Chapter 146
Jiang Nuo finally washed up briefly, but followed Gu Jiangkuo's advice and dressed quite low-key, wearing a white T-shirt without a logo and jeans. Although this outfit was also worth five figures, it was clean and refreshing, far from his usual elite appearance in a suit and tie. He looked more like a vigorous college student.
"Like a student." Jiang Nuo complained to the mirror, "I can't control myself."
"You're already a student." Gu Jiangkuo pressed his shoulder, coaxing him as he pushed him out. "You're only 20, already a university student. Besides, you're meeting an elder, not an employee. There's no need to pressure them."
"That's true." Jiang Nuo agreed deeply. Since he was going to meet the elders, he should not be too imposing, but should deliberately show weakness. After all, elders like well-behaved children.
Mr. Jiang never imagined that one day he would be nervous about meeting his parents, anxious about gaining the approval of their elders. In his previous life, he'd never felt this way when visiting the Ding family. He'd only maintained superficial courtesy with Ding Pingzhou's father, Ding Yansheng, and only saw him once a year unless there was business to do.
It’s too troublesome to attend Chairman Lao Ding’s family dinner, not to mention worrying about whether the other party likes me.
'Perhaps,' Jiang Nuo thought, 'Gu Jiangkuo has always been different from others to me.'
Love the house and love the dog.
Young Master Jiang set out on the journey to visit his aunt. Gu Jiangkuo drove the cool sports car he had given her as a gift, speeding down the road. He really drove the car at a speed as fast as a horse galloping in the spring breeze. No wonder he was happy, as Gu Jiangkuo was confident about it - he firmly believed that Nuonuo was so perfect, who could not like her?
My aunt's house is a detached Western-style villa. It is not as luxurious and grand as the Gu family manor, but it is luxurious in every detail, showing the sophistication and elegance of an old-fashioned wealthy family.
After the servant opened the door, the first person to greet them was a middle-aged woman. The woman had an ordinary appearance, but a very good temperament. She was the kind of elegant and luxurious person who exuded elegance and luxury in her bones, but also had the alienation and coldness of living in the upper class for a long time. She introduced herself as the daughter of my great aunt, and took her mother's surname, Fang, so she could just be called aunt.
"Auntie," Jiang Nuo called out obediently and said with a smile, "Do you like Kroyer too?"
Aunt Fang's eyes lit up, a look of surprise, but she restrained herself and raised her eyebrows slightly: "You like painting too? Kroyer isn't as famous as Monet or Rembrandt..."
"People who truly understand painting won't judge based on the artist's fame, nor will they crudely assess the artistic value of a painting based on the auction price. With all due respect, the selling price of a painting has absolutely nothing to do with its artistic value; it's simply a game of capital," Jiang Nuo pointed at the painting in the living room. "Clear moonlight, tranquil water. Kroyer is particularly good at expressing emotions through color. This painting has several shades of blue. Choosing this one shows that my aunt understands painting."
"No, I don't really understand painting. I just like the simple and natural feeling it conveys." Aunt Fang smiled. "Hurry up and sit down. I'm just busy chatting with you. What would you like to drink, coffee or tea? ... Ah Kuo, sit down too."
Gu Jiangkuo watched Jiang Nuo and his cousin chatting happily until Aunt Fang said, "Wait a moment, I'll go see if Mother has woken up from her nap."
Gu Jiangkuo was still stunned. He pulled Jiang Nuo aside and whispered, "How did you do it? That girl—Auntie—is very proud and ignores everyone. How could she be so kind to you?"
Jiang Nuo was also a little proud, but said reservedly: "Really?"
"Of course not," Gu Jiangkuo said, "Look at her laughing, she's shaking like a flower."
"Keep your voice down! Don't let anyone hear." Jiang Nuo winked at him and said, "It's actually very simple. It's just flattering the right person."
"Because of those paintings?" Gu Jiangkuo said admiringly, "Nuonuo, you really know everything."
Gu Jiangkuo can learn business, and taming his subordinates and forming cliques are skills that are innate in him. But when it comes to art appreciation, Gu Jiangkuo feels a headache and can't help thinking: As expected of Nuonuo, his wife is really a born rich young master.
"I don't understand either." Jiang Nuo took a sip of coffee. "I just happened to recognize this painting and the artist. I guess it's a relatively unknown artist, so I guessed that my aunt's work would be of a different ilk. Also... I haven't seen this painting at auctions in the past—I'm sure I'm familiar with high-priced paintings—so I guess the purchase price shouldn't be expensive. So I just catered to her tastes and gave her a few compliments."
"It's easy to say, isn't that understanding?" Gu Jiangkuo whispered, "I really want to kiss you."
"..." Jiang Nuo moved aside cautiously, "Don't mess around, this is your aunt's house."
"I know." Gu Jiangkuo also picked up the cup and drank the remaining tea in it. "I was just teasing you. - Hey, my aunt is here!"
Two servants were supporting a graceful and kind silver-haired old lady on the left and right, and Aunt Fang followed behind.
Jiang Nuo stopped drinking coffee and stood up immediately. Seeing this, Gu Jiangkuo also stood up and quickly whispered to her, "Don't be nervous. Your aunt isn't as troublesome as your aunt. She has a very good personality."
You can even handle someone as difficult as your aunt, let alone your great aunt?
