Siheyuan: A Very Happy Era

Chapter 656 What kind of liking are you talking about?
More than an hour later, Ruan Muning, the obedient daughter, leaned gently against Li Guoqiang, her eyes revealing a hint of languor.

"Slap!" Upon seeing this, Li Guoqiang immediately adopted the demeanor of a strict father, and began to reprimand him with a stern face:

"Look at yourself, what kind of person are you? You're so young, and your health is already so poor. How will you strive in the future? How will you create a good life?"

Hurry up, get up and keep working hard!

Upon hearing this, Ruan Muning's expression froze, and then she shook her head vigorously, "No, I really can't work anymore, please spare me!"

Come to think of it, she really hadn't realized before that Li Guoqiang's requirements would be so high.

In the past, she could have easily satisfied the client with a perfunctory response.

As a result, she had just exhausted all her efforts, revising the plan many times, almost draining her of all her knowledge, but in the end, she still couldn't meet Li Guoqiang's requirements.

If this continues, she'll probably be driven to her death.

"Look at what you're saying, do you still want to get the funding?" Li Guoqiang's face darkened, and he said with some dissatisfaction.

Upon hearing this, Ruan Mu Ning's lips twitched slightly, and for a moment she didn't know what to say.

She had lived for over twenty years and never imagined that there would be a day when she wouldn't receive funding.

"How about this, I'll add some more funding for you?" Li Guoqiang saw that Ruan Muning didn't say anything, so he raised the price in a low voice.

Upon hearing this, Ruan Muning's spirits lifted, and she asked with some surprise, "Really? How much more?"

“Double it!” Li Guoqiang raised an eyebrow and then said with an air of grandeur.

“Dad, I love working the most!” Ruan Mu Ning immediately jumped up upon hearing this.

"Ha!" Upon seeing this, Li Guoqiang felt a surge of joy.

It turns out that as long as mules are fed enough hay, they will willingly pull the millstone.

Not long after, once all the housework was finished, Ruan Muning stumbled and almost lost her balance.

Fortunately, Li Guoqiang reached out in time and pulled her back, otherwise such a capable mule would have been exhausted.

"Brother Qiang, are you satisfied now?" Ruan Mu Ning asked with a hint of resentment, wiping the sweat from her forehead slightly as she breathed a little out.

"Satisfied, very satisfied!" Li Guoqiang nodded, then picked up his phone and transferred 10 yuan to Ruan Muning.

This is the first month's allowance he gave her.

Looking at that string of zeros, Ruan Muning felt both delighted and worried.

She was happy that, through her hard work, she had finally secured a well-paying job for herself.

What worries her is that the salary for this job seems a bit too generous, making even someone as experienced as her find it a bit overwhelming.

I wonder what kind of expression Gu Lingfei, a newbie, would have if she knew what the job entailed?
"Alright, it's getting late, you should get some rest!"

Soon after, Li Guoqiang left with a single sentence, opened the door, and walked away.

Through this experiment, he has roughly figured out some of his potential changes.

If this had happened a few days ago, facing a formidable opponent like Ruan Mu Ning, who was also blessed with the Mi Xing buff, he might have surrendered much earlier.

But now, he can completely suppress Ruan Mu Ning with his personal strength alone, without needing any tricks at all.

While this made him feel satisfied and happy, he couldn't help but worry that his strength had improved too quickly and he would really not be able to find any opponents in the future.

Just as he was driving back to his rented apartment to think about his next plans, he suddenly received a message from Gu Lingfei on his phone.

[Brother Qiang, are you asleep yet? I've found two more villas for you that are excellent in every way. I just sent you the details. Take a look when you have time.]

After glancing at the message, Li Guoqiang felt a slight smirk, but then showed no intention of replying.

Originally, he wanted to adopt Gu Lingfei because he thought she was simple and kind, and also because of the connection between them.

However, he did not expect that Ruan Muning would be so decisive, and beat Gu Lingfei to the punch, and negotiate a cooperation with him and get the funding first.

