Chapter 12
A soft melody rang out. Gu Tang subconsciously reached for his mobile phone on the bedside table, then touched the soft mosquito net.
A thought suddenly popped into his head: This wasn’t the Jiang family home, it was his old home, the home of his childhood.
Gu Tang moved slightly and felt something heavy pressing on him.
He opened his eyes. Jiang Huaisheng’s long legs were still draped over his, and the thin blanket covering him was askew, barely covering his navel.
Two porcelain-white thighs peeked out from under the silk robe, delicate and smooth, with faint finger marks still visible on the inner thighs.
After a night, the finger marks had faded a lot, but the varying shades of red looked even more ambiguous and lingering.
He tried to pull his body out to reach for the mobile phone on the bedside table outside the mosquito net. As soon as he moved, Jiang Huaisheng woke up.
The young master had a bad temper and was grumpy when he woke up. As Gu Tang moved, he subconsciously slapped the disobedient large “body pillow.”
“Don’t move!”
Gu Tang’s face instantly darkened: “Jiang Huaisheng, this is my bed. If you want peace and quiet, go sleep in your four-star hotel.”
In his own home, he wouldn’t indulge this young master Jiang Huaisheng. This was his only territory, and he refused to accept any oppression.
That’s right, this small town only had a four-star hotel. The housekeeper and bodyguards were temporarily staying there, 1.5 kilometers away, very convenient in case of emergencies.
Jiang Huaisheng woke up, but he didn’t recover so quickly. Just waking up, he wasn’t as glamorous as he usually was outside. He sat there wearing only a silk pajama set, his delicate hair slightly messy, and his expression a bit dazed.
But he was inherently noble, even sitting there cross-legged gave off an air of elegance, as if this bed wasn’t an old wooden bed with a worn mosquito net, but in a luxurious palace.
Even though he wasn’t wearing any jewelry besides the silk robe, and his watch, worth a whole apartment, was placed on the bedside table, Gu Tang still had the illusion that he was covered in jewels.
At this moment, Jiang Huaisheng resembled a cat from Gu Tang’s childhood cartoons that had left a deep impression on him, a pure white Persian cat with a ruby necklace and large gemstones on all its fingers: elegant, charming, noble, and a bit seductive.
The call on the other end was hung up after waiting for a long time without an answer, and then rang again shortly after.
When the second call came, Gu Tang finally reached his mobile phone. It showed that it was already 9:03 a.m.
Gu Tang glanced at the time, a little surprised. After all, in City R, they had stayed up until 2:00 a.m., and he always woke up naturally at 6:00 a.m. But he had slept until almost 9:00 a.m. after going to bed at midnight yesterday.
Sleeping for more than ten hours after traveling was normal, but he couldn’t feel at ease in the hotel. This was his former home, even though the furnishings were old and the wooden bed wasn’t so comfortable, but in this small and crowded room, he could truly relax.
Gu Tang glanced at Jiang Huaisheng, who was occupying most of the bed. If Jiang Huaisheng hadn’t come, he would have been able to lie down alone and be even more comfortable.
The call was from the housekeeper. As soon as Gu Tang answered, the other party’s polite voice came from the other end: “Young Master Gu, may I ask if Young Master is awake?”
Jiang Huaisheng was usually very disciplined, going to bed early and waking up early during school days, and sleeping in during vacations. Knowing that the young master was grumpy when he woke up, few people dared to disturb him.
Gu Tang glanced at Jiang Huaisheng sitting there: “He just woke up.”
“Understood. May I ask what Young Master would like to have for breakfast today? I’ll have the kitchen start preparing immediately. If it’s convenient for you, could you open the door to let the chefs in?”
The driver and the others woke up very early and had been waiting outside Gu Tang’s courtyard in the car for an hour, but because the courtyard gate was locked, they didn’t dare to force their way in.
During the long wait, the new driver even went to a roadside stall and bought six Youtiao (fried dough sticks) to eat.
It wasn’t until nine o’clock, out of concern for Jiang Huaisheng, that the housekeeper took the initiative to call Gu Tang. He was afraid that the young master was still sleeping and would be angry if woken up.
Gu Tang said: “It’s not convenient, you can make it at the hotel.”
He didn’t want outsiders to disturb the traces of this home. He was actually a little unhappy that Jiang Huaisheng had come in, but since he was already here, he couldn’t openly fall out with Jiang Huaisheng in front of the housekeeper and the others.
Although the housekeeper was polite to him on the surface, everything that had happened these past few days would be reported word for word to the Jiang family.
If he refused Jiang Huaisheng, he might not even have to wait until the next day before receiving a barrage of phone calls from his mother and stepfather.
Jiang Huaisheng alone was already encroaching on his space enough, Gu Tang definitely wouldn’t let the housekeeper and the others in as well.
The housekeeper was silent for a moment, then asked: “Is Young Master Huaisheng alright now? He just recovered from his illness a few days ago, and he just got off the plane. The conditions here are also average, I’m worried that he might experience acclimatization issues.”
