The Protagonist 'Gong' Became my Wife - Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Backing Him Up

Jiang Yanning arrived very quickly. Gu Zhuo was still leisurely wiping glasses behind the bar when he was suddenly led away.

Taking him to a slightly quieter stairwell, Jiang Yanning asked urgently, “How are you? What did Li Chuan do to you?”

Gu Zhuo pursed his lips. “He tried to force me to drink. When I refused, he called his men to beat me.”

“Where are you hurt?”

“Here.”

Gu Zhuo leaned his injured ear forward, pointing at the tiny patch of broken skin, blinking his eyes with an aggrieved look. Some time had passed, and the wound hadn’t been treated. A thin trail of blood slowly slid down the contour of his ear, hanging at the lobe like a dangling red pearl.

Jiang Yanning frowned, pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, and meticulously wiped away the blood, lecturing him in a tone that was neither too light nor too heavy.

“You must stay far away from him in the future! If he looks for you again, call me immediately. You absolutely cannot face him alone!”

Feeling the oncoming scent belonging to Jiang Yanning, the corners of Gu Zhuo’s mouth curled up a bit more, and he nodded obediently. Once Jiang Yanning finished wiping, he inspected the wound carefully again. Seeing it wasn’t serious, he continued asking.

“What did he use to wound you?”

“A gun.”

“What?”

“It was a gun. The bullet is still in the door panel.”

Gu Zhuo said it nonchalantly, but a fire rose in Jiang Yanning’s heart. His phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, and he slowly rolled up his sleeves. His handsome face seemed frosted over.

“Where is Li Chuan?”

Seeing Gu Zhuo shake his head, Jiang Yanning simply pulled him along to get off work early; he was going to settle the score with Li Chuan. Since Gu Zhuo’s boss was Ji Zenan, getting time off was just a matter of a single sentence from him.

Today Jiang Yanning had drunk some alcohol and couldn’t drive; originally, he couldn’t have appeared here so quickly. Fortunately, at today’s gathering, there was a good friend of his from abroad who, knowing he was anxious, personally drove him to Twilight.

However, he hadn’t expected that Jiang Yanning would rush off to find someone and end up bringing back a lowly waiter.

He Wenyun, leaning against the car door, looked up at the silhouettes of the two walking side-by-side, his eyes narrowing slightly. The lights were dim, so he couldn’t see their faces clearly. Just looking at their builds tall with long legs, broad shoulders, and narrow waists either one was qualified to be his model. When the two stood together, a mysterious aura seemed to emerge that outsiders could not intrude upon.

But He Wenyun refused to believe it. He stood up slowly and jerked his chin toward Gu Zhuo.

“Yanning, where did this kid come from? Aren’t you going to introduce him?”

Jiang Yanning still frowned, busy sending a message to Assistant Zhou. Hearing the question, he turned his face slightly toward Gu Zhuo before replying.

“Gu Zhuo. He’s mine.”

Regardless of the massive storm he had stirred in He Wenyun’s heart, he opened the car door and pushed Gu Zhuo inside.

“Yanning, you’re joking, right? He—”

The phone vibrated slightly; it was Assistant Zhou returning the call. Jiang Yanning reached out to interrupt him, bracing one hand against the car door while holding the phone to his ear. His words were full of coldness.

“Where is Li Chuan?”

On the other end of the line, Assistant Zhou paused and answered truthfully. “In the ambulance. He’s likely almost at the hospital now. The address is…”

The call ended. Jiang Yanning looked at the hospital location on his phone, then glanced suspiciously at the lively and healthy Gu Zhuo, feeling as though something wasn’t quite right. He nudged He Wenyun and placed the phone in front of him.

“Wenyun, I’ll have to trouble you one more time. Take me to this address.”

…

At the hospital entrance, Assistant Zhou had already arrived. He led Jiang Yanning inside along a familiar path, reporting the news he had just gathered.

“I heard five of his ribs are broken and his head was split open; he needs stitches. There’s also a hematoma on the back of his head. It’s unclear if there will be any permanent aftereffects.”

As they spoke, they reached Li Chuan’s hospital bed. Seeing Gu Zhuo’s figure, Li Chuan began to struggle violently, pointing one hand at Gu Zhuo and clutching the doctor’s sleeve with the other.

“Him! He’s a monster! Doctor, quick, dissect him! He’s really a monster!”

The corners of Jiang Yanning’s mouth flattened into a cold sneer. “It seems he’s also developed a mental illness.”

