Chapter 211: Testing Chu Xiaoguai

Not long after, Chu Peipei arrived with Chu Xiaoguai.

As soon as the little girl entered the room, she ran happily toward An Nan and threw herself into her arms.

“Auntie Nannan, I missed you!”

An Nan’s body tensed for a moment.

After confirming the child posed no threat, she gradually relaxed and smiled, saying,

“If you missed your auntie, why didn’t you come visit?”

Chu Xiaoguai took two steps back, pouting. “Mom wouldn’t let me. She said I was a third wheel!”

An Nan didn’t miss the flash of dissatisfaction in her eyes.

She raised her eyebrows and glanced at Gu Zhiyu, just in time to meet his gaze.

Chu Xiaoguai also turned her attention to Gu Zhiyu, her eyes lighting up with amazement. She ran over to him, delighted.

“Brother Gu, I missed you too!”

Gu Zhiyu’s eyes sharpened, and he quickly sidestepped, causing Chu Xiaoguai to miss her target and nearly fall.

She stumbled several steps before barely regaining her balance. If she hadn’t reacted quickly, she would have landed face-first on the floor.

Gu Zhiyu said, “Sorry, instinctive reaction.”

This was directed at Chu Peipei.

Then he added, “You react pretty fast.”

This was for Chu Xiaoguai.

Chu Xiaoguai glanced at Gu Zhiyu, saying nothing, looking a little aggrieved.

An Nan said to Chu Peipei, “Sorry, Gu Zhiyu has gynophobia—he gets nervous around women.”

This was the excuse they’d used before, back at the mountain base.

She then turned to Chu Xiaoguai. “Xiaoguai, let Auntie have a look. Are you okay?”

Before the child could answer, Chu Peipei waved it off. “She’s fine! She’s not that fragile.”

She then looked at Gu Zhiyu. “Sorry, kids don’t know any better.”

Gu Zhiyu glanced at the silent child. “Most kids don’t have such quick reflexes. Xiaoguai’s pretty smart, and her coordination is good too.”

Hearing his praise, Chu Xiaoguai was delighted and tried to move closer to Gu Zhiyu again.

Chu Peipei quickly called her back. “Chu Xiaoguai, come here. Be good, don’t go jumping on people!”

Chu Xiaoguai reluctantly walked over to Chu Peipei and sat with her on the sofa.

Then she blinked her big eyes and asked Gu Zhiyu, who was sitting not far away, “Then why aren’t you afraid of Auntie Nannan?”

An Nan raised an eyebrow. This little girl was definitely doing it on purpose—calling Gu Zhiyu “brother” and her “auntie.”

She asked directly, “Xiaoguai, do you know what gynophobia means?”

Chu Xiaoguai was momentarily stunned, then replied, “I was just guessing. Does it mean being afraid of girls?”

An Nan smiled meaningfully. “You really are clever, Xiaoguai.”

Chu Peipei chimed in, “You’re not wrong—Xiaoguai is very mature for her age, she understands a lot.”

Chu Xiaoguai gave a proud smile. “Not really, I just guessed.”

An Nan and Gu Zhiyu exchanged a glance. Then, out of character, Gu Zhiyu suddenly spoke up:

“Being smart is good. I like smart kids.”

Chu Xiaoguai’s eyes lit up. “Really?!”

Gu Zhiyu nodded.

After that, Gu Zhiyu—usually so quiet—became surprisingly chatty, talking with Chu Xiaoguai for quite a while.

The little girl was overjoyed, tilting her head and answering every question.

An Nan watched them with interest, then turned to Chu Peipei. “Xiaoguai seems a lot more outgoing than before?”

Chu Peipei smiled happily. “She is! She talks a lot more these days, and she’s much braver.”

An Nan nodded. “She knows a lot, too. I don’t even understand some of the things Gu Zhiyu was talking about. Are all elementary school kids this impressive now?”

Chu Peipei answered instinctively, “When the disaster struck, she was only in first grade. How much could she have learned...”

She trailed off, suddenly realizing something, and turned to look at Xiaoguai, who was still chatting away.

Over there, Chu Xiaoguai and Gu Zhiyu had already moved on to discussing the disaster.

Gu Zhiyu said, “I’ve never seen such extreme heat before. It’s been raining for so long, but it’s barely cooled down. It’s really abnormal.”

Chu Xiaoguai replied, “Yeah, and the acid rain came out of nowhere. It’s almost like concentrated sulfuric acid.”

Chu Peipei asked in surprise, “Xiaoguai, you know about concentrated sulfuric acid?”

Xiaoguai replied offhandedly, “It’s a strong acid, right?”

Then, as if suddenly realizing something, she snuggled up to Chu Peipei and said sweetly, “Didn’t you tell me about it before, Mom?”

Chu Peipei was puzzled. “Did I? I don’t remember ever telling you that...”

“I never mentioned it...”

Chu Xiaoguai mumbled, “Maybe it was my last mom who told me.”

Chu Peipei frowned slightly.

Didn’t this child always have trouble telling who her real mother was...?

Before she could figure it out, Xiaoguai had already left her arms and darted back to Gu Zhiyu’s side to continue chatting.

An Nan curled her lips.

It was clear now—this little girl wasn’t just unusual, she definitely had an agenda.

She glanced at Chu Peipei, then tried to “join in” the conversation, but every time, Chu Xiaoguai ignored her and steered the topic away.

Chu Peipei watched this with a deepening frown.

She looked at the lively conversation between Gu Zhiyu and Chu Xiaoguai, then at the neglected An Nan, feeling inexplicably uncomfortable.

So she called out, “Xiaoguai, come sit with Mommy.”

Chu Xiaoguai pouted. “But Mom, I want to sit next to Brother Gu!”

Chu Peipei was about to scold her when An Nan grabbed her arm.

“Peipei-jie, it seems like Xiaoguai really likes our family. Why don’t you let me adopt her?”

“Huh?”

Chu Peipei was stunned.

Nannan was always so averse to trouble—she didn’t even want her own kids. Why would she offer to adopt someone else’s?

Before she could process it, the little girl who’d been ignoring An Nan suddenly perked up.

“Really, Auntie Nannan?”

An Nan smiled. “Of course! And Uncle Gu seems to like you too. Would you like to come live with us?”

Chu Xiaoguai couldn’t hide her excitement. “I’d love to!”

Chu Peipei was completely dumbfounded.

Once she realized what was happening, she felt a bit hurt. The foster daughter she’d cared for so much was ready to leave her at the drop of a hat?

An Nan noticed Chu Peipei’s reaction and glanced at Gu Zhiyu.

This guy’s good. Just a few words and he’s got the little girl wrapped around his finger.

Gu Zhiyu raised his eyebrows at her.

If you want someone to slip up, you have to let them get carried away first.

Chu Xiaoguai was now completely over the moon, eager to seal the deal. But when she noticed Chu Peipei’s unhappy expression, she came to her senses.

After all, it was thanks to Chu Peipei that she was living here.

These people were only kind to her because of Chu Peipei—she understood that much.

So she quickly changed tack. “Auntie Nannan, I can’t bear to leave Mom. I have to stay with her. But maybe I can come visit you a few days every week!”"