Doctor Gu’s Orange Cat Boyfriend - Chapter 26

Gu Chaoyu walked over to open the door.

Outside, a “waiter” wearing a staff cap pushed a food cart, the cap pulled down low, nearly obscuring his entire face.

“Good evening, sir. Room service. Here are complimentary welcome fruits and pastries from our hotel.”

The voice was deliberately hushed, sounding slightly comical.

Gu Chaoyu watched the person before him, who seemed desperate to disappear into their uniform, and a faint smile touched his lips.

How could he not recognize Su Wanqing? Her thoughts were laid bare before him:

[They’d never guess I’ve packed condoms in the fruits and pastries! What a perfect big sister I am!]

He took the oversized fruit platter without a flicker of emotion and remarked to Lin Mucí who was behind him, “Seems like this place has decent room service, they’re giving away so many freebies.”

Lin Mucí remained oblivious. Admiring the platter overflowing with fresh, sliced fruits and exquisite pastries, he sincerely thanked the “waitress” repeatedly: “Thank you so much! You’ve worked hard!”

Just as Su Wanqing was pushing her cart, ready to make a swift escape, a familiar male voice sounded from behind her.

“Wanqing?”

Su Wanqing froze as if someone had pressed pause on her body.

That voice… She’d recognize it even if the owner turned to ashes!

She slowly turned around and saw the face she’d never forget.

Zhou Yang wore a perfectly tailored suit, his expression saying, “So it was you.”

Within Su Wanqing (the “elite” career woman) a whirlwind of emotions erupted: from the ecstasy of shipping a couple to apocalyptic dread.

【Zhou Yang?! What is he doing here?!】

【I’m doomed! Totally doomed! Look at me in this “waitress” uniform! He must think I’ve hit rock bottom, reduced to working here!】

【My elite image! My million-follower blogger aura! It’s totally ruined!】

【I mean right? Who gets it?! The worst thing about running into an ex is looking like you’re worse off than them! I’ve might’ve just lost face today!】

Zhou Yang’s appearance also startled Lin Mucí in the room.

“Zhou Yang? What are you doing here?”

Zhou Yang walked over with a smile, slapping  Lin Mucí’s shoulder familiarly. “Nice to see you’ve finally got the hang of things.”

His gaze lingered suggestively on Gu Chaoyu.

Gu Chaoyu gave a polite nod in acknowledgment.

Only then did Lin Mucí belatedly realize that the “waitress” from earlier… was his cousin!

“Cousin?! What are you doing here?” Lin Mucí was so shocked his jaw nearly dropped.

Su Wanqing wanted nothing more than to vanish on the spot. She swiftly pulled her hat off, shot  Lin Mucí a fierce glare, then frantically signaled with her eyes and looked at the fruit platter! HInting a surprise in the fruit platter!

At that moment, Gu Chaoyu’s mind-reading skills earned him MVP status.

He instantly pieced together all the connections and misunderstandings: Su Wanqing had followed them here to assist, disguising herself as a waitress to deliver the items. Zhou Yang’s appearance was no coincidence and judging by Su Wanqing’s terrified expression, Zhou Yang was likely after her.

Su Wanqing immediately left and  grabbed Zhou Yang’s arm, yanking him into a corner of the hallway. Her voice lowered as she demanded, “You were following me?!”

Zhou Yang raised an eyebrow, countering with a firm grip on her wrist. “And what about you? A seasoned relationship blogger sneaking into a hotel as a waitress to what? ‘Experience life’?”

“None of your business!”

Zhou Yang remained silent, thinking to himself:

[I can’t interfere now, but I’m curious who you end up inviting with that hot spring voucher I gave you?]

(It turned out Zhou Yang’s father was the chairman of this resort hotel. Su Wanqing’s voucher had been given to her by Zhou Yang through a waiter while she was shopping at her usual clothing store, under the guise of a lucky customer. His goal was to see who Su Wanqing would bring to the hot springs and whether she had a new boyfriend now.)

Their conversation was thick with tension and unresolved history.

Inside the room, Lin Mucí pretended to pack while perking up his ears to listen to the commotion outside.

【When did they even meet? Why does it feel like there’s a whole story here?】

【Could it be they were secretly dating back in college, and I never noticed a thing??】

【No wonder Zhou Yang suddenly started buying me breakfast and bubble tea, acting like he was pursuing me. I’d even planned how to reject him but everything was only for him to ask what my cousin liked.】

【Yep, that’s it! Case solved! I’m really good at this Sherlock Holmes stuff!】

Just as Lin Mucí was distracted by his cousin’s romantic entanglement, Gu Chaoyu walked over to his side and gently closed the suite door, blocking out all outside noise.

He handed a cup of warm water to Lin Muchi and said with a smile:

“Let others handle their own affairs. We’re here to relax.”

With those words, he pulled Lin Mucí back into this private space belonging only to the two of them.

“Change first. We’re getting ready for the hot springs.”

Lin Mucí took the cup, nodded, and entered the bathroom with the bathrobe.

Minutes later,  Lin Mucí emerged wearing the bathrobe. Her cheeks were flushed, a faint blush spreading up her neck. She kept her head down, unable to meet Gu Chaoyu’s gaze.

Gu Chaoyu had already been waiting by the private hot spring on the terrace.

Sunlight filtered through the bamboo grove, casting dappled patterns across his body. He wore the same style of bathrobe, its collar slightly open, revealing a solid chest and collarbone.

Whether he heard Lin Mucí arrive or for some other reason, Gu Chaoyu slipped off the top of his bathrobe. Broad shoulders and the smooth lines of his back muscles appeared and disappeared in the hazy steam.

 Lin Mucí stopped in his tracks, mesmerized.

【What a stunning vision of a handsome man bathing!】

The atmosphere grew intensely charged.

Just as Gu Chaoyu reached out to him, the moment they were about to step into the water together…

“Splash—!”

A loud thud echoed from nearby, as if someone had accidentally fallen into the water.

Immediately followed by Su Wanqing’s shrieks and Zhou Yang’s panicked cries!

“Su Wanqing!”

It turned out that after arguing with Zhou Yang, Su Wanqing, still fuming, had gone to the bar alone to drown her sorrows. Slightly tipsy, she slipped and fell straight into the hotel’s decorative fountain!

Zhou Yang, startled, didn’t hesitate as he jumped in after her to pull her out. But Su Wanqing, still drunk, clung to him, sobbing and cursing, “Zhou Yang, you bastard! You’re nothing but a mama’s boy! No sense of responsibility, no backbone! If you had back then…”

Before she could finish, her head lolled to the side, and she passed out.

 Lin Mucí was startled by the sudden commotion. His first thought was—

【My cousin’s in trouble! I need to go check on her!】

Gu Chaoyu, meanwhile, thought to himself, Looks like today’s “date night” is going to be far livelier than anticipated.