The air froze for a few seconds.
Lu Chuan was stunned.
Gu Hongzhuang was also stunned.
The two of them just looked at each other like that, neither saying a word for a long time.
Eventually, Gu Hongzhuang was the first to break the silence, asking, "Do I look good?"
Lu Chuan had been captivated by her nearly perfect body, unable to shift his gaze away. Hearing Gu Hongzhuang's question, he subconsciously nodded, "Good-looking..."
Gu Hongzhuang frowned slightly, not expecting this guy to actually dare answer her question. She spoke again, "Why don't you come over and feel?"
Lu Chuan swallowed hard, his eyes falling to the area below her collarbone, "Can... Can I?"
Even for someone as composed as Gu Hongzhuang, her face couldn't help but blush with a tint of red as she scolded, "What do you think!"
It was then that Lu Chuan realized his mistake and quickly turned his back to Gu Hongzhuang, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, my brain just malfunctioned. Sister, please don't be angry."
Gu Hongzhuang laughed, "Sister? Your mouth is quite sweet."
Lu Chuan scratched his head through an awkward moment, "Sister, may I ask why I am here? And, what's your name?"
Gu Hongzhuang reached for her bathrobe, seemingly not minding Lu Chuan's presence at all, and replied, "My name is Gu Hongzhuang. They all call me Sister Hong. As for you..."
Upon hearing the name Gu Hongzhuang, something clicked in Lu Chuan's heart, and his expression instantly darkened.
He had long heard of Gu Hongzhuang's name; not only was she one of the four beauties of Cloud City, but the reason the people of Cloud City were familiar with her was mainly that everyone knew she was Long Tianya's lover!
This meant that he was now in the hands of Long Tianya's people!
He didn't wait for Gu Hongzhuang to finish speaking. He spun around quickly, taking a step forward, knocking the towel from Gu Hongzhuang's hands. Then he reached out, grabbing her neck and pulling her into his embrace in a choke hold.
With his face full of vigilance, he stared around him and demanded, "Did you bring me here on Long Tianya's orders? What are you trying to do? Are there others hiding in this villa?"
Gu Hongzhuang knitted her brows, "Are you sick?"
Lu Chuan let out a cold snort, "You won't talk, huh? If you don't, I'll have to take you right now. I can be very ruthless, you definitely won't be able to handle it. Don't think I'm just scaring you!"
Having said that, he hesitated for a moment, but eventually put one hand on Gu Hongzhuang's chest to show he wasn't playing around.
Gu Hongzhuang's delicate body trembled lightly and she said through clenched teeth, "It was Mengyao who told me to save you! Can't you listen to me till the end?"
Lu Chuan was instantly taken aback, "Mengyao told you to save me? But... Aren't you Long Tianya's lover?"
Gu Hongzhuang explained, "I am indeed with him, but that doesn't mean I'm on his side. If it were really Long Tianya who wanted to catch you, with the mere fact that you are Mengyao's fiancé, you would probably have been buried in the ground by now. Would you still have the chance to be talking to me here?"
Lu Chuan immediately realized, only Chu Mengyao knew he was her fiancé, and now that Gu Hongzhuang mentioned it, it could only have come from Chu Mengyao.
He seemed to have indeed misunderstood Gu Hongzhuang.
An embarrassed look crawled onto his face as he said, "I'm... I'm sorry, it was an overreaction on my part."
Gu Hongzhuang turned her head and glanced at him sideways, asking, "Comfortable, wasn't it?"
Lu Chuan quickly let go of his hand and then picked up the bath towel from the ground, handing it to Gu Hongzhuang with an apologetic bow, "I'm sorry!"
Soon after, he hastily left the bathroom.
He took out his cell phone, called Chu Mengyao to confirm that what Gu Hongzhuang had said was true. After expressing his gratitude to Chu Mengyao and stating that he would definitely repay her one day, he hung up the phone and began to worry about how he might seek Gu Hongzhuang's forgiveness.
Before long, Gu Hongzhuang came out wearing a bathrobe, her eyes filled with resentment.
Lu Chuan stepped forward quickly, head lowered, and said, "Sister Hong, I'm sorry, I asked Mengyao, and I misunderstood you. You are my lifesaver, and I..."
