Chapter 26: The Handsome Uncle

As soon as Gu Qingshan heard it, he immediately started signaling his silly younger sister with his eyes, but unfortunately, his wife Li had already noticed, and his biological sister Gu Caihe still didn’t catch on at all. Gu Qingshan had always loved this sister dearly since childhood, but even now, he couldn’t help but feel angry.

Was this foolish girl really that dumb?

If they were still young and needed adults to care for them, and he had to choose between Yan Fengru and their biological aunt, he might have chosen their biological aunt.

Why “might”? That was under the assumption that he didn’t yet know what kind of person Yan Fengru was. But now that he did know her character, even if they still needed someone to take care of them, deep down, Gu Qingshan felt that Yan Fengru might be the better choice.

Yan Fengru seemed tough on the outside, but she was soft-hearted and wouldn’t do anything cruel. Thinking back over the years, at most she gave them the cold shoulder, but they were never lacking in food or drink. She never instigated their father to neglect them either.

Gu Qingshan wasn’t stupid.

But the problem was, Yan Fengru had two children of her own—that naturally put her at odds with their interests.

And their biological aunt, Jiang-shi? She didn’t seem particularly clever and had two children of her own to raise. If she really married in, it would be hard to say how things would turn out. What if she spent all their father’s hard-earned money supporting Feng Tieniu and Feng Shuilian instead? After all, who would care for a nephew or niece more than their own child?

And if she gave their father two more kids? Then Gu Qingshan and his sister would have no standing in this family at all. But his sister was too naïve—she believed whatever people told her. And especially at a time like this, if Jiang-shi were really allowed into the family, wouldn’t that just add chaos?

Gu Qingshan’s eyes were twitching from frustration.

Seeing that Gu Caihe still hadn’t gotten the hint, he had no choice but to speak up despite his discomfort. “Grandmother, how could Aunt marry my father as a concubine? Even being a co-wife would be a joke! Our Gu family isn’t some prestigious household.”

As a grandson, Gu Qingshan’s words carried weight. Yuan-shi immediately sobered up. His tone clearly meant he didn’t agree. How could Yuan-shi not hear that?

Upon thinking it through, Yuan-shi understood why her grandson disapproved, and she could even understand it.

Still, though she understood, Yuan-shi couldn’t help but feel uneasy. What an ungrateful wretch, she thought. Now that life was good for him, he didn’t care about his aunt anymore.

Yuan-shi was the typical kind of old lady who loved meddling. People like her believed that if someone in the family was struggling, then the rest had to step in and help.

She’d given birth to two sons and two daughters. As for how her sons were doing—that was another story. At least she and her husband were still around, and the Jiang family hadn’t split up yet.

But her elder daughter had died young, and her younger daughter was widowed, so she thought she should help her younger daughter. But digging into her sons’ households to do so was out of the question. So, she set her sights on her former son-in-law. Too bad her grandson didn’t agree. Yuan-shi thought of her grandson as ungrateful, but there was nothing she could do.

She could control her sons and grandsons, but how could she control her grandson and her former son-in-law?

If her grandchildren had still been young and needed looking after, she would’ve done everything she could to make the marriage happen. She’d already missed one chance—she wouldn’t have missed another.

But now, both her grandson and granddaughter were grown and married. Was she really going to force her younger daughter on her former son-in-law?

Even if she was willing, her former son-in-law wasn’t a fool.

Gu Dapeng really wasn’t stupid. His children were already grown, and the two younger ones were being raised by their own mother. Why would he bring in another woman to raise someone else’s kids? Was he a fool? If he wanted more children, he could always have his own.

Yuan-shi understood the logic. But since her former son-in-law and grandson were both uncooperative, her expression turned cold.

Yan Fengru, seeing Yuan-shi like that, couldn’t help but roll her eyes. That wretched old woman—did she really think the men of the Gu family were fools? Even if she herself were willing to let Jiang-shi into the house, Gu Dapeng and Gu Qingshan wouldn’t have it. So, Yan Fengru simply turned around and left. Her time was precious, and staying here was a complete waste.

Inside the house, the two little ones saw their mother Yan Fengru approaching and panicked, running off in a hurry. When Yan Fengru pushed the door open and entered, she saw her two children obediently sitting at the table, which made her even more pleased.

Gu Qingbai and Gu Yuzhu had more belongings than Yan Fengru, and since they were still young, of course it was their mother who had to pack for them.

Gu Yuzhu had felt a little embarrassed at first, but then she remembered her body was only five years old, so she let it go. She was still a baby—of course her mom should help pack her things. Once Yan Fengru finished tidying up their stuff, her third younger brother came in to help carry things.

“Big Sis, why don’t I carry little Zhuzhu? I’m strong.”

Gu Yuzhu’s eyes instantly widened and sparkled. All three of Yan Fengru’s brothers were good-looking, but Third Uncle Yan Xinghe was especially handsome—tall and muscular, his face was even better looking than any handsome actor she’d seen in her past life. With those long legs—ahhh! Gu Yuzhu almost wanted to scream like a prairie dog.

Yan Xinghe was amused by the look in her eyes.

Instinctively, he touched his handsome face. “What’s wrong? Did Third Uncle get so tanned you don’t recognize me anymore?”

Yan Fengru glanced at her daughter and couldn’t help but laugh. She understood that look in her daughter’s eyes perfectly—after all, she was a woman too. Thinking of her little brother’s face, Yan Fengru laughed and teased her daughter, “This little girl has loved good-looking people since she was small—she really likes you.”

Third Uncle beamed with pride. To be honest, his looks didn’t quite match current beauty standards—mainly because he was too tall. If he were a bit slimmer and smaller, more young women might find him attractive.

But he had always been proud of the tall, strong build common among the Yan men. After all, a man should be big and strong—how else could he protect the people he cared about?

Just like earlier, when the three brothers stood behind their sister without saying a word, the short little men of the Jiang family didn’t even dare say anything unpleasant in front of her. Their sister had protected them since they were little, and now, finally, it was their turn to protect her and their niece and nephew.

“Hmph, when I grow up, I’ll be even more handsome than Uncle!”

Brother Bai was immediately indignant. His uncle had completely stolen his sister’s attention—she hadn’t even looked at him once! Bai was hurt.

The three Yan brothers and Yan Fengru all burst into uncontrollable laughter.

Gu Yuzhu: “…”

She was just admiring a handsome man, okay?

The Yan brothers were all tall and strong. The three of them together could match six or seven strong young men in labor. Especially Yan Xinghe, who was the tallest and strongest—he carried Gu Yuzhu in one arm and a huge bundle in the other. Even Gu Qingbai was picked up effortlessly by Second Uncle Yan Xingye.

The eldest uncle of the Yan family could only regret that his older sister had only given birth to two children. His two younger brothers had already snatched up the niece and nephew, leaving him to carry luggage.

By the time Gu Dapeng finished dealing with his ex-wife’s family, his wife and two children were already gone. Looking at the now-empty room, Gu Dapeng felt an emptiness in his heart as well…