Chapter 196: Chapter 196: My Woman, Naturally She’s With Me
Tang Yuxiu reached out and caressed the uninjured half of her cheek, looking into her eyes and telling her, "Gu Yan, it’s not like that!"
"How is it not like that? Isn’t it because of me having my clothes stripped off that you feel embarrassed, even if nothing happened, you still look down on me as a concubine?"
Tang Yuxiu’s heart ached dully. He wasn’t good at expressing himself, nor at speaking in situations like this, but he didn’t want to see Gu Yan so self-destructive and self-denying.
"Gu Yan, listen carefully, you’re not my concubine; you’re still Tang Yuxiu’s woman. You can only stay by my side, understand!"
"Why?" Gu Yan felt confused and bewildered.
Why? Because he had realized his true feelings within.
"There’s no why. You just need to stay obediently by my side, and I can give you what you want."
"You don’t look down on me?" Gu Yan lifted her gaze, looking into his eyes and asked.
"No," he replied.
"Really?" she asked cautiously.
"Really," he answered, just to give her some peace of mind.
Suddenly, Gu Yan put her hands on his shoulders and hugged him tightly. Her lips drew near, not shy but with a hint of desperate madness, as if eager to prove something.
Tang Yuxiu was startled and then pushed her away, "Gu Yan, what are you doing?"
"Aren’t you not looking down on me? Why won’t you accept me when I’m so forward, why?!" She raised her voice louder in the final three words, sounding a bit hysterical.
Her eyes turned red, showing traces of sadness.
"Gu Yan," Tang Yuxiu cupped her face with both hands, looking at her intently and gently, "Gu Yan, don’t think too much. You’re still injured, be good, let me apply medicine. Remember, I won’t look down on you. Just relax and lie down, I’ll always be here."
His tone was very gentle, carrying a bewitching charm.
Gu Yan’s emotions gradually calmed down, and she nodded slightly, lying down as he said.
Tang Yuxiu continued to apply medicine for her.
When he lifted her shirt, Gu Yan instinctively shrank back, and only relaxed after Tang Yuxiu softly reassured her.
Indeed, there was a circle of red marks on her waist from friction—her skin was already fair and delicate, so these red marks looked rather startling.
Tang Yuxiu used a cotton swab with medicine to apply to the wounds, and Gu Yan felt pain, grasping the bedsheet tightly with both hands.
Tang Yuxiu glanced at her and softly asked, "Does it hurt? I’ll be more gentle."
This gentle Tang Yuxiu, this considerate Tang Yuxiu, Gu Yan was seeing for the first time, and her heart couldn’t stop beating fast, somewhat infatuated with this moment.
Downstairs, Xiang Linghao was curled up on the sofa, resting his eyes. He couldn’t disturb the world of the two upstairs, so he was left alone, feeling solitary.
Why hasn’t You Shuyang come yet! When did his speed become so snail-like!
In the quiet night, the large villa felt so lonely to him.
After waiting for quite a while, he finally heard a knocking on the door. Xiang Linghao got up to open it.
It was You Shuyang, but there were two others—Xue Jiarui and Xue Xianglan.
Seeing Xue Xianglan again, Xiang Linghao was still a bit dazed, unable to believe that after seven years, in just a few days, he could see her twice.
However, Xue Xianglan seemed indifferent, directly bypassing You Shuyang and coming in, immediately asking, "Where’s Gu Yan?"
Xiang Linghao replied dumbly, "Upstairs."
Xue Xianglan didn’t speak further and went straight upstairs.
By the time Xiang Linghao realized and wanted to say that Tang Yuxiu was also upstairs, helping Gu Yan with medicine, to be slower going up, she was already on the second floor.
There were only two rooms on the second floor, a master bedroom and a study. Xue Xianglan directly pushed open the first door and saw Tang Yuxiu sitting by the bed and Gu Yan lying on the bed.
Tang Yuxiu had just finished applying medicine for Gu Yan and covered her with the blanket. Upon hearing the sound at the door, he turned his head in displeasure and was briefly stunned when he saw it was Xue Xianglan.
Xue Xianglan didn’t care about anyone else at this moment. Seeing Gu Yan’s swollen face, a surge of anger rose from her heart, filled with immense distress.
She quickly walked over and unceremoniously pushed Tang Yuxiu aside, filled with worry and heartache.
"Who did this! Beating your face like this! Damn it, I’ll wipe out their ancestors to the eighteenth generation!"
Xue Xianglan wanted to reach out and touch her but pulled back a few centimeters away.
Very angry, very regretful.
Gu Yan didn’t feel any resistance towards Xue Xianglan; her appearance has instead brought her much comfort and warmth.
"Don’t get so angry, I’m fine."
"You say you’re fine, but look at your face, what should count as something!"
Gu Yan pouted, "Can you stop talking about my face, it’s like poking my wound."
Gu Yan’s words made Xue Xianglan chuckle, "You can still joke with me, seems like you’re really fine."
"Of course, I’m Gu Yan, the unbeatable cockroach. Nothing really happened, I just got beaten up. It’s not the first time. Dust myself off when I get up, and it’s all fine."
