Chapter 9

On the seventh day of her honeymoon, Jiang Yehui suddenly received a call from her cousin Jiang Yinyin, who anxiously told her that their grandmother had been hospitalized.

This cousin was always secretly competing with her while outwardly putting on a show of sisterly affection. Jiang Yehui usually only half-believed what she said, but since it involved her grandmother, she still called her mother to confirm the situation.

Madam Zhou wasn’t overly worried and reassured her, “Your grandma just slipped while walking down some steps and fractured her left foot. It’s not serious. She’s now resting at Wellington Hospital. With so many people around, even if you rushed back, you wouldn’t be of much help. Better to enjoy the rest of your honeymoon with Jingcheng.”

Jiang Yehui felt somewhat relieved, but since she was deeply attached to her grandmother, she knew she wouldn’t feel at ease continuing to play around. She immediately told Jiang Yue to book a flight to London.

She landed the next afternoon. Jiang Yehui didn’t inform her family in advance and planned to simply hail a cab outside the arrivals hall.

At that moment, Jiang Yue stepped forward. “Madam, this way, please.”

Jiang Yehui glanced in the direction—toward the parking lot. She knew that the Mingji Group had a branch office here and figured Jiang Yue must have arranged a car ahead of time. She silently praised her—it was a thoughtful move.

They hadn’t walked far into the parking lot when she and Jiang Ru followed Jiang Yue to a black car.

Before she could stop, the passenger door opened. A man stepped out, opened the back door respectfully, and said, “Madam, please get in.”

Jiang Yehui was surprised. Why was Assistant Jin here?

She had a feeling and peeked through the car window, but couldn’t see clearly.

Still, if Jin was here, could President Gu be far behind?

She nodded politely and got in—sure enough, Gu Jingcheng was inside. She couldn’t help marveling: This man really has his ways.

Gu Jingcheng gave her a glance as she entered, which counted as a greeting, then turned his attention back to the document in his hands. His expression was focused as he marked things occasionally with a sleek metallic pen.

Seeing how busy he was, Jiang Yehui didn’t disturb him. She guessed he had just flown in and was waiting here just to meet her.

Looking closer, she noticed he looked a bit tired. His white shirt was slightly wrinkled, the collar loosened, sleeves casually rolled up to his forearms. This small imperfection didn’t take away from his charm—in fact, it added a more down-to-earth and sensual air to him.

She thought, He got here even earlier than I did. He must’ve rushed here as soon as he got the message from Jiang Yue, just to meet me.

All this just because her grandmother was hospitalized? Her mother had said it wasn’t serious, and as a grandson-in-law, no one would blame him if he had stayed behind for work.

But he still came. That thoughtful gesture warmed her heart.

She cleared her throat softly and said, “Thank you.”

“For what?” he replied without looking up, voice low and calm.

“Thank you for coming to see my grandmother.”

A long pause, then a distracted “Mm” escaped his lips.

Seeing that he truly was busy, Jiang Yehui didn’t say anything else.

The car drove straight to Wellington Hospital.

Two minutes before they arrived, Gu Jingcheng put down his documents, sat upright, buttoned his shirt, adjusted his sleeves, and slipped on his blazer in one smooth motion—returning to the familiar version of Gu Jingcheng she knew.

Most of the Jiang family was already there.

Their arrival caused quite a stir—especially Madam Zhou, who was visibly proud to see her son-in-law rushing back with her daughter. She felt like she had earned a lot of face in her own family.

Gu Jingcheng was courteous and warm, asking about Grandmother’s condition with clear concern.

The grandparents were delighted and called him “Jingcheng” warmly. The uncles and aunts also took the hint and praised Jiang Yehui for marrying such a good husband.

The younger cousins all exchanged mischievous glances and teased her light-heartedly.

The ever-scheming Jiang Yinyin, on the other hand, remained off to the side, silent and stiffly smiling.

Jiang Yehui noticed but ignored her.

She sat by her grandmother’s bed, holding her arm and chatting gently.

Grandmother stroked her head and smiled. “I told them not to inform you. Flying all that way is such a hassle. Who was the blabbermouth?”

Jiang Yehui playfully replied, “It’s no trouble at all! I should thank Yinyin-jie—if she hadn’t told me, you’d be stuck here, and I’d be foolishly playing without a care. I’d feel so guilty if I found out later.”

“Silly child, I’m not gravely ill. A few days of rest and I’ll be fine.” Grandmother patted her hand, then asked in a low voice, “Is Jingcheng treating you well?”

“He’s quite good to me.”

Grandmother teased, “And what exactly is ‘good’?”

Jiang Yehui paused. What exactly defined a man being good to a woman?

She had a sudden idea, took out her phone, and opened the album of saved photos. “Look, these are pictures we took in Macity.”

Grandmother held the phone at a distance and squinted at it, nodding with a smile. “They say, ‘It takes a hundred years to share a boat, and a thousand to share a bed.’ Xiaoye, you two will grow old together, I’m sure.”

Jiang Yehui’s heart stirred. Grow old together? She and Gu Jingcheng?

Her grandmother was clearly pleased and sighed in satisfaction. “Your mom picked a good son-in-law. Your grandfather rarely praises any young men.”

Following her grandmother’s gaze, Jiang Yehui looked across the room.

Grandfather had always been stern and traditional, but at this moment, a rare look of appreciation appeared on his face as he chatted enthusiastically with Gu Jingcheng.

Gu Jingcheng seemed to sense someone watching him and slightly turned his head to glance in their direction before turning back again.

That glance was indifferent and sharp, sending a shiver through Jiang Yehui’s heart—it made her feel nervous.

