Su Jiaobai had been tired of reading and preparing lessons at home recently, so she wanted to “steal half a day of leisure from a busy life” and take a good break to relax.
She felt discomfort in her shoulders, neck, waist, and back, and planned to find a place for a good massage.
She had originally intended to go to an affordable massage parlor where the average cost was two to three hundred yuan, but then she thought that she had been reborn, and it was time to celebrate. So, she made up her mind and searched online for a high-end beauty salon.
Seeing Lu Yuanyuan’s dark circles from staying up late, she thought of her kindness and wanted to reward her, so she said, “Let’s go to Liyan. We’ll have a two-hour full-body essential oil spa first, and then a good facial treatment.”
Lu Yuanyuan had been to Liyan, a beauty salon, once before using her cousin’s card and had shared her experience with Su Jiaobai afterward. She loved it.
She also said that her greatest wish in life was not great, only to be able to go to such a high-end place once a month, and she would have no regrets.
Of course, she was joking.
But the exaggeration of her joke was enough to prove her genuine longing.
Su Jiaobai had always kept her words in mind.
She had originally planned to treat her once after getting her year-end bonus at the end of the year. But since she had decided to be more open-minded now, she decided to treat her in advance.
Lu Yuanyuan jumped for joy, waving her hands and arms, and hugged Su Jiaobai’s arm, “I’m hanging out with a rich lady today.”
Lu Yuanyuan jokingly called her a rich lady, but in reality, Su Jiaobai was penniless. She only had tens of thousands of yuan in savings.
Speaking of money, Su Jiaobai also linked her arm with Lu Yuanyuan’s and confided in her, “I plan to ask the Lu family and Gu Xingmo for the dowry and betrothal gift money.” She had found Lu Yuanyuan to discuss this matter.
Liyan was not far from here; they could walk across the street and enter the mall to get there, so the two of them walked.
It also served as a way to digest their meal.
Lu Yuanyuan strongly agreed with this, nodding repeatedly, “You’ve finally come to your senses. Congratulations.” She couldn’t help but mention her past, complaining, “You were really foolish before, not asking for anything when you got married? Let alone being the Lu family’s daughter, even ordinary people get a betrothal gift and dowry when they get married. That’s all real money, and with that money, you can do anything!”
The awakened Su Jiaobai also regretted her past stubbornness.
But it was what it was, what was the use of regretting it?
She could only try to find a way to get back what she hadn’t asked for before.
Minimize losses as much as possible.
“I mentioned to Gu Xingmo this morning about making up for the betrothal gift,” Su Jiaobai said.
“What did he say?” Lu Yuanyuan quickly asked.
Su Jiaobai: “He’s like a slippery loach, very cunning. He didn’t say yes or no, just said that such a big matter requires discussing with the Lu family first.”
Lu Yuanyuan clicked her tongue, “Bai, you need to be mentally prepared. You didn’t ask for it when you should have, and now that it’s a done deal, it’ll probably be hard to get.”
In fact, Su Jiaobai thought the same way. She had missed the best opportunity to ask for the money.
The timing was wrong, and facing fierce opponents like Gu Xingmo and Lu Ting, her chances of success were even slimmer.
But at this moment, a thought suddenly popped into Su Jiaobai’s mind.
She thought that she now had two enemies, Lu Ting and Gu Xingmo. If she fought them both alone, it would be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, an act of utter folly. But if she could win over one of them, offer him benefits, and have him help her deal with the other, wouldn’t it be much simpler?
And among the two enemies, Lu Ting and Gu Xingmo, she unhesitatingly chose to win over Gu Xingmo to deal with Lu Ting.
So, after finishing her spa treatment at Liyan, Su Jiaobai said goodbye to Lu Yuanyuan, “I have to go back first.”
Lu Yuanyuan was reluctant, “You have a husband and a child now, and we see each other less and less.” She missed the time when they were both single.
Her child was taken care of by Sister Zhou and Liu Ma, so she didn’t need to worry much. It was just that before, she was solely focused on competing with Lu Leyao and busy with work, so she had neglected Yuanyuan a bit.
But from now on, she would shift her focus back to the people she cared about.
“Let’s meet again another day. I have something big to do recently, wait for my good news.”
Lu Yuanyuan supported her in undertaking this “money-getting” major event, so she immediately said, “Then hurry back.”
After bidding each other farewell, they each took different subway lines home.
When Su Jiaobai returned home, it was already past five in the evening.
Coincidentally, Junzai was playing, so Su Jiaobai went over to accompany Sister Zhou in playing with Junzai.
A child of seven or eight months old can recognize people. Seeing his mother come over, he grinned.
Although he was usually taken care of by Sister Zhou and was closest to her, children are naturally attached to their mothers. As long as Su Jiaobai, his mother, made her presence felt in front of Junzai, Junzai would like his mother.
