Chapter 18: Dad

Compared to the grandness of owning an island in G City, the Gu family’s residence in the capital was more focused on convenience. Su Shiyi arrived at Taihe Courtyard, which is said to be “one of the top ten super luxury estates in Asia.” This place integrates top-tier social experiences including accommodation, dining, leisure, fitness, and business, with only 55 exclusive units.

As she looked at the buildings outside the car, she could clearly feel the typical Chinese architectural style, with well-defined reliefs and drumstone patterns, and smooth lines.

Su Shiyi said to Kevin beside her: “So, Gu… so my dad still prefers modern new architecture? I thought our family would live in one of those renovated courtyard houses.”

Su Shiyi had no issue with suddenly having an additional father, especially since he was a genuine sugar daddy! (Loudly)

Kevin: “Miss Shiyi, do you like courtyard houses? Actually, the Gu family owns more than a dozen of them. You can stay in one of them during the summer break.”

Su Shiyi: ?

Wait, more than a dozen? These are courtyard houses, ones that can easily be worth over a hundred million!

Kevin continued: “They’re all near 【location】. If you’d like, you can visit the ^[1]Forbidden City (故宫) refers to the imperial palace complex in Beijing, China. It was the home of Chinese emperors from the Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty and is now a major historical site and … Continue readingForbidden City, it’s quite convenient.”

Su Shiyi: …

Alright, she no longer dared to guess the price, fearing her heart might not handle it.

While chatting, the car had already reached the Gu family’s garage. Kevin opened the door for her. As Su Shiyi stepped out of the car, she felt nervous for the first time in a while.

She mentally reminded herself: No matter what happens, I won’t get involved. I’ll focus on enjoying food, drinks, and fun. All the original plotlines are not my business. Once this summer break ends, I’ll return to my happy little island!

The Gu family’s lineage was not complicated. Due to certain events, only Gu Lang and his son remained in their branch, while the others were distant relatives, merely carrying the Gu family name. In terms of status, they weren’t even as high as Su Shiyi, the newly adopted daughter.

So, when she returned to the Gu family, she was surprised to find a large group of people in the guest hall, seemingly waiting for her.

Su Shiyi was flattered, especially since they all stood up and smiled in a very businesslike manner. Unfortunately, their smiles weren’t very natural. They really should watch some videos of proper idols to learn how to smile.

After catching her puzzled glance, Kevin quietly introduced these people. They were indeed distant relatives, with the closest one being the cousin of Gu Lang’s uncle’s son—five generations removed!

“You don’t need to memorize who they are,” Kevin added with a smile. “Mr. Gu and Young Master Gu can never remember.”

Su Shiyi: …

So this was the arrogance of the male lead and the big shots, huh? But she decided to at least make a mental note, since she had nothing else to do.

The enthusiastic relatives varied in age, from middle-aged men and women in their forties to a two-year-old toddler who had just learned to walk. The child’s parents were anxiously hoping he would call her “aunt.”

Su Shiyi: Thanks, but your son’s last name isn’t Yang, so it’s not going to happen.

She gave the child a piece of jade, not sure of its value, but it felt nice to the touch. These gifts had all been prepared by Kevin for her, and from the way his parents’ faces were unable to hide their smiles, it was probably quite valuable.

Ah, so this is what it feels like to spend other people’s money while doing favors in return. It made her feel a little embarrassed.

With her status, she was expected to both give and receive gifts, and Kevin had already taken care of the items beside her. Su Shiyi originally thought this would be a light and pleasant formality, but she caught a glimpse of an unfriendly stare in the crowd.

Hmm? What’s that about? She hadn’t done anything—she’d been polite while interacting with these relatives, hadn’t she?

Curious, Su Shiyi decided to find out who it was. As she turned her head, her gaze met the unfriendly one—

Wow, she hadn’t noticed at first, but now that she looked closely, this lady was radiating a strong “evil female antagonist aura.”

With her mature, sexy appearance and style, arms crossed, chin raised high, a disdainful expression, and eyes rolling upwards—this was the exact image of the standard female antagonist from those weak female lead, Mary Sue novels.

“Hmph, I don’t know why Uncle Gu decided to adopt you. You’re a country bumpkin who can’t shake that poor look.”

Su Shiyi, wearing a Prada dress and Miu Miu loafers: ?

Lady, you’re just reading from a script without even considering the actual situation, are you sure this is okay?

Okay, now it was 100% confirmed—this idiot must be the original female antagonist. According to the original plot, “Su Shiyi” stubbornly followed the family to the capital and was likely to be mocked by others for her lack of taste.

But now, Su Shiyi had a personal stylist! She didn’t even have to think about what to wear, and yet this person called her a country bumpkin? That was quite disrespectful to the designer brands she was wearing.

Being cautious, Su Shiyi asked Kevin beside her, “Is this person someone I can afford to mess with? She’s not some hidden big shot, is she?”

Although unlikely, she figured that since this person dared to openly challenge her, she might have some hidden background. Or, maybe she was just a little bit crazy.

“As long as you don’t want to see her again, Miss Shiyi, she’ll never appear in your sight again.”

