Embracing My Wife - Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Going to meet her sister

The photo was successfully sent to Gu Nanbei.

Gu Nanbei called her immediately. “I designed it.”

She answered so quickly that Xu Anran didn’t know how to respond. She didn’t know whether to end the conversation or to press for more information. After a moment’s thought, she said, “It’s beautiful.”

Gu Nanbei kept her guessing. “Do you want to know who it’s for?”

“Yeah. You don’t really wear dresses.”

“I don’t.”

Gu Nanbei was a master conversationalist. She’d pose a question to pique Xu Anran’s interest, then answer in a bland way that made Xu Anran both curious and frustrated.

Xu Anran gritted her teeth. “Is it for a friend?”

“No.”

“Then who is it for? Can you tell me?” she added, her voice full of jealousy. “I heard you make one every year, so that person must be very important to you, right?”

Xu Anran had decided. If Gu Nanbei was teasing her, she was going to get genuinely angry and ignore her, and no explanation would matter.

But Gu Nanbei continued to push the envelope. “Are you jealous?”

How could she not be? A bubble of sourness and frustration was swelling in Xu Anran’s heart, about to burst. How could she not be angry? In the years they had been out of touch, Gu Nanbei had been making dresses for another woman.

She hadn’t known before, so she’d just ignored it and hadn’t been jealous. But now they had been flirting for so long, and Gu Nanbei was still making dresses for someone else!

Oh, she was about to explode.

“If you’re jealous, that makes me very happy,” Gu Nanbei said earnestly, her voice full of delight, as if she already knew Xu Anran was angry.

Xu Anran let out a frustrated grunt, and then Gu Nanbei laughed. Xu Anran’s annoyance skyrocketed. “Stop laughing! Tell me, who is it for?!”

“My sister,” Gu Nanbei said, still laughing. “Are you still jealous now?”

“Huh? Your sister?”

Xu Anran was stunned. It suddenly came back to her that Gu Nanbei did have a sister. So… she had been jealous of her sister for a while now.

How embarrassing.

She acted as if she had bitten her tongue. “Then… your sister must have a really good figure.”

Xu Anran heard the sound of a glass clinking on the other end, as if Gu Nanbei was either drinking or doing something else. A moment later, Gu Nanbei said, “She’s very beautiful.”

Xu Anran had seen a photo in Gu Nanbei’s home. Her sister was indeed a beautiful woman, with a particularly gentle smile.

Gu Nanbei added, “It’s her birthday in a few days. This is a gift for her. She loves Mr. Carter’s designs, so I come here every year.”

“I see. You two have a great relationship.” Xu Anran hugged her legs, still feeling embarrassed. “I’m sorry… I was a little out of line just now.”

“It’s okay,” Gu Nanbei said. “I even like it when you’re out of line.”

Her words were so full of affection that Xu Anran’s heart immediately warmed up.

Then, Gu Nanbei invited her. “Would you be willing to come to my sister’s birthday party with me?”

“Huh?” The question was so sudden that Xu Anran froze. It took her a moment to process it. To make sure she had heard correctly, she asked tentatively, “Are you inviting me to your sister’s birthday party?”

“Yes, I want you to come with me,” Gu Nanbei said very seriously, enunciating every word. She sounded even more excited than Xu Anran. “Can you?”

Xu Anran’s heart pounded. Thump, thump. Meeting her sister was like meeting her family. “When is it?”

“April 8th.”

Xu Anran did the math. It was after her busiest time, so it was possible. But she was a little hesitant. Things were moving too fast.

She hesitated. “Can I think about it?”

“Of course,” Gu Nanbei said. “No pressure.”

Pressure? Of course, there’s pressure.

They were both silent for a while. The sound of glass clinking on Gu Nanbei’s end started up again, but just as Xu Anran was about to ask her what was going on, the sound stopped.

Gu Nanbei said softly, “Go to sleep early. I’ll wait for your answer.”

“…Good night.” Xu Anran added, “You shouldn’t feel pressured either. Whatever’s going on with your health, I believe you!”

Gu Nanbei paused, then let out a light laugh. “Okay.”

At this moment, she was sitting in a rattan chair. On the floor by her feet were several empty white glass cups. They weren’t broken, just rolling around.

After a long moment, she leaned down, picked up the cups, and put them away. She drank the milk that was a substitute for medicine, took a few deep breaths, and felt a lot calmer inside.

…

On the other side, after Gu Nanbei’s invitation, Xu Anran was both confused and excited. She lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

Half an hour later, Xu Anran got up and called Yu Jinling.

She told Yu Jinling everything.

Yu Jinling was at work.

Her eyes widened in shock. “Xu Anran! You better tell me the truth. What have you been doing abroad? You’re already at the ‘meet the family’ stage!”

Xu Anran didn’t have much to say, and she felt it was fast too.

She felt like her and Gu Nanbei’s relationship was on fast-forward, and Gu Nanbei was the one with the remote control, posing in place and waiting for her to fall into her arms.

“I don’t know whether to accept or not, so I called you,” she said.

Yu Jinling said “oh” and, after thinking for a moment, started typing furiously on her keyboard. “This is a great opportunity, Anran! Don’t back down. Go, go, go! Go for it!”

“I need to prepare,” Xu Anran said. “I don’t know what Gu Nanbei’s sister’s attitude will be toward me, what kind of person she is, or what she likes.”

“That’s true,” Yu Jinling said, calming down. “I’ve heard my mom talk about Gu Nanbei’s sister, Gu Beiyang. She’s a tough one, very hard to deal with.”

