The Protagonist 'Gong' Became my Wife - Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Shura Field

The roar of engines echoed throughout the entire racing grounds. Two cars, one red and one black, stood at the starting line. The eyes of the people inside hiddenly harbored the smoke of gunpowder.

Jiang Yanning originally intended to play a couple of rounds and then head back to work, so he could return early to have dinner with Gu Zhuo. Instead, he was held back by these two, leaving him sitting bored on the spectator stands, pushing up his sliding glasses.

Having received the news, Li Xianyue came out of her office. She unceremoniously propped up a massive sunshade and handed Jiang Yanning a bottle of soda.

“Sigh, I heard this bet started because of you? Unbelievable, President Jiang; you’re pushing thirty and yet you still have the potential to be a ‘calamity’ to men.”

Jiang Yanning gave a cold snort, making the tin can in his hand crackle and pop.

“What does it have to do with me? I’m a man with a boyfriend. It’s that Ding You—it’s like he took the wrong medicine.”

Suddenly, he reacted. “By the way, how do you know that Ding You? What’s his background?”

Li Xianyue brushed back her long hair and reminisced.

“Our first meeting was at a banquet. He gave me a hand back then, and seeing he was a young handsome guy, I remembered his face. Today was a coincidence; I just came out of the mall and saw him making a call in the parking lot. It seemed like some friend of his couldn’t make it. I asked, and since he happened to be coming to this club, didn’t I just bring him along? I didn’t ask much else. Besides, with those skills, he’s clearly a great prospect; I have to find a chance to scout him.”

Li Xianyue gazed toward the end of the track where the cars had long since vanished, thinking it more feasible the more she considered it. Ding You was even working part-time as a waiter; he might have some financial difficulties. If he joined her club, it would be a win-win choice!

Jiang Yanning had no interest in this. He pulled out his phone and sent a message to Gu Zhuo.

Ning: Are you home yet?

On the rugged track, Gu Zhuo was having a blast holding the steering wheel, accelerating one moment and decelerating the next, teasing He Wenyun until the latter was practically pounding his own steering wheel.

77 gripped the seatbelt with one hand to avoid being flung away while dutifully reporting to Gu Zhuo.

【Host, Jiang Yanning, sent you a message! Asking if you’re home yet!】

Gu Zhuo diverted some attention, letting 77 control his phone to reply.

Zhuo: Not home yet. Browsing alone is so boring; next time, Brother must accompany me.

Looking at the message popping up on the screen, a tender smile Jiang Yanning didn’t even notice appeared on his face.

Ning: Okay, I’ll accompany you next time.

Li Xianyue glimpsed this scene and kept darting her eyes toward the phone, nearly making her eyelids cramp. Unfortunately, Jiang Yanning was stingy; he quickly flipped the phone facedown on his lap, pretending to be intently focused on the race.

Li Xianyue curled her lip. “Stingy! Having a boyfriend and not telling us—are we even friends?”

His friend…

Wen Xiyu and Li Mengze didn’t seem to know about this either. After signing the agreement, Jiang Yanning only thought of it as a transaction, so he didn’t go public immediately. Now his thoughts had changed slightly, but he didn’t know Gu Zhuo’s intentions.

He spoke perfunctorily: “Next time. Next time everyone has time, we’ll have a meal together.”

As the two chatted, the race was half over. The red and black cars were neck-and-neck; for a moment, the winner couldn’t be predicted. Jiang Yanning was infected by the tense atmosphere and couldn’t help but stand up.

Li Xianyue stood beside him, taking the last sip of her soda.

“Tsk tsk, both of them are being reckless. Best if nothing happens, otherwise…”

At the final sprint, He Wenyun floored the accelerator, sweat dripping from his brow; he was tense to the extreme. In contrast, Gu Zhuo’s speed was no slower than He Wenyun’s, yet he didn’t look worried at all, as relaxed as if he were on an outing. His hands turned the wheel seemingly at random, precisely avoiding obstacles and even overtaking He Wenyun by a bit.

In his mind, he discussed with 77 exactly which second he should cross the finish line.

“Screech—”

Gu Zhuo defeated He Wenyun by a margin of 0.01 seconds. The car body performed a cool fishtail and stopped steadily in front of Jiang Yanning, who was walking down from the stands.

The car window slowly lowered. Gu Zhuo reached out a hand, palm up in a gesture of invitation.

“Mr. Jiang, are you here to welcome me, the victor?”

Jiang Yanning turned his steps, supporting He Wenyun who had just stepped out of the driver’s seat. The two walked slowly toward the locker rooms.

Displeasure flashed through Gu Zhuo’s heart. He quickly got out of the car with a grin, nudged Jiang Yanning out of the way, and grabbed He Wenyun’s arm.

“Let me do it; I happen to be going to shower too. Let’s go, Mr. He. It’s just a loss to me; no need to be so sad. You earned this!”

Jiang Yanning watched the two walk further away, his brow furrowing slightly as he took a deep breath.

Was it his hallucination? Why did he feel he smelled bitter coffee?

Looking closely, Ding You’s back looked more and more like Gu Zhuo’s. Only, this pure black outfit made Ding You seem more aggressive, different from the usually gentle Gu Zhuo.

Even so, the suspicion in his heart grew deeper, especially knowing the mall Gu Zhuo was at and the mall where Li Xianyue met Ding You were the same one.

