Chapter 9
After the guests left, Liu Hanyue created a group chat called "The Four Beauties of the Gu Family," and pulled her sisters-in-law in. Luo Zhengzheng opened the group chat and looked at the name. Only Liu Hanyue would choose such a confident name. She saw Liu Hanyue mention in the group that Eldest sister, Gu Hualuo, hadn't come again.
Luo Zhengzheng thought to herself that Gu Hualuo had never come to Mother-in-law's birthday celebrations.
Gu Hualuo was the eldest sister in the Gu Family, older than all the brothers. When Ye Li married into the Gu Family, she was already quite mature and strongly resented the stepmother Ye Li. After Ye Li gave birth to Gu Shi and being influenced by her maternal family's instigation, she became wary of Ye Li secretly harming her two younger brothers. She showed Ye Li no basic respect and barely interacted with her.
Ye Li didn't hold a grudge with her and didn't take her seriously, so Gu Boyuan couldn't say anything.
Even if Gu Hualuo wasn't married, Gu Boyuan wouldn't stand by and watch her lead his two younger brothers astray. Over the years, Gu Ming and Gu Xian hadn't achieved much in business, but their interpersonal skills were acceptable. If he allowed his eldest daughter to discipline the two younger brothers, it was hard to predict what Gu Ming and Gu Xian's thoughts would be.
Unusually, Yu Shuang asked in the group chat what gifts they had given mother-in-law.
In previous years, for their parent-in-laws' birthdays, they prepared expensive gifts, but their father-in-law told them they had everything and there was no need to give them useless things. The expensive gifts they bought were deemed useless, clearly indicating his disapproval. Later, mother-in-law told them that it was the thought that counted, even if the gift was small.
As Ye Li's daughter-in-law, Luo Zhengzheng spoke first: "A family portrait that Chengjia and I painted together."
Seeing Luo Zhengzheng's words, the others fell silent and no one replied.
Wang Yaning quietly replaced the diamond necklace she had prepared for mother-in-law with a calligraphy scroll she had written: "Harmony in the family brings prosperity in all things."
Liu Hanyue smiled and said, "I'm planning to cook Mom a bowl of longevity noodles later."
Luo Zhengzheng couldn't help but tease her, "Don't bother! Your cooking skills are terrible and you might upset Mom's stomach."
Wang Yaning chipped in, "You should get her a different birthday present."
Luo Zhengzheng suggested with a smile, "How about we team up and make Mom a bowl of longevity noodles?"
Liu Hanyue: "That's great, that's great!"
Wang Yaning finally said, "Then let's skip the other gifts and just make Mother-in-law a bowl of longevity noodles."
Luo Zhengzheng agreed, and Liu Hanyue and Yu Shuang also agreed.
The sisters-in-law put down their phones and went to the kitchen. The four brothers glanced at their wives' backs as they left. Gu Xian nudged Gu Ming's arm: "Where are they going?"
Gu Ming had no idea.
Gu Xian muttered to himself, these women were acting so mysteriously. Gu Shi gave him a seemingly casual glance.
Half an hour later, the group brought out a bowl of longevity noodles, looking delicious and appealing. Ye Li looked at the noodles on the table and exclaimed with delight, "Did all four of you make this together?"
The four nodded with smiles.
Ye Li was pleased. She took a bite of the noodles and praised, "Delicious, chewy!"
The four were relieved. Although Luo Zhengzheng had done most of the work, they had washed the dishes, picked the scallions, washed the vegetables, boiled the water, and served Luo Zhengzheng the seasonings—so it counted as them all working together.
Gu Boyuan looked at the noodles and couldn't help but say sourly, "I want to eat longevity noodles for my birthday too." He then looked at his sons.
Gu Ming and the others exchanged glances. Gu Shi remained calm: "If you don't mind, we can make longevity noodles for you ."
Gu Boyuan snorted. Sons weren't as considerate as daughters. Thinking of Gu Hualuo, he wisely refrained from saying this aloud.
Luo Yongsheng and Yuan Mei went home after Ye Li's birthday. Luo Can didn't go back. He said he was going to work to earn money to buy a phone. Since younger brother have the heart to improve himself, Luo Zhengzheng naturally supported him and swallowed back the suggestion of giving him a phone. The next day, when Gu Shi went to work, Luo Can followed behind him. Gu Shi looked at him helplessly: "Why are you following me?"
Luo Can smiled brightly: "I've never worked before, I'm going to observe your company first."
Gu Shi gave him a meaningful look: "If you want to observe, then observe."
Luo Can sat in the passenger seat, fastened his seatbelt, and looked around excitedly: " Elder Brother-in-law, what brand of car is this? It's so impressive!"
Gu Shi, who had his eyes closed to rest, opened them upon hearing his words: "Do you like it?"
Luo Can nodded. He loved it! “No man dislikes a car."
Gu Shi said, "If you do well on the college entrance exam, I'll buy you a car."
Luo Can was delighted but then eyed him warily: "I don't want it."
Why would he give him a car for no reason?
Gu Shi raised an eyebrow at him: "So reserved?"
"How can I let you buy me a car?" Luo Can's heart bled. He had actually refused a car, possibly a luxury one. He sat listlessly in the car, not wanting to say a word.
Gu Shi glanced at him, a slight smile appearing on his usually indifferent face.
After getting out of the car, Luo Can watched Elder Brother-in-law stride confidently towards the elevator. He quickly caught up. Once inside, he couldn't resist leaning close to Gu Shi's ear and whispered, " Elder Brother-in-law, are you trying to bribe me?"
