Chapter 277. Is there a second Gu Xinuo in the world? (Third watch)

"I’m certainly not going to climb trees with you," Karina muttered, a faint smile flashing in her eyes.

Though she was still quite unpleasant, it seemed she wasn’t as averse to her as before.

Ye Jiuliang patted her shoulder, "Let’s go."

With her lips tightly pursed, Karina watched her leaving figure and mustered up the courage to ask, "Can I come to the capital to visit you?"

"When you come, I’ll introduce you to some handsome guys," Ye Jiuliang said with a mischievous smile.

Karina couldn’t help but laugh, "Get lost."

Ye Jiuliang said, "Hey, you’re swearing now too."

Karina’s face turned red, but she firmly denied it, "No, I’m not."

Ye Jiuliang took out two lollipops from her pocket and casually tossed them into Karina’s pocket, "I’m off first."

Karina took out the lollipops from her pocket, the corners of her lips slightly curved.

Childish.

Watching the airplanes in the sky, a sense of relief crossed the depths of her eyes.

Actually, the feeling of sitting in a tree and eating oranges was not bad at all.

...

"Bang—"

In the middle of the night, a loud noise suddenly erupted from the kitchen.

Gu Xinuo had just closed the door when she was startled by the noise.

The air was tinged with the scent of something burnt.

She dropped her backpack and hurried toward the kitchen. Before she even got close, thick smoke billowed out.

"Cough, cough, cough..." Gu Xinuo choked, covering her nose and looking towards the kitchen.

"What happened?"

"What’s going on?" Chu Chen hurriedly ran down from upstairs, obviously shaken by the noise from the kitchen as well.

"Cough, cough... what the hell is with this pot?" Ji Mingqian emerged through the thick smoke, his handsome face smudged with soot.

"Damn it, Ji Mingqian, what are you doing?" Gu Xinuo frowned, almost ready to slap him to death with a slipper.

This klutz dared to enter the kitchen—didn’t he have any regard for his life, even if they did?

"Ji Mingqian, were you trying to set the house on fire?"

Ji Mingqian shrank his neck and said in a small voice, "Well, since Achen had a high fever, I thought of making some ginger tea for him, but who knew the pot would just explode like that."

"Achen has a high fever?" Gu Xinuo was taken aback and turned to look at Chu Chen. The man’s stern handsome face was flushed with an abnormal rosiness, and his pale lips were slightly cracked.

She quickly walked over to him, "Why did you suddenly get a fever?"

Chu Chen shook his head, "It’s nothing, I’ll just sleep it off and sweat a bit."

"Right, the fever’s almost at forty degrees, just sleep and rest will do," Ji Mingqian said irritably.

At that, Gu Xinuo’s face showed a slight change, and she reached out to touch his forehead. Just as Chu Chen tried to dodge, she spoke a word, and he immediately froze.

"Don’t you dodge."

The temperature of her touch was frighteningly hot.

Gu Xinuo glared at him, "Are you planning to become an idiot by burning up like this?"

Chu Chen obediently took his scolding, "It’s really not that serious, I went to Ajiu’s pharmacy and took some pills."

"Shut up, go lie down." Gu Xinuo dragged him upstairs, "Ji Mingqian, you stay put for me, don’t you dare enter the kitchen again."

She’d been away for just two days, and these two were practically trying to reach heaven, weren’t they?

Ji Mingqian touched his nose, feeling rather helpless about his momentary blunder.

"Have you had dinner?" Chu Chen lay in bed and looked at the person busily pouring water for him not far away, his voice hoarse with the question.

Gu Xinuo walked over with a cup of water. "I have, what’s wrong with you, how come you suddenly got a fever?" she asked.

"I’ve been too busy these last few days, hardly had any rest," Chu Chen took the cup, his tone casual.

"Could it be that you had a fight with your girlfriend? Then she kicked you out, and just when there was a downpour, you..." Gu Xinuo eyed him suspiciously, her imagination running wild.

"Stop, that’s enough," Chu Chen almost spluttered the water out, choking quite a bit.

"Cough cough cough..."

What on earth was she filling her head with all day long.

"Why are you so agitated? Did I hit the nail on the head?" Gu Xinuo teased him.

Chu Chen put down the cup, full of disdain, "You should watch less of those melodramatic TV shows."

"Are you sure you don’t need a doctor to come check on you?" Gu Xinuo asked, worried.

Chu Chen shook his head, "I’ll just take some pills in a bit."

"By the way, I happened to run into Eric on my trip to F country," Gu Xinuo pulled a chair over and sat down.

"I think we can collaborate with him on the land development project in F country, but we will need to discuss the details when the opportunity arises."

"Eric?" Chu Chen’s expression darkened, "What else did he say to you?" If he remembered correctly, that Eric had pursued her once.

"Marriage," Gu Xinuo, not noticing his change of tone, continued speaking.

Before her words were finished, her wrist was suddenly seized by a forceful grip.

Gu Xinuo hadn’t realized what happened when, in a blink of an eye, she was pulled into a warm embrace.

"You agreed?" A somber voice arose beside her ear as if from a trance.

Gu Xinuo looked at him with confused eyes, coming into contact with the anger in his gaze, and was completely bewildered.

"Why are you so worked up?"

If someone is getting married, they must have both agreed, his questions were obviously rhetorical.

Could it be that the person he liked was Eric’s fiancée?

Although Gu Xinuo had met Eric’s fiancée, who was quite pretty and had a nice temperament, they were about to get married, so it wasn’t really appropriate for him to interfere.

Could it be that when she previously asked him about his girlfriend, he refused to tell because he was harboring an unrequited love?

After a moment of self-constructed assumptions, Gu Xinuo consoled him, "Look, Achen, both liking someone and getting married have to be mutual. You can’t force it, just let it go, you will surely meet an even better girl in the future?"

Chu Chen stared at her intently, his eyes dark and his features fierce, "I’m going to kill Eric right now."

With those words, he released her and got up, heading towards the door.

His menacing demeanor frightened Gu Xinuo, and she hurriedly held onto him, "Achen, calm down."

"How the hell am I supposed to calm down?" Chu Chen turned back to look at her, the storm in his eyes coalescing, his voice rough as if trying hard to suppress something, "The woman I’ve groomed in the palm of my hand, why should I let him take her away, why."

"Achen, you can’t force feelings, even if you killed Eric it wouldn’t change anything, just calm down," Gu Xinuo, still oblivious to the oddity of the situation, comforted him gently.

"There are so many girls in the world, you will definitely find someone better."

In that moment, all her words seemed aimed only to keep him from laying hands on Eric, so she kept on trying to persuade him by all means.

Every sentence she said was like a dagger stabbing fiercely into his heart, withdrawing bloody.

He gripped her shoulders, his eyes bloodshot, and his voice, when he spoke, was so hoarse it was barely human, "Then tell me, is there a second Gu Xinuo in this world?"

For an instant, the air froze, and silence reigned.

What did he just say?

Gu Xinuo looked at him in shock, "Chu Chen, you..."

"It’s him or me, you’re choosing him, is that it?" The stabbing pain spread across his chest, making it hard for him to breathe.