"Your eldest brother also said that regardless of whether we knew or not, my family has always neglected you," Old Madam Gu said. "This is your first time visiting, and no matter what, we absolutely cannot neglect you again."
Shen Mianyin couldn't help but marvel again at why the second branch of the Gu family was so conspicuously bad within the family.
Given such an excellent family upbringing environment in the Gu family, it was truly baffling how the second branch could turn out the way they did.
"Mom, you knew she was Luo'an's fiancée all along, and you still agreed?" The Second Son (Mr. Gu) exclaimed in shock.
Old Madam Gu looked at him as if he were an idiot. "Didn't we just discuss this? Why are you going on and on about it?"
The Second Mr. Gu was speechless.
"Don't mind them," Old Madam Gu said warmly to Shen Mianyin.
To make it easier to talk to Old Madam Gu, she specifically pulled Shen Mianyin to sit beside her, making Gu Huaizhi move over a bit.
Mrs. Gu, seeing how fond Old Madam Gu was of Shen Mianyin, looked displeased, finding Shen Mianyin disagreeable no matter how she looked at her.
But her displeasure was useless. She could only hold it in.
Shen Mianyin never expected tonight to go so smoothly, so smoothly that it felt somewhat unreal to her.
Originally, seeing the behavior of Second Mr. Gu and Mrs. Gu, she always thought the elders of the Gu family would be strict, demanding, and have high standards.
She never expected them to be so amiable.
When it was time to leave that night, Old Madam Gu even held her hand and told her to visit often.
"I live on the floor above Gu Huaizhi's," Shen Mianyin said.
Old Madam Gu actually didn't know this. She only knew that both Shen Mianyin and Gu Huaizhi lived in Lijing Garden.
When she had previously looked into Shen Mianyin, it was merely to understand her past and character, not to pry into her privacy.
Now hearing that the two actually lived on the same floor, Old Madam Gu couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
Gu Huaizhi truly had his sights set on her early on.
"If you're looking for Gu Huaizhi, could you also let me know?" Shen Mianyin asked.
"Good, good," Old Madam Gu happily agreed.
Gu Huaizhi and Shen Mianyin left and returned to Lijing Garden. Gu Huaizhi very naturally followed Shen Mianyin back to her place.
Shen Mianyin felt that Gu Huaizhi was almost forgetting what his own home looked like.
Every night, he only went downstairs to sleep.
The rest of the time, he stayed at her place.
After entering the door, Gu Huaizhi glanced at the time. It was currently 8 AM where Eldest Gu was, and it was a workday, so he was probably up.
He hadn't called immediately at the old residence because he was considering the time difference; it was only a little past six in the morning there, so calling would have been too early.
A short while later, Eldest Gu answered.
Gu Huaizhi had it on speaker, and Shen Mianyin heard Eldest Gu say from the other end, "Looking at the time, you should be back from the main house, right?"
"Mhm." Gu Huaizhi smiled faintly. "I also received the gift you sent. You're thoughtful."
"This gift was chosen by your sister-in-law," Eldest Gu said. "What do I know about this? I just told your sister-in-law to pick a suitable gift for your future sister-in-law. How is it? Does she like it?"
Gu Huaizhi turned to look at Shen Mianyin, silently asking if she wanted to come over.
Eldest Gu was so considerate, and the gift was valuable.
How could Shen Mianyin not personally thank him? So she walked over.
Understanding her intention, Gu Huaizhi said to Eldest Gu, "She wants to speak with you herself."
"Mianyin is there too?" Eldest Gu said, surprised. "Are you two living together?"
"No," Gu Huaizhi wished. "We're currently neighbors, living on separate floors."
"That's pretty close!" Eldest Gu said without thinking. "You little rascal must have done that on purpose."
It was a given.
Shen Mianyin thought to herself that Eldest Gu really understood Gu Huaizhi.
While thinking, she had already walked over and sat beside Gu Huaizhi, calling out a bit nervously, "Mr. Gu."
"Why so formal, calling me Mr. Gu? Call me Eldest Brother," Eldest Gu said on the screen.
Immediately after, Shen Mianyin saw him tilt his head and call out to someone off-camera, "Huaying, come quickly and see, this is Huaizhi's girlfriend."
Shen Mianyin guessed it was Eldest Gu's wife's name.
Indeed, Gu Huaizhi explained to her, "That's my sister-in-law."
However, before Zhu Huaying's voice came, they heard lively voices, "It's Third Uncle's girlfriend!"
"I want to see!"
"I want to see!"
It sounded like there were quite a few people.
Soon, the screen showed not only Eldest Gu but also his wife, Zhu Huaying, and three children.
The eldest child looked like a high schooler, a boy. His appearance was inherited from the Gu family, so he was naturally good-looking.
But compared to Gu Huaizhi, he had a touch more refinement, likely inherited from Zhu Huaying.
The middle child, a junior high girl, was Eldest Gu's only daughter. Her lively and active personality coupled with her sweet appearance made her truly endearing.
The youngest boy beside her, wearing a primary school uniform, was staring at her with wide, round eyes, full of curiosity.
"Call her Third Aunt," Eldest Gu commanded.
The three children chorused, "Third Aunt."
Then, they began to speak over each other.
"Third Aunt, I'm Gu Fei," the eldest high schooler said. "Third Aunt, we'll come back to see you during the New Year."
"Third Aunt, I'm Gu Mian," the girl said. "Third Aunt, you're so beautiful."
The youngest, Gu Xun, not to be outdone, said, "Third Aunt, I'm Gu Xun, the 'Xun' from 'searching.' You have to remember me."
Shen Mianyin was amused by them, but their constant "Third Aunt" made her very embarrassed.
"I received the gift, it's too valuable," Shen Mianyin said, feeling awkward.
"It's fine, it's fine," Eldest Gu said. "Because we weren't there, we only sent a gift, so it doesn't seem precious enough."
"But it's good as long as you like it," Zhu Huaying smiled gently, her eyes filled with kindness.
Eldest Gu said, "Don't think you can get away with not calling us what I told you to call us earlier, can you?"
Shen Mianyin's face flushed crimson. When she was engaged to Gu Luo'an, his parents disliked her. Not to mention being warm, they barely spoke to her.
The Su family was also like that; they were always pleasant when they needed her, but would give her the cold shoulder if anything was not to their liking.
The reason she had lived well in the Su family in the past was entirely due to her own efforts.
She worked hard to get into a prestigious school, bringing them prestige.
She worked hard, had strong work abilities, and earned money for Su's company.
Su's father used the money she earned to reward her with a 200,000 yuan car on her birthday.
Yes, only 200,000 yuan.
But what she earned for the Su family was far more than that.
That's why when she left the Su family, Shen Mianyin said that the money she had earned for the Su family over the years was enough to offset the cost of their raising her, with even some left over.
Later, she met her mother and Shen Chengang, but her mother always seemed to have a barrier with her.
Only Shen Chengang was wholeheartedly devoted to her, but there was also an element of compensation in that.
This was the first time she had encountered people who were so enthusiastic towards her that she couldn't retreat; they kept pushing her forward.
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