NFBE Chapter 11 A Distinguished Guest Arrives, But It's Not Gu Huaizhou
Chapter 11 A Distinguished Guest Arrives, But It's Not Gu Huaizhou
I'm not afraid of Mercedes or Land Rover, I'm afraid of Volkswagens with letters on them.
The Gu family drove three Volkswagen Phaetons with letters on them, which were parked neatly in the open-air parking area to the left of the Xie family's gate.
The neighbors living around the Xie family had already heard the news and were watching the spectacle from their own courtyards or rooftops.
The story of Xie Jiaoyue and Gu Huaizhou has been circulating for many years, but Gu Huaizhou and Xie Jiaoyue have never been seen making a public appearance together.
Let alone the two of them appearing together, Gu Huaizhou's public appearances are few and far between.
As the story has been circulating for a long time and the two haven't been seen together yet, some pessimistic voices have inevitably emerged.
Therefore, as soon as they received the call from the Gu family last night, the Xie family not only secretly leaked the news, but Xie Jiaoyue even contacted reporters in the entertainment industry.
Right now, a group of paparazzi with cameras are hiding behind the flowerbeds near the Xie family's house.
Seeing this spectacle, the neighbors all quietly took out their phones to take pictures of the commotion.
Xie Mingzong was busy going forward to greet the Gu family, but he still managed to turn around and glare at Li Xi, reminding her in an unfriendly tone, "Get out of here!"
Li Xi and Jiang Xinghe got into the car.
But Jiang Xinghe wasn't in a hurry to leave. He said, "I've heard people mention Gu Huaizhou's name every day in my life, but I've never actually met him."
"I heard he's a year younger than Xie Xingyun, the same age as me. We were born in the same year, but he became the CEO of the Gu Group, while the most awesome thing I've ever done in my life is winning a competitive eating contest."
"I need to see just how many heads this Gu Huaizhou has!"
As Jiang Xinghe spoke, he adjusted the position of the car's interior and exterior rearview mirrors.
Li Xi was speechless.
But she was actually quite curious about Gu Huaizhou's appearance.
Someone who can make Xie Jiaoyue fawn over him like a lapdog must be at least not ugly, if not handsome.
If it's too ugly, then she won't do it.
She's a sucker for good looks; she wouldn't even bother taking off her bra if a man was too ugly.
The two of them stared intently at the rearview mirror like curious children.
Xie Mingzong was relieved to see Li Xi get into the car obediently. He quickly put on a warm smile and walked over to the Phaeton in the middle.
Just as he was about to reach for the car door, the bodyguard who got out of the passenger seat quickly squeezed in front of him. "Mr. Xie, I'll take care of it."
Xie Mingzong chuckled and casually withdrew his hand.
The car door slowly opened.
A shiny, high-end leather shoe emerged from the car, landing on the ground. The cuffs of the suit trousers rolled up, revealing a dark gray sock.
Xie Mingzong's smile became even more obsequious. He grabbed Xie Jiaoyue's arm and said with a smile, "Mr. Gu is very welcome to the Xie family. I am Jiaoyue's father, Xie Mingzong."
"Mr. Gu, you..."
The car door was fully opened, revealing the true face of the owner of the leather shoes—
He was a white-haired man who looked to be in his seventies, with wrinkles on his face. When the old man looked down at Xie Mingzong with his grayish eyes, he couldn't hide his disdain.
Xie Mingzong's prepared remarks suddenly caught in his throat.
"you are?"
"You must be Mr. Xie Mingzong." The old man extended his right hand to Xie Mingzong and said, "My name is Gu Han, and I am the housekeeper of Huaizhou."
The so-called life steward is the head steward in charge of Gu Huaizhou's food, clothing, housing, transportation, and safety.
He has been with Gu Huaizhou since Gu Huaizhou was born.
His identity is that of a butler, a mentor, and a family member.
But in Xie Mingzong's eyes, Gu Han was just a servant who worked for money.
Xie Mingzong tiptoed and glanced at the carriage behind Gu Han, but didn't see anyone.
He glanced at the cars in front and behind him and saw that all the bodyguards had gotten out, but none of them matched Gu Huaizhou.
The enthusiasm and obsequiousness in Xie Mingzong's eyes vanished instantly. Unable to hide his embarrassment, he asked in surprise, "Mr. Gu didn't come?"
