Chapter 100: Chapter 100: Delivering Mooncakes

"You’re so clumsy, the filling is leaking out," Gu Muxue said, taking the dough from Xue Rui’s hands.

"This is so hard," Xue Rui said with a troubled look.

The ingredients for the mooncakes had been prepared in advance by the restaurant’s chefs.

He had thought making mooncakes would be simple. He usually saw the chefs casually knead the dough, put it in a mold, and press it down.

But when he tried it himself, he either broke the mooncake skin or it got stuck to the mold. It wasn’t nearly as easy as it looked.

In truth, the main reason was that Xue Rui wasn’t focusing on it at all. He was busy thinking if there were any loopholes in his game plan.

Gu Muxue finished pressing another mooncake, placed it carefully on the tray, and asked casually, "You don’t go to evening self-study. Where have you been?"

Xue Rui’s hands paused. ’Our classrooms are only separated by a wall. Someone’s bound to find out sooner or later.’

Xue Rui didn’t answer right away. After a quick brainstorm, he sighed. "I’m afraid Chen Tingting will affect my studies, so I’ve been hiding in my dorm to study every day."

"That’s good, then." The corners of Gu Muxue’s mouth turned up. ’Xue Rui’s grades have improved a lot this time. He actually listened to my advice.’

"Honestly, that Chen Tingting... I don’t know what she sees in you," Gu Muxue said, sizing Xue Rui up.

’Don’t girls these days just care about looks?’

’Xue Rui’s looks aren’t exactly outstanding. Besides being a bit tall, there’s nothing particularly special about him...’

"You’re right. Anyone who falls for me must have a screw loose," Xue Rui immediately said, putting himself down.

Gu Muxue’s delicate brows immediately shot up. ’What kind of nonsense is he talking?’

She instinctively wanted to retort, but she held back. She had a feeling his words were a trap.

Xue Rui smiled and slid the tray into the oven. ’This girl is so sharp,’ he thought. ’Her reflexes are incredibly fast.’

’If it were Lin Ruoxi, she’d probably be stammering out some sort of explanation right now.’

After a while, the mooncakes were baked, giving off a sweet, rich aroma.

To be precise, the two of them had only come to knead the dough, and due to their lack of skill, many of the mooncakes had cracks.

"Why are so many of them cracked?" Gu Muxue asked, a little disappointed.

Xue Rui picked up a mooncake and said with a grin, "Muxue, why don’t you call Uncle Gu and see if he’s home today?"

Something must have gone wrong during the baking process. A chef had tried to give them a reminder earlier, but Xue Rui had waved him off.

But the cracks weren’t important. In fact, the uglier they looked, the more it proved they weren’t store-bought.

Gu Muxue was very disappointed, but Xue Rui was quite pleased.

"My dad’s home. He even asked me what I wanted to eat this afternoon."

"Good. We’re going to your house now."

"Go now?" 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Gu Muxue grew a little nervous. They were only in their second year of high school. Wasn’t this a bit too soon?

"Xiaorui, maybe we should forget it. We can always do this after we get into college," Gu Muxue urged in a small voice.

’Gu Qingshan’s attitude toward Xue Rui was just... too much.’

Old Gu was still holding a grudge about the time Xue Rui took her to the snack street, and he often warned her not to go out with boys at night.

She knew that "boys" really just meant Xue Rui.

Now Xue Rui was about to go to her house, and she was afraid Old Gu would throw him out.

She didn’t want Old Gu to be angry, but she also didn’t want Xue Rui to be mistreated.

"We’re going today," Xue Rui said resolutely.

’Wait until college? By then, it’ll be too late.’

"Oh," Gu Muxue murmured.

It was the first time she had ever seen Xue Rui be so serious about something.

She now felt a mix of excitement, nervousness, and a trace of worry.

The driver was waiting outside the restaurant. After they got in the car, Gu Muxue was on pins and needles.

"Xiaorui, if my dad says something harsh later, please don’t take it to heart."

Gu Muxue was trying to give Xue Rui a heads-up.

"How could he? Uncle Gu seems like such a refined and gentle person," Xue Rui said with a smile.

"I’m just saying, if. You get it, right?"

"There is no ’if’."

...

Soon, the two arrived in front of a villa.

It was almost seven o’clock, and the sky was gradually growing dark.

Xue Rui was carrying a large paper bag. Inside were the mooncakes they had just baked, along with a bottle of Maotai and a carton of He Tian Xia cigarettes.

He had gotten the cigarettes and alcohol from the restaurant and charged them to his father’s account.

Ren Jun had already taken the fall for the last time he’d taken some.

This time, he would just say it was a gift for Gu Qingshan. Xue Rui was confident his old man wouldn’t object.

After all, just a while ago, Xie Jianfeng had been egging him on to win Gu Qingshan’s daughter’s heart.

What was a little support in the form of cigarettes and alcohol?

Meanwhile, Gu Muxue carried an exquisite pastry gift box. Inside were some seasonal southern pastries, like plum blossom cakes.

Xue Rui knew that Zhao Lizhen was from Jiangnan, so he had specially sought these out. The restaurant didn’t have them, so he’d had someone buy them from outside.

For someone like Zhao Lizhen, who came from a prominent family, the monetary value of a gift was irrelevant; what mattered was the sentiment behind it.

For Gu Qingshan, however, Xue Rui had chosen a higher-end brand of cigarettes and alcohol. After all, if you were going to ask someone for a favor, you had to show the proper respect.

"Please leave, Mr. Gu is not home," a housekeeper said as she pushed a man out the door.

"I saw him! Just let me in, please. Be a little flexible," the man said, pulling out an envelope and trying to shove it into the housekeeper’s hands with an eager-to-please expression.

"I said no. You’ll get me fired doing this."

