"Got it, I’m on my way." Sheng Yi quickly made an exit and went to find Suisui.

When Dao An arrived, Sheng Yi was still in the garden on the east side.

"President Gu."

As soon as Dao An arrived, he didn’t treat himself as a guest. He took off his coat, revealing an English shirt and plaid business vest, and walked straight into the kitchen to help.

"Dao An, you’re here." Gu Yuan never treated Dao An as a guest either. When she saw him come in to help, she instructed, "First, clean those small Australian lobsters and the four black abalones."

The black abalones were the size of a human hand, grown in the pristine cold seawater and natural seaweed environment.

These were Sheng Yi’s favorite abalones. She only liked small Australian lobsters; she didn’t like the big ones.

Even Dao An knew that.

Dao An took off his coat and handed it to Auntie, who then went to hang it up.

Once in the kitchen, Dao An started helping with lunch.

"Dao An, have you mastered the cooking skills from your aunt at home?" Gu Yuan opened the pot lid, added some salt to the soup, stirred it with a spoon, and tasted it.

Dao An picked up a brush, started working, and replied, "I was learning well for a while, but I’ve been too busy lately to keep up."

Gu Yuan sighed, "Oh, that’s a pity."

"It’s not a pity. My aunt said she has a cookbook passed down through the family—apparently, an ancestor was a royal chef. I asked her to bring it over when she’s free, and I’ll make a copy."

Gu Yuan laughed, "You’ll need to pay a copyright fee for that."

The sound of rushing water came, and Dao An had already washed the first small Australian lobster, replying, "My aunt has a business mind. She’s very supportive of me starting a side business and opening a restaurant using her recipes, and I don’t have to pay a copyright fee; she just wants a stake."

This logic, indeed, shows business acumen.

Gu Yuan asked with a smile, "Did you agree?"

"I can’t. I’m going to M Country soon, so I don’t have time for a restaurant side business. If it was two or three years ago, maybe."

Two or three years ago, Dao An’s investments were all in travel hotels and scenic B&Bs.

Dao An’s investment insight was very keen, and he made a lot of money over the years.

Gu Yuan put the lid back on, set the spoon down, and stopped everything she was doing to ask, "When are you leaving?"

Dao An: "The day after tomorrow. I’ve already booked the flight."

Gu Yuan smiled, "You’re in such a hurry to leave. You’ve already booked the flight for the day after tomorrow."

Dao An replied, "Time is tight."

"Yuanyuan, I brought Suisui back."

"She didn’t mess with your food, but she accidentally got messed with by me."

Sheng Yi led Suisui over and said as they approached.

Gu Yuan wiped her hands and said to Dao An, "Yiyi is here."

Dao An acknowledged with a nod and continued with his work.

Gu Yuan came out, seeing Suisui’s little hands still wet, which confirmed they must have been dirty just a few minutes ago. And there were marks left around their mouths...

She beckoned them over, "Come, the two of you tell me how this is different from not wiping your mouth after sneaking food."

Sheng Yi immediately covered her mouth, "I knew we couldn’t hide it from Yuanyuan."

"Oh, you knew?" Gu Yuan chuckled.

Sheng Yi covered her face.

Little Suisui, trying to be responsible, recalled how her godmother said she would take the blame. Suisui was most worried about whether her mom would scold her godmother.

She was also scared of being scolded.

But she couldn’t let her godmother get scolded either.

Her godmother was the best, not to be scolded.

So with a sense of responsibility, little Suisui admitted her ’offense,’ obediently stood in front of Gu Yuan, and, wringing her little hands, said, "Mommy, I was wrong."

Gu Yuan squatted down, touched Suisui’s cheek, and asked, "Can you tell Mommy what you did wrong, Suisui?"

Suisui hesitated for a moment, then confessed one by one, "I picked five tomatoes."

Gu Yuan’s eyebrows twitched. Five??

She put on a stern face, questioning, "Five tomatoes, what color were they?"

Suisui couldn’t tell colors, so she turned her head up to Sheng Yi for help.

Sheng Yi, feeling a bit embarrassed, pursed her lips before softly saying, "Green."

Gu Yuan: "..."

So, Suisui had picked five tomatoes while they were still green, not red.

