100 Days Of Escaping My Wedding-Chapter 537: The Second Life

Although it was early in the morning, Xiaoqiao was already busy in the kitchen with Lin Ma, with no time to attend to Gu Hangshen.

Because today was a very special day, it was Grandpa Gong’s eightieth birthday.

Xiaoqiao had originally planned to have a grand celebration, but Grandpa Gong insisted on keeping things simple, saying that he feared a crowd would be too noisy and he didn’t have the energy to deal with it. So, Xiaoqiao gave up on the idea and only invited a few of Grandpa Gong’s old friends whom he usually saw.

The Gong family didn’t have many relatives to begin with, and with the family’s decline over the years and Gong Zhiming’s relocation, there were even fewer visits to the old house. Who else would remember the old man’s milestone birthday?

It was for this reason that Xiaoqiao didn’t want her grandfather to feel neglected or lonely. Even if no one else came, she wanted to do her best to make Grandpa happy.

In the past few days, Xiaoqiao had explained the events of the years in bits and pieces to Grandpa Gong.

Only then did Xiaoqiao realize that although Grandpa Gong didn’t know about Gu Hangshen’s background, he was well aware of her own. It turned out her mother had anticipated Gong Zhiming’s disapproval and had taken a gamble by telling her grandfather everything.

Xiaoqiao never expected that her grandfather would keep her by his side to raise her, doting on her and treating her even more dearly than his own granddaughter, fully aware that she was not the blood grandchild of the Gong family.

Later, she understood the reason from what Grandpa Gong said.

That night when they spoke of her mother, Grandpa Gong’s face was filled with deep remorse. If it hadn’t been for his concern about social status and unwillingness to accept her mother, delaying for so many years, she might have become a daughter-in-law of the Gong family sooner, and none of the subsequent events would have occurred.

This ultimately not only ruined Rong Qiu but also his own biological son.

He understood his son’s hostility towards him. He knew his son resented him.

Therefore, even now, being abandoned here by himself, he harbored no complaints.

Almost all of his guilt was transformed into love and care for Xiaoqiao.

Even though Grandpa Gong had adopted her with a purpose in mind, Xiaoqiao knew that his affection for her was genuine; he had given her a second chance at life.

At the same time, Xiaoqiao, of course, understood that, in his attitude towards Gu Hangshen, her grandfather retained some concerns even after knowing the truth.

The more he cared about Xiaoqiao, the less he dared to assert whether Gu Hangshen had completely let go of his grudge against her.

－

A few hours later, guests began arriving one after another.

There were many more people than Xiaoqiao had anticipated. Not just Grandpa Gong’s old friends, but also relatives of the Gong family, past acquaintances, and even many people who were not that familiar, all came to visit diligently with generous gifts.

Not expecting so many guests, the house was a bit chaotic with only Xiaoqiao and Lin Ma.

Looking at the well-dressed guests, Lin Ma asked in a panic, "Xiaoqiao, why are there so many people?"

"I don’t know either!"

"Did the master invite them?"

"Impossible. Grandpa said he wouldn’t invite outsiders. I’ll go ask!"

While making polite conversation with the guests, Xiaoqiao squeezed through the crowd to quietly pull aside her grandfather who was chatting with his old friends.

"Grandpa, do you know all these people? Why are there so many all of a sudden?"

Grandpa Gong seemed unsurprised, "You silly girl! How can you be more muddled than I am at such a young age!"

Xiaoqiao was still confused, "Huh? I really don’t know what’s going on..."