Chapter 79: The Property Deed Is Nowhere to Be Found

Upstairs, Gu Jinling was standing by the window on the phone. "Yes, pick out a whole box according to my list," he said calmly, his gaze drifting downstairs. He paused. "Hold on." Rubbed the ring on his thumb, he changed his mind. "Make it a truckload."

Su Wan happened to walk over just in time to hear this. "A truckload of what?" she asked, glancing out the window—only to see Gu Jin Yan downstairs, with his arm slung casually around Gu Ci's shoulders. She couldn’t help but sigh. "The third one always seems unreliable, but at crucial moments, he really understands girls better than anyone..."

Gu Jinling’s eyes flickered, and his gaze deepened as he looked at Gu Jin Yan below. Su Wan fretted, "Earlier I gave Ci a bracelet, but after I did, I remembered she’s still a student—such a bracelet might not be suitable. So..." As she spoke, she somehow produced a box as if by magic and opened it before Gu Jinling. "I had a box of bracelets custom-made for Ci. I’m not sure if she’ll like them. The thing is, I really can’t tell what this child likes. It’s so hard to prepare a gift..."

Gu Jinling said in a low voice, "Little sister likes studying. She has excellent grades. You can’t go wrong with something related to learning."

Su Wan was surprised. "Really, and how do you know that?"

"I talked with her just now in the car," Gu Jinling replied succinctly, a barely detectable hint of pride in his tone. "She’ll be participating in this year’s Youth Olympics Math Competition next week."

"She never mentioned that to me," Su Wan broke into a broad smile, a weight lifting from her heart. She’d been worried that Gu Ci would have trouble adjusting to the new school and had even considered donating a building to help her out. Who would have thought the child was so outstanding that she needed no help at all? The thought made her scoff. "Big brother and sister-in-law will regret this one day..."

Gu Jinling shot her a look. "Now, can you tell me what’s really going on?"

Su Wan hesitated, about to speak, but Gu Jinling cut her off. "Don’t fob me off with any story about the uncle’s daughter coming to stay for a while."

On the phone, Su Wan had only said that a cousin from her uncle’s family was coming and asked him to bring a gift. Gu Jinling had felt some suspicion when he heard it wasn’t Gu Zhi Ran, but hadn’t been interested enough to probe further. But after realizing that Gu Ci was the same girl he’d seen at the basketball gym, he’d given careful thought to the gift, turned the car around, and made a point of bringing Gu Ci home.

After getting to know Gu Ci, he was even more determined to get to the bottom of it. Even he couldn’t quite explain why. Perhaps it was the mysterious tie of blood, or simply an instinctive affinity.

Su Wan was briefly at a loss for words. Her eldest son had always been mature and steady; she couldn’t hide such things from him. But why did he sound so suspicious, as if guarding against a thief? Before she could voice her displeasure, Gu Jinling’s light, floating words came: "You said I’d only have to look after the second and third brothers for a day, but who disappeared for over half a month?"

Su Wan was speechless. Well, her son was grown now, and the lies she’d told them when they were little had come back to haunt her in tears.

Su Wan explained everything, then said, "Ci is such a good child—if they don’t want her, we do."

"It’s just that Ci is too sensible, so she’s a little distant with us. We’ll need more time together to really become close. You’ll be home these few days, right? Take good care of her."

Su Wan could see that Gu Ci treated them with more politeness and respect than actual warmth.

"Yes, I understand," Gu Jinling nodded in agreement.

As boxes of clothes were carried upstairs, Su Wan busied herself, directing people to clear out the storage room, then filled it with all the dresses Gu Jin Yan had bought for Gu Ci. Before long, the entire room was packed with the new dresses.

Su Wan picked one up, her face full of anticipation. "Ci will look lovely in this dress."

Gu Jinling, ever the straightforward man, nodded in deep agreement. After a moment’s thought, he added, "The storage room is too small. Soon we won’t be able to fit everything."

Su Wan agreed wholeheartedly, falling into a brief reverie.

Gu Chang Rong, who had just finished cooking a dish, watched the dresses being carried in one by one, his brow twitching. He couldn’t help but say, "I don’t think Ci likes this kind of style, does she?"

He remembered that Gu Ci usually dressed in simple, loose-fitting clothes.

Su Wan immediately rolled her eyes at him. "That’s where you don’t understand girls. Even if Ci doesn’t usually wear them, what girl doesn’t like pretty dresses?" She muttered under her breath, "Not everyone is like you, with zero sense of romance."

Though Gu Chang Rong still felt something was off, he didn’t argue with his wife.

Su Wan sighed. "Ci’s room is a bit small, but there’s no extra space in the house."

Gu Jinling frowned. "And it’s a bit far from her school—not convenient at all."

A thoughtful look appeared in Gu Chang Rong’s eyes. "Her school is near that area, right? I seem to recall we have an apartment in a neighborhood nearby?"

Su Wan immediately looked at him, suddenly remembering too. "Didn’t your work assign you an apartment? Which neighborhood was it again?"

Gu Chang Rong rubbed his nose. "How should I know? I probably lost the property deed ages ago."

Instantly, both husband and wife turned to look at their eldest son.

Gu Jinling resigned himself. "I’ll look into it."

Just then, Gu Jin Yan came upstairs, pulling Gu Ci along.

Su Wan hurried over, holding the dress, and beckoned to Gu Ci. "Ci, come try this on. It’s perfect for you."

Gu Jin Yan boasted, "Of course! I picked them all out myself for Ci."

He looked at Gu Ci with hopeful eyes.

Hearing this, Gu Ci’s estimation of Gu Jin Yan’s taste plummeted even further. Seeing their expectant faces and the pastel, girlish Lolita dress in Su Wan’s hands, she tried to change the subject. "It’s getting late. Why don’t we eat first?"

She wasn’t particularly hungry, but she wanted to delay the inevitable.

Gu Jin Yan said, "No rush, Ci. You like my gifts, right? Try it on first, then we’ll eat."

Su Wan smiled as well. "That’s right, Ci. Dinner can wait."

With that, Su Wan linked arms with Gu Ci and led her toward the room.

Gu Ci was filled with despair. She opened her mouth, but seeing the genuine warmth and kind smiles on their faces, she couldn’t say a word.

Gu Chang Rong could tell Gu Ci was a bit helpless, but he just stood by laughing, not intervening. The old Gu Ci had always been so calm and reserved—now, with her caught up in the family’s bustle, she finally seemed more like an ordinary girl.

At that moment, someone banged loudly on their door.