At the Gu family factory, Assistant Xiao Wang looked at the young master, who had recently become unusually diligent at work, feeling puzzled.
Normally, this young master wouldn’t show up until late in the morning. After handling factory matters, he would disappear wandering the streets and no one could find him. But lately, it was as if the sun had risen from the west—arriving to work on time and leaving on time every single day.
When Gu Qiwen heard about it, he was deeply gratified. His son had finally grown up and become sensible, knowing how to share the family’s burdens.
Meanwhile, inside the office, the utterly bored young master paced back and forth.
Counting the days, if she came three times a week, then she should be arriving soon.
It was all because he had gotten too carried away last time and forgotten to ask Chen Yao for the exact schedule, forcing him to stay at the factory every day just in case he missed her.
But when he recalled their last interaction, Gu Jingcheng’s lips curled upward again.
After leaving Teacher Ye’s house, Meng Yao hurriedly packed her things and rushed off to find Gu Jingcheng. While walking, she even reviewed the phonetic symbols she had learned last time, only relaxing after confirming she could pronounce them all correctly.
Completely absorbed in silently reciting the sounds in her head, Meng Yao failed to notice the two familiar figures across the street.
“Hey, Meng Yu, isn’t that your sister?” Chen Hong nudged the girl beside her.
The two of them were disguised, so ordinary people wouldn’t recognize them at a glance.
Meng Yu looked across the road and sure enough, Meng Yao was quickly walking out from the direction of a residential building, her usual bag slung over her shoulder.
“How come your sister came out of there?” Chen Hong glanced at the apartment buildings across the street. “The people living there are all government workers. Your sister actually knows someone there?”
Meng Yu was also confused.
“Our family is so poor. How could we possibly know people like that?”
Chen Hong subconsciously replied,
“Then your sister—”
Halfway through her sentence, she suddenly stopped, and Meng Yu immediately understood what she meant.
Back in the village, there were often rumors of girls who went into the city once and suddenly started living well, constantly bringing meat and cloth home. Villagers would ask if they had found some amazing job, but the girls would never explain. Only later, after someone accidentally discovered the truth, did everyone realize they had actually become someone’s kept mistress.
The wealthy man supporting them would rent a place outside to avoid his family finding out, until eventually acquaintances stumbled upon the secret.
Their parents’ reputations were completely ruined afterward.
“Don’t make wild guesses. My family is still poor. Otherwise, would I still be out here doing this with you?” Meng Yu said.
After thinking about it, Chen Hong agreed. If Meng Yao had really been kept by someone wealthy, Meng Yu would definitely be benefiting too. There was no way she’d still be participating in illegal black-market business with her.
Watching Meng Yao gradually disappear from sight, Meng Yu withdrew her gaze.
“Come on. The market should be starting soon.”
It was Chen Hong’s first time doing this, and she felt nervous.
“Meng Yu, are you sure no one will discover this black market?”
Meng Yu adjusted the scarf on her head to better cover her face.
“Of course not. Don’t worry.”
It was only after the Gu family had been raided in her previous life that she learned the location of the black market. Back then, she had disguised herself and traded away valuables there repeatedly to maintain her standard of living without ever being discovered.
She was more familiar with this place than anyone and guaranteed it confidently.
Originally, Chen Hong had been too scared to come, but Meng Yu convinced her. Thinking about how even if she got into university later, her family might not be able to afford tuition, she realized she needed to start saving money now.
“Alright, I trust you.”
Chen Hong followed after her.
Meanwhile, Meng Yao had already arrived at the entrance of the Gu family factory.
The elderly gatekeeper stared at her for several seconds before speaking first.
“You must be Comrade Chen Yao, right?”
Meng Yao froze briefly, then nodded.
The old gatekeeper immediately opened the door.
“You may go in. Walk straight ahead and turn right to find the office.”
“Thank you.”
Meng Yao guessed that Gu Jingcheng must have informed the gatekeeper beforehand.
Gu Jingcheng’s office was easy to find. When she arrived, the door was open, and she saw him seated at his desk signing documents while an assistant stood respectfully beside him.
Meng Yao made no sound at all, yet the man seemed to sense her presence. He suddenly stopped writing and looked up.
The moment their eyes met, Meng Yao’s heart skipped violently.
Gu Jingcheng was dressed rather formally today—a black suit, neatly styled hair, completely lacking his usual carefree demeanor. Instead, he carried the mature aura of a successful businessman.
When those eyes suddenly looked at her, dazzling light seemed to shine within them.
Meng Yao’s face instantly turned red.
Gu Jingcheng immediately stood from his chair, closed the file in his hand, and passed it to the assistant.
“The profit data for this month is wrong. Go recalculate it carefully and bring it back.”
Cold sweat instantly broke out across the assistant’s back. Those numbers had come directly from accounting. If there was really a problem, it would be serious. Yet this young master had discovered it after only a brief glance?
He still wanted to ask questions, but then noticed the pretty young girl standing at the doorway. Instantly understanding the situation, he quickly grabbed the documents and left.
“When did you get here? Have you eaten? Are you tired?”
Gu Jingcheng walked over and asked.
It was already around two or three in the afternoon. Who wouldn’t have eaten by now?
Meng Yao looked at him several times before nodding.
“I’ve eaten. I came to you for English tutoring.”
As she spoke, she pulled out the fried peanuts she had prepared in advance from her bag.
Wrapped in old newspaper, the peanuts looked strangely out of place in such a bright and polished environment, as though they didn’t belong there at all.
Gu Jingcheng immediately took them and stepped aside to let her in.
“Come inside. Why are you just standing there?”
Without the slightest hesitation, he opened the newspaper wrapping. The sound of peanut shells cracking was crisp as he casually tossed some into his mouth and chewed.
“As expected, crunchy peanuts taste the best.”
Meng Yao noticed peanut crumbs sticking to the sleeve of his black suit, standing out quite obviously. Subconsciously, she brushed them off for him.
“If you like them, I’ll make more for you next time. They’re not worth much anyway.”
Gu Jingcheng pulled out a chair for her to sit down, clearly disagreeing with her statement.
“Comrade Chen Yao, your ideological awareness still needs improvement. Whether something is valuable or not can’t always be measured by money.”
Hearing him call her Chen Yao felt strangely awkward to Meng Yao.
“Then what should it be measured by?”
Gu Jingcheng dragged another chair over and sat beside her. Taking a small handful of peanuts from the newspaper and placing them on the table, he spoke with exaggerated seriousness.
“Look at these peanuts. They didn’t just magically appear here for no reason, right? First you have to plant them in the soil, then fertilize and water them. After waiting for them to slowly sprout, they bloom and bear fruit. Along the way, you still need to weed the fields from time to time…”
Gu Jingcheng’s voice was deeply expressive, and his gaze unusually earnest.