Yan Beicheng"s had issues with his gastric, which was why Lin Chu had requested for him to cut down on caffeine. He remembered Lin Chu"s request and got the restaurant to change his order to a cup of black tea at the last minute.
Yan Beicheng picked up Lin Chu"s call while having his meal.
His first reaction was joy.
If it was the past, Lin Chu would never have called him at this hour out of fear of disturbing him at work.
Yan Beicheng immediately put his meeting on hold and walked out of the meeting room while holding his cup of black tea.
"What"s wrong?" Yan Beicheng asked when he picked up the call.
"When I got home, I b.u.mped into Lu Zhenghang at the elevator," Lin Chu cut to the chase.
For some reason, she was feeling fl.u.s.tered from b.u.mping into Lu Zhenghang. Now that she was telling Yan Beicheng about it, she felt much calmer about the situation.
At the other end of the line, Yan Beicheng tightened his grip on the cup handle as his expression became tense. "What was he doing there?"
"I don"t know. The person next to him looked like a property agent. Aunt Zhuang said the ninth-floor resident of our building was selling the house. I"m worried that he"s here to buy that house. I felt uneasy after seeing him. All I wanted to do was tell you about it. It"s horrible keeping this to myself," Lin Chu said.
Yan Beicheng laughed. "I got it. I"ll get someone to investigate. No matter what, do be careful at home. I"ll get Shao Huai to fetch you to and fro between home and work tomorrow."
"Okay," Lin Chu did not object.
Although she did not think that Lu Zhenghang could do anything to her, she still felt a little nervous when facing him. This was why she did not try to act independent and resist Shao Huai being her temporary driver. It made her feel safer.
As for the matter of whether she would still be Mrs. Yan, Lin Chu had not yet grasped what he meant, so she did not mention it to Yan Beicheng.
Meanwhile Yan Beicheng did not wait for Lin Chu to ask and took the initiative to tell her, "I"ve had a beef burger, fries, salad and black tea for dinner tonight. I didn"t take coffee. I was eating when you called. I know this isn"t the most nutritious meal but I"d like to get back to B City as fast as I can so I"m trying my best to finish up the work here. It"s more convenient if I have a dinner meeting. If you are worried about me, just wait for me to get back and feed me nutritious food."
He told her everything before Lin Chu could even ask. It made Lin Chu blush furiously.
Not only had she interrupted his meal, but she had also interrupted his meeting. Even though Yan Beicheng had emphasized that he would not mind, this had always been a habit of hers and it was not easy for her to change it.
Nevertheless, she had said what she had intended. "You should continue with your meeting. I"m hanging up."
After a few seconds of silence, Yan Beicheng made no effort to speak nor hang up the phone. For some reason, Lin Chu knew what he was expecting and simply said, "Finish your work quickly and come back early. I"ll make you good food when you return."
This time, Yan Beicheng sounded energized and immediately agreed in a soft, gentle voice. Despite this, Lin Chu could still tell that he was overjoyed and could not help laughing.
After he hung up, Yan Beicheng did not immediately return to the meeting room. Instead, he gave Huang Changxian a call, "Help me investigate this. There"s a resident on the ninth floor of my building who is selling their house. Check if the house has been sold. If it"s still on sale, I"ll purchase it at a high price. If It"s been sold, find out who bought it."
On Monday night, Lin Chu walked out of her building and immediately saw Shao Huai outside.
All things aside, Lin Chu felt safer with Shao Huai around.
They were still quite near to Lin Yi when Lin Chu realized that Shao Huai had been frequently checking the rearview mirror.
Lin Chu watched as Shao Huai"s expression became tense. She started feeling worried as well and asked, "What"s going on? Did something happen?"
Lin Chu looked back as well.
She was unable to nothing anything out of place even after watching for quite a while.
Then, she heard Shao Huai say grimly, "A car has been following us for quite some time."
Since Shao Huai"s voice sounded stable and he was not panicking, Lin Chu felt secure despite the situation.
"It could be a mistake. We"re still quite near Lin Yi," Lin Chu felt that even if they were being followed, whoever it was needed to be closer to keep them within view.
Shao Huai smiled. "It has nothing to do with distance. If someone really wanted to follow us, it"s easy to tell. If they were experienced, they won"t be discovered so easily, but the car behind us is obviously inexperienced."
Shao Huai looked at the rear-view mirror again and frowned. "Or maybe they are letting us spot them on purpose. What are they trying to do? Scare us?"
"…" For some reason, Lin Chu felt that the person following them was Lu Zhenghang.
Lin Chu frowned and turned back to look at the cars behind them as she asked Shao Huai, "Which car is it?"
