Zhao Jiujiu nodded her chin and gave a brief introduction, "I am Qiuqiu's aunt, this is Qiuqiu's younger brother, Wujun, and these two... well, they are Qiuqiu's friends."
Following Zhao Jiujiu's introduction, Zheng Xinghe nodded to each of them in greeting.
Dai Ying, who had been silent all along, was not cold to people. She even took the initiative to say, "Wu Qiu calls me Aunt Dai, or you can call me Aunt Dai."
Upon hearing this, Gu Lingyu immediately glared at her with wide eyes—couldn't she see that this was her rival in love? Couldn't she see that this scoundrel was trying to steal her daughter's boyfriend?
Of course, the aloof Daiying didn't even glance at her in response to her silent question.
Gu Lingyu was so angry she wanted to bite her teeth, but there was nothing she could do. She could only angrily pull Shen Wuqiu toward the car, saying, "Sister has been shopping all day and must be very tired. Let's go back and rest."
Fearing that Shen Wuqiu might also expose her, she asked Shen Wuqiu again in a flattering tone after she finished speaking: "Sister, are you very tired? I'll massage your feet when we get back, okay?"
Shen Wuqiu couldn't understand her sarcastic tone before, but now she did, and smiled slightly, "Yes, I am a little tired."
Then she looked at Shen Wujun, "Wujun, let's go back first. You stay here with Mr. Zheng and wait for Uncle Zheng, okay?"
Since he was a guest of their own, Shen Wujun naturally wouldn't refuse.
After exchanging greetings, Zhao Jiujiu returned to the driver's seat, still excited about what had just happened.
“I heard from your dad that Uncle Zheng really likes you and wants you to be his daughter-in-law.”
Shen Wuqiu couldn't stand hearing this. "Aunt, you're teasing me too."
“Men should marry when they are of age, and women should marry when they are of age. These are all natural things. How can you call it joking?” Zhao Jiujiu said. “I think Uncle Zheng specially invited his son over to play. I guess he hasn’t given up yet and specially found an opportunity for you two to get to know each other.”
Shen Wuqiu glanced at Gu Lingyu subconsciously and saw that the woman was looking out the window with her head turned away, her face puffed up in anger.
He was clearly angry.
Shen Wuqiu lowered her eyes and pursed her lips. "Auntie... what are you saying? I'm carrying four children right now."
"So what if you have a child? These days, getting back together and breaking up is no big deal. Besides, you're not bad off, and you have a big family and business. There are plenty of people who would be interested in you... I think this Zheng is good-looking and has a decent appearance. He seems pretty good at first glance. Qiuqiu, what do you think?"
This is getting more and more outrageous.
The cat couldn't take it anymore. "Where is he not good-looking? Is he as pretty as my sister or as pretty as me? This pretty boy is all looks and no substance. Look, he can still drive his car into the field on such a wide road."
She finished speaking these few words without even taking a breath, leaving no room for anyone to interrupt.
Zhao Jiujiu was a little confused. She could understand praising Qiuqiu's looks, but what did that have to do with whether Gu Lingyu was good-looking or not?
Zhao Jiujiu thought for a while but still couldn't figure it out, so she just took it as childish talk and laughed, "If a man is as good-looking as you, no woman will like him. I think this Xiao Zheng is quite masculine and handsome."
Unable to argue with her, Gu Lingyu could only huff and puff, "Auntie, you should concentrate on driving and talk less."
These words were somewhat disrespectful to elders, so Daiying interjected at the opportune moment: "How can you speak to your elders like that, child?"
Gu Lingyu felt frustrated. "My aunt doesn't like me anymore."
"..." Zhao Jiujiu was completely confused. "What's wrong with you, girl?"
Daiying raised an eyebrow. "Can't you smell a sour odor?"
"Sour? What sour taste?" Zhao Jiujiu asked, puzzled, but quickly realized what she meant and couldn't help but laugh. "What's wrong, little Lingyu? Are you afraid that Qiuqiu will get married?"
Gu Lingyu rested her chin on her hand and gazed out the window, without saying a word.
Zhao Jiujiu glanced at her and teased her, "Oh dear, Xiao Lingyu is so dependent on our Qiuqiu, this is a problem. What will happen if Qiuqiu gets married in the future?"
