Madam Gu’s family, the Lu family, was also wealthy, making her marriage to Gu Jingzhi a perfect match.

It’s said that Madam Gu fell in love with Gu Jingzhi at first sight and pursued him.

However, this was in the late 1980s, when society wasn’t as open-minded as it is today.

Gu Jingzhi was a rather conservative man, the type who might be called old-fashioned or even sexist today.

He believed it was improper for a woman to chase a man and initially ignored Madam Gu.

But Madam Gu was persistent.

She was young, thick-skinned, and not afraid of being laughed at.

She didn’t give up easily.

Luckily, while Gu Jingzhi didn’t like her initially, no one else entered the picture.

In fact, no one could.

It took them two years to finally get together. Madam Gu’s success in winning him over even sparked a trend of women boldly pursuing their true love in their social circle.

Qiao Wanqing’s mind wandered as Gu Yanqing told her about his parents’ past.

She remembered that in the book, Miss Tan also pursued Gu Yanqing persistently.

It wasn’t clear how long it lasted, but it was at least a year, if not two.

Miss Tan’s determination likely came from a lot of encouragement from Madam Gu.

The Lu family lived about an hour’s drive from the Gu family.

Qiao Wanqing wasn’t too fond of taking children to visit relatives unless necessary.

Children are a lot of trouble, especially at Kouko’s age, when he can walk but isn’t quite aware of his surroundings.

In crowded places, you have to watch him closely because he could disappear in an instant.

Kouko still needed milk, diaper changes, an extra set of clothes, and some toys, making it a hassle.

Yesterday, Kouko arrived in a strange environment and was probably scared by his grandpa.

He didn’t sleep well, waking up three times instead of his usual one.

He even cried once but went back to sleep after being comforted.

So today, he was a bit listless, not his usual lively self.

When they arrived, Qiao Wanqing held Kouko while Gu Yanqing carried the bag with Koko’s things as they got out of the car.

There were already people waiting outside the car: a tall young woman and a blonde foreign man, who looked like a couple.

When the woman saw Gu Yanqing and the others, she happily said, “Cousin, Sister-in-law, you’re here!”

The title of “Sister-in-law” made Gu Yanqing very pleased.

She introduced Lu Yunfei to Qiao Wanqing, saying, “This is my cousin, and this is…”

Gu Yanqing looked at the foreign man next to her and noticed that he had been looking at Qiao Wanqing several times.

He frowned slightly and asked, “Is he your boyfriend?”

“No, he’s just a friend from work, named Lort.”

Lu Yunfei must have told Lort about them beforehand, as he greeted them in fluent Chinese: “Hi, Mr. Gu, and this beautiful Miss Qiao.”

Gu Yanqing’s frown deepened; he felt uncomfortable with Lort.

Qiao Wanqing, focused on their pet dog, didn’t notice anything wrong and thought Gu Yanqing was feeling unwell.

As someone from the countryside, she didn’t see many foreigners.

Lort looked friendly and sunny, so she smiled and said, “Hello, Mr. Lort.”

“Miss Qiao has the charm of an Eastern girl,” Lort complimented.

Today, Qiao Wanqing was wearing a dress that had a design similar to a cheongsam, which looked quite traditional.

She had heard that many foreigners coming to China were interested in traditional clothing like Hanfu or cheongsam because of their fascination with Chinese culture.

So, she didn’t find Lort rude and smiled back, saying, “Thank you.”

Gu Yanqing put his arm around her waist and said, “Let’s go inside.”

Feeling a bit shy from his affectionate gesture, especially in front of so many people, Qiao Wanqing was a bit embarrassed.

As soon as they entered the living room, all eyes were on them since Gu Yanqing was a prominent figure.

In the maternity room, all the women were sitting together.

After introducing Qiao Wanqing, Gu Yanqing asked her to sit with them for a while because he was going to join a group of men who were smoking, which wasn’t good for the dog.

Today’s main event was a baby girl, who had just been born and couldn’t tell if she had a brother or sister yet.

Koukou was nestled in Qiao Wanqing’s arms, secretly glancing at the baby girl while the adults chatted politely.

The baby girl had just finished drinking milk and wasn’t asleep yet.

She was staring at the ceiling with her little hands in fists, occasionally squirming around, her mouth open like an adult stretching.

Koukou used to do the same thing as a baby; it was said to be a sign of growing up.

“Let me down,” Koukou tugged at Qiao Wanqing’s clothes, speaking in a soft, baby voice.

Since they were at home, there was no worry about Koukou getting lost, so Qiao Wanqing set him down.

As an adorable kid and the child of Gu Yanqing, Koukou quickly became the center of attention among all the relatives.

After getting down, Koukou, feeling a bit uncomfortable from being held for too long, began to scratch his bottom.

This made everyone laugh, as he had no sense of shyness.

The laughter made Koukou, who was a little shy, nestle back by his mom’s side and start picking at the patterns on her clothes.

