Chapter 221 - 97: Gu Qiuyan Picked the Wrong Opponent (Part 2)

Chapter 221: Chapter 97: Gu Qiuyan Picked the Wrong Opponent (Part 2)

"Please, make whatever you think is best. We don’t want to be a bother, and you really don’t need to make too many dishes..." This time, Song answered for all of them.

Finally, everyone was settled in.

The sofa in the villa was massive, easily fitting all six of them without feeling crowded.

"So this is where she disappeared?" Lu Qinglian asked as she surveyed the villa.

"Yeah." Zhang Shutong nodded.

The two of them were sitting in a corner of the sofa, whispering to each other while Song was occupied with his questions.

"Besides the password, what else can open that iron gate?" Lu Qinglian asked.

"Face scan and fingerprint, I’d imagine." Zhang Shutong briefly explained how it worked. She nodded at his words and fell silent.

Zhang Shutong cupped his mug of hot water, enjoying a rare moment of peace.

At this point, everyone was in the loop.

He could finally relax a little. He no longer had to act like some lunatic spouting cryptic nonsense that no one understood.

He called Gu Qiuyan again.

"We’re in the living room now."

"I heard."

"Should I come up and see you?" ’He wanted to find somewhere more private to explain what was going on.’

"No," she refused immediately. "What do you want?"

"There’s something I need to tell you."

"Then it can wait."

"Why?"

"There are too many people down there. Don’t come looking for me with everyone around. It’s not like we’re that close."

’This was the second time a woman had said something like that to him today.’

"Besides, I’m busy. I don’t have time to talk right now."

’She’s probably trying on clothes or putting on lip gloss,’ Zhang Shutong guessed.

Despite saying that, Gu Qiuyan didn’t hang up.

"If you want anything specific to eat, go tell Aunt Wu."

"She just asked. Anything is fine, really."

"I haven’t even asked why you suddenly brought people over. Why didn’t you just eat out?"

"It just happened to be dinnertime."

"Tch."

"Oh, right. There’s something I need to ask you." Zhang Shutong glanced at Ruoping. She looked the most ill at ease, so he moved away from the sofa to find a quieter spot.

"What is it?"

"You know my friend, Feng Ruoping..."

Before he could finish, Gu Qiuyan cut him off.

"Oh. What about her?"

"She..." Zhang Shutong hesitated. ’If he brought up their old feud and said something like, "You two should try not to fight," he’d come off as completely clueless and presumptuous.’

’Alternatively,’ he thought, ’if he said, "Ruoping is here to help with that thing I told you about last night," it would be the truth, but it would sound like he was using a noble cause to pressure her, which felt a bit like taking advantage of Gu Qiuyan. That wouldn’t be good either.’

’Truthfully, when he wasn’t dealing with a murder case or some other urgent matter, he could be quite personable.’

So he opted for a simple statement.

"She’s here as a guest, along with Qingyi, Du Kang, and Lu Qinglian. You might have guessed, but I thought I should give you a heads-up."

’There,’ Zhang Shutong thought. ’Nothing wrong with saying that.’

’Gu Qiuyan was the host; it was only right for him to inform her.’

"Oh."

"What do you mean, ’Oh’?"

"Aren’t you just worried I’ll be nasty to her?"

"No, I meant..."

"What did you mean?" The ice-queen version of Qiumian had arrived.

Zhang Shutong froze for a moment, phone to his ear, wondering what he’d said to be so misunderstood.

’His reasoning was simple: what if Gu Qiuyan came downstairs, saw Ruoping, and things between them got as hostile as they used to be?’

’To know what might happen and just pretend he didn’t see it would make him look spineless.’

That was why he’d decided to bring it up.

’Besides, he was the only one who could say something like that. Who else would be appropriate? His other close friends? Song?’

’He’d managed to smooth things over with Ruoping outside the villa just a moment ago, and that had gone quite well. Why was it not working with Gu Qiuyan?’

"I meant..."

Zhang Shutong chose his words very carefully.

"It’s not that I was worried you’d get angry."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line.

Qiumian said irritably,

"Who’s angry? Am I really that petty in your eyes?"

"No, I was just worried. You haven’t been feeling well these past few days, have you?"

"Hmph." Her snort was soft. "Is there anything else?"

"No, that’s it."

"Then just wait. I’ll be down soon." She hung up.

Zhang Shutong didn’t know if she was angry or not, but either way, he breathed a sigh of relief.

’At least he hadn’t said the wrong thing this time.’

’Zhang Shutong knew he had to remain neutral; he couldn’t take Ruoping’s side and make demands of Gu Qiuyan.’

He went back to sipping his water and waiting for Gu Qiuyan on the sofa, when Ruoping suddenly stood up.

"You three, come over here for a second."

"What is it, Ruoping?" Song was the first to ask.

"It’s nothing, Professor. You and Qinglian can continue your chat. I just need a word with these guys."

The three men stood up and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window.

"Are you three just going to sit around chatting all day?"

"What else are we supposed to do?" Du Kang was baffled.

"Do you want to watch TV?" Qingyi was equally confused.

’This isn’t good,’ Zhang Shutong thought. ’Don’t tell me that just when things are settled with Gu Qiuyan, Ruoping is going to stir up trouble. Does she think Gu Qiuyan is slighting them by taking so long to come down? Is she so fed up she’s about to go home?’

But instead, Ruoping said,

"Do you really think we’re just guests here? Are the four of us just going to sit around and watch their auntie bustle around all by herself? Have you thought about how many dishes she has to cook?"

The three guys, a little slow on the uptake, finally seemed to understand what she meant and nodded.

"My family owns a restaurant, but I’m a terrible cook. Shutong, do you know how?"

"I can only boil an egg. Qingyi, how about you?"

"I can add a packet of instant ramen when I’m boiling an egg."

"Who asked you to be the head chef?" Ruoping was exasperated. "I meant go and help out! If you can’t cook, you can at least wash vegetables, right? Don’t tell me the three of you have never even done that at home?"

"Oh, right. Good point." The three of them realized how thoughtless they were being.

And so they meekly followed Ruoping into the kitchen.