Chapter 619 — An Liwen Pays a Visit

"Brother An, why not go with the drunken slip of the tongue approach?" Su Taizao said, struck by a sudden inspiration. "You have a little to drink, then go confess to Gu Mengyao. If she likes you, she'll naturally act all shy — she might even want to pin down whether you're just talking drunk or whether you really mean it! And of course, if she doesn't want your confession, you can always pass it off as drunken nonsense. She won't hold it against you, surely? And when you meet again after that, things won't be awkward!"

"Taizao, that's actually a fine idea. But tomorrow you'll have to back me up a little!" An Liwen nodded. "So shall we go to Gu Mengyao's house now?"

"Yes, Brother An, don't worry. Tomorrow I'll help you create the right opportunity — when the time comes, just go right ahead and confess!" Su Taizao thumped his chest in assurance.

Wei Zhao had not expected An Liwen and Su Taizao to show up at this hour. Looking at the two of them outside the villa, Wei Zhao frowned. "Brother An, what brings you here at this time? Xiaoshu isn't feeling well; she's upstairs resting..."

Wei Zhao did not know whether An Liwen had come to see Gu Mengyao or himself, so he asked.

"Ha ha, we've come to see Xiaoshu, actually. Since she's ill, all the more reason for us, as her elder brothers, to look in on her!" An Liwen smiled. "Taizao, go buy some fruit!"

"Right away, Brother An!" Su Taizao grabbed the car keys and went to get the car, while An Liwen remained standing at the villa entrance.

"Then wait a moment; I'll go ask Yao Yao and Xiaoshu." Wei Zhao's dealings with An Liwen were merely a matter of outward courtesy — he only meant to use him to counter Zhong Yongliang, so there was no need to pay him much mind. He simply left him standing outside the gate.

When Wei Zhao returned to the villa, Gu Mengyao had already come into the living room. Clearly she too had heard the bell at the gate, and seeing Wei Zhao enter, she asked, "Wei Zhao, who's here? Is it Uncle Qing?"

"No, it's An Liwen and Su Taizao. No telling what they're up to." Wei Zhao gestured behind him toward the gate as he spoke to Gu Mengyao.

"Brother Jianwen? Why has he come again?" Though Gu Mengyao's tone was polite, there was plainly a coldness about it that kept people at a thousand paces — clearly she was not fond of An Liwen visiting the house.

"How should I know? But they say they've come to see Xiaoshu." Wei Zhao shrugged.

"Yao Yao, let them in. My brother comes back tomorrow — perhaps that's what they've come about?" Shen Yushu had followed down the stairs as well. She was behind Gu Mengyao, standing now by the staircase, and said, "I thought it was Uncle Qing bringing dinner. I'm so hungry! I could really eat a huge meal!"

"Hungry? Hungry again? And you want a huge meal?" Wei Zhao was momentarily struck dumb. She had only just finished throwing up — and now she was hungry again? A huge meal? What was Shen Yushu made of, to forget the pain the moment the wound healed?

"Yes, yes, my stomach feels completely empty — it's even growling at me." Shen Yushu rubbed her flat belly and complained, "I threw up too cleanly earlier. If only I'd kept a little of it down..."

"Why don't you eat back what you threw up?" Gu Mengyao glared at Shen Yushu, finding the whole topic disgusting.

"Oh, there'd be enough there for the two of us!" Shen Yushu nodded.

"..." Gu Mengyao felt sick. She had been rather hungry, but now she had no appetite at all.

Wei Zhao went to open the door, and An Liwen walked in wreathed in smiles. Seeing Gu Mengyao, he was not overly warm; he merely nodded to her. "Yao Yao, I heard Xiaoshu was ill?"

"I'm not ill — Yao Yao did me in on the sly..." Shen Yushu had barely opened her mouth when Gu Mengyao cut her off.

"She just has a bit of a stomach flu, nothing serious. She'll be fine once she's finished throwing up." How could Gu Mengyao let Shen Yushu say it?

"Oh, I see!" Hearing Gu Mengyao's tone, An Liwen gathered that she did not wish to dwell on the matter, so he said no more about it. "Xiaoshu, Brother Tian comes back tomorrow, and Taizao and I are hosting a dinner to welcome him. Why don't you come too? Your brother hasn't seen you in ages, has he?"

"All right." Shen Yushu agreed without much thought — after all, she had not seen her brother in a long time, and there was no reason to refuse.

Gu Mengyao was rather annoyed. How could Shen Yushu just agree like that? If she went, could Gu Mengyao possibly not go along? Was this banquet An Liwen was giving for Chen Yuxuan, or for her? Probably only An Liwen himself knew.

"Yao Yao, then you'll come along too?" An Liwen asked with a smile.

"Wei Zhao, you have nothing planned tomorrow evening, do you?" Gu Mengyao ignored An Liwen's invitation and instead turned to Wei Zhao. "You're coming with us!"

"Fine." Wei Zhao replied, his tone as bland as ever.

An Liwen was not entirely pleased about Wei Zhao tagging along, but the moment he thought of the fact that having Gu Mengyao show up at all was already good enough, he knew he couldn't afford to stir up extra trouble. If he refused to let Wei Zhao come and Gu Mengyao flew into a huff and refused to go herself, that would be far worse.

So he laughed and said, "Haha, Yaoyao, even if you hadn't said a word, I would have invited Brother Wei Zhao regardless. The two of us are close friends, you know!"

"Is there anything else?" Gu Mengyao glanced at An Liwen and asked.

An Liwen knew perfectly well that Gu Mengyao was about to show him the door, but he was reluctant to leave just yet and wanted to linger a little longer. Then inspiration struck. "Let's wait for Taizao a bit. He went to buy fruit. Little Shu is sick, after all -- we as her older brothers can hardly turn up empty-handed, can we?"

"Oh, then tell him to buy more. I'm starving to death!" The moment Shen Yushu heard that Su Taizao was out shopping, she issued her instructions accordingly.

"Sure, I'll give him a call right now!" An Liwen's eyes lit up on the spot -- finally, he had an excuse to stay a while longer! Fearing Gu Mengyao might interfere, he quickly pulled out his phone and dialed Su Taizao's number. "Taizao? Little Shu is hungry. Buy some more fruit, and pick up dinner too. Make a few extra stops, get a few more things -- whatever you do, don't buy too little!"

An Liwen's hint was obvious enough. As long as Su Taizao wasn't a complete idiot, he would surely get the message: stay out a while longer, and don't rush straight back.

Su Taizao was no fool either. The moment he heard An Liwen's words, he understood perfectly. He pulled the car over to the side of the road and said, "Brother An, I'm really sorry about this. There's a bit of a traffic jam on the road. Don't worry!"