Chapter 40 "I Want to Love You." That wretched ex-boyfriend wants me to control him...
In July, the university campus was filled with the chirping of cicadas.
Summer vacation has officially begun, and students are all eagerly heading home.
Jiang Chuyu dragged her suitcase and said goodbye to her three roommates one by one.
"Aren't you really going abroad with Li Sen this summer?" Caiyan asked, exasperated.
Jiang Chuyu shook her head, a slight smile playing on her lips: "No, I have something to do during my vacation."
"What could be more important than your boyfriend? I always feel like you don't care about Li Sen at all..." Lin Yun muttered softly, only to be stopped by Shi Qing gently nudging her with her elbow.
Jiang Chuyu pretended not to hear and hugged each of her roommates, saying, "See you in two months, I'll miss you all."
Jiang Chuyu breathed a sigh of relief as she walked out of the dormitory building, dragging her suitcase.
The sunlight was blinding, and she squinted as she found Jiang Shan's car parked by the roadside.
The car window rolled down, and Jiang Lekai looked at her with a smug expression.
"Can you hurry up? I'm starving!"
Jiang Chuyu put her suitcase in the trunk, climbed into the car, and was immediately greeted by the cool air from the air conditioner.
Jiang Shan glanced at her in the rearview mirror. "Have you packed up your dorm room? Did you leave anything behind?"
"Everything's packed." Jiang Chuyu fastened her seatbelt and turned to look at Jiang Lekai. "I heard you did well on the exam?"
Jiang Lekai proudly raised his chin, "I'm ninth in the grade, and Dad promised to buy me the latest game console."
Jiang Shan started the car, her tone full of pride: "Xiao Kai has made great progress this time, all thanks to Teacher Gu for tutoring him. Remember to thank him properly later."
Jiang Chuyu nodded, looking out the window at the rapidly receding street scene.
The restaurant they booked was one of the most upscale in the city, with elegant decor and plenty of air conditioning.
The waiter led them to their reserved private room.
“Your dad said he’s coming directly from the company.” Jiang Shan glanced at her phone. “Teacher Gu also said he’ll be there on time.”
Jiang Lekai excitedly flipped through the menu, "I want roast duck!"
Jiang Shan: "Don't rush, let's wait until everyone is here."
Jiang Chuyu sat quietly to the side, pouring herself a cup of tea. Just as she took a sip, the door to the private room was pushed open, and Jiang Bo rushed in.
"Sorry, something came up at the company and I'm late." Jiang Bo took off his suit jacket and hung it on the back of his chair, then patted Jiang Lekai on the shoulder. "Good lad, you really made your dad proud!"
Jiang Lekai handed over the menu with a grin: "Dad, I want to eat roast duck."
"Order now." Jiang Bo waved his hand, took out his phone and glanced at it. "Professor Gu should be here soon, right? We really have to thank him this time."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the door to the private room was pushed open again.
Gu Zeming glanced around and then walked towards them.
"Hello, Uncle and Auntie, I'm sorry I'm late."
Jiang Shan smiled and said, "It's not late at all, have a seat, we've been waiting for you."
Gu Zeming's gaze lingered on Jiang Chuyu for a moment, then he nodded slightly in acknowledgment.
Jiang Chuyu returned a polite smile, lowered her head and continued to sip her tea. When she looked up again, Gu Zeming had already sat down next to her.
"Ms. Gu, thank you so much this time." Jiang Shan poured tea for Gu Zeming warmly. "Xiao Kai made great progress in the final exams!"
Gu Zeming took the teapot. "You're too kind. I just did what I was supposed to do. He's just smart and hardworking."
Jiang Bo took the menu from the waiter. "Let's order first, and chat while we eat. Teacher Gu, please order whatever you like. Today is mainly to thank you."
Gu Zeming modestly replied, "I'm fine with anything, it depends on what Chu Yu and Xiao Kai want to eat."
Jiang Lekai ordered several main dishes without hesitation, Jiang Shan added a few more, and Jiang Bo finally added the restaurant's signature roast duck.
