At this moment, if Liu Mei were also in this room and saw this scene, she would certainly be utterly astonished.
The always serious Xiang Mantang, it turned out, could also have a playful and smiling side.
If his subordinates saw this, they would definitely be shocked beyond belief.
After laughing and joking with Xiang Mantang for a while,
Mu Jinyu stood up, took a piece of clothing out of the wardrobe, and tossed it to Xiang Mantang, saying, "Put on the clothes, and get ready to go out for dinner."
As for the so-called repayment, Mu Jinyu wasn't being serious or concerned about it; it was just a joke with Xiang Mantang.
However, what he didn't know was that, although Xiang Mantang also spoke in a joking tone, in his heart, he was very serious.
He had long been prepared to present assets worth tens of billions, including real estate and company shares, as soon as Mu Jinyu got married, to truly make Mu Jinyu's fortune shine bright.
Although, with Mu Jinyu's current net worth, he certainly wouldn't miss that bit of money, Xiang Mantang felt that what he owed should still be given.
"Alright." Xiang Mantang took the clothes thrown by Mu Jinyu and replied.
The two men were similar in stature and height, but Mu Jinyu was slightly thinner and not as muscular as Xiang Mantang, so Xiang Mantang could fit into Mu Jinyu's clothes just fine.
After changing into the clothes, Xiang Mantang got up with Mu Jinyu and walked out of the room.
Mu Jinyu told Xiang Mantang to sit in the living room for a while, and he himself went to the kitchen to check if Wen Rou had finished preparing dinner.
"It'll be ready soon, just wait a little longer," Wen Rou said, turning to see Mu Jinyu come in, while she continued to stir-fry the dishes.
"Hmm, my junior brother has come over; see if there's enough food, or if we need to add more dishes?" Mu Jinyu said.
"Ah? Your junior brother came over? Then I'll prepare a few more dishes. You go out and accompany your junior brother," Wen Rou said, feeling a bit nervous, she busied herself.
"No worries, let him chill out there by himself. You need help here, right? I'll help you," Mu Jinyu said with a smile.
Initially, Mu Jinyu's mood had been constantly agitated by Su Zijin's visit, but it dissipated quite a bit with the arrival of Xiang Mantang and their bantering. Now feeling a bit guilty toward Gu Xiyan and Wen Rou, Mu Jinyu decided to come and lend a hand.
"Isn't it a bit rude to leave the guest out there?" Wen Rou hesitated.
"We're all family here; no need for such formalities," Mu Jinyu said, moving over to help Wen Rou.
With Mu Jinyu's assistance, Wen Rou quickly cooked a few more dishes.
Then, Mu Jinyu and Wen Rou carried the dishes to the dining room table, while he called out, "Ah-Xiang, dinner's ready."
"Hmm," Xiang Mantang responded and came in from the living room.
He didn't have anything particular to greet Mu Jinyu with since they were well acquainted, but he naturally couldn't be impolite to Wen Rou, his sister-in-law. He nodded slightly to Wen Rou with a smile and said, "Sister-in-law, I apologize for coming over without any gifts due to the short notice. I'll make sure to make it up another day."
"No need, no need, you're Little Mu's junior... junior brother, we're all family here, no need to be so polite," Wen Rou said, quickly waving her hands.
She too found it a bit weird that Xiang Mantang was Mu Jinyu's junior brother, but she didn't have the same curiosity as Gu Xiyan to explore the matter further.
On hearing this, Mu Jinyu reached out and pretended to clean his ear, then joked, "Hey, that sounds, somehow, very familiar to me!"
Xiang Mantang was taken aback, then also burst into laughter, saying, "Haha, definitely next time, definitely next time."
He also remembered that when he met with Gu Xiyan yesterday, he had said he would prepare a gift for another day, yet today, he made the same remark to Wen Rou.
But truly, each occurrence was an accident.
