After returning from the vegetable garden, Gu Baotian passed by Gu Ye and shot him another glare.
Gu Ye was baffled by the stare. Wasn’t it enough that he wasn’t wreaking havoc in the garden and was instead peacefully petting the dog?
Thanks to her recent stint as a kitchen helper, Jiang Mo’s cooking skills had improved significantly. She was quite confident about preparing a few dishes.
Though they were in the countryside, Su Yunjin made sure to send regular shipments of food and supplies, so ingredients were never in short supply. The fridge and freezer were always stocked.
After surveying the ingredients, Jiang Mo quickly decided on the evening’s menu: four dishes and a soup.
Stir-fried chives with eggs, spicy beef with peppers, fish-fragrant eggplant with minced pork, garlic-flavored bok choy, and a rib soup.
With the ingredients prepped and her apron tied, Jiang Mo fired up the stove and got to work.
Gu Baotian leisurely wandered into the kitchen, craned his neck without a word, then sauntered back out.
A short while later, he strolled in again for another look before leaving once more.
When he returned for the third time, Jiang Mo, busy stir-frying, couldn’t help but ask, “Grandpa Gu, is something wrong? Are you hungry? The food will be ready soon.”
“Nothing’s wrong. Just checking,” Gu Baotian replied. “I was worried you might burn the kitchen down.”
As soon as Gu Baotian left, Gu Ye sauntered in.
“Don’t tell me you’re also worried I can’t cook?” Jiang Mo said, plating the spicy beef.
“Nah,” Gu Ye inhaled deeply. “I’m just genuinely starving.”
With the young master declaring his hunger, Jiang Mo picked up the pace.
In under an hour, the four dishes and soup were laid out on the table.
Gu Baotian eyed the spread and found himself mildly impressed by the girl.
She worked efficiently, and the dishes looked well-prepared—quite the decent spread.
“Grandpa Gu, try it and let me know how it tastes,” Jiang Mo said nervously, though she personally thought the flavors were on point.
Gu Baotian picked up his chopsticks first, and only then did the younger two start eating.
After sampling each dish, Gu Baotian finally gave his verdict: “Not bad.”
Yet his chopsticks never stopped moving.
“This is delicious, Jiang Mo. I had no idea you were this good. I thought you only excelled at boiling noodles,” Gu Ye said, his appetite in full swing.
Jiang Mo beamed at the praise.
“Look at her—graceful in the parlor, skilled in the kitchen. And then there’s you, who can’t even tell grains apart,” Gu Baotian dissed Gu Ye.
“Grandpa Gu, everyone has their strengths,” Jiang Mo defended. “Gu Ye is really good at acting, you know.”
Unseen by her, Gu Ye was frantically signaling her to stop.
“His acting? Have you seen it? How would you rate it?”
A deadly trio of questions.
Jiang Mo answered without missing a beat, “It’s alright. Plenty of people enjoy his work.”
“Must be something wrong with their eyes,” Gu Baotian scoffed, doubling down. “You didn’t inherit even a speck of your grandmother’s talent.”
Gu Ye, seemingly accustomed to the criticism, sighed. “Grandpa, I’m improving. Give me time to learn and grow.”
Jiang Mo nodded in agreement. “Exactly, Grandpa Gu. Gu Ye puts in a lot of effort, especially since he didn’t formally train like some actors.”
Gu Baotian huffed, his temper cooling slightly. “No idea what possessed this kid to go into acting…”
After dinner, Gu Baotian settled in the living room to watch TV. Jiang Mo brought him a cup of hot water and sat beside him, cradling the puppy in her lap as they watched a drama.
“You’re Wang Xia’s daughter, aren’t you?” Gu Baotian took the cup, finally placing her familiar face. “No wonder you looked familiar.”
“Sharp eyes, Grandpa,” Jiang Mo grinned. “Want some fruit? I can cut some for you.”
“No need. Hot water’s fine,” he said. “If you’re bored, you can go upstairs and play on your phone. No need to keep me company.”
“I’m not bored. I like watching dramas and playing with the dog,” she replied. “Grandpa, don’t you get lonely living alone in the countryside?”
Gu Baotian waved it off. “Lonely? I sleep when I want, eat what I like, roam freely—couldn’t be better.”
...
When Gu Ye came downstairs after his shower, he found the TV on, his grandfather and Jiang Mo chatting idly.
He plopped onto the couch and casually changed the channel.
The moment he set the remote down, he regretted it and scrambled to switch back.
“Don’t change it. Leave it on this one,” Gu Baotian ordered.
On the screen was Gu Ye’s face—his latest drama was airing, and now his grandfather and Jiang Mo were watching it.
For Gu Ye, this was nothing short of public humiliation.
As an old classmate, Jiang Mo had watched plenty of his dramas after hearing he’d become an actor.
Many were cheesy CEO romances.
Though she’d outgrown her love for such tropes, some of Gu Ye’s scenes still made her cringe.
Now, the cringe belonged to Gu Ye alone.
If his grandfather wanted to watch, there was no stopping him.
“Grandpa, aren’t you tired? It’s getting late,” Gu Ye tried weakly.
“Tired? Your acting is so riveting, it’s keeping me wide awake,” Gu Baotian teased.
“Jiang Mo, you must be tired, right?” Gu Ye switched targets.
Jiang Mo giggled. “Nope. I usually stay up late. If you’re sleepy, go ahead and rest.”
Gu Ye did not giggle.
If he left now, who knew what his grandfather would say about him?
True to form, Gu Baotian didn’t hold back, critiquing his performance right in front of him.
Jiang Mo listened and remarked, “Grandpa, with your sharp tongue, you’d make a great drama critic.”
“What’s that?” Gu Baotian asked.
“Someone who analyzes and roasts TV shows with wit,” she explained, pulling up a video on her phone.
“Pfft. Not as good as me,” Gu Baotian declared. “What if I did something like this, but for his dramas?”
Jiang Mo hesitated. “Uh… maybe not. His fans would come after us.”
After a while, Jiang Mo checked the time and excused herself, heading upstairs with Gu Ye.
“Goodnight. I’m going to shower and sleep,” she said, yawning. The day’s chores had worn her out, and there was still a big cleanup ahead.
Seeing her exhaustion, Gu Ye swallowed the questions he wanted to ask and simply nodded. “Rest well.”
Before bed, Jiang Mo set an alarm for 7 a.m., figuring it was early enough.
But the next morning, before the alarm could ring, she was jolted awake by noises in the yard.
Groggy, she stepped out of her room and ran into Gu Ye, who’d also been roused early.
