Chapter 23: Then just cancel the engagement (Part 2)

He wasn’t sure whether to step forward and introduce himself or keep a low profile.

Instead, he simply looked at Gu Zhaoping, waiting for her decision.

“This is Xiao Chu, a member of my team on the show.”

Gu Zhaoping lifted her chin slightly as she introduced him.

Only then did Chu Yanze take off his cap, revealing slightly tousled, fresh-looking short hair.

He brushed his bangs away and removed his sunglasses, hooking them onto the collar of his hoodie, revealing a clean, handsome face.

“Jie, hello.”

He recognized Fang Yining as the doctor who had treated Ruan Nian on the show.

Fang Yining was momentarily dumbfounded.

This… this was Chu Yanze?!

Wasn’t he one of the hottest idols right now?!

Did Zhaoping get involved with him?!

In their circle, many people were into celebrity fandoms, and quite a few were his fans.

Whenever he held a concert, they would always buy VIP front-row seats.

She never expected that he was now with Zhaoping.

A young and handsome idol, politely calling her “Jie” with such good manners Fang Yining was delighted.

Suddenly, she understood Gu Zhaoping.

“Hello, hello, Xiao Chu!”

She greeted him warmly.

“No need to be so formal.

I’m a good friend of Zhaoping’s.

Are you shopping with her today?”

“No, we’re just buying supplies for our team.

I’m here to help Zhaoping-jie carry things.”

He replied smoothly.

Fang Yining’s impression of him improved even more.

At this, she shot Gu Zhaoping a look one that seemed to say, Your taste has improved.

It looked like Zhaoping had really changed recently, improving in all aspects!

Gu Zhaoping, however, completely missed the implication.

They continued shopping for a while longer.

Since Chu Yanze was a celebrity, he had his own responsibilities and work.

Gu Zhaoping asked, “Xiao Chu, do you want to head back first?

We’re going to keep shopping for a bit.”

Chu Yanze shook his head.

“If you need me, I don’t have anything scheduled today.”

Fang Yining couldn’t stop herself from silently clicking her tongue.

Look at this guy he really knew how to phrase things.

Just by switching the order of his words, he instantly filled the conversation with emotional support.

His attitude was refreshing unlike some male models, he didn’t seem overly demanding or ingratiating.

Zhaoping’s taste had truly improved!

She approved!

If Gu Zhaoye could date female celebrities, why couldn’t Zhaoping date male celebrities?

Gu Zhaoping didn’t notice anything unusual and simply nodded.

They walked into a restaurant, feeling hungry after all the shopping, and decided to have a meal there.

Fang Yining had brought along two other friends who were close to Gu Zhaoping.

With a total of five people, they picked a slightly longer table that could accommodate them all.

Chu Yanze had excellent table manners.

Before any of the women sat down, he had already adjusted their chairs.

Seeing that one of them was wearing a dress and had trouble getting comfortable, he turned to the waiter and spoke briefly.

The waiter quickly brought over a blanket.

Then, he casually pulled back the chair for Gu Zhaoping, making it easier for her to sit down.

But since she was sitting next to him, it felt more like a natural courtesy rather than a deliberate act.

His face remained neutral, without any unnecessary expressions or words.

“Thank you.”

Gu Zhaoping took her seat and started chatting with her friends about recent events.

Chu Yanze didn’t take out his phone, nor did he look around the restaurant.

He simply sat in his chair, attentively listening to whoever was speaking.

However, he didn’t participate in the conversation there was no place for him to chime in.

When the discussion touched on topics that weren’t suitable for him, he lowered his gaze, seemingly lost in thought, staring at the fresh guitar string marks on his fingers.

“Zhaoping, you’ve changed a lot recently!

I saw you taking Jiu-Jitsu lessons last time.

How’s that going?

Are the classes good?”

“It’s good.

The coach is very professional.”

Gu Zhaoping responded to her.

Her friend gave her a thumbs-up.

Gu Zhaoping’s friends were all about providing emotional support whatever their sister did was always right.

“You’re amazing! You actually stuck with the lessons!”

“It’s a simple thing. You just do it when the time comes. Don’t overthink it.”

Gu Zhaoping didn’t find it difficult to stick to something.

She just never wasted time thinking about other things when she was supposed to be doing something.

Her friend was momentarily stunned.

Everyone exchanged glances and shrugged.

She really was different now.

She made it sound so easy, but they doubted they could do the same.

The only one at the table who truly listened was probably Chu Yanze.

He paused for a moment, seemingly deep in thought.

At one point, someone needed to go to the restroom.

When they stood up, Chu Yanze stepped aside to make room.

Gu Zhaoping also shifted slightly to the side.

At that moment, Fang Yining accidentally brushed against Gu Zhaoping’s leg.

She immediately noticed something and exclaimed in surprise.

“Ah! Zhaoping, how did you get hurt?”

Her sudden outburst caught everyone’s attention.

The whole table turned to look at Gu Zhaoping’s leg.

Chu Yanze’s movements also paused.

He held onto his chair, recalling the muscle tape he had seen on her legs that morning.

“It’s normal for Jiu-Jitsu training.”

Gu Zhaoping glanced down and casually responded, resting her chin on her hands against the table, not making a big deal out of it.

But Fang Yining was shocked.

She bent her knees and crouched down, touching and lightly pressing around Gu Zhaoping’s leg.

Her doctor’s instincts immediately kicked in.

“You have a serious strain! And here did you hit something? There are bruises!”

“It’s already scabbing. If you don’t take care of it properly, you might end up with scars for a while.”

Fang Yining scolded her slightly.