Su Jiaobai patiently followed Sister Zhou’s instructions and interacted with Junzai.
Not only did Su Jiaobai now make time to patiently accompany her son, but she also deliberately involved Gu Xingmo.
For example, around six in the evening, when Gu Xingmo arrived home, she directly spoke to him as soon as he entered the door, “Daddy is back. Junzai, look, isn’t Daddy back too?” Then, in Junzai’s voice, she called out, “Daddy, come quickly and play with us, Zai Zai.”
A child of this age could understand some of what adults were saying, so he babbled “yi yi ya ya.” Looking at his father, who was changing his shoes at the door, he flapped his hands and feet, his face filled with excitement.
At this moment, Gu Xingmo’s heart melted.
Most men attached great importance to bloodlines. Even if he had been forced to accept this marriage, and even if Su Jiaobai was not the woman he liked, none of this changed the fact that Junzai was his bloodline.
Therefore, his love for Junzai would not change for any reason.
It was just that he was usually busy and had little free time, and his son was very young before, only needing care for eating, drinking, sleeping, and defecating, so he didn’t need much high-quality companionship. Therefore, a situation like today was the first time.
“Mm, Daddy’s here.” His wife calling him, he might not care much, but his son, especially his son of this age, also “called” him, so he couldn’t help but respond.
He even sped up his shoe-changing, and after changing his shoes, Gu Xingmo didn’t forget to quickly wash his hands. Then, he strode over with his long legs.
And Junzai, seeing a new face approaching, let out an excited scream.
He clearly looked very happy.
The living room was very large, and a section had been converted into Junzai’s play area. It was enclosed on all sides, with soft and moderately firm floor mats inside. In his exclusive area, Sister Zhou tidied it up neatly every day, and when he played, she brought out his favorite toys.
Seeing that both the employer and his wife were present, Sister Zhou wisely retreated to the kitchen to help Liu Ma.
Although the couple didn’t speak to each other, they spent a full twenty minutes playing with Junzai together.
Afterward, Liu Ma called out that dinner was ready and they could eat. Seeing that Sister Zhou had taken Junzai to play elsewhere, the couple went to the dining room with a sense of lingering reluctance.
During dinner, the couple still didn’t say any extra words. After finishing their meal, seeing that he was free, Su Jiaobai said, “Do you have time? I want to talk to you.”
Gu Xingmo could roughly guess what she was going to say, so he nodded and walked to the living room first.
Su Jiaobai followed him. Seeing that he sat on the edge of the long sofa, she sat on the single sofa chair next to him.
The distance was neither too close nor too far, facilitating communication.
After they were both seated, Gu Xingmo didn’t speak first; he waited for her to speak.
Su Jiaobai made up her mind and didn’t procrastinate, directly telling him her thoughts: “I know it’s late to ask for it now, as I didn’t ask for it when we got married. Whether you give it or how much you give, it’s all up to your conscience. But Mr. Gu, you know my situation. I didn’t grow up in the Lu family, and I’m not close to anyone in the Lu family. I also have my own job now and won’t work at Lu’s. If I don’t ask for a substantial dowry now that I’m married, I’m afraid I won’t get anything in the future.”
“What the Lu family gives me, I will definitely leave to Junzai in the future, so in this matter, we are a community of shared interests. You should help me.”
Su Jiaobai was not stupid. If she wanted to win over Gu Xingmo, she naturally had to tell him the benefits of him helping her.
But seeing that Gu Xingmo didn’t respond for a moment, Su Jiaobai, being a novice in society, couldn’t wait and immediately offered benefits, saying, “If you propose the betrothal gift first, the Lu family, out of face, won’t be able to refuse to offer a dowry. But after that, I will return the betrothal gift you give me in full. In other words, you only need to cooperate with me in a play.”
“Mr. Gu, this way, you actually have no losses. Moreover, what I have in the end will all be your son’s. Why wouldn’t you be happy to do it?”
Gu Xingmo looked at her, still silent. His dark eyes were deep, and his face had a half-smile, so Su Jiaobai couldn’t understand his intentions.
Knowing that she shouldn’t offer more benefits, but feeling anxious, she wanted to finalize the matter immediately. So, she hastily took a step back and said, “How about this, I’ll give you some of the dowry from the Lu family.” As for how much, that was to be discussed later.
Of course, the less she gave away, the better, preferably not having to give any.
But Gu Xingmo asked, “How much?”
Su Jiaobai: “…” He was inhuman. He was already so rich, why would he care about her meager possessions?
Su Jiaobai suppressed her temper, trying not to flip the table, “How much does Mr. Gu want?”
Gu Xingmo then said, “Your negotiation skills are good, but you’re too anxious.”
Su Jiaobai: “?”
“What do you mean?” she asked.