8: 8.
Has the sun risen from the west?
Shen Wan’er is calling.
8: 8.
Has the sun risen from the west?
Shen Wan’er is calling.
That evening, inside the opulent dining room of the Gu Family Estate.
In a rare turn of events, Gu Tianming and Su Murong had both returned home early from their corporate honeymoon.
Gu Yan’s mouth twitched slightly as he surveyed the massive banquet table before him.
It was piled high with an extravagant spread of premium delicacies, including abalone, Atlantic lobsters, and braised bird’s nests.
“Dad, Mom, what’s the special occasion?” Gu Yan asked, genuinely perplexed.
“Why did you order a literal feast?” “Sister Wang, that’s enough from the kitchen!
Just bring out a light clear soup and take the rest of the night off,” Su Murong called out to the staff.
“Right away, Madam!” Phew.
Gu Tianming and Su Murong exchanged a series of tense, rapid glances.
Their eyes practically screamed the exact same message to one another: Honey, you tell him.
Ultimately, cracking under his wife’s threatening glare, Gu Tianming cleared his throat, looked at Gu Yan, and spoke with forced gentleness.
“Yan, your mother and I know you’re probably hurting and disappointed right now.
But it’s really okay.” “Jianghai City is teeming with exceptional, high-society young ladies.
As long as you promise never to crawl back to Shen Wan’er, we can discuss literally any other arrangement.” Seeing her husband set the stage, Su Murong immediately picked up her chopsticks, placed a tender piece of braised pork onto Gu Yan’s plate, and chimed in earnestly.
“Yes, Yan, your father is exactly right.
There are plenty of fish in the sea.
Why fixate on a single drop of water when you can have the ocean?” “Mom will personally curate a much better match for you!” “We have excellent connections with the Bai Family, the Tang Family, the Zhuge Family…” “Your father can pull the strings and make it happen overnight!” Hearing this, Gu Tianming’s eyelid twitched violently.
“Hey…
wait a minute, how can I possibly pull that off without—Ouch!” Su Murong smoothly retracted her fingers from pinching her husband’s thigh, turning back to beam affectionately at her son.
“As long as you find someone you genuinely like, Yan, your father will happily lead the marriage proposal caravan.
And if he refuses, your mother will handle it personally!” Su Murong wasn’t just boasting.
The Su Family was a legendary, top-tier clan based in the Capital City.
When she had married Gu Tianming decades ago, it was widely acknowledged in high society that the Gu family had successfully married up.
Gu Yan found the entire trajectory of the conversation increasingly absurd.
He quickly waved his hands, staring at his parents in utter confusion.
“Dad, Mom, what on earth are you two talking about?” “I’ve already proposed to Qingqiu.
We are practically engaged at this point.
Why would I ever look at another woman?” Gu Tianming and Su Murong’s brains failed to process the information.
“Yes, Yan, we understand that because Leng Qingqiu is blind, you felt rejected and decided to with…
withdraw…
wait, proposed?!” Mid-sentence, both of them froze solid.
“Hold on a second.” “Proposed?!” “Practically engaged?!” Su Murong felt her vision go momentarily dark, nearly fainting onto the mahogany table.
Gu Tianming’s jaw dropped so low it looked unhinged.
He stared at his son in absolute disbelief.
“You…
you didn’t break off the betrothal contract with the Leng Family?!” Seeing their panicked reactions, Gu Yan finally connected the dots.
His parents had automatically assumed he would throw a tantrum and demand a cancellation the moment he discovered his arranged fiancée was blind!
Realizing this, Gu Yan let out an exasperated laugh.
“Mom, Dad, Qingqiu and I hit it off immediately.
It was true love at first sight for me!” “I want nothing more than to cherish and protect her for the rest of my life, so why would I ever cancel the engagement?” “Please, don’t waste your energy trying to set me up with anyone else.” Gu Yan casually picked up his chopsticks, talking comfortably between bites.
“In fact, I’m currently looking into an auspicious calendar date to formally announce my engagement to Leng Qingqiu to the entire city.” Boom!
Su Murong felt as though a bolt of divine lightning had struck her cerebral cortex.
