Chapter 78: Brother
The fingerprint lock still worked. Shen Xi carefully stepped into the house, looking around.
"Hey! Where is everyone? Butler Wang?"
She called out cautiously, but only the empty house echoed back. If the lights weren’t on, she would’ve thought she had walked into a ghost story.
"Strange, where did everyone go?"
Muttering to herself, she started putting the soda she had bought from the supermarket into the fridge.
Before she could finish, her phone vibrated. It was a message from Butler Wang.
"Apologies, Madam. The plane just landed, and I forgot to inform you. There's no one at home."
"These days are our villa staff’s annual vacation. It’s a special benefit given by Sir."
Shen Xi stared at the message, dumbfounded. What kind of job had such amazing perks? Why didn’t she ever come across one like this in her past life?
Wasn’t it common for servants in wealthy families to work year-round, on standby 24/7? Otherwise, how would those dramatic romance stories play out?
At the very least, there should be shifts, right? This was weird. Maybe it was because her big brother was especially generous to his employees?
But… wasn’t she considered a worker too? Why didn’t anyone take her along? Or had she just gone out at the wrong time and missed it?
Oh well, nothing to worry about. She had survived just fine alone in her past life. Worst case scenario, she still had tens of thousands in cash, she could live comfortably.
Heh.
A mansion worth billions, and it belonged to her alone right now.
After placing the soda in the fridge, she was about to close the door when she suddenly felt thirsty. Grabbing a can, she popped it open.
"Psshh—"
Lifting her head, she took a refreshing gulp.
"Madam, back from your wild adventures?"
A deep, familiar male voice sounded from behind her.
"Pfft—!"
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Shen Xi was completely unprepared. The soda she had just taken a sip of almost sprayed out, but instead, she ended up choking on it.
Not funny!
Who the heck was messing with her while she was drinking her "happy water"?
She turned around with wide eyes and saw a man leaning casually against the wall right behind her. His black shirt was unbuttoned slightly at the collar, revealing well-defined collarbones. His tie hung loosely around his neck, giving him a relaxed, effortless look. Completely different from the sharp and imposing presence he had outside.
Their eyes met. Shen Xi blinked. For some reason, the man looked a little… well, kinda handsome today.
"Did you really have to say it… in such an awful way?"
Her voice unconsciously softened, like a guilty little cat caught sneaking a snack. Awkwardly, she wiped the soda off the corner of her mouth. After a slight pause, she tilted her head and asked with some confusion,
"Big Brother, weren’t you abroad?"
The man raised an eyebrow, his lips curling into a half-smile.
"This is my house. Am I not allowed to come back?"
Shen Xi was momentarily speechless. Looking closely, she noticed faint dark circles around Gu Hanling’s eyes.
Sigh. These classic 'domineering CEO' quirks are a real pain to deal with.
"I'm hungry."
"Huh?"
She blinked, not immediately processing his words.
"You took my 20,000 deposit. Where’s my exclusive fried rice?"
"Hiss—"
Shen Xi sucked in a sharp breath and instinctively smacked her forehead. Now that he mentioned it, she actually remembered.
Wow. So he really kept track of that. Typical capitalist, never lets himself take a loss.
With all the servants gone, the "cuddle pillow" had now been promoted to babysitter. She let out a dry chuckle.
"Of course, of course, I remember. Just wait, watch how your little brother shows off some skills!"
"Hmm?"
Gu Hanling frowned slightly, a bit confused by how she referred to herself.
Uh… Shen Xi also realized it sounded off. She forced a smile and quickly corrected herself.
"I meant, Brother Gu… just wait, I’ll show you what I got."
When she called him "Brother Gu," the man's expression shifted slightly, but he said in a faint tone,
"Alright."
Shen Xi rushed into the kitchen, tying an apron around her waist as she mumbled to herself. Usually, the house had top-tier chefs preparing meals, on par with those in five-star hotels.
She had lived alone in her past life, so she did know how to cook simple meals. But compared to a professional chef? Not a chance. This was going to be a challenge...