Shao Huai glanced at the rear-view mirror and said, "It"s the black Cayenne."
Lin Chu immediately spotted it. A few cars were in between them and she could not clearly see into the car"s interior.
When Shao Huai reached her building, he gave it a thought and said, "I"ll see you to the entrance."
Lin Chu nodded. She was very worried about b.u.mping into Lu Zhenghang.
Shao Huai saw Lin Chu to the entrance of her home. Lin Chu was relieved that they did not see Lu Zhenghang.
"Since you"re here, have a meal here before going home," Lin Chu said. She was feeling bad that Shao Huai had to wake up early and go home late because of her.
It was rare for Shao Huai to smile shyly. He scratched his head and said embarra.s.sedly, "I can"t tonight. Zuo Qiu introduced a girl to me. Tonight is the first time we"re meeting so I need to see her."
Lin Chu"s eyes widened in surprise but also worry. She was surprised that Shao Huai was be meeting a girl but was also worried that she had been introduced by Zuo Qiu. Would it be a good fit?
Zuo Qiu always had that sketchy look about him…
Nevertheless, Lin Chu silently wished the best for Shao Huai and watched as he left.
Now the only ones home were Aunt Zhuang and her, besides Chu Xi the Husky. Their meal was simple and consisted of only two dishes - one vegetable dish and one meat dish. They did not want to waste any food.
After resting for an hour after eating, Lin Chu went to the gym to exercise.
She was sweating all over while doing pilates on the mat when Aunt Zhuang opened the door with a shocked look on her face. "Lin Chu, someone is here claiming to be the new owner of the house on the ninth floor. He looks really young and says his name is Lu Zhenghang."
Aunt Zhuang saw Lin Chu frown at her words, so she continued, "Is he the one you mentioned that has bad intentions toward master?"
Lin Chu nodded and picked up a towel next to her. She wiped her neck and dry and asked in a low voice as she walked out, "You didn"t let him in, did you?"
Aunt Zhuang shook her head, "Of course not. There are only two women and a Husky at home. It"s not safe. I don"t know this Lu Zhenghang so I wouldn"t just invite him in. What if something happened to us? This may be a high-end area where rich people live, but you can never know people"s intentions. There are many rich people with black hearts!"
Lin Chu could tell that Aunt Zhuang was about to lecture her on the merits of never allowing strangers into one"s home, so she quickly reply, "That"s right, Aunt Zhuang. You must remember this person. He doesn"t have good intentions toward Beicheng. Who knows what bad things he"ll do? When I came home from work just now, he followed me all the way in his car. Luckily, Shao Huai was here to take me home in time, otherwise, it would be really scary for me."
Aunt Zhuang exclaimed in shock. "He looks s normal. He can"t be a pervert, can he?!"
"You said it yourself, we can never know someone"s intentions. Who knows what he wants? We better be careful around him. We can"t let him take advantage of us when Beicheng is not around," replied Lin Chu.
"Don"t worry, your Aunt Zhuang is an alert person!" Aunt Zhuang said confidently.
Lin Chu nodded and followed Aunt Zhuang to the door. Aunt Zhuang was about to open the door when Lin Chu suddenly stopped her. "Aunt Zhuang, wait a minute."
She ran toward the bathroom and found a hand-carry travel sized bug-spray. She shoved it into her pockets before walking out.
She was wearing a pair of soft and loose exercise pants, so one could not tell she had something in her pocket.
Aunt Zhuang hesitated before she opened the door as Lu Zhenghang was still standing at the door. There was still that same sarcastic smile on his face.
He smiled sincerely when he saw Lin Chu standing next to Aunt Zhuang. "Miss Lin."
"Mr. Lu, what do you want?" Lin Chu"s tone was not too cold, but she sounded distant.
"I"ve just moved into the ninth-floor but my house is currently under renovation. I came by tonight to check on it and remembered that you were staying here, so I stopped by to say hi. Aren"t you going to invite me in?" Lu Zhenghang used his chin to give a quick nod toward the house.
"I"m sorry, it"s not that convenient," Lin Chu replied coldly.
Lu Zhenghang smiled. He did not seem put off by her att.i.tude. "If it"s inconvenient to go in, it"s the same if you stay out here."
He looked at Aunt Zhuang. "I"m wondering if you can give us some privacy."
Aunt Zhuang did not even hesitate. "No, I can"t"
Lu Zhenghang, "…"
He had never met anybody so direct!
Lu Zhenghang let out a deep laugh and said, "That"s okay. I can speak here as well. I"ll just talk about Miss Jiang and…"
"Mr. Lu!" Lin Chu quickly interrupted him as her lips pressed together angrily.
