Gu Yihang lowered his head, gritting his teeth, not daring to say a word.
Gu Xiaoxiao hadn’t turned a page of her magazine for quite some time. She secretly glanced at her older cousin before quickly lowering her head again.
Sitting on the sofa, Yu Wan watched the scene with a rather complicated expression.
She really had been angry just now. It would have been one thing if Gu Yihang had insulted only her, but he had dragged her mother into it as well.
But now, most of that anger has faded.
What remained was a surprise.
Was Gu Chiyuan actually standing up for her?
In the original novel, Gu Chiyuan only had eyes for Su Nanzhi. He remained distant and indifferent toward everyone else, always maintaining the perfect amount of emotional distance.
Yet here he was now, standing in front of her with a cold expression, reprimanding his younger cousin on her behalf.
Yu Wan couldn’t help feeling conflicted.
“What’s going on?”
Sensing that things were taking a bad turn, Second Aunt Gu quickly stepped forward to smooth things over.
“Yihang, what did you do this time to make your brother angry?”
“Chiyuan, he’s just a kid. Don’t lower yourself to his level,” Second Uncle Gu added.
“He’s twenty four years old. Is that still considered a child?” Gu Chiyuan asked coldly.
His gaze was so intimidating that the two of them awkwardly fell silent.
Seeing this, Gu Chiyuan turned his attention back to Gu Yihang.
“Gu Yihang, repeat exactly what you just said.”
Gu Yihang clenched his jaw.
“Brother…”
“Say it again.”
Gu Yihang glanced at Second Uncle Gu, who signaled for him to do as he was told.
Taking a deep breath, he repeated part of what he had said.
“I… I said, luckily Eldest Uncle took them in…”
“Was that your exact wording?” Gu Chiyuan asked coldly.
“…”
Gu Yihang’s face flushed bright red.
After another deep breath, he quietly repeated his original words.
“I said, ‘Yu Wan, who do you think you’re fooling by acting so high and mighty? Who do you think you are? Aren’t you just a burden? If Eldest Uncle hadn’t taken you in, you and your mother would probably be out begging…'”
His voice became quieter and quieter.
Uncle Gu’s expression darkened as well.
Setting down his teacup, he looked at Gu Yihang with a sharp gaze almost identical to Gu Chiyuan’s.
Instead, Mother Yu gently patted his hand, her expression remaining as warm as ever.
“He’s just a child who doesn’t know when to stop talking. It’s alright,” she said gently. “Chiyuan, don’t scare him.”
Uncle Gu looked at her, his brows knitting together slightly, but he said nothing.
Second Uncle Gu hurriedly chimed in.
“Exactly, exactly. Sister in law is right. He’s just a kid who doesn’t know any better. I’ll make sure to lecture him properly later.”
Second Aunt Gu also stepped forward.
“Xiao Wan, don’t take it to heart. Your younger brother just has a sharp tongue. He doesn’t really mean any harm…”
Normally, the matter would have ended there.
But today, Gu Chiyuan was unusually difficult to appease.
“Apologize,” he said.
“Yes, yes! Yihang, hurry and apologize. Don’t make your older cousin any angrier!”
Gu Yihang gritted his teeth and walked over to Yu Wan.
“I’m sorry.”
The words came out stiffly.
“Will you say something like that again?” Gu Chiyuan asked.
“No! Even if you beat me to death, I won’t say it again!”
Gu Yihang shut his eyes and practically shouted.
Mother Yu checked the time before standing up to usher everyone toward the dining room.
“Alright, alright. Let’s not stand around anymore. The meal’s ready. We can chat while we eat.”
Everyone rose and headed for the dining room.
The long dining table was filled with dishes.
Yu Wan sat beside Mother Yu. Across from her sat Gu Yihang, Gu Xiaoxiao, and Second Aunt Gu.
Uncle Gu sat beside the head of the table, while Second Uncle Gu and Gu Chiyuan sat on either side of him.
The atmosphere was fairly harmonious.
