In the end, Qiao Wanqing still ended up sleeping in his bed.

Actually, Gu Yanqing didn’t really do anything to her.

He just teased her a bit.

Qiao Wanqing changed into her pajamas and lay down on his bed.

He probably didn’t stay at home much, as the bed didn’t have much of his personal scent.

Instead, it smelled faintly of laundry detergent and sun-dried blankets.

The bed was soft and very comfortable.

She buried her head in the soft pillow and closed her eyes.

Before long, she felt the bed sink beside her.

Then, she felt the warmth of a man behind her.

Gu Yanqing wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek.

“Mr. Gu, how am I supposed to sleep like this?” Qiao Wanqing said without opening her eyes.

“Just go to sleep.”

“…”

Gu Yanqing’s hand slipped under her pajama top and rubbed her waist.

A tingling sensation spread from her waist to the rest of her body, making her whole body tense up involuntarily.

Since they started dating, they’ve been very innocent.

The most intense thing they’ve done is probably just passionate kissing.

Gu Yanqing teased her, but rarely crossed the line.

So whenever there was any physical contact, Qiao Wanqing felt very uneasy.

She didn’t know if it was the same for others or if she was just more sensitive.

Every time Gu Yanqing touched her, the nerves where he touched would become active and spread the sensation throughout her body.

A certain part of her would always feel a rush of heat, making her feel both embarrassed and angry.

Qiao Wanqing slapped his hand away. “Stop it, let me sleep for a bit.”

“Okay.”

As he spoke, Gu Yanqing kissed her cheek again.

Qiao Wanqing said, “I haven’t removed my makeup. Didn’t you taste the powder?”

“… You don’t have to spoil the moment.”

“You should be saying that I’m just telling the truth.”

Qiao Wanqing was really tired.

She hadn’t slept on the plane, and now that she was lying in bed, she quickly became sleepy and soon fell into a deep sleep.

Gu Yanqing hugged her head to his chest and dozed off with her.

They slept until 6 PM before getting up to wash and eat dinner.

Kouko and Yuanyuan had been running around Gu’s house all afternoon and were now completely comfortable there.

Children adapt quickly; as long as no one stops them, they can quickly make any new place their own.

Gu Jingzhi and Madam Gu were very indulgent with their eldest grandson.

Kouko was still young and sometimes did mischievous things, like wanting to play with anything interesting he saw.

Regardless of whether the item was valuable or not, they would give it to him.

When Qiao Wanqing and Gu Yanqing came downstairs, they saw Kouko and Yuanyuan playing with something that looked like an ostrich egg, rolling it around on the floor while Madam Gu watched them with a smile.

Seeing this, Gu Yanqing said helplessly, “Mom, why did you give Kouko something like that to play with?”

“Kouko wanted to play with it, so I gave it to him. It’s fine, it won’t break,” Madam Gu said lightly.

“You can’t give a child everything they want to play with; it will spoil them.”

Gu Yanqing walked over and picked up the item.

Kouko was playing happily and, when it was suddenly taken away, stood up and reached out with little hands, making sounds of protest.

“Be good, baby, you can’t play with this,” Gu Yanqing said, patting his head.

“Kouko, Kouko wants~”

Qiao Wanqing picked him up. “Kouko, be good. You can’t play with that.”

Kouko looked regretfully at the item in his dad’s hand, but he hadn’t seen his mom for a while and didn’t throw a tantrum.

Instead, he hugged Qiao Wanqing’s neck and softly called, “Mommy.”

After calming Kouko down, Qiao Wanqing turned to look at the item in Gu Yanqing’s hand.

Up close, she realized it was made of jade.

The jade looked smooth and high-quality, with detailed and elegant carvings on it, showing its high value.

“Guanyin Sitting on a Lotus,” Gu Yanqing explained.

Qiao Wanqing didn’t understand why it was called that, and aside from recognizing its value, she didn’t find it particularly special.

