Gu Jiaojiao sat in the car, listening to their polite back-and-forth, and she smiled brightly.

Su’s mother led her two grandchildren to the car. "Jiaojiao, what are you smiling about?"

"I’m laughing at you all, dawdling at the door and not even afraid of the cold. Haha, hurry up and get in."

"Jiaojiao, I’ll drive. Why don’t you sit in the back with Aunt Su?" Sheng Shijing asked, worried Fu Guoguo might be uncomfortable.

"Oh-ho, so protective! I never would have guessed," Gu Jiaojiao teased, but she still got out and moved to the back seat.

Sheng Shijing drove, with Fu Guoguo in the passenger seat. Mr. Su held Little Stone, Su’s mother held Erya, and Gu Jiaojiao sat by the door.

Once everyone was settled, Sheng Shijing started the car. Fu Guoguo immediately turned her head, eager to look at Gu Jiaojiao.

Her face alight with excitement, she said, "Jiaojiao, did you know? Sheng Shiwen and Uncle Sheng just went to the Dong Family to propose marriage."

"To propose to Dong Lili from the Dong Family? That’s some explosive news," Gu Jiaojiao said, a little surprised.

"Yes! You probably don’t know yet, but Sheng Shiwen and Dong Lili have already come to an agreement in private."

Seeing Fu Guoguo was a little overexcited, Su’s mother sighed internally. ’Jiaojiao’s friend is so naive.’

’Hasn’t she considered the implications? Why is she so happy? That woman is her love rival, not some future sister-in-law to befriend.’

But Su’s mother couldn’t very well say this in front of Sheng Shijing. She decided to wait until they were alone.

"When did those two get together? Could it have been last night...?"

Gu Jiaojiao suddenly remembered that she and Su Shuochi had driven to their new house last night.

She thought she had seen Sheng Shiwen at the main gate of the compound. At the time, she assumed her eyes were playing tricks on her.

"Exactly, they sorted it out last night. When we got back to the Sheng Family’s home, Sheng Shiwen had run away..."

Fu Guoguo vividly recounted the story of Dong Lili visiting the Sheng Family last night.

Back then, she had no idea Dong Lili had a secret crush on her Eldest Brother Sheng, because he had told her he’d never been in a relationship.

This morning, when she suddenly heard that Sheng Shiwen was going to propose to Dong Lili, she noticed Mr. Sheng had a strange expression, so she pried a little.

Only then did she find out what had happened between the three of them. It turned out to be a classic love triangle: Dong Lili had been in love with Sheng Shijing, but he didn’t love her. Meanwhile, Sheng Shiwen was in love with Dong Lili, but she hadn’t loved him back.

After hearing all this, Fu Guoguo started seeing Dong Lili as a love rival. It wasn’t that she was completely without cunning.

If she were truly that naive, how could she have ever won over a blockhead like Sheng Shijing? 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

But she wasn’t worried, because neither Sheng Shiwen nor Dong Lili knew that their eldest brother had no intention of living in Qing City at all.

’If they aren’t living together, what kind of trouble could she possibly stir up?’

Gu Jiaojiao could naturally figure out what Fu Guoguo was thinking, so the two of them started chattering excitedly, happy for Sheng Shiwen.

Su’s mother was so anxious she looked ready to burst. "Mom, are your eyes bothering you?" Gu Jiaojiao asked suddenly. "You’re twitching. Let me check your pulse."

"Jiaojiao, Mom’s fine. You child, you’re just too naive..."

Su’s mother was just about to speak her mind, but Gu Jiaojiao quickly changed the subject. "Mom, Song Zijie said he’s treating us to a meal today. We weren’t back for his engagement, so this is to make up for it. Whatever you and Dad want to eat, we’ll go eat. I’m going to make him spend a fortune."

"Auntie, we want to go to the best restaurant and eat the fanciest food!" Erya shouted, clapping her little hands.