Gu Yuan looked at her obedient daughter, "Suisui, you’re really mommy’s good son."

Suisui beamed, "Really?"

Gu Yuan: "Yes, so for the next month, you can’t go to the vegetable garden."

Upon hearing this.

The joy on Suisui’s face fell instantly, and she tugged on Gu Yuan’s finger, whining, "No, no, Suisui was wrong, and... and it’s not that Suisui wanted to pick the tomatoes. The tomatoes called me over to pick them."

Gu Yuan: "...Oh, so it was the tomatoes that made the first move?"

Suisui had a serious expression, "Yes, the tomatoes did."

"Hahahahaha..." Sheng Yi burst into laughter on the side.

Gu Yuan continued her questioning, "What else did you pick? Confess honestly."

Suisui: "Watermelon."

Gu Yuan frowned, "You picked a watermelon?"

"No, no." Suisui shook her head, "Mommy, I didn’t pick the watermelon. I just knocked on its door, asked it to open up, and it popped open for me. The watermelon brother even invited me to have some."

Gu Yuan: "..."

"Hahahahaha..." Sheng Yi couldn’t stop laughing.

There were two watermelon vines beside the garden. Uncle Xiang took good care of them, and they produced three watermelons that hadn’t fully ripened yet.

Now, it seemed, they’d confusingly ended up in Suisui’s stomach.

Suisui explained clearly, "The watermelon brother’s parents invited godmother to eat watermelon too."

Sheng Yi: "..."

Gu Yuan looked at Sheng Yi, who sheepishly murmured, "Yuanyuan, if I said the watermelon made the first move, would you believe me?"

"..."

Sheng Yi had a faint red mark on her face. Earlier, Gu Yuan hadn’t even thought it might be from eating watermelon.

Now, well, like that, three watermelons were gone.

"Go wipe your face. After sneaking a bite, you should at least clean your mouth." Gu Yuan told Sheng Yi to wash her face and bring out a clean towel for Suisui to wipe her mouth.

Seeing it as a hassle, Sheng Yi simply brought Suisui along to wash up.

Amused by the duo’s antics, Gu Yuan was about to head back to the kitchen when Uncle Xiang came in, "Miss Gu, Miss Gu."

His tone sounded a bit urgent.

"What’s wrong? What happened?" Gu Yuan asked, seeing Uncle Xiang approaching with a worried look.

Uncle Xiang came to Gu Yuan’s side and said, "That person fainted outside the main gate."

The term ’that person’ left Gu Yuan momentarily confused about who he meant.

But she was only stunned for a few seconds.

Realizing that ’that person’ referred to Quan Jin, Gu Yuan’s expression turned serious. She calmly asked, "What’s going on with him?"

"Not sure yet. I’ve already arranged for someone to send him to the hospital. The guards checked the surveillance and saw he stayed in his car all night until he got out a little while ago, walked a few steps, and fainted. There’s concern he might have suffered from sudden death due to being overworked in recent days."

Gu Yuan: "..."

The first few words just made Gu Yuan frown deeper.

But the last remark made her heart skip a beat: "Sudden death?"

"Well, not dead yet," Uncle Xiang shook his head, saying, "He was still breathing when I sent him to the hospital. But I don’t know his current condition."

Gu Yuan: "..."

Uncle Xiang’s way of speaking is really...

Gu Yuan removed her apron and sleeves, "Which hospital is it? Uncle Xiang, arrange a car for me. I want to visit the hospital." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"But today..." Uncle Xiang wanted to remind Gu Yuan that today was the day to have a gathering with Miss Sheng Yi and Mr. Dao An, something Miss Gu had mentioned as being important the day before.

"Uncle Xiang, just prepare the car. I’ll go check on him. It won’t take long." With that, Gu Yuan went to the kitchen and briefed Dao An on the situation.

Dao An gestured reassuringly to Gu Yuan, "President Gu, don’t worry. I’ll delay mealtime a bit."

Only then did Gu Yuan feel okay to head to the hospital.

A few minutes by car, the nearest hospital to the Gu Mansion. By the time Gu Yuan arrived at the hospital room, Quan Jin was still unconscious.

Gu Yuan asked the doctor, "What’s his condition?"

"He..."