Chapter 554: Hidden Boss 3

Gu Muxue sat on the sofa, unable to suppress a smile. She quickly pretended to take a sip of water, using the cup to hide her expression.

When Lin Ruoxi saw that Xue Rui was about to cook, she picked up a large bag of groceries and headed for the kitchen. “Boss, I’ll give you a hand.”

Zhao Lizhen glanced back and shot a look at Gu Muxue, who was still on the sofa. Gu Muxue quickly stood up. “I’ll help too.”

「In the kitchen.」

Lin Ruoxi snipped at the shrimp in her hands, her eyes fixed on Xue Rui as he cooked. Ever since that day she went home with him, she’d been on edge. When Gu Muxue’s mother asked where she had been, she answered just as Gu Muxue had coached her: she was out with a classmate.

‘I have to make a good impression on Gu Muxue’s parents,’ she thought. ‘Parents always want their children living with someone who’s well-behaved…’

But because of all this, she hadn’t slept with Xue Rui since.

When they were out, she had to call him “Boss” and couldn’t kiss or hug him. She had been holding back for far too long.

“Rui, I miss you so much,” Lin Ruoxi whispered.

A chill ran down Xue Rui’s spine. He said in a low voice, “Let’s focus on cooking for now.”

“Ruoxi, I’m sorry,” Gu Muxue said softly. She knew Lin Ruoxi had been put in an unfair position lately.

Whenever they went out, Lin Ruoxi would trail along, walking obediently behind her and Xue Rui.

But every time she glanced back, she could see the envy in Lin Ruoxi’s eyes, along with a hint of confusion.

‘In Lin Ruoxi’s mind, the three of them were equals. It was supposed to be fair, with Xue Rui not favoring one over the other.’

But her parents’ arrival had shattered that balance.

‘Lin Ruoxi had no family to rely on; she could only stand obediently behind Xue Rui, waiting for his instruction. Whenever he began to speak, her eyes would widen just a little, full of anticipation that he would finally say her name.’

‘That poor, silly girl. Her dependence on Xue Rui was bone-deep.’

The three of them were busy in the kitchen until sunset, by which time they had prepared a table laden with food.

Xue Rui and Gu Muxue sat together, while Lin Ruoxi sat next to Zhao Lizhen. Gu Qingshan, naturally, took the head of the square table, looking a bit solitary. Xue Rui would occasionally pour him a small cup of liquor.

In less than half an hour, everyone else had put down their chopsticks. Only Lin Ruoxi was left, single-handedly polishing off the rest of the food on the table. Her appetite alone was a match for Gu Muxue’s entire family of three…

“How can you eat so much?” Gu Muxue asked, astonished.

“I just have a big appetite…” Lin Ruoxi patted her round belly, which made a dull thud, as if it were truly stuffed full.

‘Xue Rui made all of today’s dishes. I don’t want any of his cooking to go to waste.’

Gu Qingshan smiled resignedly. ‘This girl is really something else. Is she even going to have room for cake?’

He got up and went to the fridge to get the birthday cake.

Gu Qingshan held the cake in his left hand while his right hand continued to rummage through the fridge. “Where are the candles?” he muttered.

Hearing this, Xue Rui quickly got up to help look, but he couldn’t find the candles either. The two men shared a wry smile and fell silent, each waiting for the other to decide what to do…

“Did the bakery forget to include them?” Gu Muxue said, pouting.

It wasn’t that she cared about the formalities of a birthday, but she couldn’t help feeling that she’d been having a string of bad luck lately.

“I’ll call Xiaoyang and have him run out and buy some,” Zhao Lizhen said, noticing her daughter was upset.

“Forget it.” Gu Muxue shook her head listlessly, a strange sense of disappointment washing over her.

After the interruption caused by the missing candles, Gu Muxue was no longer in the mood to blow them out anyway.

Gu Qingshan sighed. Just as he was wondering how to comfort his daughter, Xue Rui placed a party hat on Gu Muxue’s head. “Muxue, blowing out candles is actually considered bad luck in our culture. Let’s just skip it.”

Lin Ruoxi thought for a moment before adding, “Mmm, right. It’s like the old saying about blowing out the lamp—it signifies the end of a partnership.”