Chapter 24 I’m back and you’re not happy

“Alright.” As soon as Gu Jinshu heard Gu Moyu finish speaking, she immediately nodded and agreed to go back with him. This, instead, left Gu Moyu stunned.

“Huh?” The man was dumbfounded for a moment.

“What? Just now you were so eager to invite me, and now that I’ve agreed to go back with you, you’ve suddenly gone silent?” Gu Jinshu raised her eyebrows, folded her arms across her chest. “Do you actually want me to go back, or do you not?”

“I do, of course I want you to come back with me. If Mom and Dad knew you were coming back with me today, they’d definitely be very happy. Let’s go now.” Gu Moyu hurried to explain his reaction earlier. “You’ve always refused to come back before, I thought I’d misheard you just now.”

“Jinshu.” Zhang Pingtian didn’t quite understand what Jinshu was thinking and worried she might be wronged if she went back.

“Teacher,” Gu Jinshu stepped forward to stand in front of him and, in a voice only the two of them could hear, said, “You go home first. I’ll go back later.”

Zhang Pingtian: “…” What is this girl up to?

…

Gu Family.

Gu Zehua and Niu Chunli had originally been happily hosting Lin Qinghai. After all, with his and their daughter’s wedding coming soon, it was time to invite the son-in-law over to properly discuss the marriage, and try to make the wedding as perfect as possible to sweep away the recent bad luck.

Lin Qinghai sat in the living room, looking slightly uneasy.

“Qinghai, the requests we made—there’s no problem on your family’s side, right?” Niu Chunli’s lips curved into a faint smile. “Don’t worry, we’re just going through the motions. After the wedding, we’ll return everything to you and the newlyweds in full! We still have to save face—after all, the Gu family is a family with a name.”

“Auntie, I understand what you mean.” Lin Qinghai gave an awkward tug at the corner of his mouth. “No problem—our Lin family will definitely make sure to marry Chuxue in style. She will never be wronged.”

Gu Chuxue, sitting close beside Lin Qinghai, felt genuinely touched at his “heartfelt” words, and her eyes involuntarily reddened a little.

“Mm, good.” Niu Chunli nodded in satisfaction—this son-in-law pleased them.

“Mom, Dad, Qinghai-ge will definitely treat me well in the future. We’ll live a good life together and never make you worry. We’ll be even more filial to you.” Gu Chuxue said obediently.

“Silly child, what are you talking about being filial or not? We watched you grow up. As long as you two live well, that’s enough.”

Gu Zehua turned to look at Lin Qinghai. “Qinghai, how many years have you been a regiment commander?”

“Two years.” Lin Qinghai replied properly.

“The higher you go, the harder it gets.” Gu Zehua said seriously. “But I believe you have the ability. If you ever need your father-in-law’s help in the future, just speak up!”

“Thank you, Uncle.” Lin Qinghai couldn’t hide his inner delight—this was exactly the kind of words he had been hoping to hear. Marrying Chuxue was the right move! If he wanted further promotions, he’d need a well-connected father-in-law. The Gu family fit his needs perfectly.

“Being a regiment commander is already good. In the whole military region, how many people at his age can do that?” Niu Chunli didn’t want her son-in-law to feel too much pressure—better to take things slowly.

“When Lu Shiyan was his age, he was already a brigade commander.” Gu Zehua unhelpfully added, “And in less than two more years, he was promoted again to division commander. And he didn’t rely on connections—he got there on his own merits! If Qinghai can become a division commander in the future, that’ll be impressive enough!”

“Alright, today’s a happy day. Stop talking about unpleasant things. Promotions don’t happen as fast as you say. You think it’s like taking a train? If everyone were that capable, wouldn’t they all be top commanders already?” Niu Chunli defended.

“Why are you getting upset? I was just making a comment! Wouldn’t you be happy if our son-in-law became a division commander? Hmph! I’m telling you, when we go out, we’d be walking with our backs straight!”

As soon as Gu Zehua finished speaking, there was a sound at the door. Thinking it was his son Moyu coming home from work, he was about to change the subject, but the moment his eyes landed on the figure behind him—Gu Jinshu—his pupils contracted violently!

“…”

Gu Chuxue’s face instantly turned pale. What was she doing here? Why did she have to come back at this exact time? Could it be she was here to steal Qinghai-ge from her? At the thought, she nervously clung to Lin Qinghai’s arm.

At this moment, all of Lin Qinghai’s attention was fixed on Gu Jinshu.

The smile on Niu Chunli’s lips turned stiff. “Jinshu, you… you’re… back at just the right time, come sit down for dinner!” She immediately realized it wasn’t the right thing to say and quickly corrected herself.

Gu Jinshu’s willingness to come home was a good sign—it meant their relationship could still be mended.

Gu Moyu gestured for Gu Jinshu to come inside.

Gu Jinshu had come here deliberately today. She had overheard in the hospital that Gu Moyu told someone his parents had reminded him not to be late tonight because his younger sister and brother-in-law were coming for dinner.

The grudge from the original body would, of course, be settled with them one by one. Seeing them all looking so unhappy now made her happy.

Gu Moyu explained to his parents, “When I was getting off work today, I ran into Jinshu before she’d gone home, so I thought since we were having a family dinner tonight, I’d bring her back.”

“Mm, mm…” Niu Chunli suddenly didn’t know what to say—she was still unfamiliar with this daughter.

“Jinshu, see if there’s anything you want to eat, I’ll have the housekeeper prepare it!”

“No need.” Gu Jinshu’s tone was cool as her gaze shifted to Gu Chuxue. “Looks like someone doesn’t want me back.”

“No, we all want you back.” Gu Moyu quickly said.

Gu Jinshu looked at Gu Chuxue with interest, the meaning in her eyes obvious.

Gu Chuxue’s expression now looked worse than crying.

“M-my opinion doesn’t matter. As long as Mom and Dad want you back, then of course I hope you can come back.” She took a deep breath. “Jinshu, I didn’t expect you to be Professor Zhang’s student now. That’s amazing! Why didn’t you tell us before that you could practice traditional Chinese medicine? You made Mom and Dad worry that you didn’t know anything.”

“Are you questioning me?”

“No, I didn’t mean it like that.”

Gu Moyu’s frown deepened as he turned to look at Chuxue. “There’s no need to bring up the past. Hurry and apologize to Jinshu. We’re having a reunion dinner today—no one is allowed to cause trouble.”

Gu Chuxue was baffled at why she suddenly had to apologize, feeling utterly stifled inside. But to keep up her obedient image in front of her parents and brother, she swallowed it.

“Sorry.”

“I accept your apology, but I don’t forgive you.” Gu Jinshu’s lips curled into a provocative smile.