When Gu Jingran heard his parents ask this, he slowed down and met their probing gazes, and hummed in response.

Huo Yunlan sighed and carefully considered her words before speaking.

"This girl looks quite pitiful. But her thoughts, so subtle and complex, are all written on her face."

Gu Yuanshan nodded: "That makes sense. No wonder you said that Xiao Ye wanted to cut ties with her family."

"Having such a scheming cousin means I'll have to endure a lot of trouble at home."

Hearing his parents' reasonable explanation, Gu Jingran's worries vanished instantly.

He was afraid that his parents would have a bad impression of his girlfriend whom he hadn't even met yet, so he couldn't help but say a few more words.

"Dad, Mom, Xiaochen is a very strong-willed person,"

He started walking again, leading his parents toward the parking lot.

"She has never mentioned a word about these unpleasant things at home to me, let alone complained about them."

"She just wanted to rely on herself and quietly make a good living."

"She moved out in her senior year of high school, using the money she had saved up in the countryside. She also worked as a public relations hostess to secure sponsorship fees from businesses, which enabled her to go to university."

"In college, she earned her living expenses by working part-time during her spare time."

"Now she's tutoring middle school students, and I heard she's doing a good job. The students' parents are very satisfied and have even introduced her to new students."

Listening to her son recount his story with such familiarity, Huo Yunlan's scrutiny slowly turned into admiration, and she sincerely exclaimed, "This child has truly had a difficult life."

Gu Yuanshan gave his son an approving look and, unusually, cracked a joke.

"You managed to get into Jiangcheng University while taking care of your family and working part-time. You're even more successful than you were back then."

“Back then, your mother and I weren’t by your side, but we never stopped keeping an eye on you, just in case you slacked off.”

Upon hearing Gu Yuanshan's words, Gu Jingran not only did not feel displeased, but instead laughed.

There was a sense of pride and honor in his smile.

"Of course, she's better than me."

Huo Yunlan was amused by the father and son, and her smile deepened.

She said expectantly, "After hearing what you said, I'm really looking forward to meeting this Miss Ye."

"Soon, we can have dinner together tonight,"

By this time, the three of them had reached the dormitory area parking lot. Gu Jingran walked to his car, smiled, and opened the car door.

"Now, we need to go to 'Weixiangju' first, so as not to keep Uncle waiting too long."

Gu Yuanshan and Huo Yunlan deftly handed over their luggage, letting him put it in the trunk, and then got into the car.

Meanwhile, Gu Yifei and his parents had arrived at Weixiangju and, guided by a waiter, sat down in the private room they had reserved in advance.

The mahogany round table in the private room was polished to a shine, and several delicate cold dishes were already laid out on it.

The waiter poured hot tea for the three of them, turned around and closed the door. Gu's mother couldn't hold back any longer and was the first to make a scene.

Her face hardened, and the smile vanished completely.

“Xiaofei,” she began, her voice tense, “listen to me carefully.”

She stared at her son and commanded him, word by word.

“I don’t care what your relationship with Meng Zihan was before, from now on you are not allowed to have any contact with her.”

Gu Yifei was about to take a sip of the scalding hot tea when he heard her say that, so he stopped mid-air and frowned.

"mom……"

Gu Yifei was about to protest when his mother interrupted him rudely.

"You've been away from home lately, so you have no idea what shameless things she's been doing!"

Gu Yifei's initial joy at seeing his parents was instantly extinguished by this bucket of cold water. He put the cup back on the table, and his face darkened.

“Mom, how can you say that about Xiaohan?” he spoke up in defense. “You’ve always been prejudiced against her.”

“If she had any other way, she wouldn’t have done that. You know how the Ye family treats her.”

"She's a girl, all alone and helpless outside. The way she looked today, it's clear she's suffered a tremendous injustice."

“We grew up together. Now that she's in trouble, how could I possibly turn my back on her and pretend I don't know her?”

Upon hearing her son's words, Gu's mother could no longer suppress the anger that had been building up in her chest.

She suddenly raised her hand and slammed it hard on the table with a "smack".

"You silly child, you're so smart in your studies, how come you get confused when it comes to things like this!"

Her voice rose a few decibels, and her cheeks flushed with excitement.

"Hasn't the Ye family treated her well? They practically plucked the stars from the sky for her!"

"What grievances did she suffer? She went and dated those shady people outside. They broke up with her, but she still shamelessly insisted on going back to them, insisted on moving into their houses, and insisted on marrying them!"

"As a result, she got pregnant out of wedlock, and was eventually beaten until she miscarried. It was all her own fault, she brought it on herself!"

"Now she's slinked back to you, what's she up to? Are your eyes just for show? Can't you see it?"

Factory Director Gu had been listening in silence, but then he coughed heavily and spoke.

His tone was more gentle than his wife's, but it carried more weight.

“Xiaofei, what your mother said is all true. This matter has caused too much of a stir and had a terrible impact. Even Director Guo has been alerted. Meng Zihan is too shrewd and not simple-minded. She is not the right person for you. Don’t be blind to her true nature.”

Gu Yifei, however, did not hear his parents' evaluation of Meng Zihan's character at all.

He froze completely.

His lips moved, and it took him a long time to repeat those words with difficulty.

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