Assistant Zhou understood instantly. He stepped forward to rescue the doctor and pulled him aside to give instructions. Jiang Yanning stepped closer to glance at Li Chuan’s miserable state, then took a step back in disgust.

He mocked cynically: “Li Chuan, you touched my person and managed to get yourself half-dead before I even lifted a finger. Tsk, how pathetic.”

Li Chuan was so angry he coughed up blood. Clutching his chest, he forced himself to sit up, one hand still stubbornly pointing at Gu Zhuo.

“Him! He did it all! Who bullied whom exactly!?”

Jiang Yanning shielded Gu Zhuo behind him. “Clearly you brought this on yourself, yet you want to shift the blame to others. I think you’ve lived long enough to become muddled!”

“You—you, you, you!”

Jiang Yanning seized his wrist and twisted it fiercely, pronouncing his punishment amidst the piercing screams.

“Don’t worry, I will certainly tell Uncle Li the truth about this. For the time being, you can stay where I arrange for you. You can come out once you’ve returned to normal.”

After speaking, he nodded to Assistant Zhou nearby and led Gu Zhuo out of the ward. But he didn’t leave immediately; instead, he pushed open another doctor’s office and pressed Gu Zhuo into a seat.

“He’s injured. Quick, take a look at him.”

Gu Zhuo obediently leaned his ear forward. The old doctor peered at the ear for a long time, then put on his reading glasses and looked again. Finally, he tossed out a bottle of iodine.

“Here. Any later and this wound would have healed itself!”

Despite Gu Zhuo’s repeated protests that it wasn’t necessary, Jiang Yanning stubbornly disinfected it, wrapped it in several layers of gauze, and finally tied it with a small, dainty bow.

Fiddling with his masterpiece, Jiang Yanning leaned in closer and suddenly laughed out loud. Gu Zhuo felt a puff of warm air behind his ear. Jiang Yanning cautiously put his arms around him, resting his head on Gu Zhuo’s shoulder and patting him gently.

“You were scared today, weren’t you? Don’t be afraid. I’ve already taught him a lesson for you.”

Gu Zhuo was embarrassed by this child-coaxing tone and retorted, “I wasn’t scared!”

Jiang Yanning was persistent: “You were scared. It’s okay, Brother is backing you up!”

Gu Zhuo belatedly realized Jiang Yanning was acting abnormally. Suddenly feeling a weight on his shoulder, Jiang Yanning lost consciousness in that awkward position. It made sense; he had left the gathering abruptly today and had presumably drunk several glasses. The series of actions just now were likely just him forcing himself to stay awake.

Now, in this small dressing room, in Gu Zhuo’s embrace, smelling the familiar bitter coffee fragrance, Jiang Yanning relaxed and allowed himself to fall into a deep sleep.

Gu Zhuo shook his head with a chuckle. No wonder he was being so childish he was drunk.

After carrying him out of the dressing room, Gu Zhuo first found Assistant Zhou and explained the situation. Looking at his boss sleeping soundly, Assistant Zhou’s expression twisted slightly. Finally, he went to the garage to drive.

After placing the person in the back seat, Gu Zhuo walked to He Wenyun’s car and knocked on the window.

“Mr. He, my brother is drunk, so it’s not convenient to thank you in person. Sorry for the trouble today.”

Wenyun stared directly at the beautiful face revealed after the mask was removed, his smile as usual: “In that case, do you want me to drive you back? To save Assistant Zhou on another trip?”

Gu Zhuo shook his head, declining the kindness. “No need. I’m staying at Brother Jiang’s house. Mr. He, goodbye?”

He Wenyun’s fist, hidden in the darkness, clenched slightly. He squeezed a sentence through his lips. “Goodbye.”

Watching the black car speed away, Gu Zhuo turned calmly. In the air, 77 weakly reminded him:

【Host, he is Gong Number Six, He Wenyun. He’s the Male Lead’s good friend from abroad. He’s supposed to bond with Gu Xiao soon through a racing competition.】

‘Good friend’? Hmph.

77 instinctively felt that this “Hmph” carried a heavy amount of resentment.

After getting back home, Assistant Zhou realized he should disappear immediately, so he floored the accelerator and sped off. Gu Zhuo, who was about to say a polite word, was hit with a face full of exhaust; he only had time to press Jiang Yanning’s head into his chest to protect him.

