Wang Xia: "If I'm brushing you off, then I'm brushing you off. What can you do about it?"
Of course, there wasn’t much he could do—after all, everyone in the family knew exactly who called the shots.
Faced with Wang Xia’s blatant dismissal, Li Daming played along: "Eat up, have some more."
Jiang Mo shot him a teasing look: Old Li, you’re really not cutting it.
Li Daming raised his chin slightly: Yeah, yeah, I’m useless. If you’re so capable, daughter, why don’t you step up?
Wang Xia glanced at the father and daughter whispering to each other—clearly up to no good.
"What are you two gossiping about? Speak up, let me hear it too."
Jiang Mo shook her head. "Nothing~ Just praising how capable you are, the pillar of our family."
"Daughter’s absolutely right," Li Daming chimed in, laying on the flattery.
Li Zheng, who had been quietly eating, stared in amazement—he’d never realized his sister was so smooth with her words.
Impressive. Once you step into society, people really do change.
Happy holiday breaks always flew by, and before they knew it, the last day had arrived.
Among the family, the three working adults were fine, but Li Zheng, the student, suffered the worst withdrawal.
"Hang in there, just one more month and you’re free," Jiang Mo consoled her little brother.
After lunch, Li Zheng was tragically sent back to school, arms loaded with snacks.
Jiang Mo had an appointment with her driving coach and spent a few hours practicing on the road. In the evening, she returned to the Gu residence with Wang Xia.
"Grandpa Gu, I’m back from my break!" Jiang Mo greeted Gu Baotian cheerfully, vigorously ruffling the fur on Big Huang’s head.
"Oh, Xiao Mo’s back! The house felt so quiet without you these past few days," Gu Baotian said as he poured dog food into bowls for Big Huang and Fuguier.
"Hehe, as long as you don’t find me too noisy."
Jiang Mo went to her room to unpack, then made rounds to the cat room and the garden pond.
Back in the living room, she saw the two dogs had finished their dinner, and Gu Baotian was fastening a leash onto Big Huang.
Filling a portable water cup for the dogs, Jiang Mo spoke up: "Grandpa Gu, why don’t you rest at home? I’ll take them out for a walk."
"No need, no need. I’ll do it—good exercise for me," he said cheerfully, taking the water cup and heading out with the dogs.
For two straight days, Jiang Mo tried to take over dog-walking duties but failed each time.
Not only that, but Gu Baotian seemed unusually enthusiastic about it.
This odd behavior didn’t escape Su Yunjin’s notice either.
"You know, ever since you all came back from that birthday party, the old man’s been acting a little strange."
She’d thought that with the grandsons away and Jiang Mo on break, the old man might get bored and return to the countryside. But he hadn’t even mentioned it—aside from walking the dogs, he kept glancing at his phone.
Walking the dogs was one thing, but who in their right mind took them out at dawn and returned at dusk, spending hours each time? She was worried about his health.
"Walking them from dawn to dusk? For hours at a time?" Jiang Mo scratched her head. "Grandpa Gu’s stamina is amazing."
"Exactly! Your mom told me he’s out by six in the morning," Su Yunjin said. It wasn’t even hot anymore—why so early?
Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
Su Yunjin, uneasy, tasked Jiang Mo: "Xiao Mo, you get along well with Grandpa Gu and the other elders here. See if you can find out what he’s been up to outside."
Jiang Mo was curious too. "Alright, Mrs. Su, I’ll do some digging."
She considered tailing Gu Baotian to see for herself, but when she offered to join the dog walks, he refused again.
"These two dogs are easy—I’ve got it covered. No need for you to come," Gu Baotian said, watching Jiang Mo yawn. The girl could barely keep her eyes open.
Rubbing her eyes, Jiang Mo sighed—her early-morning stakeout had failed.
So she switched tactics, seeking intel from the other elders instead.
When Liu Guochuan heard Jiang Mo had arrived, he immediately summoned her to his study.
"Perfect timing! You’re well-educated—tell me what you think of my memoir draft."
In the study, the computer was on. Liu Guochuan, wearing reading glasses, tapped away at the keyboard in front of a large monitor.
Jiang Mo suddenly remembered their dinner conversation, where they’d reminisced about the past and joked about publishing their stories.
At the time, she’d thought it was just talk. But here he was, actually doing it.
These seniors put us youngsters to shame.
Liu Guochuan stood, offering his seat. Jiang Mo sat down and began reading the screen carefully.
"Writing a memoir isn’t easy. After all this time, I’ve only managed this much," Liu Guochuan sighed.
"You’re doing great—30,000 words is no small feat," Jiang Mo praised sincerely.
Liu Guochuan placed his hands on his hips. "Really? I thought you’d say I’m too slow."
"Not at all. Your progress is impressive."
See? At his age, he just dives in. No wonder he succeeded in life.
Liu Guochuan: "Take your time reading. I’ll go prepare some fruit for you."
