On getting to the Zhu mansion, Guo Min finally flopped onto the bed without disturbance for the first time in days. No one knocked, no one dragged her out for "rituals" or "body care," not even Zihan bothered her. For the first time since stepping into this family, she slept like a rock.
The next morning, the Zhu mansion was already alive with activity. Servants moved about, Li Yan's laughter echoed from the dining hall, and even Grandpa Zhu was reading the newspaper with his glasses perched low on his nose. Everyone was refreshed, dressed, and had already eaten.
Except Guo Min.
She stumbled down the stairs just past nine, still yawning, hair a little messy despite having washed her face and brushed her teeth. "Good morning… everyone," she mumbled, stretching.
The dining room fell silent for a beat. Then... "Tch. The Zhu young madam just wants nothing but to sleep. With this attitude, can you carry the weight that comes with your marriage?" Grandpa Zhu scoffed, lowering his newspaper.
Guo Min didn't respond right away. Instead, she plopped herself down beside him, picked up her chopsticks, and started eating. Only after swallowing did she sigh dramatically. "…Grandpa Zhu, do you know how much sleep I sacrificed just to marry into your family? And now you're acting ungrateful? You should be saying, 'thank you, my child, for marrying this cold and proud grandson of mine.' Be a humble grandpa."
Grandpa Zhu's jaw dropped. "How dare you talk to your grandpa like that...and why are you making it sound like you did us a favor?"
"Yes, it was a favor," Guo Min shot back, lifting her chin proudly. "If not me, who else would marry Zihan?"
Her smug tone made everyone at the table glance at Zihan. The President didn't even flinch, sipping his tea calmly, but the faint twitch at the corner of his lips betrayed his amusement.
"You...this child… humph!" Grandpa Zhu huffed, giving up in defeat, while the others burst into laughter.
"Min," Li Yan called over the chuckling, her voice warm. She slid a large velvet jewelry box across the table, followed by a file. "Your wedding gift."
Guo Min's eyes lit up. "Awn, thanks, Mom!"
"It's from the family as a whole," Li Yan corrected gently.
She opened the jewelry box and admired the gleaming pieces inside, but when she peeked into the file, her breath caught. Her shameless voice came out immediately: "I'm… a shareholder in the Zhu Empire? Fifteen percent?"
Her head snapped up, eyes sparkling like she'd won the lottery. Then, true to herself, she leaned back and scoffed dramatically. "If I knew marriage was a shortcut to easy wealth, I would've married Zihan the very moment he came to me!"
A sharp thwack! landed on her head. Grandpa Zhu had smacked her with the newspaper. "Tch! Talk like a proper human being for once!"
Guo Min rubbed her head with a pout, then raised her voice in a mocking imitation. "Oh no, please, I can't possibly accept this. It's too much, too generous!" She clasped her hands like a delicate socialite. "That's how the so-called 'proper' girls in society would act, Grandpa. But we both know that's too fake."
Her shameless grin returned as she shoveled another bite of food into her mouth.
The whole table erupted again, even Zixuan quietly chuckling into his tea, while Zihan just shook his head, resigned to the chaos his wife brought wherever she was with his grandfather.
"Your flight has been readied," Li Yan announced with a graceful smile. "A honeymoon trip this afternoon. The Maldives." She paused meaningfully, eyes twinkling. "May the lord bless your journey with a beautiful child."
Guo Min froze with her chopsticks midair before dropping them with a clatter. "...And I assure you that I won't be getting pregnant so soon, Mom-in-law."
"Tch."
"Don't tch me!" Guo Min huffed, folding her arms. "You want me to be waddling around two weeks after the wedding? Don't worry, just wait two years instead, okay? May the lord grant us a long life."
Her voice deliberately pitched up as she mimicked Li Yan's elegant tone, even putting her palms together like she was blessing the heavens.
The maids stifled laughter. Grandpa Zhu choked on his tea. Even Zixuan's lips twitched in poorly hidden amusement.
