Gu Baotian felt quite relieved. "At least all my scheming along the way wasn’t in vain—you finally managed to win her over."
As for keeping it a secret? Did this kid really think people wouldn’t notice just because he didn’t say anything?
Honestly, Gu Baotian had been worried the boy would spill the beans himself—he was practically a walking sieve.
"Scheming all the way"? Well, not exactly.
But Gu Ye didn’t dare argue. He glanced at his phone. "I need to go pick up Jiang Xiaomo."
"A date, huh? Not bad, kid. Strike while the iron’s hot," Gu Baotian said, eyeing him. "You know what you look like right now?"
"What?" Gu Ye asked absentmindedly.
Gu Baotian clicked his tongue. "A peacock all dressed up, flaunting its feathers to attract a mate."
Gu Ye: "…Grandpa, goodbye."
Meanwhile, on Jiang Mo’s side—
She woke up in the morning, rolled around in bed a few times, then suddenly sat up and patted her cheeks, still feeling like it wasn’t quite real.
Was she really going on a date with Gu Ye?
Seeing that it was getting late, she shuffled to the bathroom in her slippers to freshen up, then returned to her room to get dressed.
She stood in front of her closet, agonizing over what to wear.
After trying on a few outfits, she finally settled on a long, fitted dress and scrutinized herself in the mirror.
Then she sat at her vanity and started fussing with her makeup.
She had all the products, but since she rarely used them, she wasn’t exactly skilled.
After much effort, she finally finished and headed out—only to find her little brother, Li Zheng, already sitting in the living room eating breakfast.
"You stayed up gaming all night. Why are you up so early today?"
"Got woken up by hunger," Li Zheng mumbled through a mouthful of steamed dumplings. The table was laden with food—dumplings, buns, soy milk, and more.
Jiang Mo sat down and started on the dumplings.
Li Zheng kept glancing at her, hesitating before finally blurting, "Sis, I don’t know if I should say this, but…"
"Then don’t. Hold it in," Jiang Mo teased.
"I can’t!" Li Zheng frowned. "Sis, maybe… just skip the makeup? I feel like it’s covering up your natural beauty—you know, the kind that could make fish forget to swim and the moon hide in shame."
Jiang Mo’s smile froze. "…"
Li Zheng immediately regretted it. Oops.
She knew her makeup skills weren’t great, but was it really that bad?
Doubting herself, Jiang Mo grabbed a mirror and checked under the light. Sure enough, her false lashes were a bit crooked… and her blush was a tad too heavy…
She hadn’t noticed before, but now that Li Zheng pointed it out, she wondered if she should’ve just gone with a light base and some lipstick.
"Big talker," she muttered, returning to the table to glare at her brother.
But after breakfast, she washed off her makeup and started over.
Just as she finished, a message popped up on her phone:
"I’ll be at your place in about ten minutes. Take your time—no rush. Should I wait downstairs or come up to get you?"
Jiang Mo smiled. "Just wait downstairs. I’ll be down soon."
Li Zheng watched his sister’s expression and shook his head. Ugh, the stench of love.
Couldn’t stand it. He went back to his room to catch up on sleep.
Jiang Mo grabbed her shoulder bag and practically floated downstairs, standing by the roadside as she scrolled through her phone, waiting.
"Jiang Xiaomo! Over here!" Gu Ye called, rolling down the car window.
She hurried over, opened the passenger door, and gracefully slid into the seat.
"Did you eat breakfast?" Gu Ye asked.
Jiang Mo nodded. "Yeah. So, where are we going today?"
"Feel like trying horseback riding?"
Horseback riding? Jiang Mo considered it. The stables were probably quiet, with fewer people around.
Once she agreed, Gu Ye drove them to the equestrian club.
At the club, Gu Ye greeted the staff like an old friend and explained to Jiang Mo, "My brother and I used to come here a lot. Not so much these days."
Jiang Mo was curious. "So do you and Young Master Gu have your own horses here?"
"Yep. The staff mostly takes care of them," Gu Ye said, leading her to the stables to see his horse.
His horse was a towering black stallion. Staring up at it, Jiang Mo finally understood the phrase "tall as a horse."
The animal was massive. She measured herself against it and doubted she could even climb onto its back without a struggle.
"Wanna try? Coal’s pretty gentle," Gu Ye said, signaling for the horse to be brought out.
"You named such a handsome horse Coal?" Jiang Mo chided.
"Guess you don’t remember?"
"Remember what?"
"In high school, you saved a cat from getting hit by a car near the school gates. Didn’t you name it Coal back then?" Gu Ye explained.
"Oh, right! I almost forgot," Jiang Mo laughed.
Gu Ye encouraged her. "Give it a try? I’ll teach you."
"Alright, I’ll give it a shot."
When Jiang Mo placed her small hand in Gu Ye’s, he marveled at how tiny and soft it felt.
From now on, he could hold it openly—no, wait, ahem.
Not far away, Gu Xun watched the two figures in the arena. A staff member beside him said, "Young Master Gu, did you arrange to meet Second Young Master Gu today? He’s already here with a friend."
Gu Xun raised an eyebrow, observing the scene. The second young master playing stable boy? Interesting.
