When Gu Yi received the phone call from the Gu family, Yu Lan was still arguing with Gu Changshun.

The woman’s voice traveled clearly through the receiver, reaching a city millions of miles away.

“If it were me, how did I lock myself in there? Teleportation magic?”

“You could have had someone else do it.”

“Oh, I had someone lock me and Gu Sui’an in the utility room and even injured my own leg. For what purpose?”

Yes, for what purpose indeed? Especially when Gu Sui’an had not accused Yu Lan, which was the strongest piece of evidence. So Yu Lan didn’t need to say anything to prove her innocence.

Instead, it was Gu Changshun who had immediately pinned the blame on Yu Lan before even finding the person involved, which was highly suspicious.

Gu Yi was slightly dazed.

Although he and Yu Lan were husband and wife, they did not understand each other. During the only period they had spent together, Yu Lan had left a bad impression.

If not for what happened later, he would never have agreed to marry her.

This was originally just a marriage of convenience.

“Should I hand the phone to her?” Gu Yao asked softly.

“No need.” He paused. “Don’t hang up yet.”

–

Gu Changshun was indeed a seasoned old fox. Faced with Yu Lan’s accusations, he remained completely calm.

But unfortunately, Yu Lan still had a backup plan.

She saw Gu Sui’an in the crowd give her a nod according to plan.

He had found the person.

Yu Lan then revealed a confident smile: “Actually, I also believe in Second Uncle. No matter how bad a person is, they wouldn’t harm their nephew and niece-in-law. He must have just been deceived by his subordinates.”

Gu Changshun: “Hmph, you’re trying to frame me!”

“See, Second Uncle is still in the dark.”

Yu Lan didn’t mind his struggle. She suddenly pointed to someone in the crowd and turned to the police: “It’s that person, who falsely claimed to act on my orders to lock Gu Sui’an in the utility room. Officers, please investigate thoroughly!”

When they were in the utility room, Yu Lan had already learned the events from Gu Sui’an, so once they came out, she had him try to identify the servant, just in case they could find them.

They did not hold out much hope. Who would have thought that the person would be bold enough to come back and watch the commotion?

The servant panicked. The moment Yu Lan identified him, he immediately turned and ran.

Seeing this, the police knew something was wrong and quickly gave chase.

That night, the Gu family descended into chaos.

Upon hearing that the people locked up were her grandson and granddaughter-in-law, even though she was reluctant, Old Madam Gu had to force herself out of her room.

On the surface, they were still members of the Gu family and absolutely could not be mistreated.

At first, the servant was still defiant, insisting he acted under Yu Lan’s orders. It was not until Gu Yi’s voice came through the receiver that he collapsed to the ground in fear.

Gu Yi’s voice was cold, purely narrating facts: “Lin Dashan, from S Province, single-parent family, diagnosed this year with a tumor at the back of the brain. The hospital, to be cautious, estimates the treatment will cost 1.3 million…”

He was like a mechanical object, devoid of emotion: “If you tell the truth, Gu Corporation will cover your mother’s medical expenses.”

Yu Lan inhaled sharply. So this is what the domineering CEO’s boldness feels like?

But using money to shut people up — that was really satisfying!

Moreover, there was something else Yu Lan hadn’t expected: the old man’s voice was actually quite pleasant…

The servant covered his face. Upon hearing Gu Yi’s promise, this grown man cried like a child: “It was Second Master Gu, he told me to lock the young master in the utility room and claim it was the First Madam’s order.”

Upon hearing this, all members of the Gu family instantly changed their expressions. Gu Changshun flew into a rage: “You bastard! What nonsense are you spouting!”

“I’m not lying.”

Old Madam Gu almost couldn’t stand upright, her chest heaving with anger: “Gu Changshun! What did Gu Yi ever do to you that you went to such lengths to harm his wife and child!”

“Sister-in-law, this is just the one-sided word of a servant. It can’t be trusted!”

