Chapter 188: What Does Annan Like?

Gu Zhiyu, who was crouched down petting the dog, seemed to sense something and suddenly looked up.

Annan didn’t have time to avert her gaze, so she met his deep, dark eyes head-on.

For some reason, Chu Peipei’s words suddenly popped into her mind: “If you sleep with him, you won’t regret it.”

She froze for a moment, then quickly shook her head, trying to shake off that terrifying thought.

Gu Zhiyu looked at her and curled his lips into a smile. “How many times is this now?”

Annan was caught off guard. “How many times for what?”

Gu Zhiyu: “You’ve been sneaking glances at me.”

Annan was instantly mortified.

Caught staring—again!

Gu Zhiyu noticed that even her ears had turned red, and he suddenly felt a surge of delight.

So, this girl is a sucker for good looks.

And she really likes his face.

He immediately glanced down at what he was wearing today: a simple T-shirt and a pair of loose sweatpants.

He couldn’t help but frown.

What a miscalculation. He hadn’t expected to come upstairs today and had dressed way too casually.

Thinking back to last time, hadn’t he shown up in front of her in a rumpled set of pajamas?

Gu Zhiyu’s frown deepened.

He got up awkwardly. “I’ll get going now.”

Annan was a bit dazed. What did that mean? Did she just scare him off by staring?

Was her gaze really that frightening??

Annan glanced over at the dog, who was currently gazing at Gu Zhiyu with a lovesick expression, drooling and staring intently.

Uh… okay, maybe it was a bit much.

Gu Zhiyu walked to the door and said goodbye, “I’ll come see you again in a couple of days.”

He said it so naturally.

Annan couldn’t help but mutter, “I already told you, I’m not looking for a relationship.”

Gu Zhiyu didn’t care at all. “That’s your business. I am.”

Annan: …

Before leaving, Gu Zhiyu looked at her seriously and said, “You can’t live in the past forever. You have to learn to look forward.”

He paused, then added, “Especially when what’s ahead is much better than what’s behind.”

With that, he closed the door and left.

Leaving Annan standing there, completely bewildered. What’s all this about looking forward and backward??

Gu Zhiyu walked downstairs in a great mood.

That so-called ex-boyfriend? If he was really so great, would he be an ex?

Judging by the way Annan looked at him just now, Gu Zhiyu was confident that, in her heart, her ex definitely didn’t measure up to him in the looks department.

His steps grew lighter and lighter.

When he reached the third floor, someone came up the stairs toward him.

He moved aside to let them pass.

But the other person stopped and greeted him with a smile, “President Gu?”

Gu Zhiyu looked more closely.

It was the bald woman who lived across the hall from Annan.

He nodded politely.

Then he noticed that her smile… was like that of a loving mother?

Gu Zhiyu was a bit puzzled.

Her expression was just like a mother-in-law seeing her ideal son-in-law.

Seeing his confusion, Chu Peipei thought he didn’t remember her, so she said, “President Gu, you probably don’t remember me. I’m Chu Peipei, a friend of Nannan’s. We met during the flood, when we were trading for fertilizer.”

Gu Zhiyu suddenly understood.

So this was the friend who’d fought side by side with Annan.

Back then, Chu Peipei had long hair, but now she was bald—she looked like a completely different person, which was why he hadn’t recognized her either time.

Now that he knew she was Annan’s friend, Gu Zhiyu’s manner became even more courteous. “Hello.”

Chu Peipei beamed. “You came to see Nannan, right?”

Gu Zhiyu nodded. “Yes.”

Chu Peipei’s smile stretched from ear to ear. “Come by often!”

Gu Zhiyu didn’t quite get what she was so happy about, but he returned her polite smile. “I will.”

Chu Peipei’s smile grew even more motherly.

After more than a year of living together, Annan had become more than just a friend to her.

Over the years, Chu Peipei had lost her parents, her lover, and her child, and was now all alone. Emotionally, Annan was her only source of comfort.

To her, Annan was more like family.

So when she saw Gu Zhiyu, she couldn’t help but slip into the role of a family elder.

After a few words of small talk, Chu Peipei waved goodbye. “I’ll head back now. See you!”

Gu Zhiyu also said goodbye and continued downstairs. But after a few steps, as if something occurred to him, he suddenly turned back.

“Wait a second.”

Chu Peipei looked puzzled. “What is it?”

Gu Zhiyu walked back up a few steps. “I have a question for you.”

Chu Peipei: “Go ahead.”

Gu Zhiyu: “Do you know what Annan likes?”

What does she like?

Chu Peipei’s eyes lit up. Was he planning to give her a gift?

She immediately thought hard about it.

Then she suddenly remembered how Annan had once braved the heat to scavenge a whole backpack full of jewelry.

She answered firmly, “Nannan likes jewelry.”

After thinking for a moment, she added, “Especially jade.”

Back at the water market, Annan had browsed for ages without finding anything she liked, and in the end only traded for a jade bangle and Long Cong’an’s jade thumb ring.

Gu Zhiyu nodded thoughtfully, recalling Long Cong’an’s jade ring.

He smiled gratefully at Chu Peipei. “Thank you.”

Chu Peipei waved it off. “No problem!”

After Gu Zhiyu left, Chu Peipei hurried upstairs and knocked on the door of 1402.

Annan opened the door, surprised. “Peipei-jie, didn’t you go out to set up your clinic?”

Chu Peipei frowned. “Don’t mention it! I was almost there when I realized I forgot my needles, so I had to come back.”

Before Annan could say anything, Chu Peipei broke into a gossipy grin. “I just saw President Gu downstairs. Did you two have a nice chat?”

Annan thought for a moment. “It was… okay, I guess.”

Chu Peipei looked pleased. “Get along well. I think he’s a good guy.”

Annan was surprised. “You’ve only met him a couple of times. How can you tell he’s good?”

Chu Peipei replied honestly, “If he were even a little bit lacking, you wouldn’t be interested. Since you like him, he must be a good one!”

Annan protested, “When did I ever say I liked him?!”

Chu Peipei gave her a look that said, “I’m not going to argue with you,” and said, “Anyway, don’t overthink it. If you don’t like him, that’s fine. But if you do, don’t let him get away.”

Then she hurried off. “I’ll stop here—my patient’s waiting for me!”

Annan closed the door, deep in thought.

In the days that followed, the heat remained oppressive, but the pandemic situation improved a lot. The sound of coughing in the neighborhood grew less and less frequent.

Gradually, people started going out again to look for and trade supplies.

Gu Zhiyu’s helicopter came by several more times.

But instead of just circling overhead and leaving like before, he would land the helicopter and find all sorts of excuses to go up to the 14th floor for a visit.

And so, a new rumor spread through the neighborhood:

The chainsaw-wielding she-devil from Building 6 had bewitched a rich guy—he was so crazy about her, he flew in by helicopter every few days just to see her!"