Miss Wheelchair - Chapter 20

The two of them sat in the grand lobby for half an hour. Instead of Gu Peisheng, they were greeted by the brother who was a year younger than Gu Ci—Gu Gu.

“Why is his name Gu Gu? That’s a bit of a tongue-twister.” Tan Xin wondered. Shouldn’t a useless NPC like this usually be named something completely over-the-top, like “Aotian”?

“When he was a few months old, he had a medical checkup that showed poor bone density. So they named him ‘Gu’ for bones. The idea was to supplement whatever he was lacking,” Gu Ci explained.

“So, if his brain was lacking, they would have named him ‘Gu Nao’ for brains?” Tan Xin reasonably deduced.

Gu Ci fell silent.

Gu Gu made his grand entrance from the second-floor corridor.

He was wearing a deep purple, vertical-striped suit, his hair heavily gelled back into a slick pompadour, and an oversized faux-fur coat thrown over his shoulders. His style looked exactly like a 1990s nouveau riche stereotype, making him look remarkably like a polar bear.

“Oh, look who’s back. Gu Ci?”

The tall, lanky man slid his sunglasses up to the top of his head, revealing a sickly pale face that did indeed look far from healthy. Standing tall with his chest puffed out, he descended the spiral staircase, every single step oozing unearned confidence.

Tan Xin felt as though a thousand needles were stabbing her eyes. She whispered to Gu Ci, “Is his health really that terrible?”

Autumn had barely even begun, yet he had already dragged out a massive fur coat.

Gu Ci let out a cold smirk. “Like I told you, they are incredibly easy to deal with.”

No brains, but plenty of entertainment value.

She then raised her voice, addressing the man on the stairs, “Xiao Gu, waking up this late? How have things been lately?”

Gu Gu stroked the soft faux fur on his shoulder, his brow arching as he replied lazily, “I didn’t just wake up. I’ve been busy all morning managing an 80-million-yuan project. As you know, Dad is going to pass the company down to me, so

I have to work hard to make sure no one else finds an opportunity to worm their way in.”

Tan Xin found this incredibly strange. Playing dumb, she asked honestly, “But didn’t you just walk out of your bedroom?”

Sliiiip!

His leather shoe lost its footing, slipping down to the next step. Gu Gu, entirely unfazed, quickly recovered and continued, “Heh. That room is not a bedroom; it’s the study. You must be Miss Tan, right? I’ve seen you online. I heard your family comes from a completely ordinary working-class background. If that’s the case, it’s only natural that you don’t understand the layout of a grand estate. I will graciously overlook your ignorance and forgive you.”

He walked closer to the two of them, glancing at the tea inside the short-circuiting mug on the coffee table, and let out a disdainful scoff. “Is this trash what they served you?”

He then barked a loud command into the house, “Maid! Bring out the Royal Jamaica coffee I brought back last time. Grind it fresh, and remember to brew it using the Arctic glacier spring water that arrived this morning. Only that can preserve the proper flavor texture.”

Tan Xin turned a helpless look toward Gu Ci—she swore on her life that in all the CEO novels and short dramas she had ever consumed, she had never heard a sequence of words quite like this.

“You can brew coffee with glacier water?” She whispered.

Gu Gu let out a condescending laugh. “Heh, you wouldn’t understand, would you? Ordinary spring water won’t do, but the glacier water I brought back utilizes the latest American small-molecule technology to preserve its freshness. Once heated, it retains the crisp aroma of the springs. Sister, next time you date someone, can you please find someone who has at least seen a bit of the world? Talking to her is exhausting.”

Gu Ci coldly exposed him, “Wearing layers that thick, who wouldn’t be exhausted talking to you?”

Gu Gu let out a sharp huff, stroking his fur coat defensively. “What do you two know? This is the latest winter release from WH. Not only is it insanely expensive, but you also need connections just to get on the waiting list. Someone like Tan Xin could never buy it in her lifetime. By the way, what time is it?”

Tan Xin pulled out her phone. “10:42.”

Gu Gu dramatically raised his left arm, rolling his sleeve way up past his wrist and twisting his forearm a few times before saying with gravity, “That can’t be right. Why does my watch say 10:50?”

