Rong Qing breezed in with an air of urgency.
Gu Xingzhi set down his coffee cup, a hint of displeasure at the corner of his eyes. “Mom, why are you here?”
Rong Qing planted her hands on her hips. “What, am I not allowed to come?”
She pulled Lu Tao, who was curled up on the sofa, to her feet. “If I hadn’t come, who knows how much further you’d have pushed our Lu Tao. Look at our poor little Tao’er.”
The moment she embraced Lu Tao, Lu Tao made a show of shedding a few tears.
Those teardrops fell onto Rong Qing’s hand like molten lava, and Rong Qing’s eyes went wide as saucers.
She was the one who had brokered this marriage in the first place—she had a duty to look after Lu Tao!
“I’m the one pushing her?” Gu Xingzhi let out a low chuckle. “Take a look at how she’s dressed. She’s been out having a grand old time today.”
The way she’d been posing for photos with those male cosplayers—there was no shortage of enthusiasm.
Rong Qing raised a hand. “Spare me the nonsense. She dressed up like this for the mall entirely for my sake!”
Lu Tao: “??”
What was happening?
Bewildered and at a loss, she let Rong Qing take her hand, rubbing and patting it with tender care before pulling her into an embrace, holding her snug like a little plush toy.
On top of that, Rong Qing kept stroking her hand in a leisurely rhythm, her words dripping with sympathy. “You think she wanted to do all that? I heard Gu Yuqing’s daughter-in-law was doing a cosplay event at the mall. When she saw it, she dressed up as a nine-tailed fox to outshine everyone on the floor. That daughter-in-law of Gu Yuqing’s was absolutely fuming!”
Lu Tao blinked, understanding now.
Her dear Zhizhi was far too loyal—she’d already escaped cleanly, but she’d turned back as a “reverse walker” for her sake.
Cheese Peach Peach, YYDS (Eternal God)!
And so, before Gu Xingzhi even had a chance to scold her, she was whisked away by her mother-in-law for a shopping trip.
“You gave up your shopping time today to fight for your mom’s honor, didn’t you? Whatever you want, Mom will buy it for you!”
Rong Qing grandly reserved the entire store, summoning seven sales associates to stand before Lu Tao, with the store manager herself joining in to personally serve her.
The sheer scale of it stunned Lu Tao. Her mother-in-law was more of a domineering CEO than anyone, wasn’t she?
Then again, it made sense. The Rong family, married into the Gu clan, might not be as staggeringly wealthy as the Gus, but her mother-in-law’s father’s paintings were priceless, and her mother was a literary giant who’d won the Fumeng Award. They’d never wanted for money—rich in both spirit and substance.
A whole rack of clothing was wheeled out. Anything Lu Tao so much as glanced at, Rong Qing had the SA set aside to be packed up and taken home.
Rong Qing said, “Don’t worry. As long as I’m here, Xingzhi wouldn’t dare do anything to you. If you ever feel wronged, just come tell Mom.”
Lu Tao nodded vigorously.
After this battle, she’d figured it out: if she wanted to keep being Mrs. Gu, whether her husband was around or not didn’t really matter. The key was securing her mother-in-law’s heart.
Her mother-in-law was her imperial sword of authority.
Even though she was only a stepmother, and Gu Xingzhi’s relationship with her was a bit odd, he still respected her deeply and listened to her.
Lu Tao’s eyes sparkled like stars. “Mom, you’re so good to me.”
She meant it from the bottom of her heart. Her own parents had died when she was very young, and she’d been raised by her grandmother.
As for the Lu Tao in the book—she’d had it just as rough.
In the Qiao family, she’d never fit in with the rest of them, and the whole family doted on her younger brother.
When she went to the Lu family, they couldn’t accept her either.
She’d never known a father’s love or a mother’s love.
“Silly child.” Rong Qing handed her a bowl of fruit salad, cupped her face, and smiled with eyes curved like crescent moons. “Actually, I always wanted a daughter like you—adorable and sweet, someone to shop with, cook with, and share secrets with.”
