Chapter 156: Encountering Sheng Yueyue Again
"Uncle Gu, are you coming with us?" Even a man of iron and blood like Geng Ruixian didn’t want to go out alone with Su Shuochi.
He knew Jiaojiao had to go to class, and Su Shuochi was only gentle and mild-mannered when she was around.
"No, I’ll stay home and keep those old guys company. You all have fun."
Grandpa Gu finished, then turned to his eldest grandson. "Oh, right. Jinghua, why don’t you go with them? You haven’t been out in a long time."
"Grandpa, I’m staying home to help Mom entertain the guests. I don’t have time to go." Gu Jinghua smiled and shook his head; he had to stay home and help out.
"Oh." A smile touched Grandpa Gu’s eyes. He said no more and turned back to practicing his shadowboxing.
He wanted to tell Ruixian that he might see his son today, but he was afraid it would make Ruixian too nervous.
After washing up, Gu Jiaojiao and Su Shuochi came out to find only Li An and Cheng Tao. He Shen Yi and Xia Qiuming were nowhere to be seen.
She asked curiously, "Good morning, Grandpa. Good morning, Professor Li. Good morning, Professor Cheng. Where are the two Divine Doctors?"
"They called first thing this morning. They said they’ve gone to the largest hospital in Qing City to see a senior official.
They’re not sure if they’ll have time to come back for lunch. They’ll call us then."
After answering, Grandpa Gu turned to Su Shuochi. "Shuo Ci, wherever you’re going today, take Ruixian with you. Let him get his bearings."
"Will you and the two professors be coming along as well, Grandpa?" Su Shuochi asked out of courtesy.
"No. Cheng Tao needs to study his paintings, and Li An and I will play chess at home. When those two get back, we’ll all go see your medical room together."
"Alright, Grandpa. You all have fun at home, then. Uncle Geng and I won’t be back for a while, so we probably won’t be home for lunch."
Su Shuochi thought, ’Geng Haoyi and his dad haven’t seen each other in years. They’ll have a lot to talk about. We should just eat at a restaurant for lunch.’
When Geng Ruixian heard they weren’t even coming back for lunch, he quickly shook his head and said,
"Shuo Ci, maybe I shouldn’t go after all. You see, I’m still not fully recovered. I don’t want to hold you up."
Before anyone else could speak, Li An chimed in, unable to resist, "Geng Ruixian, no matter how unwell you feel, you can still get around faster than Su Shuochi in his wheelchair, can’t you?"
Gu Jiaojiao and Su Shuochi exchanged a glance. They were selling a rather large quantity of rice this time. Perhaps they could load the rice first before arranging the meeting. They had only scheduled it for early in the morning because they wanted to give Uncle Geng a surprise.
"Professor Li, that’s not necessarily true! Shu Ci’s wheelchair is just as fast as a bicycle, you know."
"Oh, right! How could I forget? HAHAHA... I’ll have a pumpkin pancake. You all eat whatever you want."
Li An said with a wide grin. He was a firm believer in the idea that if you refuse to be embarrassed, the embarrassment shifts to someone else.
’Besides,’ he thought, ’Jiaojiao said pumpkin is good for me. These pumpkin pancakes are delicious, I should have a few more.’
"Uncle Geng, are you sure you don’t want to go?" Su Shuochi asked again. If they loaded the rice first, Geng Haoyi wouldn’t have much time to stay.
"Mmm, I’ll go next time." Geng Ruixian truly didn’t want to go right then.
Grandpa Gu looked like he wanted to say something but held his tongue. He still wasn’t certain if the young man was Ruixian’s son, and he didn’t want to get Ruixian’s hopes up only to disappoint him.
Although Su Shuochi was certain Geng Haoyi was Geng Ruixian’s son, he didn’t know who might be with him.
So, he didn’t press Geng Ruixian to go see Geng Haoyi. The couple finished their breakfast and left.