Lu Zhenghang watched as her eyes filled with rage. It made her eyes look brighter and livelier.
Lu Zhenghang could not help looking interested as he carefully watched Lin Chu.
Lin Chu relaxed her tight-pressed lips and turned toward Aunt Zhuang. "I"ll go outside and speak to him for a while."
"Lin Chu…" Aunt Zhuang was worried. She could tell that Lu Zhenghang was not a good person.
Lin Chu shook her head. "Don"t worry. I"ll just be at the door. I won"t go anywhere - I"ll be back soon."
She knew that Lu Zhenghang had done that on purpose to threaten her. However, she really did not want anyone else to know this about the Yan family, so she could only bend to his will.
It was lucky that this floor only had one resident. Once the doors were closed, the neighbors could not hear them.
Lu Zhenghang"s lips curled up frivolously as his gaze fell upon Lin Chu. It made her uneasy.
Lu Zhenghang"s lips curved upward as he said, "Why the need to be so defensive with me? All I"m doing is dropping by to tell you not to worry about my sister. Our family is well aware that things are impossible between her and Yan Beicheng. She"s been living in her own dream world all this while. It"s just wishful thinking. You don"t need to dislike me because of her."
Lin Chu nodded patronizingly. "Sure, I know now."
She turned to leave when Lu Zhenghang continued, "Why don"t you ask me why I said it"s impossible between her and Yan Beicheng?"
Lin Chu turned back to look at Lu Zhenghang. It looked like she was really a.n.a.lyzing his words, so he acted casually as he took out a box of cigarettes and a lighter from his pockets. His long fingers picked out a stick and he placed it adeptly in his mouth before lighting it.
He felt that this was a move that had charm and elegance. He placed the packet of cigarettes and lighter back into his pocket before casually leaning back against the wall. He exuded an unruly aura as he rolled the cigarette between his fingers.
Lin Chu felt that he was really overdoing it.
His unruly charm might attract girls who had yet to see the world. For Lin Chu? She had met and seen many outstanding men since getting together with Yan Beicheng.
From Lin Chu"s point of view, what Lu Zhenghang just did was a very ungentlemanly move.
At the very least, Yan Beicheng"s best friends would never smoke in front of a lady.
Yan Beicheng knew that she did not like the smell of cigarettes, so he has been smoking less as well. It was only recently that Lin Chu suddenly realized that she had not seen Yan Beicheng smoking anymore.
On the few occasions she had taken part in the gatherings with Chu Zhaoyang and the others, Lin Chu had found out that those who had no family, or even a girlfriend, to control them would smoke.
However, every single time there was a gathering that involved the ladies and children, none of them would smoke. Every time they were in a private room, there was not even a whiff of nicotine in them.
Yan Beicheng had mentioned that his best friends were actually heavy smokers.
"That"s your family matters. It has nothing to do with me. Even if Lu Weining liked Beicheng to the point of refusing to marry someone else, it would still have nothing to do with us," Lin Chu replied coldly.
Lu Zhenghang gave a short laugh and walked toward her. He suddenly reached out at Lin Chu with the hand that was holding the cigarettes in an attempt to grab her chin.
Lin Chu avoided him and quietly reached into her pockets.
Lu Zhenghang blew smoke into her face, stinging Lin Chu"s face red.
"Yan Beicheng"s mother had an affair with my father behind his father"s back. Lin Chu, have you any interest in experiencing a man from the Lu family? This could be considered a sort of tradition," Lu Zhenghang"s voice was flippant as he lowered his head towards her.
Lin Chu was furious. How could the Lu family be so shameless!
Her eyes went red with rage as she raised her hand to give him a slap.
What kind of creature was this to have earned Jiang Changdai"s love, only to come here to rub it into Yan Beicheng"s face?
He had no right!
The scandal Jiang Changdai had caused all those years ago had become a liability that threatened Yan Beicheng.
The more Lin Chu thought about it, the angrier she became. She realized the person she hated the most was not Lu Zhenghang, but Jiang Changdai!
It was Jiang Changdai who had placed Yan Beicheng in this awkward position. A decent, upright man who had to be tied down to something as disgusting as this!
It could be that Lu Zhenghang was overconfident, so he was not prepared for Lin Chu"s slap, which got him right in the face. He looked stunned before his expression suddenly turned vicious.
He grabbed Lin Chu by the shoulders and pulled her into his arms. It looked like he wanted to force himself onto her. His handsome face was now twisted into something much uglier. It made Lin Chu want to throw up upon looking at it.
Lin Chu did not shout for help. She did not want Aunt Zhuang to witness the scene and tell Yan Beicheng about it nor did she want Yan Beicheng to get angry and lose control.