Gu Yan spoke lightly, not wanting to show her fear, despair, and helpless side in front of Xue Xianglan. She didn’t want her to be sad or even more worried.
"Yeah, right, you’re tough and can take a beating."
"Haha." Gu Yan forced a smile, but it pulled on the injury on her face, making her wince in pain.
Xue Xianglan cursed her for deserving it but still gently cared about her well-being.
Gu Yan shook her head at her, "It’s fine, it’ll swell down in a few days."
"That’s good." Xue Xianglan sighed in relief, "By the way, who kidnapped you? Why did they kidnap you? Who did you offend?"
Xue Xianglan asked three questions in a row, and Gu Yan didn’t know the answers, so she shook her head, "How would I know who it was? I got kidnapped out of nowhere."
Gu Yan was especially baffled, did she really have a face that screamed ’unfortunate abuse magnet’?
"Why are you so unlucky!"
"I want to know that too!"
Xue Xianglan and Gu Yan chatted away as if no one else was around. Tang Yuxiu stood beside them for a while and then quietly exited the bedroom. Listening to Gu Yan and Xue Xianglan’s jokes and laughter, he felt somewhat comforted.
Downstairs, Xiang Linghao glanced behind him a few times, disappointed that Xue Xianglan hadn’t come downstairs.
Xue Jiarui patted his shoulder, "My sister is busy comforting her best friend. How could she come down so soon? It’s been years since they’ve met, and you can’t stand a moment now?"
"Get lost!" Xiang Linghao slapped his hand away and sulked back on the sofa.
The fact that they hadn’t seen each other in seven years meant he had to seize every opportunity now to make up for lost time.
Tang Yuxiu ignored the two of them, turning to You Shuyang, "Where are they?"
You Shuyang didn’t look too comfortable, answering, "When I got to the cabin, it was on fire, and those three people were also burned to death inside."
Hearing this, Tang Yuxiu’s brow furrowed slightly, and the other two became more serious.
First, it was kidnapping, then murder to silence the witness!
You Shuyang continued, "Those three aren’t ordinary kidnappers. Someone must be orchestrating this behind the scenes. The other party handled everything cleanly, leaving no evidence."
Tang Yuxiu’s expression turned darker, "Check it out for me, find out who’s so bold as to mess with my people!"
"Young Master Tang, I think this was aimed at you. I’ve thoroughly investigated Gu Yan’s background, and there’s no way she’d provoke such people, so it must be related to you."
The reason for kidnapping Gu Yan had to be something related to Tang Yuxiu for it all to make sense.
Tang Yuxiu’s face grew grimmer, a trace of guilt crossing his heart as he sternly said, "Find out soon, anyone who crosses me has never had a good end—especially those daring enough to target my people. I’ll make sure they wish they were dead!"
"Yes, I will do my best to investigate. I also want to know who could destroy the evidence right under my nose without leaving a trace." You Shuyang spoke with a hint of eager excitement, the thrill of encountering an opponent.
Either the opponent’s background isn’t simple, or the person themselves isn’t simple.
No matter which it is, challenging You Shuyang’s authority in the field of information tracking, he would not let it go.
Thankfully, he’s been serving as Tang Yuxiu’s assistant for so long without losing his pride.
Apart from being Tang Yuxiu’s assistant, at other times, he still has a lot of manly charm and is quite outstanding.
Some people are so dazzling that he’s willing to stay in the shadows beside them.
But if it’s not someone he’s willing to serve challenging him, it’s a different story altogether. He’d make sure they can’t bear it, so from now on, they’ll avoid him at all costs.
Xue Xianglan came down, and only half an hour had passed. She noticed that Gu Yan wasn’t in great spirits, which was understandable, given what she’d been through. So she didn’t linger, letting her rest well.
Gu Yan concealed her true emotions very well, appeared optimistic, and obediently went to sleep.
Xue Xianglan sighed before leaving the bedroom and going downstairs.
As soon as Xiang Linghao heard movement from the staircase, he immediately sat up from the sofa with a jolt, sitting upright, his eyes occasionally darting in that direction, and his tightly clenched hands showed his nervousness.
Xue Xianglan walked into the living room, squinting slightly as she glanced over the four people, with her arms crossed over her chest, "Now, let’s talk about why Gu Yan is here?"
She fixed her gaze on Tang Yuxiu, "What is your relationship with her?"
Since when did Gu Yan get so close to Tang Yuxiu?
Tang Yuxiu looked back at her calmly, "My woman, of course, she’s here with me."
Xue Xianglan raised an eyebrow, "Your woman? Are you joking?"
"Do I look like someone who’s joking?" Tang Yuxiu retorted.
"Indeed you don’t, but Young Master Tang, you’re about to have a fiancée soon. What do you mean by your woman? Are you trying to back out of the engagement or keep our Gu Yan as a mistress?"
Tang Yuxiu met her gaze, and said word by word, "There will be no engagement, and I will not keep her as a mistress! She is a woman who can stand by my side openly and with honor!"
He spoke with determination, though a trace of surprise flickered in his heart.