Chapter 34

Gu Ze, who had been slapped, gave an innocent smile. "Nothing, really. I was just going to take him out to have some fun. So you’re here too."
Gu Ting hung his head, clearly frightened, and timidly moved behind Qiao An.
Qiao An comfortingly patted his lowered head and eyed Gu Ze warily. "Is there something you need? If not, please leave."
The opportunity had already slipped away, or perhaps it had never truly existed.
Gu Ze had only acted on impulse earlier. Now that Qiao An had appeared, he shrugged regretfully and turned to leave. His long legs carried him away in just a few strides. As he passed the two girls who had been sneaking glances, he raised an eyebrow and sent a playful wink their way.
Watching as the two girls, who had initially seemed hostile, were caught off guard by his gesture, their faces visibly flushed. He chuckled softly and disappeared around the corner.
Today he had gone out with friends, but unexpectedly spotted a familiar figure here and ran out midway.
He had been following them all along, watching them buy a lot of things, and only appeared after they finally stopped here.
Back then, he had lost his mind for a moment, wishing Qiao An would treat him as well as she did Gu Ting. He had stayed at the old residence for so long, but suddenly realized that day, he and her could never be like her and Gu Ting.
So he chose to give up.
Still, in front of Qiao An, he instinctively didn’t want to reveal that dark side of himself.
Gu Ze’s unexpected turn of events seemed to have genuinely frightened Gu Ting. The boy, who had seemed quite normal before, suddenly transformed into an attachment on Qiao An’s arm, insisting on staying close to her at all times.
Even when they went to the night market to eat, he wouldn’t let go.
Lei Xiao found the situation a bit complicated, but she wasn’t one to pry into things. Seeing that Qiao An avoided mentioning it, she didn’t bring it up either and simply took her to buy various snacks.
With three people eating, they didn’t buy much, just one portion of each item to share, so they could try many different kinds.
But in less than an hour, they were all full, especially Gu Ting. Whatever Qiao An couldn’t finish, he ate, until his stomach was bulging. Unwilling to walk and yawning, the three of them headed back.
The Gu family driver dropped Lei Xiao off at her home. Before leaving, Qiao An gave her the Barbie doll she had bought for her: "Thank you for helping me lately and studying with me."
Even though she wasn’t the one who paid for it.
Lei Xiao initially wanted to decline, but Qiao An said she didn’t like it and it would be useless to take it back, so she accepted it, her face beaming like a sunflower!
Still, this trip had been quite rewarding.
She had thought this clue would be hard to trigger, after all, the greater the reward, the more difficult the task, but it turned out to be surprisingly simple.
Grandpa Gu was sitting on the sofa watching the news. The news broadcast had already ended, and local news from various regions was on, but he always watched with great interest.
Seeing the two children return, he immediately softened his stern expression and said gently, "An An, you’re back. Was the night market fun?"
Qiao An nodded happily, "It was fun! We also bought a lot of things at the mall. This is a little gift from Gu Ting and me for you, Grandpa Gu."
It was a scented candle with an elegant fragrance and exquisite craftsmanship, but it wasn’t particularly expensive, as the mall didn’t specialize in luxury brands.
Qiao An had bought small gifts for her parents as well, truly just tokens.
Everyone accepted them happily, though their expressions were slightly odd because, even while giving the gifts, Gu Ting was still following her step by step, clinging to her without letting go.
Xu Hui had never seen a boy be so close to her daughter before. Even when her daughter fed Gu Ting or took him for walks, there hadn’t been much physical contact.
Seeing this now, she felt particularly uncomfortable and couldn’t help pulling her daughter aside to ask about it, only to find that Gu Ting still wouldn’t let go.
She laughed in frustration, "What’s going on here?"
Wasn’t this taking advantage of her daughter?!
Even if he was the young master of the main family, this wasn’t acceptable!
Qiao An forced a smile, "He got scared. The night market was crowded, and we ran into Gu Ze, so he’s probably a bit frightened. He’ll be fine after a good sleep."
"Really?" Xu Hui’s anger immediately subsided by half.
