Chapter 70: Chapter 70: A Strange Rule
"Mom, of course I know you treat me well. I was just saying that," Gu Jinhua said with an awkward laugh. ’Her heart really was touched.’
How could she not have a vivid memory of Liu Erbiezi?
Back then, she had run into him a few times, and he always acted particularly interested in her. A part of her was proud; having a man show interest was a matter of face. But at the same time, she was disgusted by how repulsive he looked and found his creepy stare sickening.
Then one day, he came to their house to propose marriage, offering her mother such generous terms. When Gu Jinhua saw her mother looking tempted, she was scared out of her wits.
Fortunately, her mother thought it over for a night and ultimately couldn’t bear to part with her. She rejected the man the very next day.
Later, Liu Erbiezi married one of her elementary school classmates. That girl’s family favored sons even more heavily; they had pulled her out of school after just the second grade. Gu Jinhua remembered that classmate was nearly as pretty as she was and always smiling. But when she happened to run into her again a couple of years ago, she found the woman had become so haggard and withdrawn, she was almost unrecognizable.
Gu Jinhua shuddered and gave her mother a placating smile. ’I’m so glad Mom didn’t marry me off to Liu Erbiezi,’ she thought. ’Otherwise, the one who ended up so miserable could very well have been me.’
"As long as you know I treat you well. If you dare to be ungrateful, even the heavens will punish you." Chen Suxiang was smugly satisfied with her daughter’s change in attitude.
At the same time, Ye Rong was also very satisfied with the news Gu Lihuang brought back. "Don’t worry," she said. "I’m not that dense. When it’s time to help your mom with things, I’ll pitch in."
"It’s fine. Just do whatever you want. There isn’t much to do at home, anyway. My mom is used to doing everything by herself. If you try to step in, she might just complain you’re getting in her way. From now on, your main job is to take care of our child." Gu Lihuang said this casually, feeling no guilt for his insincere words. When they used to live with his in-laws, his mother-in-law did all the housework by herself. At first, he’d felt awkward and told Ye Rong to go lend a hand, but his mother-in-law always refused with the same line, even implying that Ye Rong would just be making a mess. It was only natural that he’d come to think this way over time.
Ye Rong gave a faint smile and a nod, not saying anything more. Life with her in-laws was different from life with her own family. She wouldn’t just take it for granted and let her mother-in-law do everything alone. In fact, even at her parents’ house, it wasn’t like she did nothing. She was the one who always washed all the clothes, and she was usually the one who cleaned and tidied the rooms. It was just that Gu Lihuang had never noticed any of it.
Seeing her smile, Gu Lihuang felt the crisis was averted and couldn’t help but feel happy. His voice became even more gentle. "Rongrong, we’re a family. What kind of family lives apart? So from now on, don’t talk about taking the child back to the city by yourself. If we’re going back, the three of us will go back together, right?"
"As long as you, your mom, and your sister don’t say one thing and do another, I won’t mention taking the child back to the city again. What I’m afraid of is that your mom and sister will make nice promises now, only to turn around and be two-faced later. I won’t stand for that," Ye Rong sneered. She was also giving Gu Lihuang a preemptive warning, telling him not to treat her like some naive little girl he could easily fool.
"I know, I know. From now on, if you ever feel like they’re being two-faced, just point it out directly. I’ll definitely be on your side. I know what my mom and my sister are like; I definitely won’t misunderstand you." Even though he wasn’t much better himself, Gu Lihuang still had little fondness for such insidious tricks.
"I feel relieved hearing you say that. And you’d better be able to do it. Otherwise, even if the child takes my Ye Family’s surname, I won’t be willing to have another one with you," Ye Rong said with a satisfied nod.
"Listen to you. I think we should hurry up and have the child while neither of us has a job." Gu Lihuang felt a pang in his heart. ’Ye Rong is clearly pushing her luck after getting what she wanted.’ But he couldn’t lash out and had to keep coaxing her gently. The feeling was incredibly awkward.
"Won’t your parents have something to say about it?"
"We can cross that bridge when we come to it." Gu Lihuang was fuming internally. He had no intention of telling Ye Rong that his mother already knew about it. He intentionally wanted her to stew in anxiety for a while.
Ye Rong nodded, her face showing no particular signs of anxiety or worry. This, in turn, made Gu Lihuang feel even more resentful.
"Time to eat." The couple were both lost in their own thoughts when the door was suddenly pushed open. Gu Jinhua poked her head in and called out, her expression unpleasant.
"Why didn’t you knock?" Gu Lihuang, already feeling irritable, couldn’t help but get angry.
"Why knock in broad daylight? It’s not like you’re doing something indecent in there, are you?" Gu Jinhua, also looking displeased, shot him a dirty look, turned, and walked away. As she left, she muttered, "Eat or don’t, I don’t care. I called you. The food is cooked and on the table, and you still find things to criticize. Who do you think you are, some pampered young miss?"
"What did you say?" Gu Lihuang leaped to his feet.
"Let’s go, ’pampered young miss.’ Your older sister came all this way to invite you, and you’re still throwing a fit?"
Ye Rong sneered, heavily emphasizing the words "pampered young miss" to Gu Lihuang, and then she was the first to walk out the door. ’This woman can’t even bicker with her own brother without taking a veiled jab at me. Looks like I really overestimated them. I was thinking we could all try to live together peacefully from now on, but as it turns out...’
’That useless man. I really overestimated Gu Lihuang’s status in his family. If it’s a fight they want, it’s a fight they’ll get. Who’s afraid of whom!’
Watching Ye Rong walk out, Gu Lihuang gritted his teeth. He knew she had deliberately emphasized the words "pampered young miss" to get a point across to him. He was trembling with rage. He himself didn’t know if he was angrier at his older sister for never changing, or at Ye Rong for being so direct and merciless.
In the main hall, Gu Wu saw that everyone had arrived. Even his eldest grandson, who had been out playing all morning and hadn’t been seen since, was back and sitting obediently at the dinner table. Only then did Chen Suxiang, as was custom, take a spoon and put a little bit of rice and each dish into her own bowl and eat it all. After that, the others began to eat.
Even though Ye Rong had seen this scene so many times it no longer felt strange, she still found it a bit odd.
In fact, she had once curiously asked Gu Lihuang about it. Unfortunately, Gu Lihuang always brushed her off by saying it was just their family’s rule. Unable to get an answer, she had even gone back and discussed it with her mother, asking if such a custom existed anywhere. It left her mother completely baffled.
After a while, Ye Rong couldn’t be bothered to pursue it anymore. The rule was strange, but it didn’t really affect anything, so she gradually got used to it.
"Clear out a room as soon as you can. Prepare it for Nuannuan to live in by herself later." When the meal was about halfway through, Gu Wu spoke up and instructed Chen Suxiang.
"What? She’s going to live here? She’s not going with her mom?" Chen Suxiang was stunned for a moment, then delighted. ’I can’t believe the Zhang family doesn’t want that little girl either! I knew it. No matter how much the Zhang family dotes on their daughter, there’s a limit. Perfect. That girl is old enough now. Keeping her in our Gu Family is just a matter of one extra mouth to feed. She can help with chores, and if we raise her for a few more years, we’ll be able to collect another bride price.’
Chen Suxiang was gleefully making her calculations. She snorted with disdain in her heart. ’That bitch Zhang Minzhen talks a big game about how much she loves her daughter, but isn’t she just like me, favoring sons over daughters deep down? If she loves her daughter so much, why isn’t she taking her? The bitch. Isn’t she just afraid that having that baggage will make it harder for her to remarry?’
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