She quickly pulled ingredients from the large fridge, washing them as she casually asked the man, who was watching her with interest from not too far away.
"Brother Gu, do you like spicy food?"
"Up to you."
Gu Hanling's eyes narrowed slightly, as if he quite enjoyed hearing her call him that.
As he watched her move around the kitchen, his gaze never left the slender figure wrapped in an apron. There was a hint of amusement at the corner of his lips.
He bet Shi Jingyan has never been treated like this before. Hah.
Shen Xi pursed her lips. She had a reason for calling him "brother."
Which men could resist a sweet and delicate woman calling them that? If she was being honest, she wouldn’t have stood a chance herself in her past life.
Her only goal was to get him to go easy on her and not nitpick too much. For a second, she even thought, maybe 20,000 for a bowl of fried rice was too cheap!
Of course, not just anyone could get away with calling Gu Hanling "brother." Take Feng Weiwei, for example, she had been calling him "Brother Han" for years, and he never seemed to care.
...........................................................Notes:
大哥 (dà gē): More often, it's used to address an older male in a social context. It conveys respect or acknowledges someone's authority.哥哥 (gēge): This is the most common and neutral term for an older brother. It carries a sense of familial closeness.
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Before long, a plate of delicious-looking fried rice was served on the table. Shen Xi, still wearing the apron, lifted her chin proudly.
"Here, special fried rice just for you. Try it, brother!"
Gu Hanling glanced down at the plate. He wouldn't even consider eating something like this elsewhere. But… He picked up a spoon and took a slow, deliberate bite.
"Not bad."
Shen Xi, standing across from him, secretly rolled her eyes. She mimicked his expression, pulling a face and silently mouthing, "Just ‘not bad,’ huh?"
But just as she finished, the man suddenly looked up at her.
Shen Xi instantly dropped the expression, replacing it with an innocent smile, her eyes curving into crescents.
Gu Hanling must have really been hungry because Shen Xi watched as he finished the entire plate of simple homemade egg fried rice.
For some reason, she felt an odd sense of accomplishment. If he ever wanted to eat it again, as long as he finished every bite, she wouldn’t mind cooking for him.
After putting down his spoon, Gu Hanling gracefully took a napkin and wiped the corner of his mouth. Then, he looked up at Shen Xi and said in a calm tone,
"You’ll handle breakfast tomorrow."
Shen Xi forced a stiff smile.
"Haha… sure."
But inside, she was screaming. Breakfast tomorrow? Wait, when did she sign up to be a full-time chef?!
But what could she do? After all, she was the "wife" he had paid a hefty price for.
It’s just… compared to the beginning, he seemed to be asking for more and more emotional labor.
After cleaning up the dishes, Shen Xi planned to relax alone on the couch and watch a replay of Masked Singer King, the variety show she had participated in.
She curled up comfortably on the soft sofa, hugging a bag of cucumber-flavored chips she had bought earlier.
But just as she was about to take a bite, she suddenly felt the cushion beside her sink slightly.
Turning her head, she saw Gu Hanling sitting next to her at some point, watching the show with interest.
Shen Xi felt uneasy.
Sitting next to my boss and watching a variety show together… this feels so weird! Someone, save me!
To ease the awkwardness, she pulled out her phone and casually scrolled through Weibo.
That’s when she saw a post about Lin Yueyue’s birthday tomorrow. Damn algorithms, always pushing posts from people she might know.
Wait… hold on.
A memory from the original story suddenly surfaced in her mind.
If she remembered correctly, Shi Jingyan’s chance to earn Gu Hanling’s favor happened at Lin Yueyue’s birthday party.
Since Lin Yueyue shared the same birthday as Gu Hanling, he found it amusing and ended up chatting with the male lead more than usual. That conversation later helped Shi Jingyan build a connection with him.
Ugh, sharing a birthday with the female lead…
Shen Xi bit her lower lip, unconsciously feeling an inexplicable sense of irritation stirring within her.
A mix of emotions swirled inside her, too messy to untangle, leaving her deeply annoyed.