SFBF CH53

“L-Little Dad…?”

Xu Yujie looked at Gu Duo in the little shark onesie with astonishment, and then at the youth he had just addressed as ‘Little Dad’. His brain was a step slow in reacting: What Little Dad? How could he be a Little Dad?

Although he hadn’t been back in the country for long, he had heard about these two children in the Gu family.

Primarily because right now was the crucial period of cooperation between the Xu family and the Gu family’s Gu Huaiyu. Even if Xu Yujie had absolutely zero interest, it was impossible to avoid hearing his old man nagging about it at home.

Having heard so much nagging, coupled with the fact that he was dropping Xu Weiming off at the Gu residence today, his sister-in-law had given him another intensive briefing before he left… In short, the information he currently possessed was:

First, Gu Duo and Gu Ao, the two orphans who used to live a difficult life in the main Gu family mansion, had now been taken into the home of the Gu family’s Sixth Young Master, Gu Huaiyu.

Second, it was said that Gu Huaiyu treated these two cubs quite well. He valued them to such an extent that the rest of the Gu family was jealous.

But, didn’t they say these two brats were orphans?

None of the information he had indicated that they also had a dad!

Could ‘Little Dad’ be a special nickname Young Master Duo uses for his teacher?

…From the moment he laid eyes on the youth, Xu Yujie had defaulted to assuming this person might be the children’s live-in tutor.

The kind of professional whose sole job was to play with the cubs and accompany them in their cognitive development…

But just as Xu Yujie had this thought, the young master nicknamed Duo Duo, right after calling the youth “Little Dad,” suddenly raised his head and added a sentence: “My Big Dad is Gu Huaiyu.”

Duo Duo was facing Xu Yujie’s direction when he said this. Although it was sudden and somewhat baffling, Xu Yujie, upon abruptly hearing this piece of information, still went: “…?…”

Of course he knew who Gu Huaiyu was.

Young, highly successful, completely independent from the Gu family, and someone whose mood even his own father had to cater to.

So if Gu Huaiyu was the Big Dad, and the youth in front of him was the Little Dad…

?

Then didn’t that mean their relationship was…

Xu Yujie: “???”

Such a massive beauty is actually already married? …Or is it just the dating phase, so they’re calling each other that? …

No, the main point is that Gu Huaiyu actually has this kind of relationship with another human being, and even directly had the children call the other party ‘Dad’?!

I haven’t heard a peep about this!

Isn’t that guy famously single-since-birth?!

Xu Yujie suddenly began to suspect if he had been away from Hua City for far too long…

At this moment, the youth opposite him, who Duo Duo had called Little Dad, spoke up: “I’m sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Shen Qing. I am the cubs’, uh, Dad.”

Seeing the stunned expression on Mr. Xu’s face, Shen Qing finally remembered that he had forgotten to introduce himself.

It was all because this Mr. Xu was far too talkative.

The moment he saw Ao-zai wearing the little dinosaur pajamas, he was all “so cute” and “too adorable”, praising everything, including the onesie itself, to the high heavens.

Even Shen Qing, who was usually quite talkative himself, couldn’t help but envy the other party’s eloquence. He had completely lost himself in the man’s continuous stream of praises for his cub and compliments on his own taste.

Now, seeing the utterly bewildered look on Mr. Xu’s face, Shen Qing finally realized the man probably didn’t even know who he was…

That was truly, too talkative!

To be able to spout a 3,000-word essay right off the bat with someone whose identity you don’t even know…

This was the mark of a true social butterfly!

While admiring Mr. Xu’s eloquence once again, Shen Qing quickly introduced himself.

Then he realized why Duo Duo felt awkward when suddenly changing how he addressed him to ‘Dad’. Because when he introduced himself as the cubs’ dad just now, for a fleeting moment, Shen Qing also felt it was incredibly awkward and hard to say!

…Probably because he had never actually been a dad before.

Besides, Shen Qing felt that he was still a baby himself. How did he suddenly become someone else’s dad?

