Chapter 90: Jujubes Bear Precious Seeds

Damn it! He’d only been away for a few days, and things had progressed this quickly between them?

Gu Ting stared at the photo, his eyes narrowing, a hint of amusement flickering in their depths.

“Anything else?” Gu Ting pulled the laptop toward himself, enlarging the image to scrutinize it more closely.

Mo Wuxie shrugged. “There should be more. I’ll have someone send them to you later.”

“Alright.” Gu Ting nodded, his gaze never leaving the screen.

“Xie’er, Brother Ting, what’s going on here?” Dongfang Cheng tugged at their sleeves.

Were they at a photo shoot? Couple’s portraits?

Gu Ting ignored him. “Why is my face so hard to see?”

“It’s to protect the Gu family’s reputation,” Mo Wuxie propped his chin on one hand, lying on the table. “We controlled the lighting when the photos were taken.”

“Mm.”

Dongfang Cheng, thoroughly ignored: …

“Big brother, come on, what’s this all about?”

Mo Wuxie shot him a glance. “Shen Qing shot an MV for one of my artists. Brother Ting had a cameo. These are stills from that.”

“Oh, so that’s it. I thought Brother Gu was moving at lightning speed.” Dongfang Cheng patted his chest—judging by the ambiguous angle in that photo, he’d almost thought Gu Ting had started dating.

“By the way, Brother Gu, I’ve redeemed myself this time.”

Gu Ting glanced at him, his expression cool and detached as he gave a noncommittal “Oh.”

Dongfang Cheng grinned slyly. “Heh, Brother Ting, there’s no way I messed up this time!”

Still grinning, Dongfang Cheng fished a handful of wedding candies from his pocket. The bright red wrappers were emblazoned with the words “A Prosperous Union with Offspring.”

Both Gu Ting and Mo Wuxie’s brows twitched at the sight.

“I had these wrappers specially made. Aren’t they gorgeous? So classy and refined! Try one, these jellies are delicious.” As he spoke, Dongfang Cheng unwrapped a candy and, not daring to hand it to Gu Ting, shoved it into Mo Wuxie’s mouth.

“Hey…” Mo Wuxie barely had time to react before he’d eaten a jelly with the auspicious slogan.

“Well?” Dongfang Cheng asked, beaming.

“Emmm…” Mo Wuxie chewed twice, his face lighting up.

“They really are good—sweet but not cloying, melt in your mouth, and they don’t stick to your teeth.” He gave a thumbs-up.

“But of course! Anything from your Brother Cheng is guaranteed to be top notch!”

Gu Ting stared at the scarlet wrapper, the corner of his mouth twitching, his expression somewhat complicated.

**

The parent-teacher conference at No. 1 High School was bustling with activity.

Shen Qing had zipped her uniform jacket all the way up, the loose, shapeless pants somehow transformed into a statement of style on her. Xia Mang followed behind, staring at her back for several seconds before muttering under her breath, “Wicked, truly wicked.”

“Sis Qing.” As they entered the teaching building, a few students from Class Three greeted Shen Qing with smiles.

“Mm.” Shen Qing half-closed her eyes, nodded, and walked on.

“Damn! She’s already the boss around here?” Xia Mang pulled her coat tight, adjusting her clear-lensed glasses.

“It’s alright.” Rounding the corner, Shen Qing spotted a familiar figure in the corridor outside the classroom.

“What the—Gu Ting’s here too?” Xia Mang had noticed, slightly surprised.

“Is this your parent?” The moment Gu Ting saw them, he walked over, glanced at Xia Mang, and fixed his gaze on Shen Qing.

“Yes.”

Gu Ting nodded, sizing up Xia Mang, who was plainly dressed and looked about twenty-five or twenty-six.

“Your sister?” He recalled a social media post Shen Qing had made, mentioning a sister—this must be her.

Shen Qing gave a curt nod, barely interested.

Gu Ting smiled, shifting his stance to face Xia Mang, and addressed her with gentlemanly politeness, “Hello, I’m Gu Ting.”

Xia Mang was momentarily taken aback. Was Gu Ting trying to make a good impression?

“Hello, I’m Qingqing’s sister, my name is…” Xia Mang nearly blurted out her name, but remembering this was someone from the Gu family, she changed course, “Just call me Sister.”

Shen Qing shot Xia Mang a cool look, slipped in through the back door, and Xia Mang smiled awkwardly at Gu Ting before hurrying after her.

“Sis Qing!” Yao Panpan called out as Shen Qing entered, followed by a few others.

Shen Qing gave a noncommittal grunt, while Xia Mang waved at the group from the back. “Hello, everyone! I’m Qingqing’s sister.”

“Hello, Sister.” Several classmates greeted her with bright smiles.

“Mm, this is Nie Huan.” Shen Qing tugged Xia Mang’s arm.

Upon seeing Nie Huan’s face, Xia Mang’s eyes lit up. “What a pretty girl.”

Nie Huan stood up and replied politely, “Thank you, Sister, you’re very beautiful too.”

“Oh my, your compliments are so much sweeter than Qingqing’s.”

Shen Qing arched a brow, folding her arms and smiling. “You’ve tried for yourself?”

Gu Ting had just stepped inside when he caught Shen Qing’s teasing remark, his steps faltering for a moment.