Song Jingxing, who had been called out, looked up and adjusted his glasses in his direction.
Song Jingzhi immediately changed his tune, "Of course, my brother is busy with his career."
Zhao Jiujiu: "Your brother hasn't found a girlfriend, but at least it's a relief for your dad and me. We don't have to worry about the company anymore. Look at you, you don't have a proper job, and you don't even have a proper girlfriend."
Seeing that Zhao Jiujiu was getting more and more agitated, Father Shen came to the rescue for his nephews: "Boys don't need to rush. Besides, Qiuqiu's situation isn't much better. She hasn't been betrothed to a proper family yet, but she's already pregnant with several children."
Zhao Jiujiu didn't like hearing that. "If those two brothers could get me a few kids to play with, I'd be happy to be a grandma."
Song Jingxing put down his chopsticks, glanced at Shen Wuqiu, and then said to Shen's father, "Uncle, you don't need to worry about these things. It's just that we only have Qiuqiu as our little sister. As long as she's happy, it doesn't matter whether she gets married or not. With us around, no one can bully the child."
Su Yunzhi chimed in at the opportune moment, "That's what our Junjun said too."
Song Jingxing glanced at her politely and casually asked, "Is Junjun still in school, or is she already working?"
"I'm graduating this year, and I'm currently interning at the company that Wuqiu recommended."
Song Jingxing nodded. "The company that Qiuqiu recommends can't be too bad."
Su Yunzhi readily agreed.
After the family had finished their meal in a happy atmosphere, Mr. Shen started thinking about the cat again and asked Shen Wuqiu, "Wangcai hasn't come back yet?"
Shen Wuqiu nodded, "Auntie said she left with Aunt Dai and the others."
Mr. Chen muttered, "I wonder why they're going to coax Wangcai away when they get back? I think Wangcai probably has a cold. He looked listless this morning, and his barks were weak and hoarse."
Shen Wuqiu kept her eyes downcast and her mind at ease. "She was quite lively last night, probably because she was too excited."
Mr. Shen: "Anyway, I see that you're paying less and less attention to Wangcai."
Shen Wuqiu did not argue with him.
Mr. Shen gave a soft hum and went to talk to Song Jue and his son.
Halfway through the conversation, Mr. Shen somehow brought up the topic of building a house and casually mentioned that Shen Wuqiu wanted to build a house in Huashan.
Hearing this news, Zhao Jiujiu was very excited. "Qiuqiu is planning to build a house? That's great! Her uncle and I are also planning to build a house in the countryside to retire. We've been staying at your house these days and we find life in the countryside quite pleasant."
Originally, Shen's father wanted to persuade Shen Wuqiu not to build the house in Huashan, but now Zhao Jiujiu has persuaded him to agree to let Qiuqiu build the house in Huashan.
Shen Wuqiu and Zhao Jiujiu were both action-oriented, and the two hit it off immediately. The next day, they started talking to the villagers about the Huashan land plot.
Chapter 72 So Sweet
Gu Lingyu and her family of three went home for a visit, then disappeared for two more days, only returning on the morning of the third day.
Like Zhao Jiujiu, Dai Ying didn't come empty-handed either. She arrived with four or five black sedans, carrying about twenty boxes and gift sets of various sizes.
All the decorations were a festive bright red, making it seem to anyone unaware that the Shen family was celebrating something very joyous today.
"Old Gu, what are you doing?" The two families have been living together for the past few months, and Mr. Shen is no longer as polite to people as before. He is much more casual in his speech and address.
Gu Junshan replied in a very relaxed tone, "I went home and brought back some small gifts for everyone. Please accept them."
Mr. Shen, however, was not so relaxed. Looking at the boxes of things being carried into his house, he frowned and said, "You have too many gifts, don't you?"
Daiying stepped forward and said, "This is not much at all, but you can't use many of the things in our house. It took us all day to collect these little things that you can use."
Hearing her dismissive tone, Zhao Jiujiu glanced at the box of ginseng casually piled in front of her and immediately felt a little annoyed. This old woman was clearly in Versailles, sitting on the sofa with her legs crossed, eating sunflower seeds, and saying in a shrill voice, "Oh, you came here especially to show off in front of us?"
Daiying always let her unpleasant words go in one ear and out the other. She took a small gift box from the car and gave it to Gu Lingyu, saying, "Give this to your aunt."