This would undoubtedly diminish his feelings for Gu Lingfei considerably.

Furthermore, Gu Lingfei is still pretending not to understand his intentions and wants to discuss business with him, so he won't indulge her.

Anyway, he doesn't necessarily want to buy a villa, especially those luxury homes worth hundreds of millions.

Before they knew it, it was the morning of the second day.

Before Li Guoqiang could even wake up, Ruan Muning dutifully got up and went to work at the rice shop, also sending a message to Gu Lingfei to inquire about the progress of the villa project.

The message Gu Lingfei sent back left her momentarily stunned.

[Sister Mu Ning, I messaged him around 11 PM last night, saying I'd found him two nice villas, but he still hasn't replied!]

As far as Ruan Muning remembered, Li Guoqiang had already left her house after 11 p.m. last night.

Logically speaking, Li Guoqiang couldn't possibly have missed the message Gu Lingfei sent.

Could it be that Li Guoqiang has changed his mind about Gu Lingfei because she seized the initiative?
Or perhaps it's because Gu Lingfei is not mature enough that Li Guoqiang ignored her?

[Ningjie, do you think I should call him and ask?]

Soon, Gu Lingfei sent another message, directly interrupting Ruan Muning's thoughts.

Immediately after, she hesitated for a moment, then sent a message to Gu Lingfei.

【You can try hitting it and see.】

After sending the message, she put away her phone and focused on her work.

As for whether Gu Lingfei will call Li Guoqiang, that's none of her business.

If Gu Lingfei calls and disturbs Li Guoqiang, angering him and getting blocked by him, then it would be a good way to prevent Gu Lingfei from competing with her for funding.

If Gu Lingfei hadn't called Li Guoqiang, then based on her understanding of Li Guoqiang, it's likely that Li Guoqiang wouldn't have taken the initiative to contact Gu Lingfei either.

Then, she can find another opportunity to introduce Li Guoqiang to other real estate agencies, which will completely prevent Gu Lingfei from competing with her again.

As for why she did this, the reason is simple: she already had the idea of ​​taking it a step further.

She had never seen a man as young, rich, and capable as Li Guoqiang before.

If she missed this opportunity, she would probably regret it for the rest of her life. At this moment, Gu Lingfei had no idea that Ruan Muning, who was originally on good terms with her sister, had casually dug a pit for her.

After hesitating for a while, she ultimately did not call Li Guoqiang, but instead sent him a message asking if he wanted to share breakfast.

She waited for a while, but Li Guoqiang did not reply.

Just as she was wondering if Li Guoqiang had some kind of problem with her, her phone suddenly rang with a "ding".

What are we competing for?

Upon seeing this message, she was overjoyed and quickly sent over the address of a dim sum restaurant.

"Wait a minute, I'll come pick you up now!"

After sending the message, Li Guoqiang casually put his phone aside, got out of bed, and went into the bathroom to wash up.

When Gu Lingfei saw that Li Guoqiang was coming to pick her up, she couldn't help but clench her little fists and cheer with a "Yay!" Then she hurriedly sat down in front of the dressing table and carefully began to apply her makeup.

In fact, she was aware that Li Guoqiang wanted to adopt her, but she had never even been in a relationship before, and for a moment she didn't know what to do.

Besides that, she hadn't really decided whether or not to agree to Li Guoqiang's offer.

After all, that's a major event that concerns her lifelong happiness, so it's only right to be cautious, isn't it?

Not long after, Li Guoqiang finished packing and drove to Gu Lingfei's residence.

It was a little after eight in the morning, and the roads were packed with commuter vehicles.

In other words, the car he drives looks quite expensive, so he doesn't need to worry about others cutting in line. He just needs to follow the traffic rules and move slowly with the flow of traffic.

He drove until after nine o'clock before finally arriving at the entrance of the apartment complex where Gu Lingfei lived.

At the same time, he was also somewhat glad that he used to work in a bar, which meant that he avoided the normal commuting hours, both when going to and from get off work.

More importantly, he had always used shared bikes, so he never had any trouble with traffic jams.

