Chapter 10: This is called Pursuit

Old Mrs. Gu was reviewing the gift list to be sent to the Jian family, when she heard this and her ears perked up. She raised her eyes and glared at her fourth son. “What are you talking about? Do you think Zhiyan is a bully? Can he snatch a woman off the street?”

The fourth master Gu, who was a formidable figure in the outside world, was glared at by his own mother and looked at his nephew with a grievance, not daring to speak.

Gu Zhiyan picked up a lychee from the fruit bowl and played with it, his tone calm. “How can it be called snatching if it’s not public?”

He lowered his eyes and twirled the lychee in his hand, his eyes deep, carefully choosing his words. “This is called pursuit.”

“Right, pursuit!”

Old Mrs. Gu, whose pig was finally going to eat the cabbage, supported him unconditionally.

She closed the thick stack of gift lists in her hand and pointed at her children.

“I didn’t call you here to chat. Time is of the essence, and we can’t be lacking in courtesy. Take a look and see if anything is missing, add it quickly.”

As soon as the old lady spoke, the servants immediately delivered photocopies of the list to everyone, one for each person. They looked at it more seriously than signing company documents.

“Why are there no properties abroad? I have a French wine estate, it’s perfect for their honeymoon.”

“I have a few sets of antique jewelry that I just bought, add those too.”

“This series of sports cars comes in five colors, I haven’t collected them all, I’ll add the rest.”

The Gu family has many businesses, and each person is basically responsible for different projects, so the gifts they send are basically their own “specialty products.”

After a round of gifts, the old lady looked at the gift list that was half an inch thicker and nodded in satisfaction.

As everyone dispersed, Gu Zhiyan stayed behind.

Old Mrs. Gu looked at him suspiciously.

Gu Zhiyan smiled awkwardly. “Grandma, I told Yaoyao that you’re not feeling well, so I’m rushing the wedding. Don’t let it slip.”

Old Mrs. Gu: “…”

This little rascal! Using his own grandma to cover for him?

Seeing that the loving slap was about to come down, Gu Zhiyan stepped back two steps without a sound. “Grandma, if you don’t say anything, I’ll take it as you know.”

With that, he quickly left.

Old Mrs. Gu looked at her grandson’s departing figure and scolded him with a smile, then looked up at the moon in the sky.

If his grandfather was still alive, he would be so happy to know that his grandson finally had a future.

Jian Yao slept soundly.

When she woke up, it was already dark.

The room was not lit, and she could vaguely see the layout of the room through the faint light coming in from the window.

It was eerily quiet, as if the whole world was just her.

Jian Yao rubbed her eyes, a strong sense of loneliness surged up from her heart, she couldn’t help but hug herself, shrinking into the bed.

The white light of her phone flashed on the table, dispelling some of the darkness, as if a message had come in.

Jian Yao remembered that her phone was on silent, afraid of missing important messages, she lay on the bed, turned sideways and reached for her phone on the table and opened it.

It was a message from Gu Zhiyan.

Gu Zhiyan: Have you eaten? Grandma had someone make chicken soup, should I have someone send it to you?

Gu Zhiyan didn’t mention it, but now that he did, she was actually a little hungry.

Jian Yao touched her flat stomach and looked at the time.

It was already 8 pm, would it be a bit inconvenient to have someone send it over?

Although she and Gu Zhiyan were going to get engaged soon, it didn’t mean they were familiar with each other.

She was afraid of causing Gu Zhiyan trouble, and was about to say no, when another message from Gu Zhiyan came in.

“I’m at the old house, it’s very close to where you live, just a 15-minute drive. It’s Grandma’s intention, don’t worry about being a bother.”

He had already said so much, and Jian Yao didn’t want to be difficult, so she replied with a “Okay.”

Fearing that she might seem too cold, she added a cat nodding emoji.

After replying, she didn’t immediately exit the chat but, on a whim, clicked on Gu Zhiyan’s Moments.

The original Moments background and an empty feed.

Jian Yao: “…”

It was, well, quite consistent with his cold and domineering CEO persona…

Exiting Gu Zhiyan’s chat interface, she immediately saw over a dozen missed calls and WeChat messages from Assistant Lin, the earliest dating back to last night.

“Miss Jian, Mr. Lu is very busy and won’t be coming in person. Please send him the chosen dress for him to take a look.”

“The guest list for the Lu family’s banquet will be sent by Director Wu. Please confirm and reply.”

The rest were questions after she didn’t answer the phone or reply for a long time.

Jian Yao casually glanced through them, set Assistant Lin’s WeChat to Do Not Disturb, and then switched her phone to vibrate.

As for Assistant Lin’s calls, she wasn’t going to answer them, and she wasn’t going to answer them until her vacation ended.

After all this commotion, the emotions that had been churning inside her calmed down.

Jian Yao rolled around on the bed for a while, turned on the bedside lamp, and got out of bed.

Gu Zhiyan’s people arrived quickly. She had just finished washing up and came out of the bathroom when the doorbell rang.

Probably considering she was a single woman living alone, the person who came was a woman in her forties.

Seeing her open the door, Wang Ma smiled and handed her the insulated bucket she was carrying. “Miss Jian, this is from Mr. Gu, please drink it while it’s hot.”

As she spoke, her eyes quickly swept over Jian Yao’s face, appreciative but not staring, not at all annoying.

Jian Yao knew this was someone from the old house, so she took the insulated bucket with both hands and smiled brightly. “Thank you for coming all this way. Please thank the old lady for me.”

Upon hearing this, Wang Ma smiled. “No trouble at all. I’ll be sure to tell her.”

Jian Yao stood at the door and watched Wang Ma enter the elevator before closing the door and going inside.

Back in the dining room, Jian Yao opened the lid of the insulated box. Inside was a large bucket of chicken soup, the aroma alone making her mouth water.

She took out a bowl and chopsticks, ladled out a bowl, and before she started eating, she took a picture and sent it to Gu Zhiyan.

Jian Yao: “Got it! Smells amazing!”

The photo and message had just been sent when the other side showed “typing…”

Gu Zhiyan: “You like it? Good. I’m also eating, finish your meal and get some rest.”

Then he also sent a photo.

He must have been having dinner with his family. The photo only showed Gu Zhiyan’s own bowl and chopsticks, filled with the same chicken soup as hers.

Jian Yao clicked on the picture and took a closer look, then tapped her finger and replied with a “Good.”

The chef at the Gu family was very skilled. The chicken soup was rich and fragrant, the broth was clear and bright, and the oil had been skimmed off beforehand, so it wasn’t greasy at all.

Jian Yao sipped the chicken soup, her mind still a little hazy from just waking up.

How come, after agreeing to cooperate, she was already drinking chicken soup sent by Gu Zhiyan on the first day?

Jian Yao thought she would be quite relaxed for the remaining two days, but her sister said that the people had all changed, and the other things had to be changed too, otherwise it would seem like she didn’t care about Gu Zhiyan.

It was too late to customize anything, so what was sent were all the latest season’s dresses and jewelry from major luxury brands.

Since the invitations had already been sent out, the hotel address hadn’t changed, but the on-site decorations had been added to the existing ones.

What surprised Jian Yao the most was that Lu Chengze’s parents had declined to attend the engagement party, citing illness.