Chapter 13

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Xu Bilian’s face turned pale as she said aggrievedly, “I don’t want to marry Gu Ye either. It was my mother and grandfather who forced me to marry him. Moreover, nothing happened between Gu Ye and me. He can’t do it at all. He’s a eunuch. Really, I’m not lying to you.”

Gu Jianshe felt a wave of pleasure in his heart. He had never thought that that bastard Gu Ye was actually a eunuch. He looked tall and strong, but it turned out that he was a silver spear with a candle head.

No wonder he had been delaying the marriage. He must be afraid of being exposed, right?

This time, if it weren’t for the two children in the family, Gu Ye might not have agreed to marry Xu Bilian. He wouldn’t be able to keep this embarrassing secret anymore. After some time, he would have to spread this secret by accident and spread it to all of Shanghai. Hmph, let’s see how this uncle of his would still have the face to strut around!

The heavens were cruel… tsk!

The heavens were truly eye-opening!

“Bilian, I know that you’ve been wronged. Gu Ye isn’t a good-for-nothing. With that illness, he still dares to marry and harms others. You have to explain this matter clearly to your grandfather. Let your grandfather know that you’ve been wronged,” Gu Jianshe reminded her gently.

He was his nephew, so he definitely couldn’t say bad things about his uncle outside. But Xu Bilian could. The He family was the most chatter-mouthed. As long as one person knew about it, it would definitely spread like wildfire.

Gu Jianshe seemed to have already seen Gu Ye’s sorry state in the future, where he didn’t even dare to leave the house due to the rumors. The corners of his lips couldn’t help but curl up. The heartache of being cheated out of thirty-two yuan by Chu Qiao was instantly healed.

“I’ve told Grandpa. Will Grandpa agree to us being together?” Xu Bilian looked at her sweetheart hopefully.

Gu Jianshe hesitated for a moment and stammered, “Maybe… you still have to talk to my grandfather and let him make the decision for you.”

“I got it, Brother Jianshe. I’ll go home and talk to him now.”

Xu Bilian thought that she had received a guarantee from her beloved, so she was very happy. She did not pester Gu Jianshe anymore and prepared to go back to her mother’s house.

“Talk nicely. Don’t quarrel.”

Gu Jianshe reminded her gently, and his eyes were gentle and doting. Xu Bilian smiled shyly, “Okay, I’ll listen to you.”

She knew that Brother Jianshe could not bear to part with her. Chu Qiao, that b*tch, could not even be compared to her toes, and she still wanted to snatch Brother Jianshe away from her. Hmph, just daydreaming!

Chu Qiao slowly returned home. Chu Yuanzhi was sitting in the living room watching TV, the ceiling fan whirring. He Jihong was busy in the kitchen, sweating profusely. When she saw Chu Qiao, she asked, “How did it go with Gu Jianshe?”

“Not bad.”

Chu Qiao replied indifferently. In any case, Gu Jianshe would definitely refuse, so there was no need for her to say anything.

He Jihong was satisfied. She thought that the blind date had succeeded. She glanced at Chu Qiao’s small face, which was the size of a palm, and felt uncomfortable. Although she had never met Chu Qiao’s biological mother, seeing Chu Qiao like this… she knew how beautiful Chu Yuanzhi’s ex-wife was.

However, Chu Yuanzhi was her man now. No matter how beautiful his ex-wife was, it was useless. She was still fooling around somewhere. He Jihong was happy again, and a little proud. So what if she was beautiful? Without a good family background, she was nothing.

“Go and cook lunch.”

He Jihong ordered. There were too many dishes today. She was so busy that she hadn’t finished cooking yet, and she was exhausted.

“Okay.”

Chu Qiao obediently agreed. When she walked to the kitchen door, she asked again, “Aunt He, how much salt should I put in the prawns? Will half a spoonful be too little? I should put a spoonful in the beef, right? Also, I should put two spoonfuls in the fish, right? Salted fish and light meat…”

“Okay, okay, I’ll do it. Don’t spoil my good dishes.”

