Su Wan stayed with her mother for a while, and only when the family driver phoned to say he had arrived at the door did she start to pack up and say goodbye to her mother.
The driver stood outside the car to open the door for Su Wan, and she thanked him before bending down to get in, only to pause when she saw who was sitting in the backseat.
Gu Nanzhou was leaning back in his seat with his eyes half-closed, his shirt sleeves unbuttoned and rolled up slightly, revealing forearms with beautifully defined lines.
Only then did Su Wan realize that this car was the one Gu Nanzhou often used.
Noticing Su Wan's gaze, Gu Nanzhou turned his face towards her and glanced at her, his expression as indifferent as ever, as if coming to pick her up was the most normal thing in the world, "What's wrong."
"Ah," Su Wan regained her composure and said softly, "Mr. Gu, how come you are free to pick me up today?"
The moment Su Wan got into the car, Gu Nanzhou's gaze shifted back, his eyelids lightly closed, as if he was feigning sleep.
Thinking that Gu Nanzhou didn't feel like talking, Su Wan also kept quiet, staring blankly at the mottled tree shadows outside the car window.
Suddenly, she heard a deep voice near her ear, "Madam Wu asked me to come."
Su Wan was taken aback for a moment, then turned her head to look at Gu Nanzhou, the passing lights from outside the window casting his features in alternating brightness and darkness, obscure and indistinct.
If it wasn't for the fact that Gu Nanzhou's voice was so appealing, deep and sexy, Su Wan might have thought it was the driver speaking.
Su Wan curled her lips slightly, her eyes unconsciously smiling, and her voice was soft, "Thank you, Mr. Gu."
The driver, hearing Gu Nanzhou's words from the front, twitched the corner of his mouth. Knowing Gu Nanzhou's character, if he didn't want to do something, even if someone threatened him with a knife to his throat, he wouldn't do it.
Although no one would dare threaten their Mr. Gu.
Madam Wu indeed mentioned that it was too late and unsafe for a young girl to be outside alone, but if Mr. Gu didn't want to go, Madam Wu couldn't persuade him.
But these were thoughts the driver dared not voice; he didn't want to lose his job.
He sneakily glanced at Mr. Gu and Miss Su from the rearview mirror, then continued to be as quiet as a chicken.
Su Wan remembered the discussion she'd had with her mother in the afternoon. She thought this would be a good opportunity to bring it up, rather than blurting out something thoughtless from nervousness when meeting with Gu Nanzhou alone.
After organizing her thoughts and making sure there were no flaws, Su Wan spoke up softly, "Mr. Gu."
"Hmm."
"It's just," Su Wan turned to look at him seriously, "can I bring my mother home for the New Year?"
Gu Nanzhou lifted his eyelashes to look at her, his gaze deep. When their eyes met, Su Wan felt as though she had crashed into them.
Her voice was soft and fine, tinged with a hint of caution, like the gentle scratching of a kitten's paw against one's heart. Gu Nanzhou's eyes narrowed slightly; he really wanted to say that she didn't need his permission to do these things, but in the end, he just hummed in acknowledgment.
The next second, those apricot eyes that were watching him instantly lit up, as if she had heard something very joyful, displaying an unwitting exuberance.
Gu Nanzhou pulled at the corner of his mouth, not understanding why it was so easy to make Su Wan happy.
He looked out the window, the gloom in his eyes slightly dissipating.
In fact, he hadn't figured out why he had come to pick her up himself.
Forget it, Gu Nanzhou thought as he lowered his gaze, just consider it a thank you for the bowl of porridge and a compensation for yesterday.
After receiving Gu Nanzhou's approval, Su Wan brought her mother over the next day.
On one hand, she wanted to spend more time with her mom, and on the other, the Chinese New Year was just a few days away.
On New Year's Day, the entire A City was enveloped in a joyous atmosphere.
Qingshui Bay was no exception.
Early that morning, Su Wan, with the prepared red envelopes in hand, distributed them one by one to the household staff.
While Gu Nanzhou was still on the second floor, he heard the delicate, soft laughter of a young lady coming from the living room.
Gu Nanzhou's company had given its employees the New Year's holiday, and although he didn't have to go to the office these days, he hadn't neglected work and spent more time in his study at home.
Sitting on the couch watching TV, Su's mother saw Gu Nanzhou and nodded with a smile, "Nanzhou's here."
Gu Nanzhou hummed a response and greeted her, "Mom."
He sat down next to Su's mother on the couch, poured her a cup of tea, and the two didn't say much else. Yet, their gazes inadvertently both shifted to Su Wan, who was talking with the maids not far away.
The weather was beautiful today, with sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows behind her, half-encircling her in its embrace and dappling her fair complexion with speckled halos of light.
Her beautiful eyes curved, her long eyelashes quivered gently, and her clear, bright eyes sparkled. When she smiled, it was like a gentle breeze brushing across one's face, very soothing to watch.
She was handing out red envelopes to the household staff.
Su Wan accurately called out each person's name, gave them their red envelopes, and added a New Year's blessing.
After taking a sip of tea, Su's mother suddenly said, "Nanzhou, Wanwan has been spoiled by our Su family since she was a child. These past few years after marrying you, she has been quite a handful for you."
After all, the marriage had been arranged by the parents of both families without getting much of Gu Nanzhou's input.
Looking at the young lady who was surrounded by people in the middle of the room, her almond-shaped eyes forming crescent moons as she laughed, Gu Nanzhou said, "Not at all," and, lowering his gaze, he twirled a finger around the rim of the cup, "Su... Wanwan is a very good girl."
Su Wan was indeed a very qualified Mrs. Gu, knowing when to step forward or back, managing the household well, and never causing him any trouble.
That statement was indeed his genuine thought.
Looking at the harmonious scene, he suddenly felt that "having a mistress for the house didn't seem too bad after all."
The two talked about other things for a while. When Gu Nanzhou checked his phone and saw a work report sent by his assistant, he excused himself from Su's mother and went to the study.
After a while, having finished her tasks, Su Wan trotted over, took out a red envelope from her pocket, and handed it to Su's mother, "Here, this is for you, Mom. Happy New Year!"
Su's mother accepted it with a smile, and also took out a red envelope from her pocket, "This is for Wanwan, wishing our Wanwan a happy New Year and eternal happiness."
The young girl giggled, and looking around, she didn't see Gu Nanzhou anywhere and asked with a hint of confusion, "Mom, where's Gu Nanzhou? Wasn't he just having tea with you?"
"He went to the study." Su's mother, noticing the fine beads of sweat on Su Wan's forehead, pulled out a few tissues and teased, "Wipe your sweat first. Why the hurry? You've forgotten your mom since you've got a husband."
"Mom!" Su Wan blushed and acted coquettishly, wrapping her arm around Su's mother's. "Not at all," the young girl said as she wiped off her sweat and pouted to explain, "I've just been busy, that's all, and it was hot."
Su's mother laughed a little, not teasing her daughter anymore, "Alright, alright, Mom was wrong, you can go."