Introducing the "Natural" Indoors

Chapter 169

Gu Xiangcheng put down the newspaper, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Without any extra movements, he simply tapped his index finger lightly twice on the newspaper.

"Tap, tap."

The sound wasn't loud, but it felt like two heavy hammers striking the heart.

"Isn't your reaction a bit off?"

As his words fell, the sister and brother looked at each other in dismay.

Sensing Lao Gu's gaze turning towards him, Gu Ran's mouth twitched slightly.

Damn it, what kind of paid trolls did he hire? He was going to deduct their pay when he got back!

It was supposed to be a precisely targeted soft article marketing campaign, so how did it end up dancing right under the nose of the "terminally ill father" himself?

This was way too coincidental, wasn't it?!

I demand a reshuffle!

"This... this water is too hot."

Ye Zhenzhen finally caught her breath, blushing as she weakly added, her eyes darting around, "I'll go pour some cold water."

Seeing that the girl was about to flee the battlefield and abandon him, Gu Ran took a deep breath.

Traitor!

The next second, he smiled flatteringly, "Dad, you actually believe this?"

He strode forward, snatched the newspaper away, and sneered, "This is such an outdated cliché from years ago. It only fools you middle-aged and elderly people, harvesting a wave of sympathy tax."

Gu Xiangcheng frowned: "A cliché?"

"It's called viral marketing, standard internet operation."

Gu Ran tossed the newspaper onto the coffee table, crossed his arms, and put on a 'I know everything' posture:

"Nowadays, products are too embarrassed to hit the shelves without making up a tragic story. Things like 'father is seriously ill', 'mother remarried', 'selling tea for grandpa'... they're all templates. This is the legendary 'misery literature'."

"Templates?" Gu Xiangcheng was a bit suspicious, pointing at the newspaper. "But this is written so vividly. An old policeman, falling ill from overwork..."

"Because the police profession comes with its own halo, it's a traffic code!"

Gu Ran remained straight-faced, his acting skills rivaling an Oscar-winning actor:

"Unscrupulous merchants have no bottom line when it comes to traffic. Dad, think about it. If there really was such a filial son, he would have moved China long ago. Would he be relegated to publishing soft articles in the margins of a supplement? This is fictional literature, purely made up."

After speaking, he turned to the escaping girl, "Right, Ye Zhenzhen? We're tired of seeing these kinds of jokes online."

The girl, being called out, paused in her tracks, her cute head nodding like a garlic pounder: "Ah, right... right! There are so many online, they're all scams! These people are too bad!"

Gu Xiangcheng just watched the two of them echo each other.

His intuition told him something was definitely wrong, but for a moment, he couldn't find any logical loopholes.

"Young people nowadays really have a lot of tricks."

After a long while, he shook his head, too lazy to look deeper into the matter, and casually picked up his teacup. "The name of this game is quite weird..."

Gu Ran secretly wiped away a cold sweat.

"Alright, who cares how they market it."

After speaking, he put down his teacup, bent over, pulled out two EMS express delivery envelopes from under the coffee table, and slapped them on the table.

"Compared to those superficial things, this is the real business." A hard-to-suppress smile appeared on Gu Xiangcheng's face. "Your admission letters have arrived."

Two hot-stamped red hard cardboard covers were pulled out, with the following written on them in turn:

[Student Gu Ran: You are hereby admitted to our university's Economics and Management major...]

[Student Ye Zhenzhen: You are hereby admitted to our university's Clinical Medicine major...]

Qinglin University.

The two admission letters were placed side by side, like two tickets to the future, festively red.

Gu Xiangcheng looked at the university badges on the letters, the light in his eyes softening, and then sighed at Gu Ran: "It's a good university, but I still feel it's a pity. If you had applied to a political science and law university, your path in the future would be much easier..."

This was the most simple obsession of a Chinese-style father: always wanting to steadily hand over the best resources to his son, even if the child didn't like that path.

"Dad, paths are made by walking."

Gu Ran put away his playful smile, his tone rarely firm: "The path of politics and law isn't suitable for me either. And within four years, I will definitely make you feel that your son choosing this path was the wisest decision of his life."

