He lured her deep into his trap, using both overt and covert methods to seduce her.

The next second, she heard a cheerful boy's voice.

"Mom, next time I want the limited edition, it's not expensive, just over a million."

It was his younger brother, Song Jiachen.

Gu Man replied indulgently, "Okay, if you like it, I'll buy it for you."

"Thank you, Mom. I knew you were the best to me."

"You are my son, everything I have is yours. If I don't treat you well, who else should I treat well?"

"I love you mom."

Song Jiachen took Gu Man's hand and started to act coquettishly.

Song Zhi watched the interaction between the mother and son quietly, without any surprise.

From childhood to adulthood, Gu Man treated her very well, so well that Song Zhi once thought that her mother favored girls over boys, and she often felt indignant on behalf of her younger brother.

Until her father's accident, all the family affairs, including the company, fell on Gu Man's shoulders.

After that period, Gu Man became cold towards her, and now it seems that all the talk about favoring girls over boys was just an illusion.

Gu Man saw Song Zhi sitting in the living room and looked somewhat surprised, but she quickly concealed it.

"Zhizhi, what brings you here?"

Song Zhi stood up, but before she could say anything, Song Jiachen excitedly ran towards her and gave her a big hug.

"Sister, you're finally back! I've missed you so much."

Song Zhi stood there blankly, letting Song Jiachen hug her.

To be fair, she and Song Jiachen had a good relationship. Although she hadn't gone home in recent years, she had met with Song Jiachen privately.

She reached out and ruffled Song Jiachen's hair: "You're almost eighteen years old, and you're still like this. Aren't you ashamed?"

Song Jiachen didn't care at all: "What's shameful about me being clingy to my sister? Sis, why don't you stay at home this time?"

Gu Man watched the siblings calmly and said, "Alright, Xiao Bao, take your things back to your room first. I need to talk to your sister."

Song Jiachen then remembered what he had just bought.

He was just about to show it to Song Zhi when his mother stopped him with a look, and he could only dejectedly carry the shopping bags upstairs.

Gu Man walked forward with a smile and casually instructed the kitchen maid, "Sister Zhang, bring out the grapes we bought from Yuguoyuan and wash them."

As he spoke, he pulled Song Zhi aside to chat about everyday things.

"How did it go? Did they say anything when you went to the Pei family?"

Gu Man still maintained a loving motherly demeanor, reaching out to take Song Zhi's hand.

Song Zhi subtly avoided the situation.

Gu Man looked hurt: "Zhizhi, are you still blaming your mother?"

Song Zhi avoided the topic and said lightly, "Mom, I went to the hospital today."

Gu Man paused for a moment.

I already guessed what Song Zhi wanted to say.

She choked up, "I can't do anything about it. The company isn't doing well, and your brother is taking the college entrance exam next year. There are so many places where we need money."

"Even so, you can't send people to Qingshan. That's where they're just waiting to die."

"What can I do? I'm just a woman, and I've supported this family all these years. Do you think it's been easy for me?"

At this point, Gu Man grabbed Song Zhi's hand and choked up as she said, "Your dad dotes on your brother so much, he must understand me too. We really can't afford to pay for your dad's medical expenses every month."

Upon hearing this, Song Zhi's face remained expressionless, but she understood perfectly well what was going on in her mind.

No money?

But just now she saw that Song Jiachen was carrying bags, each of which cost over six figures. How could he be broke?

For a moment, Song Zhi felt utterly powerless.

I feel a little sorry for my father.

As far back as Song Zhi could remember, she knew that her parents had a very good relationship and that they loved each other very much.

But why is it that in just over ten years, Gu Man can disregard the life and death of the person beside her?

Does affection have an expiration date?

If the father were lucid and knew that he had been treated this way by the wife he had loved for decades, how would he feel?

At this moment, the nanny brought over the washed fruit.

Gu Man smiled and pushed the grapes in front of Song Zhi: "Zhi Zhi, eat this. I remember you like this kind of grape the most."

Song Zhi shook her head slightly and didn't say anything.

Gu Man was stunned, and somewhat embarrassed, she placed the fruit plate on the coffee table.

He then chuckled and changed the subject: "We're having seafood tonight, why don't you stay and eat with us? It's been a long time since our family has eaten together."

In the end, Song Zhi did not stay for dinner.

