Chapter 960

“Finished!” Gu Minglan lifted the bottle; the little girl smacked her lips, rolled over, and fell fast asleep.

Gu Minglan bent down and kissed the girl’s cheek, her eyes brimming with tender love.

Jian Zhengxue leaned in to kiss too, but Gu Minglan grabbed his shoulder and pulled him out of the bedroom.

“You wake the baby and she starts wailing—will you soothe her?”

Jian Zhengxue grumbled, “Then why can you kiss her?”

Gu Minglan snorted, “I can soothe her if she cries. Can you?”

Jian Zhengxue instantly deflated: “Fine, fine, you’re always right.”

Gu Minglan cleaned the bottle and placed it in the kitchen: “I’m going to sleep.”

“Wait!” Jian Zhengxue said. “I have time during National Day. Let’s go back to Jingcheng and meet Zhou Andong’s parents.”

Gu Minglan replied, “Dongzi and Qiuqiu went to Xiangjiang, but he said he’ll return by National Day to attend an entrepreneur forum in Yangcheng. I’ll call him tomorrow and ask if he can make time to come back to Jingcheng.”

Jian Zhengxue nodded. On the first, Gu Minglan told him about Su Su’s origins and Zhou Andong.

He marveled at the tragic fate of Su Su’s mother and was stunned to learn Zhou Andong had earned two billion U.S. dollars overseas.

After the shock, a surge of pride welled up—he was, after all, Jian Zhengxue’s son-in-law.

Of course, Zhou Andong having won over his mother-in-law also lifted a heavy burden off his shoulders.

Otherwise, if his wife found out he’d secretly supported Zhou Andong and Qiuqiu’s relationship, there’d be hell to pay.

………………

The next day, Zhou Andong received a call from Gu Minglan back in China.

“Do you have time to return to Jingcheng on National Day? Your father and I will be going too.”

“Which day?” Zhou Andong leaned against the headboard, lit a cigarette.

Gu Minglan said, “Either the second or third—whichever suits your schedule.”

“No problem,” Zhou Andong said, cigarette dangling from his lips as he hugged Qiuqiu, who was listening intently on his chest. “The entrepreneur forum is on the fifth. I’ll return on the first, prepare on the second, and meet on the third.”

“Good!” Gu Minglan replied. “How’s things going there? Smooth?”

“Everything’s on schedule.”

Zhou Andong felt a tongue licking back and forth across his chest—it tickled, unbearable. He grabbed Qiuqiu’s head and held it still.

“Don’t worry, nothing will go wrong.”

“Then that’s settled,” Gu Minglan said. “I’m still cooking for the baby.”

Before Zhou Andong could reply, the dial tone buzzed in his ear.

“What are you doing?” Zhou Andong glared at Qiuqiu. “If you keep that up, I’m going to commit a crime.”

Qiuqiu stuck out her tongue, licked her lips seductively, then lifted her long, straight leg high and shot him a sultry glance.

“Fine, then—go ahead and commit a crime so I can see it.”

Zhou Andong acted on his word: he tossed the cigarette into the ashtray and pounced on Qiuqiu like a tiger descending a mountain.

……

……

……

It was already past ten in the morning. Zhou Andong patted Qiuqiu’s bouncy butt.

“Get up, it’s already ten.”

Qiuqiu lazily wrapped her arms around his neck: “Carry me to the bath.”

“Sigh!” Zhou Andong sighed, picked her up, jumped off the bed, and walked into the bathroom.

………………

September 25, 1993, Lunar Calendar: Eighth Day, Tenth; Saturday!

Whether civil servants, students, workers, or others in any profession,

after lunch break, they all flooded onto streets and alleyways to newspaper kiosks—a scene repeated nationwide.

Because today was Very Cola’s prize redemption day; newspapers in every province and city would publish the winning numbers.

Jingcheng!

Jiang Yuyue had been busy these past few days, having been invited to perform at this year’s National Day Gala—singing “Good Days.”

She had been invited to the Spring Festival Gala last year but declined for various reasons.

This time, she accepted—and would perform the song together with her company’s new recruits in a duet.

Ma Xiaotong knocked and entered the office, holding a plastic bag filled with half a bag of Very Cola bottle caps.

“Let’s go buy newspapers and redeem prizes!”

“Okay!”

Jiang Yuyue pulled open her desk drawer and pulled out another plastic bag—far larger than Ma Xiaotong’s, completely full.

The two women carried their bags out of the company. As they walked, Ma Xiaotong suddenly burst out laughing and held up her bag.

“Do you think we look stupid, carrying two big bags like this?”

Jiang Yuyue nodded seriously: “Yeah, what if we win a car and get targeted by thugs?”

Ma Xiaotong froze, then laughed uproariously, completely disregarding decorum.

“Yuyue, how did I never realize you had such a sense of humor?”

Jiang Yuyue giggled: “It’s all your fault—you came in with a bag and dragged me into this nonsense.”

“Come on!” Ma Xiaotong laughed, looping her arm through Jiang Yuyue’s. “Hurry up, or the papers might sell out.”

They headed toward the familiar newspaper kiosk. As they turned the corner, they saw a long line already forming in front of it.

“Oh my god, how are there so many people?”

Ma Xiaotong stood frozen, mouth agape.

Jiang Yuyue tugged her forward: “Hurry, or we’ll have to go farther, and we might not even get any.”

The kiosk owner was thrilled: the winning numbers were printed in the Daily, Evening, and Youth Papers.

Thanks to his foresight, he ordered fifty extra copies of each—otherwise, he’d have run out today.

“Phew!”

Finally, it was Jiang Yuyue and Ma Xiaotong’s turn. Each bought one paper, then returned to the company with their bags.

Sitting face to face in the office, they found the winning numbers and began checking bottle caps one by one.

“Oh! I won a rice cooker!”

As soon as she picked up her third cap, Ma Xiaotong cried out excitedly.

Jiang Yuyue said, “You’re thrilled over a rice cooker? What if you actually win a car—you’ll fly straight to the ceiling.”

“You don’t get it,” Ma Xiaotong boasted. “Winning so fast is a great omen—I’m definitely going to win the big prize. Even if I don’t get the car, I’ll get a motorcycle.”

“Good!” Jiang Yuyue smiled. “Wishing you great success and a big win.”

“You bet!” Ma Xiaotong shouted. “Just watch me.”

But when they finished checking all the numbers, Ma Xiaotong had only won the rice cooker, and Jiang Yuyue won nothing at all.

“Sigh!”

Jiang Yuyue sighed: “My luck really sucks.”

Ma Xiaotong also slumped, shaking her head: “We’ll buy more—I refuse to believe I won’t win.”

“Xiaotong, didn’t you copy down the number on Yang Xiaoju’s bottle cap? Check if it won.”

Jiang Yuyue remembered and mentioned it. Ma Xiaotong didn’t expect much, dug through the bag, found a slip of paper with a string of numbers.

She glanced at it casually—then glanced again—her expression changed, her body straightened, her hand holding the paper trembling.