Lu Tao looked at her mother-in-law, still young and beautiful. Tsk, those collarbones, that figure—plenty of young girls couldn’t compare.
She scooped a spoonful of peach into her cheek, her little squirrel face puffing as she chewed, her mouth faster than her brain. “Then why didn’t you have one?”
Rong Qing’s expression shifted instantly. Lu Tao stopped chewing, holding the peach in her mouth as she stared at her, then covered her mouth with her hand.
Had she said something wrong?
Right—who would egg their mother-in-law on to have a second child to fight over the family fortune?
Rong Qing quickly patted her head, her smile returning to normal. “I have no children, and I never plan to have any of my own. From the moment I married Gu Tingshen, I’d already made that decision.”
She was beautiful, with a bone structure that carried an innate aristocratic elegance, her smile lovely, her skin so pale it seemed wrapped in a soft glow. “So from now on, you’re my daughter.”
She let out another sigh. “That boy, Xingzhi…”
She trailed off, then gave Lu Tao a deep look. “In any case, be patient with him.”
Lu Tao raised an eyebrow: Huh? From what she could see, Gu Xingzhi lacked for nothing and seemed perfectly normal. Sure, he was suspicious by nature and inscrutable, but he’d never docked her pay.
At least he was far more normal than the male lead in the book with his twisted way of thinking.
Could there really be some hidden ailment?
Speaking of which, she genuinely liked her mother-in-law. There was a certain serendipity to it—some people you could be with for ages and never warm up to, but others you clicked with at first sight.
So, her kindness toward her came with a purpose too—she hoped Lu Tao would be good to Gu Xingzhi.
Just as mothers-in-law treat their sons-in-law well in hopes that they’ll treat their daughters better.
Still, she didn’t mind it, since her own motives weren’t exactly pure either.
It was for that ten million.
“Mom, you really do care about Gu Xingzhi.” Lu Tao patted her chest in assurance. “Don’t worry, I’ll treat him well.”
Rong Qing’s brows curved with a smile. “Then I’m relieved.”
Back home, Lu Tao was like a little chick that had just found its mother, flopping onto the bed to share her joy with Fu Zhi. “Zhizhi, I have a mom now.”
Fu Zhi listened to the whole story and fell silent for a moment.
She knew this was something Lu Tao had always lacked. Everyone could give her plenty of love, but a mother’s love was something she’d never experienced, and nothing could replace it.
She could understand, but when her best friend got too sentimental, she had to pull her back. “I’d advise you not to get too caught up in it. We’re bound to leave eventually.”
“True.” Lu Tao’s expression dimmed slightly, but luckily she was the type to easily reconcile with herself—her emotions came fast and went just as fast. “Oh, by the way, you were so loyal today! When Young Master Bai Yu dragged you back, how did he deal with you?”
Fu Zhi let out a cold laugh. “What could he do to me? It’d be an act of mercy if I didn’t do anything to him.”
At that moment, in the pale blue swimming pool, looking down from above, a man with not an ounce of excess flesh on his body, broad-shouldered and long-legged, was swimming through the vast pool like a lone whale in a great ocean.
He wore only a pair of black swimming goggles and dark navy tight swim trunks, moving as nimbly as a flying fish.
Water droplets splashed as he kept an impassive expression, mechanically swinging his arms.
Yet on the shore, four bodyguards stood at the ready, afraid he might drown, prepared to protect him at any moment.
Bai Yu plunged his head into the deep water in one breath, but his mind couldn’t help replaying—
Back then, when his eyes couldn’t see, his other senses had grown sharper.
That softness, accompanied by the faint white peach fragrance drifting into his nose, the girl’s soft moans, cool yet tinged with allure.
Damn it! Why was he still thinking about that?
Without warning, he was yanked up entirely, water droplets sliding down his chest—