"......Well, yes, coaxing a kid," Jiang Mo smiled, though when others coaxed kids, they actually had the means—like buying a car and parking it in the garage at home.
But there was no need to explain all that to outsiders.
The group arrived at a Cantonese teahouse, nicely decorated, and Jiang Mo booked a private room.
"Alright, young master, little bro, order whatever you want," she said, handing the tablet to the two of them to choose dishes.
Li Zheng glanced at the menu. "Sis, you’re not even pretending anymore."
Jiang Mo raised an eyebrow. "What are you muttering about now, kid?"
"I’m saying you’ve gotten rich now, and you’re not even hiding it—dragging me out to eat every day," Li Zheng replied, already quickly picking out a few dishes.
As the old saying goes, when one person rises, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven.
Ever since his sister got wealthy, his standard of living had skyrocketed too.
"This is the allowance Mom gave us yesterday—said we should eat well," Jiang Mo explained.
Li Zheng was puzzled. "Huh? Did Mom win the lottery or something? She’s being so generous."
Gu Xuan, having chosen what he wanted, handed the tablet back to Jiang Mo and chimed in, "Sis Jiang Mo, how much money do you have?"
"Want to compare?"
Jiang Mo quickly waved her hands. "I barely have any, just a tiny bit—definitely not as much as you."
Though Gu Xuan was only ten, his financial resources were impressive—evident from the gold necklace he’d gifted her before.
Truly, the watershed moment in life was the amniotic fluid you were born into.
Gu Xuan smirked at Li Zheng, who sighed. "Then I’m even poorer. Out of the three of us, I’m the most broke."
It was kind of pathetic—his pockets couldn’t even compete with a ten-year-old’s.
"Ah, how much pocket money do you usually get?" Gu Xuan asked curiously.
Li Zheng shot back, "How much do you get?"
Gu Xuan sighed. "Mom says I’m too young to have much use for money, so she only gives me 100,000 a month."
Li Zheng inhaled sharply—glad he hadn’t answered first, or he’d have just humiliated himself.
Jiang Mo choked on her tea. Good grief, what do you mean ‘only’ 100,000? Does he even know how to spend that much? Let me spend it for him!
"But Mom said when I’m older, she’ll increase my allowance."
"That’s... great, really great," Li Zheng forced a smile. Just the other day, he’d been begging their mom for a new computer, while this kid got 100,000 a month for fun.
Is this the gap between ordinary people and the rich?
And people online said wealthy families had money but no love—but looking at this kid, he had both.
"Alright, let’s eat," Jiang Mo quickly changed the subject as the waiter brought the dishes. She worried if they kept talking, her little brother’s self-esteem might collapse.
Channeling his frustration into appetite, Li Zheng decided to eat like there was no tomorrow.
Seeing him dig in, Gu Xuan’s own appetite perked up, eating more than he usually did at home.
By the time the three leisurely finished their brunch, it was almost noon.
Then, Gu Xuan’s phone rang.
Seeing the caller ID, he answered slowly.
"Hey, big bro... Yeah, I’m out eating with Sis Jiang Mo."
"Can I not go? I’d rather stay here... Fine..."
Hanging up, his face fell. "Big bro called. He wants me to stay with him for a couple days."
Li Zheng asked, "You don’t want to go?"
Jiang Mo shot her brother a look—seriously, can’t you read the room?
Meanwhile, Jiang Mo received a message from Gu Xun:
"Please bring Gu Xuan to me."
"Got it, Boss Gu."
She wasn’t sure why Gu Xun wanted him over, but as an employee, she had to follow orders.
"Let’s head back, pack your things, and I’ll take you there," she told Gu Xuan.
He pouted. "I wanted to go to the arcade later."
Huh—Boss Gu hadn’t specified a time. Jiang Mo raised an eyebrow. "We can play for a bit—just half an hour, okay?"
By the time they left the mall, an hour had passed.
Having gotten his arcade fix, Gu Xuan’s mood improved.
Back home, Jiang Mo pulled out his suitcase—just a few clothes to pack, nothing complicated.
"Let’s go. Off to Boss Gu’s place," she said, wheeling the luggage.
Gu Xuan flopped onto the sofa, then slid off reluctantly. "There’s nothing fun at my big bro’s place."
Even in the car, he kept grumbling.
Jiang Mo chuckled. "If you really don’t want to go, you could tell Boss Gu."
"I tried, but I lost the argument," Gu Xuan said. "Big bro said even on holidays, you guys need a break, so I should go home to play."
That surprised Jiang Mo—so that’s why Boss Gu wanted him back.
To avoid access issues, Jiang Mo had registered her face for biometric entry the last time she and Gu Ye visited.
Now, she breezed through security, entered the penthouse with the passcode, and stepped inside smoothly.
The apartment was quiet, no one in the living room. Jiang Mo called out softly, "Boss Gu, I’ve brought the young master."