But Jiang Nuo was still nervous, feeling that although this aunt was old and looked kind, she was more stubborn and obstinate than her aunt.
Finally, the aunt walked slowly to the living room, waved away the servants, and walked towards the reception sofa. Jiang Nuo found that the old lady's legs and feet were very agile. Judging from her physical condition, she was much stronger than that old man Gu Zhonghong. Maybe the servants were jealous of her just because it was a habit of rich old ladies to show off their status, but the aunt's eyesight was much worse.
She fumbled around for a long time, and her aunt beside her understood and handed her a pair of reading glasses. My aunt put on the glasses and looked at Jiang Nuo with a frown.
"Is this your partner?" she asked.
Gu Jiangkuo: "Yes. I wanted to show you a photo before, but you said it wasn't credible and you had to see the real person, so I'm showing it to you now."
I don’t know what online rumor the old lady believed, saying that photoshop is one of the four major sorcerers in Asia, and that photos of young people nowadays are no match for real people.
Jiang Nuo felt like a rare animal in a glass cage in a zoo, or a valuable vase on a display stand - his aunt was actually looking at him in circles.
Although the way he looked her up and down was mostly because the old man had poor eyesight and couldn't see clearly from a distance, it still made Jiang Nuo feel a little uneasy.
Fortunately, my aunt didn't stare at him for too long, and finally concluded: "He is a neat child."
Jiang Nuo: “…” Does this mean that a flat-headed, straight-faced person is still pleasing to the eye?
But I heard my aunt sigh and say, "I'm tired, Ah Kuo, you should take your partner back."
Gu Jiangkuo was anxious: "Aunt, you're so quick—? Why don't you sit down and chat?"
But the two servants had separated him intentionally or unintentionally, and then the old lady walked up the stairs quickly.
Jiang Nuo: “…………”
Gu Jiangkuo wanted to chase him, but Aunt Fang came out to stop him, saying in embarrassment: "Akuo, I'm sorry."
"But……"
Jiang Nuo also pulled him, shook his head calmly at Gu Jiangkuo, and whispered, "Let's go."
Seeing that his aunt looked like she didn't want to stay with him for even a second, how could Jiang Nuo not understand her attitude? Although he didn't know what taboo he had violated, he knew that pestering someone relentlessly was always a bad idea. At least there was no chance today.
.
After leaving Fang's house, Jiang Nuo was still a little depressed.
Gu Jiangkuo comforted him, "She doesn't mean to dislike you. It's probably just that she's old and has a weird temper. Don't worry, I won't have any contact with them in the future. After all, they're just relatives and there's no affection between them. How can they be as important as my wife?"
"How can that be?" Although he felt uncomfortable, President Jiang still had a broad perspective. "How many shares does the Fang family hold? Their support is very important to you!"
"But……"
"But what?" Mr. Jiang said arrogantly, "I'm the CEO of a listed company, not your daughter-in-law. I don't need to rely on your relatives for support. You only treat them as business allies. When it comes to business, it's better to be humble. It's not shameful."
Gu Jiangkuo knew that this was a compromise Jiang Nuo made for him, and he was touched in his heart, but he still waited until his surging emotions calmed down before he smiled and said, "Yes, you are not my little wife, you are the boss, and I am the boss's wife. Nuonuo, don't worry, I will handle the relationship with them well, but you don't have to meet the Fang family again in the future." He didn't want to be ignored like today.
.
Square house.
Aunt Fang complained to her mother, "I think Xiao Jiang is a good kid. He's knowledgeable, interesting, and well-mannered. I think he's even better than Ah Kuo. Why don't you want to see him? You should have known he was a boy."
Old Mrs. Fang shook her head, "Too beautiful."
Aunt Fang: "What?"
Old Mrs. Fang took off her reading glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I mean, that child, that Xiao Jiang, is so beautiful. She's even prettier than the actors on TV."
"Isn't this good?"
"What do you know?" Old Madam Fang glared at her daughter and sighed, "Akuo is indeed like Gu Zhonghong. He only likes young and pretty girls. He is just as superficial as his grandfather."
“…” Aunt Fang understood.
Before, my mother had been hesitating whether to help Gu Jiangkuo. She was struggling because Gu Jiangkuo was not only Fang Wan's descendant, but also Gu Zhonghong's grandson, and had half Gu Zhonghong's blood in his body.
"But," Aunt Fang advised, "Akuo is the only bloodline left by my aunt in this world. I still remember that when my aunt was alive, she would leave all the delicious food for me and my cousin Amin...Akuo is my cousin Amin's only son. Mother, think about it again. If Gu Zhonghong discovers Akuo's ambition and decides to deal with him, without our help, no matter how capable he is, he will ultimately be alone and weak. How can he compete with an entire family?"
Old Mrs. Fang remained silent and did not answer.
"If you think about it this way, Ah Kuo still looks like Auntie. If Auntie didn't like handsome young men, why would she ignore her family's objections and marry Gu Zhonghong?"
Mrs. Fang immediately glared at her daughter in reproach: "How can you talk about your aunt like that?"
Aunt Fang smiled and said, "Mother, I've convinced you. Let's try again. Perhaps Ah Kuo is a man of integrity and loyalty, and can pass your test and prove that he's different from Gu Zhonghong."
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To thank you all for your comments on the last chapter, I'm adding another chapter! There should be another chapter today!
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