Gu Lingyu held back for a long time, but finally couldn't help it, "What's so difficult about this? Just marry your sister to me..."
Chapter 57 Awkwardness
Her tone was earnest, with a hint of timidity, like a child mustering the courage to answer a teacher's question in class.
It's not like he's joking at all.
“Okay…” Zhao Jiujiu readily agreed, but then, as if remembering something, her smile faltered. She didn’t rush to drive the car into the yard, but silently stopped the car by the roadside outside the iron gate. Once the car was stopped, she turned to look at Gu Lingyu, “You like Qiuqiu so much?”
"Hmm." Gu Lingyu met her gaze. "Anyway, my sister can't marry someone else."
Zhao Jiujiu stared at her. The little girl had fair skin and bright, lively eyes. In her eyes, she was just a naive little girl, cute and innocent.
She realized that her fleeting, absurd thought was just her overthinking things.
Thinking about it this way, Zhao Jiujiu felt much more relaxed. She then looked at Shen Wuqiu and teased, "Qiuqiu, Lingyu is so clingy to you. When you get married in the future, won't you have to take her with you?"
"..." Shen Wuqiu was really annoyed by this kind of topic, and because there was always some cat who would add fuel to the fire with her loose tongue, it made her particularly uneasy. However, she couldn't get angry in front of Zhao Jiujiu, so she could only helplessly say, "I have no plans to get married."
Gu Lingyu: "If all else fails, it's not impossible for you to marry me, sister."
Is the focus on marriage or being married off?
Shen Wuqiu rolled her eyes at her, too lazy to even acknowledge her, "We're home, get out of the car."
Upon hearing this, Gu Lingyu quickly opened her car door and jumped out, saying, "Sister, get out this way, I'll help you."
Shen Wuqiu didn't want her to help her at all, but Daiying seemed to be doing it on purpose, showing no intention of opening the car door at all, so she had no choice but to get off from Gu Lingyu's side.
Su Yunzhi and Shen's father were busy in the kitchen when they heard the noise. Shen's father came out with a chicken and glanced at them. "You're back? I was just about to call you and tell you to come back early."
"Is this... the sun rising in the west today?"
Shen Wuqiu was quite surprised to see him wearing an apron. In her memory, her father was a bit of a chauvinist and rarely went into the kitchen.
"It's not that the sun rose in the west, it's just that your dad feels sorry for you, his daughter." Su Yunzhi came out of the kitchen to greet them, glanced around and, not seeing her son, casually asked, "Where's Junjun? Didn't she come back with you?"
"They're back, they're behind..."
Before Shen Wuqiu could finish speaking, Su Yunzhi interrupted her with a smile, "Look how enthusiastic your dad is today. Your Uncle Zheng called to say that he would bring his son over for dinner later. Your dad specially went to Aunt Wang's house to buy an old hen, saying that he wanted to treat them well."
Zhao Jiujiu: "So this is to entertain this distinguished guest."
Mr. Shen: "Old Zheng is quite generous. Regardless of whether the two of them get along or not, we should still give them a warm welcome just because of Old Zheng."
At this point, Father Shen thought of something else and said to Gu Junshan and Daiying, "You are also a very good family. It's just that the two of them were not meant to be... Qiuqiu is still young and now has a child. She needs someone to rely on. I hope you can understand."
Daiying said nonchalantly, "Wuqiu's father, don't worry, we treat Wuqiu like our own daughter. As long as you are happy, we won't care about these things."
"You talk as if you have any right to interrupt." Zhao Jiujiu glanced at her, then chuckled and said, "So you see, when fate comes, there's no escaping it. Old Zheng's son is quite good-looking, and seems to have a decent personality too."
Mr. Shen smacked his lips: "You know him?"
Zhao Jiujiu glanced at Shen Wuqiu, "We just met."
"???" Mr. Shen looked at her, then at Shen Wuqiu. "Just now?"
Gu Lingyu, who had been sulking, quickly seized the opportunity to complain: "That person is unreliable at all. He can drive his car into the fields and almost scared my sister."
Mr. Shen blinked. "So you two bumped into each other on the road?"
Zhao Jiujiu nodded. "He was walking ahead of us the whole time. At first, we didn't know it was him. At the bend of the bridge across the river, he somehow turned into the field. There wasn't anyone around, and we were worried that something might happen to him, so we asked him and that's how we found out."
