The Crazy Villain Wants Me to Love Her - Chapter 22
Chapter 22: Wine Cellar.
“Ah…” Jiang Chilou didn’t immediately react. She looked at Gu Wan blankly, then subtly glanced at Gu Shuyao across the table.
Gu Shuyao, seeing their exchange and having been subjected to Gu Wan’s cool gaze earlier, quickly stood up: “Cousin Gu, Cousin-in-law, I’ll go outside and see why they haven’t served the food yet.”
“You two talk first.” With that, Gu Shuyao hurriedly turned and left the private room.
In the private room.
Jiang Chilou turned slightly, instantly putting a little distance between her and Gu Wan, whose shoulders had been touching.
She looked at Gu Wan, confused, and whispered: “I’m not familiar with her.”
“Why did you ask that?”
Gu Wan: “I heard you calling her name quite intimately.”
Jiang Chilou: …
She was speechless for a few seconds before saying: “It’s just a name. Doesn’t everyone call people that?”
“If someone has a three-character name, people usually call them by the last two characters. If they have a two-character name, they usually call them by their full name.”
Gu Wan: “Is that your habit?”
Jiang Chilou thought for a moment, first nodding, then shaking her head: “It’s not exactly my habit.”
“I used to…” Here, Jiang Chilou paused before continuing: “I used to see a lot of people calling others that way, and over time, I started doing the same.”
“Gu Shuyao happens to have three characters, so I habitually only use her given name. Plus, she’s your cousin. If I were to call her by her full name…”
Jiang Chilou’s words abruptly stopped here.
Full name…
She muttered it internally. A flash of insight struck her, and she suddenly understood why Gu Wan had asked that question.
Thinking of this, Jiang Chilou immediately smiled, gazing at Gu Wan with suppressed amusement.
Gu Wan looked at her: “What are you laughing at?”
Jiang Chilou smiled radiantly: “Gu Wan,”
“How about I stop calling you by your full name in the future and just call you by your given name?”
“A-Wan, or Wanwan?”
“Which one do you prefer?”
The moment Jiang Chilou’s voice fell, Gu Wan’s expression involuntarily froze.
She stared intently, fixing her gaze on Jiang Chilou.
Jiang Chilou spoke teasingly, her voice laced with a smile: “A-Wan?”
At this sound, Gu Wan suddenly looked away: “Up to you.”
“It’s fine if you continue using my full name.”
“Alright then,” Jiang Chilou sighed helplessly. She found Gu Wan to be truly awkward sometimes. Unlike her, she generally said what she thought and rarely held back.
Jiang Chilou: “Then I’ll just rotate between the names in the future. I think they sound quite nice.”
Gu Wan nodded but remained silent.
Seeing this, Jiang Chilou took the opportunity to ask: “So, the way I address Gu Shuyao shouldn’t be a problem anymore?”
Gu Wan raised her eyes at the question, slowly saying: “Since it’s your habit, just follow your habit.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the wooden private room door was knocked: “Cousin Gu, Cousin-in-law.”
“Should I let the waiter in to serve the dishes now?”
Gu Wan: “Come in.”
Gu Shuyao led a few waiters carrying dishes inside, instinctively glancing at Gu Wan and Jiang Chilou.
Hmm… the atmosphere between these two seems fine.
It looks like her cousin didn’t lose her temper.
To be honest, Gu Shuyao felt that her cousin was quite pretentious in front of her cousin-in-law.
She wondered if her cousin-in-law would run away once she found out her cousin’s true colors.
Thinking this, Gu Shuyao suppressed all her thoughts and returned to her seat.
Jiang Chilou’s appetite was piqued by the steamed Spotted Grouper, garlic-flavored Snow Crab, black truffle-vegetarian roast goose, Dendrobium bird soup, and clam and white shrimp brought out by the waiters.
It looked quite delicious.
Gu Wan noticed her expression and slowly looked at Gu Shuyao: “Let’s eat first. We can discuss the investment after the meal.”
Gu Shuyao naturally agreed. A smile touched her lips as she addressed Jiang Chilou: “Cousin-in-law, this garlic-flavored Snow Crab is the signature dish of Huating Pavilion. It’s very delicious. You should try it first.”
“Is that so?” Jiang Chilou smiled: “Then I will try it.”
Snow Crab, also known as Long-Leg Crab, has generally long and large legs.
Jiang Chilou picked up a crab leg, used her chopsticks to extract the meat from the opened shell, and slowly began to eat.
The crab meat was tender and melted in her mouth.
As soon as Jiang Chilou finished, she couldn’t help but look at Gu Wan: “This is indeed very delicious.”
She looked at Gu Wan and asked with a smile: “Do you want me to get you a piece to try?”
Gu Wan paused at the suggestion, then slowly said: “No need.”
“I can do it myself.”
Jiang Chilou: “Alright.”
During the meal, Jiang Chilou remembered the novel IP she had seen in the documents earlier and looked at Gu Shuyao, asking: “Shuyao, were you originally planning to animate that old-school Xuanhuan cultivation novel?”