His memoir started from childhood, meandering and somewhat disjointed, jumping freely between thoughts.
Luckily, Jiang Mo was an avid novel reader—speed-reading a few thousand words was nothing.
When Liu Guochuan returned, she shared her feedback, then asked, "Grandpa Liu, why not hire someone to transcribe for you? It’d save time."
He could easily dictate to a professional instead of typing everything himself.
"I thought doing it myself would be better—easier to add things as I remember them." Then, struck by inspiration, he added, "Actually… Xiao Mo, would you be willing to help me organize this? I’ll pay you for your time."
Jiang Mo considered it. "Grandpa Liu, I’ve never done this before, but I can try?"
Liu Guochuan beamed. "Great! I trust you."
As she snacked on fruit, Jiang Mo circled back to her original mission. "Have you spent much time with Grandpa Gu lately?"
"Some, but not much. We went fishing by the lake a few days ago. Why?"
"No reason, just curious."
Liu Guochuan frowned. "Come on, you think I’m senile? You wouldn’t ask for no reason."
Jiang Mo laughed awkwardly—it was a tricky topic to broach.
"Well… Grandpa Gu’s been out a lot. I thought maybe he’d made new friends, so I wondered."
"Haven’t heard about any new friends. He’s just been walking the dogs. Yesterday morning, I even saw him with Grandma Zhong."
Jiang Mo blinked. "With Grandma Zhong?"
"Yep, by Moonbridge Lake." Liu Guochuan paused, then muttered, "Wait… didn’t they just meet at that birthday party?"
"Since when have two people gotten so close that they walk their dogs together?"
Jiang Mo didn’t dare respond—who knew what was going on?
At the last birthday party, she’d only just learned that the two had previously had a disagreement. She’d been worried, but now they were suddenly this friendly?
Could it be that what Su Yunjin said—about Gu Baotian taking the dog out early and coming back late—was all because he was walking the dog with Granny Zhong?
As the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat.
But once human curiosity is stirred, it’s impossible to suppress.
"Is your Grandpa Gu home right now?"
Jiang Mo shook her head—no.
He’d left with the dog a little after six in the morning, and when she’d gone out earlier, he still hadn’t returned.
Liu Guochuan abandoned writing his autobiography and motioned for Jiang Mo to follow him downstairs. "Come on, let’s go see your Granny Zhong."
Zhong Family, Garden.
Big Yellow lay lazily on the ground, while Fuer chased after the Pomeranian. The Pomeranian was annoyed by the little pup, but the pup, oblivious, kept shamelessly tagging along.
Inside the garden sunroom, Zhong Xiaoqin was having breakfast, with Gu Baotian seated across from her, sharing the meal.
"Has your family’s chef not returned from leave yet?" Zhong Xiaoqin asked. "Can’t Aunt Wang cook either?"
"Yeah, lately we’ve been ordering meals from restaurants," Gu Baotian replied without batting an eye.
Wang Xia & Chef Li: "......" They really wanted to speak up for themselves.
"Then you should hire a part-time chef in the meantime," Zhong Xiaoqin suggested.
Gu Baotian nodded. "The family’s looking into it."
During the last birthday party, unbeknownst to Jiang Mo, Gu Baotian had gone to apologize to Zhong Xiaoqin.
Zhong Xiaoqin wasn’t one to hold grudges. The argument had probably been fueled by momentary temper on both sides, but now that things were cleared up, they’d even added each other as friends.
"No worries, now that we’re acquainted, we’re friends. We can arrange to walk the dogs together sometime."
Unexpectedly, they actually ran into Gu Baotian during their morning walks.
He’d given her Pomeranian quite a few gifts, and Zhong Xiaoqin, feeling a bit guilty, shared some of her own dog’s favorite items with him in return.
After walking the dogs together, she casually invited him to stay for breakfast.
Well, you know how it is with us Chinese—sometimes it’s just a polite offer.
But Gu Baotian actually sat down. "Then I’ll trouble you for a meal."
Seeing Zhong Xiaoqin momentarily stunned, Gu Baotian coughed awkwardly and added, "The house doesn’t have a chef right now."
And just like that, he ended up mooching breakfast for several days.
Zhong Xiaoqin ate her fried eggs with refined elegance. Despite her age, she dressed fashionably and kept in excellent shape through regular exercise.
If no one mentioned it, you’d never guess she was that old.
"How about we invite Old Liu and Old Pan for an outdoor trip in a couple of days?" Gu Baotian suggested after taking a sip of soy milk.
Since she had nothing else planned, Zhong Xiaoqin thought a little outing sounded nice. "Sure, let’s ask them."
Meanwhile, Jiang Mo and Liu Guochuan had already arrived.
Following the servant’s directions, they headed straight for the garden sunroom—where they spotted the two inside.
Liu Guochuan clicked his tongue. "Having breakfast without me, huh? What, enjoying a couples’ meal?"
