Chapter 396 Sour
Nan Zhiyi sat back down in her chair. "Did you ask Qin Fen about it?"
Gu Xiao deliberately moved his face closer to hers, "Give me a kiss first, then we'll talk."
She casually touched his chin, but he took advantage of the situation and touched his lips.
Seeing his wife narrow her eyes, her gaze unfriendly, Gu Xiao smiled and explained, "I asked. Qin Fen said that Boss Zhou... is quite a rare find."
He recounted slowly and deliberately, "He usually buries himself in studying antiques, and his romantic history is as clean as a blank sheet of paper. He comes from a wealthy family and has a stable temperament. Qin Fen's exact words were, 'I never expected such an old house to catch fire.'"
Nan Zhiyi nodded thoughtfully: "Good looks and a good family background mean Yueyue will have less to worry about in the future."
Gu Xiao's nose almost brushed against her cheek as he asked sourly, "Looks like my wife also admires Boss Zhou's looks?"
"Yes..." Nan Zhiyi deliberately dragged out her words, but her eyes involuntarily glanced at Gu Xiao's face.
From her striking brow bone to her remarkably cool lip line when she purses her lips, every detail perfectly aligns with her heart.
Seeing his brows furrow slightly, she couldn't help but chuckle, her fingertips tracing the bridge of his nose. "What a pity..."
"What's a pity?"
"Unfortunately, compared to a certain shameless one, he's still a bit lacking."
Gu Xiao suddenly lifted her onto the desk, wrapped his arms around her waist, and looked up at her from below. This angle transformed his usual coldness into a tender gaze, and the undercurrent in his eyes became even more intense.
"Honey, how am I? Do I look good?"
Nan Zhiyi was flustered by his posture, and her legs unconsciously clamped around the sides of his military uniform.
As dusk deepened outside the window, the fragrance of flowers carried on the evening breeze grew stronger, and she finally leaned down and wrapped her arms around his neck:
"Gu Xiao, you are the most handsome in my heart."
Gu Xiao tilted his head back to kiss her, his hands firmly gripping the back of her neck, making the kiss feel exceptionally long.
"Then..." His kiss landed on her collarbone, "How much prettier is she than Boss Zhou?"
Nan Zhiyi, panting slightly, dodged away: "Minister Gu, are you trying to organize a beauty pageant?"
"We don't need to compete; we can prove it with our actions."
Her long, flowing hair, like ink wash painting, flowed through his fingertips.
Just as they were whispering sweet nothings to each other, Zhang Yueran's clear voice came from the courtyard: "Gu Zhao! Auntie's back!" The joy in her voice couldn't be hidden even by the second-floor windowpane.
Then came the sound of Gu Zhao's footsteps. "Auntie! You taught me Morse code today, and I've read the book!"
...
Nan Zhiyi hurriedly pushed away the chest in front of her, her face flushed as she straightened her clothes.
Gu Xiao pursed his lips, seemingly unsatisfied, but still carefully buttoned her shirt, his fingertips lingering on the collar: "Tonight..."
"You're pushing your luck!" Nan Zhiyi scolded, then walked towards the door with slightly unsteady steps.
She first went to the bathroom to tidy herself up. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, her eyes still seemed to be glistening with tears, so she quickly splashed cool water on her cheeks. Then she combed her slightly disheveled long hair again before slowly walking downstairs.
Zhang Yueran and Gu Zhao were sitting head to head at the coffee table, their fingers lightly tapping on the password book.
"Look, three short dots make an S..." She seemed to be immersed in honey, her eyes and brows brimming with sweetness.
She looks like a woman deeply in love.
Nan Zhiyi watched quietly from the sofa, feeling that every strand of her sister's hair was shining, and that joy that overflowed from the bottom of her heart could not be hidden... nor did it need to be hidden.
After the aunt and niece finished teaching each other cryptography, Nan Zhiyi asked Zhang Yueran, "You're back early today? Any news?"
Zhang Yueran's cheeks flushed. "Zhou Xingzhi said... he'd be very willing to meet my family." Her voice trailed off, "It's kind of a formal meeting..."
She suddenly stood up. "I'll call Mom first!"
Nan Zhiyi watched with a smile as her younger sister skipped and hopped towards the telephone. Turning her head, she saw her son drawing dots on a piece of paper with a pencil. "Is our Comrade Gu Zhao going to be a little intelligence agent?"
Nan Zhiyi took the "secret letter" from her son and said, "Thank you, son. Mom loves you too."
The mother and son exchanged a few words. Nan Zhiyi, who didn't understand this, said, "Son, go to the study and find your father. He understands this."
Gu Zhao nodded, picked up the codebook and the simple telegraph machine, and ran upstairs.