“Your legs are so beautiful. You can’t let them scar!”

Chu Yanze stiffened slightly and averted his gaze.

How many people had already told her to take care of her scars?

Including the old Gu-jie herself, the friends who asked if she was serious about learning Jiu-Jitsu, the Jiu-Jitsu coach, and now, Fang Yining.

Gu Zhaoping truly didn’t care.

But constantly having to explain this was starting to wear her out.

She kept her response brief.

“It’s fine. This is not a big deal.”

“People get injured. I don’t like wasting time on unnecessary things.”

What she meant was that she had already disinfected and applied medicine.

There was no need to take further steps.

She considered it a waste of energy.

Gu Zhaoping was someone who absolutely valued efficiency and a streamlined lifestyle.

Fang Yining was momentarily stunned and looked up at her.

Hearing such a firm statement from Zhaoping… felt unfamiliar.

Gu Zhaoping noticed her dazed expression, thought for a moment, and added.

“Rather than worrying about appearance, this injury symbolizes my effort. That’s more worthy of attention.”

“If it can serve as proof of the time and energy I put into training, then I’m happy for more people to see it.”

Fang Yining was completely stunned.

The others at the table were also speechless.

What?

Was this something Zhaoping would say?

The Zhaoping they knew…

She was so… confident about it.

She was actually proud of her scars because they were proof of her hard work?

Wait, what the hell?!

Damn it!

That moment was wasted!

This was such a golden scene, and no one recorded it!

@InfiniteGoodWriting, exclusively at Jinjiang Literature City

Fang Yining regretted it so much!

Chu Yanze also froze slightly.

Something flickered deep in his eyes.

Then, the light dimmed, hiding itself somewhere even deeper.

He pulled back his chair to let Fang Yining pass.

Just as he turned to sit back down, he caught a faint flash from a camera lens in his peripheral vision.

After being in the spotlight for so long and constantly being photographed, Chu Yanze had developed an instinctive reaction.

He immediately looked in that direction.

Not far from the restaurant, hidden among a large collection of potted plants, something reflected the light.

Chu Yanze was still standing.

Without hesitation, he pushed his chair aside and strode toward the plants.

The others at the table froze, unsure of what was happening.

They craned their necks to watch his retreating figure.

Chu Yanze reached the plants and said, “Do I have to come in and find you, or are you coming out yourself?”

There was silence for a moment.

Then, after a long pause, someone reluctantly stepped out from behind the plants.

A young person, head lowered, a camera hanging around their neck, clutching their lens tightly.

They looked very young.

Chu Yanze asked, “What did you take pictures of?”

His voice carried a restrained coldness.

The fact that he was still speaking politely was already his greatest display of patience.

It was almost certain this was a sasaeng (obsessive fan).

Even after changing disguises multiple times and switching taxis twice on the way here, they had still managed to follow him.

But instead of being afraid, the sasaeng fan suddenly became emotional.

Clutching their camera, they shouted.

“Chu Yanze, how could you?! Have you forgotten your original intentions?!”

“Don’t you remember that your true destined CP (celebrity pairing) is Ruan Nian?!”

“How can you be with someone like Gu Zhaoping?!”

“Chu Yanze, you’ve betrayed us!”

Chu Yanze was completely stunned.

His pupils contracted slightly.

The sasaeng fan had clearly been upset for a long time.

She had tracked down his whereabouts, thinking it would just be another routine moment of secretly following his personal schedule and snapping some photos.

But she never expected to catch him meeting a woman.

And not just any woman she was the despised Gu Zhaoping!

Sure, many fans had recently developed a good impression of Gu Zhaoping because of the giveaway incident.

Some were even crazily supporting her.

@InfiniteGoodWriting, exclusively at Jinjiang Literature City

But for people like her, Chu Yanze being close to Gu Zhaoping was completely unacceptable.

For instance, she was a hardcore Chu Yanze and Ruan Nian shipper.

She had been crouched in hiding for a long time, taking pictures along the way, capturing everything Gu Zhaoping had said including her statement about being unafraid of scars.

It struck her.

She suddenly remembered that the whole online controversy between Gu Zhaoping and Ruan Nian had originally started over an injury.

The worst part?

For just a fleeting moment, she had been shaken by Gu Zhaoping’s words.

Before she could snap out of it, she frantically tried to erase the thought from her mind.

She was supposed to hate Gu Zhaoping!

How could she be impressed by her?

After hearing her own words, Chu Yanze was dumbfounded.

But the sasaeng fan, seeing his reaction, thought she had the upper hand.

She shouted even louder.

“Chu Yanze, do you really not feel guilty toward Ruan Nian?!”

“Ruan Nian is about to end up with some big CEO, and yet you’re still running around with another woman?!”

Finally understanding what kind of nonsense he was hearing, Chu Yanze’s pupils trembled slightly.

He almost couldn’t even catch his breath.

Just as he was about to rebut, footsteps approached behind him, followed by a voice.

“What’s going on, Xiao Chu?”

The sasaeng fan froze in place, her hands gripping her camera so tightly that she nearly dropped it.

Holy crap!

Gu Zhaoping was here?!

After seeing the recent online news about Gu Zhaoping confronting people, she had no confidence in arguing against her.

She instinctively turned to run!

But she had barely taken two steps when a strong grip caught hold of her collar.

The force was swift and undeniable.

Gu Zhaoping easily held her in place and raised an eyebrow.

“What did she just say?”

It seemed she assumed it was just another situation where she was helping Chu Yanze out.

But at this moment, the one feeling more nervous than the sasaeng fan… was actually Chu Yanze himself!