Gu Hongzhuang waved her hand, "You didn't know, it's normal to react that way, I don't blame you."
Lu Chuan breathed a sigh of relief.
"However, aside from Long Tianya, you're the first man who's dared to touch me like that," Gu Hongzhuang said with a teasing expression as she stared at Lu Chuan.
Lu Chuan's face turned red at once, and he dared not meet Gu Hongzhuang's eyes.
But Gu Hongzhuang leaned in close to Lu Chuan, smiling as she said, "You just claimed you were very ferocious. I want to see just how much I can take."
Her eyes drifted downward as one hand slowly slid down.
Lu Chuan quickly stepped back several paces, "Sister Hong, I'm shy, stop joking. I was just talking nonsense earlier."
Gu Hongzhuang chuckled lightly, "What's the matter? Long Tianya's son stole your fiancée, don't you want to put a green hat on him for revenge?"
Lu Chuan suddenly said with all seriousness, "I will confront Long Tianya face to face and make him change his mind, not use methods like this to get revenge!"
Gu Hongzhuang was taken aback, then gave a self-deprecating laugh and said, "Don't be naive. In Cloud City, no one can compete with Long Tianya."
Her liking for Lu Chuan grew a little; her previous words were just a test for Lu Chuan. If he really wanted to do something to her, she wouldn't hesitate to call Long Tianya over.
Lu Chuan's face was full of determination, "That's the past. In the near future, he will be trampled under my feet!"
"Sister Hong, the fact that you were willing to save me must mean you were forced to be Long Tianya's lover, right? Don't worry. Once I am powerful enough, I will definitely rescue you from this sea of suffering!"
Gu Hongzhuang was stunned, staring at Lu Chuan for a long while without speaking.
After a while, she revealed a beautiful smile, shook her head, and said, "Naive silly boy, no wonder Mengyao asked me to help you."
"The wounds on your body haven't yet healed, go back to your room and rest. You can stay here as long as you like. I still have guests to entertain, so I can't accompany you."
Having said this, she picked up a bracelet from the cabinet beside her, put it on her wrist, and turned to go back to her room to change clothes.
Lu Chuan frowned at the sight of that bracelet; he sensed something evil about it.
But he was in a rush to use the bathroom and didn't give it another thought, hurrying into the restroom.
After using the toilet and considering the bloodstains from the fight with Lin Hu, he took a shower.
Once he had cleaned up and came out, he saw from the second-floor balcony that Gu Hongzhuang had already changed and was standing in the living room on the first floor.
An elderly man with white hair, dressed in a black traditional Chinese robe, was looking around the villa with a few young men, each holding a Compass.
Curious, Lu Chuan went downstairs and approached Gu Hongzhuang, asking, "Sister Hong, what are they doing?"
Gu Hongzhuang whispered, "Lately, there have been strange noises in my villa at night, and sometimes I could hear someone whispering in my ear, which was very frightening. I have also been dreaming of a red-clothed female ghost, and haven't had a good sleep in many days. I suspect that there is something unclean in the villa."
She glanced at the white-haired old man, "That man is the renowned Feng Shui Master from Cloud City, Master Qi Tiangang. I have asked him over to take a look for me."
Lu Chuan took a thoughtful look at the bracelet on Gu Hongzhuang's wrist and nodded.
Before long, Master Qi Tiangang approached Gu Hongzhuang with his disciples, smiling as he said, "Miss Gu, I've understood the problem with your villa. Many of these antiques and ancient paintings here come from tombs, and most carry some of the malevolent energy from the graves, which makes it easy for wandering spirits and wild ghosts to come around. That's why you've been having nightmares and hearing strange sounds recently."
"I will later take care of the malevolent energy attached to these antiques and ancient paintings and give you a few house-protecting talismans. The problem should then be completely resolved."
Gu Hongzhuang nodded respectfully, "Thank you very much, Master Qi."
At that moment, Lu Chuan suddenly stepped forward, fixing his gaze on Qi Tiangang and said, "Master Qi, could you have missed something? This matter might not be as simple as you say, right?"