Su Yun secretly glanced back and saw that Gu Hai hadn't followed her. She quickly slipped into the same secluded corner as before, opened the system shop, and spent two yuan to buy twenty apples, then another three yuan for a bag of White Rabbit milk candies.
Carrying them in a net bag, she returned to Gu Hai.
Gu Hai naturally hung the net bag on the bicycle handlebar and took Su Yun back to the courtyard.
As soon as they reached the entrance, Su Baoguo rushed out with the other children from the courtyard, holding his tin airplane, clearly about to go play.
The moment he saw Gu Hai, Su Baoguo's face lit up with joy, and he shouted, "Second brother-in-law!"
After shouting, he turned to Gao Tianci and the others and said, "Tianci, Jinsuo, my second brother-in-law is here. Let's not play today—we'll go to the park tomorrow!"
When the children saw the apples and candies hanging from Gu Hai's bicycle, they immediately lost interest in playing with the airplane and crowded around Gu Hai and Su Yun.
What left Su Yun completely speechless was that, in order to get candy, Gao Tianci and the others also started calling Gu Hai "second brother-in-law."
Embarrassed, Su Yun covered her face.
Meanwhile, Gu Hai was overjoyed inside. Pretending to be puzzled, he asked Su Yun, "Comrade Xiao Su, why are they all calling me 'second brother-in-law'?"
Su Yun coughed and desperately tried to come up with an excuse. "Well… I think… anyway, you have to believe me—I definitely didn't teach them that!"
At that moment, Aunt Gao and Aunt Wang returned with their vegetable baskets.
Upon seeing Gu Hai, they immediately surrounded him, forgetting all about gossip. "Oh, isn't this Su Yun's boyfriend? Young man, did you come to visit your future in-laws today?"
After Aunt Gao spoke, Aunt Wang added, "Isn't it obvious? After the Jiang family caused such a scene yesterday, Su Yun's boyfriend must have heard about it! Just look at him—handsome, tall, and well-built! Now compare him to that Jiang Guangzong—short, ugly, and ridiculous. And he still dared to fancy Su Yun!"
After last night's chaos, Aunt Wang clearly held a grudge against the Jiang family and didn't hold back at all. "If it were me, I wouldn't even need to think—I'd know who to choose!"
Her words made Gu Hai narrow his eyes slightly. With a probing tone, he asked, "Who is this Jiang Guangzong?"
Su Yun felt inexplicably guilty and instinctively wanted to stop Aunt Wang from continuing, but Aunt Wang spoke too quickly and briefly explained everything that had happened the previous night.
"What, you didn't know? He's the eldest son of that deputy factory director Jiang. Their family…"
After hearing everything, Gu Hai's eyes flickered. Suppressing his emotions, he smiled and asked, "So did the Jiang family finalize the engagement with the He family today?"
Aunt Wang curled her lips. "They did, but none of the Jiang family came. They just sent a matchmaker with the betrothal gifts—'three turns and one sound' plus two hundred yuan—all given to Widow He."
Aunt Gao shook her head. "At this rate, even if He Hua marries into that family, she might not have a good life."
Aunt Wang snorted. "That's none of our business. We didn't take their betrothal gifts, so why worry about others?"
The two of them hurried back inside to cook.
Seeing Su Baoguo and the other children staring eagerly, Su Yun softened and grabbed a handful of White Rabbit candies for him, telling him to share with his friends.
The children cheered and finally dispersed.
Gu Hai carried his bicycle into the courtyard.
Su Yun followed behind, wanting to explain the "boyfriend" misunderstanding, but along the way, everyone greeted her, and each person would say, "Oh, Su Yun's boyfriend is here!"
Su Yun: "…"
At this point, any explanation felt completely pointless.
Fortunately, Gu Hai didn't seem to mind. He smiled at everyone, appearing easygoing and friendly.
As they entered the middle courtyard, the sound of opera singing drifted from the He family's house.
At a glance, Su Yun saw Widow He sitting at the doorway, fanning herself with a palm fan. Beside her were a radio, a bicycle, a sewing machine, and two unfamiliar women flattering her.
When Widow He saw Su Yun and Gu Hai, she immediately stood up proudly. "Oh, Su Yun, you're back! That must be your boyfriend, right? Perfect timing! Look—these are all the betrothal gifts from my in-laws, all brand new…"
"Auntie, I still need to hurry home to cook, so I won't chat," Su Yun interrupted, not wanting to hear her bragging. She quickly pulled Gu Hai toward home.
Hearing Su Yun's voice, He Hua rushed out of the house, holding a piece of peach pastry and eating it exaggeratedly while loudly saying, "So delicious! This is peach pastry from my fiancé—it's amazing! Some people will never taste this in their entire lives!"
As soon as she finished speaking, she noticed the apples hanging from Gu Hai's bicycle.
Instantly, jealousy surged within her again.
Su Yun didn't even spare her a glance.
After Gu Hai parked the bicycle, the two of them carried the net bag inside.
Just as Su Yun was about to start cooking, Gu Hai said, "I'll go buy you peach pastries tomorrow. You can stand at the doorway and eat them in front of her."
If others had something, then Su Yun should have it too.
Su Yun blinked in surprise. "Why would you buy me peach pastries? And why would I eat them in front of her? I don't care about her at all!"
After saying that, she licked her lips slightly, a bit embarrassed. "Comrade Gu Hai, don't take what my neighbors said to heart… About the rumor that you're my boyfriend, I can't really explain it clearly right now. After some time, they'll understand. If this has caused you any trouble, I apologize."
"I don't find it troublesome," Gu Hai said seriously.
He really wanted to confess his feelings right then, but he was afraid of being too abrupt and scaring her away.
Besides, it was obvious that Su Yun didn't feel that way about him yet—he would most likely be rejected.
Gu Hai smiled. "Aren't we good revolutionary partners? Let people misunderstand if they want. I don't mind, and you shouldn't either. When you have a boyfriend in the future, I'll help you explain."
If Su Yun could still like someone else while he was by her side, then he would…
Cry in front of her!
Hearing this, Su Yun felt reassured.
At that moment, Su Baoguo ran in with his airplane, still chewing on a White Rabbit candy, yet speaking clearly, "Second sister, now that my second brother-in-law is here, what are we having for dinner? Is there meat?"
Su Yun shot him a glare. "All you think about is meat!"
She felt both annoyed and helpless.
When neighbors called Gu Hai her boyfriend, she could still try to explain, but with Su Baoguo constantly calling him "second brother-in-law," she truly couldn't clear things up anymore.
Gu Hai was delighted inside but acted indifferent. "It's fine. He's just a child—he can call me whatever he wants."
In truth, he couldn't wait to actually become Su Baoguo's second brother-in-law.
Su Yun rolled her eyes at Su Baoguo. "Xiao Wu, I'm going to cook. You take care of the guest."
Gu Hai waved his hand. "I'm not really a guest… Well, Su Yun, you rest. I'll cook!"
Before she could respond, Gu Hai had already headed into the Su family's simple kitchen.