Chapter 495 - Interrogation
"Mom, just order whatever you guys want to eat, Su Tao is buying us a meal today!" After Gu Rushan introduced Su Tao, she pulled him over to sit by Gu Daoshan's side and talked to Su Tao, "Even if you don't usually drink, you must drink a few cups with my dad today!"
Gu Daoshan gave a smile to his wife, Zhang Fen. As a couple for so many years, they've built up a rapport, and she knew that her husband did not take a fancy to Su Tao.
There's an essential requirement which Su Tao has failed.
The couple had a requirement in their hearts, their daughter had to find someone older than her, but Su Tao looked even younger than their daughter. This was practically a relationship with someone younger. Not only did Gu Daoshan have this thought, but it was also something that not even his wife could accept. However, they've still maintained their composure since they're having a meal together, and they've made up their mind to persuade their daughter to end this relationship after this meal.
"How can that be?" Zhang Fen frowned. "How can we let Little Su pay for it? Our family has no habit of taking advantage of others, so let your dad pay for the meal."
Hearing those words, Gu Rushan was briefly stunned. She could tell that her mother wasn't in approval of her relationship with Su Tao, which she felt complicated in her heart. Then again, it's a piece of good news that her parents were not in approval of their relationship, and she could just tell her parents that she had ended their relationship tomorrow. This way, she wouldn't have to get Su Tao to play the act as her boyfriend. But at the same time, she was feeling depressed. Is age really that important?
Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind. Didn't she like older men? So, where did she change her mindset that age wasn't important?
Gu Rushan was a rational woman, and she knew that women generally aged faster than men. If the difference was four to five years, the man would be thirty-five when the woman was forty. Even a gorgeous flower would wither by the age of forty, while men were in their golden age at thirty-five.
"Alright, since my mom isn't willing to spend our money, then we won't fight for the bill." Gu Rushan feared that Su Tao might be placed in an awkward position, which she tried her best to mediate, making it sound as if her parents were feeling sorry for them.
When Zhang Fen heard that, she sighed. Daughters were destined to be married off, and her daughter actually helped her boyfriend to lift the siege.
Gu Rushan ordered a feast of duck. Aside from roasted duck, there were also Yanshui Duck Liver, Mustard Duck Feet, Luohan Duck, Four Treasured Duck, and Fermented Duck.
The dishes were all meticulously prepared, with Luohan Duck as an example. First, marinate the deboned duck before adding the meat, green peas, radish, pork, and some other ingredients as the stuffing.
Although Gu Rushan has never eaten an authentic duck feast in the past, she had already done her research to make it seem like she has been living a good life in Beijing. So before the waiter could introduce the dishes, she cut in and introduced them, which even left the waiter stunned.
After the dishes were ordered, Gu Rushan poured tea for everyone. But when she poured it for Zhang Fen, her mother 'accidentally' spilled the cup and stained her daughter's white dress.
"Mom, you…" Gu Rushan wore a speechless expression as she looked at Zhang Fen.
"Opps, I'm sorry darling, it was an accident." Zhang Fen continued, "Quick, get it washed, or it won't be easy to clean once the stain has seeped in."
Gu Rushan was speechless. She had worn her most expensive dress to meet with her parents, and she knew that the dress would be ruined if she cleaned it later. Thus, she helplessly said, "Then, I'll make a trip to the washroom first!"
When Gu Rushan walked out five to six meters, Zhang Fen smiled. "I'll go see if she needs any help!"
While Gu Rushan rinsed her skirt with water, she instantly realised what was going on when she saw her mother walk over with a mysterious expression.
"Mom, did you dirty my dress on purpose?"
"Yeah, I have something that I would like to talk with you about." Zhang Fen sighed as she nodded her head.
"Then you could've just told me, do you know how expensive this dress is?" Gu Rushan nearly blew her top.
"Darling, calm down a little." Zhang Fen patiently replied. "Although your father and I have been rushing your marriage and even gave you pressure on it, marriage is not a game, and we're not just going to marry you off to any man."
Hearing the hidden meaning in her mother's words, Gu Rushan unhappily replied, "What's so bad about Su Tao?"
Waving her hand, Zhang Fen sighed, "He's too young!"
"Weren't you guys against me finding those much older than me? Now that I've found a young one, you guys are also unsatisfied?" Gu Rushan did not know whether to cry or laugh at this moment.
"The reason why we've objected to you finding a much older man is because we're worried that you might be cheated by married men. As for Su Tao, he's too young, and I'm afraid that he won't be able to take good care of you. In the future, you might even have to accommodate him." Zhang Feng persuaded. She did not point out that Su Tao's income was probably nothing much as well, and he probably hasn't gotten a house of his own. Otherwise, they would've stayed together, and Gu Rushan wouldn't have to rent an apartment.
"But that's my problem!" Gu Rushan was stubborn.
"Fine! You can go and waste your time, then! Don't say that I've never warned you when you suffer in the future." Zhang Fen refuted, seeing that she failed to persuade her daughter.
As the mother and daughter conserved in the washroom, Su Tao was also receiving an interrogation at the dining table.