Thus, when Gu Zhuo had finished a comfortable shower, changed into new clothes bought from the system mall, and stepped out the door, he caught a glimpse of a hand reaching out in his peripheral vision. Its target was the mask on his face.

In his eyes, the movement was like slow motion. He effortlessly caught the person’s wrist, ambiguously rubbing the soft skin on the inside with his finger, his tone dallying.

“What? Has Mr. Jiang witnessed my heroic posture and decided to grant my request?”

Having failed once, Jiang Yanning sent his other hand forward. Gu Zhuo, naturally, accepted it unceremoniously. Gripping both his wrists, he pinned the man against the wall.

“What is Mr. Jiang trying to do? Throwing yourself into my arms?”

Jiang Yanning turned his head away and mocked: “You don’t even dare to show your face, yet you ask me to grant your request? On what grounds? What if you’re an ugly monster?”

Gu Zhuo used one hand to touch the mask on his face. “So you’re interested in my face? That won’t do; my face can only be seen by my wife. If you look, you’ll have to marry me. Does Mr. Jiang wish for that?”

“I do not!”

Jiang Yanning broke free from the restraint and swung a punch at Ding You’s face. Just as He Wenyun came out of the adjacent room, Gu Zhuo got distracted. He didn’t control his strength well and pulled Jiang Yanning entirely into his embrace.

The two were not much different in height; Jiang Yanning was only slightly taller than Gu Zhuo. As they fell back together against the wall, it looked like Jiang Yanning was ‘wall-slamming’ (kabedon) Ding You. Their exposed noses bumped, breaths intertwining, only to shove each other away in the next second.

Jiang Yanning was at a loss; Gu Zhuo was feeling guilty.

He Wenyun watched this scene happen with his own eyes, his hands trembling with rage. “You—you two?”

Ding You shrugged. “Pure accident. I’m leaving first. Mr. He, remember to watch for my message.”

He made a gesture of answering a phone. On the way to the locker rooms, they had exchanged numbers; Ding You would inform him of his condition at the appropriate time.

He Wenyun nodded with a cold face.

When Jiang Yanning had grabbed their things and was prepared to leave, He Wenyun asked out of the blue: “Yanning, do you like Gu Zhuo very much? Do you have plans to get married?”

Jiang Yanning was still contemplating the possibility of Ding You being Gu Zhuo; for a moment, he didn’t react and just nodded haphazardly.

The two were silent all the way.

At the club entrance, Ding You was leaning against a pillar, boredly using his toe to scuff at the tiny grass growing from the cracks in the bricks. Li Xianyue happened to come out, gesturing for Ding You to follow. Since she brought him, she was responsible for taking him home; otherwise, it was hard to get a taxi in this remote area.

The two walked side-by-side a handsome man and a beautiful woman. Their backs looked very well-matched. Jiang Yanning hadn’t cleared the mess in his brain yet, but upon seeing this back view, he caught a thread.

His mouth was faster than his brain as he stopped the two of them.

“Wait a minute!”

Li Xianyue turned back in confusion. “Yanning? Are you guys leaving too? Perfect, I’ll take him home and go find you for a drink later.”

Jiang Yanning bit the bullet and spoke. “No need. I mean, you don’t need to take him. I’ll take him.”

Alarm bells rang in He Wenyun’s head. Putting this flamboyant Ding You and Jiang Yanning together he really didn’t dare imagine what would happen. He hurriedly interjected.

“No, no, no, Yanning. Let me. Mr. Ding and I still have matters to resolve. How about we chat on the way?”

Li Xianyue was also a bit hesitant; she still wanted to win Ding You over on the way to serve as the face of her club. For a moment, the eyes of all three fell upon Ding You.

77 tucked in its wings and hid firmly behind Gu Zhuo’s back.

【Host, you played around, you played around… now let’s see how you end this!】

The peach-blossom eyes behind Gu Zhuo’s sunglasses curled slightly, indicating the owner’s good mood.What is there to hesitate about?

“I thank you both for your kindness; we can contact each other via phone for any matters. Mr. Jiang, after you.”

Turning to follow Ding You’s lead, then looking back at Li Xianyue and He Wenyun standing still in place, Jiang Yanning suddenly had an absurd feeling of successfully “snatching a bride.” He quickly shook his head and sped up to get into the car.

Once the car door closed, Jiang Yanning’s attitude changed abruptly. He said coldly, “Seatbelt, put it on. Where is your home?”

Gu Zhuo tilted his head. “Hmm, let me think. Where would be good?”

“You don’t even know where your home is? Which family let their mental patient out on the street?”

Gu Zhuo spread his hands. “That’s a secret. I can’t tell you until you become my wife. Mr. Jiang, just drop me off at the mall.”

Jiang Yanning let out a scoff and turned the car key. Suddenly, taking advantage of Gu Zhuo’s lack of attention, he unfastened his seatbelt, flipped over, and pinned the man against the seat.

Gu Zhuo instinctively reached out to support his waist. The mask and sunglasses on his face lost their defense and were caught at a corner. Jiang Yanning let out a wanton smile and raised an eyebrow, as if saying “I’m going to look; what can you do about it?”

Gu Zhuo shook his head helplessly and proactively grabbed Jiang Yanning’s hand, taking off the coverings on his face one by one.

His eyes were full of smiles. “So, are you satisfied with what you see? Wife?”