Did That Doctor Successfully Remarry Today?
Chapter 84 - 83: The Couple Sat Eight Zhang Apart

Chapter 84: Chapter 83: The Couple Sat Eight Zhang Apart

Chapter 83 A Couple Sitting Miles Apart

Ever since that day, Jiang An had been staying at her grandmother’s house. Gao Chuan, busy with his work at the hospital, hadn’t come over again, and the two hadn’t seen each other for nearly a week, not even a single WeChat message exchanged between them.

Jiang An didn’t think of looking for Dr. Gao either; she was even content with their current state of affairs. After all, the initial reason for their marriage was to prevent any regrets for the elderly, and now, staying behind to look after her grandmother felt like she was fulfilling her duty.

Life at her grandmother’s place was quite comfortable. During the day, she spent time listening to operas and chatting with the elderly lady, enjoying the exceptionally good air by the mountains and waters. When she wasn’t busy, she researched and brewed some Chinese herbal medicine to invigorate the spleen and enrich the blood, living a fulfilling life.

She thought she would spend this half-month leisurely, but a week later, to Jiang An’s surprise, several of the younger members of the Gao Family paid a sudden visit. Four or five people, mostly Gao Chuan’s cousins, some of whom she vaguely remembered from the times they played mahjong together at the Gao Family’s house.

These cousins differed from Gao Chuan and Gao Yu; they were about the same age as Jiang An and had topics in common to discuss, especially the daughter from Aunt Gao Chuan’s family who kept calling her "sister-in-law," which made Jiang An’s heart itch. After a group of young people arrived, the villa suddenly became much more lively. The grandmother was currently in need of peaceful recuperation, so after the meal, the boisterous kids automatically moved to the garden outside to avoid disturbing the elder’s rest.

Jiang An prepared some drinks and fruits for them and brought them over. She was then wrapped up in conversation with them, sitting down to chat. The afternoon sun was brilliantly enchanting, with the neighbor’s tabby cat lying lazily in the corner, basking in the sun, and the flowers in the garden almost withered, their yellowing leaves gradually burying into the soil.

The group sat in the garden pavilion, with Jiang An silently listening to their conversations, gradually getting to know each of them—students still in school or having just graduated and started working—almost like herself. Perhaps because they were used to calling her sister-in-law due to her marriage to Gao Chuan, Jiang An had almost forgotten that she was only twenty-three years old this year.

"Little sister-in-law, I heard you’re going to have an internship at my cousin’s hospital. Did my cousin arrange that for you?" One of the cousins asked curiously.

Jiang An didn’t expect her affairs to have spread so quickly within the Gao Family. She pursed her lips slightly, explaining, "No, it just happened that my school arranged it there."

The girl nodded half-believingly. Although she knew little about Jiang An, she still didn’t believe that she was the kind of person her mother described who would actively seek an internship at the cousin’s hospital just to win over her cousin’s heart.

Jiang An was well aware of the issues she would face working in the same department as Gao Chuan. At that point, she could only hope that their current relationship wouldn’t come to light; otherwise, they would surely face a great deal of criticism.

"Little sister-in-law, you’ve been at our house for so long, and we, the younger generation, haven’t had a gathering yet! How about we go sing karaoke tonight?" The cousin looked around, feeling bored staying there and preferring to go out and have some fun instead, spontaneously suggesting the idea.

Jiang An instinctively wanted to refuse, stammering without being able to speak up when she heard the other two or three people starting to coax her in agreement: "Yeah, sister-in-law, come and join us."

"I’ll call out my cousin and the eldest cousin, too. Not sure if they’re busy with work, though." The younger cousin said while taking out her phone and starting to send WeChat messages. Jiang An, hearing that she wanted to call Gao Chuan as well, wanted to refuse even more, but how could these boisterous young people give her a chance to say no? They were already making a racket, starting to set the location.

Unable to excuse herself, Jiang An could only let her grandmother know and take a ride with them in the evening. Although of similar age, Jiang An had always been preoccupied with her studies during school days and seldom entered such flashy venues. She was still taken aback by the noisy and bewildering scene that greeted her when she reached the club arranged by the younger siblings.

After all, these younger brothers and sisters are affluent youngsters who are detached from the mundane world. It’s normal for them to love having fun. Does Dr. Gao often frequent these places too? Jiang An couldn’t help but think.

By now, it was already eight o’clock in the evening. The waiter had brought up drinks and some desserts, and the group began to drink and sing. The already dimly lit private room resounded with music and song.

Jiang An was pressed onto the sofa by a few people. Watching them drink and sing, she just couldn’t muster any interest and sat alone sipping juice from the table. Not long after, a few people she didn’t recognize came in—probably friends of the group. She sat quietly on the sofa by herself, occasionally checking her phone screen to alleviate the awkwardness.

About half an hour later, more people entered. She thought they were more strangers and continued to pretend to be engrossed in her phone. Suddenly, she heard someone exclaim, "Cousin, you’re finally here. We’ve been waiting forever."

Unwillingly, Jiang An turned around and saw Gao Chuan standing at the door of the private room in a black suit, with Song Li following behind. Gao Chuan was also scanning the room, looking for her. Their eyes met unexpectedly, and she immediately turned her head away.

No one present knew that this newlywed couple hadn’t seen each other for a week.

Jiang An thought that as long as she didn’t think about the scene from that day, she wouldn’t feel bad. However, the moment she saw the man, those two sentences echoed in her mind.

"It’s me who doesn’t want it."

"As long as you understand."

The private room was noisy as soon as the man entered, with incessant clamor, and the flickering colored lights reflected off the bottles on the table. Amidst the crisscrossing toasts, a suggestive hue lingered in the man’s dark pupils. He spotted Jiang An sitting on the sofa at a glance, the expression on his face relaxing slightly.

Song Li had grown up playing with this group and immediately joined in their singing upon entering, reviving the liveliness in the private room. Gao Chuan was used to sitting in the corner during such gatherings. He walked straight in, took off his suit jacket and laid it on the arm of the sofa where Jiang An was sitting, loosened his tie, appearing languid yet enchanting. He glanced at the empty space next to Jiang An, and eventually turned to sit on another armchair.

Though they were husband and wife, they were so estranged. Song Li, who was selecting songs, seemed to sense something when he saw them sitting far apart. He had been discussing business with Gao Chuan at his company that afternoon and received a WeChat message from the young ones. Gao Chuan would usually ignore it, but today, he agreed surprisingly quickly.

It wasn’t until Song Li saw his sister-in-law that he realized and secretly criticized Gao Chuan in his mind. With everyone here, he still sulked at his wife. Could it be that they had a fight?

Jiang An sat silently on the sofa throughout, noticing that the man had taken the armchair to her left, which made her even more uncomfortable. She straightened up a bit more and allowed her peripheral vision to sweep over unintentionally. The man was pouring himself a cup of wine from the table, his white shirt unbuttoned at the top two buttons, revealing a chiseled collarbone, exuding a forbidding aura.

Jiang An wished she could bury herself underground; she didn’t know how much longer she would have to maintain this awkward atmosphere.