"If you don't believe me, just go to the old estate, grab anyone at random, and ask them. Who doesn't know that, back then—just to get a marriage certificate with you—Big Brother knelt in the ancestral shrine for three whole days and nights?" Su Mianmian's mouth hung slightly open, that single sentence looping endlessly in her mind.
Gu Yizhou had actually knelt in the ancestral shrine for three days and nights just to marry her? "What on earth happened?" Seeing the look of utter shock on Su Mianmian's face, Gu Jingyu's thirst for gossip instantly went into overdrive. "Because our Aunt—Big Brother's mother—didn't approve of you marrying him!
Come to think of it, that was probably the very first time Big Brother ever openly defied her." Xiao Ying hadn't wanted Gu Yizhou to marry her? Gu Yizhou had never once mentioned this to her. Back then, when her older sister, Su Yang, ran away to escape her arranged marriage, Su Mianmian had voluntarily stepped in to take her place and enter into the alliance with Gu Yizhou.
At the time, she had only considered the attitudes of her own parents; and when Gu Yizhou told her simply to go ahead and register the marriage—assuring her he would handle everything else—she hadn't given a single thought to his own position in the matter.
Looking back now, she recalled that Gu Jingyu's father—Uncle Gu—had indeed voiced his objections at the time, arguing that it would sound scandalous if word got out that the intended bride had switched from the older sister to the younger one. So, if Xiao Ying had opposed her marriage to Gu Yizhou, that was likely the reason why. But why?
If she was so opposed to it, why not simply forbid the marriage? Why would he kneel in the ancestral shrine for so many days just for the sake of this union? "So, in the end, did Gu Yizhou's mother finally agree to let him register the marriage simply because he had been kneeling for so long and she felt sorry for him?"
Gu Jingyu shook her head. "How could that be? Aunt hates Big Brother so much that even if he knelt right there in the shrine until he died, she wouldn't feel a shred of pity for him!
"Big Brother is a grown man; he doesn't need to consult anyone about who he chooses to marry. According to my mom, the only reason he was willing to kneel was to fulfill his very last duty of filial piety toward his mother."
So that was it... Su Mianmian listened intently, taking a long moment to process the revelation. She never would have imagined that behind her seemingly smooth marriage alliance with Gu Yizhou lay such a story.
Su Mianmian sighed. Just as she reached for the glass of juice beside her, preparing to take a sip, a crucial question suddenly popped into her mind. Gu Jingyu had just claimed that he had full authority over Gu Yizhou's marriage arrangements; if that were truly the case, then why—back when Su Yang ran away from her wedding—had he insisted that Gu Yizhou *must* marry a daughter of the Su family?
Su Mianmian was deep in thought when Song Zhi suddenly called. "Mianmian, hurry over to the Yunfan Club and save me! I'm cornered!"... By the time Su Mianmian and Gu Jingyu arrived at the Yunfan Club, Song Zhi was already locked in a brawl with three or four other women.
The private room was a chaotic mess, with shards of broken glass scattered all over the floor. Song Zhi's shrill voice rang out across the room: "Lin—you total 'Green Tea Bitch'—if I don't rip that filthy mouth of yours to shreds today, I'll take your surname!" *Lin—Green Tea Bitch?* Could she mean Lin Jiaojiao?
Only then did Su Mianmian notice that the woman whose hair Song Zhi was furiously yanking was none other than Tang Yunzheng's ex-girlfriend, Lin Jiaojiao.
Before she could even begin to wonder how Song Zhi had ended up fighting with her, Su Mianmian saw two other women join the fray: one was tugging at Song Zhi's hair, while the other was viciously kicking Song Zhi's shins with her high heels. "Stop fighting! Cut it out!"
Su Mianmian thought she was shouting at the top of her lungs, but amidst the cacophony of screaming women in the room, her voice seemed utterly insignificant. Desperate to rush to Song Zhi's side, Su Mianmian was suddenly yanked back by Gu Jingyu.
"Sister-in-law, it's too dangerous! Don't do anything rash—I'll go get security!" As he spoke, Gu Jingyu turned and sprinted out of the room. At that very moment, Su Mianmian saw one of the women raise a beer bottle, aiming to smash it down onto Song Zhi.
In a split-second flash of instinct—without a moment to think—Su Mianmian lunged forward. "Zhizhi, look out!" Song Zhi, who was still furiously tearing at Lin Jiaojiao's hair, suddenly saw a blur of white rushing toward her.
Immediately followed a dull, heavy thud—*thump*—succeeded by the sharp *shatter* of a beer bottle smashing against the floor. Song Zhi spun around, only to see Su Mianmian biting down hard on her lip, her small face twisted in an expression of sheer agony.
Meanwhile, the woman who had swung the bottle stood frozen in place, still clutching the broken neck of the bottle in her hand; the moment she saw the bright crimson blood trickling down Su Mianmian's forehead, she went completely numb with shock—paralyzed and motionless. ...Meanwhile, at Yuejing Tiancheng.