Gu Lingyu was still recovering from the shock of that night, and she looked a little sluggish as she slowly walked up to Zhao Jiujiu, saying, "Auntie."
Zhao Jiujiu didn't take the gift, looking down at him with a condescending expression, but deliberately lowering her voice, "Your throat still isn't better?"
Gu Lingyu found her question strange, "...My throat is fine now."
Zhao Jiujiu: "It still sounds a bit husky to me."
Gu Lingyu felt inexplicably embarrassed, "Is...is there?"
Looking at her red ear tips, Zhao Jiujiu found her shy appearance quite cute, so she casually pinched her cheek. "I didn't expect her to be such an innocent little thing. No wonder she's been tormented like this."
"..." Gu Lingyu became more and more confused as she listened. "I can hardly understand what my aunt is saying anymore."
Seeing Shen Wuqiu approaching, Zhao Jiujiu coughed lightly to clear her throat and glanced down at what was in Shen Wuqiu's hand. "What is this thing?"
Upon hearing this, Gu Lingyu immediately handed over the item, saying, "This was specially chosen for Auntie. It's a jade bracelet. Wearing it will be good for her health."
Zhao Jiujiu took the item, opened it, and glanced at it. It was indeed a translucent jade bracelet, clearly quite valuable. However, "Unsolicited kindness is always suspicious. What are you up to by giving me such a fine gift?"
Gu Lingyu licked her lips. "According to the rules of our clan, when betrothing a partner, it is necessary to prepare gifts for the partner's elders."
Offering a betrothal gift? What kind of nonsense is that?
Zhao Jiujiu suddenly felt that the bracelet in her hand was no longer attractive, and her expression changed abruptly. "Are you planning to force me into this marriage?"
Gu Lingyu blinked, and just as she was about to speak, Shen Wuqiu walked over, took the bracelet from Zhao Jiujiu's hand, bent down and put it on her wrist by herself, saying, "Auntie looks really good in this bracelet."
After saying that, she stood up again, raised her hand and touched Gu Lingyu's head, "You didn't even say hello when you got home? You're naughty."
Gu Lingyu was completely overwhelmed by her gentleness. Plus, she hadn't gotten over what happened that night, and her whole body felt weak and limp. She stammered, "You weren't awake yet..."
Forced to eat dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection), Zhao Jiujiu shifted her gaze from her wrist to the two women, looking disgusted. "Does this mean you feel like you haven't seen them for a day?"
Shen Wuqiu shrugged and took Gu Lingyu's hand in a generous manner. "Mianmian, call her Aunt."
At this moment, Gu Lingyu was like a puppet on a string in her hands, obediently calling out to Zhao Jiujiu, "Auntie."
Shen Wuqiu: "Auntie, remember to prepare a red envelope."
"..." Zhao Jiujiu looked at her blankly, then at Gu Lingyu, "What are you two doing to me?"
Shen Wuqiu: "Isn't this what my aunt wanted? Now I can openly and legitimately manage my cat!"
"..." Zhao Jiujiu felt like she understood, but at the same time, she didn't quite understand.
Shen Wuqiu, however, took Gu Lingyu's hand and went straight upstairs.
Zhao Jiujiu subconsciously got up and followed.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs where no one else was around, Shen Wuqiu stopped on the second step, turned around and looked at her, "Aunt, do you still want to hear it?"
"..." Zhao Jiujiu stared at her with wide eyes.
Shen Wuqiu raised an eyebrow: "Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Your aunt has been through this, you know what I mean."
"..." Zhao Jiujiu felt at this moment that Xiao Qiuqiu was not a repressed flirt, but an open flirt.
Anyway, she couldn't win against the flirting, so she could only sullenly return to the sofa in the living room to eat sunflower seeds.
Shen Wuqiu didn't care what her aunt thought of her anymore. Anyway, everyone had overheard what happened that night, so she simply stopped trying to act all girlish and reserved in front of her.
Perhaps because she had made the relationship clear, she let her emotions run wild. Just as Zhao Jiujiu said, she really felt like she missed someone terribly if she didn't see them for a day.
So, after pulling the person back to the room, she pinned them against the door and asked, "Did you tell Aunt Dai and the others about our contract?"
