Gu Nuan Nuan grinned. This rebirth perk seemed pretty good. It was practically a perfect tool for eavesdropping on secrets; if used well, it could be incredible. Especially after Mom divorced Gu Lihui. When she visited Grandma and Gu Lihui's house, it would be perfect for digging up dirt...
The thought that she might be able to use this to pry into the secrets of her grandma, Gu Lihui, her great-aunt, that woman, and even Gu Jiayi and Gu Jiabao made her thrill with excitement.
Anyway, she had absolutely no qualms about using this against those people.
'Right, the twins are still surnamed Lin for now, so they can only be called Lin Jiayi and Lin Jiabao. I wonder if their mom will still be happy to marry Gu Lihui in this life, now that he's disfigured?'
She knew just how narcissistic that woman, Tao Jianren, was, and how much she valued a man's appearance.
She still remembered overhearing Gu Lihui flirting with that woman in her previous life. What the woman said had left a particularly deep impression on her: "I'm a beauty, so of course I need a handsome talent like you to be my match. That coarse man Lin Dong has no talent, and on top of that, he's so ugly it makes me want to puke just looking at him."
Years later, whenever she recalled those words, she found them laughable.
Gu Lihui was indeed handsome, but he was just a primary school graduate who had gotten a job as a doorman at a newspaper office through connections. He eventually managed to switch positions, but he was still just an office gofer. How could he possibly be considered a "talented scholar" in that woman's eyes?
She really didn't know if Gu Lihui was just that good at spinning tales, if the woman's eyes were clouded by shit, or if she simply valued Gu Lihui's looks above all else.
She figured it was probably the latter.
A sarcastic smile crept onto Gu Nuan Nuan's face. Even if that woman didn't want to be her stepmother in this life, it wasn't up to her. If this pair didn't end up together, what if they went out and ruined other people's lives?
So, in this life, she would definitely find a way to make sure they stayed together. A "talented scholar" and a "beauty"—what a fine romance... Destroying their ill-fated connection from a past life would be so unkind. On this matter, no one could stop her strong desire to be a "kind" person.
"Stop daydreaming and eat. This dough drop soup is getting cold. What are you thinking about that's making you smile so much?" Zhang Minzhen noticed that not only was Gu Nuan Nuan eating slower and slower, but she was also chuckling to herself. What could she be thinking of that was so funny? After watching her for a few moments, Zhang Minzhen couldn't resist poking her and giving her a nudge.
"Why are you rushing her? She's a child; how can her small mouth compare to an adult's? Chewing your food more makes it easier to digest. It's hot out, so what's wrong with the food being a little cool? It might even be easier to eat that way."
Wen Xiu always doted on her grandchildren and couldn't bear to see them scolded. Before Gu Nuan Nuan could even say a word, she quickly jumped in to defend her.
"...Mom, you're really..." Hearing this, Zhang Minzhen sighed and touched her forehead, not finishing her sentence. Past experience had taught her it was useless to argue.
Gu Nuan Nuan gave her grandma a grateful, toothy grin.
'In her past life, after Mom was disfigured, she became much stricter with me. Grandma was secretly heartbroken over it countless times. She felt for me, but she felt even more for Mom. She would often comfort me in private, telling me about all of Mom's hardships. Time and again, she explained that Mom really did love me—it was a case of 'tough love'—and begged me not to hold it against her.'
Wen Xiu returned Gu Nuan Nuan's smile with a loving one of her own. Suddenly, she remembered Zhang Minzhen mentioning that the two of them had eaten steamed buns on the way over. She couldn't help but reach out and pat Gu Nuan Nuan's little belly. "Can you eat anymore? If you're really full, don't force yourself. We can just save it for your mom to eat tonight so it doesn't go to waste."
"Mom, why should I have to eat her leftovers? If there's any left, shouldn't she just eat it herself tonight?" Zhang Minzhen protested.
"Our Nuannuan, of course, should eat freshly made food. You're her mother, what's wrong with eating her leftovers? Is that such a hardship for you?" Wen Xiu rolled her eyes at her. "When you were little, times were tough, and there were no leftovers to be had. Otherwise, your father and I would have finished whatever you and your siblings left behind. What mother would be picky about her own child's food?"
Zhang Minzhen pouted and muttered under her breath, "No matter how you put it, you're still playing favorites."
Watching her mother bicker coquettishly with her grandma, Gu Nuan Nuan smiled to herself.
"You're a grown woman, and you still act like this? Your own child is going to laugh at you." Wen Xiu gave Zhang Minzhen a light SMACK and laughed in exasperation.
Zhang Minzhen shot her giggling daughter a look of mock anger, feeling helpless about how much her daughter had started smiling lately. 'Why is it that just when I'm about to divorce her father, she's suddenly so happy all the time?'
'This is completely different from how a normal child would react. It just goes to show what a bastard Gu Lihui usually is, treating even his own daughter so poorly. And to think I used to believe he was passable—not the best, but better than many.'
Meanwhile, Gu Lihui, whose facial wounds had been given basic treatment, lay all alone and uncared for on a hospital bed, catching a stray bullet.
Although he had originally had over ten yuan on him, Zhang Minzhen had taken it earlier to prepay for his medical expenses. So now he was penniless, with no family to look after him. Even though his stomach was rumbling with hunger, there was nothing he could do.
"Where the hell did that woman and that money-losing baggage go? Why haven't they come back to take care of me?" he muttered, full of rage, only to realize there was nothing he could do but wait. "Just you wait, I'll deal with the two of you later." As the wait dragged on, the flames of his anger burned ever hotter.
Back in the Zhang family's courtyard, no one mentioned Gu Lihui. Everyone had deliberately forgotten such a person even existed. Naturally, no one was wondering how he was doing or if he had eaten.
Zhang Minzhen thought of him for only a fleeting moment before pushing the thought aside.
Or perhaps, even if she had known what he was thinking at that moment, she probably would have just laughed it off and paid it no mind.
"Are you done eating? When you're finished, bring your bowl and come help me clean up the west room. The sun is nice and strong today. If we wipe down the mat and bed boards and wash the mosquito net, they'll be dry by this afternoon. Then you two can use them tonight." As Wen Xiu spoke, she seemed to have already decided that Gu Nuan Nuan couldn't eat anymore, and reached for her bowl.
"Grandma, I can finish it! The steamed buns I ate on the way here are long gone," Gu Nuan Nuan said, quickly shielding her bowl.
"You can really eat it all?"
"Really! Truer than true gold," Gu Nuan Nuan promised. She even patted her little belly and boasted ingratiatingly to her grandma, "I could even eat another bowl."
"Nonsense. Be careful or your tummy will explode, and then there'll be no one to eat all the delicious food Grandma makes for you," Wen Xiu laughed.