Before leaving, she said to Gu Man, "Mom, you can ignore my dad, but I can't. Also, I don't like grapes, and I'm allergic to seafood."

After leaving the Song family home, Song Zhi took out her phone and found Pei's mother's number in her contacts.

The message was sent.

Aunt Pei, I agree with your suggestion.

After seeing that the message had been read, Song Zhi put her phone away.

"Zhizhi? Is that you?"

A familiar voice came from behind.

Song Zhi turned around and saw Fu Lu's grandmother. Her nose tingled with emotion. "It's me."

The old lady stepped forward and warmly took her hand: "I haven't seen you for four or five years. I thought this old woman's eyesight was failing."

Song Zhi shook her head.

"You haven't eaten yet, have you? Come on, let's go to my place."

Song Zhi wanted to refuse, but thinking that she hadn't seen the old lady for many years, she simply agreed.

"Little Jiu, look who's here."

As soon as she entered the door, the old lady excitedly called out towards the living room.

Song Zhi was taken aback; she hadn't expected Fu Lu to be here with the old lady.

Song Zhi awkwardly put her feet on the ground.

If she had known Fu Lu was here, she wouldn't have come.

Fu Lu walked over and took the shopping basket from the old lady's hand: "I told you to go buy it, but you insisted on going by yourself."

"You don't know how to choose new things."

“I don’t understand why I couldn’t have just asked Aunt Mei to go to the market with me. Why does this old woman with her frail body insist on going all the way by herself?”

Aunt Mei is the live-in caregiver for the old lady and has been in the family for over 20 years. Song Zhi is also familiar with her.

She stood quietly in the entryway, watching the two of them.

Suddenly I realized that Lawyer Fu has really changed a lot over the years.

"Child, what are you daydreaming about?"

Fu Lu stepped forward, took out a pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet, and placed them in front of Song Zhi.

They were exactly the same pairs she wore six years ago; hers were pink, and Fu Lu's were blue.

The old lady looked at Song Zhi and smiled gently: "Little girl, don't you recognize people? This is your brother Fu Lu. You used to follow him around when you were in school, have you forgotten?"

Song Zhi was a little embarrassed: "No, I haven't forgotten."

"It's good that you haven't forgotten. Come in quickly. It's been many years since I've seen you. Today, the old lady will show you both a skill."

Upon hearing this, Song Zhi's expression froze.

She hasn't forgotten the time she ended up in the hospital after eating the old lady's cooking.

Clearly, Fu Lu hadn't forgotten either.

His wife is great in every way, except for her cooking skills, which are nothing to write home about.

He quickly said, "Grandma, you're so old, please sit down and rest. I'll do it."

The old lady looked at Fu Lu with some disbelief: "You can cook?"

"Yes, I've been cooking for myself most of the time while living abroad."

"You've made something of yourself; you can even cook now."

The old lady said with satisfaction, taking Song Zhi's hand: "Zhizhi, come and chat with this old lady. Let this rascal cook. I haven't eaten his cooking before."

Before Song Zhi could even speak, the old lady led her to the living room.

Although they hadn't seen each other for many years, the old lady still liked Song Zhi very much, so she pulled her to sit on the sofa and kept asking her questions.

"Childhood sweetheart, how have you been these past few years? Is your studies tiring?"

Song Zhi felt a lump in her throat. She held the old lady's hand and replied with a smile, "I'm fine. I'm graduating soon, so I'm not very tired."

Have you thought about what kind of work you want to do?

Song Zhi shook her head.

Over the years, she drifted along aimlessly, having no hope for the future whatsoever.

Seeing her like this, the old lady felt sorry for her. She sighed and said with heartache, "I heard about your father's matter. It has nothing to do with you. Don't dwell on it."

Song Zhi lowered her eyes and nodded.

The old lady could tell that she didn't want to talk about her father, so she changed the subject and said, "By the way, now that your ninth brother is back, you can talk to him about work and ask him to help you more."

Song Zhi subconsciously looked up at the kitchen.

At this moment, Fu Lu was wearing a checkered apron and standing on the stove preparing the groceries the old lady had bought.

This version of him has a more down-to-earth feel to him, making him seem much more real than the version I saw at the Pei family's house.

The next second, Fu Lu suddenly turned around.

Song Zhi was caught off guard by Fu Lu's gaze and quickly lowered her head, feeling somewhat guilty.

"Song Xiaozhi, come here for a moment."

Fu Lu's voice came through.