Song Huaizhi watched coldly as the young man came running towards them at full speed the moment he stepped out of the door. A sneer rose in his heart, and a hint of disdain inadvertently showed on his face.
Meng Ruyi took a quick glance at him and immediately knew that Song Huaizhi loathed the person in front of him to the extreme and didn't even want to say a word.
Curiously enough, this was the first time Meng Ruyi had seen Song Huaizhi showing his emotions so openly. Thus, she became even more curious about the young man running towards them.
One of the female lead's men, the young man whom Song Huaizhi detested. This Gu Ling was quite an extraordinary character right from his first appearance.
Meng Ruyi was momentarily distracted. When she came to her senses, the young man had already run up to them. His eyes sparkled as he looked at her, full of a vitality and pride completely different from Song Huaizhi's. It was obvious at a glance that he came from a distinguished family.
Indeed, Meng Ruyi had just been looking at the live comments for a while and already knew that the young man in front of her was the eldest legitimate son and the only child of the General Who Stabilizes the State. Now that the general had been ordered to guard this place and the task was relatively easy, he had brought his grown - up son along so that he could gain some experience.
"Ru... Ruyi Mei - mei."
Gu Ling stopped, gasping for breath. He gave Meng Ruyi a big smile and then turned to Song Huaizhi. "Brother Song."
Looking at the blatant curiosity in the young man's eyes, Meng Ruyi nearly burst out laughing. Then, thinking of Song Huaizhi standing beside her, she managed to hold back her smile.
However, the upturned corners of her mouth still betrayed her good mood at the moment.
"Hello, Young Master Gu." Thinking of the young man's prominent family background, Meng Ruyi didn't want to fall out with him for the time being. After saying this to him, she planned to tug on Song Huaizhi's sleeve and pull him away.
"Hey!" Gu Ling frowned and called out to the two who were about to leave. "Where are you going, Ruyi Mei - mei?"
Meng Ruyi thought to herself: There's no hope for you. I gave you a chance, but you walked right into it.
"I wonder what Young Master Gu wants?" Song Huaizhi's voice was calm, yet not impolite. All his emotions were well - concealed.
Gu Ling smiled after hearing this, showing his big white teeth. "Of course, I want to make friends with you!"
"Make friends?" A faint arc curled up at the corner of Song Huaizhi's mouth, but there was no real smile in his eyes. "Then how about I treat Young Master Gu to a meal?"
"As a way to make friends with you?"
"How could I let you treat!" Gu Ling frowned and slapped the money bag on his waist. A hearty look appeared on his face. "Of course, I'll treat! I wonder which restaurant is the best. Could you please lead the way, Ruyi Mei - mei and Brother Song?"
Meng Ruyi: I can't bear to watch anymore.
The live comments were in an uproar, filled with "hahaha" across the screen.
[This... Song Huaizhi hasn't even said a word, and Gu Ling has already fallen into the trap. Wake up!!!]
[Gu Ling must be a naive and innocent person. Yu Yu is holding back her laughter beside him.]
[I can't take it anymore hahahahahaha! How can it be so funny!!]
[Gu Ling! You should be more careful!]
[Above. Gu Ling: Desserts? What desserts?]
"… Cough." Meng Ruyi still couldn't hold back her laughter. Seeing Song Huaizhi pulling on her sleeve and leading Gu Ling forward, while Gu Ling thought that Song Huaizhi had accepted him and still had an excited smile on his face.
Hearing the laughter, Song Huaizhi glanced at her. The original unhappiness in his heart seemed to be blown away by the wind, leaving only a few traces of obscure emotions.
It had been a long time since he last saw Gu Ling, and he was still as stupid as ever.
Gu Ling didn't notice the eye contact between the two at all. The excitement on his face was so obvious that Meng Ruyi almost felt sorry for him.
When they arrived at the restaurant, Meng Ruyi looked at the signboard and couldn't help but kindly remind him, "Young Master Gu, this restaurant is not very cost - effective. How about we change to another one?"
