When Gu Zhijing arrived home, he found his father in the...
Kitchen!
"Oh! My dear dad, what are you doing?"
Gu Junxing didn't even look up, continuing his work. "Making baby food for Tang Yuan." Gu Junxing was cutting pork liver. Nian Suian had found a recipe online, but she found the meat smell unpleasant and didn't want to touch it. Nanny Zhang had taken a few days off, so Nian Suian simply gathered the ingredients and then dragged him to the kitchen before heading upstairs herself.
"Tsk..." Gu Zhijing clicked his tongue, circling around his father, "Tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk..."
"What do you want to say?"
"You never made baby food for me when I was little, did you..."
Gu Junxing pointed at the items on the counter, "These are all good things. Want to eat some when it's done?" Pork liver, beef, chicken breast, pumpkin - nutritious and healthy.
Before Gu Zhijing started elementary school, he basically lived with his grandparents. At that time, his father's company was just starting up. Forget making baby food for his child, he could barely manage to eat regular meals himself.
Gu Junxing put the chopped liver into the meat grinder. Listening to the sound of the grinder, he said to his son, "When you were little, Dad was too busy with work and neglected you. I'm sorry."
Gu Zhijing had initially just been teasing when he made that comment, not really jealous of the cat. His father's sudden, serious apology left him at a loss for words.
He tried to lighten the mood, saying, "It's alright, I'm magnanimous enough not to hold it against you. Besides, if it weren't for your hard work, I wouldn't have had the chance to be a rich kid."
Hearing his son's words, Gu Junxing smiled but said nothing.
Gu Zhijing asked again, "Dad, you and mom were classmates, right? Were you close with uncle?"
"Your mom, your uncle, and I weren't in the same school. I wasn't very close with him. Why? Did Grandma talk to you about your uncle today?"
Gu Zhijing nodded, "Yeah, she said uncle and his wife are getting divorced. She can't stay here much longer; she needs to hurry back to check on things."
When Gu Junxing had just married Zhijing's mother, he had heard some things about this brother-in-law, but he never imagined that after so many years, they'd still be causing such a commotion.
Gu Junxing thought his son might miss his grandparents, so he said, "If you miss them, give them a call. When you're on break, you can also go visit for a couple of days."
Hearing his father say he could go visit, Gu Zhijing actually felt conflicted. On one hand, he wasn't close with his uncle and didn't really want to go. On the other hand, he was quite curious to see how his uncle and aunt were "making a fuss."
Gu Junxing had prepared all the ingredients and mixed them together. Now they just needed to be steamed. He then took two eggs, planning to make a steamed egg custard.
Gu Zhijing hadn't noticed his father's actions. Talking about his maternal grandparents had reminded him of his paternal grandparents, and he realized it had been quite a while since he'd called them.
"Dad, how's grandpa and grandma's world tour going? When are they coming back?"
Thinking of the video call he'd had with his parents a couple of days ago, Gu Junxing replied, "They won't be back anytime soon."
The elderly couple had already reached Africa and were talking about visiting indigenous tribes. There was no need to worry about safety; the wealthy pair had hired three guides from different companies, four bodyguards, and even brought along a doctor before heading to the tribes.
"That's awesome. I wish I could retire right after finishing school." Gu Zhijing paused, looked at Gu Junxing, and then said, "Dad, is there any possibility that I don't work and you support me for life? I mean, you can afford it, right? And I'm not expensive to maintain."
Gu Junxing immediately shattered his foolish son's fantasy, pointing at the used kitchenware on the counter, "Stop daydreaming and clean this up."
"Why should I clean it?! This was Little Mother-Sister's job for you!"
"I'm only responsible for cooking. Tang Yuan is the cat you brought home. Didn't you say she was your little sister? You're not even willing to do a little chore for your sister?"
After outsourcing the kitchen cleaning to his son, Gu Junxing didn't go upstairs. The food only needed to steam for about ten minutes; it would be done soon.
By the time Gu Zhijing finished dawdling through the kitchen cleanup, the cat food was ready.
Gu Zhijing didn't leave, watching his father work in the kitchen.
Seeing Gu Junxing pour soy sauce on the egg custard, Gu Zhijing asked curiously, "Can cats eat soy sauce?"
"Cats can't eat that." Gu Junxing pointed at the egg custard and said to Gu Zhijing: "This is for you... baby food for my big baby."
Gu Junxing looked at his son, wanting him to try it quickly, but Gu Zhijing didn't move.
"Dad... are you still my dad?"
"..."
"You apologized to me today, and now you're making me egg custard. It's really scary."
Gu Junxing sighed, "What, do I have to criticize you for you to feel comfortable?"
"Well, not exactly," Gu Zhijing said, taking a spoon and scooping up some custard. "It's just that this kind of tenderness doesn't seem like your style."
"Gu Zhijing, hurry up and eat your egg custard, then go upstairs and do your homework!"
"Yes, sir!"
That felt much more normal.
While Gu Zhijing ate his "fatherly love custard" downstairs, Gu Junxing took the cat food upstairs to call Nian Suian.
Although making cat food didn't require any technical skill, Nian Suian still praised Gu Junxing.
"Not bad, not bad. Boss Gu is now a man who can handle both the boardroom and the kitchen. Today you can make cat food, tomorrow you'll be able to make human food."
"Come on, let's go feed Tang Yuan."
Although Tang Yuan was a Holstein cat, she had the appetite of an orange tabby. She gave Gu Junxing face by eating the food he made with great enthusiasm, gobbling it down mouthful after mouthful.
"Tomorrow, Tang Yuan's meals will be your responsibility too, Boss Gu."
"..."
The next day, Nanny Zhang still hadn't returned. Nian Suian didn't get up for breakfast, so Gu Junxing was eating alone when Gu Zhijing also got up.
"There are buns and dumplings in the fridge. Take your pick." These had been prepared by Nanny Zhang before she left.
Gu Zhijing poured himself a glass of juice and steamed four buns.
"What are we eating for lunch?"
"We'll order takeout." Yesterday, when Gu Zhijing wasn't around, Gu Junxing and Nian Suian had ordered in.
There was no helping it; Boss Gu currently only had the skills to make cat food, not human food.
"Can I have KFC?"
"Sure."
As noon approached, Nian Suian finally came downstairs.
"Little Mother-Sister, I'm ordering KFC for lunch. Do you want some?"
"I've ordered rice noodles with snail. Get me two egg tarts."
"Where's dad?"
"Probably in the study."
"Have him pick up the takeout later." If there was one downside to living here, it was that delivery people couldn't come in. Although they had household staff, she didn't feel comfortable asking them to help pick up takeout.
"Hehe, okay!"