Breakfast ended in a subtly eerie atmosphere.
“CEO Gu, I’ve washed the clothes you changed out of yesterday, but they aren’t quite dry yet…”
Su Rou stood at the entrance, holding a plastic bag and looking a bit restless. She was wearing a professional suit today. Although the style was somewhat dated, her petite figure gave it a pitiable, contrasting charm.
“It’s fine, leave them here.”
Gu Hanyan naturally took the handbag Su Rou handed her and reached out to straighten the woman’s slightly folded collar. Her fingertips grazed Su Rou’s fair neck as if by accident, causing the smaller woman to shrink her shoulders shyly.
“I’ll be coming back for dinner tonight anyway, so I’ll pick them up then.”
Standing not far away, Su Xiaoxiao watched the scene expressionlessly. ‘It’s not that I don’t want to fight back,’ she realized sadly, ‘but in the face of this woman’s absolute social class, my actions would just seem childish.’
“Let’s go. I’ll drop you all off at work and school,” Gu Hanyan said, retracting her gaze.
“Huh? No, there’s no need, CEO Gu!”
Su Rou was startled and waved her hands quickly, her face turning bright red. “We usually just take the bus at the entrance of the neighborhood. It’s very convenient! We don’t want to trouble you…”
“It’s on the way.” Gu Hanyan interrupted her and leaned down slightly. In a voice meant only for the two of them, she spoke with a hint of persuasion, “Besides, if I let you squeeze onto a bus… my heart would ache.”
Su Rou’s brain went blank once again. She could only flush red and follow mechanically as Gu Hanyan pushed her toward the door.
Su Ruanruan carried her schoolbag and followed behind like a soft little tail. Her palm-sized face still looked soft and easily bullied, and her large eyes held a hint of clear stupidity. In reality, however, she was silently observing whether Gu Hanyan truly liked her mother. After all, she sincerely hoped her mother could find happiness.
***
The mother and her two daughters followed Gu Hanyan out of the building.
This was a very ordinary, old residential area. The Boston ivy on the exterior walls was a bit messy, and the unit doors were covered in unsightly advertisements for locksmiths and sewer cleaning.
However, in the middle of such a mundane neighborhood path, a black luxury business car sat quietly.
Several neighbors who had just finished buying groceries stopped in their tracks. Their eyes widened as they stared at the luxury car and the noble, cold woman standing beside it with a mix of shock and gossip.
“My goodness, that car must be worth several million, right? Who is that woman driving?”
Gossip buzzed in the air. Su Rou was already prone to shyness, and being stared at by so many people made her so nervous she didn’t know where to put her hands. She wanted nothing more than to find a hole to crawl into.
‘Don’t be afraid.’
A warm and powerful hand firmly grasped Su Rou’s slender waist. Gu Hanyan frowned slightly, her cold phoenix eyes sweeping across the surrounding crowd. The aunties who had been whispering were suddenly silenced like ducks being choked by the neck. They guiltily shifted their gazes and hurried away.
“Get in.”
Gu Hanyan personally opened the back door for Su Rou.
The interior of the car was divided into two worlds by a soundproof glass partition. In the front were a professional driver and a bodyguard in crisp uniforms, their eyes fixed straight ahead. The spacious and luxurious rear cabin, however, was filled with an ambiguous atmosphere — a blend of expensive fragrance and the faint, milky scent from Su Rou’s body.
As soon as they entered, Su Xiaoxiao pulled Su Ruanruan to sit on the innermost side. Her exquisite face was like ice as she sat silently, shielding Su Ruanruan protectively beside her.
Su Ruanruan shrank quietly behind her younger sister like an obedient porcelain doll. Her watery eyes seemed to be staring blankly, but she was actually keenly capturing every subtle movement inside the car.
“Ruanruan, Xiaoxiao, make sure to listen to your teachers at school.”
Su Rou sat next to Gu Hanyan, her hands resting restlessly on her knees as she turned to instruct her two daughters. Her naturally dazed face was written with gratitude toward Gu Hanyan.
However, Su Rou didn’t notice that the demeanor of the woman beside her was no longer as cold as it had been at the door.
Gu Hanyan’s hand rested naturally on the armrest, while her other hand — hidden by the dim light of the cabin — lightly covered Su Rou’s thigh.
Su Rou’s body stiffened as if struck by lightning. The burning heat radiating from her thigh caused an alluring flush to instantly bloom on her fair face. She subconsciously wanted to move, but Gu Hanyan’s fingertips applied a slight pressure, appearing as both a comfort and a warning.
“CEO… CEO Gu…” Su Rou’s voice was as thin as a mosquito’s buzz, filled with a helpless bashfulness.
Gu Hanyan, however, looked perfectly normal. She didn’t even glance at Su Rou, using a gentle, elder-like tone to speak to the sisters in the front. “Where do you and Xiaoxiao go to high school?”
Startled by the sudden question, Su Ruanruan quickly turned her head and replied obediently, “We’re at Shenghua High School, in Grade 11.”
Hearing the name, Gu Hanyan arched an eyebrow. A flash of surprise crossed her eyes, followed by a meaningful chuckle. “Oh? What a coincidence. My daughter goes there too.”
“Really?”
Su Rou’s eyes lit up, her earlier restlessness replaced by pleasant surprise. “CEO Gu’s daughter is also at Shenghua? That’s wonderful! Ruanruan and Xiaoxiao will have a companion at school. They can look after each other!”
In Su Rou’s eyes, since CEO Gu was such a kind and gentle person, her daughter would surely be an excellent student and a helpful child.
However, the smile on Gu Hanyan’s face faded slightly.
She looked at Su Ruanruan’s soft little face, her tone turning cold and harsh, carrying an undisguised warning. “No. Ruanruan, listen to your Auntie.”
“If you encounter Gu Qingleng at school, stay as far away from her as possible.”
“Eh?” Su Rou was stunned, her face full of confusion. “Why?”
“Because that daughter of mine… is not a good person.”
Gu Hanyan’s tone was extremely flat. She knew her daughter all too well. On the surface, she was a distant, untouchable flower, but in her bones, she had inherited Gu Hanyan’s own paranoia and possessiveness. If Gu Qingleng set her sights on a soft little rabbit like Su Ruanruan, the girl would be eaten until not even the bones remained.
Besides, she didn’t want her own daughter stealing the prey she had already set her sights on.
“She has a terrible personality and loves nothing more than bullying weak, obedient girls like you.” Gu Hanyan looked at Su Ruanruan with deep, dark eyes. “Promise me you won’t get involved with her. Do you understand?”