“How old is Koukou now?” asked Lu Yunshen’s wife, Yuchu, who was baby girl’s mother.

“One year and two months,” Qiao Wanqing replied.

“He’s really cute! Our eldest son doesn’t like to eat much. At his age, he looks about the same size as Koukou.”

Qiao Wanqing had just seen their eldest son and agreed he was quite small for his two years.

Almost all the women in the room were mothers, and once they started talking about kids, they gradually stopped paying attention to Koukou.

He had been curiously watching his little sister but suddenly ran over to the baby girl’s crib and reached out to touch her face.

This surprised everyone, and their first thought was that Koukou was going to hit the baby girl.

Her mom even jumped up, ready to pick the baby girl up, but Koukou was just gently touching her face and then quickly ran back.

“You scared me! I thought he was going to hit the baby girl,” someone said.

“Why is he touching her like that?”

“Kids are just curious!”

Kouko had no idea he was the center of attention and came back to Qiao Wanqing, saying, “Sister, sister is very, very good!”

Qiao Wanqing didn’t expect this from Kouko.

She had felt a bit awkward because everyone was tense and talking about them.

Hearing Kouko say that, she happily hugged him and rubbed her face against his, asking, “Kouko likes sister, right?”

Kouko nodded, “Like!”

An older woman said, “I teach my child not to touch things randomly. Not only can he hurt himself, but if he breaks something valuable, it would be a disaster.” Others agreed with her.

Qiao Wanqing understood this, but Kouko was so young and curious.

He didn’t know what he could touch and what he couldn’t.

He just touched Keke, the baby girl’s name and didn’t do anything bad, so it didn’t seem necessary to make a big deal out of it.

So, Qiao Wanqing couldn’t help but defend Kouko, saying, “Koko is still small and doesn’t understand these things.”

The woman replied, “You can’t use age as an excuse. Even if he doesn’t understand, you have to teach him right away. If he isn’t careful, he could hurt Keke. Keke’s face is so delicate; if something happens, it could leave marks.”

Yu Chu, hearing this, felt a bit speechless and said, “It’s not that serious. Auntie, don’t scare Wanqing. It’s normal for kids to have their own ideas.”

“It’s not about scaring anyone; it’s about education,” a younger woman chimed in. “Kids need to be taught well from a young age. Kouko is almost a year and a half old and not that little anymore. But since it’s Wanqing’s first time as a mom and Gu Yanqing might not be paying enough attention, it’s normal to spoil him a bit. Just be more careful in the future.”

“Exactly,” the older woman agreed. “But both parents should guide the child together to prevent him from going down the wrong path.”

As Qiao Wanqing listened to their conversation, she began to feel uneasy.

It was clear they were using the child as an excuse to criticize her for being pregnant out of wedlock.

She felt a bit upset; she knew people would talk, but it was still frustrating to hear them mock her in front of everyone, especially since they were only so bold because Gu Yanqing wasn’t there.

“Kouko, you can’t touch people randomly from now on, okay?” the younger woman told him. “Otherwise, if you hurt sister, Mommy will spank you! Spanking hurts, you know?”

Kouko was hiding in Qiao Wanqing’s arms, feeling a bit shy in front of strangers.

“He probably doesn’t get out much and is scared by us adults,” the older woman commented.

“Auntie, cousin!” Yu Chu raised her voice, unable to stand it any longer. “If you keep talking like this, I’m going to get angry.”

The two women finally shut up awkwardly.

However, Qiao Wanqing had already lost interest in staying.

It was one thing for them to talk about her, but using Kouko to imply he was impolite made her very angry.

Her Kouko might not get out much, but he wasn’t timid; he was just shy.

She took his education very seriously, knowing his future role as a villain and fearing he might stray or develop a bad attitude.

She and Gu Yanqing both agreed on this point and never spoiled him.

But these women were making Koko out to be rude.

“Wanqing, they just speak without thinking. Don’t pay them any mind,” Yu Chu said bluntly in front of them. She then smiled at Koko, “Kouko, you like the little girl, right? You can come and touch her more. She likes you too.”

“No, that’s okay,” Qiao Wanqing forced a smile. “I’ll take Kouko outside for a walk. You all continue chatting.”

Without waiting for their response, she carried Koko out. As she left, she vaguely heard someone call her petty, but Yu Chu quickly stopped them.

Qiao Wanqing took Koko out of the room.

She hadn’t met any of the guests in the living room and didn’t know where Gu Yanqing had gone. Some people were smoking, and there were other unpleasant smells.

It was cloudy today and not very hot outside, so Qiao Wanqing took Kouko to play in the yard.

While Qiao Wanqing was seething with anger, Kouko seemed oblivious and carefree.

The Lu family’s yard was large and well-designed. Most people were inside, so there weren’t many people around, and Koko, like a wild horse off its reins, ran around happily in the yard.

Qiao Wanqing exhaled a breath of frustration, wondering if Gu Jingzhi had invited them here just so these relatives could criticize them and push them into getting married quickly.