Nan Zhiyi glanced back at Zhang Yueran, who was whispering something into the phone.
Zhang Yueran's fingertips gripped the telephone cord as she heard her father's raised voice on the other end of the line: "My dear daughter! You're still so young, how can you be dating..." His voice trembled, as if he was about to pass out.
Then came Feng Xuemei's smiling rebuke: "Get out of the way, I'll ask." She then asked with concern, "My dear daughter, who are you talking to? How old are they? What do they do for a living? What's their family situation?"
Zhang Yueran stomped her feet in embarrassment: "Mom! With all those questions, which one am I supposed to answer first..."
She briefly explained Zhou Xingzhi's situation. There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a heart-wrenching scream from the father: "Thirty years old?! So old!!"
"Don't interrupt!" Feng Xuemei pushed her husband away slightly, her voice becoming serious. "Zhang Yueran, explain yourself more clearly."
Zhang Yueran gripped the phone cord, her voice softening: "He...he's incredibly gentle, knows a lot about antiques, and can even paint landscapes. He seems aloof, but he's so good to me..."
She pleaded sweetly, "Mom, you'll definitely like him when you meet him. He's so considerate in everything he does..."
Feng Xuemei scoffed on the other end of the phone, "That's not necessarily true."
"Um... Zhou Xingzhi is planning to come to my sister's house for a formal visit..." Zhang Yueran added softly.
"Then your father and I will go too," Feng Xuemei said decisively.
Zhang Yueran was so surprised she almost dropped the microphone. "Wasn't that too hasty? It's better to see each other again later..."
"It's settled then," Feng Xuemei said decisively. "You discuss it with him; we'll ask for leave tomorrow and leave for Beijing the day after."
Zhang Yueran bit her lip, hesitated for a long time, and finally gave in: "Then... call me once you've booked the tickets, and I'll pick you up at the station."
She hung up the phone, turned to meet Nan Zhiyi's knowing gaze, and buried her face in her sister's arms, whimpering, "Sis! Mom and Dad are coming the day after tomorrow!"
Nan Zhiyi patted her back gently, "Alright, alright, we'll have to meet sooner or later. Since Boss Zhou dared to come and visit, he must have been prepared. Besides, he's a really good person, and Aunt Feng and Uncle Zhang are always open-minded, they'll definitely understand."
"This is too fast..." Zhang Yueran buried her burning face in her sister's shoulder. "We just started dating, and we're already meeting each other's parents... I haven't even figured out what dating is all about yet."
Nan Zhiyi couldn't help but ask curiously, "Haven't you thought about marriage?"
"Not yet... I was just thinking of getting my hands on him first..." Zhang Yueran replied blankly.
Nan Zhiyi laughed at this question: "What do you mean by 'got it'? How do you define 'got it'?"
Zhang Yueran's ears turned bright red, but she still forced herself to say, "It's just... let's be friends first..."
"Oh?" Nan Zhiyi put on a serious face. "I've heard that any relationship not aimed at marriage is just playing around. Are you trying to play around with Boss Zhou?"
"I don't!"
Zhang Yueran jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
Her heart pounded. Thinking of Zhou Xingzhi, a man of such refined character, how could she dare harbor any disrespectful thoughts? But once the thought arose, she couldn't help but imagine what his reaction would be if she really did...
Nan Zhiyi sat calmly on the sofa, watching her younger sister blush from her cheeks to her neck, even her wrists turned pink, before finally covering her face and rushing into the guest room as if fleeing.
Hearing the "bang" of the guest room door closing, Nan Zhiyi smiled, shook her head, and turned to walk into the kitchen.
Sister Zhang was stir-frying shredded pork with green peppers at the stove when she saw her come in and said, "Dinner will be ready soon."
Nan Zhiyi said softly, "My Aunt Feng and Uncle Zhang are coming to stay for a while the day after tomorrow. I'll have to trouble you to look after them then. Buy whatever fresh vegetables you see; it's a rare opportunity for them to come."
"Don't worry!"
Sister Zhang deftly plated the vegetables. "The market is much better now than it was two years ago. You can buy chicken, fish, meat, and eggs freely. This morning I even saw some fresh mandarin fish for sale; I'll go pick out a plump one in a couple of days. There are also many seasonal vegetables grown by the villagers themselves, and free-range chickens... It's cheap and good..."
As Nan Zhiyi listened to Sister Zhang recount her experiences with great familiarity, she suddenly remembered something: "Oh right, Aunt Feng said last time that the rock sugar braised pork knuckle you made suited her taste... My Uncle Zhang likes to drink, so we'll have to prepare some snacks to go with it..."
"Okay, I'll remember. I'll prepare everything then."
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