The Reluctant Bride Book II Chapter 8

‘At the hospital, she said she’s eight months pregnant,’ Gu Jiao Wen said.

‘What are you implying?’ Gu Jiao Wu asked.

‘Nothing,’ Gu Jiao Wen said in the same cheeky tone of voice as Tan Pan Ting. ‘Big brother hates big sister that much, you wouldn’t sleep with her.’

‘Say what you want to say,’ Gu Jiao Wu said.

Gu Jiao Wen shrugged his shoulders. ‘I have nothing to say except big brother, if you didn’t sleep with big sister there’s no problem. But if you slept with her…’

Gu Jiao Wu’s hands gripped the table.

‘If big brother is the father of big sister’s baby, her baby is the first born of the next generation of the Gu Household…’ Gu Jiao Wen said.

Gu Jiao Wu didn’t need to hear the rest to understand. He wanted to choke Gu Jiao Wen’s cheeky neck.

‘Have you said enough?’ Gu Jiao Wu asked.

‘I’m done,’ Gu Jiao Wen said. ‘I’m going to go find my wife.’

Gu Jiao Wen left Gu Jiao Wu to brood alone.

After dinner, Gu Jiao Wu drove to the Qiao Mansion.

Gu Jiao Wu parked near the Qiao Mansion’s front gate. But another car parked in front of the Qiao Mansion before him. It was Shen Cheng. Shen Cheng carried gifts to the front door and a Qiao assistant opened the door for Shen Cheng. His brows creased and he decided to come back another day.

Three days later, Gu Jiao Wu was busy with work meetings and didn’t have time to think about whether he was the father of Qiao Tan Yuan’s baby.

Gu Jiao Wu took the subway to meetings to avoid speculation about his status. It was crowded and noisy on the train.

‘Gu Jiao Wu?’ Li Lam asked.

Gu Jiao Wu didn’t know how long Li Lam was standing next to him on the train.

‘I didn’t expect you to ride the subway,’ Li Lam said.

‘Hello,’ Gu Jiao Wu greeted politely.

‘Why aren’t you driving?’ Li Lam asked.

‘Inconvenient,’ Gu Jiao Wu said.

‘True,’ Li Lam said. ‘It’s busy in the city. Many cars and hard to find parking.’

‘Um,’ Gu Jiao Wu said.

The train stopped at a station and a group of passengers entered the train. Li Lam used the opportunity to fall onto Gu Jiao Wu’s chest.

‘I’m sorry,’ Li Lam said.

‘It’s nothing,’ Gu Jiao Wu said.

Gu Jiao Wu held her arms to steady her.

‘Thank you,’ Li Lam said. ‘It’s crowded in this carriage.’

Gu Jiao Wu let go of Li Lam and she held onto a pole. Li Lam’s fragrance was familiar and she looked like Chu Da. But Li Lam and Chu Da had different surnames, they couldn’t be twin sisters. How could there be two unrelated people who looked alike?

Gu Jiao Wu didn’t know why Li Lam wore the same fragrance as Chu Da. Chu Da wasn’t physically beautiful, but he loved Chu Da’s soothing fragrance on Chu Da’s body. He remembered his last day with Chu Da. He and Chu Da slept together at the hotel. Afterward he drove to the Gu Mansion to prepare his family to meet Chu Da at dinner. But when he returned to the hotel, he only saw Qiao Tan Yuan and couldn’t see Chu Da.

Gu Jiao Wu creased his brows, closed his eyes and thought deeply. Where was Chu Da? Why didn’t he hear any news of Chu Da after four years?

‘Gu Jiao Wu?’ Li Lam asked.

Gu Jiao Wu opened his eyes. ‘Chu Da…’

‘Yes,’ Li Lam said. ‘I’m Chu Da.’

‘Chu Da,’ Gu Jiao Wu called.

Gu Jiao Wu mistook Li Lam for Chu Da while he was reminiscing about Chu Da. But he regained his senses and let go of Li Lam after he realised his mistake.

Passengers were accustomed to young couples embracing on trains so no one noticed Gu Jiao Wu hugged Li Lam.

‘I’m sorry,’ Gu Jiao Wu said.

‘It’s nothing,’ Li Lam said and coughed awkwardly.

It was the first time Gu Jiao Wu thought about Chu Da and substituted another person as Chu Da.

Gu Jiao Wu didn’t believe there could be two people who looked alike and wore the same fragrance.

After Gu Jiao Wu got off the train, him hugging Li Lam was passed off as a dream.

Gu Jiao Wu called an assistant. ‘Help me investigate a person.’

A while later, Gu Jiao Wu hung up the phone. He was determined to find out who was Li Lam.

When Gu Jiao Wu returned to the Gu Mansion, Gu Jiao Wen was leaving with Tan Pan Ting to take a stroll. Gu Jiao Wu looked at Tan Pan Ting’s stomach, and he immediately thought about Qiao Tan Yuan’s baby. Why did Qiao Tan Yuan lie to him about being six months pregnant instead of eight months pregnant? He took out his car key and drove to the Qiao Mansion.

It was a hot summer day, at the Qiao Mansion, Shen Cheng was taking a stroll around the front garden with Qiao Tan Yuan.

Gu Jiao Wu stood nearby. He was surprised to see Shen Cheng holding Qiao Tan Yuan’s hand, and she was smiling gently at Shen Cheng. He frowned, he had never seen Qiao Tan Yuan’s gentleness. He looked at Qiao Tan Yuan’s big stomach, and clenched his hands.

If Qiao Tan Yuan was eight months pregnant then she was pregnant before the divorce. But Gu Jiao Wu asked her to take the day after pill that morning to prevent pregnancy. How was it possible he was the father? But she lied to him about being six months pregnant instead of eight months pregnant so she could have lied to him about taking the pill. If he was the father, why didn’t she use his baby to hold onto him instead of choosing to divorce him? Didn’t she say she loved him the most?

It was the first time Gu Jiao Wu was confused, he didn’t expect it would be Qiao Tan Yuan who made him feel confused. The gentleness on Qiao Tan Yuan’s face wasn’t the same face in his memories. He laughed at himself, he must have been seeing things. What was he doing at the Qiao Mansion? Qiao Tan Yuan’s pregnancy had nothing to do with him. But if he was the father of Qiao Tan Yuan’s baby… the baby was a legitimate first born of the Gu Household.

End of Chapter Eight

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