The Slacker Stepmother and the Non-Domineering CEO

“My brother can be a bit reckless, so if he offends you in any way, Mr. Gu, please bear with him.”

After the meal, when Gu Junxing and Nian Suian were leaving, Xia Ningzhuo saw them off and said these words.

“You're too kind, Ms. Xia.”

Gu Junxing's collaboration with Xia Ningzhuo wasn't because of her personally, but because of her company. As long as the partnership was profitable for him, that was enough. As for Xia Ningyue's offenses, Gu Junxing didn't even take them to heart.

After the two of them left in their car, Xia Ningzhuo returned to the dining room and only after the others had left did she lower her face.

“Xia Ningyue! Didn't I tell you not to provoke those you shouldn't?”

Xia Ningyue, however, was indifferent. “Sister, I hadn't met him before, how was I supposed to know who he was? It was just a coincidence.”

“If you had been more restrained, would these things have happened? If our cooperation with Gu Junxing goes awry, I will definitely kick you out of the house.”

“Do as you please, you've done it before anyway. Sister, brother-in-law, enjoy your meal, I'm leaving.”

After being reprimanded, Xia Ningyue still left with a carefree smile, as if nothing had happened.

“Ningzhuo, don't be too angry. Your cooperation is already settled, and I don't think Mr. Gu would make trouble over this.”

Looking at her husband, Xia Ningzhuo's expression calmed down.

...

Gu Junxing and Nian Suian went straight back to the hotel to pack up and then headed to the airport to return home, hoping to make it back before the snowstorm hit.

On the plane, Nian Suian chatted with Gu Junxing about the lunch they had earlier.

“The relationship between Ms. Xia and her husband seems to be very good.”

Nian Suian recalled the couple they had seen today, one decisive and the other pale and frail. At first glance, they didn't seem well-matched, but upon closer thought, they seemed quite harmonious.

Gu Junxing happened to know a bit about this as well. Since he was going to collaborate with them, he naturally needed to know all aspects.

“They grew up together. Mr. Tan was once a remarkable figure, but after an accident, he became disabled. Even his parents advised Xia Ningzhuo to break up with their son, but she didn't agree.”

“Since you know so much, how did you find out about Ms. Xia having a brother?”

Speaking of this, Gu Junxing gave Nian Suian a helpless look. “I knew she had a brother, but only that. Who would have thought we'd run into each other so coincidentally?”

Nian Suian grinned mischievously. “Running into each other again and again, you two really do have a lot of fate!”

In novels, such coincidences often lead to sparks flying.

Gu Junxing shook his head. “I'd rather not have this kind of fate.”

Two and a half hours later, they landed in Jinjiang City. Butler Su had already received the news and was waiting at the airport to take them home.

“Why are you here?” Gu Junxing opened the back door and saw Gu Zhijing sitting inside.

“I came to pick up my stepmom.” Gu Zhijing grinned and patted the seat next to him. “Stepmom, come sit here.”

Gu Junxing took the front passenger seat, and Butler Su, who had just put the luggage in the car, explained, “Master Gu came home from school and happened to hear that I was coming to pick you and Madam up, so he wanted to come along.”

“Stepmom, you don't know, I've been so lonely these past two days without you at home.”

Gu Junxing often traveled for work and left Gu Zhijing at home alone, which he had gotten used to. But since Nian Suian had been around, he had grown accustomed to having her presence at home.

It's easy to get used to luxury, but hard to go back to simplicity. Suddenly being alone again made even late-night snacks tasteless.

“Why did you go with Dad on his business trip? He doesn't have time to play with you, it would have been better if I stayed home to play with you!”

Nian Suian also laughed. “Oh, I just wanted to see something new, I won't go next time.”

“Dad, An Lu's birthday is coming up soon. I plan to invite him out next Saturday. Have you thought about what to do?”

Qi Anlu's birthday was next Friday, but he would definitely spend it with his mom, so inviting him out on Saturday was perfect.

“Mm, I know.” Gu Junxing agreed, though he had indeed forgotten about it in the midst of his busy schedule. He hadn't thought about what to do specifically.

It was the first time he'd heard of a son planning a friend's birthday party and involving his own father...

Speaking of birthdays, Gu Zhijing asked Nian Suian, “When is your birthday?”

“Mine is still early, in June.” Nian Suian had checked, and her birthday was the same as the original owner's, June 19th.

“That's close to my birthday! Mine is in May.”

Gu Zhijing excitedly babbled about how he wanted to celebrate his birthday.

“I want our family of three to go camping and blow out the candles at midnight on top of a mountain!”

“You have quite the imagination.”

“Hehe.”

It turned out they had returned just in time. That evening, Jinjiang City began to snow heavily. If they had stayed one more day, they probably wouldn't have been able to return.

Outside, it was a world of ice and snow, while the family enjoyed a cozy "family time" by the fireplace indoors.

“Tang Yuan, shake hands with Mommy~”

“Tang Yuan is so good!”

“What's that smell of something burning?”

“Ah! My corn!”

Gu Zhijing rushed to the fireplace to save his corn with a pair of tongs, but it was too late, the corn had clearly carbonized.

Gu Junxing couldn't bear to look at his silly son. “Gu Zhijing, who taught you to roast corn like that?”

“Isn't it right?”

“Zhijing, when roasting things, you can't just throw them directly into the fire.”

Tang Yuan, unnoticed, trotted to the fireplace and nudged the burnt corn with its paw, treating it like a toy.

“Tang Yuan, how did you become like this!”

Its face was dirty, its four white gloves stained black, and it was happily jumping around.

“Gu Zhijing, since you caused this, you go give it a bath.”

Gu Zhijing looked at the corn, the cat, and his black-stained slippers, then resignedly picked up Tang Yuan to give it a bath.

With Gu Zhijing gone, only Nian Suian and Gu Junxing remained in the living room.

While they were away, they slept in the same bed, close and intimate. But after returning home, neither of them mentioned moving in together.

Nian Suian stood up and said to Gu Junxing, “I'm going to check on Zhijing, I'm not sure he can handle giving Tang Yuan a bath alone.”

Gu Junxing nodded and watched her go upstairs.

A moment later, he also stood up and went back to his room.

The third floor, originally intended as a guest room for Tang Yuan, also had a bathroom, making it perfect for Tang Yuan's exclusive use.

When Nian Suian went upstairs, she found that Gu Zhijing indeed couldn't handle it alone.

As soon as Tang Yuan touched the water, it became like a monkey, running around the bathroom, leaving Gu Zhijing soaked while it remained dry except for its paws.