When Gu Shishi returned home and lay down on the couch in her bare feet, all of the servants who walked past greeted her happily.
It was very different than the indifferent from before.
Gu Shishi quickly sat up from the couch.
“Had the wedding candies been distributed at the mansion too?”
It suddenly dawned on her when Aunty Lin walked past her happily.
“Yes, Madam. Everybody got one and we even get an additional gift card than others not at the mansion. It allows you to spend money at many places.”
Gu Shishi clutched her chest.
Shoot! She was feeling that difficulty in breathing again!
What’s with the boss and throwing his money away?!
“Aunty Lin, how much is the gift card for? You look very happy.”
She followed Aunty Lin secretively to gossip with her. She even abandoned the magazine that she was reading.
Aunty Lin covered up her mouth and chuckled, obviously failing to contain her happiness.
She was a senior maid at the mansion already.
Her salary was just a tad lower than the butler’s. Gu Shishi gathered that her one-month income must be over 5-digit, much more than her original income from the art studio.
Naturally, she wouldn’t keep any secrets from her boss lady.
She looked around and, confirming that nobody was within ear-shot, said to Gu Shishi happily, “The young master must be very happy about marrying you. He gave us more than our normal bonuses. Each of us received a red pocket equivalent to 36 months of our salary, all given to us in a gift card.
“Because ‘6×6’ is lucky.”
Gu Shishi, “... ... ... ...”
Hot dang!
Why not a full 99 months while we were at it? The boss had really let it gotten into his head!
That would explain all the bright smiles from the servants.
They couldn’t help but walk in front of her repeatedly.
“Madam, you need to have a baby soon.”
Aunty Lin came to her smart conclusion after she was done chuckling.
“You should do that while I am still young. Have a few. Then there will be banquet for the first month and the first year. When the older one is 10 years old, you can then have the second one... I can help with taking care of them. After all, the young master makes enough to raise a soccer team!”
Gu Shishi’s lips twitched and she could feel a tightness in her chest.
She sighed when she returned to the couch.
The guy who was throwing his money away!
Then again, he was throwing his own money away. What could she say to that?
Besides... ... listen, he only did that because he was too happy to be married to her. It would be wrong of her to chastise him for that.
He was merely doting on her!
[That’s right, Host. Now you get it!]
[Not only should you not chastise him, you should be praising him, let him know that that was money well spent, and that it made you very happy.]
[Such are the ways between a couple in a prestigious family.]
[The more he spends, the stronger his drive to go and earn more.]
[Having a doting husband who would spend money on her is a form of happiness for a woman too.]
Gu Shishi, “... ...”
That almost sounded reasonable.
Okay. She’d praise the heck out of him!
Looking at the clock on the wall, the man who was throwing away his fortune should be home any minute now.
Gu Shishi blinked, clicked open the system and, first thing first, applied all the halos that she had obtained recently.
Semi-permanent pretty brow halo was still in the process of between tweaked in the backend.
Gu Shishi slowly cleaned up all the stray hairs around her brows and, when she was done with that, set the apex of her brows.
She picked the standard shape among the selections.
And set the apex to be at 2/3 distance from the start of the brows. The tips of the brows were the second highest and the start of the brows the lowest.
Straight eyebrows were quite well-received as well but it wouldn’t go well with her more tender look.
With the standard brow shape, it would go well with any kind of makeup or none at all.
Then it was the Happy Kissing halo that she really had to work for.
The one that she had finally earned it after the coffee, spaghetti, and tissue fiascos.
Gu Shishi wanted badly to look up in the sky and howl.
She couldn’t wait to put it on and looked at the detailed explanations in the system.
[Effect: Every time you kiss someone of the opposite gender for more than 10 seconds, it will make your red lips look glossy, soft, and spongy as though you just had lip mask applied. Over ten seconds, the other party would feel an unusual fragrance and sweetness. It could be highly addicting!]
Gu Shishi, “......”
Eh, whatever. One couldn’t have too many skills.
She wouldn’t even criticize the system’s Chinese skills.
Last but not the least was her bribe halo.
[Effect: The other party will experience the lovely first time again every night.]
[Addendum: Do be careful when using this halo. Some men prefer the performance of a mature female, others prefer the shyness of a girl. It could backfire if not used properly and could even cause damage to the body.]
[Overdoing any kind of exercise can be harmful to one.]
Gu Shishi facepalmed.
Does this doggone system have any bottom line??
While she was mulling over that, her cellphone rang. The minute she picked it up, Huo ChuChu’s excited voice came over.
“OOoooh~~~~~~~~~~~~~~”
She was shrieking like a groundhog.
“Sister-in-law! Sister-in-law! I think my Big Brother is very mighty! Even mightier than my second brother Huo Wencheng!!! Do you know? He’s soooo mighty!! Mighty beyond your imagination!”
Gu Shishi had no choice but to pull the phone away from her ear because of the high pitch noise that Huo ChuChu was making.
