Chapter 20 Seduction

When Chen Wanrou was young, she took up cooking for a while out of interest. She had just gotten married and was enjoying a sweet time with Gu Chaoyang. She really enjoyed cooking for the person she loved.

However, Gu Chaoyang was too busy with work at that time, and Chen Wanrou often cooked a whole table of dishes but Gu Chaoyang never came home for dinner. Gradually, she lost her enthusiasm for cooking.

The reason Chen Wanrou is bringing out her skills, which she has kept hidden for so many years, is because she feels that it's time for her to step in.

This family dinner served two purposes: first, to mend the relationship between the brothers Gu Heng and Gu Jue; and second, to ease the tension between Gu Jue and Chu Xiang.

Chen Wanrou's plan was sound. With his older brother Gu Heng protecting him and his fiancée, the eldest daughter of the Chu family, Gu Jue would surely be able to live a good life even if he failed to achieve anything in the future.

It's no exaggeration to say that Chen Wanrou has gone to great lengths for her youngest son, Gu Jue.

Chen Wanrou waited for a long time before Gu Heng finally brought Chu Xiang into the house, but she didn't see Gu Jue.

Chen Wanrou asked Gu Heng, "Aheng, where's your brother?"

"I don't know." Gu Heng moved a stool back a little, and after Chu Xiang sat down, he sat in the seat opposite her, which was the seat he always sat in at home.

Chen Wanrou sat down to Chu Xiang's left, smiling as she poured Chu Xiang a drink. Then she glanced at Gu Heng with dissatisfaction, "Gu Jue has been working hard at school, and he's been living outside all this time. I wonder how much he's suffered. You brought Xiangxiang here, why didn't you wait for your brother?"

Gu Heng: "He said he wanted to get rid of me and become independent. He just wanted to go home for dinner. Even without me leading the way, I think he should still remember the way."

Chen Wanrou: "..."

This eldest son really doesn't give his mother any face in front of others.

Chu Xiang wanted to laugh but couldn't. She lowered her head and drank her beverage, pretending not to understand the scene of Chen Wanrou and Gu Heng's loving mother and son. In fact, if it weren't for Gu Heng, she wouldn't have come to the Gu family for this meal at all.

Chen Wanrou knew she wouldn't get anywhere with Gu Heng. Gu Heng's personality was just like her father-in-law's, and she had no idea how to deal with him. Before she got married, Chen Wanrou was pampered by her family, and after she got married, she was pampered by her husband. So, when faced with a man who wouldn't obey her, she had no choice but to sulk.

After all, she wasn't like her mother-in-law, who could be subservient to her husband every day, more obedient than a maid in the old society, and bound by the three obediences and four virtues beyond belief.

Chu Xiang had almost finished her drink.

Gu Heng said, "Mom, the food is getting cold."

As if belatedly realizing something, Chen Wanrou's face lit up with a kind smile again. She said to Chu Xiang with a smile, "Xiangxiang, you haven't tried my cooking yet, have you? I don't know if my dishes suit your taste. Try them and see. If you like something, eat more. If you don't like something, tell me and I'll make more of what you like next time."

Chu Xiang then picked up her chopsticks. She tried the braised pork and immediately smiled, "It's delicious."

Regardless of whether the food is actually delicious or not, in this context, all we can say is that it's delicious.

Chen Wanrou was overjoyed. Not to brag, but how could her skills, which she had practiced diligently in her youth, be bad?

She moved several of the best dishes closer to Chu Xiang, urging her to eat more. The atmosphere at the table seemed just right. Just then, Chen Wanrou looked at the quiet Gu Heng and spoke up again, "Aheng, I see that your brother is now focused on making a name for himself. As family, I think we should support him. What do you think?"

Gu Heng put down his chopsticks, his tone calm and composed, "What kind of support?"

Chen Wanrou smiled and said, "Before you inherited the family business, didn't you start a game company with your grandfather's help? I remember that the company was later merged into the Gu family's company and is now a subsidiary of the Gu family. Ah Heng, you are so busy every day, why don't you let your younger brother help you share some of the pressure and let him practice his skills?"

Chu Xiang silently paid attention to this matter. Of course, she knew about this game company, after all, she was a game enthusiast.

It is said that Gu Heng founded a small computer software company with his classmates while he was still in college. Later, as they hired more people, they gradually started developing original games. This puzzle-type pixel game became popular in the industry as soon as it was released.

After Gu Heng took over his father's responsibilities, the game company called "Black and White City" became a subsidiary of the Gu family business, and it continues to release new games to this day.

Of course, "Black and White City" is not important to Gujia Enterprise, but now, this subsidiary is not small in scale.

It was only when she thought of the words "Black and White City" that Chu Xiang suddenly thought of something else. In the original plot, when Gu Heng woke up from the car accident and was still lying in the hospital bed, Gu Jue intended to disband "Black and White City" and reorganize it into an agency for the female lead to enter the entertainment industry. At that time, Gu Heng firmly opposed it.

