Gu Wan’er looked toward the tea room again and saw Gu Yuanli and Huang Lifei walking out together. Huang Lifei was wearing a large purple round hat and a pair of wide sunglasses—if it weren’t for that dress, Gu Wan’er wouldn’t have even recognized her. All that hiding and covering up definitely meant something was going on.
Besides the two of them, there was also the man from before. The three of them got into a car and left. Gu Wan’er watched the taillights fade into the distance and let out a sigh. Though she hadn’t gained much, at least she now knew Huang Lifei and Gu Yuanli had a close relationship—that counted as a small victory.
These people actually just abandoned me here. I’m the real Gu Wan’er—that guy is the imposter! You silly women, all wrapped around Yu Xiaoduo’s finger.
With a helpless sigh, Gu Wan’er could only drive herself home. It was supposed to be her day to reunite with her best friends, but she’d handed it over to Yu Xiaoduo. She had no idea how they’d party tonight—so jealous.
By the time Gu Wan’er got home, it was almost past five. Yu Xiaoduo still wasn’t back from work, and Tang Ling had already started preparing dinner. Even though she hadn’t gotten to party with them, being able to eat Auntie’s cooking every day was still deeply satisfying.
“You got off work this early today?” Tang Ling asked curiously without turning around, still picking leaves off the vegetables.
Had Auntie really not seen the videos?
“I went out with President Gu to handle some things this afternoon.”
“You’re already girlfriend and boyfriend—still calling him President Gu? I really don’t understand you young people.” Tang Ling chuckled softly, washing the vegetable leaves clean.
Gu Wan’er walked over to help in the kitchen too: “Mom, you can’t expect me to live off a man, can you?”
“You could live off him and still stand your ground.”
Gu Wan’er was speechless.
A while later, Tang Ling, who was cutting meat, said quietly: “I saw the news too. That scumbag got what he deserved.”
“Hahaha, Mom, so you did know.”
“Things got blown up so big—how could I not know? Next time you do something good, it’s better to wear a mask.”
Oh God, I have to wear a mask now? Are we going down the Batman route here? Should I tell Auntie about Yu Xiaoduo’s uncle?
After thinking it over, she decided against it. Better to ask Yu Xiaoduo what he thought first. If she said the wrong thing, he’d definitely seize the opportunity to tear into her mercilessly—he was not the type to go easy on a woman.
“We’re out of soy sauce. Go downstairs to the supermarket and grab a bottle.” Tang Ling shook the empty bottle.
Gu Wan’er said okay and headed downstairs to buy soy sauce, thinking to herself how nice ordinary people’s lives were. If only her little sister could experience it once too—she’d probably love this kind of life.
At the city center hospital, Mo Cheng lay in a hospital bed, his right hand wrapped in gauze—clearly from Xiao Luan stepping on it pretty hard. His cheeks were flushed and swollen, his handsome face now somewhat distorted.
When a man walked in, Mo Cheng instantly became agitated: “Dad, you have to stand up for me! I got beaten up by a bunch of women!”
The middle-aged man who entered had a gloomy expression, wearing a gray shirt with a string of Buddhist prayer beads on his wrist and a jade pendant of emerald green around his neck—clearly worth a fortune at a glance.
He was Mo Cheng’s father, Mo Hanping, owner of Shengding Entertainment Company, which had many big-name stars under contract. He was a formidable figure in the industry—basically, any artist who wanted to make it big didn’t dare offend him.
“Useless! Getting beaten up by three women like this!” Mo Hanping glared at his son and snapped coldly. He’d already heard the whole story from the director—it was a complete disgrace to his name.
In the past, throwing his weight around was fine because of who people knew he was—but one day it was bound to blow up. And that day had apparently come.
Mo Hanping pointed at Mo Cheng and scolded: “In broad daylight, in front of everyone, you actually laid hands on a girl! Didn’t you watch the news today? If this gets exposed, it’s blatant defiance of the current climate. Plus you’re a public figure—the backlash alone could drown you.”
“Dad, they hit me! I’m the victim here!”
“You’re a walking bad example! How did I end up with such a useless piece of trash for a son? If I’d known you’d turn out like this, I should’ve aimed you at the wall back then!”
Listening to the scolding, Mo Cheng kept his head down and stayed silent, thinking to himself, you probably can’t even do that anymore, old man.
Mo Hanping lit a cigarette and sat on the sofa nearby, smoking with a dark, shifting expression.
“Dad, am I just supposed to let this beating go? If your rivals find out, they’ll definitely look down on you.”
“The moment something goes wrong, all you know is to call for me. I’m going to be dragged down by you sooner or later!”
Mo Cheng had heard this so many times his ears had calluses. Every time it was the same speech—but had anything ever actually happened to him?
“Dad, there’s also a business card here—one of the women’s. She had the nerve to tell me to come find her.”
Mo Hanping took the card and squinted at it. There was only a name and a phone number.
Xiao Luan. Why did that name sound familiar? But he couldn’t quite place it.
“Dad, Mom died young. I’ve had no motherly love since I was little. I…”
“Stop! I’ve heard this eight hundred times!”
Mo Cheng flashed a triumphant smile—this trick never failed.
Meanwhile, the three women were at the supermarket buying loads of groceries, planning to have hot pot at home to celebrate the Three Flowers reconciling and being as close as ever.
In Yu Xiaoduo’s words, they were all adults acting like kids who’d just had a petty squabble—so childish. But women’s conversations were truly something else. They started off talking about skincare, then suddenly shifted to men—like a dam breaking loose. Yu Xiaoduo was left sighing in amazement listening to it all.
Xiao Luan even started bringing up her own experiences, and Yun’er’s expression turned a bit strange.
“Sister Xiao, you know Yu Xiaoduo too?” Gu Yun’er asked curiously while preparing the ingredients.
Xiao Luan sliced the luncheon meat piece by piece and smiled: “Your sister introduced us, of course.”
Yu Xiaoduo, standing nearby boiling water, was having a mini heart attack—this was like walking on a tightrope.
“Oh, I see.” Yun’er didn’t pick up on anything—after all, Xiao Luan had only used the word “introduced,” which let Yu Xiaoduo breathe a sigh of relief.
“Yun’er, you know Yu Xiaoduo too?” Xiao Luan asked in return.
Yu Xiaoduo’s heart, which had just settled, jumped right back up. Can we please stop talking about me? My heart can’t take this.
Gu Yun’er made a sound of agreement: “My sister introduced us.”
Amitabha—thank goodness they were both just using the word “introduced.” Probably too embarrassed to say “introduced as a boyfriend.”
“Yun’er, what do you think of Yu Xiaoduo as a person?” Xiao Luan asked curiously.
“Pretty humorous and fun, I’d say.”
Xiao Luan looked skeptical: “Why don’t I feel like he’s humorous or fun?”
“You two probably just aren’t that close yet.” Gu Yun’er giggled.
“Oh ho, so that means you two are very close, huh.” Xiao Luan smiled with ill intent.
Yu Xiaoduo couldn’t take it anymore and quickly stepped in: “Can you guys not talk about men while we’re eating? What’s so interesting about men anyway?”
Xiao Luan and Gu Yun’er exchanged a glance—look how anxious he got.
