Chapter 482 Two Pairs
As night deepened, the lights in each room of the Gu family's old house went out one by one, and the festive atmosphere of the day settled into silence.
In Wang Juan and Gu Weimin's room, a small lamp was still on.
The little girl was fast asleep in her crib.
Wang Juan sat on the edge of the large bed, holding the pair of dragon and phoenix gold bracelets in her hand. They were heavy, and the carved edges pressed against her palm.
She glanced sideways at Gu Weimin, who was taking off his coat, her tone tinged with resentment and a hint of bitterness: "Look at our newlywed sixth sister-in-law, she's really rich. We've been married for so many years, and you've never even bought me a decent gold ring, let alone a gold bracelet..."
Gu Weimin has had his financial power revoked in recent years because of his private lending of money to Gu Jianjun, and his position in the family is now in jeopardy.
Upon hearing this, he immediately raised his hands in surrender, "Wife, I'm innocent! All our family's savings are in your hands, aren't they? If you want to buy them, we'll go to the department store tomorrow and pick out a pair, no, two pairs! You can wear them alternately!"
"Come on!" Wang Juan rolled her eyes at him and put the bracelet back in the box. "We're saving up to buy a house right now, why would we need a gold bracelet?"
Gu Weimin leaned closer and sat down next to her, earnestly advising, "Juanzi, isn't the apartment we live in now, provided by our work unit, a three-bedroom, one-living-room house, big enough? The three of us are living comfortably. Why do you insist on buying a house? What's the point?"
"Shortsighted!"
Wang Juan poked his forehead. "A house will definitely be the most important thing in the future! I asked Zhiyi a couple of days ago, and she said that if you have money, you should buy real estate and land. You'll definitely make money in the future! She's a top student from Peking University and has seen the world. Doesn't she have better foresight than you?"
She spoke of Nan Zhiyi with a tone of trust.
Gu Weimin was somewhat embarrassed: "You believe your fifth sister-in-law's words that much?"
"Otherwise what? Trust you?" Wang Juan raised a thin eyebrow. "If I trusted you, the money would have been gone long ago! If you hadn't been so soft-hearted as to lend the money to the second son, that money could buy half a house now!"
At the mention of this, Gu Weimin seemed to have his throat grabbed, all his momentum gone, "Second brother... wasn't Second brother in a difficult situation back then..."
"Difficult my ass!"
Wang Juan became even angrier, "We're all born of the same parents, who's missing an arm or a leg? He's changed jobs several times, and every time he messed things up because of his own cunning. If he had just been stable and down-to-earth, wouldn't he be doing well? Now Dad has arranged a job for him again, and they've been allocated a house. As long as the two of them work honestly, how could they not make a living? You brothers are just worrying about nothing! Just live your own lives!"
She became increasingly angry as she spoke, her chest heaving.
Gu Weimin was overwhelmed by her barrage of criticism and had no chance to defend himself. He lowered his voice and begged for mercy: "Wife, wife, keep your voice down. You're right. From now on, let's live our own lives and not worry about those things, okay?"
Seeing his submissive and humble demeanor, Wang Juan's anger subsided somewhat.
Over the years, she has controlled the family finances. Although Gu Weimin has also been promoted at work, his status in the family has declined sharply in front of her.
Wang Juan's tone softened: "Anyway, let's just live our lives steadily and make them prosperous. As for our fifth and sixth brothers, one has a bright future and the other has a wealthy family. We don't need to think too much or be greedy, but if a suitable opportunity comes along, and they leak some information or benefits, we can follow them and our lives will definitely be good."
"Yes, yes, I'll do whatever you say, my wife! Wherever you point, I'll go!" Gu Weimin, ever the opportunist, stood up eagerly. "You've had a long day, let me get you some hot water to soak your feet and relax!"
As he spoke, he went to fetch the foot bath basin and prepared hot water.
Wang Juan finally smiled, and as he helped her take off her socks, she put her feet in the warm water and sighed comfortably.
Gu Weimin also squatted down beside him and laughed.
Wang Juan caught a glimpse of the slightly greasy, ingratiating smile on his face and said disdainfully, "You old codger, you smile like a wilted flower."
As she spoke, she lightly kicked his shoulder with her wet feet.
Gu Weimin wasn't annoyed. Instead, he took the opportunity to grab her ankle and said with a smile, "Even a wilted flower is still your flower."
He skillfully massaged the soles of her feet.
Wang Juan recalled how Zhao Zhigang had been fawning over Gu Xiao at the dinner table that evening, and pouted, "Hey, these past few days, Third Brother-in-law has been constantly trying to get close to Fifth Brother, all that enthusiasm... but Fifth Brother doesn't really pay him any attention. Last time he even secretly tried to give Fifth Brother a gift, thinking he could get away with it, as if no one could tell."
Gu Weimin continued working, sighing inwardly.
Fifth brother Gu Xiao is capable, ambitious, and has a keen eye for talent; there's a reason why Father values him the most. Since I can't compare to him, I simply put aside any inappropriate thoughts and focus on managing my career and my family.
As for Zhao Zhigang... he's so calculating, his thoughts are written all over his face, it's really hard to know what to say.
“My third brother-in-law…sigh. Dad used to do it for my third sister’s sake. But now, you know my fifth brother’s personality, he hates these kinds of things the most. In the future…I’m afraid even maintaining appearances will be difficult. I’m worried that my third sister will be caught in the middle and have a hard time.”
Wang Juan didn't take it seriously: "What's so bad about it? Zhao Zhigang's son has carried on the family line. Would he divorce his third sister just because he can't curry favor with his fifth brother? They're an old married couple, they can just make do."
Gu Weimin silently hummed in agreement, then didn't reply. He thought, ...some estrangement and neglect are more agonizing than arguments.
His silence touched a nerve with Wang Juan.
Her tone suddenly became sharp again: "What? You're silent now that I mentioned our son? Are you still unhappy, feeling that I didn't give you a son?"
Gu Weimin was both amused and exasperated, looking at her with a helpless expression: "My dear Juanzi, it's been so many years, why do you still keep bringing this up? I have my daughter, that's enough. I really don't care about this."
Sometimes he even felt that it was Wang Juan herself who was truly troubled and unable to let go of the fact that she did not have a son.
She was very career-oriented, and even after giving birth, she still vied for opportunities to perform on stage in the performing arts troupe. She was glamorous on stage, but deep down, she seemed to be constantly stung by this regret, and once it was touched, she was prone to losing control of her emotions.
Wang Juan stared into his eyes for a few seconds, only to see a calm helplessness, not the resentment she had imagined.
The inexplicable anxiety in her heart gradually subsided.
In fact, she understood that the reason she had been able to shine in the performing arts troupe without any distractions all these years was largely because Gu Weimin really didn't care about it and had never put pressure on her.
She was used to being assertive in front of him, and even knowing that she might misunderstand, she couldn't bring herself to say anything conciliatory.
She looked away and said mercifully, "Hmm... the water's still warm, you should soak in it too, don't waste it."
Gu Weimin chuckled as he took off his shoes and socks, squeezing his large feet into the basin: "Okay, let's soak together, it'll save us some money on hot water."
Her toes moved slightly in the basin, rubbing against Wang Juan's instep.
Wang Juan didn't dodge, nor did she kick him again.
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