Bai Yunâs gaze towards him was always affectionate, but he didnât like her at all.
Although they were neighbors, Bai Yunâs scheming and pretentiousness made him feel that girls could sometimes be really detestable.
Itâs not wrong to like him, but she constantly used his sister and mother, which made him very disgusted.
However, Bai Yunâs behavior was faultless, and besides, he was rarely at home, so he didnât bother to care.
So when Bai Yun spoke gently to him, he simply frowned, lightly responded with an "hmm," and walked into his house.
When he entered the house and stood in the living room, through the window, he could faintly see the figure outside the large iron gate. He turned around with a blank expression.
At that moment, Gu Qiaoqiao was hiding in the bedroom and had not come out. He didnât want to see her either, so he sat in the living room watching TV.
His father looked at him, hesitating to speak, but ultimately only sighed.
Meanwhile, his mother and grandmother were busy in the kitchen preparing for the family banquet the next day.
Tomorrow, Great Grandfather and Second Uncle and Third Uncleâs families would come for a meal.
It was like this every New Yearâs Day.
But no one expected that this yearâs New Yearâs Day would turn into a farce.
Gu Qiaoqiao, on a whim, suddenly knelt before Great Grandfather, crying and accusing him of coldness and indifference, questioning if he had a woman outside, demanding Old Grand Master Qin to stand up for her...
Predictably, Great Grandfather flew into a rage.
Firstly, because today was New Yearâs Day, the day he valued the most, itâs the beginning of the most important day of the year, yet his great-granddaughter-in-law was crying in front of him.
She accused him of having a woman outside, baselessly, leading to Second Uncle and Third Uncleâs families watching the farce.
Moreover, she forgot that it was New Yearâs Day, crying miserably, a major taboo for Great Grandfather.
Great Grandfather couldnât blame Gu Qiaoqiao, so he pointed at his father and furiously cursed the family misfortune...
The scene that day was chaotic, so chaotic that he couldnât recall some details.
But from that day on, he truly became disappointed in Gu Qiaoqiao.
Furthermore, the relationship between Gu Qiaoqiao and the family grew more awkward.
In this household, she seemed not to even have a place to stand; only his grandmother treated her kindly, forbidding his parents from scolding her, saying the child was still young, needing gradual guidance...
But this didnât solve the problem.
His mother treated her coldly as ice, while Xiao Yu was sarcastic and biting.
Gu Qiaoqiao, being treated this way, made him feel uncomfortable inside.
A feeling of suffocation.
He couldnât articulate why he felt uncomfortable, but if there was a problem, it needed solving, so he called his superior, applying for a house.
Initially, he didnât plan to do this.
The Border City Base is too harsh, the conditions poor, and he feared she wouldnât endure hardship.
On the second and third days of the New Year, Gu Qiaoqiao was especially quiet, her mood greatly dispirited, perhaps due to Great Grandfatherâs rebuke and the mockery from Second Aunt and Third Aunt. She should have realized some things are right to do and others not.
So, these days, the home was tranquil.
On the evening of the third day, Bai Yun took her and Xiao Yu to Brother Haoâs newly opened KTV, the first in the Imperial Capital, to sing. Back then, everyone called it karaoke.
Originally, it was supposed to be a calm day, but unexpectedly, it turned into another chaotic night, leaving him filled with regret and self-blame.