Gu Shuyao nodded: “Yes, because it’s a long series and a power-leveling flow, I originally wanted to turn it into an annual anime series, but unfortunately…” Gu Shuyao gave an awkward smile at this point: “Unfortunately… the company ran into some issues, so we had to put the project on hold.”
Jiang Chilou: “If you get the chance later, would you restart this project?”
Gu Shuyao: “Of course.”
Hearing this, Jiang Chilou smiled. She originally wanted to say that if Gu Shuyao ever restarted the project, she could come to her, as she wanted to invest a little bit. However, considering Gu Wan was currently discussing company investment, she didn’t continue the thought. The main thing was… she didn’t have the capacity to invest in Gu Shuyao’s entire company.
It was too taxing on both her mental energy and finances.
But for a single project, Jiang Chilou could manage.
Thinking this, she smiled and said: “That’s quite good, then.”
“I hope you succeed.”
After the meal, Jiang Chilou drank tea while listening to Gu Wan and Gu Shuyao discuss business. As she listened, unable to contribute to the conversation, she couldn’t help but take out her phone again to read her novel.
After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Chilou’s shoulder was lightly tapped. She looked up and, seeing Gu Wan, couldn’t help but say: “Are you two done talking?”
Gu Wan: “Yes. We can leave now.”
“Okay.” Jiang Chilou picked up her bag and stood up: “Let’s go.”
Gu Shuyao stood up to see Gu Wan and Jiang Chilou off at the private room door, then waved at them: “Cousin Gu, Cousin-in-law, goodbye.”
On the way from Huating Pavilion to the parking lot, Jiang Chilou looked at the person beside her: “Do you have any other plans next?”
Gu Wan looked back, and when her eyes met Jiang Chilou’s, she couldn’t help but curve her lips: “How about we go to the shop where you did the wood carvings last time?”
“I want to try making a wood carving, too.”
Jiang Chilou looked at Gu Wan curiously: “Why the sudden interest in wood carving?”
Gu Wan: “I’m just a little curious what wood carving feels like.”
“Plus, didn’t you buy a lot of decorations for the house recently? I feel like making some ornaments at the wood carving shop and taking them home to display would also be nice.”
“I see~” Jiang Chilou lightly nodded, smiling brightly: “Then let’s go do some wood carving.”
It was a good chance for her to practice and regain her touch. That way, she would have another way to pass the time at home in the future.
“Let’s go, we’ll go now.” Jiang Chilou said, opening her phone’s navigation, locating the wood carving shop, and handing her phone to Gu Wan: “You can just drive there following this navigation. You can park the car in the parking space in front of my coffee shop.”
Gu Wan took the phone, glanced at the navigation location, and replied: “Okay.”
The two walked to where they had parked earlier. Gu Wan opened the car door for Jiang Chilou: “Get in first.”
“Mm-hmm.” Jiang Chilou hummed twice and got into the car first.
The Wood Carving Shop.
Jiang Chilou familiarly paid the fees and led Gu Wan to the DIY area.
“What are you planning to carve?” Jiang Chilou asked Gu Wan.
Gu Wan held the block of wood in her hand, looked at the tool instructions and the carving process chart on the table, and said calmly: “I’ll carve a little cat.”
Jiang Chilou smiled: “That’s nice.”
“It’s simple. You should pick it up easily.”
Gu Wan: “Perhaps.”
She looked at Jiang Chilou and asked softly: “What about you?”
Jiang Chilou thought for a moment, then suddenly curved her lips and played coy: “You’ll know when I’m done carving.”
With that, she waved her hand: “Alright, no more chatting. Let’s start carving.”
“If you don’t know how to carve something in the middle, you can ask me for help.”
Gu Wan: “Will I disturb you?”
After all, generally speaking, people who carve most strongly dislike being interrupted while carving.
Jiang Chilou shook her head, unconcerned: “No.”
Hearing this, Gu Wan replied: “Okay.”
The conversation ended there.
Gu Wan gripped the small block of wood in her hand. Following the instructions, she picked up the corresponding carving knife. Just before making the first cut, she couldn’t help but glance toward Jiang Chilou, only to see the other person carving with a focused and cautious expression, her movements practiced and natural.
This was the first time Gu Wan had seen Jiang Chilou treat something with such seriousness.
She didn’t expect her to like carving so much, or to be so familiar with the skill.
Is Jiang Chilou… really Jiang Chilou?
In the existing data Butler Lin gave her, Jiang Chilou did not know how to carve previously…
Gu Wan lowered her eyes, casually picked up the knife, and made a cut in the wood, shaving off a few splinters.
Regardless, the situation is set now. Since no one in the Jiang family noticed anything unusual, and this person is married to her, then no matter who she is, she can only be Jiang Chilou.
Her wife.
A long time later, when the two left the wood carving shop, the sky had completely darkened.
Jiang Chilou looked at Gu Wan, smiling apologetically: “Sorry, I didn’t realize I’d be carving for so long. Did I keep you waiting too long?”
