MGASC -Chapter 225 Little Sister Is Always the Best — How Will You Ever Find a Wife Later?

Gu Yu came downstairs to say goodbye to Zhang Qiao. Seeing how adorable Xia Xia was, he couldn’t resist reaching out to pat her cute little sprout pigtails.

“Gu Yu, thanks for your hard work today,” Zhang Qiao said politely.

“Not at all.” Gu Yu waved it off casually. Then he called over his little follower, took the briefcase from him, pulled out several property deeds, and slapped them down in front of Zhang Qiao. “Sister-in-law, these are for you. Keep them.”

Zhang Qiao took them and looked. “These are… property deeds?”

Gu Yu lifted his brows proudly. “That’s right. Last time, after listening to your advice, I used both my income and Brother Yue’s to buy some properties in Shanghai and the capital. Nothing too expensive—just investments. That way, wherever we go in the future, we’ll have a place to stay. The one in Jiangcheng is my gift to you and my little niece. Sister-in-law, just keep the deeds. Don’t be polite with me.”

Zhang Qiao flipped through them in astonishment—courtyard houses in the capital, little Western-style villas in Shanghai, all privately owned. And the Jiangcheng one was a neat, square-shaped small villa.

“These were all bought with Tianyue’s money?” she asked, barely hiding her excitement.

“Of course.”

“That’s wonderful!”

“What? Brother Yue didn’t tell you? Tsk, hiding private savings from you. If I were you, Sister-in-law, I’d make him kneel on a washboard tonight!”

Gu Yu joked a bit more, gave a few more reminders, and then went off to catch up with Grandma Gu.

Zhang Qiao quickly put the deeds away. Though she appeared calm on the outside, inside she was bursting with joy.

So many houses! Ahhhhh! Does this mean I can just lie flat for the rest of my life and not struggle anymore?

Lin Tianyue really was something—quietly accomplishing big things without a word.

“Mom, why are you secretly smiling?” Lin Ran noticed her barely contained glee and came over to investigate.

“I’m not smiling… Is it that obvious?”

She felt a little embarrassed in front of her child.

Lin Ran nodded. “Mom, you look really happy.”

Zhang Qiao couldn’t help herself. She lowered her head and whispered to him, “Let me tell you some good news—we’re rich.”

Lin Ran: “???”

“Huh? Why don’t you seem surprised?”

“Mom, hasn’t our family always been getting richer?”

“This time it’s different.”

Lin Ran twitched his lips. To him, it all seemed the same. But their “mom” was becoming more and more of a little money-lover.

Still, a money-loving mom was pretty cute.

Zhang Qiao looked around but didn’t see the eldest. “Huh? Where’s Lin Xun?”

“Oh, he went to see Uncle Zhou and Xiaoxiao off.”

Zhang Qiao let out an “Oh,” and smiled meaningfully.

But Lin Ran suddenly grumbled, “Snob.”

“Lin Ran, who are you talking about?”

He puffed up his cheeks. “My brother! Mom, haven’t you noticed how nice he is to Zhou Xiaoxiao? Today he was practically her little attendant. Isn’t it just because her dad’s a high-ranking official?”

Zhang Qiao burst out laughing.

“Lin Ran, you only see that her dad’s an official. Why don’t you see that Xiaoxiao is pretty too?”

“Uh… is she?” Lin Ran scratched his head. “I still think little sister is prettier.”

As he spoke, he reached for Xia Xia. “Xia Xia, come here, let big brother hold you!”

Zhang Qiao thought to herself: See? Another sister-con. If everything is always ‘little sister is the best,’ how will you ever find a wife in the future?

Just then, Zhang Ling came over and pulled her and Xia Xia inside. “Qiaoqiao, it’s cold by the door. Take Xia Xia upstairs and rest. I’ll handle things down here. Lin Ran, you go up too and play with your sister.”

It was indeed a bit chilly. Zhang Qiao hugged Xia Xia tighter. “Sister, you’ve worked hard today.”