It wasn’t melancholy, just pure unfamiliarity.

However, with his previous experience of being called ‘Aunt-in-law’, Shen Qing knew this unfamiliarity would only happen once. Once it rolled off the tongue, he would instantly get used to it.

And he had to admit, introducing himself as their ‘Dad’ was way better than introducing himself as their ‘Aunt-in-law’!

Overall, Shen Qing was highly satisfied with the current situation.

“Ah, ah.”

When Shen Qing introduced himself, he extended his hand. Xu Yujie hurriedly stepped forward and grasped it: “Hello, Mr. Shen. My name is Xu Yujie, I am Ming-bao’s uncle.”

It was a perfectly normal social etiquette, yet it made Gu Duo, standing to the side, raise his head.

As for upstairs, Gu Huaiyu, who was observing from the third floor, narrowed his eyes.

After shaking hands, the two naturally let go.

Xu Yujie brought out his unwarranted familiarity again: “I truly never expected that you would be… But how did this happen? I heard…”

He wanted to ask how this happened when Duo Duo and Ao-zai were originally supposed to be just President Gu’s nephews.

However, since the children were right there, Xu Yujie exercised tact and didn’t ask it outright.

But Shen Qing understood and explained with a smile, “Mhm, we just processed the adoption procedures. Duo Duo and Ao-zai are now our children.”

Hearing this, Xu Yujie nodded. “So that’s how it is.”

When he heard Shen Qing say “our children,” Xu Yujie’s expression became slightly unnatural, but it quickly returned to normal.

Upstairs, Tian Yi, standing beside President Gu, still didn’t know why President Gu was so tense… No matter how much of a playboy the Xu family’s Fourth Young Master was, or how much of a ‘boy-killer’, he felt that with the Madam’s thick nerves, he wouldn’t be affected.

Besides, Li Hong had told him yesterday that the Madam had even started getting jealous over President Gu.

This proved that after living together, the relationship between the two heads of the household was getting more and more intimate!

Their love was stronger than gold! Even if the Fourth Young Master Xu was good-looking and a smooth talker, Tian Yi believed President Gu’s status wouldn’t be so easily shaken!

Look, didn’t the Madam just say “our children”?

Both implicitly and explicitly, he automatically included President Gu!

Tian Yi suddenly felt that Li Hong’s analysis from yesterday was correct.

The Madam clearly has President Gu in his heart!

Having analyzed up to this point, Tian Yi couldn’t resist quietly whispering his conclusion to President Gu.

He didn’t know why, but subconsciously, he felt President Gu would like to hear this.

As subordinates, they naturally should say more of what the boss likes to hear!

It wasn’t intentional brown-nosing or having ulterior motives.

It was just that no one wanted to face the boss’s low air pressure; working under those conditions was no fun… Especially President Gu’s low air pressure, which was completely different from anyone else’s. Not just Tian Yi, he believed no one could withstand it.

Sure enough, President Gu, who had been staring downstairs unblinkingly, genuinely looked a bit more relaxed than before after hearing his words.

He didn’t seem quite as stern.

.

Downstairs, Shen Qing rubbed Gu Duo’s head, not asking him why he suddenly changed how he addressed them—as long as he changed it, it was fine.

Perhaps Duo Duo was simply mentally prepared now.

However, Shen Qing did sense that Duo-zai seemed slightly hostile toward Mr. Xu.

Although it was a bit baffling, Mr. Xu was, after all, just here to drop off Xu Weiming. Ming-bao was their little guest; Mr. Xu wasn’t important.

Tidying up Duo Duo’s hair, which had gotten a bit messy from running downstairs in a hurry, Shen Qing pointed at Xu Weiming and said to Gu Duo, “Duo-zai, look who’s here~”

…Unconsciously, he had slipped into a cutesy voice.

It was really because Ming-bao was far too cute!

Little Xu Weiming was currently staring with big, watery eyes in his and Duo Duo’s direction, looking exceptionally well-behaved.

