Chapter 258: A Pretty Girl in Su’s Car
Gu Jiaojiao saw the gentle light in the man’s eyes and knew he wasn’t one to meddle in others’ business.
His willingness to share so many of Song Zijin and Sheng Yueyue’s "glorious" deeds was purely because he knew she enjoyed hearing them.
To reward him, Gu Jiaojiao tossed aside the melon seeds in her hand, walked over to his wheelchair, and lifted his chin with a graceful finger.
"Shuoci~ I’m so happy. This is your reward~~" Gu Jiaojiao gave him a quick kiss on the lips and hurried away.
Su Shuochi froze in astonishment. A reward like this was something he’d never even dreamed of.
His darling’s bewitching and utterly captivating gesture made his lips curve up into a refined yet gentle smile.
"You little rascal. I’m on an IV drip right now, but just wait until I’m off. I’ll show you how I deal with you~"
"Okay~ Who’s afraid of who?~" Gu Jiaojiao knew he wouldn’t do anything to her before his leg healed.
「The next morning.」
Gao Xiangming drove Mr. Su, Su’s mother, and Su Qinchun back. Su’s mother had wanted to return last night, but Mr. Su stopped her.
Gao Xiangming didn’t even come inside; he just drove off again. He still had to take the others to the construction site to work.
As soon as Su’s mother and the others arrived, they got busy in the kitchen making breakfast, while the young couple had been messing around late into the night before finally sleeping.
Su’s mother had already finished making breakfast, but Gu Jiaojiao was still asleep. Su Shuochi, however, had long since been awakened by the sounds in the house.
He didn’t get up, afraid of waking his darling beside him. Smelling the fragrant aroma of food, he called out softly, "Jiaojiao~ Time to get up~"
"Don’t bother me, I want to keep sleeping~"
"Dad and Mom are here. They’ve already made breakfast..."
"Ahh~~ Why didn’t you say so sooner?~" Gu Jiaojiao flipped over and sat bolt upright.
"I only just woke up when I smelled the food~" Su Shuochi delivered the white lie smoothly.
Gu Jiaojiao hadn’t seen her in-laws in over forty days. After washing up, she specially changed into a taro-purple chiffon dress with a small turtleneck collar.
It was noble and elegant. A matching belt tied at her waist instantly outlined her slender figure, making her proportions look even more striking.
A bow at the neckline added a touch of exquisite personality to her ladylike aura, tying the whole look together perfectly.
Su Shuochi’s eyes widened in admiration. "Heavens~ My dear~ You look so beautiful today~"
"Hmph~ When am I ever not beautiful?" Gu Jiaojiao lifted her head with a proud pout.
Su Shuochi smiled. "Then have I ever told you that Jiaojiao will always be my most beautiful darling~"
"Tch~ All you do is sweet-talk~ When did your mouth get so honey-coated?~" Gu Jiaojiao rolled her eyes at Su Shuochi.
Su Shuochi chuckled mischievously. "My dear~ Want to find out?"
Gu Jiaojiao pouted and said nothing. She knew he was full of mischief and was afraid of falling into one of his traps.
Seeing his darling remain silent, he continued to tempt her, "It’s not hard to find out, you know. You just have to taste it to see if there’s honey or not~"
"You... How can you be so shameless?~" Gu Jiaojiao’s pretty face flushed as she feigned anger.
Su Shuochi leaned in and whispered in her ear, "Let’s get going. We shouldn’t keep Mom and Dad waiting too long."
Gu Jiaojiao glanced toward the living room, then turned and began pushing the wheelchair out.
Seeing their son’s door open, Mr. Su and Su’s mother couldn’t help but look at each other and smile, both rising to their feet.
Su’s mother said excitedly, "Jiaojiao, you’ve really lost a lot of weight! It’s a good thing you didn’t get tanned; you’re still as fair-skinned as before."
Mr. Su nodded. "Jiaojiao, you’ve worked hard. Your mother made your favorite celery dumplings and also cooked some rice porridge..."