Lin Chu took out the bug-spray she had previously hidden in her pocket and sprayed it directly into Lu Zhenghang"s eyes. Lu Zhenghang had not expected Lin Chu to be so defensive against him so as to even prepare a weapon to deal with him.
He was forced to shut his eyes with the spray stinging so badly that before long, he was covered in tears.
Lu Zhenghang cried out in pain as he let go of Lin Chu. He covered his eyes with both his hands as he doubled over in pain.
Lin Chu turned to open the door with her fingerprints and ran back into the gym. She did not even stop to talk to Aunt Zhuang.
The moment she opened the door, Aunt Zhuang heard a cry of pain coming from outside. She looked out the door curiously to see Lu Zhenghang rolling on the ground while covering his eyes. He was wailing non-stop, so she knew it really hurt just by the sound of his painful cries.
Next, Aunt Zhuang heard loud b.u.mps.
Lin Chu had come out again holding many golf clubs. Yan Beicheng had placed them in the gym in the past.
He would sometimes practice his golf swings at home just to relax.
Aunt Zhuang watched as Lin Chu rushed out with the golf club and ran toward Lu Zhenghang. She hit Lu Zhenghang repeatedly with it.
"You despicable man! Your whole family is despicable! Your dad is despicable and so are you! Do you think every family in the world is as despicable as yours?! Tradition indeed! Screw your tradition! You feel good about your bratty behavior, don"t you? How could you even compare to Yan Beicheng? You should look at yourself in the mirror! Who would even give you a second look if you stood next to him?! Get out of here and don"t you dare come back!" Lin Chu raged on and hit him a few more times.
Chu Xi was sleeping in its little villa that had been specially designed by Song Yu. Lin Chu had requested for her to tailor-make one for Chu Xi so it was exquisite.
Chu Xi woke up during Lin Chu"s loud scolding and rolled out from its little villa. It stood up and ran quickly toward the door.
It woofed and ran up toward Lin Chu to help her out when it saw Lin Chu hitting someone.
Lin Chu was worried Chu Xi would bite him, which would give Lu Zhenghang a chance to cause trouble by grabbing hold of him and possibly injuring him.
Therefore, she quickly stopped and tried to hold Chu Xi back. "Chu Xi, come on, come home with me. Let"s just ignore him."
Chu Xi sniffed Lu Zhenghang"s hands a few times before wagging its tail and trailing Lin Chu home.
Aunt Zhuang watched worriedly from the door as Lu Zhenghang seemed to wail louder.
Before this, only his eyes were in pain, but now, not only were his eyes hurting, but so was his whole body. He was sure that Lin Chu had broken some of his bones. Every time he moved, he groaned and cried. His eyes could no longer see clearly as well, and he looked terrible.
"Aunt Zhuang, stop looking. Let"s just close the door," Lin Chu said. She was afraid Lu Zhenghang would go crazy again.
Aunt Zhuang was thinking the exact same thing and quickly shut the door. She said worriedly, "Lin Chu, is he okay?"
"He should be. There might be a few broken bones, but he"ll survive," Lin Chu said without worry.
This despicable man deserved to be badly hurt.
Aunt Zhuang"s eyes were opened today. It was the first time she had witnessed Lin Chu"s ferocity!
The way she hit Lu Zhenghang was vicious and without hesitation.
Aunt Zhuang stole a glance at Lin Chu and suddenly got worried for Yan Beicheng.
If Yan Beicheng did anything wrong to Lin Chu, he would really be in trouble.
Yan Beicheng should witness Lu Zhenghang"s beating, so as not to make any mistakes to incur her wrath!
Aunt Zhuang silently prayed for her employer not to do anything stupid to cross Lin Chu.
Despite all this, she still felt a little worried. When Aunt Zhuang saw Lin Chu go to the bathroom, she quickly took out her phone and pulled the door open a crack. Lu Zhenghang was still wailing on the ground, so she quickly snapped a few pictures.
She felt that the pictures alone did not have enough impact, so she turned on video mode instead and recorded Lu Zhenghang"s painful wailing.
She decided to show it to Yan Beicheng when he got home, so he would never do anything to make Lin Chu angry.
Lin Chu was unaware that at that moment, she was the scariest thing in the world to Aunt Zhuang. She would be sure never to cross Lin Chu or offend her.
Lin Chu felt much better after venting out on Lu Zhenghang, so she continued her pilates practice in a much more relaxed state.
When Lin Chu was done and getting prepared to take a shower in her bedroom, she suddenly thought of something and asked Aunt Zhuang, who was in the living room, "Has the person outside gone away?"