The housekeeper threw the envelope on the ground and pointed at the security camera by the door.

"SIGH..." The middle-aged man picked up the envelope and walked dejectedly in Xue Rui’s direction.

As he passed, the two made eye contact.

Xue Rui noticed the man was carrying something similar to him—a large paper bag.

Xue Rui didn’t even need to guess what was inside.

Seeing that Xue Rui was carrying a similar package, the man gave a bitter smile. "What is the world coming to? Even students are giving gifts now."

"I’d advise you to go back. Director Gu won’t accept it."

Xue Rui just smiled without answering and continued toward the villa.

With a troubled expression, the man sat down on the curb and lit a cigarette for himself.

Then, he watched as the housekeeper welcomed Xue Rui inside with a beaming smile.

"Wait, what? How come?"

The man angrily smashed his cigarette butt on the ground.

After he entered, the housekeeper gave Xue Rui a strange look.

With the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, there had been an endless stream of people coming to give gifts, like flies you couldn’t shoo away.

The things this kid was carrying were obviously gifts, but he was wearing the same school uniform as Gu Muxue. He was clearly a classmate.

Should she kick him out or not? She wasn’t sure what to do.

"Are Uncle Gu and Aunt Zhao home?" Xue Rui asked, despite already knowing the answer.

Gu Muxue frowned. ’Didn’t I just tell him that a minute ago?’

"Xue Rui?"

Gu Qingshan, who was sitting on the sofa watching TV, frowned the moment he saw Xue Rui walk in with Gu Muxue.

"Uncle Gu, since the Mid-Autumn Festival is here, I came to bring some mooncakes for you and Auntie."

Xue Rui took the gift box from Gu Muxue’s hands and, smiling, placed the items in a corner of the coffee table. However, he deliberately placed the box of pastries right on the table.

The housekeeper’s expression instantly softened. So he was a friend they knew.

"Xiaoliu, take Muxue to eat first," Gu Qingshan said, giving her a look.

"I’m not hungry, we just..." Gu Muxue began to explain.

However, Aunt Liu understood the situation. She pulled Gu Muxue away, saying, "Muxue, let’s go wash your hands first."

Gu Qingshan didn’t even glance at the gifts, simply saying in a cold voice, "Take them back. We have plenty of mooncakes at home."

"Uncle Gu, you can’t say that. This box of pastries is a special gift for Aunt Zhao. If anyone’s going to refuse it, it should be her," Xue Rui said with a smile.

"And what about this?" Gu Qingshan shot a cold glance.

The mouth of the bag was open, revealing its contents.

’Xue Rui was cut from the exact same cloth as Xie Jianfeng. That kind of person is fine as a sworn brother, but as a son-in-law? He’d go crazy.’

Gu Qingshan was already prepared. If this kid so much as mentioned his daughter, he would throw him out immediately.

"These are mooncakes that Muxue and I specially made for you," Xue Rui said, pulling a bag of mooncakes out of the paper bag.

The mooncakes for Gu Qingshan were very plainly packaged, just wrapped in a plastic bag. Through it, one could clearly see the uneven coloring and the cracks in the pastries.

Gu Qingshan was taken aback. ’My daughter made these mooncakes?’

’Okay, this he couldn’t refuse.’

Gu Qingshan paused in thought. "I’ll accept the mooncakes."

"I got this liquor from my dad. He seems to have had it stored for years, like it’s something really precious," Xue Rui said in a low voice.

"Hmm?" Gu Qingshan made a soft sound of surprise. Suddenly, he felt that maybe he could accept the liquor after all.

"Dad, I made those mooncakes. Have a taste and see if they’re good."

Gu Muxue came over holding a rice bowl, her eyes darting back and forth between the two of them.

Gu Qingshan’s mouth twitched. ’He had just managed to send Gu Muxue away, and now she’s back again?’

"Xue’er, have you finished your homework?" Gu Qingshan asked.

"Finished." Gu Muxue plopped down on the sofa, making it clear she wasn’t leaving.

"Muxue, I can’t find my first-year physics book. Didn’t you say I could borrow yours?" Xue Rui spoke up.

"Did I?" Gu Muxue looked confused. ’When did Xue Rui ever mention that to her?’

"Yes, you did," Xue Rui nodded.

"Oh, I’ll go look for it." Gu Muxue finally caught on. Both of them wanted to send her away.

’But since Xue Rui seemed so confident, it was probably best for her not to get in the way.’

Gu Muxue left with her rice bowl, looking back every few steps as she went.

Gu Qingshan was grinding his teeth in frustration.

There was nothing more painful for a father than when his daughter ignored his words, only to listen when another man spoke.

"Uncle Gu, I believe that for a student, academics are the most important thing."

Xue Rui stated an incredibly obvious truth.

"Mm," Gu Qingshan nodded, his expression softening slightly.

"Of course, for a man, a career is what’s most important," Xue Rui said seriously.

"A career?" A flash of surprise appeared in Gu Qingshan’s eyes.

’Is that something a high school student should be saying?’

"I’ve recently developed a game, but I don’t understand a lot of the paperwork and legal procedures involved. I came here specifically to ask for your advice, Uncle Gu," Xue Rui said with a sincere attitude.

"Is that so?" Gu Qingshan was instantly relieved. So, Xue Rui had another purpose for visiting today.

"Yes. For example, questions about registering a company, the process for trademarking a word mark, what class I should register it under..."

Xue Rui laid out his questions.

In truth, he already understood most of this; it was just that his current status made things difficult to handle.

"At your age, you can actually register a company, but you can’t be the legal representative."

"I know that. I was hoping to ask, Uncle Gu, if you know any reliable agencies."

"I have to attend school now, so I don’t have much time to handle the paperwork."