Geng Ruixian had a strange feeling, but he truly didn’t want to go out alone with Su Shuochi, especially since the plan didn’t involve returning to the Su family home for a meal.
Gu Jiaojiao glanced back at Geng Ruixian’s gaunt figure and leaned in to whisper in Su Shuochi’s ear.
"It’s better that he’s not going. We don’t want him to faint from excitement. It’s better to bring Geng Haoyi back here."
"You’re so thoughtful. In that case, I’ll take you to school first..."
"It’s still early. Why don’t I drive you to the gate of the courtyard at Number 66 Xiangyang Street once we’re outside the compound?"
"Alright. Haoyi said he’d be in the city by dawn. I told him I’d bring them meat buns and fried dough sticks for breakfast."
"Why don’t you take a few more drinks in your backpack for them to have while you’re loading the rice?"
"We’ll probably have to come back here first. Haoyi is the impatient type; he’ll demand a clear explanation. I hung up on him last night, so now that we’re meeting in person, I won’t be able to put him off."
The couple chatted as they walked, and soon they reached the compound gate. In the distance, standing in the morning light, they saw a figure craning his neck in anticipation.
His eyes were bright, clear as water, and sparkling with sincerity. He looked exhausted, but there was a genuine smile on his face.
The collar and cuffs of his white shirt were a little stained, but his hair was trimmed very neatly.
Before they even got close, a travel-worn Geng Haoyi spotted them and waved. "Su! Hey, Su! Over here! I’m over here!"
"Haoyi, what are you doing at the compound gate? Didn’t I tell you to wait at the courtyard gate?"
"I came into the city before dawn. I wanted to find you earlier. What did you mean on the phone last night?"
"Shu Ci, is this your friend? Hello, my name is Gu Jiaojiao."
"S-so... you’re... Hello! You’re just... too beautiful. Like an immortal stepping out of a painted scroll."
Seeing such a beautiful Gu Jiaojiao, Geng Haoyi’s eyes went wide in astonishment, his mouth fell open, and he stuttered when he spoke.
"Pull yourself together. Your sister-in-law here has to get to class. I brought breakfast for you and your buddies. We have a guest at my house named Geng Ruixian. His father’s name is Geng Junshan. Are you...?"
"Really? That must be my dad! I’m going to your house to see my dad right now."
Hearing his friend’s words, Geng Haoyi was so overjoyed he nearly jumped out of his skin, dancing around like a madman.
He completely forgot about his two companions. Nothing was more important than seeing his father.
"Jiaojiao, you can get to school by yourself, right? Be careful on the way..." Su Shuochi was about to say more, but Gu Jiaojiao cut him off.
"Shu Ci, just take your friend home. Everyone’s staring!"
"Alright." Seeing his friend acting like a madman, Su Shuochi couldn’t help but feel happy for him.
Geng Haoyi took over pushing the wheelchair, heading for the Su family home as if he knew the way, and gave Gu Jiaojiao an apologetic wave.
Gu Jiaojiao turned and headed toward her school. ’I wonder what will happen when Uncle Geng sees his son,’ she thought. ’Will he be so excited that he faints?’
’Then again, Su Shuochi has medicine in his backpack. Besides, fainting from joy is different from fainting out of anger. The first one doesn’t really harm you.’
"Gu Jiaojiao~ Is that really you? All by yourself? Where’s that inseparable cripple of yours?"
Sheng Yueyue asked arrogantly from the back seat of Sheng Shiwen’s bicycle.
She had spotted Gu Jiaojiao walking up ahead with her head down and had urged her brother to pedal faster.
Sheng Shiwen hadn’t thought much of it, intending only to quietly overtake Gu Jiaojiao. He never expected Yueyue to yell something so vicious.
Her shout made many people turn to look at the siblings, and he wished he could just shove his own sister off the back of the bike.
To his satisfaction, Gu Jiaojiao didn’t disappoint. She lunged forward and yanked Sheng Yueyue right off the back of the bike.