When Su Qingcai brought a group of people, Gu Zeyin realized that he was not alone at all. Although she was a little annoyed, in order to maintain a good image in front of Su Qingcai, she still smiled and led everyone to the Gu residence.
Gu Zeyin noticed that there was another girl in the group, so she pretended to be enthusiastic and went up to her to ask, "What is your relationship with Young Master Su? What are you planning to do in Ye City? If you tell us, maybe our Gu family can help you."
Fearing that Su Qingcai might make up stories about their relationship again, Su Xiaoning blinked and immediately said, "My name is Su Xiaoning. We share the same surname, so of course we're siblings! We just got lost on our way to Yecheng. Thank you for taking us in, Miss Gu. We don't need any more help."
"So that's how it is." After learning that the two were "brother and sister", Gu Zeyin was relieved and her smile became much more genuine.
The group soon arrived at the Gu residence, and the scene in the courtyard astonished them.
It turned out that the Gu family mansion was filled with strange plants, all of which had bewitching flowers. Some of the red flowers looked like dripping blood, and they looked very eerie in the dim light.
These strange flowers were not common varieties at all. Bai Hua sensed something was amiss and was about to get closer to take a closer look when suddenly a man walked out of the yard.
As soon as Gu Zeyin saw the man, she happily ran over and hugged his arm affectionately, "Dad!"
"My dear daughter." A gentle smile appeared on Gu's father's face. He patted Gu Zeyin's hand and looked at the strangers she had brought with some suspicion. "Who are these people?"
"Father, don't worry, they are guests I invited, especially this young master Su, who saved me on the street today." Gu Zeyin quickly introduced them to her father, and a blush appeared on her face when she mentioned Su Qingcai.
Seeing his daughter's state, the father knew exactly what she was thinking, so he didn't say anything more and made an invitation gesture to Su Qingcai and the others.
"Since you are Zeyin's saviors, you are honored guests of the Gu family. It is getting late, so please go to the hall and take a seat. I will treat you to a proper meal."
Having traveled a long way, Su Xiaoning was already starving. When she heard Gu's father say he would treat them to a meal, she thanked him repeatedly and ran to the hall. Su Qingcai silently followed behind her.
Seeing that no one seemed to notice anything amiss, Bai Hua had no choice but to abandon her plan to investigate and followed them inside.
Everyone took their seats in the hall, and soon the Gu family's chefs prepared the meal and brought it up.
The food in front of her smelled delicious and made Su Xiaoning's mouth water. She picked up her chopsticks and was about to start eating when she suddenly smelled a strange odor.
This strange smell wasn't foul or sour; it seemed to be... a peculiar floral scent?
The floral scent was so strange that Su Xiaoning dared not eat it. At the same time, she whispered to the person next to her, "Let's not eat it. I think these foods smell weird."
Those around were taken aback and immediately put down their chopsticks, but the aroma of the food kept wafting into their noses, making them drool.
Bai Hua was so hungry that she secretly took out a silver needle and tested the food on the table when Gu's father and Gu Zeyin were not paying attention.
The silver needles remained shiny and bright, showing no signs of blackening, proving that the food was non-toxic.
Bai Hua breathed a sigh of relief and whispered, "Aren't you being too sensitive? I've already tested it, and the food isn't poisonous. You can eat it without worry."
“But…” Su Xiaoning hesitated, still wanting to stop her, but Bai Hua was too lazy to listen to her. He put down his chopsticks and began to eat heartily.
For a moment, everyone except Su Xiaoning and Su Qingcai ate with great relish.
Su Qingcai was also starving, but he trusted Su Xiaoning unconditionally. Seeing that Su Xiaoning was frowning and not eating, he endured his hunger and did the same as her.
Seeing that the two weren't eating, a hint of suspicion flashed in Gu's father's eyes. Su Xiaoning and Su Qingcai brushed it off by saying they "had no appetite," and although Gu's father didn't say much, he had a hunch about what was going on.
After dinner, everyone stayed at the Gu residence. The night passed peacefully without any incidents.
But in the middle of the night, Su Xiaoning simply couldn't take it anymore.
Her stomach was growling with hunger, and her internal organs felt like they were on fire. She was desperate and her mind was filled with thoughts of food.
"I want to eat something..." Su Xiaoning muttered to herself. She was so hungry that she felt dizzy and wanted to get up and go to the kitchen to find something to eat. But then she remembered that Su Qingcai hadn't eaten either, so she turned around and sneaked into Su Qingcai's room.
Su Qingcai had been enduring hunger and was sleeping very restlessly. He noticed Su Xiaoning as soon as she entered, and immediately sat up in bed, asking in surprise, "What are you doing in my room so late?"
"Stop asking so many questions, come with me right now!" Su Xiaoning pulled Su Qingcai off the bed and dragged him towards the kitchen. "You haven't eaten either, have you? You must be hungry, right? Come on, let's go to the kitchen and find something to eat."
"You did this for nothing?" Su Qingcai was both amused and exasperated, but after patting his empty stomach, he obediently followed behind Su Xiaoning.
The two sneaked into the kitchen. Su Xiaoning found a few white steamed buns in the kitchen. After smelling them and finding no strange smell, she stuffed them into her mouth and chewed them vigorously, not forgetting to hand them to Su Qingcai.
Su Qingcai originally wanted to be reserved, but when he saw Su Xiaoning's cheeks stuffed with food, looking as cute as a squirrel, he had no other thoughts and silently took the steamed bun and ate it without any regard for appearances, just like Su Xiaoning.
After eating a few steamed buns, Su Xiaoning was still not satisfied. Seeing that there were plenty of ingredients available, she even started cooking for herself.
The commotion in the kitchen grew louder and louder, disturbing the chef who was sleeping next to the kitchen.
The chef, awakened by the noise, rushed into the kitchen and caught Su Xiaoning and Su Qingcai red-handed. Upon seeing that they were guests who hadn't eaten dinner, he was immediately furious.
"What's wrong with you people? Why don't you eat dinner properly and instead come here in the middle of the night to steal food!"
"We weren't full, so finding some leftovers isn't stealing, is it? ...If all else fails, we'll make it up to you. Eating now or eating later makes no difference." Su Xiaoning didn't dare to be presumptuous and lowered her head to admit her mistake.
To everyone's surprise, the chef became even angrier after hearing this.
"Compensation? I don't need you to compensate me! What you're eating now is completely different from dinner. Do you even know what dinner was...?"
He stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence, realizing he had said the wrong thing, and quickly covered his mouth.
His face turned a deep purplish-red, and he couldn't utter a single word. He could only let Su Xiaoning and Su Qingcai leave.
Su Xiaoning was puzzled by the chef's strange reaction, but she was too full to think about anything else and quickly fell asleep after returning to her room.
One night passed.
The next day, not long after Su Xiaoning got up, she heard that Gu Zeyin was going to distribute porridge that day.
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