A surprise

On the fourth day of the National Day holiday, Gu Zhiyue returned to Yunxiang alone, pulling his suitcase behind him.

After driving Gu Zhiyue to his adoptive parents' home in Yunxiang, the driver left without lingering a moment.

Gu Zhiyue took out his key, opened the door, and rushed inside with his arms spread wide. "Mom, Dad, I'm home!"

Hearing him, Bai Qinglan hurried out of the kitchen, taking off her apron as she came over to take his luggage. "Didn't you say you were coming back tomorrow? Why are you back today?"

Gu Zhiyue smiled. "I wanted to surprise you and Dad. Mom, did you miss me?"

"Yes, yes. Hurry and sit down, have some water, and rest a bit. It's so hot outside. Look, your forehead's all sweaty."

Gu Zhiyue drained the entire glass of water. "It's hard to get a car in here, so I had Uncle Li drop me off at the station and walked home. It took less than ten minutes."

Bai Qinglan smiled. "Your dad's going to get quite a shock when he comes home tonight. He was planning to pick you up himself tomorrow, but you actually sneaked back all on your own."

"That's what I call creating a surprise. Mom, I'll go upstairs and put my things away first. I already told Mom, Dad, and the others that I'll go back on the sixth. School starts on the eighth."

"All right. Put your things away and rest a little, then come out with me to buy some groceries. Tonight, I'll make your favorite spicy poached fish."

"And shredded chicken with lemon!" Gu Zhiyue picked up his suitcase and went into his room.

The sheets and bedding on the bed had clearly just been changed, and the cabinets that had gone unused for so long had been cleaned too. When he opened the wardrobe, he caught a faint scent of lavender.

Gu Zhiyue opened his suitcase and hung his clothes in the wardrobe one by one, then put away his shoes and everything else.

Then he flopped onto the bed. The curtains were open, and sunlight streamed through the window, its beams falling onto the bed and warming the quilt.

Gu Zhiyue rolled to one side, out of the sunlight, and picked up his phone to set an alarm for half an hour later, planning to go grocery shopping at the supermarket then.

Over at the Gu Family home, the company was already on holiday, so Gu Jiangfeng had not gone to work and was taking his time off at home instead.

Gu Shuoyan had gone out with a few friends and probably would not be back until very late, leaving only Gu Jiangfeng and Zhao Wanling at home.

Zhao Wanling sighed in boredom. "They've all gone out at once, and now it's just the two of us. It's no fun at all."

Gu Jiangfeng suggested, "Why don't we go out too?"

"Where could we go? What good places could you possibly think of? You actually picked a Chinese chess room for our first date, and after that, our dates were either at the library or the golf course. I don't trust you one bit."

"That was over twenty years ago. I've changed a long time ago, and I've done plenty of research. I guarantee you'll be happy with the places I choose."

Zhao Wanling's eyes shifted, and she chuckled. "Fine, I'll trust you one more time."

Gu Jiangfeng asked with a smile, "Then how about we watch a movie this evening and spend tonight at a hotel? Haven't you wanted to check out Fan Yue's couples' hotel rooms for ages?"

Zhao Wanling pushed him away. "We've been married for so long. Why are you still saying things like that?"

"How are we old? I'm in my strong middle-aged prime this year, and you're still beautiful."

"Well... we could indeed go take a look. What about tomorrow? What are you planning for tomorrow?"

"Of course we'll sleep until we wake up naturally first. We'll need to be well rested to continue our date. We can go boating on Liu Lake or see the pandas at Anyang Zoo."

Zhao Wanling nodded in satisfaction. "Sounds good. Looks like you really have improved quite a bit. It's past three in the afternoon now, so let's head out after dinner. Oh, right, what genre of movie did you pick?"

Gu Jiangfeng smiled. "Your longtime favorite, a disaster movie. The one that just came out last week."

"Not bad. That's a huge improvement. After more than twenty years together, you've finally learned how to go on a proper date."

Gu Zhiyue napped for half an hour. After the alarm rang, he went into the bathroom to wash his face, then headed to the living room to find Bai Qinglan.

"Mom, when are we going to the supermarket? I'm ready."

With her handbag over her arm, Bai Qinglan adjusted her hair in front of the mirror. "Let's go now, then. The sooner we go, the sooner we'll be back."

The supermarket was not far from home, so the two of them walked. The sunlight was still dazzling after four, but it was much cooler now than at noon.

On the way, they greeted a few neighbors they knew, exchanged a few pleasantries, then went about their own business.

Once they entered the supermarket, Gu Zhiyue grabbed a shopping cart. "Mom, what groceries do we need?"

Bai Qinglan looked around, counting them off on her fingers. "Chinese cabbage, sliced beef, fish, potatoes, bean sprouts, and tomatoes. We need some chilies too."

They made their way from the vegetable section to the meat section, where Bai Qinglan stood in front of a fish tank and picked out a snakehead that looked big and plump.

An employee took the fish away to clean it. While they waited, Bai Qinglan asked Gu Zhiyue how he was doing with the Gu Family. Although she could tell from the way he looked that he was doing very well, she still wanted to ask and hear him say so himself.

"Really well! During my first few days back, Mom, Dad, and the others were worried I'd miss you, so they'd make a point of having me go back to my room early to call you. I accidentally fell down the stairs the night I came home, and after that, there were night-lights on everywhere in the house every night."

Bai Qinglan raised her hand and stroked Gu Zhiyue's head. "As long as you're doing well. Seeing that you can be happy after going back means I have nothing to worry about. Just come back to see your dad and me more often whenever you have time."

Gu Zhiyue nodded. "I will. Mom, why don't you move? I have enough money now to buy a small villa. If you and Dad lived closer, I could visit you more often."

"How could we do that? Didn't I tell you to keep your money for yourself? Your dad and I have lived here for over ten years. We're used to it here."

"All right, then. But the furniture and other things at home need updating. You can't say no to me on this. Let's replace the sofa and the kitchen stove with the latest models. They'll be more convenient to use."

Bai Qinglan smiled and nodded. "All right. I'll listen to you on this."

The employee handed over the cleaned fish. Gu Zhiyue took the bag and thanked them, then went with Bai Qinglan to another section to buy ingredients.

Xiao Jiu appeared and sat on the shopping cart's handle. [Host, that Tong Ziyi invited Gu Shuoyan to go racing tomorrow.]

Gu Zhiyue's pupils contracted in shock. [Did my third brother agree? I was so focused on coming home that I actually forgot something so important.]

[Gu Shuoyan agreed. Tomorrow afternoon at four. But Gu Shuoyan drove the sports car that's going to have the accident, then had Gu Tingchuan secretly drive another sports car over as well.]

Gu Zhiyue sucked in a breath. [Two cars? Did my third brother notice something? Otherwise, why would he suddenly prepare two cars?]

Xiao Jiu nodded in agreement too. [I think they must have noticed something off about that Tong Ziyi. But that's only our guess. There's no guarantee.]

Gu Zhiyue sighed. [I'll have to go to the racetrack tomorrow. Is it far from here? If it is, I'll need to leave early.]

Bai Qinglan put two bags of potato chips into the shopping cart. "Let's get two bags of these. You can eat them while you're playing games in your room tonight."

Gu Zhiyue paused his conversation with Xiao Jiu and wheedled, "Mom, let's get two tubs of instant noodles too. I'm still growing, so I get hungry easily at night."

"All right."