Chapter 702 — The Eldest Lady's Inner World

"We absolutely have to have a big feast today to celebrate!" Shen Yushu was visibly overjoyed. "Three wonderful things happened today. First, we celebrate Sister Yaoyao falling into a coma from the poison..."

"Xiaoshu! What did you say?" Gu Mengyao was so furious she nearly lost her footing. Celebrate her being poisoned? Was Xiaoshu out of her mind? Gloating over her misfortune?

"Oh, Sister Yaoyao, don't be angry, I haven't finished yet!" Shen Yushu, cut off by Gu Mengyao, waved her hand somewhat aggrievedly. "What I meant was, we celebrate Sister Yaoyao surviving the poison and the coma—a narrow escape means great blessings to come..."

"..." Gu Mengyao's face flushed slightly. So she had misunderstood Xiaoshu after all. Still, she shot her a glare. "Couldn't you have said it clearly?"

"I was going to, but you interrupted me," Shen Yushu said meekly.

"You're still talking?" Gu Mengyao made as if to pinch Shen Yushu's mouth shut.

"Oh... no, don't! Being a little wife is such misery, I can't accept this..." Shen Yushu shrieked.

"Then stop calling yourself a little wife!" Gu Mengyao was only trying to scare her and had no real intention of pinching her mouth shut, but she didn't want Shen Yushu spouting nonsense again.

"Then I'll just keep at it," Shen Yushu said after a moment's thought.

"Suit yourself." Gu Mengyao rolled her eyes, at a loss for what to say.

"Then I'll go on. This is the first thing! The second is that we should celebrate An Liwen having a kidney cut out, so he can never come bothering Sister Yaoyao again!" Shen Yushu said.

Gu Mengyao had gotten along fairly well with An Liwen when they were children. Though their relationship was no longer so good, she still felt some sympathy for him having a kidney removed. To call it a celebration was going too far, so Gu Mengyao voiced no support for Xiaoshu's suggestion.

"The third thing is that we made that fox Song lose face—I'm so happy!" Shen Yushu cried excitedly. "So we absolutely must go celebrate."

Gu Mengyao nodded. Surviving a disaster was indeed something worth rejoicing over. She glanced at Wei Zhao and said coolly, "Are you free?"

Wei Zhao was slightly taken aback. Why was the eldest lady speaking to him in that tone? It didn't sound like her at all! In the past she would simply order him to take them out to eat, never asking whether he was free.

Gu Mengyao's manner rather embarrassed Wei Zhao. He had meant to go find Tang Zhi after they finished seeing An Liwen, but now it seemed he could only accompany the eldest lady to dinner.

"I had arranged to go shopping with Tang Zhi, but I can cancel," Wei Zhao said.

"Then have her come along too," Gu Mengyao said after a moment's hesitation.

"Huh?" Wei Zhao was stunned, looking at Gu Mengyao in disbelief. Hadn't the eldest lady and Tang Zhi always been on less than friendly terms? Why would she want to bring Tang Zhi along to dinner today? What did that mean?

"What are you staring at me like that for?" Gu Mengyao frowned, feeling a little guilty under Wei Zhao's gaze. In truth, she hated that feeling. Ever since Wei Zhao had seen her body—and she had awkwardly wet herself all over him—she had felt instinctively guilty and shy in his presence, the proud and domineering air she once had now gone entirely.

She was the eldest lady, his employer—how could she feel guilty before him? So Gu Mengyao tried her best to make her tone and manner seem cold, the better to mask the unease in her heart.

"You want to treat her to a meal?" Wei Zhao asked.

"Oh, Sister Yaoyao is finally going to negotiate with Tang Zhi—wonderful!" Shen Yushu, not knowing what Gu Mengyao was thinking, cheered according to her own interpretation.

"Negotiate?" Wei Zhao glanced at Shen Yushu. Was the eldest lady about to have it out with Tang Zhi? Recalling the scene at lunch, Wei Zhao felt a headache coming on—on one side his employer, on the other his girlfriend, and the eldest lady was clearly a proud person. Face was something she had to have.

"Xiaoshu, what nonsense are you spouting? Negotiate what?" Gu Mengyao glared at her. "I just want to thank her!"

In fact, Gu Mengyao had been thinking exactly that. Lying in the hospital, she had overheard Tang Zhi's phone call to Wei Zhao, and in that instant she felt that Tang Zhi was truly a good girl—and that she herself had been showing up before Tang Zhi all along in the guise of a "rival in love." And when her own life was in danger, Tang Zhi had not gloated and wished her dead; instead she had urged Wei Zhao to go and save her. That moved Gu Mengyao deeply—truly, deeply.

The young lady had never lacked money since childhood, but what she lacked was genuine affection. Gu Pengzhan had given her an ample share of fatherly love, but in the end he was simply too busy; however much he loved Gu Mengyao, the time he could spend with her was limited.

All along, the young lady had only had little Shu to depend on, and that had shaped her into a rather cold and aloof person. She would treat others kindly because her heart was good, though she never said so aloud.

When Wei Zhao first arrived, the young lady's instinct was to shut him out, because she did not understand him and knew nothing of his character. Given Gu Mengyao's somewhat closed-off nature, merely accepting that Wei Zhao lived in the villa had already been the limit.

But as time went on and they spent more time together, Gu Mengyao came to see that Wei Zhao was truly, truly good to her—so good it was almost unbelievable! He would risk danger for her, would go with her to be taken hostage! That devotion, Gu Mengyao kept deeply in her heart.

But her nature made it impossible for her to voice so many words of thanks.

At home, Wei Zhao often cooked for her and little Shu, looking after the two of them like an elder brother, which made Gu Mengyao feel both warm and contented. Never in her life had anyone treated her so well!

Having no mother's love, Gu Mengyao treasured this feeling all the more. No matter how good Gu Pengzhan was to her, he could never cook for her every day, could never look after her every little thing! Even if Uncle Qing brought meals every day, they came from a grand hotel—how could that compare with food cooked with one's own hands?

So, as Gu Mengyao gradually accepted Wei Zhao's presence, she also developed a dependence on him that she scarcely noticed, as though Wei Zhao were omnipotent—no matter what the problem, if she brought it to him, he could easily resolve it!

Whether it was encountering bad people, or little Shu getting wedged in the iron fence, or hunting for treasure in the courtyard—and even when she and little Shu were kidnapped, he found them at the first moment! Wei Zhao was like Doraemon, always there the instant he was called.