Chapter 17 Chapter 17 A cup of cosmopolitan.
Over the weekend, Gu Sui returned to the Gu family's old residence before lunch. Gu Yushan and Zhou Ling were somewhat surprised to see her return on her own initiative.
Zhou Ling, in particular, had been furious ever since Gu Sui made those harsh words. Although she was secretly delighted, she still maintained a cold and indifferent expression.
"Ah Sui, why did you suddenly come back today? Is something wrong?" Gu Yushan asked while fiddling with his tea set.
"What are you saying? Can't she come back if there's nothing wrong? Does she have to stay out there forever and only come back to see her parents when something happens?" Zhou Ling retorted irritably, making veiled accusations while glancing at Gu Sui standing beside her from time to time.
Gu Yushan has always been henpecked, and after so many years under Zhou Ling's thumb, he has lost his temper. Although he was a little displeased, he just frowned and continued to fiddle with the tea set in his hands, saying lightly, "Look at you, don't misunderstand me, okay? Why be so sarcastic first thing in the morning?"
Gu Sui didn't show much expression on her face, just stood quietly to the side, after all, she had important things to say.
Seeing that she had made a fool of herself, Zhou Ling went off to tend to her flowers elsewhere.
After Zhou Ling had walked away, Gu Sui spoke calmly, "Dad, let's talk in the study."
Seeing that she was holding something and looked serious, Gu Yushan gathered up the tea set and went to the study with Gu Sui.
As soon as he entered, Gu Sui got straight to the point, slammed the stack of photos on the table, and explained the whole story.
"This Zhao Cheng, after all these years of friendship with him, what does he take my Gu family for?" Gu Yushan was furious after hearing this and cursed Zhao Min's father. After speaking, he rarely criticized Zhou Ling for acting on her own initiative.
Seeing that her father's reaction was relatively normal, Gu Sui knew that the matter was half resolved. After all, she chose to talk to Gu Yushan alone because of Zhou Ling's lack of understanding.
“Since Zhao Min’s matter is Mom’s idea, she might not believe me even if I tell her.” Gu Sui left it at that.
"I'll talk to your mother, you don't need to worry." Gu Yushan was still angry and wanted to throw the photo into the shredder next to him, but then stopped.
"Okay, then I'll be going now." Gu Sui got the answer he wanted and walked out as he spoke.
Gu Yushan was more accustomed to his daughter's indifference than Zhou Ling. He sighed as he watched Gu Sui's departing figure and pushed the photo on the table away.
Gu Sui drove straight to Yijing Bay after leaving the Gu family home, but after stopping outside the gate, he remained in the car and refused to get out.
She took out her phone without much hope and checked it; sure enough, there was still no reply.
Looking at the large French windows upstairs, which were completely covered by curtains, Gu Sui gave up the idea of going up. She rubbed her forehead and smiled self-deprecatingly, laughing at herself for becoming the kind of person who would block someone's doorstep.
She sat in the car until the afternoon, but the figure she was hoping for did not appear. Gu Sui pulled her arm out of the car window and decided to drive to Gu Qi's house to check.
Since moving to the waterfront, she hasn't been back. She doesn't want to be labeled as "ungrateful." It's the weekend, and Gu Qi and her daughter should be there. She should clear her head and give Shang Shu and herself some space.
Thinking it over, she stepped on the gas and drove away from Yijing Bay.
When Gu Sui arrived, Gu Xiangyi was looking at a dress that the housekeeper was holding up. She had found this dress based on her memory after the Lin family's birthday banquet last time, and it had just been flown in from Paris this morning.
Gu Xiangyi knew that Lin Lang had no shortage of formal wear, but even so, she still kept this matter in mind after the last time. She gently stroked it, and couldn't help but recall how Lin Lang looked wearing it.
Lin Lang didn't have the unapproachable beauty of her aunt; instead, she exuded a carefree aura. Thinking of this, Gu Xiangyi recalled Lin Lang's playful smile and that heart-stirring "little sister."
Alas.
Gu Xiangyi shook her head, remembering that the other person was interested in her aunt. She pursed her lips and gestured to the housekeeper to put the dress back in the gift box: "Put it in my room first."
The butler replied as he placed the dress down.
"Emerald Green, a new style?" Gu Sui leaned against the door for a while before stepping forward to say.
Gu Xiangyi snapped out of her reverie and turned around to see Gu Sui suddenly appear. She was startled and exclaimed, "Auntie, why were you so quiet?"
Gu Sui chuckled lightly: "You're just too focused."
Gu Xiangyi remained noncommittal, but considerately pointed the way for Gu Sui. She gestured towards the upstairs and said, "My mother is looking at paintings upstairs. She's recently become obsessed with them and just got a few from the auction."
Gu Sui couldn't help but chuckle and sat down on the sofa: "Nothing special, just came to see you all."
Gu Xiangyi used the remote to turn off the somewhat noisy stereo, then leaned closer to Gu Sui and asked with a serious expression, "Auntie, the master can only lead you to the door, the cultivation is up to you. Have you made any progress?"
Gu Sui knew she would keep asking questions, and couldn't help but regret her earlier chatter. She decided to just brush it off like she had with Gu Qi last time. While scrolling through her phone, she casually said, "Haste makes waste."
Unexpectedly, Gu Xiangyi did not buy into this ambiguous statement. She crossed her arms and said, "I really don't understand you. If there is a misunderstanding, why don't you just tell her clearly?"