Moreover, although this cub was about the same height as Duo Duo, which wasn’t considered tall among children their age, he had more baby fat on his face than Duo Duo, and his skin was fairer.

At this moment, Ming-bao was standing right there without speaking. His chubby cheeks were full of childish innocence, and he was looking over carefully and nervously, looking exactly like the most delicate doll from a fairy tale.

One glance at him, and Shen Qing’s heart melted all over again.

Gu Duo also looked at Xu Weiming.

It was out of a certain intuition that he had started disliking the adult standing beside Xu Weiming, the one who kept flashing bright smiles at their Little Dad.

But Xu Weiming was a guest here to see him, and Gu Duo wouldn’t be so impolite as to give a guest the cold shoulder.

Wearing his little shark onesie, Gu Duo walked directly over to Xu Weiming. With one hand still stuffed in his pocket, he used the other to grab Xu Weiming’s hand.

“Come in,” Gu Duo said coolly.

Xu Weiming hadn’t expected Gu Duo to hold his hand, and he froze on the spot.

This cub’s main trait was looking well-behaved, while actually being a chatterbox.

Of course, his true nature was a bit timid and introverted—he only had no trouble speaking when on the phone. Once in a strange environment, or talking to someone face-to-face, he would become shy and intimidated.

In summary, he could only let loose when facing someone he felt familiar with.

As a classmate who frequently chatted with him on the phone recently, Xu Weiming considered himself very familiar with Gu Duo.

But just now, when Gu Duo ran over with a really stinky expression, the timid Ming-zai was a little scared, not knowing what was going on, and for a moment didn’t quite dare approach him.

…Actually, it was like this every time.

No matter how well they chatted on the phone, or for how long, every time he suddenly faced Gu Duo’s cold face, Xu Weiming would subconsciously feel shy and timid.

But once Gu Duo held his hand, realizing this was still the good classmate Gu Duo who was willing to make time to listen to him, Xu Weiming’s chatterbox attribute instantly activated at full power:

“Wow, Gu Duo, your house is so big! Why did you never tell me your house was this big? It’s even bigger than my grandpa’s house, nu!”

“This is your little brother, right? We met last time. Hi, Ao-zai, nice to meet you, my name is Ming-bao!”

The little dinosaur Ao-zai they walked past: ?

Unsure of what was going on, he wagged his little tail, and then immediately heard this older brother say:

“Wait, wait, I haven’t said hello to your dad yet!”

Hearing this, Gu Duo instinctively stopped in his tracks.

Gu Duo remembered that because Xu Weiming didn’t understand his upbringing or family structure at all, he completely failed to grasp why he and his brother had to live in their uncle’s house, and had always defaulted to assuming Shen Qing was his dad.

At the birthday party last time, Xu Weiming kept expressing envy over how good-looking his ‘dad’ was and how nice his ‘dad’s’ personality was.

And Gu Duo had never thought about explaining it.

Probably because back then, just surviving took so much effort that he didn’t care at all what relationship others thought he had with Shen Qing, or what they called Shen Qing, or what they called him and his brother.

…As long as that “Shen Qing” didn’t do anything to hurt him or his brother anymore, he was already immensely grateful.

During that period, Gu Duo hid many things in his heart.

There was astonishment at Shen Qing suddenly becoming easy to talk to, bright, and smiling, as well as a cherishing of this momentary peace; but there was mostly fear, worrying that this person would revert to his old self.

But it turned out so much time had already passed.

Shen Qing was still the current Shen Qing.

Gu Duo suddenly realized that without even knowing it himself, he had gained a lot of peace of mind during this time.

And for a long, long time, he hadn’t worried about someone suddenly barging into their room to hit his brother or scream at them.

He subconsciously pressed the pendant hanging over his heart. Actually, before formally calling Shen Qing ‘Dad’, Gu Duo didn’t really have a concept of what a dad was.

The memories regarding the person who gave him this jade pendant had long grown too distant.