After her nonsensical explanation, Gu Shishi finally figured out what Huo ChuChu was saying.
“So, what you are telling is that you are now taking your vacation lying on the couch in the conference room of an international company?”
Huo ChuChu grunted her acknowledgement then came the happy sound of fruit juice being slurped.
“Vacation, too, is a kind of learning.
“This entire month, I will be learning from Executive Assistant Meng. He said I won’t be able to figure it all out just from reading the documents alone and that he will explain to me anything that I don’t understand.”
Huo ChuChu was in a good mood and her voice was very relaxed.
“Sister-in-law, do you think I should send my Big Brother a text to thank him?”
“Yes, you should.”
Gu Shishi chuckled, too, after hearing Huo ChuChu’s story.
The tsundere boss might seem cold on the outside, but he actually enjoyed being praised.
“Okay, will do. What about you, sister-in-law? Surely my brother had fulfilled his words of letting you have a vacation too?”
Gu Shishi tightened her lips and grunted awkwardly.
As they were chatting, she could hear loud and steady footsteps coming from the outside.
Gu Shishi turned around and saw Huo Sishen walking briskly home. He was basking in the sunlight that had come through the window and his entire handsome face seemed to be glowing.
“Sister-in-law, can you thank him verbally for me as well? Thank Big Brother for taking care of me.”
Huo ChuChu pleaded.
Gu Shishi gave a dazed acknowledgment.
After she had hung up on the phone, Huo Sishen had also walked in front of her. His tall outline immediately blocked all of the light from the sunset.
Gu Shishi cleared her throat lightly.
A blush flashed passed her cheeks and she couldn’t help but recalled all the halos she had just gained – the First-Night halo, the Happy Kissing halo...
Aye.
Her entire cheeks turned red.
“Chuchu just called. She wanted to thank you.”
Huo Sishen raised his brows. Her charming, pump, and tender look did not seem to be brought on by relaying the message from his sister.
“What were you doing?’
Gu Shishi looked up with her well-hydrated delicate face and blinked her limpid eyes.
She was picking her halo.
The kind that would get a man addicted!
“I was... ...”
Gu Shishi just started talking when she caught sight of a corner of some clothing behind the boss. She paused for a little then, biting her lip, said, “I was... thinking of you.”
Huo Sishen was taken aback a little.
He obviously hadn’t expected the blunt answer.
[Beep! You will need to maintain it for over 5 seconds when showing your affection in front of others!]
Gu Shishi, “... ... ...”
“I saw the wedding candies that Sier and the other others had sent over today.”
Gu Shishi lowered her head and laid her hand over her chest where it would still hurt everytime she thought about those wedding candies.
“They are very pretty and everybody liked them.
“They reminded me of you... when I saw them today...
“Which I why I took off early today.”
Gu Shishi blinked.
Not hearing the chime from the system, she added another line softly.
“What about you? Did you miss me?”
When Gu Shishi was done talking and before Huo Sishen could respond, there came a “oh, mi” and a loud wolf whistle.
“Oh, looks like I came at the wrong time?” said Qin Ruhai as he walked out from behind of Huo Sishen.
[Beep! Showing you affection in front of others (1/10)!]
Huo Sishen’s ice cube face turned red uncomfortably all of a sudden.
It took only one second for him to regain his self-control and returned to his solemn look.
After dinner, Huo Sishen and Qin Ruhai headed to the study just the two of them.
Huo Sishen, sitting behind the desk, was very different from his gentle self that was sitting in front of the girl just a moment ago. With a solemn look, he drummed on this desk with his knuckles.
“We can’t tell without going to for a checkup at the hospital?”
Qin Ruhai, too, looked very serious.
He nodded, then shook his head. “The equipment at the hospital is more precise. But if you worry about alarming her, you can also get an idea from interacting with her.”
Huo Sishen looked at him coldly.
Qin Ruhai shrugged. “Judging from what you have said and what I had seen earlier, she had changed a lot.”
Huo Sishen frowned.
Qin Ruhai picked up the mug on the table, flicked it with his finger and said, “It may not be all bad. Bottling up all of her emotions is the worst. At least she is showing emotions. It is reassuring.
“We shouldn’t take it too lightly though. It’s best to prevent and stop psychological illness at the early stages.
“For now, she leans on you’re a lot. You should spend more time with her. Be patience and don’t just give her that stern look. React to what she is saying or doing.”
“React?”
Qin Ruhai nodded solemnly. “Yes, that will help her with her self-worth. For example, when she says she missed you, you should respond with ‘I missed you too”. If it isn’t reciprocated, it would hurt her confidence.”
Having said that, he almost immediately looked up at the man who was pondering deeply.
He then quickly pulled out his cellphone and quickly typed into their melon-eating chat group with his lips curved upward.
[Number Two: Tsk. @Number One @Number Three. When a overly rational man falls in love, he was no different than a fool.]
[Number One: This makes for a good research topic. According to big data analysis, that might have something to do with the structure of their brains.]