Upon hearing this, Gu Sui continued scrolling through his phone, but his mind was already wandering far away.
She had initially thought things were as simple as they seemed, but since they met again and spent more time with Shang Shu, she realized that the distance and time between them seemed to have created many complicated things.
"Auntie, are you listening?" Gu Xiangyi nudged Gu Sui's arm.
Gu Sui snapped out of his daze, exhaled subtly, and replied calmly, "It's not that easy."
She then shifted the topic to Gu Xiangyi: "Have you thought it through about going abroad?"
"You changed the subject so abruptly..." Gu Xiangyi's expression became somewhat listless as she spoke of this. She moved away from Gu Sui without any interest and sat up straight.
Although she was reluctant to talk about it, it seemed that her going abroad had long been a done deal, without her even realizing it.
Gu Xiangyi learned to play the harp from a young age, simply because she went to a concert with Gu Qi when she was a child, and from then on she fell in love with this instrument with its beautiful tone and appearance like a great work of art.
Gu Qi originally thought it would be good for Gu Xiangyi to have an elegant hobby, but she did not expect that she would show musical talent so early. Unfortunately, there was a lack of resources for harp studies in Macau, so Gu Qi spent a lot of money to hire an Austrian harp teacher who was once the principal of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra to give Gu Xiangyi lessons.
Obviously, Gu Xiangyi wouldn't choose to stay in Macau for her university life, so Gu Qi put this important life event on her agenda when it was time to prepare for the entrance exam.
Gu Xiangyi herself had no objection to this, but after meeting Lin Lang last time, she unconsciously began to resist going abroad. Although she herself felt it was a bit exaggerated to do this for a "sister" she had only met once, it just happened.
Gu Sui didn't want to be a spoilsport, so seeing that she wasn't interested, he stopped talking about it.
Gu Xiangyi seemed to remember something, and a smile appeared on her face: "Auntie, I'm going to Scarlet Tonight, it's my friend's birthday party. I'm letting you know in advance so your spies won't report me for drinking."
Upon hearing "Scarlet," Gu Sui raised an eyebrow. Thinking back to the last time she went there, it was the day she reunited with Shang Shu. She couldn't help but recall her purpose for opening Scarlet three years ago.
Gu Sui smiled and said, "I'll take you home tonight."
Gu Xiangyi looked at the other person with some suspicion. She had thought that Gu Sui would at least say a few words, but who knew that he didn't continue at all. She tentatively asked, "It's not like you're the kind of person who sits next to me the whole time, is it?"
Gu Sui glanced at her: "I'm not that free. You know that."
She wanted to go to Scarlet Glamour only because she couldn't see anyone there, and also because she wanted to try out the way Shang Shu liked to relieve her worries.
Upon receiving the order, Gu Xiangyi smiled sweetly.
"What a rare guest!" Gu Qi leaned out from the second-floor railing and teased Gu Sui below.
Gu Sui looked up at Gu Qi upstairs, smiled, and remained silent.
Gu Qi slowly walked down the stairs, instructed the housekeeper to have the chef prepare dinner, and then sat down on the sofa opposite Gu Sui.
"I heard about Denelli from Luo Wei. Do you need my help?"
"No need, A-Shu is already handling it. I just need to cooperate with her," Gu Sui said slowly.
She believed in Shang Shu's abilities and knew that she must have her own way of doing things. She didn't want to interfere too much without the other party mentioning it, because that would be a kind of arrogance, like relying on being older and more experienced to make subjective assumptions about everything.
"Okay." Gu Qi was happy to have some free time. Actually, she wasn't really that free. There were many things at Guangjing that required her, as the chairman, to make decisions. Now that the media was being managed by Gu Sui, it helped to share some of the burden.
She glanced at Gu Sui somewhat awkwardly, and after a long while asked, "How have you been lately...?"
Gu Sui knew that Gu Qi was worried about her health, and that she was never good at saying nice things. She also knew that those days were a past that none of the three of them wanted to bring up.
She nodded and gave a soft "hmm".
After dinner, Gu Xiangyi changed into a beautiful dress and rode in Gu Sui's car to Scarlet. The neon lights reflected the night scene of Nanwan Lake, making the entire new port look magnificent. The day and night here seemed to be two completely different worlds.
"Then I'll go in first." Gu Xiangyi held up the mirror to touch up her lipstick and said to Gu Sui.
"Hmm." Gu Sui glanced at her in the rearview mirror and followed her out of the car. She tossed the keys to the greeter at the door and then walked into Scarlet at a leisurely pace.
When the manager saw the boss arrive, he greeted him with a big smile: "Mr. Gu, you've arrived."
"You're busy, don't worry about me," Gu Sui said casually, then chose a booth in the last row to sit down.
The bartenders at the bar still gracefully swung their wrists, skillfully mixing fine drinks to please the guests, while the band played romantic jazz music with abandon in the center of the stage.
"Mr. Gu, what would you like to drink tonight?" the waiter asked respectfully, bowing slightly.
"A glass of Metropolitan." Gu Sui rolled up his sleeves slightly and leaned back in the leather sofa.
She wasn't obsessed with alcohol before, and it was only after meeting Shang Shu that she gradually began to appreciate many things in this regard. She remembered that Shang Shu liked the Metropolitan the most because she said that the name of this drink had another meaning.
"Cosmopolitan".
She prefers to call it home all over the world rather than the metropolis.
A note from the author:
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