She nodded and said, “It’s pretty.”

Gu Yanqing put the item back in its place. It was an ornament meant to be displayed in their cabinet.

It looked elegant and dignified in its spot.

Qiao Wanqing didn’t think much of the jade ornament until later when she happened to check its price and realized that it was worth enough to buy a house.

Madam Gu, not happy, playfully scolded him, “It’s just a small ornament, and Kouko was upset. Don’t be so stingy.”

Kouko, nestled in his mom’s arms, wasn’t actually upset.

He was just enjoying being close to his mom after not seeing her for a while.

Gu Yanqing didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

It wasn’t about being stingy; he just wanted to teach Koko not to play with things he shouldn’t.

Otherwise, he’d surely become a spoiled child.

Dinner was very rich.

The cook even used the golden thread mushrooms that Qiao Wanqing had brought to make a soup.

“These golden thread mushrooms from the mountains must be expensive,” Gu Jingzhi remarked.

He clearly recognized their value and knew about Qiao Wanqing’s current financial situation.

Qiao Wanqing smiled. “I got them from a friend, so it wasn’t too bad.”

“In the future, just come over. You don’t need to bring so many things,” Gu Jingzhi said.

Even though his words were kind, they sounded like an order, probably because he was used to being in a position of authority.

To outsiders, it sounded like he was scolding Qiao Wanqing for buying such expensive things.

Seeing that Qiao Wanqing didn’t know how to respond, Gu Yanqing said, “Dad, this is Wanqing’s gift. It’s a one-time thing, so enjoy it while you can. Next time, there won’t be any more, so eat up.”

Such “disrespectful” words surprisingly didn’t provoke a response from Gu Jingzhi.

Everyone started eating, and their maid, Xiao Man, came over to help feed Kouko so that Qiao Wanqing could eat.

This gave Qiao Wanqing the feeling of being in an ancient, wealthy family.

However, Kouko wasn’t familiar with Xiao Man and didn’t want her to feed him.

When he refused to eat, he would press his lips together and shake his head vigorously, not letting anyone put food in his mouth.

Xiao Man managed to feed him while he was distracted, but before she could be happy, Kouko looked up, saw it was Xiao Man, and spit out the food.

The worst part was that he smiled innocently after spitting it out.

Xiao Man: “…”

This action made everyone at the table laugh.

Madam Gu, with her grandmotherly affection, didn’t see her grandson’s behavior as rude at all.

Instead, she cheerfully said, “Kouko is so smart to know not to eat food from strangers at such a young age.”

Qiao Wanqing thought to herself that if Madam Gu knew her grandson would try to eat chicken droppings off the ground, she wouldn’t be saying that.

Xiao Man, holding the spoon, looked a bit helpless.

Gu Yanqing took the spoon from her and said, “I’ll do it.”

Gu Yanqing, having been a father for a while, was used to eating while feeding Kouko.

Kouko ate slowly, often only taking a few bites while the adults finished a whole bowl, so Gu Yanqing could manage it easily.

The atmosphere at the table became lively because of this little incident, and thus, Qiao Wanqing’s first meal at the Gu family home went by smoothly.

It turned out that meals in this wealthy family were just like any regular family’s meals, except with more dishes.

The family sat around the table, eating and chatting, without any strict rules about silence during meals.

After dinner, Gu Jingzhi asked Madam Gu to feed Koko and called Gu Yanqing and Qiao Wanqing to the sofa in the living room for tea.

Qiao Wanqing knew that the head of the family had something to discuss with them.

Gu Jingzhi personally prepared a pot of kung fu tea.

After he finished brewing the tea slowly, he handed them each a cup.

Gu Yanqing took a sip. “Longjing?”

“You’ve got a good palate,” Gu Jingzhi said.

In a typical novel, this would be the moment where Qiao Wanqing impresses everyone with her deep knowledge of tea, making her future father-in-law see her in a new light.

