Chapter 79: The Shoelace King

In the end, Gou Yu still couldn’t hold onto the photo frame tucked inside his pants and was forced to take it out under Zhu Niao’s threat.

What kind of threat?

“Old dog, if you don’t take it out now, when I get home, I’ll delete all your browsing history on both your phone and computer.”

Just this one sentence from Zhu Niao made Gou Yu’s face turn pale with fear.

“There’s a saying: don’t do anything irreversible.” Gou Yu’s lips trembled as he spoke.

The negative impact this would have on a Chinese captain was unimaginable.

Losing access to his familiar websites was like losing his home airport.

Sure, he could take off from other airports, but wasn’t that just like being a guest under someone else’s roof?

Zhu Niao’s lips curled into a smirk as she quietly said, “There’s also a saying: you can’t turn back before you reach victory.”

Gou Yu was stunned.

“Where did you get that saying from?”

“From Meng Lei.”

Gou Yu’s expression twisted as countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

After a while, he came to a decision.

This situation was like having money at home—no matter how much he hid it from Zhu Niao at first, she would definitely find out eventually.

So, it was better to be upfront from the beginning.

Thinking that way, he reached his hand into his pants.

Click.

He looked up blankly, his hand still inside his pants, as Zhu Niao left a photo behind.

Gou Yu’s eyes were filled with nothing but darkness.

“Hurry up and take it out!” Zhu Niao shook the phone in her hand. “Even if you’re not a captain anymore, you wouldn’t want all the uncles and aunts outside to see this photo, right?”

The boy’s face twisted in pain, as if a little more pressure would make him burst into tears.

“Xiao Niao, you’re so heartless!”

“I only know one thing—survival of the fittest.” Zhu Niao’s expression remained calm.

After a moment, Gou Yu silently took out the photo frame hidden inside his pants.

“That’s enough. Just hold it up, no need to give it to me.” Zhu Niao pinched her nose and took two steps back.

Gou Yu looked even more aggrieved. “It’s not smelly—I just showered before I left today.”

“If I say it smells, then it smells.” Zhu Niao pinched her nose and craned her neck to take a closer look.

She clearly saw the background, the main subject of the photo.

She also realized what this photo was a faithful record of.

It was at the entrance of the amusement park—the kiss Zhu Niao had left on Gou Yu’s cheek. That tightly connected moment was captured and preserved.

Her pupils dilated, and her mind went blank in an instant.

“You… where did you get this photo? Are you plotting against me?” A blush rapidly crept up Zhu Niao’s cheeks.

“Don’t slander me.” Gou Yu waved his free hand. “You can insult my character, but don’t insult my intelligence. I couldn’t have come up with such a high-level scheme.”

Zhu Niao thought for a moment. This room seemed to be arranged by the store manager’s daughter, so this photo frame was probably hers as well.

“Go wash your hands, and clean this photo frame too.”

Zhu Niao stood by the bed and ordered the man lying on it.

“Okay.” Gou Yu followed the direction Zhu Niao pointed to and walked into the bathroom, still holding the photo frame. “Clean the photo frame too?”

“Is that a question?” Zhu Niao rolled her eyes.

“Why clean it? Why not just throw it away?” Gou Yu didn’t quite understand.

“Whatever. Just leave it there.” Xiao Niao’s voice gradually softened.

“Huh? Why?”

“I said leave it there, no reasons.” Zhu Niao raised her fist, a not-so-friendly smile curling at the corner of her mouth.

“Yes, ma’am.” Gou Yu stood at attention and saluted Zhu Niao, obediently going to wash the photo frame.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door, the crisp sound echoing in the room.

“Little Zhu Jie, and big brother, dinner’s ready.” The voice outside paused. “If you’re busy, you can eat later.”

Zhu Niao naturally had no urgent matters. In fact, she was rather curious why the store manager’s daughter thought she might be busy.

“I’ll be right there.”

She replied and shouted toward the bathroom, “Hurry up, it’s time to eat.”

“Got it, got it.” Gou Yu put down his soapy hands.

The store manager’s daughter outside the door spoke up: “No need to rush, no need to rush. Eating late for a while won’t be a problem.”

“It’s fine, it was supposed to end quickly anyway. This guy just insisted on playing.” Zhu Niao gave Gou Yu the middle finger from inside and said, “If you don’t hurry, I’ll kill you.”

“Got it, got it. I’m cleaning, aren’t I?”

The store manager’s daughter raised her hand to knock again but hesitated, falling silent for a moment.

Honestly, this minor had never seen such a scene before.

After a while, Zhu Niao led Gou Yu to open the door, startling the reddish-brown haired girl standing outside.

“Uh….” She glanced at Zhu Niao, then at Gou Yu, who was wiping moisture off Zhu Niao’s clothes with his hands.

She cautiously asked, “Is it over?”

“What do you mean ‘over’?” Zhu Niao retorted.

“Oh, it’s nothing, let’s go downstairs first.”

The store manager’s daughter responded and glanced at the time on her wristwatch.

Then she immediately asked the kitchen staff to prepare some special dishes on short notice.

Speaking of which, this was the first time Zhu Niao was eating at a wealthy family’s home—aside from the time she ate at Liu Xie’s place.

Strictly speaking, this meal could even be called a family banquet.

“Xiao Niao, your shoelace is untied.” Gou Yu suddenly reminded her from behind.

Zhu Niao looked down. Perhaps the earlier tussle with Gou Yu had been a little too rough—sure enough, the shoelace on her left white sneaker had come undone.

She was about to squat down and tie it when Gou Yu beat her to it.

He squatted in front of her quietly and began tying her shoelace.

Zhu Niao’s mind went blank as she glanced at the store manager’s daughter beside her, who looked a bit stunned.

She hurriedly patted Gou Yu’s shoulder. “What are you doing? Get up, get up!”

Then added, “I can do it myself, no need for you—get up now!”

Gou Yu seemed to have finished tying the shoelace and stood up.

He even reached out, cupping Zhu Niao’s cheeks, lifting her head just as she was about to lower it, forcing the girl’s beautiful eyes to meet only his own.

“I’m very willing to help you with things like this. Sometimes, you should rely on me a little more.”

A gentle smile played on his face.

Even the store manager’s daughter was slightly surprised; she hadn’t expected her brother to have this side of him.

With this, it wasn’t hard to understand how he could win Zhu Niao’s heart.

“Let’s go. Don’t keep them waiting.” Gou Yu stepped ahead.

“Eh…” Zhu Niao reacted a little late and lifted her leg to follow, but suddenly she fell hard, making a loud thud.

Looking down, she saw both of her shoes tied together by the shoelaces.

It was from the moment Gou Yu helped tie her shoelaces. Even when she was supposed to bow her head, Gou Yu had lifted her face, and she hadn’t noticed at all.

“Haha—!”

A mocking laugh sounded from a distance.

Lying on the ground in pain, Zhu Niao locked eyes with the store manager’s daughter.

The reddish-brown haired girl instinctively took out her phone. “Little Zhu Jie, don’t worry. I’ll help you teach him a lesson.”

“Hello, kitchen? Yes, add more dishes—bull penis, lamb penis, pig penis, all of them. Also ginseng, wolfberries, chives, oysters—yes, add all of those to my brother’s bowl.”