Li Wan'er, usually bold and unrestrained, suddenly softened her demeanor. "Hi~ Hello~" she greeted sweetly.
Jiang Mo shot her a look of disdain. Girl, since when did you start acting so cutesy?
"Hey, did you two go shopping?" Gu Ye nodded at Li Wan'er before directing his question to Jiang Mo.
Fugui pawed at Jiang Mo's thigh, prompting her to take the leash. "No, we attended a conference," she replied.
Gu Ye walked alongside them as the trio headed into the neighborhood. "What kind of conference?"
"A legal industry exchange," Li Wan'er answered briskly. "We were just there to observe."
Jiang Mo asked, "Didn’t Grandpa Gu take Fugui out today? Why are you walking him?"
"Seems like Grandpa went out with his friends today and won’t be back until tomorrow," Gu Ye said, hands in his pockets.
The three parted ways at the hexagonal pavilion inside the villa. Gu Ye and Jiang Mo walked side by side, their shadows stretching long under the moonlight. From the ground, their silhouettes almost looked like they were leaning against each other.
Taking in the beautiful night, Gu Ye checked the time. "How about we take Fugui for a couple more rounds?"
Jiang Mo scratched her head. "Maybe you should walk him a bit longer. I need to run back to use the bathroom."
"Forget it, let’s head back together. Fugui looks like he wants to go home too."
Once inside, Jiang Mo rushed to the bathroom the moment Fugui’s leash was off.
Sitting on the toilet, her phone buzzed incessantly with notifications. Unsurprisingly, it was Li Wan'er bombarding her with messages.
Li Wan'er: "Girl, you’ve been hiding things from me! How come you never mentioned that the Gu family you’re staying with is Gu Ye’s family?!"
"I was blabbing about it in the group chat, and you didn’t say a word."
"Seeing Gu Ye up close, he seems pretty easygoing in private."
Too many questions had been left unasked in person, so now that they’d separated, Li Wan'er was digging for details.
"Well, Gu Ye’s a celebrity. Privacy matters," Jiang Mo replied, never expecting to run into him tonight.
"I get it, I do. But I’m still so excited—this is my first time being this close to a star!"
"Speaking of which, your mom’s worked at his house for so long. Have you known him for ages?"
Jiang Mo knew there was no hiding it now. "Yeah, we were classmates in high school."
Li Wan'er, sensing she’d struck gold, transformed into a full-blown gossip reporter, firing off question after question.
Jiang Mo answered a few harmless ones before cutting it short. "Alright, I’ll get you those autographed photos you want."
"Hehe, thanks, bestie."
In the living room, Gu Ye spotted Jiang Mo emerging. "Jiang Mo, come have some fruit."
Without hesitation, she grabbed a fork and speared a few pieces. "Can you give me two autographed photos?"
"Autographed photos? Of course," Gu Ye coughed lightly, suppressing a flicker of delight. "I’ll package them nicely before giving them to you."
Jiang Mo didn’t think much of it. It’s just signing a photo—what’s with the packaging? Are celebrity merch standards that high now?
After heading upstairs to freshen up, Gu Ye opened a drawer to look for photos, only to find none left.
He’d forgotten—he’d given them all to Gu Xuan earlier.
Knocking on Gu Xuan’s door, he found the boy hastily shoving a game console under his blanket, pretending he’d been asleep.
Gu Ye couldn’t be bothered to call him out. "Do you still have any of those photos I gave you before?"
"Nope, sold them all—I mean, gave them all away," Gu Xuan said, wide-eyed. "Second Bro, are you giving me new ones?"
"You think I’m your supplier?" Gu Ye flicked his forehead and left.
With none at home, he had no choice but to ask Sister Huang.
Sister Huang was puzzled. "Why the rush? I can just bring you some next time we meet for work."
"Just mail them to me. Pick out the good ones, and throw in whatever merch the company has left too," Gu Ye instructed.
Though confused, Sister Huang obliged.
The merch package hadn’t arrived yet, but the health supplements he’d ordered were delivered.
Gu Ye handed the gifts to Su Yunjin, who looked surprised. "Oh, you actually bought them."
What surprised her even more was when Gu Ye enthusiastically presented another set to Aunt Wang.
"Aunt Wang, you’re not getting any younger. These supplements are for you."
Wang Xia froze. She didn’t think she was old enough to need supplements—her health was just fine.
Besides, she knew how expensive these were.
She waved her hands in refusal. "It’s sweet of you to think of me, but you should keep these for Madam. I’m perfectly healthy."
Gu Ye had prepared his argument. "It’s better to start early than wait until you need them. Don’t worry, I bought plenty for Mom too."
Su Yunjin watched the exchange. "Aunt Wang, just accept the gift. It’s his way of showing appreciation."
"Then thank you, Madam, and thank you, Xiao Ye. I’ll take them."
She placed the supplements in a corner of her room. That evening, when Li Daming returned from a stroll, he carried a brand-new, unopened fishing rod.
Jiang Mo immediately recognized the brand—it was the same as one of Liu Guochuan’s high-end rods. "Dad, you splurged! This fishing rod is crazy expensive."
"Nah, I didn’t buy this," Li Daming said cheerfully, propping the rod in a corner. He glanced at the supplements nearby. "Did your mom buy these pricey supplements?"
"Nope, Mom didn’t buy those either."
As soon as the words left her mouth, Jiang Mo realized how familiar they sounded.
Later, when the family compared notes, they discovered—surprise—both the supplements and the fishing rod had been bought by Gu Ye.