Hearing this, Gu Xiangcheng was stunned for a moment, then laughed: "Big talk. Alright, I'll wait and see what you're capable of."

Saying that, he took out his wallet and, without even counting, pulled out two stacks of bright red banknotes.

"Two thousand each, consider it a reward."

Gu Xiangcheng handed the money over. "Once you enter university, you're adults. Don't skimp on what you should spend. Especially when it comes to dating..."

Speaking of this, Ye Shulian, who was just bringing out dishes, paused in her movements, her gaze seemingly unintentionally sweeping over the sister and brother.

Hearing these words, Ye Zhenzhen's pretty face seemed to have been scalded, instantly turning red to the roots of her ears.

"...When dating, you must keep your eyes peeled and not be blinded by the dazzling outside world."

"Thanks, Dad! Dad, you're so handsome!"

Gu Ran, on the other hand, didn't blush or skip a beat. He grabbed the money and casually stuffed Ye Zhenzhen's share into her hand, smiling playfully:

"Did you hear that, Doctor Ye? Director Gu has spoken, telling you to keep your eyes peeled and not be fooled by the bad boys outside. Especially the handsome ones who are smooth talkers, they're the most dangerous."

Ye Zhenzhen held the money, blushing and lowering her head as she hummed like a mosquito: "Th... thank you, Uncle Gu."

But in her heart, she was frantically complaining: The thief crying 'stop thief'! You are the worst one!

...

After dinner, under the pretext of "digesting food," Gu Ran dragged Ye Zhenzhen out the door, beautifully calling it a night run.

As a result, right after going downstairs, the girl was pulled into a blind spot in the shadows of the stairwell, her whole body pressed against the cold wall.

"Gu 'Dog' Ran!"

"Mmm..."

A long time later.

Ye Zhenzhen blushed and hugged her chest, shrinking to the side, breathing heavily.

Her adrenaline surged, leaving her brain in a dizzy state like hypoxia, her whole body feeling soft and weak.

"In... in broad daylight, there are so many people around. What if someone we know sees us, you dog!"

The girl kicked Gu Ran's calf to vent her anger.

But this kick was light; rather than a kick, it was more like flirting.

Gu Ran curled his lips, looking innocent.

Ye Zhenzhen, if you didn't look like you were still wanting more when you said that, I would really believe you!

...

Meanwhile, at Binjiang Garden, in the Gu family's living room.

Gu Xiangcheng leaned on the sofa to sober up. The TV was playing the evening news, but his eyes were unfocused, clearly lost in thought.

Ye Shulian was collecting clothes on the balcony, occasionally looking back at the wall clock.

"Lao Gu."

She walked in holding a pile of clothes, her expression a bit hesitant: "Do you feel that... Ranran and Zhenzhen have been a bit weird lately?"

Gu Xiangcheng closed his eyes, his fingers unconsciously tapping on his knees: "What's weird? Aren't they doing great? They both got into university."

"Not that."

Ye Shulian sat down next to him, lowered her voice, and spoke in a serious tone: "You don't understand a woman's intuition. I feel like the two of them are heading in another direction..."

Hearing this, Gu Xiangcheng frowned: "You're overthinking it. The two kids are getting along well, we should just be secretly happy. Otherwise, if they fought every day, we'd have a lot to worry about."

"That's true."

Ye Shulian nodded subconsciously, but then it was as if she suddenly realized something she had overlooked, "Also, during breakfast this morning, I kept getting the feeling that those two were making eyes at each other.

And that bouquet of roses in Zhenzhen's room... She said Pei Susu gave them to her, but what kind of girl gives her friend red roses?"

Hearing her say this, Gu Xiangcheng suddenly realized it too.

Instantly, alarm bells started ringing!

"Do you think... Zhenzhen is being pursued by someone? After all, she's such an outstanding kid, and since the college entrance exams just finished, there are definitely people out there itching to make a move."

"Uh..."

Wait—that actually makes sense!

Just as she was about to say something, Gu Xiangcheng added with absolute certainty: "No way, I need to have Gu Ran keep an eye on Zhenzhen so she doesn't get tricked by some bad boy."

Ye Shulian: "......"

Huh?

Why did it feel like something wasn't quite right here?