He Jihong couldn’t listen anymore. She was really worried that Chu Qiao would ruin these expensive dishes. She was so angry that she wanted to scold her, but Tang Weiguo was in the room. She had to maintain her poise and not let others laugh at her.

He Jihong glared at the innocent-looking Chu Qiao and went into the kitchen with a livid face. The chopping board and kitchen knife were clanging, and Chu Yuanzhi couldn’t hear the tv clearly. He had no choice but to turn up the volume of the television.

“Xiao Chu, are your ears not working? Why are you turning up the volume of the television? The neighbors will complain.” He Jihong walked out and said in a bad tone.

“I’ll turn it down right now.”

Chu Yuanzhi quickly turned the volume down to the minimum and smiled at He Jihong ingratiatingly. “There’s no sound now.”

“Why are you watching TV when it’s so low? Are you protesting silently?”

He Jihong was even more unhappy. It wasn’t good for her to vent her anger on Chu Qiao. People shouldn’t hear that she was mistreating her stepdaughter. She could only vent her anger on Chu Yuanzhi.

“I’m going to read.”

Chu Yuanzhi had no choice but to turn off the television. He simply stopped watching and obediently went into the house to read. In this family, He Jihong was the absolute no. 1 with a high status. The second was Chu Peng, the third was Xu Bilian, and the second-to-last was Chu Yuanzhi. The last was Chu Qiao. She was at the tail end of the biological chain, and anyone could step on her.

Chu Qiao couldn’t be bothered to go to her room. Even if there was a fan in such a small room, it would still be very stuffy. It was better to sit under the ceiling fan in the living room to cool down. She turned on the television without any scruples. It was a 14-inch black-and-white television, and the only way to adjust the frequency was to turn the button manually. The clicking sound was very loud.

She found the Shanghai television station. On weekends, they would broadcast foreign serial dramas in the morning, and they would only show two episodes a week. The actors were very beautiful, and the dubbing was also very exciting. The only problem was that there were too few episodes.

Chu Qiao sat on the sofa and watched TV. She even took out a watermelon from the fridge and cut it into pieces. The watermelon was sweet and savoury, and it was also cold. The wind blew on her head, and her whole body instantly felt cool.

He Jihong, who was in the kitchen, saw how she was enjoying herself. Her heart felt like gasoline had been poured on it, and her anger rushed to the top of her head.

She was so busy that she didn’t even have the time to drink a mouthful of water. Yet, this stepdaughter was eating an ice-cold watermelon and watching TV under a fan. She only had a fever. Why did Chu Qiao seem like a different person?

Her skin was getting thicker and thicker, and her guts were getting bolder and bolder.

“Chu Qiao…”

He Jihong called out, wanting Chu Qiao to come to the kitchen to help. Chu Peng’s door opened, and a tall and thin boy came out. He wore a plaid shirt, blue jeans, white sneakers, and a sports watch on his wrist. It was the most popular outfit at the moment.

Although the boy’s facial features weren’t particularly outstanding, he had a sunny temperament, a handsome appearance, and a smile on his face. This kind of boy was very likable, and also very popular with girls.

He was precisely Tang Weiguo. After copying his homework, he came out to eat watermelons. Just as he stepped out of the door, he saw Chu Qiao sitting leisurely on the sofa. He was instantly dumbfounded, his mouth agape in shock.

This… this beautiful girl was Chu Peng’s ugly sister?

Tang Weiguo rubbed his eyes and saw more clearly. That’s right, it was that old-fashioned auntie’s clothes, but that face had changed. That wasn’t right either. He had never seen Chu Qiao’s face before. It was covered by her bangs, and he could only see the bottom half of her face… It was eerie, and he didn’t want to take another look at her. He didn’t think that Chu Peng’s sister’s true face would be like this.

She was so beautiful!

Tang Weiguo wanted to use some beautiful ancient poems to describe Chu Qiao’s beauty, but he was too inexperienced. He thought for a long time, but he couldn’t think of anything. He simply gave up and greeted Chu Qiao with a smile. “Chu Qiao!”

Chu Qiao glanced at him, a little confused. This kid used to call her Chu Peng’s sister, but why did he call her by her first name today? How rude..