The Gu family had already received the news.

When Old Madam Gu and her group came down from the second floor, the moment they saw the stepmother and stepson holding hands, every one of them had a look of confusion and shock on their face.

This… wasn’t it said that their zodiac signs clashed terribly?

Gu Yao was the first to react. She held the Old Madam Gu’s arm and said with a smile, “Looks like the maid misunderstood. Sister-in-law and Sui’an seem to be getting along quite well.”

Gu Changshun snorted. “Just putting on an act. I think she knows the Gu family won’t let her off easily, so she is doing this on purpose for us to see.”

“Second Uncle, do you have any proof for what you just said?” Gu Yao’s expression turned cold.

“There has been proof all along. You just refuse to believe it. Who knows, maybe she already knew Sui’an’s identity…”

“That is enough.”

Suddenly, Old Madam Gu interrupted in a low voice. “A bunch of elders gossiping behind the younger generation’s backs, aren’t you ashamed?”

“Sister-in-law, I am only thinking for our Gu family and for Xiao Yi’s sake.”

Seeing that Old Madam Gu was becoming increasingly impatient, Gu Changshun finally stopped talking, though he still felt indignant inside. He exchanged a look with his wife, Madam Lin.

Lin Pingmei nodded subtly.

Ever since Yu Lan entered, many people’s gazes, both openly and covertly, were cast toward her.

Yu Lan was young and beautiful. She wore KSH’s high-end summer custom dress, revealing her slender swan neck. Her shoulders were thin and delicate, and her temperament was elegant. Yet, she had a round face full of collagen, which gave her a touch of liveliness and cuteness.

Not only that, but the boy beside her was also striking in appearance. His facial structure was refined, with a high nose bridge and thin lips pressed tightly together. In ancient times, he would be the perfect image of a noble young master.

Even though his posture was lacking and his figure was too thin, with a little grooming, he could definitely make netizens shout, “Little brother, I’m in!”

Among the crowd, a man with slicked-back hair had his eyes light up the moment he saw the two.

This was exactly the image he had in mind for a rich family’s mother and son!

He excitedly asked the person next to him, “Who is that woman?”

“She looks like a celebrity. Is she some rising young star from a company?” For some reason, she also looked a bit familiar.

The person being asked sneered when he heard this. “What celebrity? She’s just a nouveau riche.”

“Nouveau riche? From which family?”

As long as the family was not too ordinary, they would meet the requirements for his reality show!

“Who else could it be,” the speaker pointed toward the west with his chin, “the Yu family that sells fish. They got lucky and married their daughter into the Gu family, hoping to leap to the top, but in the end, they couldn’t even make it to Old Madam Gu’s birthday banquet.”

The slick-haired man, Xu Zonglei, suddenly clapped his hands. Goodness! He remembered!

A few months ago, the president of Feiyi suddenly announced his engagement to the Yu family, which caused quite a stir and even made it online.

As the leading industry in City A, Gu Corporation’s tech products were in every household and deeply trusted by the public. The company’s market value had long become immeasurable, and at thirty-two, Gu Yi had entered the billionaire rankings with his business acumen, surpassing several old-school entrepreneurs at the time.

Of course, there were people in the country even more successful than Gu Yi, but he had the advantage of youth. His keen insight and decisive methods had led to huge investment returns, and for a while, netizens would even gather at Feiyi’s office building to pray for blessings for exams, work, or romance (?).

Such a diamond bachelor suddenly announcing marriage, and to a woman from an “ordinary family” mismatched with the Gu family, how could that not drive people mad?

[Mom, I believe in love again!”]

[Boo hoo hoo, I heard he married her in defiance of his family. This must be true love!]

[KSWL!!!]

Some disagreed. [The wife is twenty-three and just graduated from college. Is this not an old man taking advantage of a young girl?]

[All these entrepreneurs are either balding or have big bellies. I bet she’s only in it for the money!]

But once these kinds of comments appeared, they were quickly deleted, and Gu Corporation’s legal team would send out warning letters. Over time, no one dared to gossip anymore.

Xu Zonglei had also paid attention to this matter back then.

However, since Gu Yi kept a low profile, there had been no more news after the marriage. As time passed, the online hype gradually faded.

Now, suddenly hearing about the Yu family again, Xu Zonglei was momentarily dazed.

Since she was Gu Yi’s wife, she did not fit the profile for his show. If he remembered correctly, Gu Yi and Yu Lan did not have children yet.

Xu Zonglei felt a bit disappointed. Although he gave up on the idea, he still felt somewhat unwilling.

On the other side, Yu Lan followed a servant up to the second floor alone. The banquet had not yet started, and Old Madam Gu and others were resting here.

The servant pushed open the door. “Madam, please, the Old Madam is waiting for you inside.”

Yu Lan nodded and walked in.

Incense was burning in the room, with light wisps of smoke curling up, calming one’s mood just by its scent.

Everywhere the eye reached, the pearwood furniture was antique and stately, and even the servants were completely different from those in the Dongshan villa. This was clearly a family with deep roots and tradition.

On the main seat sat two women of similar age. One wore a dark green traditional qipao, with all her hair pinned neatly behind her head, appearing stern and old-fashioned. The other was younger and dressed fashionably.

On their lower right side sat a businesswoman in a suit, likely the younger sister of the old man.

The men of the Gu family were not present. In this society that emphasized gender equality, the Gu family still adhered to their outdated rules of separate seating for men and women. The men were all in another room. Just now, Gu Sui’an had been called away by Second Uncle Gu.

Yu Lan lightly swept her gaze over the room, then turned to the older woman in the green qipao and greeted, “Mom.”

