chapter 74
Fu Juncheng gave him a cold glance. “Eat your food.”
Xi Nai pouted. “I was asking her, not you. What are you getting worked up for?”
So stingy.
He turned toward the young girl who had just put down her chopsticks, smiling brightly. “I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Xi Nai. And you are?”
Gu Qingning picked up a napkin and wiped her lips. “Gu Qingning.”
Xi Nai froze. That name… it sounded kind of familiar.
Gu Qingning… Gu…
Suddenly, a realization hit him, and his expression showed rare shock.
His hand trembled, almost knocking over his wine glass.
“You—you—you…”
He was so startled that even his normally slick tongue tripped over itself.
Gu Qingning was confused. Was her name really that terrifying?
Xi Nai turned toward Fu Juncheng, his gaze meaningful. “A-Cheng, you knew all along, didn’t you?”
If Ah Zhao—the infamous sis-con—ever found out about this, there’d be fireworks for sure.
Fu Juncheng’s cold eyes narrowed, a dangerous glint flickering within. “Shut up.”
Oh, so he was right after all? Xi Nai grinned mischievously.
Sneaking off with someone’s little sister without a word—typical Master Cheng behavior.
The three Gu brothers probably still didn’t have a clue.
Gu Qingning glanced at Xi Nai, then turned to the flawless face beside her. “Knew what?”
Meeting her suspicious gaze, Fu Juncheng’s expression didn’t change; his voice was calm. “Don’t listen to his nonsense.”
Gu Qingning was half convinced. “Then why was he so shocked just now?”
“He’s just dramatic by nature.”
As he spoke, Fu Juncheng reached over, took a dessert, and placed it in front of her, trying to divert her attention.
“Try this.”
Xi Nai nearly laughed out loud. “…”
Keep making things up, why don’t you.
His peach-blossom eyes darted slyly, and he raised his voice. “What a coincidence, Qingning—you have the same name as my good friend’s little sister!”
Ignoring the icy glare from across the table, he continued enthusiastically, “And even more coincidentally, that buddy of mine’s last name is also Gu.”
Fu Juncheng’s eyes narrowed further, shards of ice flickering in the depths. “Xi. Nai.”
Xi Nai spread his hands, smiling innocently. “What? Did I say something wrong?”
Gu Qingning tapped her fingers lightly on the table, looking at Xi Nai with a faintly amused expression. “Mr. Xi, may I ask—what’s your buddy’s name?”
Xi Nai blurted out, “Of course you can—”
Halfway through, he realized his mistake, quickly shut his mouth, and gave an awkward smile. “Excuse me, I need to use the restroom. You two carry on.”
He wanted to see the drama unfold—but he also wanted to stay alive.
Grabbing his phone, he didn’t waste another second before slipping out of the private room.
Bang—
The door closed.
Suddenly, only the two of them remained.
Gu Qingning pushed away the dessert in front of her, resting one elbow on the table and her fingers lightly against her temple. Her expression was calm, revealing no emotion.
She asked deliberately, “Brother Juncheng, do you know who his buddy is?”
Her voice was cool and polite again, distant as before.
Thinking the girl was angry, Fu Juncheng’s heart tensed.
“Ningning, it’s not what you think.”
For once, the man’s deep, cold eyes flickered with rare unease. His clear voice dropped low. “I only found out a couple of days ago that Gu Zhao is your brother.”
Gu Qingning said nothing, her gaze quiet and unreadable.
However—
The longer she stayed silent, the more nervous Fu Juncheng became.
Since the day he was born, he’d never felt so tense and helpless.
His tone softened, his already pleasant voice turning tender. “You’re really not going to talk to me?”
Gu Qingning’s long lashes lowered. Still no response.
For the first time in his life, Master Fu was troubled.
This little lioness was not easy to coax.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted her phone on the table and suddenly thought of an idea.
Fu Juncheng picked up his phone, opened WeChat, and tapped on his pinned contact.
Ding ding ding—
The notification sound kept ringing.
Gu Qingning glanced at him, then picked up her own phone, which was buzzing non-stop.
Opening their chat, she found herself bombarded with a flood of WeChat red envelopes.
A quick look—there were at least twenty or thirty of them.
But what puzzled her was that every single one was marked with “0837” or “065.”
Gu Qingning looked up at him and finally spoke. “What does 0837 mean?”
Fu Juncheng let out a breath of relief, smiling sheepishly. “Don’t be mad, okay?”
Gu Qingning suppressed a laugh and continued, “Then what about 065?”
Catching the fleeting smile in her eyes, Fu Juncheng’s heart finally settled. He explained, “It means ‘forgive me.’”
Gu Qingning couldn’t hold back anymore and burst out laughing.
“Quite the expert, huh?” She glanced at the flood of red envelopes on her screen, teasing, “You used this trick to coax other girls before?”
Fu Juncheng shook his head seriously. “I heard about it from Xi Nai.”
He had never coaxed anyone—except for this little lioness.
“So, you’re not mad anymore?”
Gu Qingning curved her lips lazily. “I wasn’t mad to begin with.”
She’d just wanted to mess with him a little. After all, he kept pinching her cheeks all the time.
Opening a red envelope—1,000 yuan.
Next one—2,000.
Each one doubled as she went down the list.
Gu Qingning laughed, her clear eyes sparkling like spring water. For the first time, she understood the joy of collecting red envelopes.
The way she smiled, her brows and eyes curved, made Fu Juncheng’s gaze soften completely. “Are the red envelopes that great? You like them that much?”
He’d never seen her this happy—not even when she saw him.
After collecting the last one, Gu Qingning felt content, the corners of her lips curved faintly. “Who doesn’t like money?”
Fu Juncheng gave a helpless smile and pushed the dessert back toward her. “Still want to eat?”
“Of course.”
Can’t let good food go to waste.
As Gu Qingning turned around, she accidentally knocked over her juice.
The glass fell to the floor and shattered into pieces, juice spilling everywhere.
