Seeing that Mother Gu didn't speak, Lu Sui knew her resolve was wavering.
He said firmly, "Get ready. In half an hour, the moving company will arrive at your place and take you to my vacant house."
"I have things to attend to. Goodbye."
Gu Kuankuan watched as Lu Sui hung up the phone.
She asked cautiously, "Mom, what did Lu Sui say?"
"He said the moving company will arrive in half an hour…" Mother Gu said, a bit dazed.
"Then let's pack up quickly."
Gu Kuankuan deeply admired Lu Sui—he had won over her mother in just a few words.
He said half an hour.
But in fact, before long, the moving company arrived with a large truck and a sedan.
Four or five movers came.
There wasn't much in the apartment, and the well-trained movers loaded everything onto the truck in no time.
Gu Kuankuan and her mother rode in the moving company's sedan to Lu Sui's vacant house.
Lu Sui's vacant house was in a relatively new residential complex, with three bedrooms and two living rooms.
It was a little over ten minutes' walk from the hospital where Father Gu was staying, just a few minutes by electric scooter, and the overall facilities and environment were excellent.
"Mom, the layout of this apartment is exactly the same as our old home, even though the decorating style is different," Gu Kuankuan said happily.
Gu Kuankuan knew that developers built commercial apartments with only the same handful of layouts over and over.
But seeing this apartment with a layout identical to the one they used to live in, she couldn't help feeling happy.
It gave her the illusion that life had returned to how it was before her father's car accident.
"Yes, it is."
Mother Gu gazed at the apartment, recalling all of Lu Sui's actions, and felt less upset about her daughter's flash marriage to him…
Gu Kuankuan called Lu Sui to tell him they had moved into his vacant house, that they were very satisfied with it, and to express her gratitude to him.
…
The next day was Monday.
At four in the afternoon, Gu Kuankuan walked into her boss's office. "Boss, I have something to do tonight. I'd like to leave two hours early."
The Editor-in-Chief knew about Gu Kuankuan's family situation, and she had performed very well at work this year.
The Editor-in-Chief readily agreed.
"All right, go tell Finance so they'll log it as a normal end of day."
"Thank you so much, Boss!" Gu Kuankuan said gratefully.
Gu Kuankuan had just walked out of the office building.
A stylishly dressed, trendy-looking man approached her.
"Hello, Miss Gu! My name is Ji Dongtian. Mr. Lu Sui learned that you're attending a banquet tonight and specially sent me to do your styling."
"Huh? Lu Sui?" Gu Kuankuan said in surprise. "He never told me anything about this."
"Perhaps you'd like to call Mr. Lu Sui now to confirm?" the stylist suggested.
"Hold on a moment…"
Gu Kuankuan took out her phone from her bag and called Lu Sui.
"Lu Sui, a man named Ji Dongtian says you sent him to do my styling for the banquet tonight. Is that true?"
"It is," Lu Sui said coldly. "I've been very busy today and forgot to tell you in advance. Sorry!"
"Thank you! I understand. I won't keep you from your work."
After hanging up, Gu Kuankuan followed the stylist to a top-tier styling salon.
The salon staff took her to have a spa treatment.
"Excuse me, how much does a styling session cost here?" Gu Kuankuan asked the staff while getting her SPA.
She thought to herself: This salon offers all kinds of snacks for its customers, plus exquisite, delicious desserts, and the service is so good—the price must be steep, right?
"That depends on which stylist you mean," the staff member said with a smile.
"For example, the one who brought me here earlier," Gu Kuankuan said.
"Uh…" The staff member paused. "Our boss's fees aren't fixed—it depends on his mood, on how close he is to the client, and so on. Generally, it starts at several hundred thousand, but if he's on good terms with someone, it's free."
Hearing "starts at several hundred thousand," Gu Kuankuan was so shocked she nearly sat up.
Then, hearing "it's free if he's on good terms with you," her startled little heart settled back down.
Gu Kuankuan guessed that Ji Dongtian had personally come to pick her up from her office building because he was fairly close to Lu Sui, so her styling would be free.
After all, unless you were a big star or a wealthy person.
Ordinary people couldn't bear to spend several hundred thousand on a single styling session.
After the SPA, the staff led Gu Kuankuan to change into her gown.
Then the stylist Ji Dongtian began doing her hair and makeup…
Once the styling was done.
Ji Dongtian exclaimed excitedly, "Miss Gu, you're my most satisfying work of the year—bar none! You're stunning! You're so versatile, I'd love to try all kinds of different styles on you!"
Gu Kuankuan gazed at herself in the full-length mirror, utterly dazzled.
"Teacher Ji Dongtian's makeup skills are simply otherworldly. I can hardly believe the person in the mirror is me."
She had never known she could look this breathtakingly beautiful!
"Miss Gu, may I take a few photos of you?" Ji Dongtian asked politely, holding a professional camera.
"Of course." Gu Kuankuan nodded.
Under Ji Dongtian's professional direction, Gu Kuankuan struck a few poses.
Ji Dongtian took some photos, added Gu Kuankuan on WeChat, and said he'd send her the pictures later.
Finally, Ji Dongtian arranged for a driver to take Gu Kuankuan to the Shengshi Grand Hotel.
Lu Corporation.
Lu Sui had finished dinner and was about to return to his office to work overtime.
He took out his phone for a glance and saw a WeChat message from Ji Dongtian.
Ji Dongtian: [Image] x6.
Ji Dongtian: Miss Gu's styling is done. She's very pleased with it.
Lu Sui opened the photos.
In the photos, the girl's skin was like fine porcelain. She wore a misty-blue starry gown with thin spaghetti straps and a shallow V-neck, exuding pure sophistication. Glittering star sequins and scattered diamonds ran from top to bottom, dense fading to sparse, as if stars had tumbled down to earth—dreamlike, dazzling, noble and elegant without losing a playful, girlish charm.
So beautiful it was impossible to look away.
Lu Sui: Change her into a different gown. Right now. Immediately!
The straps on that gown were so thin they looked like they could snap at any moment.
Ji Dongtian: Are you not satisfied with Miss Gu's styling?
Lu Sui: …
He was damn well more than satisfied.
But the thought of that gown Gu Kuankuan was wearing, its straps so thin they might snap at any moment…
The thought of all those men's eyes at the banquet falling on her.
Lu Sui wanted to gouge every one of their eyes out!
Ji Dongtian: President Lu, Miss Gu has already left for the hotel.
Ji Dongtian: It's too late to call her back now.
Lu Sui rose swiftly from his office chair and walked out of the office…
"President, where are you going?" Assistant Zhou hurriedly asked.
"Off work."
As Lu Sui spoke, he had already stepped into the president's private elevator.
Assistant Zhou: "…"
Why wasn't the workaholic president working overtime?
Shengshi Grand Hotel.
Gu Kuankuan showed her invitation to the staff, and after it was verified, she followed the other guests into the banquet hall.
When Gu Xueyan saw the stunningly beautiful Gu Kuankuan, jealousy turned her eyes red.
She secretly clenched her fists, cursing inwardly: Damn you, Gu Kuankuan. You came here deliberately to steal my spotlight.
Just watch how I teach you a lesson!
With that thought, Gu Xueyan put on a smile. "Cousin, you're finally here. Young Master Lu and I are getting engaged—what congratulatory gift have you prepared?"