Upon hearing this, Gu Han immediately withdrew his hand.
His hands, which had been folded in front of him, fell to his sides. His tone turned several degrees colder as he coldly said, "If Mr. Xie is asking about Huaizhou, then he indeed did not come."
Xie Mingzong frowned and subconsciously said, "But you said on the phone last night that Mr. Gu would personally come to celebrate my daughter's birthday..."
Before Gu Han's butler could explain, the bodyguard beside him said, "Mr. Gu Han is also Mr. Gu."
Gu Han, Mr. Gu.
That's reasonable and makes no mistake.
Xie Mingzong's eyes darkened as he realized it was all for naught.
Xie Jiaoyue secretly glanced at the reporters behind the flower bushes a few times before she composed herself.
She forced a calm and elegant smile, stepped forward, bowed to Gu Han, and respectfully greeted him, "Butler Gu, thank you very much for coming to my birthday banquet. I am truly honored."
"Please forgive my father's lapse in composure. He has never been to the Gu family before and did not know that you, the housekeeper, also have the surname Gu. He also thought that today was my 25th birthday, so he subconsciously assumed that Mr. Gu Huaizhou was coming."
"It was all a misunderstanding. I apologize for making you laugh."
Xie Jiaoyue's words were impeccable, and Gu Han's expression softened slightly.
"Miss Jiaoyue, happy birthday."
As he spoke, Gu Han gave his bodyguard a look.
The bodyguard opened the trunk and took out a box containing a custom-made guqin (a traditional Chinese stringed instrument).
The guqin is exquisitely crafted and clearly very expensive.
Upon seeing the guqin, Xie Jiaoyue finally smiled with delight. "Is it the guqin I bid on at the auction before?"
“Miss Xie is right. Huai Zhou heard that Miss Jiao Yue regretted missing out on the violin at the auction, so he asked me to use my connections to buy it for her.”
Gu Han walked over, picked up the guqin, and handed it to Xie Jiaoyue.
Happy birthday, Miss Jiaoyue.
"Thank you, I like it very much." Xie Jiaoyue took the guqin with both hands, turned around and handed it to Xie Xingyun beside her. "Brother, please take it inside for me. It's not very convenient for me to wear high heels."
Xie Xingyun accepted the guqin.
Xie Mingzong deduced from Xie Jiaoyue's respectful attitude towards Gu Han that the old man must have a high status in the Gu family, so he quickly adjusted his attitude.
Xie Mingzong warmly invited Gu Han into the house: "Mr. Gu, please come in and have some tea. Let's sit down and chat."
Gu Han waved his hand dismissively and said, "No need. Since we've brought the gift, we'll be leaving now."
"Oh, right." Gu Han suddenly remembered something and said to Xie Mingzong, "We only found out last night that the Xie family has actually adopted a child."
"After the old man learned about this, he asked me to bring another invitation today."
Gu Han took out an invitation from his pocket. It was a red invitation with gold lettering, and it was for Old Master Gu's birthday.
Gu Han handed the invitation to Xie Mingzong, saying, "Since they are all children, we should invite them all. We can't show favoritism."
"We hope that the three Xie children can attend the old man's birthday celebration together."
Xie Mingzong's brow twitched; he couldn't believe that the Gu family had actually prepared an invitation for Li Xi as well!
He accepted the invitation.
As soon as Gu Han drove away, Xie Mingzong muttered under his breath, "What is the Gu family doing! It's not like they just found out that my family adopted Li Xi! Why didn't the Gu family treat Li Xi the same way before?"
"And you're saying we can't favor one over the other? Are you implying that we've mistreated Li Xi?"
Staring at the glaring invitation in Xie Mingzong's hand, Xie Jiaoyue could no longer maintain her smile.
She snatched the invitation, opened it, and saw that the signatory's name was written in three characters that were written in a flamboyant and elegant style.
Gu Huaizhou.
"This is Gu Huaizhou's handwriting!"
Xie Jiaoyue gripped the invitation tightly, gritting her teeth, "Li Xi actually got an invitation personally written by Gu Huaizhou."
But this is clearly an honor that belongs only to her!
Even Xie Xingyun's invitation was stamped only with Gu Huaizhou's personal seal.