152. Mastermind Boy

When Chen Ruowen woke up again, she found herself lying in an unfamiliar yet exquisitely decorated room, resting on a soft, large bed.

The camouflage uniform and other training gear were long gone, replaced by a silk bathrobe that somewhat resembled her usual style of clothing, though it definitely did not belong to her.

As soon as she opened her eyes, she heard a clear and sexy voice coming from beside her.

"Awake?"

Covering her head, Chen Ruowen sat up from the bed and saw a handsome man lounging casually in a chair next to her, wearing a simple T-shirt. He was holding a very thick book, with the pages opened to roughly the one-third mark.

Chen Ruowen had not expected the first person she saw upon waking up to be Gao Tang. But even more surprising than Gao Tang's appearance was what he was currently doing.

"You're actually reading a book?"

She found it genuinely difficult to associate reading with Gao Tang's usual unscholarly persona.

It certainly couldn't be any serious book.

Gao Tang hadn't expected Chen Ruowen's first words to him to be this either. He paused for a moment, marked his place, closed the book, and even waved the cover in front of Chen Ruowen.

"Just something to pass the time while waiting for you."

"*The Autobiography of Archimed Dawson*?"

Chen Ruowen grabbed Gao Tang's wrist and snatched the book right into her own hands.

Archimed Dawson was a legendary figure abroad. He had once reigned as the world's richest man and held that position for three years. In the fourth year... instead of someone defeating him, he voluntarily handed his company over to his startup partner and donated all of his personal wealth to charity.

After that, he chose an industry completely different from his previous company, started from scratch, and spent fifteen years reclaiming the throne of the world's richest man.

Having continued in that position for another three years, Dawson announced his retirement and once again donated all his wealth to charity.

Archimed Dawson had never accepted any media interviews, releasing only an autobiography after his retirement that detailed his entrepreneurial journey and life insights. A book written by such a legendary figure was naturally in high demand, but this particular autobiography had only been printed in an edition of ten copies, which were given to ten guests at his sixtieth-birthday banquet.

Naturally, anyone attending Dawson's birthday banquet was a person of prominent status and influence. Each of those ten books was treasured like a priceless artifact by its owner and never easily shown to outsiders.

By now, this autobiography had been bid up to ten million per copy, yet it remained completely priceless and unavailable on the market. Not a single person was willing to sell theirs, let alone find any photocopies or pirated editions.

Chen Liwan had once offered a fortune to acquire a copy of this book, but to no avail. Its extreme rarity could well be imagined.

Chen Ruowen flipped it open, read two pages, and knew instantly it was genuine. Then, with a complete lack of courtesy, she pulled the book over to her side of the bed.

"Didn't you say yesterday that you wanted to give me a new birthday present? I've picked it out for you. Let's go with this one."

Gao Tang snatched the book right back.

"Not this one, I haven't finished reading it yet." He sat on the edge of the bed, glanced at the displeased Chen Ruowen, and asked with some puzzlement, "I thought you'd be concerned about more important questions, like... why are you in my house?"

Waking up to find oneself lying in someone else's bed—wouldn't any normal person first figure out what on earth had happened? Yet Chen Ruowen hadn't asked a single question she should have, and instead focused all her attention on some weird, random points.

She was truly bizarre.

Having never been rejected in her life, Chen Ruowen was in a terrible mood right now. She gave a cold huff and said,

"There's nothing to ask about something so obvious."

Her physical constitution wasn't weak, but she couldn't endure hardship. During military training, she had felt utterly wretched—dizzy, overheated, and the camouflage uniform had chafed against her skin.

In Chen Ruowen's mind, she must have simply passed out. As for what happened afterward, she had no idea. It was either Guo Jingyuan who asked Gao Tang for help, or Gao Tang had rushed over on his own. In any case, those were the only two people she knew in the medical college.

Seeing Gao Tang had struck Chen Ruowen as a bit strange at first, but upon a moment's reflection, it wasn't surprising at all.

"You really are remarkably calm." Gao Tang actually felt a trace of admiration for Chen Ruowen's unshakeable composure and took the initiative to explain, "I had the family doctor examine you. It's mainly heatstroke combined with an allergic reaction. A maid changed your clothes; I didn't touch you."

"I know." Chen Ruowen snorted again. "As if you'd dare."

Gao Tang: "..."

I wouldn't dare? I'm an honorable gentleman, alright! If you were my girlfriend... just watch and see if I'd dare!

Under Gao Tang's pained, toothache-like expression, Chen Ruowen habitually reached under the pillow to feel around, then looked back at Gao Tang.

"Where's my phone?"

"Didn't pay attention, probably left it on the parade ground," Gao Tang answered indifferently, then asked, "Need to contact your family?"

"No, I'm looking for Bai Jinyan. We agreed to have dinner tonight, and he'll definitely worry if he can't reach me."

Outside the bedroom's floor-to-ceiling windows, the sky was stained with a pale red. In late summer and early autumn, darkness fell late, but it was clear that it must be quite late by now.

Chen Ruowen's reply was both unexpected and expected for Gao Tang. He stared steadily at Chen Ruowen for a moment, suddenly flashed a smile, and handed over his own phone.

"You can use mine."

Chen Ruowen looked at the phone held out before her and did not take it.

The corners of Gao Tang's lips curled up further as he continued, "What, afraid to use it?"

If she used her own phone to call Bai Jinyan, it would expose the fact that she was with him, and Bai Jinyan, that hypocritical miser, would definitely get angry. If Chen Ruowen didn't make this call, it would be an unexcused broken promise, and Bai Jinyan would feel uncomfortable about it too.

If in a few days he casually let slip today's events...

Just imagining Bai Jinyan's expression when that happened made Gao Tang feel immensely happy.

"Who says I'm afraid?" Chen Ruowen gritted her teeth and took the phone.

Fainting during military training and being rescued by Gao Tang wasn't something she could control. Even if she could, there was nothing between her and Gao Tang; what was there to be afraid of mentioning in normal friendly interactions?

If Bai Jinyan hadn't twice told her to stay away from Gao Tang, Chen Ruowen wouldn't have even considered this matter worth a second thought.

Seeing Chen Ruowen call Bai Jinyan using his phone without any hesitation, Gao Tang's gaze darkened slightly.

She hadn't avoided it, not because she was treating him as one of her own, but because her conscience was entirely clear.

The call rang for a little while before it was answered, and Bai Jinyan's deep voice came through.

"Is something the matter?"

"It's me," Chen Ruowen said.

This time, the other end of the line fell silent for several seconds.

"You two... are together?"

Chen Ruowen briefly explained what happened today, and the oppressive tension on the other end of the line eased just a fraction.

"Send me your location. I'll come pick you up."

"Alright."

Chen Ruowen directly opened Gao Tang's WeChat and sent a location pin. Just as she was about to say something more to Bai Jinyan, Gao Tang, who had maintained a safe distance from her all along, suddenly leaned in close, sidled up beside her, and murmured right into her ear in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft.

"Chen Ruowen, why are you so, so certain that I haven't touched you?"

"Clatter!"

The sound of a phone dropping to the floor came from the other end of the call.