When no one answered, Gu Xuan barged ahead, checking the bedroom first, then pushing open the study door.
Sure enough, there was Gu Xun, busy at his computer.
"Big bro, I’m here!"
Gu Xun, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, looked up from his screen. "Running away from home at your age?"
Gu Xuan gasped. "Wow, big bro, you’re so smart! You’re the only one in the family who noticed I ran away. How’d you figure it out?"
Gu Xun had only learned about it that morning while overhearing Su Yunjin’s phone call.
Hearing Gu Xuan was at Jiang Mo’s, he decided to have the kid brought back for the remaining holiday days.
"Don’t do this again, understand?" Gu Xun didn’t explain, just gave his usual stern instruction.
Attempt to lighten the mood failed, Gu Xuan nodded obediently.
Stepping out of the study, Gu Xun spotted Jiang Mo in the living room. "Thanks for bringing him."
"No trouble at all," she said, noticing his pale complexion. "Boss Gu, you don’t look too well—are you okay?"
Gu Xun pressed his lips together, a hand resting on his abdomen. "I’m fine."
"Alright," Jiang Mo glanced around. "Anything else you need me to handle here?"
Gu Xun shook his head. "No, you can go home and rest."
"Got it, Boss Gu." She peeked past him to wave at Gu Xuan. "Bye, I’m heading back now."
Back home, Jiang Mo flopped onto the sofa, turned on the TV, and scrolled through food delivery options for afternoon tea.
Li Zheng called out, "Sis, get me some fried chicken and a mango sago drink, thanks."
The two had just happily finished their delightful afternoon tea when Jiang Mo received a call from Gu Xuan.
"Jiang Mo, my big brother seems a bit unwell. Could you come over?"
By the time Li Zheng came out of the bathroom, he noticed his older sister had already disappeared.
When Li Zheng finally realized, Jiang Mo had already hopped onto her electric scooter.
She had always trusted her sharp intuition—she knew something was off about Young Master Gu's complexion earlier.
And sure enough, trouble had arisen.
As soon as Jiang Mo entered the house, Gu Xuan rushed over. "My brother is still in his study."
Gu Xuan pushed open the study door and stepped inside, with Jiang Mo following closely behind.
Gu Xun, seeing the two enter, braced himself against the desk. "Why are you back?"
"Young Master Gu said you weren’t feeling well, so I came to check on you," Jiang Mo replied, noticing that his complexion looked even worse than when she had left earlier.
"It’s an old issue. I’ve taken medicine," Gu Xun said, gesturing toward the pillbox on the desk.
Only then did Jiang Mo spot the medicine box. "That’s good, that’s good."
On her way here, she had already been mentally preparing to call an ambulance if things took a turn for the worse.
"Maybe you should lie down and rest for a bit?"
Gu Xun didn’t respond immediately. After a brief pause, he said, "You and Xuan should go out first. I’ll be done soon."
Young Master Gu really was a workaholic.
Seeing that she couldn’t persuade him, Jiang Mo had no choice but to lead Gu Xuan out of the study.
Gu Xuan fretted, "Is my brother going to be okay?"
Jiang Mo scratched her head—she wasn’t sure either. "He took his medicine, so he should be fine. Don’t worry, I’ll stay for a while and keep an eye on things."
The two sat in the living room watching TV when, after a while, they heard movement. Gu Xun emerged from the study.
He walked stiffly toward the sofa, his lips parting slightly—only to collapse face-first onto the couch.
With a heavy thud, his upper body landed on the sofa while his legs dangled awkwardly off the edge.
The scene left them momentarily stunned. Recovering quickly, Jiang Mo rushed over and dragged Gu Xun onto the sofa, flipping him onto his back so he could lean against the cushions.
"Jiang Mo, what’s wrong with my brother? He’s not... dead, is he?" Gu Xuan muttered nervously, wringing his fingers.
As soon as Gu Xun was turned over, he regained some consciousness and mumbled weakly, "...Co... Coke..."
Hearing that he was still coherent, Jiang Mo immediately relaxed. Judging by the situation, it was probably low blood sugar.
She hurried to the fridge to grab a Coke but found only mineral water—apparently, the big CEO valued his health too much to keep sodas around.
"No Coke here."
Hearing this, Gu Xuan immediately yanked open the coffee table drawer. "There’s Coke in here!"
Not bothering to question why there was Coke in the drawer, Jiang Mo twisted open the bottle and pressed it to Gu Xun’s lips. "Here’s your Coke."
Gu Xun’s eyes remained closed, but his lips parted slightly as he took small sips, drinking until about a third of the bottle was gone.
Jiang Mo held the remaining Coke, leaning in to check if he was improving.
Gu Xuan knelt on the sofa, staring intently at his brother. "Jiang Mo, maybe we should call an ambulance."
"Don’t," Gu Xun exhaled deeply, his energy returning slightly as he spoke softly.
