"What?"
Su Wenshan was so shocked that he stood up immediately.
Chen Xiue also straightened her back, her face full of surprise.
Su Wenshan said, "So you're the son of a martyr—a hero's son!"
After learning about Gu Hai's background, Chen Xiue became even more enthusiastic toward him.
She quickly picked up some meat and placed it into his bowl. Su Wenshan refilled his glass and raised it in a toast. "Gu Hai, come—this drink is to honor your heroic father."
Gu Hai lifted his glass, clinked it with Su Wenshan's again, and thanked Chen Xiue.
Everyone was satisfied with the dinner—except Su Yun.
After the meal, Su Wenshan got drunk and lay on the kang, snoring loudly.
Gu Hai rushed to wash the dishes. Chen Xiue couldn't stop him, so she sent Su Yun to help instead.
As for Chen Xiue herself, she grabbed Su Baoguo, took the bag of apples, and went door to door visiting the neighbors.
At the water basin, He Hua happened to be right across from Su Yun.
Seeing Gu Hai helping Su Yun wash dishes, He Hua was filled with jealousy. Gritting her teeth, she muttered, "Shameless couple."
Hearing this, Su Yun picked up a bowl, filled it with water, and splashed it straight at He Hua. "Who are you calling that?"
"Ah!"
Caught off guard, He Hua was drenched.
She stomped her foot angrily. "Su Yun, how dare you splash water on me?"
Su Yun sneered, filled another bowl, and threw it at her again. "What's wrong? Not only do I dare to splash you once, I dare to do it again!"
As she spoke, Su Yun splashed three more bowls of water in succession.
He Hua screamed in anger. "This is my new dress! Su Yun, you little vixen—you're just jealous that I'm marrying into the Jiang family, so you deliberately ruined my clothes! You're so vicious! A woman like you will never get married in your life!"
"None of your business!"
Su Yun didn't bother arguing. She picked up the entire basin, ready to drench her completely—but Gu Hai snatched it first and, with a splash, dumped the water at He Hua's feet.
In an instant, He Hua was soaked from head to toe, looking utterly miserable.
Her lips trembled as she looked at Gu Hai, then glared at Su Yun before running back home in tears.
Su Yun wasn't satisfied. She turned to Gu Hai and rolled her eyes. "Why did you grab it? I was going to pour that over her head!"
Gu Hai scratched his nose awkwardly. "That wouldn't have been appropriate."
"What do you mean inappropriate? Do you feel sorry for her?"
"Her clothes are too thin. I didn't want my eyes to suffer."
Su Yun: "…"
She had completely forgotten about that. She had almost let Gu Hai see everything—what a miscalculation!
Thankfully, Gu Hai had some sense.
After finishing the dishes, Gu Hai didn't stay long. Once Chen Xiue returned with Su Baoguo, he took his leave.
As soon as he left, Chen Xiue slapped her forehead in regret. "Oh no, I forgot to give Gu Hai the money for the apples! Look at my memory!"
Then she said to Su Yun, "Xiao Yun, ask Gu Hai to come over again tomorrow. I promised to cook him chicken—I can't go back on my word. And give him the money for the apples too. Our family doesn't owe people."
"Got it?"
Su Yun nodded helplessly. "Got it."
Hearing that there would be stewed chicken tomorrow, Su Baoguo cheered loudly and ran out to brag to his friends.
---
At the Gu family courtyard:
Gu Hai hummed a patriotic tune as he pushed his bicycle in. After locking it, he turned around and saw his three younger siblings standing in a row, staring at him critically.
Gu Meng spoke first. "Big Brother, are you dating someone?"
Gu Jiang added, "You came back so late and look so pleased with yourself—you must be dating!"
Gu Jun asked bluntly, "Is it Sun Xiaoping?"
Gu Hai frowned. "How could it be Sun Xiaoping?"
Hearing that, the three siblings relaxed.
Gu Meng said, "As long as it's not her. She's so annoying!"
Gu Jun explained, "She came by this afternoon with a piece of tofu. I told her you weren't home, and she rolled her eyes, left, and even called me a burden!"
Hearing this, Gu Hai's frown deepened. He immediately said, "If she comes again, don't open the door."
Gu Jun nodded. "Big Brother, so are you dating or not?"
Gu Hai replied mysteriously, "Adult matters—kids shouldn't interfere."
Then he changed the subject. "Have you all eaten dinner?"
Gu Jun said, "Yes. Second Brother made vegetable noodles, but they had no flavor at all! Big Brother, your cooking is much better. You can date if you want, but can you not delay coming home to cook?"
Gu Hai patted his head and said earnestly, "Junzi, you're not a little child anymore. You need to learn to be independent and not rely on your siblings all the time. You'll soon be a proud primary school student—you should learn to take care of yourself."
"How about this—I'll teach you how to cook. It'll be a useful skill for when you grow up and get married…"
After lecturing his younger brother, Gu Hai cheerfully carried hot water to the backyard to take a bath.
Gu Jiang and Gu Meng hid behind a pillar, exchanging knowing looks.
Gu Meng whispered, "Second Brother, see? I told you! Big Brother used to only care about making money. Now look at him—he's practically glowing! Something's definitely going on! And I noticed he's used up half of Dad's hair oil. He must be secretly dating someone and not telling us!"
Gu Jiang added, "No wonder he's been leaving early and coming back late every day—and even got several new outfits…"
"Second Brother, we can't just sit back. We have to find out who Big Brother's girlfriend is!"
Gu Meng made up her mind and assigned Gu Jun the mission of following Gu Hai to uncover the mystery.
Gu Jun accepted the mission eagerly.
But the next morning, when he woke up, Gu Hai was already gone, leaving behind only a pot of hot food in the kitchen for them.
---
It was Children's Day, and the children in the courtyard left early for school activities.
After waking up, Su Yun washed up, dressed simply, and headed out with her satchel as usual.
As soon as she stepped out of the courtyard, she saw Gu Hai waiting by the roadside on his bicycle, waving at her with a smile. "Su Yun, over here!"
Jiang Yuling, who was walking behind Su Yun, teased when she saw him, "Oh, Su Yun, it's Children's Day—are you going out with your boyfriend?"
Su Yun quickly waved her hands. "No, no! We're not going out to play—we have business!"
Then she realized what she said and waved even more frantically. "No, no—he's not my—"
"It's fine, no need to explain. We all know he's your boyfriend. We won't gossip—don't worry."
Without waiting for her to finish, Jiang Yuling rode off on her bicycle.
Su Yun: "…"
Great. She gave up explaining.
Feeling annoyed, Su Yun walked up to Gu Hai and said, "Why are you here so early?"
Gu Hai smiled brightly. "I came to pick you up."
Su Yun said, "Didn't we agree to meet at the police station?"
"Since we're heading to the same place anyway, it's more convenient to go together!"