But no matter how he tried to argue, no one believed him anymore. In the end, the police still took both of them away for investigation.

The second branch of the Gu family wailed and sobbed.

With such a major incident, the birthday banquet could no longer continue. The Gu family had to smile bitterly as they sent the guests off. Yu Lan pulled Gu Sui’an aside. With someone else taking the lead, they could quietly enjoy watching the drama.

Suddenly, a shadow fell over them.

Yu Lan looked up. It was her sister-in-law.

Gu Yao handed over the phone with a blank expression: “I still have things to deal with. You two talk.”

Who she meant to talk to was obvious.

When the phone was held to her ear, Yu Lan felt a little nervous.

This was her first time speaking with her big boss. She didn’t know if he was satisfied with her performance tonight. Also, after all the effort she put into saving his precious son, asking for some overtime pay shouldn’t be too much, right?

No tears, no work. Overtime must be compensated.

“Hello?”

The woman’s voice was soft, with a trace of caution, afraid she might say something wrong and displease her sponsor.

Gu Yi was silent for a while.

He rarely spoke to her, and for a moment, he didn’t even know what to say. He could only say, “Tell me everything that happened tonight from beginning to end.”

“Oh.”

Yu Lan didn’t think too much. Reporting work was something she often did at school. After organizing her thoughts, she clearly and methodically recounted the events.

Occasionally, she would pause and ask the person beside her, “Is that right?”

Then, Gu Yi would hear a gentle reply: “Mm.”

The boy was in the middle of a voice change, his voice hoarse like a drake’s and not very pleasant, but it was a rare moment for Gu Yi to hear his son speak.

There was no impatience, no fear, just an ordinary sentence.

And it was with a stepmother he had only known for a few months.

Back then, because of a promise, Gu Yi brought Gu Sui’an back. But as a grown man, he did not know how to raise a child, so he left the child at the old residence. By the time he paid attention again, the boy had already developed a withdrawn personality.

Even when facing him, he rarely spoke.

There was no other way. Gu Yi could only take Gu Sui’an with him, but his work was truly too busy, so Gu Sui’an spent most of his time alone at home.

Gu Yi knew that his son found it difficult to open up to others.

That Yu Lan was able to get along well with Gu Sui’an in such a short time really exceeded his expectations.

While he was thinking, Yu Lan had already finished recounting the events. Her mouth was dry, and she subconsciously licked her lips. Gu Sui’an noticed and stood up to pour her a glass of water.

Yu Lan was slightly stunned. “For me?”

“Mm.”

Yu Lan looked at him as if he were some strange and exotic creature. Gu Sui’an was stared at until he felt uncomfortable and frowned. “If you don’t want it, then forget it.”

“Who said I don’t want it?”

Yu Lan laughed. “But I want ice water, because ice water is sweet. I like sweet things.”

Gu Sui’an muttered, “Troublesome.”

But in reality, he actually went to ask the maid for some ice cubes.

Even the system was astonished.

[Why is it that whenever the host instructs him, he is still willing to do it? Could it be that he is submitting to the host’s tyranny?]

“Can you speak properly? It’s clearly charisma!”

System: [……]

The system read too few books. Don’t try to fool the system.

On the other end of the phone, Gu Yi suddenly said, “You seem to be getting along well with Sui’an.”

Yu Lan: “It’s okay.”

Although she did not like children, Gu Sui’an was quiet and sensible. After a few interactions, she completely regarded him as a peer.

Also, did the old man not know she had forced his son to move into the school dormitory?

“Ahem, mainly because Gu Sui’an lives on campus now, so we rarely see each other.”

“Mm. He is at a rebellious age. As long as it doesn’t go against morality, there’s no need to interfere with many things.”

“……”

So it was not that he didn’t know, but rather he thought it was just the typical rebellion of a child.

Yu Lan did not know for a moment whether to say that the old man was open-minded or just lacking in awareness.

