"The clothes seem a bit small," Gu Junxing said to Nian Suian as he tugged at his sleeve.
Gu Junxing was wearing a striped shirt, but it was a size too small, accentuating his physique. He had left the top two buttons undone, his chest muscles faintly visible.
"Why are you wearing Zhijing's clothes?!" Nian Suian exclaimed. This shirt was clearly bought for Gu Zhijing, who had a slimmer build. Unlike Gu Junxing, who regularly worked out and had muscles, clothes bought in Gu Zhijing's size naturally wouldn't fit Gu Junxing properly.
"This was bought for Zhijing? I saw it was a shirt and thought it was mine." Nian Suian had been chatting with Nanny Zhang downstairs for too long, and Gu Junxing, having finished his meeting, had casually picked up a shirt to try on, assuming it was for him since it was a dress shirt.
"Didn't you check the size, big brother? Besides, Zhijing can wear dress shirts too. Where are all the clothes? I'll separate them for you two."
"In my walk-in closet."
This was actually Nian Suian's first time entering Gu Junxing's room. The walk-in closet was inside the room, and as she entered, Nian Suian quickly glanced around Gu Junxing's room. Her conclusion was that it was a very "standard" room, or in other words, a model room. To put it nicely, it was minimalist; in reality, it lacked any personal touch. Even the bedding was gray.
The walk-in closet was the same, filled with black suits and white shirts as far as the eye could see.
"Why buy so many identical clothes?"
Gu Junxing opened his mouth but said nothing. Well, he really couldn't argue with that question.
The newly bought clothes were all on the floor, some still unwashed and unwearable. Nian Suian simply squatted down, opening each bag to look inside, placing Gu Junxing's purchases on one side and Gu Zhijing's on the other.
As she stood up, Nian Suian stumbled a bit. A strong hand grabbed her arm and guided her to sit in a chair.
However, Gu Junxing's first words were not of concern or comfort, but: "You get dizzy just from squatting for a while? Your physical condition is too poor. Stop sleeping in from now on, get up early and go to the gym on the third floor to exercise."
"How can you be so ungrateful?" Nian Suian glared at him. Instead of thanking her for buying him clothes, he was telling her to wake up early to exercise.
Who doesn't know that exercise is good for health? The problem is that she just can't bring herself to do it!
"...Then go exercise in the afternoon. The important thing is to work out," Gu Junxing advised kindly.
"I got it, we'll talk about it next time." Nian Suian shook her head carelessly, thinking she'd consider it whenever the mood struck her next.
Nian Suian pointed to the pile on the left, "These are for you, and the rest are for Zhijing." She then pulled out a windbreaker jacket from one of the bags and handed it to Gu Junxing. "Try this on." When buying this jacket, Nian Suian had been imagining how Gu Junxing would look in it, and she was eager to see.
However, he was still wearing the shirt meant for Gu Zhijing, which was a bit too tight. He was about to take it off, unbuttoning one button, when he noticed Nian Suian still staring at him intently. Gu Junxing said helplessly, "Are you going to watch me change?"
He had expected Nian Suian to be embarrassed, but she wasn't. She just shrugged and turned around, indicating she wouldn't look.
In reality, Nian Suian was thinking, it's not like he's getting completely naked, what's wrong with looking? With a body that well-toned, isn't it a shame not to let people see it?
Seeing Nian Suian turn away, Gu Junxing faced away from her to change. What he didn't know was that Nian Suian could see everything clearly in the reflection of the wardrobe door. She had to admit, his physique was truly impressive.
Nian Suian remained composed as she watched him change into the shirt she bought and then put on the new windbreaker. When Gu Junxing tapped her shoulder, Nian Suian pretended to be oblivious and turned around.
The moment she saw Gu Junxing, Nian Suian had only one thought: Oh no, she might be developing feelings based on his looks...
"It looks great! Really great!" Previously, Gu Junxing always wore shirts and suits, impeccably neat but also somewhat dull. The windbreaker was different; although not a bright color, it made him look younger.
"If you had dressed like this earlier, how could you have been single for over a decade?"
Hearing this, Gu Junxing didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "It's not that dramatic. I've worn windbreakers before when going hiking, but no one said I looked good."
"What did your old one look like?"
Gu Junxing opened the door at the far end of the wardrobe, gesturing for Nian Suian to look for herself. This section held clothes he rarely wore.
Nian Suian looked at the oversized jacket inside with its garish color scheme, snorted, and slammed the wardrobe door shut. "Throw that jacket far away! Don't let me see it again."
"..."
"Did Nanny Zhang tell you about Xu Feng?" They had tried on one outfit, and Gu Junxing didn't feel like trying on any more, so they went back downstairs. He had overheard their conversation earlier and knew Nian Suian had heard about it from Nanny Zhang.
"Yes, she did. What a scumbag! Can't you make him go bankrupt?" Nian Suian looked at Gu Junxing with hopeful eyes. In novels, wasn't it a piece of cake for a powerful CEO to make someone go bankrupt?
"No, I can't." Gu Junxing's two words shattered Nian Suian's fantasy. He quickly explained, "His family's company overlaps with our business, so we're competitors, but it's normal competition. We won't drive them to bankruptcy. Constantly making people go bankrupt would be malicious competition. Besides, even if we dislike someone, we shouldn't try to bankrupt their company. The company doesn't belong to him alone; there are many employees, and if the company goes bankrupt, it wouldn't be good for them either."
"Ah... I know. I was just venting because I was angry."
"There are many bad people in the world who can't be punished, and many pitiful people we can't help. But as long as we have a correct sense of right and wrong and a compassionate heart, that's good enough. I didn't want to tell you because I was afraid you'd be upset. Getting angry isn't good for your health."
"I understand," Nian Suian nodded, but she still looked a bit downcast. Gu Junxing regretted bringing up the topic again, needlessly making her feel bad.
So he brought up something else: "Did you tell Zhijing that you bought him clothes?"
Hmm, their son was like a brick, useful wherever needed.
"He knows. I told him. I even went to his school today to bring him a cake!"
Gu Junxing sighed helplessly, "Don't be too nice to him. He's almost an adult, just a couple of years away. Why go to his school to bring him food? He can eat when he comes home, it's the same thing."
"The one at home is meant to be shared with everyone. It would be gone by the time Zhijing gets back. Besides, I ran into his homeroom teacher at the mall, so we went together. Can't you be a bit nicer to him? As you said, he's not an adult yet. It's just a cake, what's the big deal?" Gu Junxing felt that Nian Suian was too kind to Gu Zhijing, while Nian Suian thought Gu Junxing was too cold towards him.
"No matter what, you're his elder. In terms of status, you're even considered his mother..." Gu Junxing had always believed that the idea of fathers and sons being like brothers was nonsense. A father is a father, a son is a son, why pretend to be brothers? There should be appropriate boundaries between elders and youngsters.
Nian Suian didn't see it that way. She thought she was just bringing a cake, and couldn't understand why Gu Junxing was making such a fuss. "What kind of elder am I? If we go by the household registry, I'm his mother, but by that logic, you're my husband. Do you think you are?"