One hand in his pocket and the other holding a file folder, Gu Shi glanced at Luo Can with slightly cool eyes. "Who gave you the impression I'm trying to bribe you?"
Luo Can leaned against the elevator wall, looking at him. "Still denying it? Then why give me a car? I'm elder sister's only younger brother. No amount of sweet talk can corrupt my protective heart. Don't think that just because you're the young master of the Gu Family, you can bully elder sister. I'll definitely avenge her."
Gu Shi suddenly chuckled softly. "How do you plan to get revenge?"
This uncouth young man had quite the momentum.
However, Luo Can was extremely serious: "Just remember what I said."
"Okay." Gu Shi was satisfied with younger brother's protective instincts, "I'll remember what you said."
Luo Can was overjoyed to hear this and patted him on the shoulder like best buds: "But if elder sister is ever unreasonable, tell me, and I'll talk to her for you."
Understanding younger brother-in-law's good intentions, Gu Shi nodded shrewdly and then asked, "Now, can you accept the car I'm giving you?"
Luo Can coughed and looked at him, "Elder Brother-in-law, you're really going to give me a car?"
It was a car, not a bicycle or a motorcycle, but a car.
Gu Shi raised an eyebrow: "Of course, first of all, you have to do well on your college entrance exam."
Luo Can was confident in his grades. Suppressing his excitement, he asked rationally, "Will elder sister agree?"
Elder Brother-in-law had given him gifts before, but elder sister only allowed him to give him clothes and shoes that fit him. She wouldn't allow him to give him anything too expensive.
Mimicking him, Gu Shi patted his shoulder: "Your elder sister will agree."
Luo Can followed Gu Shi to his office. He looked around and exclaimed, "Elder Brother-in-law, your office is so spacious! It would be so impressive if I can work in an office this big when I start working."
Gu Shi sat down in his office chair and pointed to the leather sofa next to him, inviting him to sit down and rest.
Luo Can sat on the sofa, observing the staff who came to elder brother-in-law's office. Most were middle-aged men in their forties and occasional young female secretaries. He ignored the middle-aged staff, but carefully observed the two young secretaries. Seeing that they kept their eyes straight ahead, and after Elder Brother-in-law signed the documents, they obediently left, unlike in TV dramas where they tried to seduce the boss, he felt relieved.
At noon, Gu Shi took Luo Can to a restaurant near the company. Sitting at a table, Luo Can picked up the menu, looked at it, and saw many dishes he hadn't tried before and was unsure of their taste. He handed the menu to Gu Shi: "Elder Brother-in-law, you order. I'm not picky."
Gu Shi glanced at him and took the menu.
As expected of a place frequented by a big shot, the food was delicious. Luo Can had never eaten so satisfyingly.
He rubbed his belly: "It's so good to be rich. No wonder everyone wants to be rich. I want to be a boss someday."
Gu Shi looked up. Younger Brother-in-law still needed encouragement: "You will be."
That evening, back home, Luo Can held little Chengjia and sat next to elder sister on the sofa, whispering to her: "Elder Sister, I went to Elder Brother-in-law's company today to check the situation. The female employees there are all very well-behaved. There's no sign of them seducing the boss. You can rest assured."
Luo Zhengzheng poked him on the head: "Nosy."
Luo Can rubbed his head, indignant. "How am I being nosy? I was just trying to help you. Instead of praising me, you scold me?"
Luo Zhengzheng wanted to poke his head again. "I already trust him. Just mind your own business. Don't worry about me and your elder brother-in-law."
Luo Can grumbled in agreement. Seeing Gu Shi change into his pajamas and come downstairs, he put little Chengjia in elder sister's arms, walked up to Gu Shi defiantly, and said, "No wonder you didn't need to bribe me."
Gu Shi glanced at Luo Zhengzheng and then looked back at Younger Brother-in-law. "Where did you get that conclusion?"
Luo Can's tone was droll. "I don't know how you fooled elder sister. I told her your company's female employees are very well-behaved and no one's seducing you, and she said I was being nosy and that she trusts you completely and doesn't need me to supervise you."
In his mind, Elder Sister had married Elder Brother-in-law right after graduation; she must have been tricked by him. Their family was just ordinary people, while Elder Brother-in-law's family was wealthy. No matter how he looked at it, Elder Sister would suffer after marrying him.
Gu Shi looked at Younger Brother-in-law's confident argument and was somewhat speechless. He said lightly, "I'm taking back my promise to give you the car."
Luo Can: ......
He was really cunning. Even if he agreed to give him the car, he wouldn't be bought off.
That night, Gu Shi and Luo Zhengzheng laid in bed; one reading a book, the other reading a novel on her phone.
Gu Shi suddenly asked Luo Zhengzheng, "I heard you trust me?"
Luo Zhengzheng was confused: "What?"
Gu Shi looked at her and his gaze was extremely indifferent: "Luo Can said you trust me and not worry about me being tempted by outside influences."
"What nonsense." Luo Zhengzheng put down her phone, pulled up the covers, and prepared to sleep. "He overthinks. Don't take it to heart."
"I do take it to heart." Gu Shi's voice echoed in the room, sounding ethereal in the quiet night.
Luo Zhengzheng: "What does a little kid like him know? Don't pay him any attention."
She then closed her eyes.
Gu Shi's voice rang out again: "Why aren't you worried about me being tempted?"
Luo Zhengzheng heard but didn't answer, slowly drifting off to sleep.
Helpless, Gu Shi put down his book. These two siblings were a real headache.