"Where are you headed, sir?"
When the designated driver asked for his destination, Jiang Chen opened his mouth, only to realize he had nowhere to go.
Jiang Chen had many friends.
Yet these so-called friends were essentially brought together by mutual interests rather than genuine connections.
The only person he could truly call a close friend was Liang Hao.
After he and Su Zhi got together, considering that she disliked him hanging out with his bunch of fair-weather friends, he had gradually cut ties with them.
It was only now that Jiang Chen realized, with a sudden jolt, how much he had quietly changed.
"To hell with love."
The designated driver replied, "Sir, we don't go to love around here."
Jiang Chen said, "Never mind. Just drop me off at this place."
...
Lu Hongluan returned home dragging a weary body, yet her expression carried an unmistakable hint of joy.
"Your mother's condition is fortunate. If it had dragged on for a bit longer, the tumor would have progressed to a late stage. But as things stand now, there's a high probability we can cure the illness."
The doctor's words were like syrup, sweet to the core.
For her, getting her mother's condition under control was the best news possible.
She sat on the sofa, feeling rather exhausted.
This period of her life felt just like a dream.
When she arrived at school styling the look that Jiang Chen had paid for, she undoubtedly became the focus of many people's attention.
Naturally, she was also ostracized by quite a few of her female peers.
They claimed she was being kept as a mistress, a charge she didn't deny.
Her current situation seemed no different from being kept.
It was just that the sugar daddy who kept her was frequently away from home.
For some reason, Lu Hongluan thought of Jiang Chen once again.
She checked Jiang Chen's WeChat Moments; aside from two photos of the two of them, it was completely empty.
"What kind of man is he, really?"
Just as Lu Hongluan was thinking this, the door chimed.
The smart lock unlocked, and Jiang Chen walked in from outside.
His eyes landed on Lu Hongluan instantly.
Only to see Lu Hongluan staring at him in astonishment.
"Don't look at me with that expression. Even though I let you live here, I'll drop by occasionally."
"Don't worry, though. I won't sleep in your room; I'm just creating an atmosphere."
He paused and said, "I'll sleep in the guest bedroom and take a shower first. Brew me some tea."
He treated Lu Hongluan as though she were a subordinate.
Lu Hongluan didn't resent it; on the contrary, being given tasks to do made her quite glad.
Otherwise, this salary would be far too easy to earn.
However, as she spent time with Jiang Chen, she found that her blood pressure was all too easily sent soaring.
When Jiang Chen emerged after showering and blow-drying his hair, the tea was already brewed.
He took a sip and instinctively remarked, "What kind of tea did you brew?"
Lu Hongluan looked completely bewildered. "I just saw the tea leaves and put some in. What's wrong?"
"The concentration of the tea leaves is way too high. Are you trying to keep me awake all night?" Jiang Chen said flatly. "Besides, the boiling water used to brew the tea was much too hot. You should let it cool down for a bit before pouring it in, otherwise the tea only has bitterness without any lingering sweetness. Who would want to drink torn tree leaves?"
Lu Hongluan grew even more bewildered.
In her understanding, didn't you just boil the water and pour it into a cup with tea leaves to steep?
Flustered and indignant, she retorted, "Are you deliberately trying to pick faults?"
Jiang Chen said, "Tsk... Never mind."
He admitted that he indeed had been picking faults to some extent.
Perhaps it was because he had been upset by Su Zhi and was venting his frustration this way.
In truth, Jiang Chen came from a poor background himself; where would he have acquired such refined pretensions?
Yet, when Lu Hongluan talked back, Jiang Chen realized he was acting a bit childish.
He said, "Anyway, just pay attention next time."
Lu Hongluan felt somewhat guilty instead.
She whispered, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to talk back to you."
"It's nothing."
He sat on the sofa, his phone resting on the coffee table.
Lu Hongluan didn't know what else to do and could only sit upright beside him.
For a moment, the atmosphere between the two of them grew somewhat awkward.
Just then, Jiang Chen spoke up: "Is your mother doing alright?"
"Mm-hmm, thank you."
Lu Hongluan said, "She's receiving treatment now."
Noticing the weariness in the dark circles under her eyes, Jiang Chen said, "You should hire a caregiver. Otherwise, trying to balance your studies will easily exhaust you, and I certainly don't want a sickly girlfriend."
"I'll pay for the caregiver."
"Alright."
Lu Hongluan looked at Jiang Chen with a conflicted expression.
"What is it?" he asked with mild curiosity.
Lu Hongluan began, "Um... My mom will definitely ask where all this money came from later. Could you... could you come with me to see my mom?"
Jiang Chen frowned slightly.
He had no desire to deal with Lu Hongluan's family, because that way, even if the two of them eventually parted ways, there wouldn't be any lingering complications.
Yet, faced with Lu Hongluan's request, he thought for a moment and said, "After your mother's health improves a bit, I'll carve out some time to go see her with you."
"However, let's get one thing straight: once the contract ends, our relationship will be completely severed, and you'll have to explain things to your elders yourself."
"Okay."
Lu Hongluan let out a slight sigh of relief.
"It's getting late, you should get some rest."
"Oh right, let me take a picture."
He casually snapped a photo of Lu Hongluan with his phone and headed straight back to the guest bedroom.
Watching his retreating figure, Lu Hongluan couldn't help muttering softly, "So weird."
In Lu Hongluan's eyes, Jiang Chen was a peculiar and difficult person.
However, the two of them didn't cross paths all that much right now, so apart from finding him strange, she didn't feel anything else.
...
Meanwhile, Su Zhi was sitting in the front passenger seat of Qin Yu's car.
Yet she was completely absent-minded.
Even though Qin Yu tried to strike up several conversations, she showed precious little interest.
For some reason, she suddenly began to feel a sense of irritation.
She felt that Qin Yu was being far too wordy.
She found herself missing Jiang Chen; when Jiang Chen drove, he didn't talk much and would give her plenty of personal space.
Frankly speaking, the current Su Zhi was no longer that naive little girl who would spend half a day thrilled by a single remark from Qin Yu—she had grown up.
Having undisturbed, quiet time to herself was actually more precious than anything else.
Yet Qin Yu insisted on showing off, whether consciously or not.
"A-Zhi, how can you tolerate that guy walking all over you?"
"Let me tell you, you simply can't spoil people like that."
However, Su Zhi snapped, "Enough!"
Her face turned ashen, and the screen of her phone displayed Jiang Chen's latest update on WeChat Moments.
The girl in Jiang Chen's Moments was radiant as a flower, filling her with an indescribable anger.
She shouted at Qin Yu, "Can you just be quiet for a minute?"
Qin Yu's expression instantly darkened.
Though he was reluctant to admit it, he had already realized that Su Zhi was no longer the little girl who would be overjoyed just by getting to talk to him a little longer.
Su Zhi said coldly, "Just drop me off at home and go your own way."
Qin Yu didn't dare to say another word.
Silence fell between them.
After Su Zhi got out of the car, Qin Yu muttered with hidden malice, "Damn bitch, I'll have you sooner or later."