She knew that the more gentlemanly and proper he appeared on the surface, the more cold and domineering he was underneath. She really couldn’t imagine what it would look like for him to be good to a woman, let alone growing old with one.

After chatting for a while longer, Grandma said she wanted to rest, and everyone gradually left. Jiang Yehui wanted to stay at the hospital, but her grandmother shooed her off, insisting she take Gu Jingcheng to rest.

The two walked side by side and were stopped outside the ward by her cousin Jiang Yinyin.

Jiang Yinyin first gave Gu Jingcheng a quick glance, and her expression carried a touch of shyness and softness. Then she turned to Jiang Yehui and said, “Come with me somewhere.”

Jiang Yehui found it amusing. Seriously, does everyone who lays eyes on Gu Jingcheng instantly lose their composure?

She casually asked, “Where to?”

“‘T’ invited me to a fashion show tonight. There are two seats. Come with me.”

“T” was a luxury fashion brand known for its women’s clothing, bags, jewelry, and all sorts of things women liked.

Jiang Yehui knew Jiang Yinyin was a loyal customer of the brand. She spent quite a bit every year and had become a top-tier client, so it wasn’t surprising that “T” had invited her.

But Jiang Yehui wasn’t really into their clothing—it was too sexy and not her style. She did like a new perfume they released, and she’d bought two bottles just last month.

Still, she always preferred to be a quiet, low-key socialite and never had much interest in high-profile brand events.

She politely declined, “I’m not in the fashion world, better not. You should ask Xiaoya to go—she’ll love it.”

At this point, Gu Jingcheng tactfully stepped aside and took out his phone to make a call.

Jiang Yinyin couldn’t help sneaking another look at Gu Jingcheng as he spoke on the phone, then pouted, “She’s been busy lately, so I didn’t want to bother her. You and I are the closest. Of course I’d think of you first! Besides, I used your name to get the outfit sponsored by ‘T’.”

Jiang Yehui had already figured it out the moment she heard that.

With Mingji’s emergency funding, the Yuzhou company had turned things around and was now working well with Mingji. Things were looking up.

Unlike the Zhou family’s growing business, the Jiang family’s enterprise had been shrinking for years. One of their factories had even shut down not long ago.

So, Jiang Yinyin wasn’t doing so well in her social circles lately.

Now that most of the younger generation had reached marrying age, the family was encouraging them to socialize more.

Among the girls, Jiang Yinyin was the most competitive—always had to come first in everything. She used to compete with Jiang Yehui, but now that Yehui was married, her new rival was Jiang Xiaoya.

This kind of high-profile opportunity, she wouldn’t hand to Xiaoya or any other cousins. Giving it to the already-married Jiang Yehui was safest.

That was probably her real reason for calling her back home.

In the end, Jiang Yehui was dragged away by Jiang Yinyin.

As they left, Jiang Yinyin even playfully called out, “Jingcheng, I’m borrowing Yehui for the night, okay?”

Gu Jingcheng acted like he hadn’t heard her. He simply looked at Jiang Yehui and said, “I’m staying at Andar Hotel.”

And so, Jiang Yehui spent the next two hours attending a fashion show filled with surreal lighting and strange electronic music. She dutifully played the role of her cousin’s sidekick and made sure not to steal the spotlight.

By the time it ended, it was 9 p.m.

In the car, Jiang Yinyin was still excited. “Can you believe Bertha’s older brother came with her tonight? Do you know who he is? Most of the Daws family’s business is now in his hands. Young and capable—he’s not inferior to Gu Jingcheng! He even chatted with me for quite a while. We’ve arranged to have tea tomorrow.”

Figures, Jiang Yehui thought. If she wasn’t comparing, she wouldn’t be Jiang Yinyin. Ever since Jiang Yehui married Gu Jingcheng, Yinyin had been jealous.

Earlier, she had even tried flirting with Gu Jingcheng. But since he was married, she couldn’t really do anything. Now that someone of similar status seemed interested in her, she tossed Gu Jingcheng aside without a second thought.

Jiang Yehui wasn’t interested in her cousin’s gloating. Seeing they were nearing the hospital, she said, “I’ll go back to the hospital to be with Grandma.”

“She’s probably asleep by now—aren’t you just disturbing her? Besides, my mom’s there tonight. You don’t need to go.”

Jiang Yehui thought for a second. “Then I’ll go back to the family house. I left something in my old room and need to pack it up.”

Either way, I can’t go back to the hotel.

“What’s so urgent about your stuff? Are you really going to leave your husband alone at the hotel?” At this moment, Jiang Yinyin switched back to playing the good sister role, and even changed how she addressed Gu Jingcheng—now calling him “brother-in-law.”

“It’s just one night. I want to sleep in my own bed—it’s been a while.”

Jiang Yehui tried hard to come up with an excuse.

“No way! Which room is it? I’ll walk you up.”

The driver had already stopped the car.

Jiang Yehui had no choice but to pull out her phone and make a call.

“Hello, what’s the room number?”

“…Okay.”

Seeing her expression shift, Jiang Yinyin couldn’t help asking, “What did my brother-in-law say?”

“Nothing, just told me the room number.”

Jiang Yehui composed herself and replied casually.

But inside, she was anxious. Just now, Gu Jingcheng had said, “2701. The room from our wedding night.”

He could’ve just told me the number—why add that detail about the wedding night?! Jiang Yehui suspected he did it on purpose. Is he still bitter about that night and looking to make up for it?

Wouldn’t going up alone be like walking into the lion’s den?

Before she could hesitate, her cousin had already looped her arm around hers and was gently nudging her toward the hotel.