Hearing this, Li Daming glanced in the rearview mirror while driving.
He saw Gu Guofeng in the back seat with his eyes closed, resting, his face betraying no particular expression.
Li Daming wondered to himself, does President Gu know something? Is he hinting at me here?
After pondering for a few seconds, he spoke up, "Ah, yes, girls are hard to manage once they grow up. Why is President Gu concerned with such trivial matters?"
"It's just that I saw Xiao Mo walking arm-in-arm with a young man earlier while having a meal at the IFC," Gu Guofeng remarked with a sigh. "I remember Xiao Mo is the same age as my Xiao Ye, right? Before you know it, the kids are all grown up."
"Yes, indeed they are," Li Daming agreed.
Gu Guofeng chuckled, "It's still better to have a daughter. Look at your girl, well-behaved and clever, finding a partner without causing anyone worry. The young man she was with seemed quite tall and fair-skinned. What does he do? How's his family situation?"
Seriously, President Gu, do you really not know, or are you pretending not to? How come you're praising your own son in such a roundabout way?
Li Daming's expression was on the verge of cracking. Judging by Gu Guofeng's tone, it seemed like he was the only one in the Gu family who was in the dark.
In comparison, he himself was slightly better off.
Since Gu Ye hadn't come clean to his own father, then he wouldn't spill the beans either.
"The young man is in the arts. His family runs a business, quite a large one at that. He's the second of three sons."
"Three sons, that's not ideal," Gu Guofeng said. "And being the second son, he's often the least favored in the family. With three sons, if the family has some money, there's bound to be contention over the inheritance."
Li Daming didn't respond. Well, well, with all this indirect talk, he's managed to criticize his own son again.
"It might not be that bad. Although the family has three sons, I've heard the brothers get along quite well, and the parents seem reasonable."
Gu Guofeng shifted his leg, settling more comfortably against the car seat. "You, my friend, still judge people too superficially. In business families, the parents are usually shrewd operators."
Great, that seemed to be an indirect jab at himself as well.
Li Daming gave an awkward laugh. "When kids want to date, we can't really control them. We just let them be."
He wondered if President Gu would feel embarrassed later when he found out it was his own son dating Jiang Mo, remembering today's conversation.
Gu Ye, unaware that he had already been spotted by his dad—and not even recognized—was also completely in the dark about the several jabs taken at his back.
After seeing Jiang Mo home, Gu Ye returned to his place and unpacked his newly purchased fishing gear.
There were so many types of fishing equipment; unsure which tools worked best, he had bought a whole assortment in one go.
Early the next morning, while Gu Ye was still dreaming, a WeChat video call rang out.
Answering the video call in a daze, he heard Li Daming's voice, "What time is it? You're still lazing in bed? Get up and get ready to go fishing."
Beside him, Jiang Mo's voice came through as she sipped porridge and ate a steamed bun, "Dad, it's only a little past seven. Do you really need to start fishing this early?"
"Oh, so you're feeling sorry for him, huh? That I'm waking him up so early?" Li Daming took a bite, finishing half a bun in one go. "If we dawdle, the best time will be gone. Forget it, I'll go by myself."
"Don't, Uncle Li! I'm coming right away. I can be quick," Gu Ye said, hanging up the call and scrambling out of bed.
He dressed and washed up swiftly, tossed his gear into the trunk, and drove towards Jiang Mo's house.
Li Daming was already waiting outside his doorstep with his things. Gu Ye eagerly helped carry the gear and was about to drive off.
Li Daming stopped him. "You haven't had breakfast, have you? There's a breakfast stall over there. See what you'd like to eat. Have a proper meal before we go, so you don't complain to my daughter later, saying I starved you."
Gu Ye indeed hadn't eaten, so he ran over and bought two steamed buns and some soy milk. After finishing them, they set off.
Arriving at the fishing spot, they found only a few scattered people there.
After scouting the area, Li Daming pointed to a spot. "Let's go over there. That spot looks good to me."
"Sure, the spot Uncle Li picked is bound to be perfect," Gu Ye said cheerfully as he gathered the gear.
However, after more than half an hour, there was no action at all.
Gu Ye scratched his head. "Uncle Li, I'm going to use the restroom."
Li Daming gave a noncommittal "Hmm."
Jiang Mo sent Gu Ye a message, asking how the fishing was going.
"No bites. Looks a bit risky," Gu Ye replied. "What do you think? Should I buy some fish and secretly hook them on when Uncle Li isn't looking, then toss them back in the water?"
Jiang Mo: "...Wouldn't that be a bit too insulting?"
Gu Ye: "Trying to please a future father-in-law is really tough, you know."
When Gu Ye returned from the restroom, he glanced at the fish box—still empty.
Just then, Gu Ye let out an "Eh?" and noticed movement on his rod. He hurriedly started reeling it in.
Seeing this, Li Daming also got excited and came over to help, grabbing the landing net.
"Reel it in, give and take, yes, take it slow..."
Working together, they landed a fish—not too big, not too small—and placed it in the fish box.
But another hour passed. After Gu Ye successively landed two more fish, Li Daming started looking at him with a strange expression.
