"Let's not rush home right away. We'll stop by the mall across the street first. I want to buy some gifts for our visit to Jiaojiao tomorrow," Nian Suian said to the father and son after they got in the car.
Gu Junxing had no objections. "Sure, then we might as well have dinner out too."
Only Gu Zhijing was confused. "Who's Jiaojiao?"
When Gu Junxing had previously mentioned this to him, he had deliberately omitted the name and hadn't gone into much detail.
Nian Suian explained to him, "Jiaojiao is my friend's child. She's three years old this year."
She then asked him, "Do you want to come with me? They live right next door to Qu Zizhou's family. If you want to visit Qu Zizhou, you can come along."
She and the others would be talking to Xiaxia, so it might not be convenient for Gu Zhijing to be there. She only asked in case Gu Zhijing might want to visit Qu Zizhou.
Gu Zhijing shook his head. He wasn't interested in seeing little kids; playing video games was more appealing.
"Qu Zizhou is coming to our house to play tomorrow anyway."
The mall was near the school, the same one Nian Suian had visited before. It was very close, just around the corner from the school.
As soon as they entered the mall, Nian Suian said to the two, "You two think about what you want for dinner. Let's go buy the gifts first."
After all, neither Gu Junxing nor Gu Zhijing could contribute much to gift selection, and Nian Suian didn't trust their taste anyway. It was better to let them start thinking about dinner.
Since it was their first meeting, giving an overly expensive gift would be strange. Nian Suian bought a teddy bear and a Lego set.
"Ma'am, we're having a promotion today. If you buy two items, you get 20% off. Would you like to look at anything else? You could choose one more item," the sales assistant informed her.
Nian Suian was about to decline, as she had only intended to buy one thing and didn't see the need to buy another just for the discount.
Just as she was about to shake her head, she noticed a box displayed on the counter. After a moment's thought, she picked one up and handed it over.
"I'll add this one then."
"Certainly, ma'am. After the discount, your total comes to 968 yuan. I can scan your payment now."
Nian Suian had just unlocked her phone when Gu Junxing beside her presented his payment code. Seeing that he was going to pay, Nian Suian didn't object. After all, Gu Junxing was wealthy, so there was no need to feel awkward about it.
After paying, Nian Suian handed the item she had picked up last to Gu Zhijing.
"This is for you."
"For me? An excavator?" Gu Zhijing accepted it, puzzled, not expecting to receive a gift when they had come out to buy presents for someone else.
Indeed, when Nian Suian was paying, she had noticed the Lego excavator displayed on the counter and thought it was interesting. She bought it, thinking that while it might be too complex for a three-year-old, it would be perfect for a fifteen-year-old "big friend."
"Thank you, Little Mom," Gu Zhijing grinned as he thanked Nian Suian.
Nian Suian didn't take credit. She pointed at Gu Junxing and told Gu Zhijing, "Your dad paid for it."
"Isn't it only right that my dad pays? He's way richer than both of us. If he doesn't pay, who will? Right, Dad?"
Gu Junxing couldn't be bothered to respond to him and started quietly discussing dinner options with Nian Suian.
"Didn't you two think about it earlier?" Nian Suian disliked nothing more than having to decide what to eat for lunch or dinner. At home, she never had to worry about it; Nanny Zhang always had meals prepared, so she didn't have to think about it herself.
"Zhijing said he wants Hunan cuisine. What about you?"
Nian Suian didn't have strong preferences when it came to food. Her only requirement was that it should taste good.
"Then let's go with Zhijing's choice. I have no objections."
The three of them found a Hunan restaurant on the sixth floor of the mall. The sports meet's closing ceremony had ended early in the afternoon, so by the time they finished shopping and came for dinner, it wasn't yet the usual time for people to get off work or school. Therefore, the restaurant wasn't very crowded.
None of them had been to this restaurant before, so when ordering, they simply chose a few of the signature dishes.
"Now that the sports meet is over, don't you have midterm exams coming up soon?" Nian Suian asked.
After ordering, Gu Zhijing was contentedly eating the complimentary fruit while waiting for their meal, not expecting such a sharp blow to come so quickly.
"Y-yes... I suppose so," he stammered.
"You can rest on the weekend, but don't just play around. Remember to review your studies," Gu Junxing added.
When it came to academics, Gu Junxing generally didn't hound Gu Zhijing or force him to study. He didn't have the time to supervise him daily either. He would only remind him occasionally, leaving it up to the boy to manage his own studies afterwards.
Regarding Gu Zhijing's education, Gu Junxing had once told him, "Don't grow up to be someone who can't even meet the basic educational requirements to be a regular employee at my company."
However, from a young age, with constant reminders from school teachers and the bottom line set by Gu Junxing at home, Gu Zhijing's academic performance over the years, while not outstanding, had never been too poor either.
"I understand," Gu Zhijing replied heavily.
Those four words were spoken with a weight of realization. Recently, he had been having a bit too much fun, completely forgetting about midterms and revision, pushing them to the back of his mind.
Nian Suian didn't interject about Gu Zhijing's studies. Call it old-fashioned thinking if you will, but even though the Gu family was wealthy enough to ensure Gu Zhijing would never want for anything in his life, Nian Suian still hoped he would study hard and aim for university.
...
"This restaurant's food is quite good," Nian Suian remarked. Usually, restaurants in shopping malls were mediocre, neither particularly good nor bad. However, this place had given her a pleasant surprise.
Seeing that Gu Zhijing seemed to be still immersed in the sadness of the impending midterm exams, head lowered and lost in thought, Nian Suian ladled some soup for him.
"Let's eat first. The exams aren't tomorrow, you still have time to review," she said encouragingly.
Gu Zhijing snapped out of his reverie, thanked Nian Suian, and started sipping the soup. He didn't have the heart to tell her that he hadn't actually been thinking about the exams, but rather calculating how many hours of gaming he could squeeze in tomorrow.
"Old Gu?! What are you doing here?"
At the sound of the voice, Nian Suian's grip on her chopsticks tightened.
Was this mall some kind of plot device? How was it possible to run into acquaintances every time they came here? How could it be such a coincidence?!
"Sister-in-law and Zhijing are here too?"
Nian Suian looked up to see that the person calling out to them was Liu Jian. Next to him stood a woman wearing a knitted dress, her hair tied in a low ponytail, exuding an air of gentleness.
"What are you doing here?" Gu Junxing was also surprised to encounter Liu Jian here. Liu Jian was usually very picky about food, either going to extremely expensive restaurants or searching for small eateries in back alleys. He never deigned to eat in shopping malls.
"Having dinner with a friend. This is Su Li. Miss Su, this is my friend Gu Junxing and his wife and son."
"Hello," Su Li greeted them with a smile.
"Old Gu, let's catch up another day. We won't disturb your family dinner," Liu Jian said. He was actually puzzled as to why Gu Junxing would be having dinner here with his wife and child, but this wasn't the time or place to inquire. Liu Jian had bumped into Gu Junxing on his way out after finishing his meal, so after exchanging a few words, he prepared to leave.
"Was that his girlfriend?" Nian Suian asked after they left.
Gu Junxing shook his head. "Most likely a blind date."