“Jiang Huaisheng.”
Gu Tang called out. The latter lifted his eyelids to look at him with a cold expression, his face pulled tight.
Young Master Jiang had phoenix eyes, and when he was expressionless, he often gave off a cold and cruel feeling. During school, Jiang Huaisheng often wore a pair of silver-rimmed glasses without prescription.
This made him look more refined, gentle, and approachable. Without the glasses, those classmates who had interacted with Jiang Huaisheng would find that the top student actually looked at everyone like they were ants.
“What?” Jiang Huaisheng’s voice was a little hoarse, but completely different from the broken gong voice he had when he had a high fever. This low and elegant tone made his voice sound even more sexy and magnetic.
Gu Tang reached out and touched Jiang Huaisheng’s forehead again. Good, it felt slightly cool to the touch.
After carefully observing the young master’s beautiful face, his complexion was normal, his breathing was even, and there were no signs of fever. It seemed that yesterday’s ginger brown sugar tea had worked.
He replied to the housekeeper: “Jiang Huaisheng’s voice is a little hoarse, no nasal congestion, no fever, visually normal.”
“Okay, I’ll send the medicine kit over later. Please give him a further check-up to make sure he doesn’t have a low-grade fever.”
The housekeeper added: “Then for breakfast, add a bowl of tangerine peel and snow pear soup.”
In addition to the bodyguards and housekeeper, Jiang Huaisheng’s chef also came with the driver this time.
Because Jiang Huaisheng’s health wasn’t good, the family had specially arranged a nutritionist for him. The nutritionist determined the healthy ingredients, and the chef had to try to make delicious and tasty food with these ingredients.
The housekeeper didn’t disturb Gu Tang and turned to instruct the kitchenette to return to the hotel to work. Ordinary people weren’t allowed to enter the kitchen of this kind of star-rated hotel, but as long as they paid enough money, the hotel would accommodate them.
“I’m going to wash up. If you want to go to the hotel, go by yourself, the driver is already waiting outside. The hotel environment is more convenient.”
Jiang Huaisheng lazily glanced at Gu Tang’s lower body and suddenly spat out two words: “Beast.” He knew there was something poking him uncomfortably earlier.
Gu Tang looked down, not feeling ashamed: “This only proves that I’m healthy, just a normal physiological reaction. Besides, you’ve used it before.”
Jiang Huaisheng subconsciously squeezed his legs together, refusing to back down: “Your technique is still as bad as before, no improvement at all.”
Gu Tang ignored him. Daytime wasn’t like nighttime. People’s emotions fluctuated more easily at night and were more easily stimulated. He was calm now and didn’t want to argue with the young master.
He came back to sweep his father’s grave, and this was just a temporary stay. There was nothing in the house. The sheets and blankets he slept on yesterday were disposable items he had brought.
The house was unoccupied year-round, and the old refrigerator was empty. After running it yesterday, there were only a few bottles of snow mountain mineral water inside.
Jiang Huaisheng had lost his mind last night, coming over to suffer. Having had enough, he lost interest and didn’t intend to stay any longer. He changed his clothes, covering up the mottled marks on his body, and left the room.
As for his expensive silk robe, Jiang Huaisheng casually threw it on Gu Tang’s bed.
Expensive clothes were mostly disposable items for Young Master Jiang. In the several large walk-in closets in the old mansion, major brands would send new products for all four seasons every year. Many weren’t even unpacked before being disposed of.
Before leaving, he said to Gu Tang: “Remember to dispose of my clothes, don’t even think about keeping them to do anything perverted.”
Gu Tang couldn’t help but roll his eyes. He put away the fragrant silk robe, planning to throw it into the stove as fuel when cooking tonight.
This three-story small building in their town was built twenty years ago, when there was no such thing as natural gas.
During the renovation two years ago, Gu Tang applied to have a natural gas pipeline installed. But the original stove in the kitchen was still preserved. The food cooked on a wood-fired stove was actually much more fragrant than that cooked on a gas stove.
He had only cleaned one room yesterday, and there were still many details to deal with.
Gu Tang didn’t go to the hotel, he needed to eat before he could work. He went out and simply ordered a bowl of rice noodles at a nearby shop. This was a shop he frequented in elementary school, and the owner had been in business for over twenty years.
He inherited his father’s taste and liked spicy food, but the city where the young master lived preferred light and sweet flavors. After so many years, Gu Tang still couldn’t get used to it.
“Boss, a bowl of fat intestine rice noodles, extra fat intestines, slightly spicy, with more soup.”
The middle-aged owner glanced at him and scooped him a large spoonful of fat intestines. She smiled and said: “Xiao Tang, you’re back?”
Gu Tang responded: “Mm, I’m back to sweep my father’s grave.”
The familiar taste whetted Gu Tang’s appetite. As he was eating heartily, a phone call came. Seeing the caller ID showing Ms. Wen, the smile on his face disappeared.
Gu Tang turned off his phone with a blank expression. He finally had a normal meal and didn’t want to be disturbed by anyone irrelevant.
