After reading the letter, Gu Nian smiled easily: "He admitted it. He said he asked Zhu Mingsheng's family to buy it, and it cost a lot of money. He said I don't need to give him any money; it's only right that he buys things for me."

Gu Xin and Gu En: "Shameless!"

Gu Si nodded in agreement.

Gu Hui looked at Gu Nian with concern and patted her shoulder.

Shouldn't a normal person be angry, cursing, or heartbroken?

Her sister was actually laughing? And laughing so easily at that.

Gu Nian shook her head: "I'm fine! Really, I was a little nervous before, wondering how we'd gotten to the point of discussing marriage. But now I don't have to be nervous anymore. Li Muyan is a good person; he put my mind at ease before I got completely involved. I should be happy."

Gu Xin hugged Gu Nian: "Sister!"

Gu Nian took a deep breath: "Don't worry! I'm not the kind of person who gets sentimental over love. Nothing can defeat me! There are still many handsome young men waiting for me on my life's journey!"

...

In late April, when Lian Sheng Street went on sale, only Gu Shouxin and Cai Xiaolian remained in the prefectural city.

Cai Xiaolian tried her best to avoid dealing with any members of the Li family except for Madam Li, because she was afraid that Madam Li would lose her temper and start cursing. She begged Niannian not to say or do anything; the look on Niannian's face made Cai Xiaolian extremely uncomfortable.

As for Gu Shouxin, even Madam Li didn't want to see him.

Before returning to the village, Niannian begged him more earnestly than ever before, begging him not to lay a hand on anyone in the Li family and asking him to let her handle the matter herself. In the more than one year they had known each other, Gu Shouxin had never seen Gu Nian like this before.

Gu Nian assured the couple that she would handle it herself and asked them not to interfere, so that she could break the deadlock herself.

Unable to resist Gu Nian's pleas, the two agreed, saying they would wait until May at the latest, and if the matter was not resolved by then, they, as parents, would step in to resolve it.

As for Gu Nian, after returning home, she showed no abnormality at all, doing what she was supposed to do, and even telling a joke from time to time.

On the night of April 24th, Gu En sneaked into the second room.

He heard a noise coming from the kitchen, so he went to Gu Nian's room.

He didn't see her; everyone was in the lab, and she was just spacing out!

Gu En quietly placed a box on Gu Nian's dressing table. Turning her head, she saw a dark figure at the door and screamed in fright, "Ah!"

Gu Nian took out a tinderbox, and Gu Xin and Gu Si, who had heard the screams, ran over from the kitchen: "What happened? What happened?"

Gu En patted her chest in fright: "Second sister, you scared me to death!"

Gu Nian: "Xin Xin, Si Si, grab him and don't let him get away!"

As she spoke, Gu Nian walked to the dressing table, opened the box, and found three pairs of ice silk gloves inside.

Gu Nian: "?"

Gu En said somewhat dejectedly, "Second sister, you said you wouldn't interrogate me about who gave me the gloves."

Gu Nian smiled and said, "I won't press you. I know it's Xue Qianyu."

Gu En's mouth dropped open in surprise.

Gu Nian added, "It seems I guessed right. On the day I came of age, who else but him could have had you deliver things to my room?"

Gu Nian put away the gloves, said something to her younger siblings, and then went to take a bath by herself.

Gu En left the second house and went to Lu Zheng's house, but only Grandma Xiao was home, so Gu En had to run back.

Then Uncle Gu made him sleep. Day after day, he had to run around with a sandbag tied to him. Wasn't that tiring? You won't grow tall if you don't sleep properly.

Gu En was indeed tired, but he still told Gu Hui to come and keep Gu Nian company, as he felt that something was wrong with Gu Nian.

Gu Hui and Gu Si both came over, one sleeping next to Gu Nian and the other next to Gu Xin.

Gu Nian dried her hair and went straight to sleep without even exchanging a few words with Gu Hui.

About an hour later, Gu Nian opened her eyes, looked at Gu Hui who was sleeping soundly beside her, and sat up.

After getting dressed, he ran to the old house, got on the donkey cart, and left.