Meanwhile, Zihan set his teacup down, his calm voice cutting through the hilarity like a blade through silk, "Two years? You think you can make me wait that long?"
The entire table froze. Chopsticks paused midair, laughter died in their throats, even the servants dared not breathe too loudly.
Grandpa Zhu was the only one to break the silence, slapping the table with his palm, roaring with unrestrained amusement. "Finally, my grandson speaks like a real man!"
Guo Min's eyes widened for a fraction of a second, startled by his bluntness, before narrowing into a glare. "Never knew you were also so eager to become a dad, Zihan? But here's the problem... you married one heck of an ambitious woman."
Her voice was steady, but the weight in her tone dropped the atmosphere a degree colder. She met his gaze across the table, her chin lifted high, like she wasn't speaking to her husband but to a rival inventor challenging her patent. "My career comes first, Zihan."
Zihan didn't argue, just watched her with that still, unreadable calm that always made people around him uneasy.
Guo Min exhaled, softening only slightly as she leaned back in her chair. "I know I sound selfish. And fine, maybe it won't be two years… but it won't be anytime soon either. You have everything already, wealth, security, legacy. Me?" Her fingers tapped once against her glass before curling into a fist. "I want to be good and well even if I never leaned on the Zhu name. I want to stand on my own feet."
Her words hung heavy in the air.
She hesitated, then pressed on, her voice dipping lower. "Because let's be honest… not all marriages end the way people expect. I'm not cursing ours, but I've seen what happens when a woman gives everything up and the marriage fails. I won't..." her throat tightened, but she forced the words out, "...I won't let that happen to me. I want to hold my high horse without you… and I want you to be able to do the same without me."
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Li Yan shifted in her seat, clearly bristling but biting her tongue for once. Zixuan's lips pressed into a thin line, though his eyes betrayed a flicker of admiration for her boldness. Grandpa Zhu stroked his beard, chuckling low as if he liked her spirit even more for defying his grandson.
But Zihan… Zihan remained still, the only movement the way his thumb brushed once over the rim of his teacup. He didn't argue, didn't dismiss her. His silence was heavy, unreadable...but his gaze never left her face, as if memorizing every word she'd just spoken.
Nobody dared say anything further, but one thing was clear to all at the table, the bad past of Guo Min's parents' marriage had carved her into someone who would rather stand alone than risk falling.
"Pack your bags. We're leaving." That was Zihan's only response. Arguing would achieve nothing.
Guo Min blinked, caught off guard, then pushed her plate aside. "Oh, it's time already? I haven't even had my bath yet." Without another word, she hurried upstairs, abandoning her breakfast without a second glance.
"A clear sign she doesn't completely trust you yet, son," Zixuan finally spoke, his voice carrying that cool edge only a father could wield. "I trust you'll find a solution to that… and make it quick."
Zihan simply inclined his head, neither offended nor moved. He stood, straight-backed, and left the dining room.
Minutes later, he was back, freshened up, dressed simply in a white tee and black trousers, layered with a brown knitted sleeveless cardigan. White sneakers on his feet, his presence was neat, minimalistic, and commanding in its restraint.
But his wife… she took her time. More than an hour passed before Guo Min finally appeared at the top of the stairs, a suitcase rolling behind her. She'd chosen a soft flowery sundress, a black button-up cardigan thrown over her shoulders, straightened hair flowing neatly down her back, her makeup subtle but playful. White sneakers matched her husband's, though her air was entirely different, bright, lively.
"I'm ready," she announced with a small, satisfied smile, dragging the suitcase down the last step with a thump.
Zihan didn't comment, only stepped forward to take the suitcase from her hand without asking.
She paused, caught between annoyance and fluster, but let him.
They turned together, greeting the family briefly with polite hugs and nods. Grandpa Zhu waved them off with a chuckle, Li Yan muttered another blessing under her breath, and Zixuan watched silently, arms crossed, eyes sharp.
Palm against suitcase handle, the newlyweds left the Zhu mansion to begin their honeymoon.