He remembered more of his mother taking him and his brother to live a difficult life, and the things that happened after his mother was gone…

Instead, it was the memory of the day Shen Qing suddenly ran into their room and returned this jade pendant to him that left a deeper impression on the cub.

…

While Gu Duo was lost in thought, Xu Weiming had already dragged him running back. Stopping in front of Shen Qing, he looked up at him.

Because his good classmate Gu Duo was right beside him, Ming-bao wasn’t shy anymore. He openly said to Shen Qing, “Hello, Uncle. Uncle, you are so pweety today too!”

Shen Qing: “…Uncle is handsome, but thank you for the compliment.”

Looking at Ming-bao staring up at him, looking altogether too adorably ignorant, Shen Qing couldn’t resist rubbing the top of his head.

With one pet, he felt that this cub not only looked soft and cute, but even his hair was soft and curly!

In contrast, his own cubs’ hair was truly black and hard, completely incapable of being called ‘soft fluff’…

Shen Qing said, “Ming-bao is very handsome too.”

Giving a genuine compliment in return, Shen Qing then looked at Duo Duo beside them.

Duo Duo wasn’t wearing the hood, so the most distinctive part of this little onesie pajamas—the shark head—wasn’t showing, meaning it lost that tooth-baring, domineering yet adorable vibe.

Without mentioning it, glancing at this pajama set from the front wouldn’t make anyone think of a little shark design.

But the collar design from the neck up was wide enough to make Gu Duo’s head look very small, as if he were wearing a heavy mascot suit. Even without the hood up, you could still tell he was wearing some sort of cartoon outfit.

Adding to the fact that Duo Duo often kept an expressionless face and liked to keep his hands in his pockets, it created a stark contrast that was very cool, yet also very cute.

So Shen Qing praised him too: “Our Duo-zai is also very cute!”

Gu Duo: “…”

Shen Qing smiled again and said, “Then go play. Head up to the playroom first, I’ll have Grandma Zhang bring up some fruit tea for you later.”

“Playroom? Yay!” Little Xu Weiming jumped up upon hearing this, and prepared to pull Gu Duo away.

But at the same time, he didn’t forget Gu Duo’s little brother in the little dinosaur outfit beside them.

“Let’s go, Ao-zai, time to play.”

The little dinosaur Ao-zai looked at Shen Qing. Shen Qing asked if he wanted to play with his older brothers or stay downstairs with him and wait for dessert. Ao-zai thought for a moment, then decisively went to play with his brothers.

Wearing the little dinosaur pajamas, Ao-zai’s footsteps went pitter-patter, but he wasn’t slow at all.

Gu Duo’s little shark suit also had a short tail in the back, but it didn’t wag back and forth like Ao-zai’s when he walked. Instead, the shark on his hood bared its two rows of large teeth, blankly facing Shen Qing’s direction, giving off a silly, innocent feeling.

Shen Qing watched them go upstairs from behind.

Actually, he was mainly watching Ao-zai’s wagging little tail.

The three cubs went up via the spiral staircase. The stairs were wide enough for the three of them to walk side by side.

Although Duo-zai and Ming-bao weren’t considered tall, the two-heads-proportioned Ao-zai was equally short.

The two six-and-a-half-year-old cubs went up the stairs very naturally. Only the little dinosaur Ao-zai was a bit slower going up.

…His legs were still too short. He couldn’t alternate legs to climb yet; he had to step up one step at a time.

But Duo Duo was used to waiting for his brother, and Xu Weiming completely didn’t think there was anything wrong with Ao-zai climbing the stairs this way.

So Gu Duo waited on the side, and Xu Weiming followed suit, his little mouth continuously babbling away at the same time. His main topics were still discussing how luxurious Gu Duo’s house was, and their dad’s beauty.

But they never left Ao-zai behind.

What Shen Qing noticed was that walking alongside Ming-bao, who was taller than him, Ao-zai didn’t show any aversion.

