The Slacker Stepmother and the Non-Domineering CEO

Chapter 174

It must be said that Butler Su was truly an all-capable butler. Within just a couple of days, he had found both a design team and a renovation team for her. Apart from choosing the decoration style, Nian Suian didn't need to worry about anything else herself.

Nian Suian chose a French vintage style, and after providing this general direction, she just needed to wait for the design team to present their specific design proposals, after which they could discuss the details.

Originally, Nian Suian thought renovation would be a troublesome matter, but now she realized it wasn't like that at all. She praised 10,086 times—

Money is really good!

"Butler Su, you're really capable! I'll definitely give you a big red envelope for Chinese New Year!" Nian Suian said with a smile. One Butler Su had saved her from so many troubles.

"Madam is too kind. This is all part of my duty."

Whether it was his duty or not, Nian Suian had already decided that both Butler Su and Nanny Zhang would each get a big red envelope for the New Year.

Suddenly, Nian Suian found herself with free time again, but the weather had been quite cold recently, so staying indoors was nice.

The home theater in the basement wasn't ready yet, so Nian Suian simply cuddled with Tangyuan (her cat) and watched movies in her room.

While she and her cat were enjoying peaceful days in their warm room, Gu Zhijing was at school, burying himself in studies to reach the top five in his class for the final exams.

Besides allowing him to travel by himself, Gu Junxing had promised him 10,000 yuan for ranking fifth, with an additional 10,000 yuan for each rank higher, plus covering all travel expenses. However, if his performance declined, he would lose his New Year's red envelope and gaming room privileges for half a year.

This agreement was entirely proposed by Gu Junxing, but as a son, Gu Zhijing had no room to resist and could only sign this contract with his father.

So last night, Gu Zhijing's dreams were sweet in the first half of the night and nightmarish in the second half.

"Zhijing, let's go play ball."

Qu Zizhou seemed to have forgotten how Jiang Yun had dealt with him after the midterm exams. With final exams approaching, he couldn't sit still, as if there were thorns on his chair, wanting to play ball even during the short lunch break.

Gu Zhijing, who was studying Chinese reading comprehension templates, rejected without hesitation: "No way, can't you see I'm studying here?!"

Gu Zhijing sincerely advised him: "You should review properly too. The midterms are one thing, but if you perform poorly in the finals, you're done for during New Year."

"My dad and sister are coming home soon. When they're back, my mom will be so happy she probably won't have time to deal with me," Qu Zizhou said stubbornly, but despite his words, he didn't dare to go play ball and obediently sat down in his seat.

"Are you stupid? With your dad back, won't it be perfect for your parents to tag-team you? And your sister - when your mom compares you two, she'll probably wish she could make you be reborn again."

Qu Zizhou's sister, Qu Ziyao, had excellent grades and had always been first in her class. She was also multi-talented and always behaved well and spoke sweetly in front of adults.

Every New Year, when relatives visited the Qu family, they could praise Qu Ziyao non-stop for three minutes without repetition. After praising her, when it came to Qu Zizhou, they only had one line: "Zizhou is okay too."

Five words, not one more.

Now Qu Zizhou thought more about it and realized Gu Zhijing had a point. When the final exam results came out during New Year, not even his grandparents could save him.

Sighing, he took out his math workbook and said, "You're right."

After dinner, they suddenly decided to form a study group of four, with Qi Anlu bearing the responsibility of tutoring the other three.

"Anlu, you have a great responsibility - one person's effort to save three families!"

Qi Anlu's mouth twitched. The words sounded strange, but he was actually quite happy that his friends were finally planning to study seriously. He not only helped them with problems during breaks but also arranged to take them to the bookstore on Saturday to buy practice books.

"There are no shortcuts in exams, especially for subjects like math and physics. You just need to practice more problems." It wasn't until he started tutoring the three that Qi Anlu realized that except for Chu Mingyan, both Gu Zhijing and Qu Zizhou had never bought any practice books besides the school-issued workbooks!

"The final exam content is limited. If you practice more problems, you're bound to encounter similar ones during the exam."

On Friday night, when Gu Zhijing got home, he told Gu Junxing and Nian Suian that he was going to the bookstore with his friends on Saturday to buy practice books.

Hearing this, Nian Suian nudged Gu Junxing with her elbow.

"Our Zhijing is so motivated, shouldn't you show some support as his father?"

Gu Junxing looked at her with a smile and said: "Have you forgotten? All the money is with you now."

"Dad, you even handed over financial control? I never thought you'd be such a henpecked husband!"

Gu Zhijing was delighted about his father being "henpecked," after all, Sister Suian wouldn't withhold his allowance. He could already see a bright financial future beckoning to him.

That day when Gu Junxing gave his wallet to Nian Suian, it wasn't a joke. However, Nian Suian found dealing with multiple cards troublesome, so they later went to the bank together and got two new cards, transferring all the money over.

Two cards - one for Gu Zhijing's allowance and one for Gu Junxing's allowance. Nian Suian had forgotten exactly how much money was in the cards, but the string of numbers was about as long as her phone number.

She didn't know what special habit Gu Junxing had, enjoying the feeling of receiving a monthly allowance...

Nian Suian was generous with money management. For Gu Zhijing's Saturday book shopping, she immediately transferred 5,000 yuan, telling him to use it for meals with his friends too.

Gu Zhijing figured being someone's son was being someone's son, and getting money was getting money - he was just happy to receive it and cheerfully went back to his room.

Aliali: 67358283d72ede93494505dbHowever, when it came to Gu Junxing, Nian Suian was a bit troubled. She had never been a CEO... how would she know how much allowance to give to a CEO?

"How much money do you need per month?" Nian Suian asked Gu Junxing. "I told you not to give it to me, it's too troublesome."

"Just give whatever you think is appropriate. I don't spend much," Gu Junxing thought about how he rarely went out for social occasions and always came straight home after work, realizing he really didn't spend much.

Nian Suian gave him a side-eye, thinking his answer was as good as no answer at all. "Don't you still have that card from before - the one you were planning to use to buy me a house? Just use that for now, and we'll talk if it's not enough."

-- Gu CEO's Little Scene

After a certain meeting

Business Partner: CEO Gu, there's an auction this weekend with lots of good items. Interested in checking it out together?

Gu Junxing: I'll need to discuss this with my wife at home.

Business Partner: There are many jewelry pieces at the auction. CEO Gu, you could buy some as a surprise for your wife!

Gu Junxing: My wife controls our finances at home, so naturally, I need to discuss the auction with her.