Song Huaizhi understood her reminder and gave her a half - smiling look but didn't say anything.
As expected, Gu Ling immediately said, "Expensive! I, Gu Ling, have never said that word! Let's go! Today I'll treat you to a meal as a greeting gift!"
After saying that, he led the two of them into the restaurant with his chest out.
[Hahahahahaha Gu Ling, do you even hear what you're saying?]
[Expensive? You've never said the word "expensive"? I can't take it anymore. I'm laughing so hard my stomach hurts. Gu Ling, look at the word "expensive" in your previous sentence!]
[Does Yu Yu feel sorry for him and wants to remind Gu Ling? But this guy completely missed the hint from Mei - mei? Hahahahaha]
Seeing this, Song Huaizhi gave Meng Ruyi another half - smiling look. Then he leaned over slightly and whispered in her ear, "Is Ruyi soft - hearted?"
Meng Ruyi felt the warm breath in her ear and instantly got goosebumps. She hated herself for reminding that stupid Gu Ling just now and quickly tried to come up with an excuse.
"No." Meng Ruyi looked into Song Huaizhi's eyes and pretended to be shy as she explained, "Next time, Brother Song can take him to the Meng family's restaurant."
"Ha." Song Huaizhi rarely let out a laugh. A real, faint smile appeared on his face, and there was a hint of pleasure in his eyebrows. "Good. Ruyi is really smart."
Meng Ruyi nodded against her conscience. Afraid that Gu Ling walking in front would notice, she quickly pulled Song Huaizhi inside.
Gu Ling was really rich!
As soon as Meng Ruyi entered, she saw him wave his hand and order a whole table of dishes. Then he paid the bill right after the meal without even blinking an eye. He was so rich that Meng Ruyi really started to regret not taking him to the Meng family's restaurant.
After the meal, Song Huaizhi calmly wiped his mouth and then smiled at Gu Ling. "Next, I have to take Ruyi to the Meng family's shop for a look. If we have the chance some other day, we'll treat Young Master Gu to a meal."
"Okay!" Seeing that Song Huaizhi's attitude towards him had improved a lot, Gu Ling was also happy. He waved goodbye to Meng Ruyi and Song Huaizhi.
Meng Ruyi couldn't hold back anymore and tentatively asked Song Huaizhi, "Brother Song, do you know him?"
Hearing this, Song Huaizhi turned to look at her. The smile in his eyes disappeared, but he still patiently explained, "He has the surname Gu and has the accent of people from the capital. The gift he gave you is from a very famous shop in the capital, which is quite expensive. But Gu Ling's mother only regarded it as a normal courtesy."
"Is it really that hard to guess? If it's not the family of the General Who Stabilizes the State, then it must be their relatives. Moreover, the young man's name is Gu Ling, which is exactly the name of the general's eldest legitimate son."
"… It's hard to guess." It took Meng Ruyi a long time to say this after hearing his explanation. Her eyes looked at Song Huaizhi with an unconscious admiration.
"Yeah." Song Huaizhi left an ambiguous affirmation and then said to Meng Ruyi, "Let's go. Didn't you say you wanted to take a stroll?"
It was obvious that Song Huaizhi was really in a good mood.
Meng Ruyi quickly grabbed his sleeve and followed his steps.
…
After returning home, Meng Ruyi and Song Huaizhi, who had had a fruitful day, met Xu Fanglian waiting in the front hall.
There was a hesitant look on Xu Fanglian's face. When she heard the footsteps, she turned around. Seeing the two of them, for some reason, she let out a sigh of relief and then said, "You're back?"
"Yes, Mother! Is there something wrong?"
After Meng Ruyi asked, she saw Song Huaizhi smiling at Xu Fanglian and saying softly, "Auntie, do you have something to ask?"
Xu Fanglian was stunned. Her heart suddenly tightened. But when her eyes fell on Song Huaizhi's hand, she subconsciously looked up into the young man's eyes.