Chapter 154: Gratitude
“Alright.”
Si Yeye made the final decision.
Just like that, they didn’t dare to hold Si Yeye back to stop him from leaving, and Si Popo, who they tried to grab, avoided them with flexible movements.
After helping the two elders into the car, Tong Shenba stepped on the gas, leaving the twenty or thirty people lingering at the entrance far behind in the car’s exhaust.
“Heh, this taxi driver sure knows how to ‘watch the omen’!” Er Yeye threw his hand down and gave Tong Shenba a sarcastic compliment.
“Scattered, scattered.”
“People are gone, why are we still here?”
“This is just having no feelings.”
The others from the Gu family complained and dispersed as the three left, leaving only Yao Zuzu’s family on the spot.
“Mom, look at them. I told you a long time ago to have less contact with them.” Yao Zuzu’s eldest daughter said indignantly toward the departing Gu family members.
“If your second sister were still here, it wouldn’t be like this.” Yao Zuzuâs expression was poor. After speaking, she sighed, her spirit dampened.
The second sister was Yao Zuzu’s second daughter, who was clever and capable. She had worked her way up to the top position of the District Education Commission, but unfortunately, she died young, and the shadow of her influence could no longer protect the Gu family.
Yao Zuzu’s eldest daughter was also not young. she moved aside, and Li Heling and Wu Suixi sensibly stepped forward to help Yao Zuzu into the car to head home.
“Zuzu, why did you ask Sister Gu Wanrong to help that person?” Li Heling asked the question she hadn’t been able to figure out.
Wu Suixi felt the same. “They clearly look down on Sister Gu Wanrong.”
The two young girlsâ disdain and dislike for Tong Zishan were very obvious.
“Weâre all one family; even if bones are broken, the tendons remain connected.” Yao Zuzu slowly answered their question, though the weary look on her face showed that things were not exactly as she said.
Sigh, no one appreciated her kindness, and Gu Wanrong would likely distance herself from her too.
Li Heling’s motherâYao Zuzu’s granddaughter-in-lawâheld the steering wheel as she drove. Hearing their conversation, she chimed in, “In the past, it was always Mom and Grandma who visited the Gu family. Today we specifically brought you youngsters along, but it turned out to be a blunder.”
As soon as these words were out, everyone in the car fell silent. No one spoke again.
What was there to say?
The two young girls didn’t understand the complexities of the adultsâ schemes, but combining the events of the evening, they could roughly see it.
Si Yeye’s position before retirement was quite high. Since he had just retired, his influence hadn’t faded yet. Thatâs why when he came back to visit old acquaintances this time, Zuzu had called all the younger generation who no longer had contact with the Gu family.
But the result…
Was not as desired.
Meanwhile, Gu Wanrong sat in the passenger seat, with Si Yeye and Si Popo in the back. A quiet atmosphere filled the car; none of the three spoke a word.
Si Yeye closed his eyes, his chest rising and falling steadily. It seemed he needed to rest and recoup his energy after the lively dinner.
Si Popo gazed out the window with a nostalgic expression, likely triggered by memories of past times, her left hand tightly holding Si Yeye’s right.
Gu Wanrong seemed to be staring vacantly ahead, but she was actually quickly browsing through the past history of Gu Huaichang and Wen Yinghua.
The journey from Shiweiju to the house was more than enough time for Gu Wanrong to finish reading the first thirty years of their lives.
Tong Shenba drove the car into the villa district.
Gu Wanrong’s previous duplex was too small; it couldn’t even house the accompanying personnel taking care of and protecting her. For this return to City C, Butler Liu had specifically arranged a detached villa.
As soon as the main gate opened and the car drove in, Butler Liu hurried out to meet them.
Having learned early of the arrival of Gu Huaichang and Wen Yinghua, Butler Liu had instructed the servants to prepare the guest rooms. She efficiently and orderly arranged everything for the group.
Gu Huaichang watched Gu Wanrong’s natural and casual movements. It was very clear that Gu Wanrong’s days of being served by a group of people hadn’t lasted just a day or two.
“Do you have nothing to ask me?” Gu Huaichang picked up the glass of fruit and vegetable juice on the table and took a sip. His eyebrows relaxed; it wasn’t as bad as he had imagined.
However, he still preferred tea.
“Whether I ask or not, won’t you tell me anyway?” Gu Huaichang had no idea that Gu Wanrong had already understood their past with her grandparents perfectly during the car ride.
“You can keep your composure! Not bad.”
“Leave that official air of yours away from our private life, Old Gu.” Wen Yinghua slapped Gu Huaichang’s arm. “Yuanyuan, can I call you that? I heard from Yao Auntie that Eldest Brother and the others used to call you that.”
Gu Wanrong nodded.
“Yuanyuan.”
“Mm.”
“My little grandsonâs nickname is MÇn-mÇn. You two haven’t met yet, but your nicknames are fated; together they make ‘Yuanyuan MÇn-mÇn’ (perfectly content/fully complete).”
Seeing that Wen Yinghua was about to pull the topic far away, Gu Huaichang had to interject into their conversation, recounting their past with Gu Wanrong’s grandparents.
Actually, it was quite simple.
After Gu Huaichang graduated from university, he was assigned a good job. Someone was jealous and intentionally used schemes to try to make him make a mistake, but they didn’t succeed. Then they threw a snake into his house to scare him. It bit Gu Huaichang, and to his surprise, it was a venomous snake.
If Gu Wanrong’s grandfather hadn’t happened to come looking for Gu Huaichang, killed the snake, and timely sent Gu Huaichang to the hospital, Gu Huaichang would have had to have his leg amputated.
When Gu Huaichang recalled this, Wen Yinghua also had a look of lingering fear on her face.
She was pregnant at the time and struggled to take care of herself. Fortunately, Eldest Sister-in-law was kind-hearted and gave her a hand.
“An eldest brother’s wife is like a mother. Not just your grandfather, but your grandmother too, were always very caring toward us younger ones, regardless of who it was,” Wen Yinghua remarked with emotion.
“When I was little, Grandpa and Grandma were very good to me too.” Gu Wanrong was also triggered with memories.
Unfortunately, what she wanted wasn’t just a tiny bit of love.
Even a granddaughter who wasn’t biological could get that, or even moreâclearly she already had the fatherly and motherly love that she herself didn’t have?
“Child, after I left, it was for decades. I unexpectedly couldn’t find a single shred of news about you all. I could only go through others to finally meet you.”
“Why look for me?” Gu Wanrong knew her information was encrypted by the System. “I believe the kindness from back then must have been repaid years ago.”
Her implication was: the contact had long been lost, so just based on that?
Gu Huaichang stalled. He hadn’t expected Gu Wanrong to be so sharp.
This time he returned, of course, wasn’t just because he wanted to visit the only granddaughter left by his good eldest brother, but for a more important reason.
At this moment, he had found it.
Translator’s Note: “Yuanyuan MÇn-mÇn” (ĺĺ来来) is an idiom meaning “perfectly complete” or “perfectly content.” It’s a play on the names Yuanyuan (Gu Wanrong’s childhood name) and Manman. “An eldest brother’s wife is like a mother” (éżĺŤĺŚćŻ) is a traditional Chinese saying highlighting the responsibility and respect given to the eldest brother’s wife.
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