Chapter 98: Why Curry Favor When Pissing Them Off is Faster?
Silence filled the air.
The driver was on the verge of tears.
If he answered, he’d lose his job. If he didn’t, he’d still lose his job.
’Maybe I should just kill myself to liven things up.’
Gu Xulin really was staring him down, posturing as if he wouldn’t get in the car unless he got an answer.
"Let me make it simpler for you. Do you hate your boss?" Gu Xulin’s tone softened slightly.
The driver: ...
Gu Zhao was also watching him with wide, expectant eyes.
The driver’s mouth twitched. He went against his conscience and said, "The boss is handsome and kind. How could anyone hate him?"
Gu Xulin grabbed Gu Zhao and started to walk away. "Ninety percent of employees who don’t hate their boss are shady. We’re not riding in his car."
The driver panicked. If he couldn’t even bring them back, his job was on the line!
"I hate him!" the driver blurted out.
Gu Xulin said, "You hate the boss and you dare tell his little brother? That’s shady! We’re not riding in his car!"
The driver: ...
In the end, a call from Gu Yunqi finally rescued the driver.
"Fine, he’s for real. But send me his ID number. I need to run it."
’Whatever! I do things my own way!’
After verifying the ID, Gu Xulin and Gu Zhao finally got into the car.
The moment they were in, Gu Zhao fell fast asleep. Gu Xulin, however, kept glancing out the window, then behind them, then back to staring daggers at the driver.
The driver sat stiffly, not daring to move a muscle.
When they arrived at the Gu family’s old estate and he dropped them off, the driver’s smile was exceptionally genuine.
Gu Zhao sized up the main gate of the Gu family estate. "Brother, why did we come to a tourist attraction?"
Gu Xulin was momentarily stunned. "Tourist attraction? Where? When did they build a tourist attraction around here?"
"This," Gu Zhao said, pointing at the massive gate. "Isn’t this a park?"
"...This is the Gu family estate."
Gu Zhao was silent for a few seconds. "Nice. When you all die, I’m definitely going to fight for the inheritance!"
Gu Xulin: ...
"Young Master!" a vigorous, elderly voice called out.
Gu Xulin looked over to see the old butler approaching in a convertible.
"Uncle Fu, slow down! You’re going to fall out," Gu Xulin said with a sigh.
"Oh my! This must be the Young Miss! You adorable treasure!" Uncle Fu pulled up, hopped out of the car, and immediately started fawning over Gu Zhao.
"Young Master, you have no sense of gratitude! Have you forgotten who helped you tear up your homework and feed it to the dogs when you were a child? Who acted as the dashing butler to your overbearing CEO during your cringey teen phase?"
"And now you have the gall to sneak the Young Miss back without letting this lonely old man have a look! How cruel you are!"
Uncle Fu pulled a handkerchief from his breast pocket and dabbed at his tearless eyes.
A dark look crossed Gu Xulin’s face. "Uncle Fu, you were way more cringey than I was. You got so worked up you tried to get me to overthrow my second brother, telling me I was a born king."
"Your praise went straight to my head, and I charged in to usurp him. I ended up with a broken bone!"
"You switched sides in a heartbeat! And you even said, ’It’s been a while since the Young Master had a good cry!’"
Uncle Fu looked a little awkward. "Well, you actually went for it. What was I supposed to do?"
Gu Zhao’s eyes were sparkling.
"Ahem, Young Miss, let’s go inside and chat. Your eldest and second brothers are here," Uncle Fu said, avoiding Gu Xulin’s resentful glare. He looked at Gu Zhao with pure adoration.
"Our Young Miss is such a little sweetheart~"
Just then, a figure in yellow on a scooter pulled up. With a deadpan expression, his thin lips parted to call out, "To the pure, inspirational, drop-dead gorgeous, and dashing butler! Your food delivery is here!"
Gu Zhao was still wondering who could possibly have such a dramatic name when she saw the old butler—the same one who had just been calling her a sweetheart—sprint over like his life depended on it.
"Mine, mine!" The old butler beamed with exceptional tenderness, as if the delivery bag held his most precious treasure.
The delivery driver said with a stone-cold face, "I will never let you go hungry. Please give me a five-star review."
With that, he immediately drove off. Even from a distance, Gu Zhao could feel the driver’s soul-crushing numbness.