Oh, well, that’s fine. Looks like she really wasn’t that smart.

With that assurance, Su Shiyi didn’t hold back, “You should know that you’re supposed to call him ‘Uncle.’ So, are you going to interfere with matters between my father and me?”

The poor, and dumb female antagonist was left speechless, so furious it seemed like she was going to come over and slap her. But Su Shiyi didn’t need to move, she just watched as the people beside her stopped her, holding her back while they made her apologize, sweating profusely.

Su Shiyi didn’t pay much attention to it. She thought the matter would end right there, but then a man in a suit and gloves hurried over, first bowing and introducing himself as Andrew, the butler of the house. He then coldly said, “Escort that young lady out. This will be her last time stepping foot in this place.”

With the butler personally giving the order, a few bodyguards in black suits appeared out of nowhere and gestured for her to leave.

Wow, looks like the unnamed dumb female antagonist is being sent off to her final scene.

Sigh, is this what it feels like to crush someone underfoot? Next time, when I play the villain, I better make sure my opponent has a different actor. Thanks to her good performance, she had already been upgraded from the shameless “real daughter” to being officially adopted by Gu Lang.

She thought there would be plenty of back-and-forth with face-slapping scenes that would last for dozens of chapters, but it was all wrapped up in a few hundred words.

With Andrew himself coming to handle things, none of the relatives had any further involvement. On the way to show her to her room, Andrew even took the time to apologize, saying he had been delayed by other matters and couldn’t meet her at the door in time. It was his mistake, and the Gu family valued Su Shiyi a great deal.

Su Shiyi waved her hand, signaling that it was no problem. She thought, this delay with the butler was probably the power of the original plotline. It was clearly setting up an opportunity for the dumb female antagonist to make an appearance.

Sigh, actually, she was quite pretty, with a sexy and beautiful “sassy sister” vibe. What a shame.

With the castle on the Billion Island as a backdrop, Su Shiyi was quite satisfied with her room. Nothing really felt new to her anymore. The Gu family servants had arranged her gifts, and Kevin and Lucy stayed behind to tidy up while she followed Andrew to visit Gu Lang.

As the head of the Gu family, Gu Lang lived in a different building from her. After walking for about twenty minutes, Su Shiyi finally arrived at the door of Gu Lang’s study, sweating.

Half of it was due to the heat—it was mid-June, and she had passed through an outdoor garden on the way here, the other half was the nervousness that was welling up again.

As for Gu Chen, as long as she got along well with Gu Pan, the love-struck CEO wouldn’t meddle in her business. But Gu Lang was different. He was a shrewd businessman, and his relationship with Li Shuman was more like that of business partners than a married couple. It was unlikely that Gu Lang would let her off simply because of her biological mother.

So why on earth did this busy person want to meet with her? According to the original plot, wasn’t he supposed to ignore her and act like she didn’t exist?

No… Could it be that he wanted to take back the Billion Island?

Andrew might have special communication skills, as he didn’t need to knock. He was able to directly push open the door, which had already been unlocked.

“Please go in, Mr. Gu is inside.”

Gu Lang’s study was very large. From where Su Shiyi stood at the door, she couldn’t even see where his desk was through the crack in the door. Andrew didn’t plan to accompany her inside, so she had no choice but to muster her courage and walk in.

When she nervously turned around, she saw Gu Lang putting down his fountain pen and staring at her with a scrutinizing look.

Su Shiyi: !

She trembled in fear, and Gu Lang seemed to smile, almost as if he were mocking her.

Oh, she should be more confident. He was definitely mocking her.

She had wanted to greet him, but he cut her off before she could.

“Sit.” Gu Lang, who was usually tight-lipped, pointed to the seat opposite him with his fountain pen.

Ugh, not even a simple greeting? Couldn’t he at least ask if she’d eaten or talk about the weather?

The oppressive feeling from that single word, “sit,” was overwhelming. It was scarier than her military training instructor or the school’s dean of academics, making every nerve in Su Shiyi’s body tense up.

Taking a deep breath, she walked over. The moment she took a step, she ended up walking awkwardly, stepping with both feet in sync. She tried to switch hands, but her left and right sides were out of sync, so she ended up awkwardly clasping her hands together and walking over to sit down, feeling completely uncomfortable.

For a moment, did Gu Lang smile again? Was he mocking her again?!

Even though their relationship was extremely superficial, as a father and daughter, he shouldn’t be like this!

“Interesting. I’ve never seen anyone as foolish as you, and it’s not even an act.”

Su Shiyi: ???

You… Calm down, calm down, you can’t curse.

But seriously, was that a bit too blunt?

And the idiot supporting female character at the door just now was the real fool. You CEO types should stop casually throwing around the word “alternative” and maybe get out more to see the world!

Perhaps because he had mocked Su Shiyi twice in a row, Gu Lang’s expression didn’t seem so fierce anymore. He was sizing up his newly met adopted daughter and finally remembered the formalities.

“Su Shiyi, I’m your adoptive father, and you should greet me now.”