"So, do you have a house in Beijing?" Yuan Cui asked.
"Nope!" Su Tao honestly replied.
"Then, do you intend to get one?" Yuan Cui was somewhat disappointed. Any local in Beijing that didn't have a house would have an issue in the registration of their residence, and they would have a headache after their marriage and birth.
"Nope!" Su Tao continued to give out answers that weren't ideal.
But it wasn't surprising since Su Tao only seemed to have just come in contact with the society for a few years, so how could he afford to purchase a house without any savings?
Real estate in Beijing has been rising, and even a small apartment costs ¥400,000-500,000. Thinking about it, Yuan Cui instantly got a little excited. Compared to Su Tao, she had been earning a lot in the past few years. Not only did she own two houses in the county, but she even bought an apartment in the city, which she would be able to take the keys to by the end of this year for renovations.
Du Bing's uncle might be an influential figure in the county, but so what? His daughter still hasn't been married to date and also never mentioned having any boyfriends.
As she compared the gap between them, Yuan Cui instantly felt satisfied.
"I heard that you're a physician? How much do you earn a month?" Yuan Cui thickened her skin and asked. She realised that aside from looking much better than her husband, Su Tao was inferior in every other standard.
"I didn't pay attention to it!" Su Tao honestly said.
Instantly, Yuan Cui became somewhat unhappy and asked, "What's there to hide before us? If you don't earn a lot, then you don't earn a lot. My uncle doesn't like dishonest people."
But just when Su Tao was about to come up with a random number, Gu Rushan came out from the washroom and smiled. "What are you guys chatting about?"
"We're asking him some questions, but he's being dishonest!" Yuan Cui replied.
Hearing those words, Gu Rushan became unhappy and her face sank, "Why ask him? You can ask me if you have any questions!"
With an embarrassed smile, Yuan Cui replied, "Relax, am I not helping you to look over your boyfriend?"
"I don't need you meddling in my affair!" Gu Rushan did not have any good impression on Yuan Cui.
Yuan Cui was someone who played up to those in power. After she got married, she practically visited all their relatives. It's fine if you bought insurance from her, but if you didn't, she wouldn't give you any good expression. There was even a time where she tried to pester a relative to buy insurance from her, which failed. In the end, she even took out the receipt of the gifts she purchased over the past two months and caused that particular relative to be unhappy.
"Darling, how can you talk to your cousin's wife in this manner?" Du Bing immediately came out to protect his wife.
As Yuan Cui's face alternated between red and white, she muttered to herself, "What an oddball. You've found such a bad boyfriend, and you still don't allow anyone to talk about him?"
Although no one heard her mutters, Su Tao could since he knew how to read lips.
However, he's just a temporary boyfriend today, and he's not in the position to flare up. Thus, he feigned to be a deaf-mute and ignored it.
A brief moment later, the dishes were served and Yuan Cui purposely used their hometown as a topic to give Su Tao a cold-shoulder.
Su Tao and Gu Daoshan sat side-by-side, while Zhang Fen acted as a partition to Gu Rushan. Thus, Su Tao did not have any opportunity to speak and focused on his food.
For TCM, ducks were excellent nourishment for the body. Since ducks prey on small aquatic animals and plants, the meat was sweet, and it was even recorded in the Compendium of Medical Herbs 1596, "Duck meat nourishes the exhaustion that's beneficial for urinating, edema, the organs, ulcers, and epilepsy."
When everyone saw Su Tao only focused on eating silently, their impression of Su Tao instantly dropped once more.
Even Gu Daoshan didn't even cast a glance at Su Tao and only bumped cups with his nephew to express the unhappiness in his heart.
Seeing this scene, Gu Rushan sighed. Although her relationship with Su Tao was all but an act, she still couldn't help feeling heartache seeing how her family gave Su Tao the cold-shoulder. Thus, she secretly took out a phone and sent him a message.
"I'm sorry to put you in an awkward position."
"Don't worry about it. We can officially 'break up' tomorrow, and it's a relief for the both of us." Su Tao soon sent over a reply.
When the meal finally came to an end, Zhang Fen went ahead to the reception counter and paid for the meal, since she was worried that Su Tao might secretly pay for it first. But surprisingly, it was already paid by a woman.
Returning to her seat, Zhang Fen curiously asked, "Darling, did you pay for the meal already?"
"No? Didn't you say that you're paying for the meal?" Gu Rushan was surprised and glanced at Su Tao, to which the latter shrugged his shoulders with a smile.
"Let's go ask, then. At the very least, we have to thank that person who paid for us!" Zhang Fen knew that this meal cost a few thousand, and this was not just a simple favor.
After that, Gu Rushan went to ask the reception counter who paid for their bill.
"The guests on the second floor paid for your meal!" The receptionist replied.
"What's the surname of that guest?" Gu Rushan asked again.
Being placed in an awkward position, the receptionist replied, "I'm sorry, but we have no idea."
Just when Gu Rushan was about to head to the second floor to find that person, she saw a familiar figure walking down from the stairs at this moment.