"Thank you, Dad. Thank you, Mom. You should eat too." Gu Jiaojiao was in a great mood seeing Mr. and Su’s mother looking so hale and hearty.
"Jiaojiao, are you and Chi moving to the new courtyard house today?" Su’s mother asked.
"Mom, we’re not moving for now. In a few days, we have to go to the Imperial City to report in. We can move when we come back for the New Year."
"Sister-in-law, you’re leaving again?" Su Qinchun asked reluctantly.
"School is starting for me. You study hard, and in a couple of years, you can also test into a university in the Imperial City. Then, Mom and Dad can come live in the Imperial City with us."
"Jiaojiao, we have so many houses here. Your mother and I should just stay in Qing City," Mr. Su said sheepishly.
They had finally gotten used to Qing City and didn’t want to go through the hassle of moving to a big city again. He was a bit afraid of the trouble.
"Mom and Dad, you can come visit the Imperial City for a while whenever you have time. You don’t have to live there permanently." Su Shuochi saw through his father’s thoughts at a glance.
After the family finished breakfast, Gao Xiangming came by to drive them to the site for a look.
Many people were working at the construction site. The father of Zeng Kunheng, also known as Houzi, had already made a full recovery.
He was a master mason by trade, with a group of apprentices and a dozen or so architecture students under him.
In those days, there was no such thing as a "summer job." University was tuition-free, so students didn’t really have the mindset of earning money yet.
But that changed when Gu Jiaojiao came along. She started paying them daily wages, which they could send home to their parents.
The young students were thrilled to receive money they had earned themselves for the first time. Among them was Sheng Shiwu.
The architecture students acted as foremen, directing Mr. Zeng and the others on how to build. Sheng Shiwu didn’t know how to do that, but he could carry bricks and haul mortar and sand.
When Gu Jiaojiao and Su Shuochi arrived at the construction site, a young man covered in dust and dirt darted in front of her, giving her a fright.
"Jiaojiao... Jiaojiao, is it really you? You’re back? I was on top of the wall just now and saw a pretty girl in Brother Su’s car from a distance. Hehe... so it was you, Jiaojiao."
"Third Brother~ What are you doing?" Gu Jiaojiao only recognized Sheng Shiwu by his voice.
"Your face is so dirty! And why are you trying to be all trendy calling him ’Brother Su’ instead of ’Brother-in-law’? I almost didn’t recognize you."
"Hehe~ Jiaojiao, where have you been all this time? Did you go to the Imperial City to study medicine with Professor Xia?" Sheng Shiwu asked with a goofy grin.
’It wasn’t that he was trying to be trendy. Even Second Brother Gu doesn’t dare call him Brother-in-law, so how could he dare to? He was even more afraid to use Su Shuochi’s full name, and calling him ’Comrade Su’ would be too formal and distant. If Jiaojiao were his actual sister, he would definitely call him Brother-in-law. Ah, the misery!’
"Yes, I went to the front lines with Professor Xia to study. I also saw Big Brother. Didn’t he call you?"
Gu Jiaojiao didn’t know what Sheng Shijing had told Old Three of the Sheng family, or whether he’d mentioned that his injuries were severe and he had almost died.
"Big Brother called a few times, but I only caught his call once. I didn’t hear that you went to the front lines..."
Sheng Shiwu chattered on, asking a ton of questions. From his words, Gu Jiaojiao gathered that Sheng Shijing had only said he was injured and recovering, not that it was serious. He was still only reporting the good news and not the bad.
As soon as Su Shuochi arrived, he was swamped with things to do. Gu Jiaojiao handed Sheng Shiwu a drink; she didn’t have time to chat.
"Thanks, Jiaojiao. We can talk more during the meal later. Third Brother has to go carry bricks now."
Sheng Shiwu grinned, revealing a set of white teeth, and waved to Gu Jiaojiao.
Gu Jiaojiao watched Sheng Shiwu’s retreating back and smiled with satisfaction.