No wonder in the novel, it wasn’t until three years later that the old man discovered the original owner’s behavior. Even though he dealt with the original owner decisively, by that time, Gu Sui’an’s mental state had already been tormented to the brink of collapse. Just one final snowflake would trigger a world-destroying avalanche.

At the age of seventeen, Gu Sui’an chose to jump from the hospital ward.

Thinking of the plot, Yu Lan’s mood dipped slightly.

But she quickly pulled herself together.

Now that she was here, none of that would happen.

So, considering how dedicated she was, asking for a thousand yuan in overtime pay shouldn’t be too much, right?

Yu Lan cleared her throat and finally steered the conversation in the desired direction.
“So many things happened today. I’m really tired.”

As she said this, Yu Lan deliberately lowered her voice. Although she had never seen how the original owner interacted with the old man, the woman acting coy only had a few tricks. For her, it was simply too easy.

Gu Yi clearly noticed the shift in her tone.

Thinking of what happened tonight, it was indeed an undeserved misfortune for her. “Mm. I’ll have Butler He come pick you up.”

“But I’m also injured. My leg hurts a lot.”

Yu Lan’s voice was so soft it could drip water. Gu Sui’an, standing nearby, silently took a few steps back.

This had nothing to do with him.

But for Gu Yi, who was directly involved, hearing the woman’s coquetry left him slightly stunned.

Yu Lan, she…

But he only furrowed his brows and did not show any unusual reaction.

On one hand, he was grateful to the woman for helping his son. But on the other hand, there were no feelings between him and Yu Lan. The two were only married by agreement. “What do you mean?”

In his heart, he was already planning that if Yu Lan made any excessive demands, he would refuse directly and then express gratitude in another way.

For example, letting the Yu family handle one or two of his projects.

“I mean, life is already bitter enough. I just want to eat a bit more sweetness.”

“…So?”

Yu Lan reached out her hand, expressing through the phone: “President Gu, I’m hungry. Send money.”

Ten minutes later, Yu Lan contentedly received ten thousand yuan from Gu Yi.

In fact, she had only asked for one thousand. The rest was all Gu Yi’s own decision. The men of the Gu family were indeed admirable in this aspect—every time they sent money, they were especially generous.

Yu Lan, in a great mood, hugged her phone and gave it a kiss.

She planned to donate only half this time, keeping some in case the next mission caught her off guard.

——Far behind her, Gu Sui’an, seeing Yu Lan’s actions, deepened his understanding of this stepmother even further.

She really loved money.

Butler He sent Xiao He to pick them up. The two did not want to stay at the old residence listening to the second branch wailing, so they went to the entrance early to wait.

Unexpectedly, besides them, there was someone else waiting there.

“Variety show?”

Yu Lan looked at the slick-haired man in front of her. He had jumped out from the bushes, scaring Gu Sui’an into thinking he was a pervert. He nearly punched the man’s face, but was stopped by Yu Lan in time.

After asking, they found out that the slick-haired man was a director who had specifically waited at the entrance to invite her to join a variety show.

“What kind of variety show?”

“A slow-paced variety show called ‘The Hidden Lives of the Wealthy’. It lets the audience better understand life in wealthy families. It also lets the guests go to different places to play. It’s very interesting. Also, it only films a few days each month. You can treat it like a vacation.”

Yu Lan had never filmed a variety show, but she had watched many. The stars in those shows had to fetch water, chop wood, cook meals, and the houses they slept in at night could very well be filled with all sorts of tiny flying bugs. Calling it a vacation was nonsense. It was actually torture.

If it were in her past life, when she was short on money, she might have agreed. But now…

She lazily said: “Not interested.”

Xu Zonglei was just about to give a lengthy speech introducing the benefits of their variety show when he was abruptly cut off.

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Ayalee: Hey guys~ I made a list on Novel Updates with all of my translations in it! Following the list might make it easier to keep up whenever I unlock new chapters, since I always update it on NU right away. So feel free to check it out HERE and give it a follow~ 💕 Thanks for reading and supporting as always!

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