A Lifetime of Peace and Care

Chapter 18: I’m Free Tonight

The talented Gu Tingchuan became the rare chef of the house. As she stood by the sidelines and watched, Yi Ran gradually began to feel guilty. She whispered, “I have made great progress recently. You have to know that I am willing to cook, and I’m always a fast learner, ah.”

Hearing these words, he turned his head to look at Yi Ran. Then, very consciously, she began to defend herself. “I was at home the previous weekend and was just playing video games. You looked at films all day... and now still cook and do housework.”

“It’s not too hard. Anyway, Auntie will clean the house every week.” Gu Tingchuan raised his eyebrows in laughter and did not forget to ask her. “So, you bought an oven. Do you plan to learn to make snacks?”

Yi Ran did not expect Director Gu to discover the new small appliance in the kitchen.

“Although I don’t like sweets, I can at least take a small taste for you.” He was very clearly teasing her.

Yi Ran’s face grew slightly hot, so she had to lower her head to cover up and pretend to be busy with Gu Tai’s hurricane cake.

After a short time, the driver brought the little Master Gu over to the apartment, just in time for lunch. She sat down and looked at the dishes on the side and asked if he liked it. She almost said, “This is the rice cake that your uncle fried for you. Most people don’t have good fortune to eat this.”

Gu Tai turned his head to look at her and took his chopsticks in hand. He looked like a little adult as he said, “That, you haven’t tasted it?”

Yi Ran hastily said, “Yeah, this is also the first time I’ll have this blessing. This is all thanks to you.”

The little handsome guy took the chopsticks and carried a piece to his mouth. He chewed, and his expression was calm as he said, “Oh, the taste is not bad. It’s better than the aunt who cooks my food.”

Yi Ran licked her lips and looked at Director Gu, who was sitting at the side. The latter’s eyes seemed to rise with a smile.

The temperature in autumn had begun to decline steadily. But fortunately, in the afternoon, as long as there was the sun, it would not be too cold. After Gu Tai had lunch, he laid on the sofa with a full stomach and watched a children’s special film. He was not a child, but he was less open in a place he was not familiar with.

Yi Ran thought to tease him. She walked around, leaned over and hugged him, and cloyingly said, “Little Gu Tai, you are my little nephew, la. We should be on good terms and nurture good feelings.”

Gu Tai’s face was full of dislike: “Who agreed for you to marry my uncle?... Hey!” But the body was very honest, and he did not push her away.

Gu Tingchuan was originally tidying up his studio. When he came out and saw their boisterous antics, he smiled a little. After steeping himself a cup of tea, he sat on the spacious soda and looked at Gu Tai, who was trying to break away from his aunt’s paws. “If you haven’t finished your homework this week, just do your homework here.”

Gu Tai immediately stopped and pouted at Yi Ran: “My uncle is always so serious. How can you stand him?”

Yi Ran could hardly suppress her laughter as Gu Tingchuan picked up his eyebrows and wanted to refute. It just so happened that, at this moment, his private cell phone rang. He got up and looked at the caller. Then, rubbing the space between his eyebrows, he connected and said in a low voice, “I’m resting.”

The person on the other end replied, “Director Gu, you don’t have a beauty on the side so you certainly can’t understand our desolate state.”

Gu Tingchuan moved his hand to his forehead. He felt that this was a bit difficult. “Chief Qin, you have a few small actresses in your hands. I’m not qualified to interfere but don’t plug one into my crew again.”

He then added bluntly, “Additionally, I would advise you to later find someone more clever. This one was really too stupid.”

Qin Fang listened admirably and did not get angry. Instead, he said very innocently, “Hey, Tingchuan, you don’t know. Too much intelligence is hard to control.”

Gu Tingchuan had said what he needed to say. He turned to look at his little family and, clearing his throat, said, “Well, don’t bother my private time. We’ll talk about it again when I’m back at work.”

After that, regardless of whether the other party agreed or not, he simply directly hung up.

Gu Tingchuan walked back to the living room and saw Yi Ran and Gu Tai huddled together on the warm sofa. The bright light of the TV flashed across their faces, and the warm afternoon sun outside the window made the picture more clear. His gaze deepened and he suddenly thought that this image ought to be captured by a camera.

At this time, she also noticed his gaze. She lifted her eyes and saw the man lazily unbuttoning the collar of his shirt. He was casually leaning against the door frame, the broad line of his shoulders slightly tilted. It was rare to see him so idle and relaxed.

She didn’t dare to look at him again and nervously shifted her gaze away.