With that, he strutted over to Tan Xin and thrust his wrist directly in front of her face. “Look for yourself. Isn’t it 50?”

Tan Xin glanced at the watch face. The overly complicated mechanical gears and hands completely overwhelmed the design. It took her several seconds just to locate the actual minute hand. It did indeed say 50, so she said, “Your watch is fast. Beijing time is 42. Oh, actually, it’s 43 now.”

Gu Gu looked utterly satisfied. “I knew you were going to ask what makes my watch so special.”

Tan Xin shot an incredulous look at Gu Ci—I didn’t ask!

Gu Gu remained completely immersed in his own world. “This watch of mine is an authentic, handcrafted piece. It’s easily worth half a lifetime of your parents’ salary. It looks beautiful, but it’s a bit style-over-substance, so I later had someone customize it. A customized luxury watch—do you even know what that means? Do you understand the concept of customization?”

Tan Xin nodded. “I do.”

Gu Gu looked skeptical. “You do?”

Tan Xin answered with absolute earnestness, “Dr. Agasa made one. It lets you shoot tranquilizer needles into people so you can solve detective cases.”

“Who the hell is Dr. Agasa?”

“You’ve never watched Detective Conan?”

Not only does this guy lack a brain, but he didn’t even have a childhood.

Gu Gu’s face stiffened. He stood frozen for a good few seconds before forcing his wealthy-young-master expression back onto his face. “Whatever. I won’t lower myself to argue with a country bumpkin like you. I forgive you.”

Tan Xin was baffled. “Forgive me for what?” She didn’t even know what she had done wrong.

Gu Gu pulled out a business card, holding it out with an air of supreme arrogance. “Don’t ask questions, woman. Either way, I forgive you. Here’s my card. If you ever find yourself in a tight spot, give your big brother a call. I’ll smooth things over for you.”

Tan Xin was completely at a loss for words. She looked at Gu Ci, who gave her a subtle shake of her head.

Don’t engage, don’t pay attention, don’t take him seriously. Just treat him like a free comedy show.

Seeing that his grand performance wasn’t receiving any audience feedback, Gu Gu felt a bit bored. He reached into his fur coat, pulled out his phone, and immediately launched into a brand-new script:

“Hello? Professor Luther? Oh right, it’s me, it’s me! That painting was just a momentary whim of mine. If you like it, I’m setting up a gallery next month and I’d love to invite you to visit. Oh, how could I be so fortunate as to have dinner with your daughter, America’s national treasure and Oscar-winning actress, Miss Roman? What’s that? If I don’t show up, Miss Roman won’t even touch her food? Oh heavens, it looks like I absolutely must attend then.”

He held the phone, talking loudly and laughing heartily with the fictional “Professor Luther” on the other end, when suddenly—

His phone started ringing!

Right in the middle of his intense phone call, his ringtone blasted through the room!

Gu Gu awkwardly scrambled to keep up his act, “Oh, Professor Luther, Mr. Pranda is calling me on the other line. Please allow me to pause our wonderful conversation. My deepest apologies.”

He then quickly answered the call, which showed absolutely no caller ID on the screen: “Mr. Pranda? Hello, hello! Regarding the project you mentioned earlier, I feel an 80-million investment isn’t quite enough. I’d like to increase it to 100 million. What do you think?”

A female voice drifted from the speaker, “Sounds good.”

The voice didn’t just come from the speaker—it resonated simultaneously in the physical space right next to his ear. Turning his head, he saw Tan Xin holding his business card in one hand and her phone in the other, offering him an incredibly sheepish smile.

“I just wanted to test if the number on the card was real.”

At this point, Gu Gu could no longer maintain his facade. Forcing himself to save face, he barked out, “I must have remembered the number wrong. I’ll go call Mr. Pranda right now!” And scrambled frantically back up the stairs.

He even tripped and fell at the landing.

Watching his retreating, panicked figure, Tan Xin sighed, “He really should have been named ‘Gu Nao’.”

Gu Ci shrugged. “Like I said—they’re incredibly easy to deal with.”