Zhang Hongmei laughed self-deprecatingly, picked up a book at random, but couldn't concentrate on reading. Her mind raced, thinking of all the kind people around her had shown her; their faces flashed through her mind like a movie.
I simply put down the book, lay face down on the table, and felt a jumble of thoughts.
Then I laughed. What's wrong with me? Isn't it better to just let things take their course? Do I have to cry and whine to show that I'm reluctant to leave? I'm only leaving temporarily. I'm just going to study, and the place is just a bit far away.
I picked up the book again and forced myself to calm down.
Before he even realized how much time had passed, Wang Ying came over and told him it was time to go out.
After getting on the bus, Gu Chuanming looked at the pretty young girl with a stern face and said, "Heh, are you getting ready for battle? Why that expression?"
Zhang Hongmei deflated like a punctured balloon, her once straight back slumped, and she leaned against the backrest, saying, "That's the idea."
"Hehe, it's not as scary as you think. Relax. You don't have anything to be ashamed of, do you? It's just that you're visiting your elders before you leave home."
"Okay, I understand."
The car drove directly into the compound. After Zhang Hongmei got out of the car, she was no longer as disgusted or afraid as before.
Zhou Shixiong was in the living room and was particularly excited when he saw the two of them come in.
"Hongmei, if I hadn't called you, were you not planning to come see me before you left?"
"Hehe, I was afraid of disturbing your rest."
"Hmph, you just don't treat me like an elder. I've told you before to come and keep this old man company more often, but you've never come even once."
"Hehe. Please don't scold me anymore, I was wrong." Zhang Hongmei sat down next to Zhou Shixiong.
Gu Chuanming sat down with a smile, watching the two bicker without saying a word.
"What are you treating me to for lunch today? I'm leaving soon and won't be back for several years, so you have to treat me to something nice before I go, right?" Zhang Hongmei felt that the best thing to do in this situation was to act cute and play dumb. So the safest topic was food.
"Hehe, you're leaving soon. What if I prepare something delicious for you and you don't want to go?"
“How could that be?” Zhang Hongmei stared at Zhou Shixiong exaggeratedly, her eyes full of accusation. “Am I really that spineless? Really, even if I love to eat, at most I’ll crave it for a few years. How could I go back on my word because of food? This is slandering me.”
"Hehe, I was wrong, I was wrong. How could Hongmei do that? She's not greedy at all."
After saying that, Gu Chuanming and Zhou Shixiong both burst into laughter.
"Hmph! I'd like to see what delicious food they've prepared."
"Hehe, let's wait a bit. This girl is family, but the son-in-law is an outsider. We should at least show some courtesy. Let's wait patiently."
"Hurry up and send someone to call him, otherwise we don't know when he'll come. I'm starving, and besides, what's the point of waiting for him? He's so busy with work, let him eat in the cafeteria. If he comes, and we all like to eat there, then I'll miss out on a lot of food!"
Zhang Hongmei was trying to make the elderly people happy, but the topics had to be natural and not sensitive, so she could only talk about these kinds of topics.
"That won't do. If you like it later, you can give him a bite, and you can eat the rest while he watches, right?"
Zhang Hongmei's eyes widened in disbelief. "Really?!"
"Really? What are you afraid of in front of your family?"
"Well, this seems a bit unfair, doesn't it? Let's not. He works really hard, so I'll just reluctantly let him eat more."
"Old Gu, look how useless our daughter is."
"That's right, with the two of us old folks here, what are you afraid of?" Gu Chuanming said with exasperation.
"Hehe, you guys have to back me up for life. Then I can act like a tyrant."
"Cough! I can't go on, Mr. Gu, please take good care of this girl."
“You can do it too. Look at my grandfather, his health has improved so much. He has me in his heart, he has my biggest concern. In addition, I ask someone to make him nourishing soup every day, and I only let him eat half full at each meal. I don’t allow him to drink alcohol, he doesn’t smoke, he does Tai Chi every morning, and he can’t stay up late at night. After a few months of this, do you see that my grandfather looks younger and his health has improved?”
"You're such a busybody. I only listen to you because I'm annoyed by your constant nagging and I'm afraid of you." Although Gu Chuanming said it with annoyance, he had a big smile on his face.
"Hehe, that's quite a lot of demands. I can understand everything else, but why only let us eat half full? It's not like we're starving."
"I read this in a book. It basically said that if people don't eat their fill, almost all diseases are caused by what they eat."
“That explanation is unreasonable,” Zhou Shixiong said, shaking his head with a smile.
"I forgot, you can ask an old Chinese medicine doctor, they will definitely know."
"Mr. Gu, are you really comfortable with this?"
"Actually, I think all the restrictions are secondary. The most important thing is that I have finally found the descendants of the Gu family, so the Gu family can continue. I can't let go of this girl, so I'm getting more and more motivated."
"Hehe, isn't this what they mean by being in high spirits when good things happen?"
"I think so too. I'm just not happy that this girl left me to go abroad. With the two of us around, she could walk all over the place and no one would dare to mess with her, right? She just had to go abroad, to a place where we don't know anyone. Even if we wanted to ask for help, we probably wouldn't be able to. What a troublesome girl."
"Hehe, please stop nagging me. I've already promised that I'll return as soon as I've finished my studies."
"Hehe, Old Gu, your children and grandchildren have their own blessings, just let it go."
"What good will it do if we don't let go? The child is grown up, disobedient, and does whatever he wants. Luckily it's a girl; if it were a boy, he would be even more uncontrollable."
"You're not here to give me a send-off today, are you? You're here to criticize me, aren't you? In a minute, even the best food will have to go down my spine. Honestly, stop reading."
Zhang Hongmei spoke with great resentment, which made the two elderly people laugh heartily.
Zhang Hongmei breathed a sigh of relief. So what if Zhou Shixiong didn't believe her? They'd already gone this far anyway.
Zhang Shouyi arrived just in time, hearing the two elderly people laughing heartily and seeing Zhang Hongmei looking somewhat embarrassed and angry.
He walked over to her and patted her head. "What's wrong? Why are you pouting?"
"Are you trying to coax a puppy?" Zhang Hongmei slapped Zhang Shouyi's hand as he tried to pull it back and glared at him.
This time, the three of them burst into laughter. Zhang Hongmei angrily turned away, ignoring them, and let them laugh to their hearts' content.
"Alright, alright, let's stop laughing. Xiao Wu, go tell the kitchen to prepare dinner. Today I'm really giving Hongmei a farewell dinner."
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