When Gu Xingmo came downstairs, Junzai had already been taken to his room by Sister Zhou to be coaxed to sleep. Children get tired easily, and if their sleep time is delayed even slightly, they start to fuss.
Once he gets grumpy, it can be difficult to calm him down for a while.
To be honest, Junzai wasn’t an easy baby to handle.
While Sister Zhou was coaxing Junzai to sleep in the room, Liu Ma greeted Gu Xingmo and then took the bowls and chopsticks to the kitchen to wash them.
In the living room, only the unfamiliar couple remained.
After staring at each other for a while, Su Jiaobai took the initiative to speak to him, “Junzai got tired after playing for a while, so I asked Sister Zhou to quickly take him to sleep.”
Gu Xingmo nodded, indicating he understood. Then, as if hesitating, he also sat down on the sofa.
But he didn’t sit close, leaving a distance of one to one and a half people between them. It wasn’t too far, so it didn’t seem deliberately avoidant, but it wasn’t too close either, so as not to exceed their current relationship and cause awkwardness. Gu Xingmo had always mastered this level of discretion with ease.
Su Jiaobai’s sudden unusual behavior today surprised Gu Xingmo and also caught him a little off guard.
But Gu Xingmo had a strong ability to adapt, and he preferred to attack rather than evade. Therefore, regardless of whether Su Jiaobai’s behavior was unusual or not, he would handle it with ease.
And as he sat down, it was Su Jiaobai who became unaccustomed to it.
Gu Xingmo, however, appeared at ease and asked with concern, “You just had a bowl of noodles for dinner?”
For the time being, Su Jiaobai was still not used to getting too close or talking too much with him, but with her change in mindset, her attitude towards Gu Xingmo naturally improved a lot. When dealing with him, she also had more patience.
“Mm,” she replied softly, “I asked Liu Ma to add an egg and some vegetables to the noodles, so it’s not really just ‘making do,’ is it?” she said with a smile.
And her smile naturally fell into Gu Xingmo’s dark eyes.
Gu Xingmo smiled and nodded, acknowledging her words. Then, he changed the subject, saying, “Work is important, of course, but you still need to take care of yourself.” He then mentioned her falling down the stairs earlier, “Are you sure you don’t want to go to the hospital? It’s better to have a full body check-up.”
He cared about her, so naturally, he reciprocated with more concern.
Gu Xingmo, a seasoned veteran in the workplace, handled these relationships with ease. In fact, the more difficult the situation, the more it stimulated his fighting spirit and desire to win. In his world, there was no such word as “evasion”; the harder it was, the more he would tackle the challenge head-on.
In contrast, Su Jiaobai was different.
But evasion—
This was something she would have done before, but now, she was no longer the Su Jiaobai she used to be, so naturally, she was different.
Therefore, she naturally picked up on Gu Xingmo’s words and smiled, “Okay.” She even turned the tables on him, “Are you busy? If not, can you accompany me to the hospital tomorrow?”
Su Jiaobai said this for two reasons: First, she suddenly remembered that it had indeed been a long time since she had a medical check-up. She hadn’t been to the hospital since giving birth to Junzai.
Second, since Gu Xingmo was kindly showing concern, she would accept his favor.
She also learned from his way of dealing with people, not letting his kindness go to waste, but making it concrete.
Gu Xingmo agreed.
He also confirmed the time with Su Jiaobai, asking if she could leave at 8 AM tomorrow.
Su Jiaobai said she could.
This was the first time the couple had made plans for something together in a friendly manner.
After making the arrangements, they politely bid each other goodnight and returned to their respective rooms.
As soon as she returned to her room, Su Jiaobai’s held breath escaped, and she immediately regretted it.
She could have gone to the hospital for a check-up by herself. If necessary, she could have asked Liu Ma to accompany her, or found her best friend to go with her. There was no need to impulsively drag Gu Xingmo along.
But regret was useless. Words spoken were like spilled water, impossible to take back.
Moreover, she also wanted to change and improve their relationship, laying the groundwork for them to jointly and harmoniously take care of Junzai in the future.
In fact, she had also considered divorcing Gu Xingmo and raising Junzai by herself.
But firstly, given Gu Xingmo’s social status and influence, if they really divorced, Junzai’s custody would definitely not fall into her hands.
Secondly, she was penniless and had to work. Without money or energy, she couldn’t take good care of Junzai by herself.
Sister Zhou and Liu Ma’s combined monthly salary was over twenty thousand yuan. How could she, a poor teacher, afford that?
Therefore, divorce, at least for now, was not a realistic option.
If they weren’t divorcing, and living under the same roof, they had to act like a couple to some extent.
As Sister Zhou had said, children could see whether their parents’ relationship was harmonious or not when they got older.
So, to avoid the fate of being cannon fodder in that novel, the most urgent things she needed to do now were: First, not to get bogged down in trivialities, and not to follow the plot of the book, ending up ruining a good hand and even losing her life.
Second, money is truly valuable when you need it. Dignity and pride cannot be eaten or spent. She needed to make more money.
Money makes the world go round. As long as there was money, many problems would naturally be solved.
And the first step to making money was to get her dowry back from the Lu family.
Speaking of regret, when she married Gu Xingmo, because it wasn’t voluntary, she had stubbornly refused a wedding and a dowry.
She also didn’t ask for a betrothal gift.
Looking back now, she felt like an idiot. It was as if by not asking for anything, she had just hastily dismissed herself, and Lu Ting, as her father, would feel heartbroken and regretful.
But in reality, except for herself living in her own world, thinking that those people would feel guilty, they were all living well.
