CHAPTER 312: CHAPTER 309: CINDERELLA’S COMEBACK 54

Anning no longer pays any attention to Ren Jiayao’s affairs.

She knows that with the Ren Family’s downfall, Ren Jiayao won’t be able to cause any significant trouble anymore, and she definitely won’t have an easy time in the future given her nature.

Now, she’s got a headache over Mr. Gu.

Mr. Gu is over the moon and insists on throwing a lavish banquet to celebrate.

He feels that his daughter earning four national first places is such an honorable achievement that it warrants a grand celebration.

Anning tried repeatedly to dissuade him.

But Mr. Gu is stubborn now, and doesn’t really listen to Anning’s words.

Primarily because Mr. Gu has lived a life of insignificance, whether it was relatives on Grandma’s side or those from her maternal side, they all looked down on him.

Mr. Gu wants to seize the moment—now that Anning has brought honor to the family, he wishes to hold his head high for once.

Mrs. Gu is also somewhat inclined towards Mr. Gu’s wishes.

So Anning told Mr. Gu, "Dad, this is just the beginning. I’ve only won the national first place; there’s still a long way to go. How about we hold off on the banquet until I’ve studied abroad and brought back a few gold medals? Or we can wait until I’ve become the top scorer in the college entrance examination, and then we can throw a big feast, what do you say?"

Mr. Gu fell silent.

Anning, left with no choice, laid it on thicker: "Look, I still need to study. We can’t afford to be dropped from the national team after making it this far, right? Right now, we should focus solely on supporting my studies and ignore everything else. You said you must throw a big feast, but isn’t that just holding me back? Dad, there’ll come a time when I’ll earn that respect for you. You think you can’t wait just a few more days?"

Mrs. Gu thought Anning had a point.

She tugged at Mr. Gu’s sleeve, "Dear, shall we listen to Ningning, please? Don’t distract the child; our kid has it tough enough as it is."

Mr. Gu thought of the years Anning had suffered in poverty, how she was bullied at Shengzhe and how she desperately studied, clenching her teeth, fighting her way out to establish the situation she was in now. His heart had long softened.

Finally, he sighed deeply, "Fine, I’ll listen to you this time. But if you really bring back a gold medal, you have to listen to me: we must hold a banquet—at the very least for your teachers and the principal at your school."

"That’s a promise."

Anning smiled, playfully clinging to Mr. Gu’s arm, "Just wait for it, I’m sure I’ll bring back a gold medal. When the time comes, so many reporters will want to interview you. You can just tell them, ’How do I educate my child? I really don’t know; we’ve always been hands-off. I haven’t put in much effort.’ Imagine how many people will envy you."

Saying this made Mr. Gu smile as well.

Anning was ready to hand over the prize money she received from the city and the school to Mr. Gu and Mrs. Gu.

But Mr. Gu just waved his hand, "Keep the money yourself, don’t give it to me and your mother. We’re not lacking money now."

Mrs. Gu also said, "You keep the money and buy yourself some new clothes or bags. I’ve heard those designer bags are expensive. Now that we have money, you should get a few. Right, I’m going to buy you some more jewelry in the next few days."

Anning had no choice but to take the money back.

She stood up, shouldered her backpack, and was about to say she was heading to the lab for an experiment when the doorbell rang.

Mrs. Gu hurriedly went to open the door.

Upon opening the door, she saw her sister Zhu Xiumei and her brother-in-law Liu Yu standing at the entrance.

Zhu Xiumei was furious, "Sister, you’ve been really underhanded, moving houses without a word to us. Are you afraid we poor relatives would take advantage of your family?"

"How come you’re here?"

Mrs. Gu was now thoroughly sick and tired of her own sister, showing Zhu Xiumei and her husband nothing resembling a warm welcome.

Zhu Xiumei, as if blind to this, brought Liu Yu through the door and sat down on the sofa.

"I heard about it, so here I am visiting my own sister’s home, and it’s really not easy. I had to ask countless people before I found your place, so there’s that."

Liu Yu carried a smile on his face throughout, barely saying a word.

Mrs. Gu plopped down on a chair, "Dare I tell you? If I told you we bought a new house, you’d be scared to death, for fear that we might borrow money from you. It’s better this way, everyone lives in peace."

"What are you on about?"

Zhu Xiumei’s face turned sour in an instant, "Am I that kind of person?"

Anning laughed from the side, "Auntie, back when I was almost bullied to death at Shengzhe, and had no choice but to borrow money to switch to First Middle School, what did you say then? You almost cursed at my mom, blaming her for meddling in affairs, we didn’t get a penny from you, and yet we ended up with an earful of complaints from you. You might have forgotten that, but I remember it very clearly. In your heart, money is the most important, more important than anything, even more valuable than your own niece’s life."

With Anning saying this, Zhu Xiumei had yet to react, but Liu Yu was visibly embarrassed.

Rubbing his hands together and letting out an awkward chuckle, he said, "Ningning, ah, this... I honestly didn’t know about this. If I had known, I would have definitely insisted that your aunt lent you the money. Why didn’t you tell me at that time?"

Anning was genuinely amused by this and laughed.

This couple plays the good cop and the bad cop quite well together, and they’re shameless indeed.

She pointed at Zhu Xiumei, "You’re my uncle by marriage, and what does that mean? If I have my aunt, you’re my uncle by marriage. Without my aunt, what relation do we have? We couldn’t even borrow money from my own aunt, how could we expect anything from you? We were berated once before and were already terrified, let alone getting scolded by you again. You said our family was a bit poor back then, but we’re not shameless. Do we really need to be insulted like that?"

"You child."

Liu Yu’s smile was especially unnatural, "I’m not that kind of person, after all, we are relatives..."

"Alright, if you two have any business, just spit it out."

Mrs. Gu maintained a stern face, never giving the couple any face from beginning to end.

Zhu Xiumei turned her face away without speaking, while Liu Yu said with a laugh, "Well, we heard Ningning participated in the Olympiad, so we came to see the child, and, you know, we just wanted to ask if the child has enough money to spend. If not, just say so. With so many relatives in our family, Ningning is the only one with such promise. No matter what, we have to support her so that she doesn’t suffer any hardship."

Mrs. Gu’s expression softened a bit upon hearing this.

Mr. Gu wasn’t as angry anymore.

But Anning knew what Liu Yu was thinking.

He simply sees her potential and wants to invest in her, hoping to enable their families to reconcile now, so that if in the future she became someone impressive, even extending a little help to the Liu Family would be greatly beneficial to them.

Even though Anning knew Liu Yu’s intentions were not purely altruistic, she didn’t retort.

After all, he had come with a smile, not asking anything of her, so there was no need for her to get ugly.

Regardless of everything, they were still family, and it was important to maintain appearances.

Mrs. Gu smiled a little, "We have enough money now, and Ningning has received quite a bit of scholarship money, which is more than enough for her expenses. We really don’t need your money."

Mr. Gu then expressed his gratitude to Liu Yu, "It’s the thought that counts, and we appreciate it."

Liu Yu also smiled.

As long as the Gu Family gave him a bit of face, he was already content. What he feared was that due to the strained relationship over the years, even if they came to make amends now, the Gu Family might remain impervious.