Chapter 556 360: Mistress of the House 2

'Grad school? Or a PhD?'

So, Xue Rui made a preemptive strike. "So, you're planning on applying for a part-time master's program?"

Gu Qingshan's brow furrowed. He replied instinctively, "How old do you think I am?"

Xue Rui quickly said, "They always say you live and you learn. You're still so young, you have a bright future ahead of you!"

"You brat, you know what I was trying to say." Gu Qingshan was so exasperated he had to laugh.

He had been trying to set some conditions for Xue Rui, but Xue Rui's reaction was so fast that the tables were nearly turned on him.

"Uncle Gu, I'm really not cut out for that." Xue Rui chuckled, having successfully dodged that bullet.

Gu Qingshan cleared his throat. "I'll be blunt. Muxue is my only daughter. I don't want her to live too far from home."

His words were a tacit acknowledgment of Xue Rui and Gu Muxue's relationship. The main reason was that, over the past few days, he'd come to see Xue Rui as a genuinely good choice. He always put his daughter first, and he even knew how to cook—the perfect live-in son-in-law.

"I promise to come back and see you once a week," Xue Rui said. 'So that's what Old Gu was hiding,' he thought. 'He's looking for a live-in son-in-law!'

"Don't change the subject," Gu Qingshan said.

"Uncle Gu, there's something you might not know." Xue Rui heaved a long sigh.

"Go on."

"The Xue Family... I'm the sole heir for eighteen generations..."

"As far as I know, you have several grandfathers."

"Er..."

Bantering back and forth, the two arrived at Chang'an North Station. Xue Rui walked Gu Qingshan all the way to the ticket gate, personally watching as Old Gu boarded the high-speed train home.

'I get to live under the same roof with both of them starting today?' he thought, barely able to contain his excitement.

'The cat's away, and the mice will play. He would be king of the castle!'

Just as Xue Rui's imagination was running wild, Gu Qingshan turned back and said, "Xiaorui, from now on, I'll be video calling you every night."

Xue Rui pretended he didn't hear and turned to walk out of the station.

A moment later, the phone in his pocket buzzed. It was a message from Gu Qingshan.

Xue Rui's lips twitched as he read it. Old Gu had repeated what he'd just said in a WeChat message.

Gritting his teeth, Xue Rui furiously tapped on his keyboard and sent back a two-word reply—Got it!

Gu Qingshan hadn't just looked after him in Hedong; he had even used his old connections to protect and guide him in Chang'an.

'A father-in-law like this is one in a million. What's wrong with him making a few demands?'

He placed a WeChat call to Lin Ruoxi, planning to chat her ear off while he drove.

At that moment, Lin Ruoxi was at home washing dishes. She waited quietly for Xue Rui to return, her mind preoccupied with where he would be sleeping that night...

Suddenly, she received a video call from Xue Rui. She quickly wiped her hands on her clothes and pressed the answer button.

"Xixi, do you think it's possible to photoshop a WeChat video?" Xue Rui asked.

'A video call from Gu Qingshan every day?'

'It wasn't impossible.'

'Where there's a will, there's a way.'

"Photoshop a video?" Lin Ruoxi tilted her head, leaning closer to her phone.

Even though Xue Rui couldn't look at the camera while driving, Lin Ruoxi thought he looked handsome from this angle, too.

Xue Rui thought for a moment and explained, "For example, I'm driving right now. Could you change my background to look like I'm on my bed in my old college dorm? Is that hard to do?"

He knew this kind of scam technology existed, but it wasn't available to the public yet. Xue Rui, however, couldn't wait!

Asking anyone else would be too slow. He had a tech expert right by his side.

Lin Ruoxi pondered for a moment. "It's not hard. It can be done."

"Xixi, you're the best! Hurry up and make one for me," Xue Rui praised.

The corners of Lin Ruoxi's eyes crinkled. She wished Xue Rui could pat her head right now; she loved hearing him praise her.

"Then... then what do you need this for?" Lin Ruoxi asked.

She had picked up some conversational skills now. All she had to do was follow Xue Rui's topic, and they could talk for a long, long time.

The mere thought of Gu Qingshan gave Xue Rui a headache. He kept his eyes on the road. Suddenly, an old man on a tricycle shot out at an intersection. Xue Rui slammed on the brakes and said with a sigh, "To fool a nitpicking father-in-law."

Lin Ruoxi heard the sound of screeching brakes on Xue Rui's end. The porcelain plate she was holding slipped from her hand and fell into the sink with a sharp clatter.

Xue Rui's heart sank. He wanted to slap himself. He had been too distracted while driving and had actually called Gu Qingshan his father-in-law.