He would even actively chime in and reply when Ming-bao spoke. With the two cubs singing to each other’s tune, and the frequently silent Duo Duo sandwiched in between, the three cubs actually got along quite well.

…This once again proved that Ao-zai’s fundamental personality was very cheerful and outgoing. Even with older kids, he could play along and didn’t inherently reject playing with other children.

Then perhaps if we change him to a different kindergarten and find a completely new environment, he’ll like it? …

“Mr. Shen, what are you thinking about?”

While seriously contemplating his cubs’ friendship issues, Shen Qing suddenly heard Mr. Xu call him.

…Only then did he remember there was still another person here. Shen Qing snapped back to reality and hurriedly invited the man inside: “Mr. Xu, come in and have a seat.”

“Is that… convenient?” Xu Yujie was a bit hesitant.

He had only been as enthusiastic as he was at the door because he hadn’t known the youth before him was already married.

But now that he knew the other party was married, and the marriage partner was Gu Huaiyu no less… Even if Xu Yujie had the guts of a giant, he wouldn’t dare entertain any further thoughts. Instantly, he had the idea to ‘leave Xu Weiming here and retreat first’.

Mainly, the thought that such a bright, good-looking youth already had a significant other felt like a knife twisting in his heart. It was better not to look at him.

But Shen Qing had already said politely, “It’s fine, come in and have a cup of tea.”

Xu Yujie hesitated again, but ultimately couldn’t resist the smiling face and walked into the living room.

In the living room, Shen Qing invited him to sit at the table.

He was, after all, Xu Weiming’s uncle. It always felt a bit strange to have someone arrive at the door without inviting them in to sit for a bit. Shen Qing had the servant bring a pot of tea and casually chatted with this Mr. Xu.

They mostly chatted about what kind of work they did, what they were doing now, and things like that.

Then, perhaps because both of them were chatterboxes, somehow, as they talked, the floodgates opened and they began chatting about everything under the sun.

Xu Yujie talked about his experiences and funny anecdotes abroad. Although Shen Qing didn’t have as many experiences, before coming to this world, he had many friends and was an old hand at shooting the breeze. Basically, no matter what Xu Yujie brought up, he could pick up the thread and say a few words about it.

Shen Qing previously held some reservations about the Xu family and maintained a slight guard.

But after discovering that Xu Yujie, nominally the Fourth Young Master of the Xu family, actually spent all year traveling and studying abroad, and possessed absolutely none of the arrogant, comparison-obsessed, social-climbing aura typical of Hua City’s wealthy heirs, his opinion of the man changed.

Sitting together, the two of them unknowingly drank half a pot of tea and had a thoroughly enjoyable conversation.

Upstairs, Tian Yi, who was still watching from the third floor, stared at the two people downstairs. Hearing the hearty laughter coming from the Madam continuously reaching his ears, he subconsciously rubbed his face…

He felt things were taking a bad turn. He was in a very difficult position, completely unsure of how to report this to President Gu.

Just now, upon hearing the Madam say, “Duo Duo and Ao-zai are now our children,” President Gu had fallen silent for a moment, withdrew his gloomy expression, and very relaxedly returned to the office to continue working.

…And then, poor Assistant Tian was left behind by the “very relaxed” President Gu to continue staring downstairs… ah, no, to remain on standby, ready to see if the Madam needed anything, and to protect him from the shadows!

At first, Tian Yi thought this job was a breeze. Wasn’t it just leaning against the railing and watching? Not tiring at all.

Plus, the little young masters downstairs were all wearing cartoon mascot outfits. Watching them interact from the third floor—even though he couldn’t quite hear what they were babbling about—he could only see their endearingly clumsy movements. It was exactly like watching a cartoon, quite entertaining.

But once the little young masters went back to their rooms and the Madam sat down to chat with the Fourth Young Master Xu, Tian Yi got a feeling—Sure enough, no money is earned that easily.

…The Madam is smiling so sweetly right now, how am I supposed to go report this to President Gu?!