Gao Ze gazed at the lunch he had specifically brought for Gu Yizhou, feeling a bit at a loss. "Mr. Gu, are you really not going to eat? I made a special trip to Yixin Pavilion to get takeout—all your favorite dishes." Gu Yizhou sat on the sofa, poring over documents; upon hearing this, he didn't even lift his head.
"You go ahead and eat it. I'm waiting for my wife to bring me something back." "Did your wife say she was bringing you lunch?" Gu Yizhou let out a soft "Mm," his tone rising slightly—it was clear he was in high spirits.
The corners of Gao Ze's mouth curled upward. No wonder. Gu Yizhou's eating habits were usually strictly regimented, yet today—well past the usual lunch hour—he had shown no interest in eating. It turned out someone else was bringing him a meal. *Fine then.* Given such a sumptuous lunch, Gao Ze supposed he would just have to—reluctantly, of course—accept the offering.
Gao Ze took a seat at the dining table, observing Gu Yizhou as he ate. Ever since Mr. Gu had married his wife, he seemed to have shed some of his former coldness; his entire demeanor felt different.
He was no longer like his old self—the man who practically lived at the office day and night. Now, whenever a holiday rolled around, if he could work from home, he would work from home. It was as if he wanted to devote every spare moment to his wife. He truly doted on her—a young woman who was still attending university.
Gao Ze had been fortunate enough to witness this devotion a few times himself; it was the kind of care where one fears she might melt if held in the mouth, or break if held in the palm. He recalled that before Mr. Gu tied the knot, the number of beauties vying for his attention was countless—ranging from company employees, models, and actresses to the daughters of prominent families.
They came in all shapes and sizes—curvaceous or slender—each one a paragon of beauty. Yet, Gao Ze had never once seen him cast a second glance at any woman. At one point, Gao Ze had even speculated that Mr. Gu was either too ascetic to be interested, or simply didn't like women at all.
Who would have thought that, in the end, he would quietly go and marry a female university student? Only then did Gao Ze realize: it turned out Mr. Gu's true preference was for the "soft and adorable loli" type. Or, to borrow a bit of modern slang: he had a rather peculiar fetish—he liked to "play the育成 game" (raising a young protégé).
Having finished his meal, Gao Ze reined in his thoughts, which had been drifting a hundred thousand miles away. After clearing the dining table, he glanced at his watch. "Mr. Gu, it's nearly two o'clock; why hasn't Mrs. Gu returned yet? Perhaps you should give her a call to check in?"
Gu Yizhou hadn't originally intended to rush Su Mianmian; he knew that whenever Su Mianmian and Gu Jingyu—two young women—got together, they tended to be exceptionally chatty.
However, upon further reflection, he began to worry that something might have happened to her. Just as he pulled out his phone to dial Su Mianmian's number, a call from Gu Jingyu came through instead. Gu Yizhou's brow furrowed for a split second before he pressed "answer." "Jingyu?"
"Brother! Come to Yunfan immediately—Sister-in-law is in trouble!" Gu Yizhou's heart plummeted; he nearly dropped his phone as he rose to his feet and headed for the door, asking in a low, grave voice, "What happened to Mianmian? Weren't you two out having lunch together?"
Gu Jingyu was, after all, still quite young. She had merely stepped away for a moment to summon a security guard, only to return and find one side of Su Mianmian's face covered in blood.
Terrified out of her wits and on the verge of tears, Gu Jingyu struggled to speak coherently. "We *did* go for lunch, but then Sister-in-law took a call saying a friend of hers was having some trouble over at Yunfan. When we got there, everyone was already brawling. Sister-in-law tried to jump in and help, but I wouldn't let her, so I ran off to find a security guard. When I came back... I saw Sister-in-law's face was covered in blood..." Inside the elevator car, Gu Jingyu's voice carried clearly to the ears of Gu Yizhou and Gao Ze.
Gao Ze, having noticed the look of alarm on Gu Yizhou's face while he was on the phone, had immediately chased after him. Upon hearing Gu Jingyu's words, Gao Ze instinctively glanced at Gu Yizhou, only to see his expression undergo a sudden, drastic change; his face seemed to freeze over with a layer of frost, becoming starkly cold and stern.
"Did you call an ambulance?" Gu Jingyu's voice was thick with tears. "Yes, I did. I called the First Hospital." Gu Yizhou replied, "Look after your sister-in-law. I'll be there very soon." With that, Gu Yizhou hung up the phone; the moment the elevator doors slid open, he strode out with urgent haste.
Gao Ze, who considered his own legs to be not much shorter than Gu Yizhou's, found himself having to break into a jog just to keep pace with him. Just as he was reaching for the driver's-side door, Gu Yizhou beat him to it and pulled it open. "I'll drive."
With the pedal floored the entire way, Gu Yizhou covered the distance—a drive that usually took nearly half an hour—in just half that time.