After a few drinks, Second Uncle Gu finally revealed the true reason for today’s visit.
“Chiyuan,” he said as he set down his wine glass with a smile, “Yihang’s already been out of school for a year. As his older cousin, you should help him out. Let him join Hongtai Group under your wing. Our family would feel much more at ease.”
Gu Chiyuan glanced at Gu Yihang.
The little troublemaker still had his head lowered, but his ears had perked right up.
The request itself wasn’t unreasonable.
“Fine,” Gu Chiyuan said. “He can join Hongtai Group, but he’ll have to start as an entry level intern.”
“An entry level intern?” Second Aunt Gu immediately objected.
She frowned.
“Isn’t that just doing odd jobs? Running errands, making copies, serving tea. Chiyuan, Yihang is your own cousin. How can you make him do that kind of work?”
Gu Chiyuan set down his teacup.
“Those are Hongtai Group’s rules. Everyone starts from the bottom,” he said. “I did too.”
Second Aunt Gu froze.
“You too?” she asked incredulously. “How could you possibly have started from the bottom?”
“I joined Hongtai Group as an intern during my freshman year and spent two years rotating through its subsidiaries,” Gu Chiyuan replied. “I’ve worked in sales, administration, and finance.”
Second Aunt Gu opened her mouth but couldn’t say a word.
Gu Yihang paused with his chopsticks halfway to his mouth and secretly glanced at Gu Chiyuan.
This cold faced older cousin had actually done jobs like serving tea too?
“Chiyuan is right.”
Uncle Gu set down his chopsticks and spoke.
“Young people should start from the bottom. I did the same back then. I started at the lowest level in a large company. Only after I had built a solid foundation and fully understood the business did I have the confidence to start my own company.”
Easy for him to say.
But what kind of economy had it been back then, and what kind of world were young people facing now?
Back then, even flipping radios could make you rich.
Now?
You graduate from a 985 university and earn three thousand a month.
Gu Yihang rolled his eyes inwardly.
Second Aunt Gu wanted to continue arguing, but Second Uncle Gu nodded repeatedly.
“That’s right, that’s right. Big Brother is absolutely right. Yihang, just listen to your older cousin.”
He shot Second Aunt Gu a meaningful look.
She pursed her lips and muttered something under her breath, too quietly for anyone to hear.
It seemed as though the matter had finally come to an end.
Yu Wan lowered her head and continued eating, convinced it wouldn’t be that simple.
Sure enough, it wasn’t long before Second Uncle Gu spoke again.
“Chiyuan, I have no objections to him starting from the bottom. But he’s still your own cousin. You should look after him a little, shouldn’t you?”
Gu Chiyuan simply looked at him without speaking.
Second Uncle Gu sighed, a nostalgic expression appearing on his face.
“When your grandfather was still alive, Yihang was the grandson he adored the most.”
His voice softened.
“If the old man were still here, he certainly wouldn’t want to see his grandson suffering outside…”
Gu Chiyuan’s expression remained unchanged, but Uncle Gu’s chopsticks paused.
Yu Wan kept her head lowered, pretending not to hear.
Here it comes. She had seen this trick countless times.
Grandpa Gu had lost his wife at a young age and never remarried.
He had raised several children all by himself.
During those difficult years, he had even scrimped and saved to put Uncle Gu through university.
That was how the future founder of Hongtai Group had come to be.
Everyone in the Gu family knew that Grandpa Gu was Uncle Gu’s greatest weakness.
Whenever Second Uncle Gu wanted something, he always played this card.
It never failed.
Second Uncle Gu spoke with such sincerity that his eyes even reddened.
“Big Brother, when Father was on his deathbed, he held my hand and said, ‘Second Son, you and your older brother must always support each other…'”
He sniffled.
“As your younger brother, I’ve never really asked you for much. Just this one thing…”
Uncle Gu remained silent for several seconds before looking at Gu Chiyuan.
“Chiyuan,” he finally said, “let Yihang join the business team.”