Lin Pingmei, who was just about to speak: “…”

Beside her, the freshly treated face of Old Madam Gu stiffened with anger, while her sister-in-law, Gu Yao, wore a speechless expression. She had known that her sister-in-law, who was even younger than herself, was somewhat unreliable, but she had not expected her to be this unreliable.

Yu Lan quickly sensed something was wrong.

At times like this, it usually meant she had mistaken someone’s identity. But it really was not her fault. The butler had been calling “Old Madam Gu, Old Madam Gu” all the time, so she had naturally assumed it was the eldest-looking woman.

However, a small mistake had now occurred. This small mistake might cause her to become even more disliked by Old Madam Gu.

At the seat of honor, Lin Pingmei was happy to be a bystander. It seemed that the wife Gu Yi had married would ruin herself without any need for intervention.

But for some reason, Yu Lan did not panic at all. Instead, she raised her hand and gently covered her mouth, then widened her already large, fox-like eyes and asked in disbelief, “You are not my mother-in-law?”

Lin Pingmei exclaimed, “Niece-in-law, I am your second aunt. This is your mother-in-law.”

Yu Lan blinked her eyes. Her eyelashes were already long, and when she blinked quickly, they looked just like little fans. “Ah, then why does she look younger than you? I thought she was your older sister!”

The woman’s attitude was sincere, and her words heartfelt, as if she were simply stating a fact.

Old Madam Gu, who had been fuming, was suddenly stunned.

Lin Pingmei, who had tried to sow discord between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, was also stunned.

On the side, Gu Yao, who had been preparing to send a message, put down her phone. Although a bit unreliable, at least her words were sweet. Given how well she knew her mother, this matter was already over.

Sure enough, Old Madam Gu coughed lightly and, for a moment, could not bring herself to scold her eldest daughter-in-law.

She glanced sideways at Lin Pingmei, who was three years younger than herself and fifty-seven this year. Yet at the corners of her eyes were fine lines that could not be smoothed out, making her indeed look older than her.

Meanwhile, she herself often had cosmetic treatments done. Her face had no obvious wrinkles and looked no different from someone in their thirties or forties. No wonder Yu Lan, who had only seen her once before, had made a mistake.

Sensing Old Madam Gu’s gaze, Lin Pingmei: “…”

Tch! Neither of these women was anything good!

Old Madam Gu snorted, “This time, I’ll let it go. But if you mistake someone again next time, I’ll have to give you a proper lesson.”

Yu Lan immediately smiled and said, “As long as I remember that my mother-in-law is young and beautiful, I won’t get it wrong again.”

“Smooth talker. If outsiders hear this, they’ll laugh at the Gu family!”

“What is there to laugh at? I’m just telling the truth.”

If there were a world championship for giving compliments, Yu Lan would be entirely confident that she could win a Guinness World Record.

Just like now, a few casual sentences completely reversed the situation and flattered Old Madam Gu into a daze.

As for dealing with elders, in her previous life, when she worked part-time in sales, she had dealt with them plenty.

Old Madam Gu, after all, had thinner skin than Yu Lan. In order to stop Yu Lan from continuing with the compliments, she had no choice but to change the subject. “Gu Yi is not at home. Are you still getting used to things on your own?”

Getting used to it? Of course, she was getting used to it!

God knows how happy she had been during this time. She even wished the old man would stay abroad forever and never come back.

Unfortunately, before she could say anything, the system was already screaming in her mind: [Warning: OOC detected!!!]

Yu Lan: “…”

Fine. She recalled in her mind just how infatuated the original owner had been with the old man. Then, pretending to be delicate and sorrowful, she forced out a sad expression. “A man must prioritize his career. As a wife, I can understand.”

Old Madam Gu’s expression softened. “That may be so, but you still have to pay attention to family harmony. With the position he holds now, what can’t he delegate to his subordinates?”

Yu Lan deeply agreed with this statement. If a boss does everything himself, then what fun is there in it?

She began thinking about when it would be appropriate to reopen her former studio. Of course, there was no need to work as hard as she did in her past life. She could treat it as a hobby, a way to cultivate her interests.

While mapping out grand plans in her mind, she picked up a fruit tea and took a sip to moisten her lips.

Old Madam Gu then changed the topic again. “Gu Yi is not young anymore. Even though you two just got married, you should start thinking about having children soon.”

The fruit tea she had just sipped came spurting out like a spray of fairy dust and, by coincidence, landed on Lin Pingmei. “Oh no, what are you doing!”

“Sorry, second aunt. I didn’t do it on purpose.”

Lin Pingmei was so angry that she pointed her finger. “You, you, you!”

Old Madam Gu picked up her words and scolded, “With such a clumsy personality, you’ll have to change once you become a mother!”

Yu Lan lowered her head obediently at the right moment. “Mom is right. I understand.”

Lin Pingmei: “…”

That was not what she meant at all.

However, the warm and harmonious pair of mother-in-law and daughter-in-law no longer cared about her opinion. Both of Old Madam Gu’s children had strong personalities, so it was rare for someone to agree with her words. Unable to help herself, she started talking at length, while Yu Lan let everything go in one ear and out the other, nearly dozing off from boredom.

Having a child? That was absolutely impossible, not in this lifetime. She had dated a few times before, and the biggest age difference had been only two years. The old man, even though he was the protagonist of a novel, was thirty-two years old now. His physical condition must already be on the decline, right?

Yu Lan could not help but shake her head internally.

“I actually think having Gu Sui’an is enough.”

Old Madam Gu instinctively replied, “How can that be the same?”

“How is it not the same? I think Sui’an is quite good. He’s quiet and obedient. Having another one would be like opening a mystery box. What if it turns out to be a troublemaker?”

Old Madam Gu’s gaze flickered. “Just listen to me. Have a child with Gu Yi soon. Sui’an is Sui’an, but you should have one of your own.”