She leaned in very close, almost kissing him, her warm breath brushing against Gu Lingyu's face. Gu Lingyu felt her mouth go dry and unconsciously licked her lips, nodding, "I don't need to tell you, Father and Mother will know."
Shen Wuqiu nodded. "So, why are you going home this time?"
Gu Lingyu said slowly, "After we are bound by our vows, we should return to our clan to hold a ceremony, which is the marriage ceremony of your human race. But since your uncle and aunt don't know yet, and you are pregnant, we will do it according to your wishes first. Mother said that although the ceremony will be held later, the proper etiquette cannot be omitted, so that you won't feel that we don't value you."
Shen Wuqiu nodded her chin. "Do you value me?"
"Of course." Gu Lingyu looked at her suddenly, her eyes filled with her rosy lips, and her mouth went dry again. She couldn't help but kiss her.
As soon as she leaned in, Shen Wuqiu hugged her tightly and deepened the kiss.
Sensing that the unruly cat had gone limp again, Shen Wuqiu quickly released her, saying, "You dare to turn into a cat and see what happens!"
The cat looked aggrieved and said, "I'll try my best."
Looking at her useless appearance, Shen Wuqiu was both amused and annoyed. She poked her forehead and said, "How can you be so useless?"
Gu Lingyu snuggled closer to her, "It's no use complaining now... Qiuqiu, I missed you so much."
The unexpected sweet words struck Shen Wuqiu's soft heart, and her initial disdain was replaced by tenderness. "Yes, I miss you too."
Hearing her response, Gu Lingyu raised his head again and kissed her chin. One kiss wasn't enough, so he kissed her again, and then again...
"Qiuqiu is so sweet."
Shen Wuqiu: "..."
The two cuddled together in the room for a while until Shen Wuqiu felt intense fetal movements in her belly again. Only then did they shift their attention and explore the vigorous vitality of the babies inside her.
Chapter 73 Endure
The couple was already deeply in love and enjoying their honeymoon, while Mr. Shen was completely unaware of their relationship.
Therefore, when Gu Junshan and his wife sent over several truckloads of lavish gifts in a grand manner, he felt that they were being a little too enthusiastic, but he didn't think much of it.
Gu Junshan solemnly handed him a red gift list, saying, "I don't know if I've missed anything. You can check it carefully later."
Mr. Shen was puzzled and looked curiously at the gift list in his hand.
Gu Junshan glanced at his expression, afraid that he might misunderstand his meaning, and added, "It's like this, there's a box here containing some small items like jewelry. We prepared in a hurry, and we were afraid of overlooking something."
Mr. Shen was even more puzzled. "So, you didn't just send those mountain products this time?"
Gu Junshan smiled and said, "Although it's not the time for formal gift-giving yet, we certainly can't just give mountain products. We should also give some gold and silver jewelry, antiques, and other items."
"..." Mr. Shen was even more confused. "Why send these things out of the blue?"
Gu Junshan patted his shoulder, "These are just small trinkets, you can keep them. We've been staying here with you these past few days, and we haven't been able to help much, so this is just a small gift."
Judging from his arrogant tone, Shen's father, being a straightforward old man, wouldn't think anything of it and was easily fooled by Gu Junshan into accepting all these things.
That's what he was thinking. After all, Qiuqiu was carrying the flesh and blood of the Gu family. Whether it was gold, silver, or antiques, these things wouldn't be lacking. He was just saving up for his grandchildren in advance.
Therefore, when Su Yunzhi expressed her doubts about the meager gift list, she said, "What do you think Old Gu and the others mean by this? Sending delicacies is one thing, but why are there gold and silver jewelry?"
Old Shen, a straight man, said calmly, "You women are always so suspicious. What's the point? It's just that Qiuqiu is pregnant with their Gu family's child, so you're trying to curry favor with us."
Su Yunzhi rolled her eyes at him, took the gift list from his hand, and said, "Then who prepares a gift list when giving gifts?" As she spoke, Su Yunzhi casually flipped through it, "Two white jade porcelain vases, a pair of agate earrings... I've seen on TV that people give gifts like this either as imperial bestowals or as wealthy families proposing marriage..."
"..." The old, straight-man father sternly retorted, "You women really know how to overthink things. Propose marriage? Propose marriage to whom? It's Lingyu's daughter, you think Old Gu would propose marriage to her?"