“What are you saying? Go upstairs!”

Zhang Ling went in and out, seeing off the guests who had come from their hometown.

The wintersweet blossoms by the door were blooming even more beautifully. She took a few glances at them and was about to head back in when she suddenly heard a familiar voice—

“Zhang Ling!”

She turned abruptly and froze at the sight of the person standing outside the door.

It was Xu Liang.

Since the divorce, Zhang Ling hadn’t seen him for a long time.

At least three or four months. Xu Liang was wearing a gray padded jacket. His hair was longer than before, and he looked thinner, somewhat haggard.

With a hat on his head, she almost didn’t recognize him at first glance.

“Xu Liang, why are you here?”

She stepped forward, worried that he might be here to cause trouble.

Today was Lin Tianyue and Zhang Qiao’s big day. As the elder sister, she wouldn’t allow anyone to spoil it.

Her guarded gaze stung Xu Liang.

He stayed where he was and didn’t step any closer.

“Zhang Ling, I heard from people in the village that Zhang Qiao and Lin Tianyue are hosting a banquet for the child today. I… I used to be the child’s uncle-in-law, after all. I happened to be in the city, so I came by to take a look.”

He fumbled in his pocket for a long time and pulled out twenty yuan, carefully handing it to her. “Um… I won’t go in. Just give this to Zhang Qiao for me. It’s not much—just… a small token of my sincerity.”

Zhang Ling hadn’t expected that he had come to give a gift.

Looking at the twenty yuan, her feelings were complicated.

“No need. Your thought is enough.”

“You should still take it…”

Xu Liang walked over and firmly pressed the money into her hand.

The two thin bills felt strangely heavy and prickly in her palm.

After a moment of eye contact, she couldn’t help but ask politely, “How have you been?”

Xu Liang pressed his lips together. Facing his ex-wife’s question, he looked like he had grievances he couldn’t voice.

“Just… the same.”

“You… when are you and that Teacher Liu—Liu Duoduo—planning to get married? Her family is from Jiangcheng, right? Did you come to see her?”

At the mention of Liu Duoduo, Xu Liang’s face darkened. “Don’t bring her up. Compared to you, she’s far worse. Her temper’s terrible, like some spoiled rich girl. I came all this way to see her out of kindness, and in this freezing weather, she wouldn’t even meet me. And between the lines, she thinks I’m embarrassing. Zhang Ling, tell me—how am I embarrassing her? I’ve seen through it now. You just can’t marry city people. Every one of them so arrogant… and her parents’ attitude, damn it…”

Xu Liang was full of resentment but couldn’t continue. He just stared blankly at Zhang Ling.

She had changed so much.

In truth, he had been pacing outside the restaurant for a long time, secretly watching her.

Watching her graciously escort guest after guest out, smiling the whole time, her eyes and brows filled with a composure and confidence he had never seen before.

Could people grow younger against time?

Zhang Ling seemed like a different person. Her back was straight, dressed in beautiful clothes, wearing light, appropriate makeup, her dark hair neatly pinned up. She was clearly the same person, yet not a trace remained of her former timidity and hesitation.

Instead, Xu Liang suddenly saw again the girl who had made him fall in love at first sight when they first met.

Even more captivating than back then.

After the divorce, dealing with the willful and bad-tempered Liu Duoduo, he hadn’t gone a single day without regret. But at this moment, that regret felt like it would swallow him whole.

He opened his mouth. “Zhang Ling, I must have been out of my mind. How could I ever think Liu Duoduo was better than you? She… she can’t compare to you at all.”

Zhang Ling listened calmly to his complaints. When the topic suddenly shifted to her, she didn’t know how to respond. She only felt that the man before her looked somewhat pitiful.

The last trace of pride and aloofness she once associated with Xu Liang was rapidly crumbling.

Xu Liang took another step forward. “Zhang Ling, we…”