Coincidentally, Li Hong came over at this moment. He was preparing to head out and intended to get his final instructions from President Gu.

Tian Yi grabbed Li Hong, gestured for him to look downstairs, and then pointed at the wide-open door of President Gu’s office.

As expected of President Gu’s top special assistant, Li Hong understood instantly without Tian Yi needing to say much. Stroking his chin, he whispered, “That’s the Fourth Young Master of the Xu family?”

He had vaguely heard in the office just now that the Fourth Young Master Xu was the one who brought Young Master Duo’s friend over to play.

Li Hong had heard of this Fourth Young Master Xu before, but prior to seeing this scene downstairs, he never thought the Fourth Young Master Xu could have such a strong presence, or that their Madam would seem to hit it off so well chatting with him…

“…As expected of the renowned male-killer playboy in the circle, this Fourth Young Master has got some skills…” Li Hong analyzed.

The Xu family wasn’t considered a major family in Hua City; they had little influence and weren’t very famous. To true affluent families, they weren’t really worth a second glance.

But even so, the Fourth Young Master of the Xu family was still very famous, perhaps even more famous than the entire Xu family… This proved the Fourth Young Master had some real capabilities.

Of course, Xu Yujie’s fame wasn’t due to any business talent or skills in other fields.

His fame came from the fact that he had consecutively dated three young masters from wealthy families, and seemed to have various love-hate entanglements with each of them. It was said that one time, the three men met and even got into a physical fight, blowing the matter completely out of proportion…

While it wasn’t known by every single person in Hua City, it had legitimately made the local news for a while.

Later, the Fourth Young Master Xu simply couldn’t stay in Hua City anymore, which was why he went abroad to further his studies.

He heard that the man had only returned this year during the New Year.

Doing the math, he had been gone from Hua City for two or three years…

Despite being gone for so long, the romantic affairs of his past could still be instantly recalled by people, proving this person was truly formidable.

Looking downstairs, Li Hong couldn’t help but comment, “But this Young Master Xu looks a bit different from what I imagined? I thought he’d be at least built like you, but this guy… why does he look even more delicate than I thought?”

Beside him, Tian Yi had a completely baffled expression: “Like me? What do I look like?”

Li Hong lowered his voice further, trying to use a volume only they could hear: “Sturdily built like you, of course. Otherwise, how did he manage to successfully flirt with three guys back-to-back? Did he have enough stamina? Did he not rest? …But from the looks of it, this Young Master Xu really has an incredible silver tongue. He knows how to talk. Look at how happily the Madam is laughing.”

Tian Yi: “…”

Okay, even though you’re complimenting me. But Assistant Li, isn’t your focus a bit…

“What silver tongue?”

Before Tian Yi could say anything, a cold, ruthless voice suddenly came from behind them.

…President Gu!

Why did President Gu come out again? Didn’t he tell me to keep watch? Tian Yi jumped in fright.

While he was merely startled, Li Hong—who had just been blabbering and pointing fingers like an armchair general—felt his hair stand on end.

Both men instinctively stood at attention, automatically parting to make a path for President Gu.

Gu Huaiyu drove his wheelchair to the edge of the railing, staring downstairs expressionlessly.

From his angle, he could only see Shen Qing’s back… Whatever topic they were on, the youth’s back was slightly arched, one hand on his hip, laughing so hard he was rocking back and forth.

…

Although he couldn’t see the face.

The laughter could be heard loud and clear.

“…”

Gu Huaiyu directly raised an eyebrow.

“Uh.”

Li Hong and Tian Yi exchanged a glance. Li Hong suddenly gave Assistant Tian a push, winking at him while saying, “Um, the Madam might need someone to refill the tea. How about you go down and check, Assistant Tian?”

Tian Yi wasn’t stupid; he caught on immediately and replied, “Oh, oh, oh, yes, yes.”

After saying that, he ran downstairs.

…When President Gu told him to “keep watch” over the Madam and Young Master Xu, he didn’t literally mean for him to just look with his eyes.

