Early the next morning, Gu Lingfeng sent a message: Picking you up in the afternoon. Grandpa wants us to come to the old residence for dinner. It will be a bit formal this evening.



At 5 PM, the Passat stopped downstairs. After getting in the car, he handed me a red leather box. Inside was a white jade bangle.



"My grandmother's. She said it's for her grandson's wife. Put it on first, otherwise she won't serve us food this evening."



That bangle had a smooth, full arc, white as sheep fat, faintly glowing with a lustrous light. Slipping it onto my wrist, it just happened to catch on the wrist bone, as if it had been sized specifically for me.



He did not speak much today, just focused on driving and thinking. Just as they were about to arrive at Western Hills, he suddenly spoke up: "Su Qing, before I met you, I brought seven fake ones home. Grandpa could tell with one look every single time. Until you appeared - for the first time he said, this time it's real." He parked the car under the ginkgo tree in front of the old residence. "From that day on, I haven't treated this as acting. As for which exact moment it started, I couldn't say. Maybe it was when you were crouching next to the dessert station studying the molten lava cake. Or maybe earlier - that day in the cafe, when you laid out the three years of rent matter-of-factly, your tone very calm, not a single glint of water in your eyes. I knew right then that you were different."



The September sunset passed through the ginkgo leaves and fell on his face. He looked at me, and there was light in his eyes.



"If you don't want to go in this evening, just say so now, and I'll take you home. But if you go in, I don't plan on letting you out again."



I pushed the car door open and pushed the bangle up my wrist.



"What are you spacing out for? If Grandma doesn't serve us food in a bit, don't blame me."



This time he gave a genuine smile. A dawn-like face, even more captivating when it smiled.



Dinner was indeed quite formal. In the dining room of the Gu family old residence, about twenty people sat. The old master sat in the main seat. To his left was Gu Lingfeng. To his right was an empty seat, with a set of bowls and chopsticks placed in front of it, ivory chopsticks placed on the chopstick rest, polished shiny. That empty seat was reserved for Grandma.



Sitting across from me was Gu Lingfeng's aunt, the wife of his eldest uncle. His eldest uncle was the old master's eldest son, who had managed the education division for nearly twenty years. His son Gu Jun had made it to vice president. This family of three generations sat at the same table for dinner - on the surface, everything was harmonious, but how deep the undercurrent ran, I as an outsider could not yet see through. Having Auntie sitting across also gave her the opportunity to size me up. By the fifth dish, she finally spoke up.



"Teacher Su, where are you from?"



"Suzhou."



"I heard you do early childhood education? Is work usually busy?"



"Not too bad. Can rest during holidays."



"Early childhood education is quite good. It's just that the pay is on the lower side. But after marrying into the Gu family, you won't need to worry about that. From now on, just focus on taking care of the children."



The dining room went quiet for an instant. Gu Lingfeng's chopsticks paused in mid-air. He was just about to open his mouth when I pressed down on the back of his hand under the table.



"Auntie, our kindergarten's net profit last year was seven figures. Not extremely high, but enough to support myself."



"You run the kindergarten?"



"Mm. Tianxing Kindergarten. Two locations in Chaoyang, one in Haidian just finished renovating, starting this semester."



The entire table went quiet. It was not that awkward kind of quiet - it was the kind where everyone was recalculating.



Auntie's hand holding the serving chopsticks paused in mid-air. That piece of abalone trembled on the chopsticks.



The old master suddenly laughed out loud. He laughed so loudly that his chopsticks nearly flew out.



"Good! This is good! The last one asked about the Gu Group's shareholding ratio, and after asking, said she also had an entrepreneurial plan - opening some internet-famous milk tea shop - and wanted our family to invest five million. I said, why don't you open a spaceship while you're at it. Look at this one now - opened three kindergartens on her own, and I actually had to look up the name to find out."



He raised his wine cup.



"Teacher Su, I toast you."



"Grandpa, please don't call me Teacher Su, it's weird."



"Then what should I call you?"



"Call me Qingqing. That's what my family calls me."



The old man drank his wine and looked at Gu Lingfeng once. That gaze was not approval, not satisfaction - it was relief.



When dinner was dispersing, Gu Lingfeng was waiting for me at the entrance. There were still three days until the review meeting. He lowered his head to adjust his cufflinks, then suddenly reached out and tidied the stray hairs on my forehead. His fingertips lingered on my forehead for one second more than necessary.



I did not dodge.



The camera at the entrance flashed once.



When the banquet dispersed, Auntie stopped me. In the corridor, there were only the two of us.



"Principal Su, news of your matter with Little Gu is spreading very quickly. Someone is already making preparations."



"Preparing for what?"



Auntie leaned against the corridor's window ledge. Outside the window were the ginkgo trees of the old residence, only a blurry silhouette remaining in the night. "The Gu Group education division has two vice presidents. One with the Gu surname, one with the Zhao surname. The one with the Zhao surname is in charge of curriculum R and D. His younger sister runs a consulting company that is on the Gu Group's supplier list. At that banquet that day, did that younger sister look for you?"



I thought of Zhao Yuwei's three consecutive questions at the bathroom door.



"She did."