77 flew ahead to open the door for Gu Zhuo and then quickly vanished into thin air. Inside the massive house, only the sound of rhythmic footsteps could be heard crossing the living room, going upstairs, and finally stopping by the bedroom bedside.

Gu Zhuo placed the man on the bed and mischievously toyed with Jiang Yanning’s messy hair, making the man frown repeatedly. Jiang Yanning grumbled as he pulled up the quilt to cover his entire face, leaving only the fluffy top of his head exposed.

Seeing this, a faint smile couldn’t help but appear on Gu Zhuo’s face, one he didn’t notice until he was back in his own room standing before the mirror. He froze, touched the corner of his lips, and suddenly turned off the light in the bathroom.

In the mirror, he looked like a husk without eyes or a mouth. Darkness surrounded him heavily, as if trying to tear him down into a more terrifying abyss. His phone suddenly lit up; the weak cold light was enough to bring Gu Zhuo back to his senses.

On the screen was a message from Gu Xiao. He had followed Gu Zhuo’s advice and taken time off, planning to send Father Gu back to their hometown and wouldn’t return for five days. Wen Xiyu, naturally, had gone with them.

Gu Zhuo’s finger moved slightly, sending back an “OK.” Without turning on the light, he finished washing up in the dark.

…

The next morning, because he had no classes, Gu Zhuo slept quite deeply until Jiang Yanning knocked on the door. Opening it in a daze, Jiang Yanning saw his “soul-out-of-body” look and patted the bow on his ear.

“This bow is nice. Very unique.”

Without waiting for Gu Zhuo to reply, he turned away and pointed downstairs. “It’s not early. Go wash up quickly. I made noodles; you can just go down and eat later.”

Hearing that it was noodles personally made by Jiang Yanning, Gu Zhuo decided to let him off for the moment and went to the bathroom. Jiang Yanning went to the master bedroom next door to change.

Once Gu Zhuo finished washing, he followed the aroma floating in the air down from the third floor. However, he saw a blonde guy clutching what should have been his bowl of noodles, devouring them with a face covered in oil.

Seeing him, the guy greeted him naturally. “Hi, Seventh Brother!”

Then he reacted quickly, looking up in surprise: “Seventh Brother, why are you here?”

Gu Zhuo stared deathly at that bowl of noodles, fists clenched, not saying a word. Jiang Yanning came downstairs with his briefcase. Seeing Jiang You’an, he was puzzled.

“You’an? Why are you here? Didn’t I tell you to wait for me in the car?”

Jiang You’an smirked. “I’m already here, so of course I had to come see you! Did you know I was coming, so you specifically made two bowls of noodles?”

Only then did Jiang Yanning notice the noodle bowl was empty. Looking at Gu Zhuo’s pursed lips, he realized what happened and glared fiercely at Jiang You’an.

“You’re overthinking it. That wasn’t for you. If you want to eat, go buy some yourself.”

He then apologized to Gu Zhuo. “I didn’t expect him to just walk in. I made two bowls; the other one is untouched. You eat that one.”

Gu Zhuo shook his head. “But Brother, you haven’t eaten either. You should eat it; I’ll just have a little bit of something else.”

“I’m not hungry. Forget it, I’ll make you another bowl.”

As Jiang Yanning headed into the kitchen to get busy, Jiang You’an sized Gu Zhuo up as if meeting him for the first time.

“You call him ‘Brother’? Then what am I?”

Gu Zhuo was still thinking about that bowl of noodles and ignored him.

“What’s your relationship with my brother? Why can you live in his house?”

“Are you still the Seventh Brother I know?”

Jiang You’an babbled a whole lot, but Gu Zhuo didn’t spare him a glance. Not until Jiang Yanning came out of the kitchen with the noodle bowl did he step forward to take it and place it on the table.

Jiang You’an looked at this bowl of noodles, which could be described as luxurious—complete with meat, eggs, and shrimp. Then thinking of the bowl he just ate, which only had a poached egg, his eyes turned red with grievance.

“Brother!”

Jiang Yanning’s chopsticks shook in fright, and he slammed the table hard. “What are you shouting for!?”

“This is unfair! Why does he get a luxury breakfast while your biological brother only deserves a poached egg! Why did I have to beg you for so long before you’d tell me your house code, but he can live with you! You’re unfair!”

Jiang Yanning rubbed his brow. He stood up and pressed down on the back of Jiang You’an’s neck.

“Him? You should call him Brother-in-Law.”