Chapter 275: A Pickup? The Whole Family Is Worried Sick, What's Going On with Your Relationship?

An endless stream of news articles was all about her purchasing the 900-million-yuan ‘King of Bids’.

All sorts of praise called her a ‘heaven-sent star of destiny.’ No wonder people were saying a star of destiny would appear in 2023—it turned out to be Gu Shengsheng!

Gu Shengsheng just laughed after reading it. ‘In my original parallel world, no star of destiny appeared in 2024. Instead, 2023 was the year several celebrities got caught for tax evasion, and all sorts of scandals blew up around certain social movements.’

She turned off her phone and went to sleep.

When they arrived at the station, the two of them got off together. Both Gu Shengsheng and Lu Shijing were used to handling their own luggage, so they moved in practiced sync.

Then, Lu Shijing glanced at his phone and showed Gu Shengsheng a message he’d received about Guan Wutian: He had agreed to the acquisition.

Gu Shengsheng couldn’t help but be impressed. There was a real art to doing business.

To be able to win against a notorious exploiter like Guan Wutian showed just how capable Lu Shijing was.

But when Mrs. Lu Sr., who had come to pick them up, saw them, her face flushed red with anger.

Lin Kai was there too. Seeing his boss and Miss Gu acting like this, he sighed. ‘Looks like their relationship hasn’t progressed at all!’

‘A divorce is inevitable now.’

Some were happy, some were sad.

Lu Linlin’s face was full of joy, while Lin Kai sighed in despair, and Mrs. Lu Sr. quickly joined his sighing team.

“Those two kids didn’t make it. They probably didn’t even live together much in Rui City. This won’t do. I might have to resort to some drastic measures.”

The moment she said that, Lin Kai’s eyes went wide and his face turned pale.

“Wait, Mrs. Lu Sr., are you thinking of a balmy, intoxicating evening, with roses, a suite with the perfect ambiance, and maybe some mood lighting…?”

Before he could finish, Mrs. Lu Sr. gave Lin Kai a good smack on the head.

“You rascal, what kind of nonsense are you spouting? If you love fantasizing so much, why don’t you go write a novel? Do my grandson and granddaughter-in-law look like the type to fall for that cliché? Am I, an old woman, that unscrupulous?”

Lin Kai immediately started nodding and bowing, bending over at a sharp ninety-degree angle. “No, no, you’re right. I’m the one being ridiculous. Mrs. Lu, you’re not that kind of person, and I’m on your side. In any case, I hope the boss and the Young Madam stay together forever.”

Mrs. Lu said with great conviction, “Don’t worry. Those two kids will definitely end up together.”

… Lin Kai was sometimes truly in awe of Mrs. Lu’s baffling self-confidence. He had no idea where it came from, but she was always so cheerful.

Just then, the pair walked over, and Mrs. Lu approached them, her eyes shimmering with tears.

“Oh, my dear grandson, my dear granddaughter-in-law! You’ve worried me to death! My heart has been in my throat this whole time because I couldn’t see you!”

With that, she rushed toward Lu Shijing.

Lu Shijing opened his arms, preparing to reluctantly give his grandmother a hug, at least so her dash wouldn’t be for nothing.

But Mrs. Lu Sr. swerved at the last second and nestled into Gu Shengsheng’s arms instead.

“Granddaughter-in-law, Grandma missed you! I was so afraid you’d be bullied, so afraid that this clueless straight man of steel, Lu Shijing, would mistreat you. I was worried you wouldn’t be okay in Rui City.”

The old woman’s eyes were brimming with tears, as if she had just been through some terrible ordeal.

Lu Linlin squeezed into the hug with Gu Shengsheng too.

Lu Shijing: “…” He awkwardly but politely retracted his hands.

Lin Kai ran over, the only person to stand before Lu Shijing. Looking rather sheepish, he asked, “President Lu, would you like a hug?”

“Get lost.”

Lin Kai grinned. “Forget it, forget it. I’ll get lost later.”

“Come on, I’ll take you all home.”

Once they were in the car, Lin Kai asked, “Boss, everyone else is staying at the courtyard house. You’re not living there, right? Should I take you somewhere else?”

The question seemed tactless, but it cut right to the heart of the matter. He was just waiting for Gu Shengsheng to ask him to move in.

Gu Shengsheng looked at the ceiling, Mrs. Lu Sr. looked at him, and Lu Linlin looked helplessly at her hands.

Finally, Lu Shijing, both shamelessly and sincerely, said, “Grandma’s not in good health, and worrying too much is bad for her. How about this.”

“I’ll come over to your place today to see if you need any help. I’ll leave tonight. Is that okay, Shengsheng?”

“Whatever,” Gu Shengsheng said.

‘She didn’t really care one way or the other. She just wanted to finish repairing the Ru Kiln Bowl so she could start preparing her private museum to open for business.’

After they got home, when it was just the two of them, Gu Shengsheng said, “We’re going to get a divorce tomorrow morning.”

“If you can’t adjust your schedule, then take the day off. I don’t want to drag this out any longer.”

Lu Shijing fell silent for a moment. “We’ve been through so much, Shengsheng. I thought you might have changed your mind.”

“I won’t.” Gu Shengsheng nodded. “My best decisions are usually made after careful consideration. I think this is the responsible thing to do, for both you and me.”

Then she went to busy herself with mending the bowl.

Lu Shijing, planning to drink his sorrows away, decided to call Jin Ran.

“You up for a drink?”

Jin Ran replied, “Just come straight to the bar.”

He then sent a location pin. A moment later, Jin Ran sent a picture: a photo of himself, drinking alone.

Lu Shijing: ?

‘He’d never seen Jin Ran like this. After all, he was the prince of the nightclub scene, always flocking to wherever the action was.’

‘A serious relationship was even more out of the question for him. With his devil-may-care attitude, he was great at flirting with girls, but he’d never once considered settling down.’

‘As a result, he had almost no worries in the world, his only problem being more money than he could spend.’

Lu Shijing had been feeling quite gloomy, but seeing that something was off with Jin Ran, his curiosity was piqued. He even felt a little urge to laugh, and his mood suddenly felt more balanced.

And so, the night turned into a mutual complaint session between two 188-centimeter-tall men.

When Lu Shijing arrived, he found Jin Ran and asked, “What’s been going on with you lately?”

“Nothing. I’m fine,” he said stubbornly.

But he deflated within three seconds. “It’s just a small problem with my love life. I’m the guy who walks through a field of flowers without a single petal sticking to him. I like all kinds of women. How could I get hung up on just one?”

Lu Shijing adopted the air of a seasoned expert. “It would’ve been better if you hadn’t said that. The moment you did, it’s clear you can’t let her go.”

Jin Ran: “…” He looked at Lu Shijing, wanting to say something but holding back, a guilty look on his face.

It wasn’t for any other reason, mainly just that a lot had happened to him in the past few days.

He was absolutely, one hundred percent certain that, in the beginning, he had only ever seen Lu Linlin as a little sister.

But that all changed a few days ago.

Linnin had gotten drunk, and he’d had a lot to drink that night too. They ran into each other at a bar. He figured since his bro wasn’t around, he had to protect his sister. The moment he saw some creep trying to get handsy, he went over and got Linnin out of there.

He’d helped Yang Jiao in a similar situation before, so he didn’t think much of it.

To be honest, even if something had happened with Yang Jiao, he would never have gotten romantically involved with Lu Linlin.

Who knew that later, neither of them would be thinking clearly? It was a night of dry tinder and a raging fire.