You Owe Me, My Love

You Owe Me, My Love Chapter 465

Chapter 465 Collateral Damage

Her appearance is also similar to how I looked in the past. How can I not worry?

Aaron seemed to suss Bai Rong’s thoughts. “I didn’t have a choice. Even if I leave her out, she would’ve shown up on her own. Since I can’t prevent it, I thought it’d be better to keep her around.”

“Aaron, have you ever thought of starting a relationship with Ling?” Bai Rong probed as she cleaned the chicken wings. “Ling behaves like a child. I like my woman a bit more mature, so nothing will ever happen between us. She’s like a little sister to me,” Aaron clarified.

“She does behave like a young girl—she only has eyes for handsome men,” said Bai Rong as she laughed. Aaron also laughed. “I’m guessing she’s going to be rather disappointed once she sees Gu Mingchen since he already belongs to you.”

Shrugging, Bai Rong replied, “My only concern is keeping my relationship with my grandpa under wraps.” “And why is that, if you don’t mind me asking?” Aaron stepped up to help wash the vegetables.

“I don’t want people to realize that I’m really Bai Rong. It’s going to open up a whole can of worms. Honestly, I’m a little scared because of what happened in the past,” Bai Rong answered vaguely.

“Are you referring to Su Xuyan?” Aaron could already guess since they’d met each other on the island before.

Bai Rong didn’t try to gloss over the truth and nodded. “He’s my ex-husband. There’s a lot of history between us. I had to change my whole appearance to hide from him. To control me, he used to inject a virus into me once every three months. I would suffer immensely and potentially die if he stopped the injections.”

“Really?” Aaron knitted his brows, looking at Bai Rong with concern.

“Shen Yiyan saved my life. I got plastic surgery and managed to make a new life for myself. Do you want to see my old photos?” asked Bai Rong.

“Sure.”

Bai Rong dried her hands and opened her old QQ account. There were only a few photos as she didn’t like to take selfies. She showed one of them to Aaron. Liu Yan had forced her to take a photo of them together back when she was a gynecologist.

Seeing the brilliant smile on Liu Yan’s face, she felt a twinge of sadness.

Liu Yan was so unrestrained back then—a hopeless romantic with a cheerful personality. Yet now…

“The resemblance between Ling and the old you is incredible. At least half of your features are the same.” Aaron’s gaze shifted between Bai Rong and her old photo.

“Because Ling and the old me look so alike, Su Xuyan must’ve guessed that Ling is somehow related to me. He’d suspected from the very beginning that I was actually Bai Rong. If he knew that Mr. Tang was my grandpa, that would complete the last piece of the puzzle. So I can’t let anyone find out about my relationship with grandpa. Even if Su Xuyan knows that Bai Rong is Mr. Tang’s granddaughter, he wouldn’t be able to link it back to me,” explained Bai Rong.

“I get it now. No wonder you’re taking so many precautions against Su Xuyan. Anyway, I’ve washed all the vegetables. Do you need my help with anything else?” asked Aaron, as he shifted the topic.

“No, I think I’ve got the rest,” Bai Rong replied. She placed the duck in the pressure cooker. It needed to be cooked for a long time to acquire its essence.

She cut the pork belly into small pieces for a barbequed pork dish. Halfway through cooking, she added some Coke to give it a lovely glaze.

Meanwhile, she cut the beef into long strips and thin slices before coating them in flour.

The broccoli exhibited a vibrant green color after a quick blanch. She mixed it with a sauce she’d prepared.

Now she began preparing the chicken wings. These needed a simple marinading before a quick fry in the wok.

While the wings were frying, she julienned the green bell peppers and sauteed them with the beef strips she’d cut earlier. With that, a beef and pepper stir-fry was ready to be served.

The last dish was a beef stew inspired by Chanaean cuisine. She fried some sliced beef and took them off the heat before they were fully cooked. Next, she added tomatoes to the pan and cooked these until their juices were released. She added some water before tossing in sliced potatoes, simmering them until they were tender. The pre-cooked beef slices were added back in along with some fries. Once the stew came to a boil, the heat was switched off to prevent overcooking the beef.

She’d just finished laying out the dishes on the dining table when Gu Mingchen called.

Bai Rong answered the call, asking sweetly, “Are you done with your meeting?”

“Yes, where are you?” asked Gu Mingchen. Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

She figured Gu Mingchen had already known her whereabouts from his subordinates. “I’m at Aaron’s. It’s quite near our house. Are you coming over today?”

“If I don’t come over, what time will you be home?”

“After dinner, probably around eight.”

“Then I’ll come and get you when you’re done. See you in a bit.”

Gu Mingchen hung up, and she thought she heard a hint of displeasure in his tone. Is he upset at me or the military?

“I just got off the phone with Mr. Tang. He should be here in ten minutes or so,” Aaron said with a smile.

“Looks like it’s too early to be done with the cooking. The dishes won’t taste good once they’ve cooled down. I’ll reheat them later,” replied Bai Rong affably.

“What about Gu Mingchen? Is he coming?” Aaron asked, eyeing Bai Rong’s phone.

“He’s probably still at the military base. It’s quite far from here, so he might not make it in time for dinner.”

“Military base? Isn’t he a businessman?” Aaron couldn’t hide his surprise.

“He’s a military man,” Bai Rong clarified proudly.

“Now that you’ve mentioned it, I remembered he was pretty skilled in martial arts and shooting back when we were on the island. I thought he merely had an interest in the art of self-defense. Turns out, he’s a military man! That’s great!” Aaron guffawed. “Anyway, I’ll help you bring the dishes back to the kitchen.”

“Ok, thanks.”

Aaron brought the dishes back into the kitchen. Just then, Bai Rong heard a knock on the door. Figuring that the guests had arrived, she began reheating the food.

“Oh my god, Aaron, I swear those two hotties I met last time were absolute knockouts. I haven’t met anyone dashier than them when I was out shopping today,” Ling was already whining as she walked in.

“Well then, you’re in for a treat today. One of them is coming later,” replied Aaron. He then turned towards Mr. Tang and acknowledged his arrival.

“Where is she?” Mr. Tang was referring to Bai Rong.

“She’s in the kitchen.”

Bai Rong walked out of the kitchen and saw Mr. Tang. She smiled as she nodded at him. “Mr. Tang.”

Mr. Tang was a bit disappointed when Bai Rong did not acknowledge him as her grandpa. He merely replied, “Hello.”

“I’ll need five more minutes to reheat all the dishes,” said Bai Rong cheerfully. She turned and headed back into the kitchen.

Ling gave Aaron a thumbs-up as she commented, “Your girlfriend’s amazing. She even knows how to cook. Just look at me! I don’t know how to do anything at all.”

Aaron unfolded her thumbs-up as he asked, “Who do you think is prettier—she or you?”

“She is, but I’m not too shabby myself,” Ling answered candidly.

“What about your figures?” Aaron continued asking.

“Well, that would depend on personal preference. If we’re going by conventional beauty standards, she has a pretty good figure,” Ling replied with a laugh before giving him another thumbs-up. “You don’t have to fish for my compliments, you know. You can stop showing off your great taste in woman.”

“Well, the hottie who’s coming later is her husband.” Aaron finally dropped the bomb.

Ling was speechless.