Not only did their conscience not bother them, but they were also happy to have married Gu Xingmo through her.
As for not accepting a dowry or a betrothal gift, in the end, apart from her own suffering, no one else, including Gu Xingmo, had lost anything.
Not only did they not lose anything, but the Lu and Gu families also gained many benefits, including money, from this marriage alliance.
And in the end, she was the only one who suffered.
Thinking about what she had done in the past, and then thinking about that book… Indeed, there was a reason why she could only be a cannon fodder supporting actress while others could be the female lead.
She refused the fat meat offered to her mouth and insisted on eating excrement. This stubborn mouth, why did she say she didn’t want a betrothal gift, a dowry, or a wedding ceremony at that time?
Looking back now, Su Jiaobai wished she could slap herself hard.
She was filled with regret, her intestines turning green.
But fortunately, she realized her mistake not too late. Starting from now to fight for herself was still timely. As long as she was thick-skinned and could open her mouth, it was still possible to get the money back.
So, she had to find a time to go back to the Lu residence.
After thinking this through, Su Jiaobai went to the bathroom to take a bath. After returning from her bath, as she was about to set her phone to airplane mode and go to sleep, Su Jiaobai suddenly noticed that someone had sent her a WeChat message.
When she opened it, she realized it was Gu Xingmo.
If Gu Xingmo hadn’t suddenly sent her a WeChat message, she would have forgotten that they were WeChat friends.
Their chat interface was clean and tidy. Gu Xingmo was concise, directly sending her a picture of a medical examination form and telling her: [Do not eat or drink after 10 PM.]
Su Jiaobai immediately checked the time; it was 9:40 PM.
She pondered for a moment, then replied with a simple “Okay.”
Then she clicked to enlarge the medical examination form. At the very top, the words “Zijin Hospital” were prominently displayed. Zijin Hospital was a well-known private hospital in the city. It was estimated that Gu Xingmo had already made the necessary arrangements there while she was bathing.
Su Jiaobai carefully looked at the items for the medical examination the next day. They were all relatively routine and comprehensive checks.
These examinations were sufficient for a normal young woman in her mid-twenties.
However, after a moment of hesitation, Su Jiaobai slowly typed again: [Can you also book an MRI for me?]
Booking an MRI usually required several days’ notice, but with a personal connection, such a private hospital could definitely expedite the process.
On the third floor, Gu Xingmo was sitting on the sofa, with a laptop beside him, monitoring the stock market.
His phone vibrated, and he picked it up to look. He then stared at the chat interface,愣了三秒 (stunned for three seconds).
[MRI?] he typed back two words.
Su Jiaobai still felt that the events of the day were a bit absurd. She was afraid that she had hit her head when she fell and that there might be a blood clot or something.
It was better to be safe than sorry. Since she was going to the hospital for a check-up, she might as well get a brain MRI.
She had already sat on the bed and was leaning against the headboard, holding her phone and typing: [Mm. I think I hit my head when I fell. Let’s get a brain MRI to check.]
Gu Xingmo didn’t expect it to be so serious and became serious.
[Are there any other special tests you need?] This was his agreement to help her book the MRI.
Su Jiaobai thought carefully and replied with two words: [No.]
After a pause, she typed two more words: [Thank you.]
Gu Xingmo replied with three words: [You’re welcome.]
The conversation between the two ended here.
Su Jiaobai waited for a minute. Seeing that there were no more messages from the other side, she put on her eye mask and went to sleep.
Gu Xingmo, on the other hand, first made a phone call to book the brain MRI, then put his phone aside and continued with his work.
Going to bed early, Su Jiaobai slept soundly until six o’clock the next morning.
She woke up, checked the time, and seeing that it was still early, she sat at her desk and prepared for her lessons for a while.
At 6:50 AM, she went to the bathroom in her bedroom to wash up.
The master bedroom on the second floor was very large, with a study and a bathroom attached, like living in a two-bedroom apartment.
A large two-bedroom apartment at that.
The bedroom was so large that it could even be divided into a living room. There was a sofa at the foot of the bed, with a table and chairs in front of it.
However, Su Jiaobai was solely focused on her work and didn’t pay much attention to the small details of daily life, so she hadn’t put much effort into arranging the bedroom.
Because it was large and she hadn’t put much effort into arranging things, it appeared rather empty.
The bathroom was even more so.
There was a bathtub in the bathroom, but she never used it, finding soaking a hassle and time-consuming.
In front of the vanity, besides a set of affordable skincare products and a daily-use lip gloss, there was only toothpaste, a toothbrush, and a mouthwash cup, nothing else.
In the shower room, there were just the simple three items: shampoo, conditioner, and a bar of soap.
She washed up quickly: brushing her teeth, washing her face, applying some facial cream, and then tying her hair into a high ponytail before going downstairs.
Her attire was the same as always: a short-sleeved T-shirt, light-colored jeans, and canvas shoes.
This outfit cost less than three hundred yuan, within her budget for what she could afford with her own salary.
When she first started working and earning money, she had to subsidize her family. Later, after she was found and brought back to the Lu family, the Lu family gave the Su family a sum of money as a one-time compensation for raising her for so many years. After that, she never gave money to the Su family again, and naturally, she never went back.
With a monthly salary of seven thousand yuan, plus various subsidies and bonuses, as long as she didn’t spend recklessly, she could save tens of thousands of yuan a year.
But these tens of thousands of yuan a year were definitely not enough to raise Junzai with high quality.
Therefore, getting her dowry back from the Lu family and asking for a betrothal gift from Gu Xingmo—she was determined to achieve it.