Living in a county town, starting as a stock market maker...

Half an hour later, the doorbell rang.

Gu Yuanshan is back.

He got a neat short haircut, which made him look ten years younger.

He was wearing a brand-new dark gray suit and shiny black leather shoes.

He loosened his tie somewhat awkwardly, but under his wife's approving gaze, he straightened his chest.

"Dad, you look... really handsome in that outfit."

Gu Ming leaned against the kitchen doorway and sighed sincerely.

He hadn't seen his dad dressed so formally in over a decade.

"cough."

Gu Yuanshan cleared his throat, trying his best to maintain the dignity of the head of the family, but he couldn't hide the smile in his eyes.

He walked up to Su Qingying and nodded.

"Miss Su, please excuse my poor appearance."

"Uncle, you're too kind."

Su Qingying also stood up, her gaze sweeping over Gu Yuanshan before landing on the newspaper he had just put down—a copy of "Reference News".

"Uncle, your suit fits you perfectly and makes you look very elegant. Besides, people who still read newspapers these days are people with their own thoughts. Unlike us young people, who are surrounded by information on our phones every day, our thoughts have become shallow."

These words struck a chord with Gu Yuanshan.

Throughout his life, he was always a nice guy at work, never competing or vying for anything. His only hobby was reading newspapers and keeping up with national affairs.

"Not at all, Xiao Su, you flatter me."

Despite his modesty, he had already pulled out a chair and invited Su Qingying to sit down.

Dinner has begun.

Gu Ming felt that the atmosphere at the meal was very strange.

But in his parents' eyes, it was practically a meeting with their future daughter-in-law.

Su Qingying always manages to accurately capture every topic and give an appropriate response.

When Meng Xiaoyan praised her for being beautiful and capable, she immediately changed the subject.

"Auntie, you look so young! I was downstairs just now and the neighbors told me you were a teacher, but I didn't believe it. With your skin and demeanor, people would believe you were Gu Ming's older sister."

Meng Xiaoyan was overjoyed by the praise, and her face crinkled with laughter.

Gu Yuanshan silently placed a piece of food on her plate, and she naturally started talking about the newspaper he had just been reading.

"Uncle, I just saw you reading the Reference News. There's been a lot of discussion about the Belt and Road Initiative lately. I previously worked on an infrastructure project in Central Asia and found that our country's influence there is indeed greater than what's reported in the media."

Gu Yuanshan was immediately launched into a long conversation.

From geopolitics to historical anecdotes, this man, who had remained silent his entire life, seemed to have found a kindred spirit tonight.

Gu Ming sat at the table, silently eating his rice.

He felt like an outsider.

The main character of this meal was Su Qingying, while the supporting characters were his parents, who had already been won over.

Watching Su Qingying navigate effortlessly between the two elders, every smile and every word perfectly timed, he had only one thought in his mind.

terror.

This woman's emotional intelligence is terrifying.

Halfway through the meal, Su Qingying took out two gift bags from her bag.

"Uncle, Aunt, this is my first time visiting, and I didn't know what you liked, so I just prepared some small gifts. I hope you don't mind."

She handed a long, rectangular box to Gu Yuanshan.

"I noticed that my uncle likes to drink tea. This is Da Hong Pao that I asked a friend to bring back from Wuyi Mountain. It's not anything expensive, I just wanted to taste the original flavor."

He then handed another square box to Meng Xiaoyan.

"Auntie, this scarf is from a designer friend of mine who makes her own brand. I think the color suits you very well."

Meng Xiaoyan opened the box. The blue-purple silk scarf had a delicate texture and a soft luster, perfectly matching her purple suit.

She excitedly gestured her name across her neck.

Gu Yuanshan said "You're too kind," but the way he carefully opened the tea box and took a deep breath to smell the aroma of the tea revealed his inner joy.

Gu Ming knew that his parents had been won over by Su Qingying.

After finishing their meal, Meng Xiaoyan held Su Qingying's hand, reluctant to part.

"Young lady, please come to our house for meals often. Don't be shy with your auntie."

"It definitely will, Auntie."

Su Qingying nodded with a smile.

"Mingzi, hurry up and drive Miss Su home. Drive slowly, you hear me?"

Meng Xiaoyan turned to give her son some instructions.

Gu Ming felt as if he had been granted a pardon and immediately grabbed his car keys.

"Let's go, President Su."

"Auntie, Uncle, I'll be going now."

Su Qingying politely said goodbye and followed Gu Ming downstairs.

As Gu Ming sat down in the dilapidated Santana, he let out a long sigh of relief.

"Your acting is really good."

He started the car and said, half jokingly and half admiringly.

"The Oscars owe you an Oscar."

Su Qingying sat in the passenger seat and did not respond.

She seemed to have shed her social mask, relaxed completely, leaned back in her chair, and turned to look out the window.

The car drove out of the old residential area and merged into the streets of Hegang at night.

The summer night breeze blew in through the car window, carrying a cool sensation.

The streetlights cast long shadows of the trees, barbecue stalls along the street emitted smoky aromas, and pedestrians strolled leisurely.

This small town is different from the capital; it has a slow and peaceful pace.

The only sounds inside the car were the roar of the engine and the tires rolling over the road.

Gu Ming smelled a faint perfume scent emanating from Su Qingying, mixed with the smell of the food from home earlier.

He wondered what the Queen would say after seeing his down-to-earth family life.

But she didn't say anything, she just quietly looked out the window at this city that felt so out of place to her.

After a long while, Su Qingying suddenly spoke, her voice very soft.

"Your parents are lovely."

"They're just not very good at expressing themselves."

Gu Ming said.

"No."

Su Qingying shook her head.

"They will. They're just expressing their love for you in what they think is the best way. For example, making sure you have decent clothes, finding you a stable job, and marrying someone they think is a good wife."

Gu Ming fell silent.

Su Qingying was right.

"And what about you?"

Su Qingying suddenly turned to look at him, her eyes shining brightly in the night.

"You use a theory they can't understand to build a business they can't comprehend. You take everyone into account: your parents, your neighbors, Shen An'an, and me. You precisely manipulate everyone's emotions and guide them to react in the way you want."

Her voice was still very soft, but it directly exposed all of Gu Ming's pretense.

"Do you really enjoy doing this every day, manipulating everyone like a puppet?"

The car was crossing a bridge over a river, the water beneath shimmering in the moonlight.

Gu Ming's grip on the steering wheel tightened slightly.

Since his rebirth, he has been meticulous in his planning and strategy, enjoying the thrill of controlling everything and delivering devastating blows.

He thought this was what he wanted.

But Su Qingying's question, without warning, pierced his heart.

Are you happy?

This was the first time since his rebirth that he had fallen into such a long silence in the face of a question from someone.