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“Cici, do you have guests tonight?” Aunt asked. She had prepared so many ingredients, and if possible, it would be more lively to celebrate the New Year together.

Gu Ci shook her head. “I’m not feeling well. I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to cook to pass the time.”

“Where do you feel uncomfortable? Have you seen a doctor?” Jiang Minghua asked with concern. “You don’t look well. It’s troublesome to see a doctor on New Year’s Eve. I’ll contact a private doctor for you.”

“Uncle, it’s okay. I feel much better already.” Gu Ci was wrapped in kindness, feeling warm inside. Her nose was tingling, and she wanted to cry. It was like a person floating in mid-air who had finally been pulled back to the ground by a group of people and had a sense of being grounded.

“Are you really okay?” Lin Chunli was also a bit worried. She felt that Gu Ci had become listless in the past few months. She asked Gu Ziyu in a low voice, “Did Gu Ci not do well in the final exams?”

“First place in the entire department,” Gu Ziyu proudly said. “Impressive, right?”

Lin Chunli thought, what else could students worry about besides their grades? Oh, right, Lu Zhiyuan had a car accident and injured his leg. Maybe he couldn’t race anymore. She was probably worried about Lu Zhiyuan.

In the prime of youth, they lacked nothing and didn’t care about the people in the Gu family anymore. Besides their grades, it was all about their loved ones.

While the chef was cooking, the family visited Gu Ci’s room. They had all been here a few times, not many, mostly to bring gifts. They would sit on the first floor for a while. Gu Ziyu secretly told Gu Ci that he had locked the door.

Gu Ci confidently led them on a tour, from the second floor to the first floor and down to the basement. The villa had a very large living area, and except for the bedroom, Gu Ci spent most of her time on the lower level. Grandpa especially liked the reading area in her study. It was very comfortable and had a touch of wildness to it. On the walls were paintings by Gu Ziyu, not famous paintings, but they had a distinctive style.

“Ziyu, is this your painting?”

There was a seal on the painting with Gu Ziyu’s name.

“Grandpa, I don’t want to brag,” Gu Ziyu said with a hint of shyness.

He had painted a picture of a mother and son having afternoon tea in the garden. Gu Ci was making tea, and he was reading. The style was reminiscent of traditional Chinese paintings, and it was very lifelike. Grandpa Jiang was a master of Chinese painting and really liked Gu Ziyu’s style. “Such a pity.”

Gu Ziyu pouted, “Grandpa, I’m still young, and there’s room for improvement.”

“You chose computer science; it’s such a waste. With this talent at such a young age, you could have become my disciple and made a name for yourself in the art world.”

Everyone else was speechless.

Gu Ziyu was beaming with confidence. “No matter what I do, I’ll be the best.”

In the hidden room, Lu Zhiyuan listened to Gu Ziyu’s bragging and couldn’t help but smirk. Ziyu’s personality was quite similar to his in this lifetime. He felt like he had always been the best at everything he did.

Lu Zhiyuan recalled his childhood when he was born in the Year of the Snake. There was a strange omen when he was born, and the oracle in the temple predicted that his fate was unfavorable, with no wife or children, destined for a lonely life, and he was best suited to be a priest.

After he turned three, he was taken to live in the temple, and he never saw his parents again.

Life in the temple was dull and uninteresting. He felt like a bird with clipped wings, locked in a cage. The innocence and joy of childhood, the longing for the world, all disappeared during his years in the temple. As a child, he felt like a lifeless puppet, devoid of any interest in life.

After half of her soul had been reincarnated, she became quite bold and unrestrained.

Lin Chunli and Jiang Minghua descended from upstairs, and the arrangement on the lower floor was carefully done, including the reading area that everyone liked. Lin Chunli saw the operating table and was surprised. “Do you conduct surgery experiments at home?”

“Just for practice,” Gu Ci replied nervously. The operating room was right next to the hidden room, and if Lu Zhiyuan made a sound, it would be very difficult to explain. He couldn’t explain why Lu Zhiyuan was in her house, and in such a sorry state.

After all, her maternal family was an intellectual and scholarly family, and this matter would definitely be beyond their understanding.

Lin Chunli saw the password-protected door but didn’t inquire further. Older people had weaker sense of boundaries, so she asked, “Cici, why is there another password-protected door? What’s in there?”

Gu Ziyu’s heart was racing. “Dad, please, don’t make a sound, or it will be really awkward.”

Gu Ci had already thought of a response. “It’s where I handle animal carcasses and conduct experiments on small lab mice. There are bacteria inside, and I’m afraid of scaring Ziyu, so I usually keep the door locked.”

Grandma Jiang, hearing this, didn’t ask any further questions about what was behind the door.

“Then you should be careful. Keeping lab mice at home means you need to disinfect and sterilize more often.”

“Okay,” Gu Ci replied obediently.

“The lab mice are so well-behaved!” Gu Ziyu exclaimed loudly, making everyone laugh.

On the second floor, there was a comfortable living room where the family gathered to chat. Gu Ci was nervous but pretended to be calm as she brewed tea. The elders of the Jiang family prepared red envelopes for both Gu Ci and Gu Ziyu.

Gu Ci hurriedly declined. “I’m already in college.”

“You’re not married yet, so you’re still a child. Your brother gets red envelopes every year.” The elders stuffed four large and thick red envelopes into Gu Ci’s hands, brimming with the festive spirit of the New Year.

Gu Ci had received red envelopes during previous New Year celebrations. Gu Wenliang and Lu Man would prepare them for her, but her red envelopes were always smaller than those of Gu Chuyun and Gu Yaozu, and every year, Gu Chuyun would count her red envelope money in front of her deliberately, trying to provoke Gu Ci.

Gu Ci and Gu Chuyun couldn’t avoid arguing and fighting on New Year’s Eve. Receiving red envelopes during the New Year was not a pleasant experience for Gu Ci.

“Thank you, Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle, and Aunt!” Gu Ziyu sweetly thanked them, heaping blessings like “Abundant Prosperity,” “Four Seasons of Peace,” and “Five Blessings Descend Upon the House.”

Gu Ziyu was truly sincere in his compliments now, and his sweet words made the Jiang family feel like part of his own family.

Everyone was amused by Gu Ziyu’s antics.

Gu Ci had never experienced such family joy. It was the first time she realized that she was a girl with elders and juniors above and below.

This kind of happiness, full of laughter and harmony, was something she had never experienced in her life. It was as if she was tightly wrapped in love, without feeling suffocated, just warm.

Gu Ci looked at the two elderly people with gray hair and couldn’t help but wonder. If she went even crazier, if she died, would they be very sad?

In the previous life, with nothing to tie her down, Gu Ziyu also controlled the Black Hawk. With Ji Chi and Li Jiang protecting him, she could leave with peace of mind. If she left, Gu Ziyu would be sad, and Grandma and Grandpa, with their white hair, would surely be heartbroken..