This made him wonder if he should just go back to his hometown and settle down.

Because his hometown is just a small county town in the fourth or fifth tier, there are no big companies or factories, and the pace of life is relatively leisurely.

If they go back to settle down there, they can take good care of his parents and live a more relaxed and comfortable life.

The only thing that bothered him was that his parents would definitely pressure him to get married when he went back.

But once he gets married, he won't be able to live so freely anymore.

Just as he was thinking about whether there was a way to have the best of both worlds, the passenger door was suddenly opened, and a little girl wearing a white T-shirt, denim shorts, and a bun hairstyle sat down inside.

In comparison, the other person's outfit this time was completely different from the suit and uniform they wore yesterday, making them look like two different people.

The only thing that remained unchanged was the lovely, sweet smile on the other person's face.

"Brother Qiang, thank you for coming to pick me up!" Gu Lingfei said, while fixing her gaze on Li Guoqiang's neck.

If she remembered correctly, Li Guoqiang hadn't planted the strawberries yesterday, so how come he planted them just one night later?
Moreover, and most importantly, who planted this strawberry?

Is it Ruan Mu Ning? Or someone else?

"It's alright, just consider it a break-in period for the car," Li Guoqiang smiled slightly and replied softly.

As he spoke, he shifted gears and lightly pressed the accelerator, following the navigation towards the dim sum restaurant that Gu Lingfei had sent him.

"By the way, did you see the information on those two villas I sent you?" Gu Lingfei silently suppressed her many guesses and then tentatively asked.

"I'd like to discuss this after breakfast," Li Guoqiang glanced at Gu Lingfei, then didn't answer directly.

"Oh!" Gu Lingfei nodded slightly in agreement, then turned to look out the window, seemingly lost in thought.

After a while, she turned back and asked nervously, "Brother Qiang, did I do something wrong that made you angry?"

"Why would you ask that?" Li Guoqiang raised an eyebrow and then asked back with a smile.

"Because I feel like you don't really like me!" Gu Lingfei pursed her lips and then answered softly.

"Oh? What kind of liking are you talking about?" Li Guoqiang glanced at Gu Lingfei, then asked with great interest.

"It's...it's..." Gu Lingfei stammered for a while, but in the end she was too embarrassed to say it was love between a man and a woman.

"Alright, if you haven't thought it through yet, you can think about it again," Li Guoqiang said with a chuckle.

Hearing this, Gu Lingfei didn't say anything, but just silently gripped the bag on her lap.

If you look closely, you can see that her eye bags are slightly puffy and dark.

Clearly, she had been thinking about the question Li Guoqiang mentioned for most of last night, but she still hadn't come up with a solution even after falling asleep from exhaustion.

On one hand, there's a lifetime of happiness; on the other, a million-dollar income and a life free from financial worries. She wants both.

Sometimes, she even wondered if there was any way to have it all.

However, reason told her that with her looks, it was absolutely impossible.

Moreover, she knows absolutely nothing about Li Guoqiang's situation except that he is rich.

To put it bluntly, she didn't even know if Li Guoqiang had a wife or a girlfriend.

If Li Guoqiang already has a wife, wouldn't she be asking for trouble by getting involved?

As a college student, she knew that gifts given during marriage are invalid and can be recovered through legal means.

Even if Li Guoqiang hadn't gotten married, how long could she have stayed with him?
You can't exactly say that Li Guoqiang will never get married again, can you?

Thinking about these issues, Gu Lingfei's mind was in complete chaos, and she had no idea what she should do.

"Alright, we're here. How do you plan to split the cost?"

Soon after, Li Guoqiang drove to the parking lot of the tea restaurant, then gently patted Gu Lingfei's thigh and asked with a serious expression.

"Uh..." Gu Lingfei was speechless upon hearing this.

Because when she told Li Guoqiang that, it was just a temporary excuse; she had no intention of actually sharing the bill with him.

As it turns out, it seems Li Guoqiang took this matter seriously.
(End of this chapter)