Oh my god!
My sweet son just barely escaped the clutches of that gold-digger Shen Wan’er, only to immediately throw his entire life away for a blind girl!
You!
You’re simply!
You’re going to drive me to…
No, wait!
Su Murong’s expression abruptly shifted.
She whipped her head around, glaring murderously at her husband sitting beside her.
[This is entirely your fault for going over there to discuss the betrothal in the first place!!] Gu Tianming instantly deciphered his wife’s furious gaze, responding sheepishly with a frantic blink.
[Wasn’t it you who aggressively nagged me to go?!] [That’s because you guaranteed me everything would be fine!
You said our son would definitely reject a blind girl and demand a cancellation!] [Well…
how was I supposed to know the brat had completely changed his entire personality overnight?!] [You’re sleeping on the study couch tonight!] [What?!] Accepting his tragic defeat, Gu Tianming hung his head in silence, dejectedly picking at his rice.
Su Murong also aggressively chewed her food, radiating a dense aura of maternal frustration.
Gu Yan watched his parents’ silent facial warfare and shook his head with a helpless smile.
Right at that moment— [ Gu Yan, are you there?
Gu Yan, are you there?
Gu Yan, are you there?
] A highly distinct, piercingly shrill ringtone shattered the silence of the dinner table.
Gu Yan flinched, momentarily bewildered by the incredibly cringe-inducing audio blasting from his pants pocket.
He fished out his phone, and a long-buried memory flashed into his mind.
Oh, right.
In the original timeline, Shen Wan’er had once deigned to send Gu Yan a generic, low-effort voice note.
The original, hopelessly infatuated version of Gu Yan had been so ecstatically grateful that he had custom-engineered that specific audio file into a personalized ringtone just for her.
Gu Tianming and Su Murong instantly went on high alert, their eyes locking onto the glowing smartphone screen like hawks.
The caller ID boldly flashed the words: [The Sovereign of My Heart].
Gulp.
The couple exchanged a look of pure dread, completely holding their breath to avoid making a single sound.
They stared at their son with deep, agonizing concern.
Even though Gu Yan had just claimed he was completely over Shen Wan’er…
who could actually guarantee it?
Their son had managed to stay away from her for three whole days, but now that the woman was actively initiating contact, they were terrified he would instantly revert into a brainless, submissive lapdog.
“Don’t look at me like I’m about to relapse,” Gu Yan said nonchalantly.
“I genuinely have zero interest in her.” Right under the wide, trembling eyes of his parents, Gu Yan smoothly swiped the red [Reject] button.
Then, without missing a single beat, his thumb danced across the screen, executing a flawless combo: [Block Number] -> [Delete Contact].
Done.
!!
Gu Tianming and Su Murong sat completely paralyzed, utterly shell-shocked by the sheer efficiency of the execution.
“Son!
You’re…
you’re actually for real?!” Gu Tianming blurted out, astounded.
He had firmly believed his son’s recent behavior was just a temporary phase born out of spite, and that he would eventually crawl back to be Shen Wan’er’s loyal simp.
He never expected to witness a total, merciless execution of ties!
This was practically a medical miracle!
“Of course I’m serious, Dad, Mom.
I’ve completely turned over a new leaf.
I’m ready to settle down, act like an adult, and build a peaceful life with Qingqiu.” “I truly hope you won’t look down on her just because of her physical disability.
She is an exceptionally brilliant and wonderful girl,” Gu Yan said, his tone thick with mature, unshakeable sincerity.
Hearing that exact cadence, Gu Tianming and Su Murong felt a profound weight settle over them.
Their son was being completely serious.
The hollow, desperate look he always wore whenever he was chasing after Shen Wan’er had vanished entirely, replaced by a gaze that was steady, grounded, and intensely focused.
After a long, heavy silence, Gu Tianming threw his head back and burst into a booming, ecstatic laugh.
“Hahaha!
Fantastic!
Do whatever you want, son!
After all, our estate is big enough to support one more pair of chopsticks!” Su Murong also let out a helpless but deeply softened sigh, nodding along.