If nothing was happening, it would be fine. But now the Madam and Young Master Xu were clearly having an increasingly great time chatting, even alarming President Gu again. If he continued to just “keep watch” from upstairs, he’d be waiting to get chewed out by the boss!

Tian Yi dashed downstairs at top speed. Beside him, President Gu remained silent, but he didn’t stop him from going down either.

Left alone, Li Hong sneaked glances at President Gu’s expression. After deliberating for a long time, he tried to ease the atmosphere: “The Madam is probably just chatting with Young Master Xu out of hospitality…”

He saw President Gu’s thin eyelids drooped low, staring silently downstairs with icy eyes, who knew what he was thinking.

But whatever he was thinking, Li Hong felt things were looking bad! …Just yesterday President Gu finally decided to regain his vitality, even attempting to walk!…

I can’t let President Gu misunderstand anything. Thinking this, Li Hong recalled the topic of the Madam being jealous yesterday: “Anyway, regardless of anything else, the Madam’s heart is with you, there’s absolutely no doubt about that!”

“Oh?”

After Li Hong said this, the continuously silent Gu Huaiyu finally reacted. “Is it?”

Li Hong: “…Yes!”

He thought to himself, What ‘Madam is jealous’, President Gu is the real jealousy jar here! The Madam just chatted with another man, smiled a bit, drank a pot of tea together… Wait, Madam, are you really calling someone over to refill the tea?

Shouldn’t you guys be almost done drinking it by now!

Li Hong stared bug-eyed at the scene downstairs.

Simultaneously, his ears heard clearly—he heard the Madam call over a passing servant and ask him to pour another pot of tea…

Li Hong: “…It must be that the teapot’s capacity is too small, and the Madam got thirsty again.”

Gu Huaiyu: “…”

Right at this moment, Auntie Zhang came out from the back kitchen, carrying an exquisite tray with a slice of cake on it.

Auntie Zhang: “Madam, this is the portion you specifically instructed me to prepare for the Mister. Shall I put it here for now?”

Shen Qing’s bright voice rang out again, filled with a smile: “Thank you, Auntie Zhang. Leave it here, I’ll bring it up to the Mister in a bit.”

“Alrighty.”

Auntie Zhang placed the tray on the table in front of Shen Qing and added, “I’ve prepared the little young masters’ portions too, I’ll take them up right now.”

Shen Qing said, “Okay, don’t forget today’s milk.”

Auntie Zhang agreed and left. Upstairs, Li Hong was already saying excitedly, “Look, didn’t the Madam specifically have someone save cake for you! This proves the Madam is still thinking of you and cares about you every moment!”

“…”

Gu Huaiyu remained noncommittal about this.

However, his slightly leaning-forward body leaned back a fraction, resting his spine against the wheelchair’s backrest. Gu Huaiyu then raised his fingers and tapped lightly on the wheelchair’s armrest.

…Although these were very, very small movements, seeing President Gu’s reaction, Li Hong knew that as an outstanding assistant, he had once again spoken right to his boss’s heart.

…Perfect!

Thinking further that the Madam would be coming upstairs to bring President Gu the cake shortly, Li Hong breathed a sigh of relief. By then, that Young Master Xu would probably leave, and he could go run his errands with peace of mind.

However, before he could fully let out that breath, he saw Tian Yi, who had run all the way down from upstairs, charge onto the first floor and pretend to just happen to walk past the Madam.

Probably unable to think of how to join the conversation between the Madam and Young Master Xu to “keep watch” on them from closer proximity, Tian Yi, as he walked by, merely said, “Madam, do you need any help with anything?”

Shen Qing turned his head, saw it was Assistant Tian, and directly pointed at the tray holding the fresh cake. Without any hesitation, he said, “There’s nothing else, but I’ll trouble Assistant Tian to bring this up to your President Gu.”

His voice even sounded a little pleasantly surprised.

Tian Yi: “?”

Li Hong: “…”

Gu Huaiyu: “….”

Support me on Ko-fi