Chapter 143

Should the person, who was forced to go and apologize, have to comfort Gu Wushuang, who had only stayed home and waited to eat melon? (1)

Li Chengzheng put away the slyness of a businessman and looked at his daughter solemnly.

"You are to befriend Miss Gu from now on and take good care of her; otherwise, I won't be giving you anymore pocket money."

Everybody started out at the bottom and worked their way up to where they were today.

"Your grandpa, too, started out with nothing and he was known to be an altruistic person. Xiao Ru, you have shamed him."

As soon as Li Chengzheng finished talking, Gu Shishi heard the crisp sound of the system.

[Ding! Received Li Chengzheng's fondness!]

Gu Shishi looked up, at a loss.

Li Yiru was every bit as lost as Gu Shishi.

"... Dad, what are you talking about?"

Weren't they here to apologize? When did that turn into "becoming friends" and "taking care of her"?

"Stop it. If you don't want to do that." Li Chengzheng was looking angrier and angrier. "Then, starting this month forward, you are to quit your job at the family company and go look for your own job."

Having said that, Li Chengzheng shocked even himself.

He regretted a little about what he had just said.

But, after second thought, it didn't sound like too bad of an idea.

His daughter sure has some growing up to do.

Among all of her wealthy girlfriends, his Xiao Ru had the worst temperament and was very impulsive to top.

She was still okay right now. If she was still so brainless when she got older, he wouldn't even be able to save her!

Thinking about what happened with HB, he gritted his teeth.

"You can still live in your same room, but you will need to pay rent to me monthly."

If only she could be more like the Gu's daughter who was still able to find herself a nice man with the ability to stand up for her despite being raised with regular education and not in a wealthy environment. Having his daughter experience a little hardship right now wouldn't be entirely a bad idea.

Li Yiru: "...What?"

"We shouldn't keep you from resting any longer, Niece Gu. I heard that Young Hao isn't home today. Please give him this case of red wine and let him know that it was from his Uncle Li."

Li Chengzheng gave her another smile.

[Ding! Li Chengzheng's fondness increased again!]

Gu Shishi: "......?"

***

Li Yiru had no idea how she walked out of the mansion.

She was dazed and in a state of disbelief. Her knees were weak the entire time...

Li Chengzheng was a very sharp and fierce businessman. He had only spoiled his daughter a little too much in the past.

Now that he realized his own mistake, he decided to fix it in a somewhat extreme way.

His actions were very efficient.

Just on their way out, Li Yiru had already received the message that her bank card had been disconnected from the main account.

Her card was a supplemental one of her dad's and she has a 50,000 yuan monthly allowance.

As long as she kept her spending below that amount and did not do anything evil or against the law, he never cared about how she spent her money.

And now... it was gone just like that.

"Dad!"

Li Chengzheng wasn't messing around. As soon as he got into the car, he asked the secretary for pen and paper.

And started scribbling.

"Our house is centrally located and your room is 40 square meters in area. Not counting the common area, I'll give you a market rate of 5,000 yuan a month in rent. You can eat and drink at home and I won't charge you for those, but you must pay me rent on the 1st of each month."

Li Yiru's hands were about to start shaking.

She was angry and scared, so much that she couldn't even make a sound.

She had always relied on her family.

As she was a girl, she never considered taking over the family business. She had no accomplishments in the work area.

She has a 50,000-yuan allowance and if her parents were happy, they'd give her extra to buy stuff.

She holds a position at the Strategy Department at the Li's Corporation. All she did was go online and watch movies everyday and collect a monthly salary of over 10,000 yuan.

And now, she has no allowance, no job, and she has to pay rent?!

***

Chapter 144

Should the person, who was forced to go and apologize, have to comfort Gu Wushuang, who had only stayed home and waited to eat melon? (2)

"How am I going to get a job with such short notice? Dad, why are you doing this? I will go back and apologize to Gu Shishi, is that it?"

Li Chengzheng casted her a glance.

"Do you think that everybody else is just brainless? That she couldn't tell whether your apology is sincere or not? What is the point of forcing you to do that? I don't need you to go apologize anymore. If HB is really going to hinder the Li's future, you can consider this an early trial of how you will live after we go bankrupt."

Li Yiru gritted her teeth. "Our family can't be that bad without HB!"

Li Chengzheng never stopped scribbling. He handed her a new sheet of paper.

"I have done some research before coming over today. Niece Gu works in an art studio during the day time. The Gu's and us rival each other in wealth. If their daughter can have a job that she can support herself on, then why can't you? Alternatively, if you don't want to work, you can do what's on this list. I will have Secretary Chen follow you around."

Li Yiru did not understand the second part of what he said.

She looked down on the piece of paper that he handed to her and almost had a nervous breakdown.

"Have lunch with Gu Shishi, receive 1,000 yuan.

Go shopping with Gu Shishi, receive 2,000 yuan.

Have afternoon tea with Gu Shishi, receive 3,000 yuan.

Be praised by Gu Shishi, receive 5,000 yuan.

...

Become friends with Gu Shishi (verified by dad), receive 5,000 yuan.

Become one of Gu Shishi's top 3 friends, receive 10,000 yuan."

The piece of paper in hand, Li Yiru's hands were about to start shaking.