This incident further strained the relationship between Gu Jue and Gu Heng.

Chen Wanrou also advised Gu Heng to focus on recovering from his injuries and not worry so much. However, after seeing his company, which he had built with his own hands, destroyed, Gu Heng embarked on a dark path of opposing the male lead.

The plot has changed long ago, and the "Black and White City" issue has been brought up earlier than expected.

Chen Wanrou was still trying to persuade Gu Heng, "Two 'Gu' characters are written with the same stroke. You and Gu Jue are brothers, even if the bones are broken, the tendons are still connected. Heng, you work so hard every day. If you train Gu Jue as soon as possible, he can help you handle the company's problems in the future, and you can relax a lot. Wouldn't that be better?"

Gu Heng drank a glass of water without saying a word.

Chen Wanrou has a kind mother's heart; she can't stop saying nice things for Gu Jue.

Chu Xiang wasn't sure if Gu Heng had been persuaded by Chen Wanrou.

Gu Heng's lips twitched slightly, "This matter..."

Suddenly, his hand holding the cup paused abruptly, and he slowly raised his head to look at the girl sitting opposite him.

Chen Wanrou asked, "What happened?"

Gu Heng clenched his fist on the cup, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down a few times. Even he himself felt his voice was a little tight. He coughed softly and said, "It's nothing."

Chu Xiang withdrew her foot from under the table.

She smiled and said to Chen Wanrou, "I also know about the company that Brother Gu founded in college. Even now, many people at our school still say that it's really amazing that Brother Gu was able to start his own business at such a young age."

Chen Wanrou smiled and thought Chu Xiang was a really naive child. "You really think Aheng started from scratch? If it weren't for his grandfather's help behind the scenes, he wouldn't have been able to start his business so smoothly."

Gu Heng remained silent.

Chu Xiang blinked. "Aunt Gu, you must be mistaken. Brother Gu is the most capable person I've ever met. He doesn't need anyone's help. Starting from scratch is certainly not a problem for Brother Gu, right, Brother Gu?"

Gu Heng looked over, his dark eyes taking in the girl's smiling face. He seemed to respond casually, then lowered his eyes again, picked up his water glass, and took a sip of cold water.

The sensation of the girl's foot brushing against my leg still lingers, like it's blatantly seductive.

Chen Wanrou wasn't as naive as Chu Xiang. She stubbornly said, "Xiangxiang, you think too highly of your Brother Gu. When he was in college, he was just a young lad. Starting a business isn't that simple. If Gu Jue had the resources to support him, he could certainly make a name for himself at his age."

Chu Xiang chuckled inwardly. If it weren't for the aura of a tragic novel's male lead, Gu Jue, with his love-obsessed mind, would have been better off giving up.

Chen Wanrou patted Chu Xiang's hand again, "I was just thinking that Aheng has his grandfather's help, and Gu Jue has his brother's help. That's pretty good. After all, Gu Jue is Aheng's younger brother, so he must have talent too."

In Chen Wanrou's eyes, her youngest son was the best.

Chu Xiang suddenly exclaimed dramatically, "Yes, Aunt Gu is right! Gu Jue is the best person in the world! He's the smartest person in the whole world!"

Gu Heng's eyes twitched.

Chen Wanrou said happily, "That's right, Gu Jue just doesn't want to do anything serious, but he's actually very smart."

Chu Xiang smiled, "Then Aunt Gu, you must not underestimate him. Gu Jue is so smart, he must be even more capable than Brother Gu. Even if he doesn't need Brother Gu's support, he can definitely make a name for himself."

Chu Xiang then said, "If you insist that Brother Gu help you, Aunt Gu, wouldn't that be looking down on Gu Jue's abilities? I believe that Gu Jue can achieve something even without relying on others, just by his own abilities."

Chen Wanrou's smile became less natural. "You can't say that..."

Chu Xiang held Chen Wanrou's hand and said, "Of course that's how it should be. I've heard that Gu Jue has moved out of the Gu family home. He plans to start his own business and build his own career. What a great sense of idealism that is! Just based on that, Gu Jue is miles ahead of those rich kids who only want to live off their family's wealth! Aunt Gu, you must be proud of your son who is independent and self-reliant, right?"

Chen Wanrou's eyelids twitched.

How should she respond to that?

Gu Heng sat upright and quietly watched Chu Xiang's ramblings, silencing Chen Wanrou's words. He didn't even realize that his usually aloof expression had lost its coolness.

But then, at this very moment, an untimely person appeared.

Gu Jue walked over as if he had been injected with chicken blood, and said to Chen Wanrou, "Chu Xiang is right. I don't need anyone's help. I will definitely be able to create my own career!"

It was unclear how long Gu Jue had been listening, but when he looked at Chu Xiang again, his expression was somewhat complicated.

He never imagined that among all the people, the one who trusted him the most to achieve something would be Chu Xiang, whom he had always looked down upon.