The Rich Man's Life Begins with a Comeback

Chapter 176 Armed Escort
It was late at night, and the lights were dim.

While enjoying the hot pot, Gu Heng and Qian Zhengxing drank about half a jin of baijiu (Chinese liquor). They were initially slightly drunk, but after chatting and drinking tea in the lounge for more than two hours, Gu Heng's drunkenness subsided.

Back in the master suite, Gu Heng took a shower but still felt wide awake. He picked up the book he hadn't finished reading, "The Prince," intending to go to sleep whenever he felt sleepy.

Outside the window, the wind and snow had stopped sometime earlier.

There are two methods of struggle in the world: one is through the law, the other through force. The former is unique to humankind, while the latter is of the beast. But because the former is often insufficient, the latter must be resorted to.

Previously, Gu Heng was an excellent student with outstanding grades during his school years. However, due to the pressures of reality, he had to drop out of school and go out into society to make a living on his own.

In fact, Gu Heng has a very strong learning ability.

As he continued to read more deeply, many insights would emerge in his mind, and he would often marvel at the author's wisdom and ingenuity.

Take the chapter that Gu Heng is reading right now, for example. Machiavelli, the author of The Prince, used the rise of Napoleon as an example. Napoleon established a new order through the Civil Code, but relied on military conquest to unify Europe.

Machiavelli used this example to directly reveal the duality of the operation of power: law shapes rules, and force defends rules; neither can be dispensed with.

"Dong dong dong..."

Just as Gu Heng was engrossed in watching, a soft knocking sound reached his ears.

Gu Heng, who was about to turn the page of the book, suddenly paused slightly, then raised his dark eyes and looked towards the door.

Setting aside "The Prince" for the moment, Gu Heng got out of bed and headed for the door.

Upon opening the door, one could see Jiang Ruan wearing a beige silk nightgown, her jet-black hair falling naturally over her shoulders, her clear eyes beneath her arched eyebrows. She was hugging a pillow, and facing Gu Heng's slightly surprised gaze, her pale face flushed slightly.

"what happened?"

Gu Heng was surprised that Jiang Ruan was still awake.

"That house..."

"That room is a bit cold."

Jiang Ruan pursed her lips, her voice barely audible.

"cold?"

Gu Heng was stunned for a moment. He looked at Jiang Ruan's pale face flushed with rosy cheeks and suddenly seemed to realize something. He couldn't help but raise his eyebrows slightly.

"Um……"

Gu Heng saw through it but didn't say anything: "It's probably because the hot water pipes in that room aren't working properly. Let Sister Li have someone come and take a look tomorrow."

"That……"

"Then I..."

Jiang Ruan looked at Gu Heng and stammered, unable to utter a complete sentence for a long time, while her pale face grew increasingly red.

The lame excuse that the room was cold was naturally just something Jiang Ruan made up.

She had just finished showering and was getting ready for bed.

However, after she turned off the light, she tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep.

During her two weeks in Zhonghai, she gradually got used to having Gu Heng by her side every night before going to sleep. She even got used to sleeping with her arm around Gu Heng's or being held in his arms by him.

If Gu Heng hadn't been around, it would have been fine, but he happened to be less than a hundred meters away. Jiang Ruan tossed and turned in bed for a long time, but in the end, her emotions overcame her reason, prompting her to knock on Gu Heng's door.

"Stay with me tonight."

"We'll talk about tomorrow."

Gu Heng stepped aside to let Jiang Ruan walk in from outside.

"Thank you."

Jiang Ruan thanked her softly.

After letting Jiang Ruan in, Gu Heng locked the door again and then followed her back to the bed.

"You're still sleeping on the right side?"

Gu Heng asked Jiang Ruan.

"Uh-huh."

Jiang Ruan stood by the bed, hugging her pillow, and nodded. "It's late."

"Go to sleep if you're tired."

"I'll read for a while longer."

Gu Heng picked up "The Prince" again. Although he and Jiang Ruan were alone in bed, he had no other thoughts. It wasn't that he hadn't come out of his sage mode yet, but mainly because Jiang Ruan had already been a little swollen from what he had done to her on the plane earlier that day, and he was afraid that she wouldn't be able to handle it.

"it is good."

Jiang Ruan responded.

Then, she replaced the pillow that was originally on Gu Heng's right side with her own pillow and lay down on it gently.

In an instant, an unprecedented sense of peace spread through Jiang Ruan's heart.

At the same time, drowsiness and fatigue also set in.

"Swish..."

The rhythmic sound of pages turning could be heard from time to time. Jiang Ruan felt her eyelids getting heavier and heavier. She turned her head to look at Gu Heng, whose profile, illuminated by the dim light, was truly as perfect as a sculpture.

She slowly turned around and raised one of her slender arms to gently wrap around Gu Heng's narrow waist.

Gu Heng, who was reading, felt Jiang Ruan's arms encircle him. His eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly, but he said nothing and did nothing, pretending not to notice and continuing to read.

Jiang Ruan's heart was pounding. When she saw that Gu Heng seemed unaware, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Then, a wave of drowsiness and weariness washed over her again, and she fell asleep in Gu Heng's arms in the blink of an eye.

[Challenge Mission: Conquer]

[Bound to: Jiang Ruan]

[Current progress: 90%]

【进度奖励：20%（已领取）、40%（已领取）、60%（已领取）、80%（已领取）、100%（待领取）】

Suddenly, the system light curtain unfolded automatically.

Gu Heng was somewhat surprised when he saw what was happening before him.

what's the situation?
Didn't it only reach 80% a couple of days ago?
How did it suddenly spike to 90%?

Gu Heng turned to look at Jiang Ruan, feeling somewhat bewildered.

'Women's hearts are truly unfathomable...'

He shook his head and stopped worrying about it.

I turned my attention back to "The Prince" and read for what seemed like an eternity before finally falling asleep.

……

The next day, early in the morning.

Jiang Ruan, who had slept soundly all night, slowly opened her eyes. She subconsciously stretched and then looked sleepily to the side.

As expected, Gu Heng was already gone.

Turning to look out the window, all the trees in the courtyard were covered in thick snow, and the branches were laden with heavy snowballs.

Occasionally, a gust of wind blows by, and the fine, delicate snowflakes flutter down. Under the warm winter sun, the entire mountaintop villa becomes soft and hazy in the reflection of the snow.

Jiang Ruan lay lazily in bed for a while before sitting up.

Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar surroundings, she inexplicably recalled the first time she and Gu Heng met, how she had acted like a "chaste and virtuous woman." Then she couldn't help but recall the way she had gently swayed her slender waist and begged Gu Heng on the plane yesterday.

The contrast between the two made her feel quite ashamed.

After a quick wash, Jiang Ruan casually tied her long, black hair into a low ponytail and then took the elevator to the first floor.

She originally thought Gu Heng was reading again, but she didn't expect there to be so many people in the living room. Gu Heng was sitting in the center of the sofa, signing his name with a Montblanc pen. Around Gu Heng, there were about ten men and women in suits.

What surprised Jiang Ruan even more was that she saw two armored vehicles in the courtyard through the floor-to-ceiling windows, surrounded by many fully armed guards with live ammunition.

'What's happening here? ’

Jiang Ruan was a little confused, but she was very sensible and didn't take the initiative to move forward. Instead, she obediently walked towards the restaurant...

(End of this chapter)