As longtime residents of the old mansion, they had witnessed Gu Ze bullying Gu Ting countless times over the past two years. Though they tried to intervene, they couldn't stop it. The family patriarch turned a blind eye, leaving them no choice but to pretend ignorance.
"Really!" Qiao An nodded emphatically.
"Then you should still be careful. You're a girl after all, and it's not like you're actually employed by the Gu family. If he tries to take advantage of you, you must resist, understand?" Xu Hui fretted, repeating her warnings before finally letting her daughter return to her room.
Qiao An glanced at Gu Ting, whose eyelids were drooping and face was full of exhaustion, and quickly escorted him to his room.

Qiao An thought the matter would end there.
Unexpectedly, the aftereffects of Gu Ting's fright lasted for many days. He became even more reluctant to leave his room. If not for Qiao An taking him for walks daily, he would have fallen ill.
Of course, this routine also improved Qiao An's own health considerably.
She felt cheerful every day while completing her tasks.
Raising Gu Ting's favorability was quite easy, giving him anything would boost it a little, though how much depended on how much he liked the item.
His favorite was dried fish. Even after eating it countless times, every time Qiao An gave him some, he would happily grant two points of favorability.
Other toys and such quickly piled up in Gu Ting's room, nearly filling it. The most common were toys of white kittens.
As for getting a real cat, keeping a pet isn't a decision for one person alone. Under the same roof, what if Grandpa Gu was uncomfortable with it?
After all, the house wasn't hers, so she never considered it.
There was one point, though: Qiao An understood why the cat was one of the clues.
She had initially thought Gu Ting might have some cat-like habits, but they weren't identical, his human traits were more prominent.
She assumed it was just a hint in that regard.
Then Qiao Yi saw and told her that when Gu Ting was five, he had raised a little white kitten.
The kitten, just half a year old, stayed by Gu Ting's side, and he took care of it personally every day. His parents had hoped it would help him develop more human emotions.
During the car accident, the cat was with Gu Ting. After the accident, both Gu Ting and the cat disappeared.
Qiao An had a vague suspicion.
The original story didn't detail what happened during Gu Ting's ten-year disappearance, but from his withdrawn state afterward, it was clear he hadn't had an easy time, perhaps even a very harsh one.
Maybe the cat saved him?
Though it seemed unbelievable, it might very well be true. That would explain why some of his habits resembled a cat's but weren't entirely consistent, after all, he went missing at age five.
Qiao An felt she had solved the first clue. The second clue was the scene she witnessed that night when she came out of the bathroom.
Gu Ze was going to take Gu Ting out to play.
How kind-hearted could he possibly be?
Based on past experiences, he probably wants to abandon someone, right?
If that's true, then Gu Ting's fearful reaction might be because he's been abandoned before? Who abandoned him?
Unfortunately, given Gu Ting's current state, even when Qiao An tried asking him directly, he refused to answer. Every time she asked, he would hide under the covers, silent and unresponsive. At his worst, he wouldn't even eat, so Qiao An didn't dare press him further.
She could only wait for the third clue to appear.
But it seemed like it wouldn't show up anytime soon, and Qiao An wasn't in a hurry anyway, after all, there was no deadline for the task.
Life at the Gu residence was very peaceful and comfortable.
Qiao An had started her plan to build an online presence, though she did it quite casually, just posting videos of herself cooking. Gu Ting was the one filming, and while his skills couldn't be called exceptional, they were decent enough.
In her previous life, when she built her following, Qiao An had taken the time to learn video editing properly.
But now, she was busy with her studies, so she just did some quick, rough edits to make do.
Whether she gained followers or not didn't really matter to her. In the future, she planned to open a restaurant using recipes from the system, so she wasn't worried about lacking business.

As time passed, it was late June, and the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, the Dragon Boat Festival.
The day before the festival, the old mansion was unusually busy.
The Gu family wasn't particularly close-knit, with members scattered all over the world. They often called Grandpa Gu, but they didn't return home often, only about three or four times a year: for the Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Spring Festival, and Qingming Festival.
So, on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, the scattered members of the Gu family would return.
Early in the morning, when Qiao An stepped out of her room, she heard Qiao Yi coordinating the staff at the old mansion. There weren't many people there, so they also brought in a group of elite workers from the Gu family's domestic service company, all of whom needed Qiao Yi to manage.