He could joke about something like that with the other girl, but saying it to Lin Ruoxi was a completely different matter.

He quickly said, "Xixi, I..."

But Lin Ruoxi cut in, her voice full of worry. "Rui, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Xue Rui's heart warmed. 'The little lady still puts me first in everything.' He figured he could just comfort her a bit when he got back.

"You can't be distracted when you're driving at night. I'll wait for you at home. I'm hanging up now so you can drive. Don't be upset."

After hanging up, Lin Ruoxi listlessly picked up the porcelain shards from the sink. Xue Rui's words echoed in her mind, refusing to fade.

'If Uncle Gu is Xue Rui's father-in-law, then Gu Muxue is Xue Rui's wife...'

'But... what about her?'

HISS~ Lin Ruoxi snatched her hand back.

A porcelain shard had sliced her fair fingertip. A trickle of blood was slowly washed away by the running water. Lin Ruoxi watched helplessly as the blood dripped down until the bead finally clotted...

She slumped weakly against the cabinets, feeling drained of all strength.

Lin Ruoxi knew very well that she and Gu Muxue had always been rivals.

She didn't want to compete, nor did she feel she had the right to.

She opened her phone to her wallpaper—a photo of herself and Xue Rui—and a faint smile curved her lips.

'At least Xue Rui is happy right now.'

Lin Ruoxi looked at the messy kitchen left behind after the three of them had cooked. She took a deep breath, stood up with a small "huff," and decided she would give Xue Rui a clean and tidy home.

Even if... she wasn't the lady of the house.

'Yes, Rui will feed me empty promises,' Lin Ruoxi repeated over and over in her heart.

'As long as Xue Rui was willing to lie to her, as long as he was willing to say the words, she was willing to believe.'

...

Xue Rui wandered around the brightly lit Chang'an City District for a long time, calculating Gu Muxue's approximate arrival time. After all, Chang'an Airport was a long way from the city. He had to wait until after that deadweight Yang Xing had left before showing up.

It wasn't until nearly nine o'clock that Xue Rui finally strolled up to Gu Muxue's door and, barely containing his excitement, rang the doorbell.

DING-DONG~

Inside, Lin Ruoxi heard the doorbell. Her movement was almost perfectly synchronized with Xiaobu's; their ears perked up as they both looked toward the front door.

"Coming!" Lin Ruoxi called out in a clear voice.

"Don't you dare." Gu Muxue, her neck craned back and her leg propped up on the coffee table, blocked Lin Ruoxi's path.

"Okay." Lin Ruoxi clenched her small hands and sat back down on the sofa, feeling uneasy.

'This is Gu Muxue's home, so of course she has the right to open the door. Of course, Gu Muxue would be the first to enjoy Xue Rui's embrace.'

'I can be second. As long as I get my turn, it'll be fine.'

But Gu Muxue didn't open the door right away. She decided to let Xue Rui wait for a while.

She took Lin Ruoxi's wrist and gently pried her clenched fingers open.

"Ruoxi, your finger is hurt. Don't strain it."

"Mm, okay. Then you should go open the door," Lin Ruoxi said softly.

Xue Rui stared at the closed door. 'If this were the door to the little lady's home,' he thought, 'Lin Ruoxi would probably have her face pressed against the peephole before I even got upstairs, ready to yank me inside the second I appeared.'

'But Gu Muxue is so proud and stubborn...'

'Want to come in? No way!'

'How could he get in without saying a few sweet things?'

He shouted, "Your Excellency Muxue, your servant Xiaoruzi is here to greet you."

Gu Muxue's apartment was one per floor, so he didn't have to worry about any neighbors coming out.

"Hmph, just wait outside. Don't you like enjoying your solitude?" Gu Muxue shouted back.

Outside the door, Xue Rui thought for a moment. Gu Muxue seemed to value Lin Ruoxi's opinion highly. He might as well try asking the young lady for help.

"Xixi, there are so many mosquitoes out here!" Xue Rui called out.

"Perfect. You can help us swat them," Gu Muxue said with a laugh. There were hardly any mosquitoes on the ninth floor; at least, she hadn't seen any recently. Xue Rui was trying to trick her again.

Lin Ruoxi shot to her feet, tears of anxiety welling in her eyes. "I... I'll go outside, just let him come in, okay? He wants to sleep with you."

Lin Ruoxi didn't know what Gu Muxue was thinking. Was she upset with her?

This was Gu Muxue's home. If Gu Muxue told her to leave, she would have no choice but to go.

"Don't go. I was just joking. I'll... I'll let him in," Gu Muxue said softly, her face blushing.