Chapter 109: The Magical Mall

Chapter 109

"Let's not rush home right away. We'll stop by the mall across the street first. I want to buy some gifts for our visit to Jiaojiao tomorrow," Nian Suian said to the father and son after they got in the car.

Gu Junxing had no objections. "Sure, then we might as well have dinner out too."

Only Gu Zhijing was confused. "Who's Jiaojiao?"

When Gu Junxing had previously mentioned this to him, he had deliberately omitted the name and hadn't gone into much detail.

Nian Suian explained to him, "Jiaojiao is my friend's child. She's three years old this year."

She then asked him, "Do you want to come with me? They live right next door to Qu Zizhou's family. If you want to visit Qu Zizhou, you can come along."

She and the others would be talking to Xiaxia, so it might not be convenient for Gu Zhijing to be there. She only asked in case Gu Zhijing might want to visit Qu Zizhou.

Gu Zhijing shook his head. He wasn't interested in seeing little kids; playing video games was more appealing.

"Qu Zizhou is coming to our house to play tomorrow anyway."

The mall was near the school, the same one Nian Suian had visited before. It was very close, just around the corner from the school.

As soon as they entered the mall, Nian Suian said to the two, "You two think about what you want for dinner. Let's go buy the gifts first."

After all, neither Gu Junxing nor Gu Zhijing could contribute much to gift selection, and Nian Suian didn't trust their taste anyway. It was better to let them start thinking about dinner.

Since it was their first meeting, giving an overly expensive gift would be strange. Nian Suian bought a teddy bear and a Lego set.

"Ma'am, we're having a promotion today. If you buy two items, you get 20% off. Would you like to look at anything else? You could choose one more item," the sales assistant informed her.

Nian Suian was about to decline, as she had only intended to buy one thing and didn't see the need to buy another just for the discount.

Just as she was about to shake her head, she noticed a box displayed on the counter. After a moment's thought, she picked one up and handed it over.

"I'll add this one then."

"Certainly, ma'am. After the discount, your total comes to 968 yuan. I can scan your payment now."

Nian Suian had just unlocked her phone when Gu Junxing beside her presented his payment code. Seeing that he was going to pay, Nian Suian didn't object. After all, Gu Junxing was wealthy, so there was no need to feel awkward about it.

However, from a young age, with constant reminders from school teachers and the bottom line set by Gu Junxing at home, Gu Zhijing's academic performance over the years, while not outstanding, had never been too poor either.

"I understand," Gu Zhijing replied heavily.

Those four words were spoken with a weight of realization. Recently, he had been having a bit too much fun, completely forgetting about midterms and revision, pushing them to the back of his mind.

Nian Suian didn't interject about Gu Zhijing's studies. Call it old-fashioned thinking if you will, but even though the Gu family was wealthy enough to ensure Gu Zhijing would never want for anything in his life, Nian Suian still hoped he would study hard and aim for university.

...

"This restaurant's food is quite good," Nian Suian remarked. Usually, restaurants in shopping malls were mediocre, neither particularly good nor bad. However, this place had given her a pleasant surprise.

Seeing that Gu Zhijing seemed to be still immersed in the sadness of the impending midterm exams, head lowered and lost in thought, Nian Suian ladled some soup for him.

"Let's eat first. The exams aren't tomorrow, you still have time to review," she said encouragingly.

Gu Zhijing snapped out of his reverie, thanked Nian Suian, and started sipping the soup. He didn't have the heart to tell her that he hadn't actually been thinking about the exams, but rather calculating how many hours of gaming he could squeeze in tomorrow.

"Old Gu?! What are you doing here?"

At the sound of the voice, Nian Suian's grip on her chopsticks tightened.

Was this mall some kind of plot device? How was it possible to run into acquaintances every time they came here? How could it be such a coincidence?!

"Sister-in-law and Zhijing are here too?"

Nian Suian looked up to see that the person calling out to them was Liu Jian. Next to him stood a woman wearing a knitted dress, her hair tied in a low ponytail, exuding an air of gentleness.

"What are you doing here?" Gu Junxing was also surprised to encounter Liu Jian here. Liu Jian was usually very picky about food, either going to extremely expensive restaurants or searching for small eateries in back alleys. He never deigned to eat in shopping malls.

"Having dinner with a friend. This is Su Li. Miss Su, this is my friend Gu Junxing and his wife and son."

"Hello," Su Li greeted them with a smile.

"Old Gu, let's catch up another day. We won't disturb your family dinner," Liu Jian said. He was actually puzzled as to why Gu Junxing would be having dinner here with his wife and child, but this wasn't the time or place to inquire. Liu Jian had bumped into Gu Junxing on his way out after finishing his meal, so after exchanging a few words, he prepared to leave.

"Was that his girlfriend?" Nian Suian asked after they left.

Gu Junxing shook his head. "Most likely a blind date."