This sentence seemed to act as a switch, causing Su Shiyi to stand up straight reflexively. She had intended to bow at a ninety-degree angle to greet Gu Lang as her father, but her knee hit the table, and she grimaced as she sat back down.

When she went to hold her knee, she was finally 100% sure—Gu Lang had been mocking her all along, and now he wasn’t even pretending!

He coldly commented, “So stupid.”

Su Shiyi: …

Their father-daughter relationship hadn’t even started yet, and it was already over!

Gu Lang twirled his pen and continued, “I heard that Gu Chen gave you an island, over in G City, about a few hundred hectares?”

Ah, why did he suddenly bring up the island? Don’t tell me he really wants to take back the Billion Island… Wuwu.

Well, the island originally belonged to the Gu family, so she probably shouldn’t be too greedy.

Although reluctant, Su Shiyi sadly answered, “Yes, if you think it’s inappropriate…”

“It is inappropriate,” Gu Lang nodded. “He’s so stingy, with that kind of mindset.”

Su Shiyi: “Hmm, I… eh?”

Gu Lang continued his criticism, “Such a small piece of land, and it’s an island in the middle of a river. There’s no way to dock a yacht, the airport can’t even be built, and the development level of the island is so low. How could he have the nerve to give it away?”

Su Shiyi: ???

Yes, yachts can’t dock, but how is it impossible to build an airport? The G City airport is only about a hundred hectares! How big does he want it, by Middle Eastern billionaire standards?

Wait, based on how the plot is going…

Gu Lang spun the globe on the desk, casually pointing at an island in the Pacific, “I’ll give you this one. Think of it as a little gift.”

A little gift.

Gift…

Su Shiyi: dazed.jpg

Gu Lang added, “I’ll throw in a 530-foot yacht as well. It’s a resort island with a well-developed tourism industry. You can take your friends there to play whenever you’re free.”

He spoke so casually, how can someone talk about giving away a luxury yacht over a hundred meters long with the same nonchalant tone as handing over two stalks of cabbage?

Damn, these rich people are really outrageous. They’re always giving away real estate, or things worth billions, like it’s nothing. Is Su Shiyi really that shallow? Is she going to forget that Gu Lang was just mocking her because she’s dazzled by money?

Yes, she is. Of course, she is.

Her eyes sparkled with excited tears as she sincerely shouted, expressing the deep bond between them: “Dad!”

When it comes to showing off wealth, it’s got to be her dad!

But Gu Lang furrowed his brow. “What did you just call me?”

What? Does he not like that title? It’s okay, she can change it.

Su Shiyi immediately corrected herself: “Daddy!”

Gu Lang: …

This might really be a fool.

“Forget it, call me whatever you want.” Gu Lang found it amusing. “It’s the first time anyone’s called me that, it’s kinda fresh.”

Su Shiyi: ?

Hey, this isn’t right. Even though Gu Pan always calls him ‘Uncle Gu,’ Gu Chen must be Gu Lang’s biological son, right? There’s no way he’s never called him ‘Dad.’

Thinking about Gu Chen, her older brother, made her uneasy. Gu Lang pressed a button on the desk, and soon she heard the sound of the door unlocking. Gu Chen and Gu Pan walked in.

Come to think of it, she’s the only one here with a different last name. She really feels out of place.

Gu Lang didn’t treat Gu Chen any differently, either. He just gave him a simple “Sit.” Su Shiyi stood up to greet them, “Big brother, Panpan, good afternoon.”

Gu Pan smiled at her. That cute, sweet smile really made Su Shiyi’s heart melt. Wuwu, she wanted to hug the pretty little sister today too.

“Good afternoon, Uncle Gu,” she said to Gu Lang first, then turned to Su Shiyi, “Good afternoon, Shiyi.”

Gu Chen only greeted one person: “Good afternoon, Father.”

Su Shiyi: ?

Wait, you’re calling your dad “Father”? In this casual setting, doesn’t that feel awkward and strange?

No wonder Gu Lang said it was the first time he heard someone call him that—this makes sense now. It’s a bit ridiculous, ever since Gu Chen learned to speak, he’s been using formal written language to address his dad.

Their father-son relationship didn’t seem much like a father-son one, more like a superior-subordinate relationship, and their choice of words was so formal it could be transcribed word-for-word in a formal document.

Hiss, though Gu Chen is a bit of a love-struck fool when it comes to Gu Pan, as the male lead, his capabilities are the most impressive.

The two CEOs were talking business, and Su Shiyi couldn’t understand a single word, so she just boredly started picking at her nails. When she glanced at what Gu Pan was doing, she realized that her gaze was completely fixed on Gu Chen, always expressing her deep affection for the male lead, anytime, anywhere.

Su Shiyi: …

Now she understands why Gu Lang had Gu Pan change her last name but still insisted she call him ‘Uncle Gu’ first. The love between the male and female leads was so obvious, how could Gu Lang not see it?

She even thought that Gu Lang had issues with Li Shuman’s children. She’d been worrying for nothing all this time.

Gu Lang, her dad, is obviously a warm, thoughtful, and understanding father, the best father in the world! (loudly)