She was carving a human figure this time, but hadn’t carved the facial features yet. Because she had helped Gu Wan with some of her carving midway, she was only halfway done when Gu Wan finished.
As time passed, Jiang Chilou felt bad keeping Gu Wan waiting too long, and since it was already late, she didn’t continue carving. She quickly asked the service staff to help package the unfinished wood carving, secretly planning to buy some tools online tomorrow and slowly finish carving it at home.
Gu Wan: “No.”
“It’s late. Let’s go back and eat first.”
“Okay,” Jiang Chilou agreed.
After arriving home, as soon as they walked into the living room, Butler Lin came out to greet them, smiling: “CEO Gu, CEO Cheng just had a few bottles of wine delivered. Are you planning to drink them soon? If not, I’ll put the wine away in the cellar.”
Gu Wan thought for a moment: “Put them in the cellar.”
“Yes,” Butler Lin replied, then continued with another matter: “Madam Zhou has prepared dinner in the dining room. CEO Gu and Madam can go straight in to eat now.”
Gu Wan: “I understand.”
Seeing this, Butler Lin turned and left.
Jiang Chilou looked at Gu Wan: “We have a wine cellar here?”
“Where is it?” How did she not know?
“It’s in the basement,” Gu Wan answered softly, then asked Jiang Chilou in return: “You’ve never been?”
Jiang Chilou shook her head: “No, I haven’t.”
“If I had been, I wouldn’t be asking you now.”
Gu Wan paused, just about to say something, when she heard Jiang Chilou continue to ask: “How do you get down to the basement?”
Hearing this, Gu Wan looked at Jiang Chilou: “You want to go to the wine cellar?”
Jiang Chilou: “I want to see it, but… let’s eat first.”
“You can take me after we eat.”
Gu Wan assented: “Okay.”
Nine o’clock in the evening, in the basement wine cellar.
As soon as Jiang Chilou entered the wine cellar, she was dazzled by the array of wines.
So many wine racks, so many bottles! A quick estimate suggested there must be over a thousand bottles.
She turned to Gu Wan: “Why are there so many wines here?”
“Do you really like drinking?” It’s completely unexpected.
Living together for so long, Jiang Chilou had only seen Gu Wan drink at the banquet a few days ago. She had never seen Gu Wan touch alcohol at any other time.
Coupled with the fact that there was rarely any alcohol visible in the house, she had assumed Gu Wan never drank unless she was socializing.
Yet, she never expected there to be so much wine stored in the basement.
Gu Wan: “I occasionally come down for a small drink when I can’t sleep.”
“It’s just that you’re usually asleep when I come down, so you wouldn’t know.”
“Besides, most of these wines were gifts. I bought very few myself.”
Jiang Chilou: “I see.”
She looked at the rows and rows of wine racks, reaching out to touch the bottle of a red wine. The bottle was cool, almost cold.
Gu Wan saw her action and, assuming she was interested in the bottle, asked: “Do you want to drink this one?”
Jiang Chilou was surprised. She looked back: “No, I just wanted to touch it.”
“In that case,” Gu Wan paused, then suddenly asked: “Do you drink?”
Jiang Chilou: “A little.”
“Why?”
Gu Wan’s lips curved slightly. She slowly stepped closer to Jiang Chilou.
With a slight raise of her wrist, her fingertip grazed the bottle that Jiang Chilou had touched, and her thumb lightly tapped the dark glass bottle, instantly producing a crisp ‘ding-ding’ sound.
“This wine is good. Do you want to try it?”
Jiang Chilou looked at Gu Wan: “Do you want to drink?”
Gu Wan chuckled: “I wanted to have a small drink.”
“Do you want to join me?”
“It won’t make you drunk.” With that, Gu Wan had already taken the bottle out.
Jiang Chilou watched her movement. After a moment of thought, she lightly nodded: “Then I’ll have a little too.”
Mainly, she hadn’t had any alcohol for a long time, and a little now seemed nice.
Seeing her agree, Gu Wan held the bottle of wine and turned to walk towards the central island counter in the wine cellar, simultaneously beckoning Jiang Chilou: “Go over there.”
“Oh, okay.” Jiang Chilou agreed and followed.
The two walked to the central island counter together. Gu Wan placed the wine on the countertop, then turned to grab wine glasses and a corkscrew.
Jiang Chilou didn’t idle either, helping to grab a wine decanter.
She placed the decanter on the counter and took a seat on a nearby chair, quietly watching Gu Wan work.
Before long, the two transparent wine glasses were about one-third full of deep red wine.
Gu Wan handed one of the glasses to Jiang Chilou: “This is yours.”
“Thank you,” Jiang Chilou said with a smile, carefully taking the glass.
The glass tilted slightly, her cherry-pink lips took a gentle sip, and the deep red wine stained her lips. For a moment, it was hard to tell whether the color of her lips was brighter or the red wine staining them was.
Gu Wan’s hand gripping the stem of her glass slowly tightened.
Perhaps… she could consider Jiang Chilou’s former suggestion?