[Number Three: @Number Two. Love is blind and could truly make someone lose their minds. The calmer a person is, the more difficult it was for him to accept the idea of him losing control of himself. Are you talking about yourself? Did some girl finally conquered you?]
[Number Two: Hahaha. I can neither confirm nor deny it. By the way, @Gu Shishi, the melon today is very tasty~]
[Number One: ?? Share please!]
[Number Three: Ask and you shall receive. @Number Two, please recount it for us.]
[Gu Shishi: ? ? ?]
Midnight at a hospital in the US.
“Mommy, it will be fine. It will be alright even if I don’t make it.”
Tears were streaming down Gu Wushuang’s cheeks.
“I will have no regrets as long as Sister Shishi is happy. I owe her that much.”
“Shuangshuang... ...”
Mother Gu choked back her tears and couldn’t make out a word. She had already lost her voice from crying too much the last few days.
“We will have another fortune teller to look for a date. Don’t be scared. You will out, outlive mommy... You don’t owe her anything. What had happened wasn’t your fault.”
“Mommy, there is no need for that.”
Gu Wushuang gave a gloomy smile poignantly.
“Things are fine the way they are.
“I am not scared.”
“Wushaung... ... my baby... ..”
Mother Gu’s eyes were all red.
Looking at the girl on the bed that she had raised for 20 plus years, the one that she had pampered this entire time, Mother Gu felt her heart aching.
She had been sick since the day that she was born. Now that they had everything ready to go and, as long as the surgery was successful, she could be normal like everybody else but then they had this very unfortunate fortune.
Wushuang had such a hard life!
And if, Wushuang never woke up from the surgery, she would be burying her own daughter...
Mother Gu couldn’t handle this line of thought any more. She felt dizzy and she turned pale.
“Aunty.”
Huo Wencheng quickly reached out anxiously to lend her support.
Mother Gu, however, quickly waved her hand at him.
Putting her hand over her face, her teeth gritted, she looked like she had just made a very important decision.
“Shuangshuang, you wait for me. Your Daddy is too busy so Mommy will go back to China and ask your big sister Shishi to divorce her husband.
“As long as they are in love, a marriage certificate is but a formality.
“Comparing to the happiness for the rest of your life, her marriage certificate is but a piece of paper. Your big sister Shishi will understand.
“Mommy will go and convince her! I will ask for her consent even if I have to get down on my knees!”
Gu Wushuang’s eyes were filled with tears, “Mommy...”
Her eyes were red and she was touched.
She didn’t want to die. She refused to die!
Not only did she want to stay alive. She wanted to have a life that was better than most!
All of these had always belonged to her. Let it be the Gu’s family or the most elite man of the Huo’s. All of them belonged to her!
The Gu’s had decided to stir up chit all over again. Mother Gu had even had her ticket purchased when Gu Wushuang expressed her concerns and, as such, Huo Wencheng, the half son-in-law, volunteered to return with Mother Gu.
They were to take off that very night.
Mother Gu wanted to send Gu Shishi a text before they take off to make sure that she would be home.
She was dumbfounded the moment she opened up WeChat.
Gu Shishi was no longer going by Shishi in her WeChat?
And what was her new alias? Mother Gu flipped though her entire contact list and still wasn’t able to figure it out.
Mother Gu had a peculiar look on her as she froze at the boarding gate.
“What’s the matter, Aunty?”
Even though him and Gu Wushuang had already received their marriage certificate but, as they have not yet had their wedding banquet, he still wasn’t referring to Mother Gu as Mom yet.
Mother Gu’s look made him worried.
“Did you forget something?” He asked.
Mother Gu’s cheeks, with their delicate makeup, blushed immediately.
“No, it’s nothing.”
It was only normal for a young person to change their alias online.
Gu Wushuang had also gone through a phase when she loved to change her profile picture and aliases. After she started dating, she even switched her profile picture to something similar to that of Huo Wencheng’s.
Nevertheless, the most common few that she chatted with would almost be on the top when she opened up WeChat.
They could change their aliases all they want but she was never not able to find them.
It was only today when Mother Gu realized that she barely ever chatted with Gu Shishi, her real daughter.
The only one time that she did was when Gu Shishi had just returned home and that was a while back and had been pushed to the bottom by many other chat windows.
In fact, she had already cleaned out her WeChat a few times to free up more room.
Mother Gu’s arm that was holding onto the cellphone felt a bit heavy.
She had played too much favoritism.
But, she was just human.
Was she supposed to give up on the child that she had raised for 20 years just because she was related to the other one by blood and to love the strange child who had just returned from a strange family over night?
Who would be able to do that?
Aye.
Mother Gu sighed lightly.
Huo Wencheng, “Don’t worry too much, Aunty. Get some rest first. Wushuang will need you in the future.”
That was right.
Mother Gu nodded with a heavy heart.
She had a decision to make.
All mothers wanted to be as fair as possible.
But there were priorities. She had no choice but to look after the more fragile one first.
She would make up to Shishi later on after Wushuang had recovered.