While waiting for the food, the three of them chatted about Jiang Lekai's studies and grades.
Jiang Chuyu listened quietly, occasionally glancing at Gu Zeming.
He always speaks slowly and deliberately, giving people a relaxed, calm, and composed feeling.
The "King of Hired Managers" truly lives up to his name; he can handle anyone.
A few minutes later, the waiters began to serve the dishes.
The turntable gradually filled with all sorts of delicacies.
Steamed lobster, braised pork, braised sea cucumber with scallions, stir-fried seasonal vegetables... and a plate of fragrant roast duck.
As everyone picked up their chopsticks, the conversation continued to revolve around Jiang Lekai.
"Teacher Gu, I would like to trouble you to continue tutoring Xiao Kai next semester..." Jiang Shan had just opened her mouth when Gu Zeming gently put down his chopsticks.
“I was just about to tell you this.” Gu Zeming looked at her casually. “Starting this summer, I’ll be doing an internship at a company, and I might not be able to manage the time, so I’ll have to quit my tutoring job. Xiao Kai’s French is already very good, so he just needs to find a new teacher to improve his spoken French, which shouldn’t be a problem.”
Jiang Shan looked slightly disappointed. "Oh, I see."
"Mom, I can learn by myself!" Jiang Lekai's mouth was full of food, making his voice sound muffled.
Jiang Shan nodded, "Alright, you have your own things to do, so we can't insist you stay. Thank you for your help during this time."
Gu Zeming smiled, "It's no trouble at all. I'm also very happy to see Xiao Kai's progress."
He always appeared respectable in public, but in private he was a beast, a scoundrel, and a pervert.
Jiang Chuyu felt inexplicably annoyed when she saw him talking to her parents with ease.
She ate her rice quietly, occasionally picking up some vegetables from in front of her, listening to everyone's praise of Gu Zeming.
In retrospect, she did a good deed by overcoming numerous obstacles to bring Gu Zeming to be her brother's tutor.
Although in the end, it seems she also got herself involved.
While she was lost in thought, the roast duck was moved to the front of her.
Jiang Chuyu casually picked up a duck leg and was about to put it in her bowl when Jiang Bo suddenly said, "Little Yu, the duck leg is for your brother. He's been using his brain a lot lately and needs to replenish it. You can eat something else."
Jiang Chuyu's hand hovered in mid-air. She felt her cheeks burning slightly, but she still tried her best to maintain her expression.
"Oh, okay," she replied softly, forcing a smile as she put the duck leg back on the plate and picked up a shrimp instead.
Gu Zeming's gaze lingered on her face for a moment, then he suddenly raised his hand and called over a waiter.
"Could you please order another plate of roast duck legs for us?" he said calmly, then turned to Jiang Shan and Jiang Bo. "The roast duck at this restaurant is really good; I'd like to invite everyone to try it."
Jiang Shan quickly waved her hand: "How could I let you spend money!"
Gu Zeze: "It's okay, it's on me today."
Jiang Bo laughed heartily: "How could we let you treat us! But we appreciate your kind gesture."
The newly added duck legs were served quickly, with a rich, savory sauce and an enticing color.
Gu Zeming spun the table and placed the plate of duck legs steadily in front of Jiang Chuyu.
"Eat more, finals week in college is tough too."
He didn't look at anyone while he spoke; he just focused on picking up a piece of food with his chopsticks.
There was a moment of awkward silence, then Jiang Shan quickly chimed in, "Yes, yes, Xiao Yu has lost weight recently, eat more!"
Jiang Chuyu looked at the plate of crispy on the outside and tender on the inside duck legs in front of her and suddenly lost her appetite.
She whispered "thank you" but didn't touch them.
After dinner, Jiang Lekai's parents wanted to take her to the newly opened science museum and asked if she wanted to come along.
Jiang Chuyu shook her head. "I'm a little tired. I want to go back to my apartment to pack my things."
Jiang Shan thought for a moment and asked Gu Zeming, "Then can Chu Yu take a taxi back to the apartment with you?"
Gu Zeming nodded: "Okay."
Jiang Shan said apologetically, "Thank you for your help again."
