Su Shen rested his forehead in his hand, a gesture of resignation. His gaze fell upon his young wife, Gu Zi, who just happened to look up at him with a coquettish inquiry.
"Brother-in-law," she asked sweetly, "what should we be mindful of with this lady? When we were in the car earlier, didn't you promise to take good care of me on behalf of my sister? Or were you just tricking me into kissing you?"
Mrs. Zhou looked on at the pair before her, a couple she deemed scandalous. Her lips curled in distaste, her white teeth gleaming in silent judgment.
So, it was Su Shen who had deceived this naive young girl. Good heavens! It was a complete overturn of the impression Su Shen had previously given her. How could he have changed so drastically?
Mrs. Zhou's face was a mask of displeasure. She hastily made an excuse to leave, not wanting to play a part in their game.
"Forget it," she muttered, "I know nothing of today's events. I've never met either of you. I'm leaving."
Su Shen's face bore an expression of disbelief. He had sensed something amiss in the car earlier, but everything seemed to have returned to normal afterwards.
He had thought his intuition was wrong, but now he was certain he had once again offended his wife.
Watching Mrs. Zhou leave, Su Shen didn't bother to follow and explain. Instead, he pulled the young woman into his arms and asked with a hint of resignation, "Are you enjoying this?"
His tone was surprisingly indulgent.
Gu Zi met his gaze, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. Her eyes were misty, making her appear innocent and endearing, even temptingly so.
"Brother-in-law, I'm happiest when I'm kissing you. Of course, it's fun!"
As she spoke, her soft tongue occasionally peeked out from between her lips, a flash of red that caught his eye and made his breath hitch.
He leaned down and captured her lips with his own, his tongue assertively prying open her teeth to find her soft tongue.
They were in a secluded corner, away from the crowd. He pressed her against the wall, lost in a passionate kiss, only releasing her after a long while.
Gu Zi glared at him, accusing him of being inconsiderate.
He stroked her hair, his voice slightly hoarse as he said, "Little girl, what's wrong with satisfying you?"
Gu Zi admonished herself inwardly, determined not to be swayed by him. After all, she still hadn't figured out who Hu Jie was.
Was this man not planning to explain anything to her?
With a cold huff, she retraced her steps, her mind too preoccupied to care about inspecting the shopfront. She had no intention of looking any further!
Su Shen followed her with long strides. When they got into the car, Gu Zi purposefully chose to sit in the back seat.
Driving, Su Shen reflected on their earlier conversation. After a moment, he explained, "Mrs. Zhou is the wife of a comrade of mine. He was discharged before me and we haven't been in contact for a long time. I don't know Mrs. Zhou well, she just seems to enjoy matchmaking, it wasn't my idea."
He remembered that Mrs. Zhou loved introducing him to girls back then, but he had no interest in women at the time and always rejected her outright. Gu Zi responded, "Hmm, it wasn't your idea, it was someone else's."
Gu Zi felt that he was skirting around important information. If it wasn't his idea, why would Mrs. Zhou suggest giving it another try?
It must be that in Mrs. Zhou's eyes, he had some interest in Hu Jie. Hu Jie was likely his secret crush!
It was clear to Su Shen that she was still upset, but he truly didn't know what to say.
No wonder the old Deputy Chief He often said that for a man, even breathing was a mistake in front of his wife. Su Shen was beginning to understand that sentiment.
With no other option, Su Shen decided to change the subject. He asked, "The day after tomorrow is the wedding banquet at the Gu family's place, do we need to bring a gold gift? Does your adoptive father have any requirements?" Although Gu Zi was angry with him. They still needed to discuss the matters at hand as a married couple.
"They're not having a wedding, so there's no need for a gold gift. A cash gift is enough, just to go through the motions. As for my adoptive parents, there's no need to consider them. They abandoned me long ago. Now, I only recognize the Lin family as my parents."
The fact that the Gu family had allowed her to be a sacrificial lamb in a proxy marriage, and later repeatedly believed Lin Miao's words against her, had already made their stance clear.
Gu Zi respected this, so from now on, she only had her biological parents.
Seeing her attitude, Su Shen felt a sense of relief. He had originally thought that Gu Zi would show some consideration for her adoptive parents.
And even if she didn't consider her adoptive parents, she should have given some additional gifts out of respect for Gong Zhan. But her words left him quite satisfied.
...