Chapter 581 - 371: This Thing Is Just a Bug

"Hello, hello." Yu Minlan hurried to bend over and shake Gu Muxue’s hand.

Based on her preconceptions, she had thought Gu Muxue, with her privileged background, would be the kind of girl who was hard to get along with, but now she seemed very gentle.

The two exchanged contact information. Although Xue Rui hadn’t said anything explicitly, Yu Minlan knew exactly what she was supposed to do. It was simply to cater to Gu Muxue’s daily needs—’a maid in all but name’.

Watching Xue Rui bounce between the two women, scrounging a sip of a drink from one and then turning to pet the cat a couple of times with the other, she sighed helplessly. ’There must be something wrong with the eyes of good girls,’ she thought.

Suddenly, Yu Minlan’s eyes met Lin Ruoxi’s. She guiltily lowered her head.

She had once been determined to protect this "little sister," but the truth was that she had compromised step by step under Xue Rui’s constant pressure, even to the point of waiting on his "mistress"!

Xue Rui was calling her parents on speakerphone. Over the phone, her parents sounded like completely different people, their tone a world away from how they usually treated her.

"Uncle, Auntie, Minlan mentioned she wants to find a partner in Chang’an, and I think that’s a great idea. There are plenty of young people in Chang’an," Xue Rui said.

"Well, President Xue, you might not know this, but people from out of town..." Yu Minlan’s father hesitated. ’To be honest, Xue Rui is just a brat who isn’t even twenty yet. How could he possibly understand a parent’s concerns?’

Xue Rui chuckled and cut in, "I understand. Minlan is your only daughter, and your family is quite well-off. You and Auntie both have pensions. I was thinking we could look for a down-to-earth, honest boy from a family with fewer means, and have him marry into your family as a live-in son-in-law."

Xue Rui had been dragged through the wringer of the matchmaking market, so he was all too familiar with the expectations of the parental generation. In the Hedong District, any family with an only daughter and decent financial means would absolutely refuse to let her "marry out" and be mistreated. Even Gu Qingshan felt this way.

On the other end of the line, Yu Minlan’s mother’s voice was filled with surprise and joy. "Oh! We’re really troubling you, President Xue. We’ve found a whole bunch for her, but she’s not satisfied with a single one. So picky! We have no idea what she’s thinking..."

Yu Minlan’s mouth opened, but no sound came out.

This was the most infuriating thing about Xue Rui. He could get along with people of any age. He’d win over her parents first, and her own opinion—the opinion of the person actually involved—was always ignored!

’The most important event of her life! Settled by a few people over a single phone call?’

’The guy’s a bug in the system!’

"Sister Yu, I’ll go cut some watermelon for you," Lin Ruoxi said, getting up and heading to the kitchen.

But Yu Minlan was keenly aware of her own status. ’Is it possible I’m ranked slightly lower than Da Huang?’

So she hurried after her to help.

"I’m always on your side, Ruoxi." Yu Minlan felt a hot flush of shame even as she said the words. The one pulling her strings was Xue Rui, her future "young miss" was Gu Muxue, and yet, she was privately closest with Lin Ruoxi.

’This... doesn’t this make me a shameless traitor serving three masters?’

Lin Ruoxi picked up a gleaming kitchen knife. After slicing off the end of the watermelon, she wiped the flat of the blade. Tilting her head, she looked at Yu Minlan. "Sister Yu, what do you mean?"

"Things can be however they are in college, but what about after graduation?"

Yu Minlan didn’t know what kind of empty promises Xue Rui had made to the two girls, but she knew Lin Ruoxi had a one-track mind. She was the type who couldn’t even eat if Xue Rui were to leave. In her opinion, it was necessary for Lin Ruoxi to prepare herself mentally.

In the end, Xue Rui would only marry one of them. And Lin Ruoxi, with her personality and family background, was clearly the one who would be more easily cast aside.

She was afraid Lin Ruoxi would do something drastic.

Lin Ruoxi’s expression was blank. With a loud CRACK, she split the watermelon in two. Bright red juice bled across the cutting board.

"Ruoxi, you don’t have to..." Yu Minlan suddenly grew tense. For a split second, she had pictured the watermelon as Xue Rui’s head.

Lin Ruoxi gently shook her head and murmured softly, "It’s not important. It doesn’t matter who he chooses. As long as he’s happy."

Yu Minlan let out a long sigh. ’If it’s not important, then why are your eyes glistening with tears?’

Lin Ruoxi tilted her head back, staring at the ceiling and blinking rapidly. She didn’t want Xue Rui to see that she had been crying.

When she was on the phone with her grandmother last night, her grandma had asked how many more years of college she had left...

After her time at the electronics factory, interacting with all sorts of people, she understood. What elders from the countryside wanted most was to see their children get married and have kids of their own. Some old folks would even hang on by a thread, just to see their grandchildren born.

Lin Ruoxi knew what her grandmother was getting at. She was indirectly asking when she was going to get married.

She had no confidence that Xue Rui would choose her.

She remembered what Gu Muxue had told her before: she needed to keep a close eye on Xue Rui, to tightly bind her interests with his...

...

Meanwhile, Xue Rui was in the living room, playing with the dog.

"TSK TSK, come here, Da Huang."

Xue Rui clicked his tongue repeatedly, but Da Huang only gave his tail a reflexive wag, glanced up at Xue Rui, and then chose to ignore him.

"..." Xue Rui suddenly felt awkward. Da Huang was being completely disrespectful!

However, the next moment, Xiaobu leaped onto the coffee table in front of Xue Rui, big, sapphire-blue eyes staring as if waiting for him to reach out and hold him.

Xue Rui reached out, scooped up Xiaobu, and used the cat’s paw to pat Da Huang’s face. "Da Huang, you’re so petty for a dog. So I had your balls chopped off. Is it really worth holding a grudge for so many years?"

"GRRR~" A low growl rumbled in Da Huang’s throat, scaring Xiaobu so much that the cat frantically burrowed into Xue Rui’s arms. Even Gu Muxue, who was standing nearby, took a step back.

Xue Rui just smiled and paid him no mind. Da Huang was a master of the empty threat. He was all bark and no bite. The most he would ever do was grab his pant leg and give it a tug.