At this point, she smiled ambiguously at Shen Wuqiu, "To be honest, neither of us recognized her; it was Qiuqiu who did."
Shen Wuqiu subconsciously explained, "He and Uncle Zheng do look quite alike."
Dai Ying smiled knowingly at her: "Looks like our Wu Qiu has been keeping a close eye on people."
"..." Shen Wuqiu was speechless, staring blankly at Daiying. To be honest, she couldn't understand the child's grandmother's attitude towards her at all—it seemed as if the other party was also looking forward to her marrying another man with her child.
“Look, Qiuqiu is blushing…”
Even her own mother was siding with outsiders, Gu Lingyu felt extremely wronged and said loudly, "I'm tired, I'm going back to my room."
Then, she went upstairs in a huff.
"..."
Her suddenly raised voice silenced the scene for a few seconds.
"...What's wrong with Lingyu?"
"What upset you had today?"
"..."
Faced with the puzzled looks from Mr. Shen and Su Yunzhi, Wu Qiu innocently said, "Why are you looking at me like that? I don't know either."
Zhao Jiujiu, however, spoke with an air of knowing understanding: "I reckon this little girl sees Qiuqiu as her sister-in-law. I teased Qiuqiu a few times in the car, and she got angry with me. I told her that it wasn't right for her to be so clingy to Qiuqiu, and she immediately said that she would just marry Qiuqiu to her."
"..." Shen Wuqiu sighed again, these middle-aged people really put on an extraordinary show.
Fortunately, neither Zhao Jiujiu herself, nor Shen's father and Su Yunzhi took Gu Lingyu's words to heart, because in their eyes, Gu Lingyu was really just an innocent girl who didn't know the ways of the world.
Su Yunzhi even asked Shen Wuqiu to go upstairs and check on her, saying, "I think she listens to you the most. Go upstairs and check on her. Don't be fooled by how lively she is all day long; she has a strong temper. Don't let her stay cooped up in her room again."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Jiujiu remembered the time she hadn't seen anyone for a whole day and quickly chimed in, "Young people in their adolescence are quite sensitive and fragile these days. You should go up and check on them, lest they get sick from being cooped up."
Shen Wuqiu didn't want to listen to their teasing, so upon hearing this, she hurriedly went upstairs.
After going upstairs, she searched every room but couldn't find Gu Lingyu.
Nine times out of ten, this little rascal has probably turned into a cat and gone out to have some fun again.
Shen Wuqiu wasn't too worried, and too lazy to go downstairs to listen to the elders' gossip, so she hid in her room and read a book for a while.
About an hour later, Su Yunzhi came upstairs to call her, "Wuqiu, Uncle Zheng and the others are here. Go down and greet them."
Faced with the elders' unavoidable enthusiasm, Shen Wuqiu had no choice but to reluctantly go downstairs.
Downstairs in the living room, the whole family was surrounding Zheng Xinghe, asking him all sorts of questions. The scene was extremely awkward for Shen Wuqiu.
After being pulled over by Zhao Jiujiu, she managed a weak smile and awkwardly greeted Zheng Xinghe, "Hi..."
Zheng Xinghe was much more natural than her, saying, "I hope my uninvited visit wasn't too presumptuous."
Shen Wuqiu smiled and said, "No."
Seeing that the two of them had nothing to talk about, Zhao Jiujiu took the initiative to find a topic for them, "By the way, Xiao Zheng, I heard from your dad that you also love raising cats. What a coincidence, our Qiuqiu loves raising cats too."
Zheng Xinghe's eyes lit up. "Really?"
Shen Wuqiu sat down next to Zhao Jiujiu. "It's not really a hobby. I just thought the cat was cute and kept following me, so I brought her home."
Zheng Xinghe: "Many people who love keeping cats don't necessarily have the heart to keep stray cats, but Ms. Shen is very kind-hearted."
Shen Wuqiu smiled, which was her response.
It seems this topic has come to an end once again.
Zhao Jiujiu watched from the side, feeling anxious for them. She winked at Daiying and said, "I suddenly remembered that we don't seem to have any drinks at home. Let's go to the supermarket in town together."