Chapter 284 - 282: Giving Face

Chapter 284: Chapter 282: Giving Face

"Huang really is a stand-up guy. So how about this? Let’s take this opportunity. If anyone here feels they’ve done something wrong in the past, or wronged Huang in any way—intentionally or not—just come over and say you’re sorry. We’ll let bygones be bygones, and we’ll all still be good brothers. What do you say?" Chen Geng was overjoyed. He gave Gu Lihuang a heavy punch on the shoulder, making him wince in pain. Seeing this, the others laughed, nodded, and shouted, "Yeah!"

Sure enough, people immediately started playing along, coming over to offer half-joking apologies. As more people joined in, it became less awkward for everyone to say something like, "My bad," in a lighthearted way. In the end, even Chen Yisheng was no exception; persuaded by Qian Jun, he sheepishly apologized to Gu Lihuang.

Gu Lihuang didn’t hold it against them, waving his hand with a completely unconcerned expression.

Watching from a short distance away, Gu Nuan Nuan took it all in and smiled to herself. ’This is clearly the best way to solve the problem. That Chen Geng is quite an interesting character, a real smooth operator. I’ll have to make a point to mention him to my uncles when I get back. It’s a waste of his public relations skills to have him be just an ordinary truck driver.’ She retracted her gaze and looked down, just in time to hear Lin Qiao muttering beside her, "They’re so weird. A moment ago, they were so tense it looked like they were about to start a fight. Now, everything’s fine and they’re all laughing like that?"

"Most guys are like that when they’re together. It’s normal for them to roughhouse and joke around," Gu Nuan Nuan replied with a smile.

"Ohh, so they were just joking. No wonder. But they kind of act like little kids, don’t they? It’s a good thing they didn’t actually start fighting, though. It would have been so awkward if we had stumbled upon that." Lin Qiao cast another curious glance at the group of men she found so strange. She could only see their actions, not what they were actually saying.

"COUGH, COUGH. We shouldn’t just stand around here. Huang’s niece is still waiting over there. We all came to watch the show today, but we can’t let... uh, let the Young Miss just stand there waiting too long, can we?" Seeing that nearly everyone who needed to had apologized and the atmosphere was becoming much more harmonious, Ye Laosan, genuinely worried that a girl in her early teens would grow impatient and unhappy, quickly coughed to remind them.

He had hesitated when figuring out how to address Gu Nuan Nuan, feeling momentarily unsure. He considered calling her Nuannuan like Gu Lihuang did, but that felt inappropriate. After a moment of internal debate, he recalled his father saying that in the old days, people in prominent households would address the young lady of the main family as "Miss." Struck by a sudden inspiration, he used the title "Young Miss" for Gu Nuan Nuan. Unexpectedly, this form of address was immediately accepted by the others. As if a lightbulb had gone on for all of them, they slapped their foreheads, nodded, and chimed in, "Right, right—let’s go, let’s go! Let’s not keep our Young Miss waiting."

The group started walking, this time subconsciously forming a circle around Gu Lihuang with him at the center. Even Ye Laosan was no exception. There had been a fundamental shift in their attitude toward Gu Lihuang.

Trailing at the very back, Chen Yisheng still felt out of sorts. He muttered to Qian Jun, dragging his feet, "People are so fickle. I still don’t get what I said wrong earlier."

"If you can’t figure it out, go home and ask your cousin tonight. You’ll get it then. There are too many people here, so it’s not a good time to explain. It’s the kind of thing no one dares to talk about openly." Qian Jun pulled him along, quickening their pace. If they weren’t usually on good terms, and if he didn’t know for a fact that Chen Yisheng had a cousin who worked for President Zhang, Qian Jun really wouldn’t have bothered with him.

Manager Zhang, the sister of their company’s President Zhang, was divorced and had remarried. This was an open secret throughout the entire company. Not only did everyone at headquarters know, but most employees at the branch offices were also well aware of it, unless they were completely out of the loop.

However, since society at large tended to look down on divorced women, everyone subconsciously avoided topics concerning them. They did this to avoid accidentally saying something inappropriate that might strike a nerve with President Zhang’s sister, Manager Zhang. If some opportunist then twisted their words and reported it to President Zhang or Manager Zhang, they’d be finished.

It wasn’t discussed openly, but that didn’t mean Manager Zhang was never a topic of conversation. It was just something discussed in private, and only between people who were extremely close. And yet this idiot, who claimed a family member was one of President Zhang’s trusted confidants, knew nothing about it. He’d even dared to blurt it out in front of everyone... ’I really don’t get why his cousin wouldn’t mention something so crucial to him. Or maybe... they’re not actually that close?’

Regardless of what Qian Jun was thinking to himself, the group quickly arrived in front of Gu Nuan Nuan and Lin Qiao.

"Nuannuan." Gu Lihuang said with a broad smile, looking at Gu Nuan Nuan, then at Lin Qiao beside her. "Is this your classmate?"

"Second Uncle, this is Lin Qiao. She’s my classmate and my best friend at school." Gu Nuan Nuan nodded, looking at Gu Lihuang before letting her gaze sweep over the men beside him with a hint of scrutiny. She deliberately emphasized the words "best friend," and as she spoke, she let her gaze—a gaze that seemed to see through everything—slowly and intentionally pass over Ye Laosan’s face.

Ye Laosan’s heart gave a sudden, sharp thump. He instinctively glanced from Gu Nuan Nuan to Lin Qiao, suddenly realizing her words carried a hidden meaning. The impression Gu Nuan Nuan gave off at that moment was not that of a simple, naive girl in her early teens who knew nothing of the world. On the contrary, her eyes seemed to see through everything.

A cold sweat beaded on his brow. He instantly recalled the connection between his own relatives and Lin Qiao’s family and realized they could no longer afford to treat the Lin Family in the same perfunctory manner as before. ’Looks like I’ll have to have a serious discussion with my older brother and father when I get back. It’s essential that we get on good terms with the Lin Family. Otherwise, if this Lin Qiao were to say a few bad things about our family to the Young Miss...’

He didn’t dare to think about it any further.

Gu Nuan Nuan saw it all but acted as if she knew nothing, continuing with a smile as she introduced Gu Lihuang to Lin Qiao. "Lin Qiao, this is my Second Uncle. You might not know this, but on my dad’s side of the family, my Second Uncle and Second Aunt are the most filial to my grandpa. Aside from Grandpa, I’m closest to my Second Uncle, my Second Aunt, and their family."

Recalling Gu Lihuang and Ye Rong’s recent performance—and how even their little brat, Gu Qian, had improved significantly—Gu Nuan Nuan didn’t mind giving Gu Lihuang some face in front of the Zhang Family’s employees. Of course, if he were to suddenly revert to his old ways and try to leverage this "face" she was giving him, she would absolutely not let him off easy.