Chapter 535: Xiaorui, Who Gave You Permission to Smoke?

Chapter 535: Chapter 352: Xiaorui, Who Gave You Permission to Smoke?

“Hiss! Muxue, you just ripped the skin off my lip,” Xue Rui said, clutching his mouth.

Gu Qingshan sneered. “Serves you right.”

“Hahaha!” Guo Wei was an old smoker himself, so when he heard that Xue Rui had gotten his lip torn, he couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“Qingshan, Muxue is a real firecracker, isn’t she? What’s the deal with those two?”

Gu Qingshan just shook his head with a wry smile, an answer in itself.

Guo Wei patted Gu Qingshan’s shoulder, then glanced at his own dazed, pudgy son. He nodded, pleased. ‘It’s better to raise a son, after all,’ he thought. ‘No matter how exceptional a daughter is, she’s bound to marry out of the family.’

“Sigh…” Gu Qingshan heaved a long sigh, his resolve to find a son-in-law who would marry into the family hardening.

…

“Boss, are you okay? Does it hurt?” Lin Ruoxi instinctively leaned in for a closer look, but Xue Rui just shook his head and gently pushed her away.

‘Mmh.’ Lin Ruoxi remembered her mission for the day…

“Hand them over,” Gu Muxue said coldly, holding her hand out palm-up in front of Xue Rui. “I still haven’t dealt with you for leaving cigarette butts all over the school grounds last time.”

Xue Rui shot Guo Ziyang a wink, as if to say, ‘See? Now do you believe me?’

“Here you go,” Xue Rui said, handing Guo Ziyang’s pack of cigarettes over to Gu Muxue.

The moment the pack was in her hand, Gu Muxue crushed it into a crumpled ball and tossed it into a nearby trash can.

Guo Ziyang winced, feeling a phantom pain for his lost property.

It suddenly dawned on him what Xue Rui had meant by “Hurry and put it away.” Otherwise, his lighter would probably be in that trash can right now…

Gu Muxue poked the tip of Xue Rui’s nose and threatened viciously, “If you ever dare to smoke again, I’ll…”

“You’ll do what?” Xue Rui shot back with a smile.

Lin Ruoxi leaned in curiously. “Muxue, what are you going to do?”

Gu Muxue whispered in Lin Ruoxi’s ear, “We’re a team on this. You have to back me up, otherwise he won’t listen.”

“Okay, I’ll listen to you.” Lin Ruoxi nodded obediently. ‘Gu Muxue has a point,’ she thought. ‘Xue Rui really cares about Muxue’s opinion. We can use that to get him to break his bad habits.’

Gu Muxue pulled Xue Rui and Lin Ruoxi aside and said in a low voice, “If you smoke again, both Ruoxi and I will ignore you.”

Before Xue Rui could even answer, Lin Ruoxi started waving her hands and shot back, “Boss, I wouldn’t ignore you!”

Gu Muxue stared at Lin Ruoxi in disbelief, her eyes wide and round. “Ruoxi, we just agreed to this.”

‘How could you go back on your word like that?’

Xue Rui stifled a laugh. ‘The little minx tried to gang up on me, but the sweet girl will always be on my side.’

Guo Ziyang was starting to figure things out, too. He realized Gu Muxue and Xue Rui were probably a couple; otherwise, she wouldn’t be all up in his business like that.

As for why the tall, beautiful woman was calling Xue Rui “Boss,” that part he still couldn’t wrap his head around.

‘Xue Rui looks like he’s only college-aged. What kind of boss could he be?’

‘Besides, if you were going by presence alone, *I’m* the one who seems more like a boss.’

Guo Ziyang had originally assumed that at this dinner, he and Xue Rui would be on more or less equal footing—he might even have a slight edge over him, in fact.

But now, he felt like a completely irrelevant outsider.

“Come on, kids, let’s go inside. We can talk while we eat. The private room is all set,” Guo Wei said, waving the group over.

“Coming!” Gu Muxue replied sweetly.

Xue Rui and Gu Muxue walked side by side, with Lin Ruoxi following a step behind Xue Rui. The role she was playing today was that of a female secretary.

“Xiaorui, what do cigarettes taste like?” Gu Muxue asked, her face full of curiosity.

“Bitter and harsh, I guess?” Xue Rui answered.

Guo Ziyang was lost in thought, trying to recall the taste himself, when he suddenly saw Xue Rui and Gu Muxue’s fingers intertwine. He subconsciously smacked his lips a couple of times…

‘Truly bitter and harsh.’

‘Yep, and a little sour, too.’