He had only just returned yesterday and wasn't aware that Mu Jinyu had already found him several sisters-in-law and even brought one over, so he was unprepared for anything in the rush.
And today, he hadn't planned on visiting Mu Jinyu; he came over because he was injured after killing Chen Wudao and wanted Mu Jinyu's help in healing his wounds. He hadn't expected Wen Rou to be at home, so naturally, he arrived empty-handed again.
Now, Mu Jinyu had teased him about it, and once Xiang Mantang caught on, he also felt rather embarrassed.
He decided in his heart that when he returned, he would have Liu Mei accompany him to select a few items to make up for it with his sisters-in-law.
Of course, aside from the confirmed sisters-in-law—Gu Xiyan, Wen Rou, and Mei Yinxue—he couldn't forget about Xu Qingya, Shen Shuyao, and Lin Qiaoxia, the potential ones.
He needed to prepare for them as well, just in case they suddenly became his sisters-in-law one day. Being called out for not giving them gifts would be even more embarrassing.
After teasing Xiang Mantang a bit more, Mu Jinyu stopped talking and quietly continued eating.
After the meal, Mu Jinyu told Xiang Mantang to either stay in the living room to play or just leave; then, he and Wen Rou went to the kitchen to wash the dishes.
Xiang Mantang wasn't someone who couldn't read the room. Understanding that the couple might want to "exercise" after their meal, he took the hint and said his goodbyes.
"Senior brother, I'll head out first. I'll make up for the missed gifts for the sisters-in-law another day. Don't worry, I won't shirk this." Xiang Mantang left this message as he departed.
After leaving Mu Jinyu's apartment, Xiang Mantang took out his newly exchanged phone and called Liu Mei, asking her to accompany him to the mall and the antique street to pick out gifts for his sisters-in-law and potential sisters-in-law.
...
Having washed the dishes and completed their "post-dinner exercise," Mu Jinyu and Wen Rou went to the washroom to take a bath one after the other.
Before long, Gu Xiyan also returned.
Seeing Gu Xiyan's furrowed brows as she returned home, Mu Jinyu's own brows furrowed, and he asked, "What's wrong? Is there trouble at the company?"
"No!" Gu Xiyan shook her head, not wanting to discuss it with Mu Jinyu and quickly adjusting her mood and expression, trying to reveal a cheerful smile.
However, that smile seemed a bit forced.
Gu Xiyan didn't want to bother Mu Jinyu, especially since he was already anxious about Su Zijin's affairs.
Mu Jinyu's frown deepened, and he said, "If there's something bothering you, just say it. What's the point of bottling it up? Has someone bullied you, or what?"
He guessed that it might be the Gu family Members pestering Gu Xiyan again, asking her for a favor.
But the issue with the hidden dangers of the Jade Bee Dew produced by the Gu Family wasn't something they could just let go of because they wanted to; it had become uncontrollable due to Du Xiangcheng's involvement.
"No one has bullied me; it's just that I..." Gu Xiyan thought for a moment, then sighed, "It's about Linglong."
"Linglong?" Mu Jinyu paused, slightly taken aback, then remembered that Linglong was Gu Xiyan's close friend he hadn't seen for a while, Yu Linglong.
He recalled that Gu Xiyan once mentioned that Yu Linglong's father seemed to be manipulated by Gu Zhengxin into going to the Haojiang Casino, where he lost tens of millions. Eventually, they had no choice but to sell Yu Linglong's Essence Blood—the Face of Jade Group's shares to the Gu Corporation to save her father.
At that time, Yu Linglong probably wasn't fully aware of the relationship between Gu Xiyan and the Gu Family. It's commonly said that one shouldn't air one's dirty laundry in public, and even between close friends, such embarrassing matters are not easily conveyed. That's why Yu Linglong had decided to sell her shares to the Gu Corporation, allowing Gu Zhengxin to succeed.
But what else had happened to Yu Linglong?