Chapter 252: Marriage is a Tomb

“Ah?”

Gou Yu’s father, who was idly eating, paused for a moment. Then, he met the gaze of his wife beside him, which seemed murderous.

Immediately, his expression turned serious, his demeanor steady and restrained, yet also carrying an air of unfathomable depth.

This was the first time Zhu Niao had seen Gou Qian’s father looking like this. Normally, he was that abstract, goofy figure, to the point where Zhu Niao had developed a stereotype of him.

Then again, the man who could make this house so opulent couldn’t possibly be a simple person.

“Regarding this proposal, I believe it is feasible. It’s not that we shouldn’t discuss it, but rather we should discuss it gradually, slowly, and optimally, adhering to the path of romantic freedom, encouraging those who start dating to inspire those who haven’t yet…”

Then he got hit by Gou Yu’s mother beside him.

“Honestly, I feel your dad’s ‘officialese’ is a bit strong,” Zhu Niao whispered into Gou Yu’s ear.

“He’s been binge-watching dramas lately. Don’t mind him.”

On the other side, the noblewoman who had just finished beating up Gou Yu’s father viciously left a few harsh words before sitting back down in her seat.

“It’s good that you agree. We are truly one family now,” she said with a beaming smile, genuinely happy for Zhu Niao and her own child.

“What worries me the most is this brat. Not only is he stubborn, but he always has his own ideas. When I saw you could make him willingly stay by your side, I knew I absolutely couldn’t let you slip away.”

She then pretended to wipe away tears.

Zhu Niao still couldn’t tell if it was real or fake.

All Zhu Niao knew was that if she and Gou Yu really got together, it would be a happy ending for everyone. Everyone would be happy.

Gou Yu’s family all respected her immensely. If she had said ‘no’ earlier, the topic wouldn’t have been brought up again during this meal.

There would still be a place for her in this house. Her relationship with the Store Manager Lady would still be great.

They would just be a little disappointed.

They wouldn’t think Zhu Niao had wronged them; they would just feel it was a pity the two couldn’t be together.

That was it.

Zhu Niao felt her conscience was uneasy.

But in reality, she didn’t seem to owe anyone anything.

“Don’t worry, the two of us will definitely be fine,” Gou Yu beside her suddenly wrapped an arm around Zhu Niao’s shoulder, pulling her against his chest in her moment of panic.

What she didn’t see was that everyone else at the table, except for her, wore expressions of slight disappointment.

Perhaps they regretted that this time, Zhu Niao had still directly agreed.

Or perhaps it was all within expectations; feelings simply couldn’t be forced like this.

It’s just that now, with this mutual understanding, they could treat Zhu Niao as their true daughter-in-law.

After all, it was bound to happen sooner or later, wasn’t it?

At least Gou Yu was quite confident.

The meal ended quite pleasantly, and the matter was settled just like that.

In fact, from entering the door until now, the time spent dealing with this matter they had specially taken the high-speed train from school for was less than the time spent on the train itself.

Zhu Niao also realized she seemed to have fallen into a trap.

The so-called ‘helping Gou Yu prevent his dog legs from being broken’ was just a ploy to get her back here to agree to this engagement banquet.

Zhu Niao gritted her teeth in anger.

The engagement was probably the goal of Gou Yu’s family. Gou Yu’s goal was probably the gift money from the guests attending the engagement banquet.

That despicable Gou Yu, actually using her to earn pocket money.

Zhu Niao sat on the sofa, holding the juice drink Gou Yu had just stolen from the Store Manager Lady’s room.

“Why are you glaring at me like that?” Gou Yu still had that infuriatingly cheeky look. “Women who get angry often are flat-chested.”

“What does it matter to you if I’m flat or not?” Zhu Niao huffed angrily. “Let’s get this straight first. Since you’re using me to get gift money, I want at least half.”

“Uh, well, actually, the most we two can do is just eat a bit more during the meal, enjoy the food,” Gou Yu revealed the truth.

“Why? Didn’t you say all the gift money would go to us two?”

“Because what they give mostly won’t be cash. It’ll mostly be some expensive items, or some non-physical symbolic things. Even if we got our hands on them, they’d be pretty useless.”

As he told the truth, Gou Yu secretly dropped a Mentos into the orange soda in Zhu Niao’s cup.

But Zhu Niao noticed in time and shoved it into his own cup instead, forcing him to open his mouth wide to contain the fizz.

It still splashed everywhere.

“Then couldn’t we just sell those valuable things?”

“Probably not,” Gou Yu said after coughing violently for a while, having choked. “Forget whether we even have channels to sell them. Just think, something given to you one moment, circulating in the market the next, maybe even ending up back in the giver’s hands.”

Put that way, it did seem rather impolite.

“Then this is a total loss-making deal for you, and you were shouting about all the gift money going to us two.”

“But those valuable things are indeed useful,” Gou Yu argued. “When the time comes, we’ll move all that stuff back home and decorate the entire house with it. Antique vases? Use them as mouthwash cups. Famous antique paintings? Use them as wallpaper.”

Hearing Gou Yu say this, Zhu Niao admitted her earlier disappointment was somewhat smoothed over.

She even felt a bit of anticipation.

“Hey, you know what? When the time comes, we’ll film videos and post them online, ‘accidentally’ showing off those antiques. It’s got that kind of ‘showing off in front of others’ protagonist-aura satisfaction, right?”

“Right? Right?”

Gou Yu was pleased that Zhu Niao understood his source of satisfaction.

“But I have a question,” Zhu Niao raised a finger. “Won’t we really be discovered by your parents doing this? The first time I came here to pretend to be your girlfriend, wasn’t I seen through immediately?”

“Definitely not,” Gou Yu knew his parents had probably figured out he hadn’t ‘sealed the deal’ this time, but that didn’t stop him from coaxing Little Bird. After all, the whole family was willing to indulge her. “Our behavior, like right now—two people of the opposite sex being this intimate. If we said nothing was going on, would anyone believe it?”

“Seems true.”

Even Zhu Niao would assume such a pair on the street were a couple.

“Son.” Gou Yu’s father suddenly popped up from behind the sofa.

“What is it, old man?” Gou Yu said, turning around.

“Now that you’re preparing for an engagement, there are some secrets of mature men I must tell you. There are certain things you absolutely must avoid; they bring utter ruin.” Gou Yu’s father’s face wore an expression of沧桑, determination, and steadiness.

As if he were passing down some profound wisdom.

“Go on.”

“This matter of marriage…”

He didn’t continue for a long while.

Gou Yu and Zhu Niao looked at Gou Yu’s father in confusion.

The middle-aged man spread his hands. “I’m finished. Marriage is the greatest ruin of all.”