"Come, my esteemed Young Miss, please get in!" Uncle Fu placed the food on the passenger seat and opened the rear door for Gu Zhao.
’Four seats. One for the luggage, one for the Young Miss, and one for his precious darling.’
Perfect.
Gu Xulin stared at the passenger seat, now occupied by the food delivery. "Uncle Fu, where am I supposed to sit?"
Uncle Fu was cold and heartless. "You’re a mature young master now. You can look at your own legs with a hint of mockery and a whole lot of nonchalance and say..."
"’Damn you, stop playing hard to get. Start running on your own.’"
Having said his piece, Uncle Fu sped off in the convertible.
As the breeze blew through her hair, Gu Zhao glanced back at Gu Xulin, who was staring down at his own legs.
’He’s not actually going to say it, is he...’
’It’s over. There isn’t a single normal person in this family.’
Uncle Fu’s smile returned as he began to explain the layout of the estate to Gu Zhao.
The more Gu Zhao listened, the wider her jaw dropped. ’I absolutely have to fight for this inheritance!’
Gu Zhao looked around excitedly, but then a question popped into her head.
"Do people grow on trees here, too?"
Uncle Fu: ?!!
He followed her gaze and was instantly rendered speechless.
A little girl was dangling from a tree branch.
Uncle Fu stopped the car. He stared, exasperated, at the child in the tree. "Miss Gu Jiao, isn’t the ground fun enough for you? Why have you taken to climbing trees?"
Just another day, another capture.
Gu Jiao looked at the sky, at the ground—anywhere but at them.
"WOOF WOOF WOOF!" A Tibetan Mastiff came running over. It first barked threateningly at the little girl in the tree, then turned and bounded toward Gu Zhao, wagging its tail.
Uncle Fu jumped in fright. How did this little terror get out!
He hurriedly started the car.
The Tibetan Mastiff broke into a sprint to chase them! ’Sister Xiangxiang~ your Mastiff is here!’
The forgotten Gu Jiao, still up in the tree, looked thrilled. She could finally get down!
’Time to go harass that stuck-up second brother of mine!’
’Allowance, here I come! I saw Second Brother for five minutes yesterday and Mom and Dad gave me five hundred! This time, I’ll aim for ten minutes!’
She slowly began to climb down.
「Inside the manor.」
Gu Xingyu sat on the sofa as if on pins and needles. He fidgeted constantly, fighting the urge to jump up and run away.
But each time, a glare from his second younger brother forced him back down.
"If you don’t want the investment, feel free to run," Gu Yunqi said, glancing up at his restless older brother.
Gu Xingyu sat with his lips pressed together, mentally constructing a cannon to blow his second brother to bits.
A moment later, the sound of a car horn blared from outside, followed by the old butler’s panicked cries.
And the howling of a dog.
Gu Yunqi frowned as he listened to the cacophony.
He shot Gu Xingyu a warning glare—stay put, no hiding upstairs—before heading out to investigate.
The moment he opened the door, his fury skyrocketed.
"Uncle Fu! Gu Zhao!"
"Little Boy!"
A Tibetan Mastiff snatching a food delivery, a septuagenarian whimpering in distress.
A small child perched on the mastiff’s back.
Was this a scene of moral decay or... just a testament to how good that food must smell.
Gu Zhao hugged the dog’s head, her eyes wide with innocence. ’What just happened? How did I end up on a dog’s back?’
She remembered getting out of the car, the dog charging straight at her, and the next thing she knew, she was on its back.
"Sister Xiangxiang~ I’ll steal this food to provide for you! I’ve stolen this kind before! It smells way better than poop!"
The Tibetan Mastiff excitedly wrestled with Uncle Fu over the bag.
Gu Zhao looked completely bewildered.
"Whoa... Second Brother is so mad his face is turning black! She’s my new idol!" Gu Jiao came running up on her short legs just in time to see the spectacle. Her eyes sparkled as she stared at Gu Zhao.
’My parents are always telling me to suck up to the Gu brothers to get on their good side!’
’But now I see that pissing them off is way more effective!’
’Gu Zhao is my idol now! I’m going to team up with her, piss off all the old geezers, and take over the family fortune!’
’Then I can eat spicy strips for every single meal!’
"Little Boy, get back!" Gu Yunqi commanded, staring coldly at the Tibetan Mastiff.