"This is what Dad would like to see you do, but you don't have to. You can also try to make money on your own."

Having said that, Li Chengzheng leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes to rest.

"Don't think you can ask your grandpa for help this time either."

Li Yiru almost ripped the piece of paper up!

Then her cellphone vibrated.

It was a message in her girlfriend chat group.

[Pingting: Ruru, how are you doing? Were you really forced to go apologize?]

[Wushuang: It was all my fault. Xiao Ru only did that because of me... I am so sorry. Is there anything that I can do?]

Li Yiru bit her lip as she read the messages.

She turned to look at her dad.

She wanted to share with them what had just happened but she hesitated.

If her dad wouldn't change his mind and she really needed to go and kiss up to that peasant girl...

Or, perhaps after one night, her dad would be convinced by her mom and change his mind.

There was no reason to share it with Pingting and the others yet. She wouldn't want them to think that her dad couldn't tell what's wrong from right.

She thought about it for a little bit and replied that she was okay.

But Gu Wushuang sent over a few more messages to ask about her.

Luo Pinting, too, kept on asking for details.

Looking at the nonstop messages from her girlfriends, Li Yiru suddenly felt disgusted and irritated.

She didn't feel like talking today but they kept on prying like she owed them money!

She used to think that Wushuang was particularly kind, tender, and always caring to her friends, but today she just felt that she was irritating.

As irritating as Madam Xianglin.*

All she did was keep on repeating "I'm so sorry. It's all my fault..."

Li Yiru was very irritated.

Should the person, who was forced to go and apologize, have to comfort Gu Wushuang, who had only stayed home and waited to eat melon?*

What the h*ll?!

___

Translator's notes:

1) Madam Xianglin is a well-known character in a Chinese masterpiece.

2) Eat melon - Chinese internet slang for gossiping

***

Chapter 145

Should the person, who was forced to go and apologize, have to comfort Gu Wushuang, who had only stayed home and waited to eat melon? (3)

[Pingting: Ruru, where are you now? Fill us in quickly. Did you run into Big Brother Huo when you were over at his place? Is Gu Shishi really living at his place? How's she doing over there? What was she doing when you went over? Did she straight up accept all the gifts that you offered up?]

Li Yiru really wanted to ask her, "Are you checking the water usage meter or taking the census?"!

What was wrong with these people!

She was in enough sh*t and all they wanted was stories from her? She went over there to apologize! The Li's business was in dire trouble and this was all they cared about?

Li Yiru was so mad that she could puke any minute now.

She poked so hard at the screen that she could puncture it.

[She was cooking when I got there. Boss Huo wasn't home at the time. I am guessing that she was cooking for him?]

[Pingting: Snickers! So she's there to be Big Brother Huo's servant? That makes sense. Someone like her is only good enough to carry our shoes for us! We should invite her to our moon-watching event next week so she could cook for us too. HAHAHAHA!]

Li Yiru felt even worse after she read the comment.

She was now being forced to befriend the person who was "only good enough to carry her shoes for her"!

DANG!

She could puke blood from anger!

Her temper rose and Miss Li Yiru tossed her cellphone onto the seat of the car.

A second later, she picked it back up, clicked open the WeChat app and withdrew from the group chat.

That darn people!

Out of sight, out of mind!

She'd add it back when she felt better!

***

[Li Yiru had temporarily withdrawn from Gu Wushuang's encampment.]

[Under the current situation, the challenge of gaining fondness from her was reduced by 50%.]

Gu Shishi was sitting at home when she saw the message that popped up suddenly in the system. She couldn't help but pause for a second.

That was abrupt.

She thought she had misheard. She checked it again and confirmed that it wasn't Chen Kexin, but Li Yiru who had just paid her a visit at the mansion.

She had broken off from Gu Wushuang just because her father had cut off her pocket money?

Gu Shishi was baffled.

But a girl's mind has always been complicated.

Friends could easily fight over the smallest things.

Especially when it came to a child who had been spoiled her entire life. They tended to be self-centered and would ruin friendships during critical times when all they could think of was themselves.

"Never mind. Not going to spend too much time thinking about it."

But then she took a look at the "Letting Chen Kexin See the Truth" assignment that had only made 50% progress.

She picked up her old cellphone and sent her a message.

[MeowMeow, streaming starts at 10 o'clock. Do come take a look if you are still awake.]

She could reach out to Chen Kexin through more frequent streaming and having sessions with her.

Gu Shishi went back inside her room to organize the box that she had received today after she had finished making the stock in the kitchen.

The parts that she had bought to make hand fans had arrived that afternoon.

Bulter Lin had helped sign for them.

She took a look at the time and quickly opened up the package.

She pulled the materials out from the package and examined them one by one. Their quality was decent.

The fan mounts were studied. If they weren't taut enough, it'd be difficult to paint on them.

She rummaged through them and picked the simplest and most righteous-looking circular fan mount.

This was one of her favorites when she was picking out the fan mounts.

The frame was a subtle dark wooden color, and there were clouds carved on the handle.

Looking at it closely, the work wasn't bad, which was pleasing to an obsessive-compulsive person such as herself.

If Old Mrs. Chen didn't like it, she could keep it for herself.