Su’s mother’s attention was diverted. She glanced at Erya and smiled, stroking her head.

She gently chided her, "You little rascal, that’s one thing about you that’s not good. You’re too greedy. Don’t you know that expensive food costs a lot of money? Considering your Uncle Zijie buys you so many gifts, you should be trying to save him money."

Erya pouted. "But I’ve never even seen a fancy restaurant like that."

"You..." Just as Su’s mother was about to give her granddaughter a good scolding, Gu Jiaojiao interjected.

"Mom, just let Erya have her way. Besides, Song Zijie earns a salary; he’s not short on cash."

Just then, Mr. Su also chimed in. "Jiaojiao’s right. Zijie has a high salary and is also a shareholder. When he treats us, it should definitely be at the best restaurant."

"But..."

"Mom, just agree. It’s not like you and Dad get to go out often anyway. Since we have a rare chance to be out and about today, let’s just make everyone happy," Gu Jiaojiao continued to fan the flames.

Fu Guoguo also added a word of persuasion. "Kids will be kids. They always want to eat at the best restaurants. Aunt Su, just grant their wish!"

Not being the one who managed household expenses, Fu Guoguo didn’t know the value of money. Sheng Shijing, on the other hand, barely had any cash on him, so he kept quiet and focused on driving.

Su’s mother sighed helplessly. "Fine. Since you all want to go, let’s go."

Gu Jiaojiao stuck her tongue out playfully, then turned to Erya and said, "Erya, you’d better thank your auntie properly."

"When I grow up, I’ll definitely be good to Auntie! I’m going to earn lots and lots of money for Auntie to spend!"

Erya nodded immediately, her eager tone showing she wouldn’t be ungrateful.

"Oh-ho, Erya, you little heartless thing. You’ll earn money for your auntie to spend when you grow up, but what about Grandma and Grandpa?"

Su’s mother wasn’t just teasing her. She had a knot in her heart, feeling that her Erya was a bit of an ungrateful child.

She was terrified that her granddaughter would grow up to be as selfish as her own mother, so she wanted to take every single opportunity to teach the little girl well.

"Of course Grandma and Grandpa will get some too! And my mom and dad. I’ll just give my other grandma and grandpa a little bit. I’m going to make a lot of money when I grow up."

"A lot? How much is ’a lot’?" Mr. Su was amused by his granddaughter’s antics.

Erya racked her brain. "It should be... a big wooden chest full."

Because any nice things their family had were kept in her mother’s large wooden dowry chest.

Her mother even kept it locked and treasured the key, hiding it every day, but her paternal grandmother still managed to pry it open.

Her mother just cried, not daring to go to her grandmother to demand anything back. Inside were new clothes for her and her two siblings.

Her grandmother had given them all away to her cousins. That was why Erya thought the contents of that wooden chest were the best things in the world.

"Oh, my, I’ll just wait for our Erya to grow up and earn money for her grandma to spend," Su’s mother said cheerfully.

"Grandma, when Little Stone grows up, I’ll earn money for you and Auntie to spend too," Little Stone piped up, not wanting to be left out.

"Good, good! In that case, your auntie will buy you all a few more sets of clothes today," Gu Jiaojiao said, then couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

Song Zijie really wasn’t short on cash. He extravagantly booked the best restaurant in Qing City and invited the entire Xi Family to join them.

Old Sir Xi had been wanting to thank Gu Jiaojiao in person for a long time. When he saw her, he was especially warm and welcoming.

This made the younger generation of the Xi Family quite jealous, but they didn’t dare say anything. They just discreetly inquired about Gu Jiaojiao’s background.

When they learned she was Su Shuochi’s wife, those younger family members didn’t dare to give her any trouble.

Su Shuochi was quite a famous figure in Qing City. Many years ago, he had already achieved a high-ranking position at a young age.

Not to mention now, with two large factories driving Qing City’s economy, he was on track to becoming the city’s wealthiest man.