Fortunately, they were almost at the villa entrance.
Otherwise, she really might have sat down on the roadside and cried.
The security guard at the villa gate had recently been making frequent deliveries to the Gu family and had grown familiar with Jiang Mo. Seeing her pushing her electric scooter inside, he offered, "Your scooter’s out of battery—do you need us to help you get it back?"
"Thank you so much," Jiang Mo replied, tears welling up.
There were still good people in this world.
...
Gu Ye, a night owl, had slept in late and was now eating a brunch with his hair sticking up in all directions.
Holding a cup of coffee, he wandered around aimlessly before ending up in the backyard.
Wang Xia was there, tending to the potted plants Su Yunjin had recently bought. The new plants, of some unknown variety, bore small pale yellow flowers.
Su Yunjin had a habit of buying plants but never taking care of them, and Wang Xia didn’t know much about gardening either—she just kept them in the sun and watered them relentlessly.
"Well, that’s that. Whether you survive or not is up to fate," Wang Xia muttered, putting away the watering can.
She turned around and nearly bumped into Gu Ye, who stood silently just a meter away.
"Young Master, you startled me! What are you doing here?"
Gu Ye, equally startled by her sudden movement, swallowed the words he’d been rehearsing.
"Uh... the weather’s nice. I was just watching the birds."
Wang Xia glanced up. The weather was nice, but there wasn’t a bird in sight. His messy hair, though, could probably host a nest.
She picked up the watering can and sidestepped him. "Well, enjoy the view. I’ve got work to do."
When Wang Xia returned from tidying up the toolshed, she ran into Gu Ye again at the door.
"Young Master, are you looking for something? I can help you find it."
Just don’t mess up the things I just organized.
Gu Ye shook his head. "Aunt Wang, I’m not looking for anything. I just wanted to ask... where’s Jiang Mo today?"
"Oh, Jiang Mo? She went to the company to deliver some documents to the young CEO." That reminded Wang Xia—the girl should have been back by now.
Speak of the devil.
Just then, Jiang Mo, after thanking the security guard, wheeled her scooter into the courtyard.
She gulped down half a bottle of water in one go.
Gu Ye, wrapped in a bathrobe, materialized beside her. "Jiang Mo, why didn’t you reply to my messages?"
"Sir, I was riding my scooter, and it ran out of battery. I didn’t have time to check my phone," Jiang Mo retorted, pulling out her phone. Gu Ye had sent her two messages about ten minutes ago.
Aside from his texts, her WeChat was flooded with 99+ unread messages in her group chats, plus a few from Liu Guochuan.
"Well, I didn’t know that," Gu Ye grumbled.
Jiang Mo grabbed the charger for her scooter. "What, you needed something?"
"I was just asking if you wanted to join me for dinner tonight. I’m meeting up with a couple of high school friends."
"No thanks. You guys have fun." She quickly typed a reply to Liu Guochuan.
"You know them too. It’s just a casual get-together. My treat."
Jiang Mo shook her head. "I’ve got a class tonight."
Gu Ye frowned. "What class?"
"Housekeeping skills." She shot him a look. "Also, could you please tidy up a bit? You’re a top-tier celebrity—do your fans know this is how you look in private?"
Gu Ye shrugged. "What’s wrong with how I look? Home is where you relax."
Su Yunjin descended the stairs just in time to hear this and chimed in, "That bird’s nest on your head and the pigsty you call a room—thank goodness for Aunt Wang and Jiang Mo keeping things in order."
"Jiang Mo, come to my room. I have some clothes I’m getting rid of—help me sort them."
"On it!" Jiang Mo headed upstairs.
Gu Ye grabbed her arm. "You sure you don’t want to come to dinner?"
"Positive. Enjoy your meal."
Su Yunjin had spent the morning agonizing over her overflowing walk-in closet. Clothes with tags still attached, others worn once and forgotten—she couldn’t decide what to keep.
New arrivals from designers sat unopened on the floor, and her handbags had long since outgrown their display cases.
When Jiang Mo first saw Su Yunjin’s closet, her eyes nearly popped out. This is half the size of my family’s apartment.
Brands she recognized and didn’t crammed every shelf. This isn’t a wardrobe—it’s a boutique.
Now, another batch was headed for the exit.
"Jiang Mo, let’s sort through these. If there’s anything your mother can wear, take it. The rest, pack up and toss."
"This yellow dress is outdated—out."
"The green set is too common—out."
"The white one... eh, just throw it."
Jiang Mo followed orders, and soon the laundry baskets overflowed with discarded clothes—some still brand new.
"Ma’am, are we really throwing all these away? We could sell them on Xianyu."
"Xianyu? What’s that?" Su Yunjin tossed another outfit into the pile.
"China’s biggest underground marketplace," Jiang Mo explained. "It’s wild—people sell the weirdest stuff there."
Su Yunjin had never heard of it. "People buy secondhand clothes?"
Jiang Mo nodded vigorously. "Oh, absolutely." Especially luxury items like these.
"Then sell them. Whatever you make can be your allowance," Su Yunjin said.
"This could fetch a lot," Jiang Mo mused, eyeing the mountain of clothes and bags. "I’ll handle the sales and give you the earnings."
Su Yunjin waved her off. "It’s not much. Keep it for yourself."
After hours of sorting, Jiang Mo hauled three full baskets downstairs.
Gu Ye, car keys in hand, tried one last time. "Really not coming?"
Jiang Mo huffed. "Nope! I’ve got money to make!"
Su Yunjin’s slim frame meant most clothes didn’t fit Wang Xia, who only picked a couple of looser jackets.
"Back when I hadn’t gained weight, I could wear more of Madam’s hand-me-downs," Wang Xia sighed.
"Then I’ll list the rest online," Jiang Mo said.
"Go ahead."
Jiang Mo spent the next hour photographing and uploading nearly eighty items.
Finally taking a break, she noticed Liu Guochuan’s follow-up messages on WeChat:
"When did you film this? You’ve got talent! You made me look so good! My old friends all praised it!"
"Tell me what else you’d like—come by tomorrow, and I’ll make it for you!"
Jiang Mo typed back: "Grandpa Liu, sorry for the late reply—I was busy with work."
"Sounds great! There’s actually something else I’d love your help with."
At the Liu residence, Liu Guochuan’s phone chimed. Seeing Jiang Mo’s reply, he smiled.
Earlier, he’d watched the video she sent—a clip of himself that had somehow gone viral online.
In the video, he squinted through his reading glasses to read every single comment—each one filled with praise and admiration.
It made him absolutely delighted.
He couldn’t wait to forward the video to his friends and his grandson.
His friends all said it was well-made, teasing him that he was about to become a big online celebrity.
When his beloved grandson Liu Chengze saw the video, he asked who had filmed it.
Liu Guochuan replied, "A young friend of mine helped me shoot it. Pretty good, don’t you think?"
Liu Chengze said, "Where did you meet this 'young friend'? Be careful—don’t get scammed."
Liu Guochuan scoffed, "What could anyone possibly scam from an old man like me, half-buried already?"
Instead of praising his craftsmanship, his grandson had the nerve to badmouth his new friend.
Furious, Liu Guochuan deleted his grandson from his contacts.
He even sent a voice message to Jiang Mo to vent: "Tell me, how can two young people be so different?"
The Liu family servants watched as the old man cradled his phone with a gleeful expression. One thought to herself, "Oh no, oh no… That look—could Old Master Liu be brewing a late-life romance?"