Unfortunately, Qiao Wanqing could only distinguish between black tea and green tea.

She silently took a sip of her tea and listened to their conversation.

Fortunately, they didn’t dwell on the topic for long.

Gu Jingzhi said, “I won’t beat around the bush. You already have a child, and you’ve met the parents. It’s time to pick a date and make it official.”

Gu Yanqing said, “There’s no rush.”

“No rush?” Gu Jingzhi glared at him. “Do you enjoy being gossiped about?”

So, they did care about having a child out of wedlock after all.

Qiao Wanqing found it curious that people at their social level would care about gossip and that anyone would dare talk about the Gu family’s private matters.

She thought their status would protect them from such comments.

Gu Yanqing, indifferent, said, “Let them talk. I live my life. If anyone has the guts to say it to my face, I’d like to see who dares.”

“You!” Gu Jingzhi was a bit angry. “I’m trying to discuss this seriously, and look at what you’re saying. Marriage and children are part of traditional values. You’re just being stubborn. Wanqing has given you a child, and you’re delaying the marriage. How does that make her look?”

Qiao Wanqing: “…”

Just as Gu Yanqing was about to speak, Gu Jingzhi said, “Don’t talk. Let Wanqing speak.”

“Huh?”

Qiao Wanqing, who had been quietly drinking tea, was suddenly called upon.

She initially wanted to say she was fine with whatever, but that would be unfair to Gu Yanqing.

She knew that Gu Yanqing’s reluctance to marry quickly was out of consideration for her.

After all, based on their relationship timeline, it had only been at most three months.

Marrying so soon would be a true flash marriage.

She wasn’t in a hurry to marry Gu Yanqing.

Such matters should happen naturally.

If it was meant to be, it would happen; if not, it couldn’t be forced.

After thinking for a moment, Qiao Wanqing said, “Well… with Yanqing and me, I make decisions for small matters, but he makes the decisions for big ones.”

Gu Yanqing gave her a satisfied look.

Seeing Gu Jingzhi’s displeased expression, Qiao Wanqing knew he was considering her best interests.

She added, “But Yanqing and I will seriously consider this matter and put it on our schedule as soon as possible. Don’t worry, Uncle Gu.”

Hearing this, Gu Jingzhi’s expression softened slightly.

He gave Gu Yanqing a stern look and said, “It just so happens that tomorrow is your cousin Yunshen’s daughter’s one-month celebration. You and Wanqing should go, so everyone can meet her and Kouko.”

In recent years, most of Gu Yanqing’s peers had gotten married.

Gu Jingzhi wasn’t as anxious as Madam Gu and didn’t pressure Gu Yanqing.

But seeing that he had brought his wife and child home, he wanted everyone to meet them.

“Alright,” Gu Yanqing agreed.

After they finished discussing, Kouko had finished his meal.

He ran over to Qiao Wanqing, pulled her hand, and patted his little tummy, saying, “Full, full.”

Qiao Wanqing had instilled in him from a young age that being full was something to be proud of.

Now, whenever Kouko finished his meal, he felt very proud and wanted to show off.

“Did Grandma feed Kouko until he was full?” Qiao Wanqing smiled, patting his little tummy.

“Yes, very tasty,” Kouko replied.

Seeing his grandson being so adorable, Gu Jingzhi couldn’t help but feel fond of him.

Everyone was new to being a grandparent, and with Kouko being so well-behaved and likable, Gu Jingzhi wanted to tease him.

In what he thought was a gentle tone, he said, “Let Grandpa see your full tummy too.”

Everyone present couldn’t help but get goosebumps.

Unfortunately, Kouko was still afraid of him.

He shrank behind his mom’s leg. Qiao Wanqing coaxed him, “Go on, show Grandpa.”

This was a bit difficult for Kouko.

After thinking it over, he stood beside Qiao Wanqing, lifted his shirt to reveal his white little tummy, and patted it.

From a distance, he said to Gu Jingzhi, “Look, look!”