“Since you’ve already given her your word and proposed, Yan…
let it be so.” Deep down, Su Murong still harbored traditional upper-crust desires for her son to marry a physically flawless heiress from an equal billionaire dynasty.
But seeing her son finally act like a mature man was a trade-off she would make any day of the week.
Gu Yan knew his mother’s deep-seated biases wouldn’t melt away in a single evening, but he was more than willing to play the long game.
He looked across the table at her, a soft smile on his face.
“Thank you, Mom.” Su Murong froze.
Thank…
you?
Did my son just naturally say ‘thank you’ to me?
An unfamiliar, deeply emotional warmth flooded her chest, making her throat tighten slightly.
Gu Yan then turned his gaze toward his father, his smile widening.
“Thank you, Dad.
I know I was incredibly immature in the past and caused a massive amount of reputational damage to our family business.
I’m sorry.” Gu Tianming’s breath caught in his throat.
Visibly flustered by the sudden display of filial maturity, he quickly averted his eyes and let out a series of dry, aggressive coughs.
“Ahem!
Cough…
Well!
It’s…
it’s good that you finally understand!
As long as you change, that’s all that matters!” Holy hell!
What kind of miraculous, world-class daughter-in-law is this blind girl?!
Gu Tianming thought, his heart pounding with excitement.
She hasn’t even stepped foot inside our house yet, and she’s already civilized our feral son into a polite, respectful gentleman!
For that achievement alone, Gu Tianming officially gave this mysterious daughter-in-law his absolute, unconditional stamp of approval!
— Meanwhile, across town at the Michelin-starred restaurant.
“Hello, ladies.
I must politely remind you that you have been occupying this table for over two hours now.” “May I ask which of you will be settling the final invoice?” The restaurant owner, having been briefed on the situation by his staff, approached Shen Wan’er’s table with the leather-bound bill folder.
Though a practiced, professional smile remained plastered on his face, his eyes were dripping with unmasked contempt and disdain.
These three women had walked into his high-end establishment hours ago, ordered a massive array of their most expensive dishes, and spent the entire evening taking hundreds of staged photos from various angles.
When the servers finally cleared the untouched food and presented the check, all three suddenly began whispering frantically, claiming their accounts were frozen or insufficient.
Heh.
Just another pathetic group of fake, lifestyle-renting socialites trying to flex on social media, the owner sneered inwardly.
“Wan’er…
did…
did Gu Yan seriously just hang up on your face?!” Xie Baiwei and Wu Lili asked simultaneously, swallowing hard as they stared in sheer, unadulterated panic at their beautiful friend.
“Maybe…
maybe his phone ran out of battery?
Or he’s in an important corporate meeting…” Shen Wan’er’s face looked incredibly strained, her fingers trembling slightly as she stared at the stark ‘Call Ended’ notification on her screen.
Forcing down her rising humiliation, she raised her head to look at her two best friends, her voice tinged with a hint of desperation.
“Baiwei, Lili…
are you two absolutely certain you didn’t bring any credit cards?” When they were initialy browsing the menu, Shen Wan’er had explicitly voiced her concerns, asking if they were ordering a ridiculously excessive amount of food.
However, both of her friends had waved it off with supreme, arrogant confidence, loudly insisting that money wasn’t an issue and that they would easily finish everything.
But in reality?
They barely took two bites, dedicating ninety percent of their energy to capturing the perfect lighting for their social media grids.
When the final tally arrived, the total bill came out to an astronomical 133,000 Yuan.
The primary culprit was Xie Baiwei, who had aggressively insisted on uncorking a premium vintage worth 100,000 Yuan purely to use the luxury bottle as a background prop for her aesthetic photos.
A casual dinner bill of 133,000 Yuan was far beyond the personal liquid allowance of these coddled, second-tier heiresses.
That was the sole reason they had suddenly dropped their arrogant act and frantically pressured Shen Wan’er to call Gu Yan.
Their entire tactical plan revolved around using Shen Wan’er as bait to get Gu Yan to rush over, act like a chivalrous savior, and happily swipe his black card for them.
But to their absolute horror, the brainless, submissive simp had actually dared to reject her call!