up, I’ll be sure to reach out. Thank you.”
The nurse watched in disappointment as Gu Yan turned and walked away.
She had never seen a man so handsome, so filial, and so polite. On top of that, he seemed refined—clearly someone from the upper class. If she could marry a man like him, she might be able to skip ten years (or more) of hard work.
Gu Yan was always busy with work and rarely stayed at home. Even when he did come back, it was only to eat and sleep. After handing over the company to Gu Yan, Gu’s father retired and went on a world tour with Gu’s mother, under the pretense of “making up for the regrets of their youth.”
Grandpa Gu didn’t like living in the cold, lifeless villa. He preferred a regular apartment complex, where he could play chess with his neighbors and go to the opera with them—a lively and satisfying lifestyle.
He asked Gu Yan to take him back to his apartment and rejected Gu Yan’s suggestion to return to the villa.
“All right, you go on and get back to work. These old bones of mine are still strong—I could take down two tigers if I had to. Don’t worry about me.”
The elderly are often the most stubborn. Unable to change Grandpa Gu’s mind, Gu Yan had no choice but to honor his request and took him back to the neighborhood.
After settling Grandpa Gu in, Gu Yan immediately called Assistant Jin, instructing him to check every hotel in the city for any recent check-ins. According to what Bai Tang had said, he had nowhere else to go after leaving the Sha Yao residence, so he must have stayed in a hotel that night.
Of course, Gu Yan’s actions didn’t escape Xiao A’s notice. Xiao A secretly watched Gu Yan growing more haggard by the day, and its sympathy for the story’s male lead soared.
This male lead is seriously miserable—all because of a misunderstanding.
But that very misunderstanding had made the host (Bai Tang) heartbroken for so long. Xiao A felt that the male lead deserved a bit of punishment, but after so many days, perhaps that punishment had run its course.
Staying in a hotel long-term wasn’t ideal. Bai Tang didn’t like luxury hotels that lacked the warmth of a home. So Xiao A suggested renting an apartment in a residential neighborhood.
Bai Tang happily agreed.
Just as Bai Tang was checking out of the hotel, Xiao A deactivated the signal-blocking mode. At the same time, Gu Yan finally tracked down the hotel where Bai Tang had been staying.
However, by the time he arrived, he was told that Bai Tang had checked out around noon.
Gu Yan was overwhelmed with despair. Just when there was a glimmer of hope, it vanished in the next second.
Tang Tang, where are you…
Bai Tang had taken a liking to a certain residential community. It had a lot of elderly residents and a warm, peaceful atmosphere that he found very appealing.
The real estate agent noticed the joy on Bai Tang’s face and seized the opportunity, eagerly listing all the advantages of the neighborhood.
In reality, because this neighborhood was mostly populated by elderly residents, younger people generally didn’t like living here. They were afraid of having difficult older neighbors and getting caught up in unnecessary trouble.
The real estate agent showed Bai Tang a sunlit apartment—it had good lighting and ventilation.
Bai Tang asked Xiao A for its opinion, and Xiao A said, “In terms of layout and structure, this apartment is quite decent.”
“This floor currently has only one tenant, an elderly person. It’s very quiet at night,” the agent added.
Bai Tang didn’t hesitate. “Alright, I’ll take it.”
The agent happily pulled out the rental contract he carried with him. “Mr. Bai, this is the lease agreement. Take a look. Let me know if you have any questions.”
Bai Tang always found these kinds of documents a headache to read, so he had Xiao A scan it. Aside from the clause stating that the deposit and any prepaid rent wouldn’t be refunded if the lease was terminated early, everything else was fairly standard for a rental agreement.
Bai Tang promptly signed the contract and handed over the rent and deposit.
The agent, having just closed a deal and earned his commission, grinned even wider. “Wishing you a pleasant stay. If anything comes up, feel free to contact me.”
After the agent left, Bai Tang thought he should at least introduce himself to the neighbor. He quickly tidied up the apartment, then went to the kitchen and prepared some elderly-friendly snacks.
He knocked on the neighbor’s door.
The door opened, and Bai Tang was stunned. “Grandpa—it’s you?”
“Ah, you’re… you’re… Tang…” Grandpa Gu recognized Bai Tang but couldn’t recall his full name.
“I’m Bai Tang, the new tenant who just moved in next door,” Bai Tang replied with a sweet smile, two faint dimples appearing on his cheeks.
“Yes, Bai Tang! Come in, come in,” Grandpa Gu said, stepping aside to let him in.
Xiao A hadn’t scanned this neighborhood in advance, so it hadn’t expected this. In a city this large, to randomly choose a place and end up as neighbors with the male lead’s grandfather—this kind of coincidence was almost unbelievable. The bond between the host and the male lead was truly remarkable.
In any world—so long as it wasn’t a twisted game world like the one with Grandpa Bai and Grandma Bai—Bai Tang was always a “grandparent charmer.” There were very few elderly people who didn’t like him.
And sure enough, within just a few hours, Bai Tang had won over yet another elderly person—Grandpa Gu.
“Grandpa Gu, I made these snacks. They’re sugar-free and steamed, so the texture is soft—not hard at all. Please give them a try,” Bai Tang said.
Hearing that, Grandpa Gu picked up a steamed sponge cake from the plate and took a bite. The soft texture immediately lit up his face.
“Tang Tang, your cooking is really something. It’s rare to see young people these days who can make desserts,” he praised.
Bai Tang’s skills all came from the system’s library of books. Anything provided by the system was guaranteed to be top-tier.
If Qiu’er were here, it would definitely be proud.
Grandpa Gu couldn’t stop eating—one after another, the cakes quickly disappeared.
Fortunately, Bai Tang had made plenty—enough to satisfy Grandpa Gu’s appetite. By the time he was done, he was full and wouldn’t even need dinner.
“If you like them, Grandpa Gu, I can make more and bring them over tomorrow,” Bai Tang offered warmly.
He and Grandpa Gu chatted happily and quickly grew close.
Where could you possibly find such a sweet, thoughtful kid?
What elders want most is the company of their children and grandchildren. But Gu Yan was always busy with work and rarely around. Being able to share even just one meal together was already a luxury—let alone watching TV or chatting.
Although Grandpa Gu said he didn’t need dinner, Bai Tang was still worried he might get hungry later. With Grandpa Gu’s permission, he went into the kitchen and made a small pot of pork and vegetable congee, perfect for the elderly, as a late-night snack.
“It’s getting late. I’ll head back now. My room’s still a mess. I’ll come visit you again tomorrow~”
Grandpa Gu saw Bai Tang out with a wide smile.
After closing the door and turning around, he took out his phone and found Gu Yan’s number. He was just about to press it when he suddenly saw Gu Yan on TV—an interview segment filmed by a variety show a few months back.
Looking at the calm and composed Gu Yan on the screen, Grandpa Gu pressed the lock button and smirked, “Serves you right, brat. Let you stew for a while—this is what you get for not watching TV with me.”
Author’s Note:
I hereby announce that Grandpa Gu has officially joined the “Protect Tang” squad!
Glad I made it in time to update before you all went to bed (this is so hard 😭)