Gu Zeming said in a nonchalant tone, "She's my junior, no trouble at all."
Jiang Chuyu wanted to say something, but when she saw him looking at her, she swallowed her words.
Summer nights are hot and humid, even the wind carries a sense of humidity.
Jiang Chuyu walked out of the restaurant, watched her parents' car drive away, and breathed a long sigh of relief, feeling her shoulders, which had been tense all day, finally relax.
“Let’s go,” Gu Zeming said softly, “I’ll go call a car.”
After waiting by the roadside for a while, Gu Zeming hailed a ride-hailing car.
Jiang Chuyu opened the car door and got in.
The air conditioning in the car was on full blast. She leaned against the window, gazing at the myriad lights outside, her thoughts drifting far away.
Gu Zeming sat next to her, remaining silent as always.
The two remained silent the entire way, with only the driver's loud, jingle music playing in their ears.
It's very noisy.
Jiang Chuyu found it difficult to even take a nap.
When she was about three kilometers away from the apartment, she caught sight of a familiar milk tea shop sign on the roadside and suddenly said, "Driver, could you please pull over to the side of the road ahead?"
The driver turned the steering wheel and pulled over to the side of the road.
Gu Zeming looked at her with some confusion, but didn't ask any questions. After paying the fare, he got out of the car as well.
The entrance to the milk tea shop is adorned with twinkling strings of lights, which flicker in the night.
Jiang Chuyu pushed open the glass door, and the bell rang crisply.
She went straight to the counter and said to the clerk, "I'd like a box of fried chicken legs and two ice cream cones, matcha flavor, please."
While waiting, she saw Gu Zeming standing outside the door through the glass window, his shadow stretched long by the streetlight.
He looked down at his phone, his profile appearing exceptionally handsome in the light.
The waiter packed it up quickly.
Jiang Chuyu walked out of the store carrying a paper bag.
She hesitated for a moment, then handed an ice cream cone to Gu Zeming.
"For you."
Gu Zeming was slightly taken aback, then took the ice cream. "Why did you suddenly want to eat this?"
Jiang Chuyu winked at him and said, "Probably because he's rich and willful."
Gu Zeming looked at her calmly for a long time before nodding: "I can see that."
The bright moon in the sky is pure and white, its light silvery.
Jiang Chuyu licked her ice cream and began to walk slowly along the sidewalk.
Gu Zeming followed silently a few steps behind her, neither too far nor too close.
Jiang Chuyu could feel his presence without turning around.
She ate her ice cream, not knowing what to say, so she simply remained silent.
After walking for a few minutes, Gu Zeming's voice came from behind, calm yet clear.
"Jiangchu taro."
She stopped and turned to face him.
In the moonlight, Gu Zeming's expression was not clearly visible. His eyes were dark and deep.
"What's wrong?" she asked, trying to make her voice sound light and cheerful.
Gu Zeming stared into her eyes, as if trying to see through that smile to the true emotions hidden behind it.
“It’s nothing, I just feel…” He took a few steps forward, closing the distance between them, each word clear and forceful, “You’re not happy.”
Jiang Chuyu was stunned as the ice cream slowly melted in her hand.
She looked at Gu Zeming quietly.
A few seconds later, she chuckled, trying to defuse the awkward atmosphere with a joke: "What makes someone happy?"
"Does this count?" She held up two fingers, pressed them against the corners of her lips, and forced a smile that looked worse than crying.
Gu Zeming looked at her, a hint of helplessness rising in his eyes. His lips moved, but it ultimately turned into a sigh.
"Can't you even smile?"
Jiang Chuyu tilted her head, pretended to think for a moment, and then said half-jokingly, "Then can you teach me? Anyway, you're the tutor my family paid to hire, so teaching one is the same as teaching two."
Gu Zeming frowned.
He wasn't angry, nor did he back down. Instead, he stepped forward and stretched out his arms to hug her tightly.
Jiang Chuyu almost dropped the ice cream in her hand, and she struggled a few times.
"What are you doing? Let me go!" she mumbled, her voice muffled by his shirt.