Rubbing her eyes, she went downstairs to eat and happened to run into Qiao Yi, who was hurrying down from the third floor. She called out softly, "Dad!"
Qiao Yi smiled, ruffled his daughter's hair, and said gently, "Try not to come downstairs today, okay?"
"Mm," Qiao An nodded obediently.
Qiao Yi added, "Ask your mom to prepare more fruits and snacks for you so you don't go hungry."
"Okay."
"An An!" Halfway down, Qiao An heard an affectionate call. She paused and saw Gu Ting coming down. Today, his outfit was slightly more formal, a shirt and gray trousers. The colors weren't much different from his usual short sleeves and casual pants.
But he seemed a bit uncomfortable, his handsome brows furrowed as he twisted his body and whispered, "It's uncomfortable."
"Bear with it; it'll be over in a day," Qiao An said with a smile.
Qiao Yi glanced back at the two children, sighed with a pang of sadness, and then, hearing the sound of a car, hurried downstairs.
Gu Ting nodded, took Qiao An's left hand, and the two of them headed downstairs together.
When Xu Hui came out of the kitchen and saw this, her heart ached for a moment. Pressing her lips together, she went back inside.
Her heart felt heavy.
Her daughter was being taken advantage of again.
But since she didn't say anything herself, as her husband had said, it might be a case of "one willing to hit, the other willing to be hit."
Outside, the car had already stopped, and the main gate opened. A slightly plump, middle-aged man with a small mustache came in. Compared to the other members of the Gu family, his appearance was quite ordinary, but he wore a bright, cheerful smile as he chatted and laughed with Qiao Yi while entering.
"How has my father's health been these past six months? Last time everyone else came back, I didn't have the time. Ah, business trips are exhausting." The man sighed, scratching his head somewhat sheepishly.
This was Gu Chi, the third uncle of the Gu family, responsible for overseas markets. Constantly shuttling between two countries, he wielded significant authority. Although the second uncle, Gu Xun, managed the Gu Corporation, the company had been shrinking in recent years, and the board of directors was quietly expressing dissatisfaction. The most favored candidate to replace him was Gu Chi.
However, Grandpa Gu had been suppressing this, citing the principle of respecting seniority.
Qiao An had gathered this information recently to solve the final piece of the puzzle.
Over a decade ago, Grandpa Gu was the one in control, yet he had delayed passing on the mantle of leadership while grooming Gu Ting’s father as his successor.
At that time, the strongest contender for the position was the current beneficiary, the second uncle, Gu Xun.
Qiao Yi smiled lightly. "The master understands. He just misses you. He’s on the third floor reviewing documents."
"I’ll head up right away!" Gu Chi nodded and made his way familiarly up the stairs.
Just then, he caught sight of Qiao An and the others, who were about to enter the dining area. Qiao An didn’t let Gu Ting leave but stopped and waited, whispering to him beforehand, "Remember to call him uncle later."
Gu Ting had recently started addressing people properly.
Gu Ting pursed his lips, wanting to turn and leave, but Qiao An frowned in confusion, holding him back and signaling for him to wait, it would be impolite otherwise.
Within seconds, the two parties came face to face. Gu Chi laughed heartily, "I heard Gu Ting has improved a lot lately?"
"It’s all thanks to your niece’s care!" He took two steps forward, casting an appreciative glance at Gu Ting.
Qiao An smiled bashfully and was about to speak when Gu Ting, holding her hand, suddenly tightened his grip. The pain made her tone stiffen for a moment before she managed to say, "Third Uncle Gu, I haven’t done much, just been playing with him."
No one noticed that the moment Gu Chi spoke, the boy hiding behind her furrowed his brows, his expression twisting into something terrifyingly distorted in an instant, only to quickly return to normal. Yet, his jaw tightened noticeably, as if he were suppressing something with gritted teeth.
At that moment, a system notification echoed in Qiao An’s mind: [Villain Gu Ting’s favorability has decreased by 10! 20,000 points deducted. Clue 3 unlocked successfully. All clues have now been unlocked.]
Qiao An: What?!