Sheng Shijing watched Su Shuochi dutifully cook food for his wife in the hot pot, so he decided to follow his example.

Watching Fu Guoguo wolfing down her food, he couldn’t help but smile. "Slow down, no one’s going to steal it from you!"

"Hmph, my second brother keeps trying to steal it from me!" Fu Guoguo said with a grin.

Her words made everyone burst into laughter. Second Brother Fu put down his chopsticks and let out a satisfied burp.

"Guoguo, take your time. Second Brother won’t fight you for it anymore. I was already full when I got here tonight, but I can’t believe I managed to eat so much."

"Haha... It’s all thanks to the two of us for making such a delicious meal for you all," Gu Jiaojiao said with a smug look.

"Haha... I’m truly honored. Why does this hot pot taste so exceptionally delicious today?!" Second Brother Fu exclaimed, laying on the praise.

"Of course! We put a lot of effort into it today!"

"There’s a saying, right? When Brother Su and Sister-in-law put in this much effort, they must be after something!"

"You bet we are," Gu Jiaojiao admitted candidly.

"That’s not it at all," Fu Guoguo retorted at the same time, her face flushing slightly. Her expression was priceless when she heard what Gu Jiaojiao said.

Seeing this, Su Shuochi couldn’t help but laugh out loud, and Sheng Shijing chuckled as well.

After they all laughed and joked for a while, Fu Guoguo’s smile suddenly vanished. She asked seriously, "Big Brother, Second Brother, do you agree to my engagement with Eldest Brother Sheng?"

"You silly girl. It’s not proper for the woman’s side to bring this up first."

Fu Junyuan had been hesitating. While he admired Sheng Shijing, he was also worried that Sheng Shijing’s sister would make things difficult for his own sister.

Even if they didn’t live together, they would still have to interact as relatives!

If Sheng Yueyue clung to her brother and refused to let go, it would be torture for them no matter where they went.

He had originally planned to voice his concerns when Sheng Shijing brought up the topic, but now his own sister had raised it first.

"Big Brother Fu, Second Brother Fu, Guoguo and I are a great match, and I want to spend the rest of my life with her.

Don’t worry about my sister. After I retire, I’ll buy a house in the Imperial City and marry Guoguo. I will have absolutely no contact with my sister."

"That was my only concern. Since you’ve already thought it through, I have nothing more to say. I’ll make sure the rest of the Fu family stays away as well."

Fu Junyuan looked at Sheng Shijing and spoke seriously. In truth, his own father and stepmother were even more difficult to deal with.

The three siblings had never spent a single cent of their father’s salary; in fact, it wasn’t even enough for just the two of them.

He couldn’t stand his father and stepmother, but he wouldn’t go out of his way to make things difficult for them. After all, the biggest taboo in life is making enemies at the drop of a hat.

’Opposing anyone I disliked without considering the consequences—that was something I used to do.’

’Now I have a younger brother and sister to protect, as well as a group of subordinates to support. I’m no longer a lone wolf.’

’Now I have to consider a problem: although my father and stepmother are annoying, they haven’t actually wronged me.’

’So what should I do?’

’In the past, I would act on impulse, believing that bad people deserved to die, always letting my emotions take over without any rationality.’

’This led to me having fewer and fewer friends, and more and more enemies.’

Gu Jiaojiao saw that both Fu Junyuan and Sheng Shijing were deeply troubled by their respective families and still had unresolved feelings about it.

So she patiently began to counsel everyone, "Actually, there’s no need for us to act on impulse or be cynical about the world.

If someone is a petty person, that’s their business. As long as they haven’t harmed us, we don’t need to have an emotional reaction toward them.

You don’t need to worry too much about Sheng Yueyue. The world will always have its oddballs. We just need to stay away from her.

Xunzi put it well: respect petty people and keep them at a distance. As a person of integrity, you shouldn’t get into conflicts with them.

So it’s best to keep your distance. They don’t cross your path, and you don’t cross theirs. Each minds their own business.

The world isn’t black and white; there’s a delicate shade of gray in between.

Everyone has a good side and a bad side. If we only ever look at the bad side, then there would be no good people left in the world.

When judging anyone, you might as well stick to one principle: judge them by their actions, not their intentions. Weigh what they’ve done and whether it affects you.

If it doesn’t affect you, then just keep your distance and don’t interfere with each other.

There’s no one-size-fits-all method for getting along with people. We all need to be able to do this at all times: adapt to the circumstances.

However the situation develops, we adjust our personal strategy accordingly.

Whatever their motives and actions are, we adjust our own response based on those motives and actions."

"Listening to Sister-in-law speak is better than ten years of study. You’re right. Since they have no intention of being our enemies, we shouldn’t be the ones to start trouble.

Sometimes, the less trouble, the better. There’s a lot of truth to that.

Conversely, if they insist on being our enemy and oppose us at every turn, then there’s no need for us to be overly tolerant.

Sometimes, you have to throw one punch to avoid a hundred more. Learning to adapt is the most important wisdom in dealing with people.

Sticking to the old ways means you can’t keep up with developing situations. Only by adapting to circumstances can you always succeed and remain invincible."

Second Brother Fu was completely lost listening to all of this, but he knew that as Guoguo’s second brother, he had to state his position. So he said,

"Haha... There’s nothing that can’t be solved with a good meal. As long as I’ve had something delicious to eat, I have no objections at all."

And so, with a single hot pot dinner, Gu Jiaojiao helped finalize Sheng Shijing and Fu Guoguo’s engagement.

Fu Junyuan was adamant about not inviting anyone else from the Fu family. He didn’t want his sister’s engagement party to be unpleasant.

This time, however, Fu Junyuan did make a concession. He hosted the party at his villa, inviting his own friends and Fu Guoguo’s friends.

On Sheng Shijing’s side, only the Gu Family was invited. They held a simple yet grand engagement party at Fu Junyuan’s home.

Grandpa Gu and Mr. Gu had organized Second Brother Gu’s engagement party and wedding banquet before, so they were experienced.

They were more worried about tiring out their precious granddaughter and daughter, so they didn’t require Gu Jiaojiao to lift a finger. She just had to watch from the sidelines and enjoy herself.

Fu Junyuan naturally paid for all the expenses. Sheng Shijing had given all of his previous salary to the former Gu Jiaojiao.

After that, he gave it all to Sheng Yueyue, so all he had on him was three months’ salary—not even enough to buy a new suit.

Gu Jiaojiao told him to save the money he had to invite Guoguo to spend the New Year in Qing City, and he took her advice.

"Big Brother, please put the expenses for the engagement party on a tab for now. I’ll pay you back slowly in the future."

"We’ll see. Just be good to my sister in the future," Fu Junyuan said generously.

He hadn’t been short on money ever since he started working with Su Shuochi. Plus, a year-end bonus was coming. Their Brother Su really knew how to get things done.

After the engagement party, there were only three days left until the New Year, and Gu Jiaojiao and the others were preparing to go home for the holiday.

Gu Jiaojiao and Su Shuochi picked out some fine items from the ’space’ to give as gifts. Her several "big brothers" were all influential figures.

They were worthy of receiving such fine gifts. Although the items’ origins were traceable, they were still incredibly difficult to obtain, even for influential figures like them.