Gu Zeming not only didn't let go, but hugged her even tighter.
His voice rang in her ear, deep and hoarse: "If you don't like your family, I can make them all disappear. I'll be your family."
Jiang Chuyu suddenly broke free, took two steps back, and looked at him in shock: "Are you crazy? How can you say such things so casually?"
Gu Zeming lowered his eyelids, his eyes seemingly burning with a hidden fire.
Jiang Chuyu's voice trembled slightly: "You're just a student, penniless yourself, how can you be my family? Besides, I have a boyfriend, it's not your turn."
She showed him absolutely no mercy, practically trampling his dignity to the ground.
Gu Zeming stared at her for a long time, a low laugh escaped his throat, and his chest rose and fell slightly.
"Your senior is indeed very poor now. But you like money too much."
Is there anything wrong with liking money?
"There's nothing wrong with it."
His gaze softened slightly, and he pinched her cheek with his long fingers, pulling out a cute smile. Then he asked her, "Are you feeling better now?"
Jiang Chuyu then realized that his shocking remarks just now might have been just a way to tease her.
She glared at him, both surprised and angry, but in the end she just shook her head angrily.
I can't be bothered with you.
Jiang Chuyu turned around and continued walking forward, but her steps were noticeably lighter.
Gu Zeming followed her and said in a deep voice, "Actually, the company I interned at is pretty good. It works in the aerospace industry, and the pay is very good; it's not exactly 'penniless'."
Jiang Chuyu glanced at him. "So?"
“There will be money,” he replied calmly.
Jiang Chuyu stopped and looked at him seriously, holding out her hand: "Where's the money?"
Gu Zeming: "..."
"Never mind."
Jiang Chuyu walked quickly forward, putting some distance between them.
Gu Zeming sighed, grabbed her arm, and pulled her back.
Jiang Chuyu looked up at him, and asked with great frustration, "What exactly do you want?"
Gu Zeming stared at her silently for a few seconds, then smiled slightly and said three words.
I want to love you.
Jiang Chuyu was going crazy. "Fine, if you love me, disappear right now and never appear in my life again. Can you do that?"
Gu Zeming: "I can't do it."
He was so self-righteous and confident that Jiang Chuyu thought he was a devil, the kind you couldn't shake off.
She gritted her teeth: "Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you're my ex-boyfriend, okay?"
Upon hearing this, Gu Zeming narrowed his eyes and said coldly, "If I really wanted to do whatever I wanted, you wouldn't have been able to leave my bedroom that day."
Jiang Chuyu froze, recalling the fear of being controlled by handcuffs once again.
She realized that Gu Zeming was someone who responded to gentle persuasion but not force; there was no point in talking to him. Only by making him feel sorry for her would he let her go, just like last time.
It was late at night, and the surrounding streetlights cast a dim yellow glow. Several moths foolishly flew into the lampshades.
Using the dim light, Jiang Chuyu looked up at the man in front of her and tried to squeeze out a few tears.
"Senior, I beg you, please let me go, okay?" Her almond-shaped eyes were moist and her eye rims were red, making her look pitiful.
Gu Zeming stood there, tall and straight, his face expressionless, simply watching her cry, his eyes as deep as the silent night.
“I really like Li Sen,” Jiang Chuyu gasped, trying to make herself clear, but her voice trembled with sobs. “He’s such a good person, gentle, considerate, and respectful. I feel relaxed and happy with him. I think… I’ll be happier with him than with you.”
When the name "Li Sen" was mentioned, Gu Zeming's eyes flickered almost imperceptibly, but quickly returned to their deep, calm state.
"So please, just let us be together, okay?" Jiang Chuyu looked at him almost pleadingly, her eyes even redder. "I'm begging you, senior, please don't appear in my life again."
The air was quiet for a few seconds, with only Jiang Chuyu's suppressed sobs and the faint sound of traffic in the distance.
Gu Zeming finally made a move.
He didn't speak immediately, but silently raised his hand, his fingertips rough yet exceptionally gentle, to wipe away her hot, wet tears from her cheek.
