Jiang Mo walked downstairs, recalling the scene she had accidentally glimpsed earlier, and couldn't help but mutter to herself, "Wow, didn’t expect Gu Ye to be so well-built."
She had assumed he was just a scrawny guy, but it seemed his workouts were actually paying off.
Back in her bedroom, she noticed the shopping bags in the corner and contacted the boutique owner, arranging to visit the store at 10:30 the next morning.
She had been practicing driving in her spare time for a while now and wanted to try driving alone on the road.
Wang Xia was still a little worried. "Are you sure you can handle it by yourself?"
"I’ll be fine, Mom. Don’t worry. I have to drive alone eventually," Jiang Mo replied.
"Then take it slow on the road," Wang Xia advised.
Su Yunjin, overhearing the conversation, suggested she take one of the family’s unused cars. "No need to go back and drive Old Li’s clunker. That car’s ancient."
Wang Xia nodded. "Listen to Madam."
In the end, they picked a low-key grocery-run car from the garage—a Mercedes.
After loading the packed clothes into the trunk, Jiang Mo took a deep breath and drove leisurely to the vintage store.
The young female owner greeted her with a grin. "Oh, so you bought a Mercedes now?"
"Not me. It’s the boss’s grocery car," Jiang Mo said, unloading the items. "Take a look."
The owner couldn’t help but think, Even their grocery car is a Mercedes—guess I’m just too poor.
Inside the store, the owner examined the clothes. "Your wealthy young master has decent taste. These styles are pretty good, mostly luxury brands. Though men’s clothes don’t sell as well as women’s. I’ll take half of them."
After smoothly collecting the payment, Jiang Mo checked the time—almost noon—and drove straight to the Chongqing-style spicy hotpot place she’d been craving, leaving fully satisfied.
When she returned to the Gu residence, she looked for Gu Ye to transfer the money but couldn’t find him upstairs.
Wang Xia, noticing her search, said, "A guest just arrived. They’re probably in the basement."
"Who?" Jiang Mo asked curiously.
"A girl, quite pretty," Wang Xia lowered her voice. "Not sure if she’s someone Gu Ye likes, but this is the first time in years I’ve seen a girl visit him at home."
Jiang Mo leaned in, their heads nearly touching. "Really? Is Madam home?"
"No, she’s out. The girl just showed up unannounced," Wang Xia said. "Gu Ye really doesn’t plan well. If it’s her first visit, he should’ve given a heads-up."
The mother and daughter whispered a bit more before Jiang Mo suppressed her curiosity and went upstairs to clean.
By the time she finished tidying the rooms of the Gu brothers and reached the staircase, she heard voices from the living room downstairs.
She hurried down and finally got a clear look at the mysterious guest.
"Miss Kong?" Jiang Mo was surprised to see Kong Xue’er in their home.
Kong Xue’er greeted her warmly. "Hey, it’s you! So this is where you work, like you mentioned before."
"You two know each other?" Gu Ye asked, startled.
He quickly explained, "Kong Xue’er is related to Grandma Zhong from the villa. She came to visit her today and dropped by when she heard I live here too."
"I know. Grandpa Gu and I attended Grandma Zhong’s birthday party last time. That’s where I met Miss Kong," Jiang Mo said.
Mention of the party brought back embarrassing memories for Kong Xue’er—some things were better left in the past.
She had come with her family to visit Zhong Xiaoqin today. During their chat, Zhong Xiaoqin mentioned a male celebrity surnamed Gu who also lived in the neighborhood, and Kong Xue’er immediately guessed it was Gu Ye.
They had acted together before and got along well, so she casually asked about him and decided to drop by when she heard he was home.
"Don’t call me ‘Miss Kong.’ It sounds too formal. Just call me Xue’er," Kong Xue’er said with a smile. "We really keep running into each other, huh?"
Jiang Mo chuckled, thinking, No kidding.
"I’ll leave you two to chat. Let me get you some drinks," she said before heading to the kitchen.
Inside, Wang Xia, hearing the commotion, asked, "You know that girl? What’s the story?"
"Her name’s Kong Xue’er. She’s an actress who worked with Gu Ye before," Jiang Mo said, noticing Wang Xia’s probing gaze. "That’s all I know. No clue about anything else."
In the living room, Kong Xue’er sighed. "I always guessed your family was well-off, but I didn’t realize you were actually a young master."
She had just looked it up—the Gu family’s assets and businesses were no joke.
"Just average, really," Gu Ye said modestly. "But I’d appreciate it if you didn’t spread this around."
"Average? Then I must be dirt-poor," Kong Xue’er teased before nodding. "Got it. My lips are sealed."
"But seriously," she added, "with your background, why not play up the ‘wealthy young master’ image? You wouldn’t even need to fake a persona."
These days, everyone in the entertainment industry had a crafted image—whether it was the innocent type, the doting husband, or the rich heir.
(Not that she was exempt—her company had branded her as the "sweetheart" type.)
Gu Ye put on a righteous expression, saying, "I want to rely on my own skills, not some flashy nonsense."
But in reality, his family didn’t believe in him at the time and told him to leave—they didn’t even want him to be recognized as a member of the Gu family, afraid he’d embarrass them.
He had his pride, after all. Even his agent, Sister Huang, only knew his family was well-off but hadn’t fully grasped the extent of their connections.
"Man, you’re really something," Kong Xue'er said enviously. "You’re lucky. If the entertainment industry doesn’t work out, you can always go back and inherit the family fortune. Not like me."
Kong Xue'er was a trained professional, having acted in various TV dramas since college. It took her years to finally land a leading role—the one she filmed with Gu Ye.
Jiang Mo brought them some juice and nodded in agreement upon hearing this.
In this world, some are born to inherit wealth, while others are born to inherit hardship.
"Is it really hard to get acting jobs these days?" Jiang Mo asked curiously.
Come to think of it, she hadn’t fully watched a TV drama in a long time. The last one she finished was Tang Dynasty Mysteries.
As for her mom? She was glued to those short dramas on Hongguo every day, earning a few coins on the side.
"Yeah, there are barely any new productions starting up," Kong Xue'er said, shrugging. "That’s why I’m just sitting around at home with nothing to do."
She was straightforward and easygoing—among friends, she said whatever was on her mind.
Turning to Gu Ye, she asked, "Are you joining any new projects soon?"
Gu Ye took a sip of juice and shook his head. "Not for a while. I’m focusing on taking acting classes right now."
Kong Xue'er’s eyes flicked toward Jiang Mo, and she grinned. "You’ve seen Gu Ye’s dramas, right? What do you think—pretty good, huh?"
Gu Ye tensed up.
Jiang Mo rubbed her nose. "Yeah, they’re good."
At the very least, his face was a feast for the eyes. As for his acting… well, there was room for improvement.