Gu Tingchuan returned to the sofa and thought for a moment as he looked at Gu Tai. Finally, he opened his mouth. “I went to see Teacher Yao the other day and listened to your situation.”

The moment his voice fell, Gu Tai straightened and subconsciously looked at Yi Ran next to him.

“You ‘re being bullied by classmates. Why didn’t you say it at the beginning?”

“Uncle, this is not that simple.” Gu Tai spread his hands, looking much like his uncle presiding over a situation at work. “Yi Ran, you know Hao Ziyue’s parents are scary. Before that, a classmate in our class was pushed down by him and broke his hand.”

Gu Tingchuan’s fingers lifted the cup and he sipped the tea as he listened.

Gu Tai said, “Uncle, I have some good student friends. If they help me, they will be bullied by Hao Ziyue.”

Yi Ran looked at Gu Tai, worried that the child’s heart already had too many hidden emotions, which will only weigh him down. Although he was only in the third grade of elementary school, he was already more mature than the rest of his peers. This also made her feel more distressed.

“Moreover, I can’t ask him to come out and fight.” ”

“Fighting really can’t solve the problem.” Gu Tingchuan’s well-defined fingers put down the cup, and his tone was gentle and caring when he said, “Do you feel wronged?” ”

Gu Tai was momentarily silent, then he shook his head.

He replied with dissatisfaction, “But even if I ignore him, he will make trouble with me. What do you want me to do, ah? ”

The world of primary school students was already so complicated. However, the parents who should do the disciplining was not around. Gu Tingchuan shook his head helplessly, and he made his voice as soft as possible. “First, you need to tell the other person that you don’t like this behavior. This is the first correct thing to do. When the teacher asked you about the situation, you initially couldn’t say it but then you became brave and frank. This was also very good. ”

Gu Tingchuan’s tone was rarely so soft and warm, causing Gu Tai to only blinked his large eyes at him. “When you are being bullied by your classmates, you didn’t choose to use violent counterattacks, and you tried to protect yourself and your friends as much as possible. This was also the smartest choice.”

The man clearly analyzed Gu Tai’s actions for him. “The only thing that was not good was that you also used other people’s ‘wounds’ to attack his family. ‘Language violence’ is also a kind of violence. Gu Tai, you can’t be like that. You do need to deal with him, but if you use this language to counter him, it will only make things worse.”

Finally, his tone became serious, and he told the boy in front of him, “As for what to do, then, you must believe that the teachers and parents can help you solve the problem.”

At this last sentence, he deliberately slowed down his speech, and the pronunciation of each words came heavy and clear. She didn’t know why she felt a sudden fever in her heart, and her ears became a little hot.

She looked at Gu Tingchuan intently, always feeling like the man saw something she didn’t understand.

Gu Tingchuan didn’t care about her awkward look. He only raised his hand and rubbed Gu Tai’s head. Then, he raised his eyes to her and said, “Didn’t you make a cake? Let’s get it together.”

Yi Ran silently followed him to the kitchen. She wore soft flat-bottomed slippers, and the top of her head only reached the man’s chin, so she looked up at him and whispered: “Yao Juan said that he will look for Hao Ziyue’s parents. But before that, the principal also spoke with him. If nothing is done, Hao Ziyue will continue to get worse and worse. His parents have created a lot of problems.”

Gu Tingchuan could hear the disapproval in her voice. He turned his head to look in the direction of the living room as his fingers tapped on the kitchen counter: “Is it so difficult for Teacher Yao to convince the other parents? If you are concerned with this, then I will find a way to solve it.”

Yi Ran briefly inclined her head. When she moved to walk back out, Gu Tingchuan raised his hand and gently caught her wrist in a single movement. The skin on his hand was fair and the temperature was a little cold, so she couldn’t help but instinctively shrink back.

Since that day, they hadn’t been entangled in the end. At this moment, she couldn’t help but think more.

Initially, he was only thinking about solving their marriage affairs as soon as possible so that he would no longer be distracted by such matters. But later, he felt that since he was already a husband, they should be responsible for each other’s life.

He was not sure if he can really love, but at least when facing her, there were many new experiences.

“I’m free tonight.”

Director Gu’s voice was warm and comfortable. When he saw the inexplicable expression on her face, his lips lifted with laughter. “I remember very well that you were worried about my physical condition. I ought to set your mind at ease.”

He actually needed to prove that his body was “healthy”.

“...” Yiran was petrified for a moment and did not know how to answer him. Finally, she could only grab the plate and prepare to flee.

In the living room, Gu Tai looked at the two adults talking, the white light on the TV set reflecting. his cold smile.