His movements were steady, even gentle, but Jiang Chuyu subconsciously flinched, as if she had been burned.
"Why are you crying?" he finally spoke, his voice low and unreadable, yet possessing a strange penetrating power that drowned out the noise of the night.
Jiang Chuyu stared at him blankly, not understanding what he meant.
Gu Zeming carefully wiped away her tears, looked into her moist almond-shaped eyes, and said in a calm tone that was almost eerie: "Don't worry, I won't force you to break up with him now."
A glimmer of hope instantly welled up in Jiang Chuyu's eyes.
But the next second, Gu Zeming's words extinguished that glimmer of light.
“I will wait,” he said, a barely perceptible smile playing on his lips, a certainty that sent shivers down one’s spine. “I will wait until the day you willingly leave him and come back to me.”
Jiang Chuyu immediately retorted, "Impossible! That day will never come!"
Gu Zeming seemed not to hear her rebuttal and continued speaking casually, "And I believe that day will come in less than a week."
"You're talking nonsense!" Jiang Chuyu thought he was being completely unreasonable. "Gu Zeming, wake up! Li Sen and I are doing great, we..."
"Don't believe me?" Gu Zeming interrupted her, a faint, almost provocative glint in his eyes. "Then we can make a bet."
"A bet?" Jiang Chuyu was a little confused by his words. "What kind of bet?"
Gu Zeming took another half step forward, and the distance between them instantly became such that they could hear each other breathing.
Jiang Chuyu could feel his familiar yet cold aura. She instinctively wanted to back away, but her heels seemed to be nailed to the spot.
He didn't answer immediately, but slowly lowered his head and leaned close to her ear.
Warm breath sprayed onto her sensitive earlobes and neck, causing Jiang Chuyu's skin to break out in goosebumps, and her heartbeat to suddenly become erratic.
Then, she heard him say clearly, word by word, in that deep, magnetic voice with a hint of secret allure: "If I win, I don't care about your past. From now on, you can only love me."
His lips almost touched her earlobe.
"Only I can hug you."
The sound was like a feather gently brushing against her heart, yet also like a shackle tightening around it.
"You can only kiss me."
Jiang Chuyu held her breath completely, her cheeks starting to burn uncontrollably.
"She can only...cry in my arms."
He spoke the last few words very softly, yet with an undeniable force that sent a jolt through her ears like an electric current.
Jiang Chuyu suddenly opened her eyes wide, her face flushed red, and even her neck turned a blush.
She turned her head in disbelief, trying to see the expression on his face, but all she saw was the profile of his face so close to hers, and her own panicked reflection in his unfathomable eyes.
He paused, then whispered like a lover.
"...Even if you die, you can only be buried with me."
The air seemed to freeze.
The moths under the streetlights are still foolishly bumping into the lampshade.
Jiang Chuyu's heart pounded wildly in her chest. Half of it was because of his extremely forceful and obsessive words, and the other half... was because she was stirred up by the naked, unreserved possessiveness and twisted affection in his words, making her blush and feel flustered.
She should be scared, she should feel offended, she should immediately push him away and yell at him that he's a madman.
But strangely, besides these, a more hidden and uncontrollable tremor crept up from the deepest part of her heart, making her limbs weak.
She pinched her palm hard, and the intense pain brought her back to her senses.
No, this can't go on any longer. We must get rid of this devil completely!
This bet was utterly absurd; she couldn't possibly lose! She had confidence in Li Sen, and confidence in herself. If she won, Gu Zeming would completely let go and never bother her again.
Yes, that's it!
As if to convince herself, or as if to escape the suffocating atmosphere and the dangerous man in front of her as soon as possible, Jiang Chuyu took a deep breath and tried to make her voice sound calm and even a little disdainful.
"Okay, I'll bet you. A week, right? Remember to keep your word."
Gu Zeming slowly straightened up, increasing the distance between them from being too close.
He looked down at the girl in front of him, who was trying to remain calm but whose ears were completely red. A faint smile finally appeared in the deep black of his eyes.
“Yes,” he replied, his voice regaining its previous calm, “I’ll wait.”
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