“What do you mean?” Xu Anran had looked up information on her. All she could find online were one or two photos of her in a suit, looking serious and harsh, and a simple encyclopedia entry.

There was no other information. It seemed the Gu Group had specifically scrubbed her information. Gu Beiyang was a very mysterious person, and Xu Anran couldn’t figure her out.

Yu Jinling said, “You know that the Gu Group was actually started by Gu Nanbei’s sister. Gu Nanbei only suddenly took over five years ago. Before that, her sister was even more ruthless and decisive than Gu Nanbei.”

“She was a dominating CEO too?” Xu Anran asked.

“You bet. When the Gu Group rose to power, it swallowed up a lot of companies. Some of them had good relationships with the Gu Group, but they went under just like that. I met Gu Beiyang once. She had a cold, expressionless face. She didn’t talk much.”

This description contradicted Xu Anran’s previous imagination. She shivered. “Then why did she suddenly step down?”

“I don’t know. There are many rumors. Some say it was a breakup, some say she was hiding from enemies, some say she was tired of the scheming, and others say she was sick.”

There were so many rumors. Xu Anran regretted not asking Gu Nanbei.

“Do you think her sister will like me when she sees me?”

“Don’t be a coward!” Yu Jinling yelled, slapping her desk. “You two are already practically married. Even if her sister doesn’t like you, she’ll have to accept you both. Besides, what’s wrong with you? You have a slender waist and a curvy butt. Be more confident! Get excited!”

Her voice was so loud that Xu Anran’s blood boiled. She clenched her fist, cheering herself on. “You’re right. I’ll roll up my sleeves and just go for it! Do her sister!”

“Yeah, go for it!”

“Go for what?” a voice suddenly sounded next to Yu Jinling’s ear. Then a warm body leaned over, trapping her between the person and the desk.

Yu Jinling jolted in surprise. “Qin Li! What are you doing?!”

“Nothing,” Qin Li said shamelessly, leaning closer and whispering in her ear. “My little elf, do you want to ‘go for it’ with me?”

“Are you crazy?!” Yu Jinling’s cheeks were flushed with anger and embarrassment. She pushed Qin Li with all her might, but to her surprise, Qin Li looked thin but was very strong.

She couldn’t push her away. Qin Li smirked triumphantly and pressed her chest against her.

Yu Jinling’s back stiffened. Crap, she’s big.

Qin Li rested her head on her shoulder and looked at Yu Jinling’s computer screen. “Who are you video-calling during work hours?”

Yu Jinling immediately covered the screen and said fiercely, “You pervert! Your eyes will contaminate my sister! Move your gaze away from my screen!”

“Then I’ll just look at you, okay?” Qin Li tilted her head and looked at her with adoring eyes.

“Ahhh, get away from me!” The look disgusted Yu Jinling. Her face was bright red. “I’ll report you for sexual harassment!”

“Why are you so nervous? I was just dropping off a file,” Qin Li said with a smile, tapping the file with her finger, then brushing it against the back of Yu Jinling’s hand.

“So smooth,” she said, her eyes half-closed. The intimate gesture was as if she had a special fondness for Yu Jinling’s hand. She always had to touch it and comment on it.

Yu Jinling jerked her hand back and yelled at her in frustration. “What’s smooth?! If you touch me again, I’ll chop off your pig trotters!”

So Qin Li touched her again.

Yu Jinling exploded!

Qin Li laughed with delight. She stood up, walked to the door, then turned back and said affectionately, “It’s okay if you don’t finish your work. How about we spend the night at the office? The office can be a fun place too!”

“Get out!” Yu Jinling grabbed a crumpled piece of paper and threw it at her.

Although Yu Jinling had covered the screen, the camera was still on, and Xu Anran had watched their entire interaction. She held her chin, sighing in amazement. Her silly friend must be having a spring fling.

“Girl, you two are moving pretty fast too. A lonely girl and a lonely woman wanting to have fun in the office? Something’s definitely going on. Tell me the truth!”

“Who wants that?!” Yu Jinling was about to cry from frustration. “I was almost done with my work, but Qin Li is a lunatic. She keeps coming into my office at the worst times. And she just stares at me… Ugh, now I have to work late again.”

“Tsk tsk. It seems she has bad intentions for you,” Xu Anran concluded. “My little elf, Qin Li is interested in you. I think she wants to date you.”

“No!” Yu Jinling said, shaking her head seriously. “She wants to sleep with me and then steal secrets for my stepmom. Does she look like she’s trying to court me?”

“Then what do you think ‘courting’ looks like?”

Yu Jinling opened a document. “Flowers, movies, shopping! Okay, I’m done talking. I need to get back to work. I’ll tell you the rest later!”

“You’re too naive! Someone’s going to eat you up sooner or later.” Xu Anran could tell that her friend’s words were saying she hated Qin Li, but her body was being very honest.

Xu Anran warned her again. “Be careful. Don’t let her trick you! But if you do get into a relationship, you have to tell me. I’ll approve of her for you.”

“Okay! I’ll wait for you to come back!”

The two friends said goodnight to each other and ended the video call.

Xu Anran lay in bed, thinking about what was to come. Whether to meet Gu Nanbei’s sister was a real question. She had to think it through. To win a hundred battles, you had to know yourself and your enemy.

Tomorrow, she would go see Gu Nanbei’s unfinished work.

She had to know who Gu Nanbei’s first love was, and who she wanted to “confess” to.

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