CHAPTER 336: CHAPTER 335: AN IDEA

"Xiao Yu! I just suddenly had an idea! And then I couldn’t stop thinking about it!" Gu Qing’s tone was slightly excited, and her eyes revealed strands of longing.

Zhen Yu, unfazed, lowered her head to continue reading, "What idea?"

"I want a little brother!"

"!!!" Zhen Yu froze!

Seeing Zhen Yu’s reaction, Gu Qing felt a bit embarrassed, "Did I scare you? But I really do want a little brother!"

Zhen Yu quickly calmed down and asked logically: "Why?"

Don’t tell her Uncle Gu remarried just to have a son! Zhen Yu feared she wouldn’t be able to resist choking him!

Hearing Zhen Yu’s question, Gu Qing immediately blushed and said, "Aunt Cheng and my dad are both good-looking! Their child would definitely be beautiful!! I want the most, most beautiful little brother! Even more beautiful than that Bai Yong you guys talk about!"

Zhen Yu facepalmed, speechless.

Is having children a game to you?!

Just because you want the most beautiful...

Alright! Zhen Yu had to admit, the moment Gu Qing mentioned it, she also quite wanted it. She even indulged in a brief fantasy after hearing her reason!

But! Mrs. Zhen’s age was a consideration, being in her forties, it’s not so easy to be a high-risk pregnant woman, is it?!

What a joke!

"I disagree!" Zhen Yu answered shortly but firmly.

"Why?" Gu Qing felt aggrieved, "You have a brother, why can’t I have a little brother? I’ve been alone since I was little..." At this point, Gu Qing seemed to remember something and promised, "It’s okay! Even if the little brother isn’t beautiful I would still love him very much!"

"It’s not that I’m afraid he won’t be beautiful!" Zhen Yu pinched the bridge of her nose, "My mom is over forty, at her age, having babies is very dangerous! And who can guarantee it would definitely be a little brother? What if it’s a little sister?"

"I would like a little sister too!" Gu Qing blurted out, then remembered the first part of Zhen Yu’s statement.

After hesitating for a moment, she weakly asked, "Why do you say it’s dangerous to have children in your forties? My grandma had my little aunt at that age!"

How was she supposed to answer that? Zhen Yu had also overheard this from chatting with married women at her company in her previous life, she had no idea why!

She had to make something up!

Zhen Yu stiffly said, "I heard it unintentionally, a doctor said it!"

Gu Qing was puzzled but did not ask further, her excited and hopeful mood however had become a bit subdued.

——

Perhaps it was because the days of living and eating together were still short, or perhaps it was because the five people in the home were all busy with their own things, only having the chance to interact over meals and sleep, there wasn’t much time to create conflicts, so ’the family’ got along quite well.

Days flew by, and soon it was New Year’s Day; after the tense end-of-term exams were over, Zhen Yu and Gu Qing were on winter break.

Usually, when going to school, she didn’t notice it, but suddenly having free time, Zhen Yu really wanted to see Han Mingyue!

Unfortunately, she could only wish, Mrs. Zhen would never allow it!

Zhen Yu had no choice but to obediently stay upstairs reading books or helping out in the game arcade.

The most she could do was to sneak in a call to him before bed at night, to ease her longing.

Soon, Zhen Yan was also on winter break.

"Little sister!" Zhen Yan’s knock on the door was distinctive, starting with three knocks, bang bang bang!

"Come in!" Zhen Yu’s voice rang from inside the door.

The moment she saw her brother walk in with a backpack, Zhen Yu teased with a laugh, "Come to study with me again?"

Zhen Yan, who had been teased by his sister time and again, had grown a much thicker skin. He responded unabashedly, "Yeah! Studying with you creates the right atmosphere!"

"Heh!" Zhen Yu chuckled.

I don’t believe you for a second! Those are clearly Gu Qing’s lines!

Just as Zhen Yu was about to say something else, the door was suddenly knocked on again.

Knock Knock—

"Xiao Yu, I’m coming in!" Gu Qing’s sweet voice rang from outside the door.

"Come in!" Zhen Yu responded while glancing at her brother with her eyes.

Turns out that Zhen Yan didn’t even look at her, but was staring intently at the door himself.

Zhen Yu helplessly shook her head and sighed almost inaudibly.

—

And so Zhen Yu was coerced by her brother and ’sister’, from the beginning of January right up to the end of the month, finally ushering in Chinese New Year’s Eve and a temporary liberation.

Xiao Gu had already gone back to his own home three days early for the New Year, and on the day before Chinese New Year’s Eve, Mrs. Zhen gave Zhang San and Li Si a ten-day holiday, even handing them each a big red envelope as they left.

So on New Year’s day, only the family of five was left at the wonton shop and the arcade.

After all, it was the first time celebrating the New Year together, and everyone was quite intrigued! At Gu’s father’s suggestion, the venue chosen for the New Year was the wonton shop, with dining in the first-floor hall. A table for four was extended with an extra spot on the side, comfortably accommodating everyone.

After breakfast, Mrs. Zhen started getting busy!

First, she took out the peanuts, sunflower seeds, and candies already bought and set them on plates, then she washed some apples, which along with oranges, she arranged on a tray on the table! Next, she started rinsing cups, and placed beverages and liquor in the center of the table as well.

Gu’s father was also not idle, having prepared the paste, he called Zhen Yan to help him paste couplets and the "fu" character decorations. After finishing with the two shopfronts, he went back to the kitchen to start prepping ingredients like chicken and fish for lunch and dinner.

Zhen Yu volunteered to help in the kitchen, and after thinking for a bit, Gu Qing also followed in.

However, they were both quickly chased out of the kitchen by Gu’s father.

"Little girls should stay clean! Just stand aside and watch, what are you touching?! Get out, get out! The two of us adults will have it all sorted soon, we don’t need you! Just wait outside to eat!"

Once out of the kitchen, Gu Qing said, "I knew it! My dad would definitely not let us help!"

Zhen Yu thought to herself, "If you knew, why did you still come in with me?!"

"Let’s go! Let’s watch TV! It’s New Year’s day, forget about studying!" Gu Qing suggested.

Zhen Yu had no intention of studying today anyway, and she quickly nodded in agreement, "Sure!"

Seeing this, Zhen Yan immediately followed, adding, "I’ll go too! It’s so boring to be all by myself!"

After finishing the tasks at hand, Mrs. Zhen also entered the kitchen, planning to fry some shrimp crisps as a snack for the kids.

Turn on the stove, pour in the oil, the oil heat gradually rising...

Suddenly, Mrs. Zhen felt that today’s fumes were particularly irritating! She couldn’t help but turn to Gu’s father and ask, "What kind of oil are you using? Why is it smoking so much?"

Gu’s father replied immediately, "I’ve always been using this brand’s soy oil! Let me smell!" While speaking, he put down the work in his hands and walked towards Mrs. Zhen.

Just three or five steps away from her, Mrs. Zhen suddenly spun around, "Ugh..."

Gu’s father rushed over in just a couple of steps, first turning off the stove!

Then, with a worried look, he patted Mrs. Zhen’s back, "You, you couldn’t possibly be..."