The Green Tea Supporting Girl Is Still Playing Her Role Today (GL) - Chapter 76

Chapter 76

Aunt stood in silence, locking eyes with them for a long moment before bending down to pick up the spatula and heading back to the kitchen to wash it.

Wen Pinghan slowly turned to Xie Zhifei, who nodded and immediately dashed over, eagerly massaging Aunt’s shoulders. “Aunt, you’ve worked so hard!”

Aunt replied, “Not hard work, just a tough life.”

“Aunt, you’ve taken care of me for so many years—you’re practically my second mother!” Xie Zhifei said, voice brimming with gratitude.

“Don’t say that, don’t say that. Be careful, or your dad might get upset if he hears,” Aunt cautioned.

Xie Zhifei grinned cheekily, looking at her with a placating expression. “You know my dad’s usually pretty easygoing, but when he gets mad, it’s kind of scary, right?”

“Of course I know that. Don’t worry, I won’t tell your dad. It’s just young people falling in love—perfectly normal.” Aunt put the spatula away and shook the water off her hands.

“Really?” Xie Zhifei’s eyes widened in surprise, studying Aunt’s expression. “Aunt, you really think it’s normal? Not shocked at all?”

“I’ve been around the block,” Aunt said.

Xie Zhifei gasped. “Aunt, you…?”

“My last employer was a woman who had a girlfriend. She fired me because she thought I was a third wheel,” Aunt explained.

Xie Zhifei’s eyes grew even wider, and she let out a relieved sigh, patting Aunt’s shoulder. “That’s good, that’s good! You scared me. Please don’t say anything to my dad. I still need to find the right moment to tell him myself.”

“Alright. But can I ask one question?” Aunt asked, her tone serious and solemn.

“What question?”

Aunt glanced at her, then turned to look at Wen Pinghan standing nearby, lowering her voice. “Which one of you is the 1?”

“Aunt, you’re getting a bit gossipy,” Xie Zhifei teased.

“Just curious.”

“I can’t answer that because I don’t even know!” Xie Zhifei scratched her head, leaning in to whisper, “Was your last employer the 1? Did she tell you how to tell who’s the 1?”

“She was the 1, so I was curious if you were too,” Aunt said.

“I want to know too!” Xie Zhifei exclaimed, diving into a deeper topic. “So, is being the 1 a permanent thing, or can it change? If you’re the 1, can you still be the 0 later?”

Wen Pinghan waited for a bit, watching as the two leaned closer, their voices dropping to a whisper. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but their serious expressions suggested the conversation wasn’t going smoothly.

So she walked over, and just as she reached Xie Zhifei, she overheard her muttering, “In the long run, is it better to be the 1 or the 0?”

Aunt replied, “How would I know? I’m asking you!”

“I’m asking you too—ow! Sis, Sister, why’d you sneak up on me?” Xie Zhifei’s ear was pinched, and she turned with a sheepish grin, pleading, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, wahhh!”

Seeing this, Aunt said slowly, “I think I can guess who the 1 is.”

Xie Zhifei blinked. “Huh?”

Wen Pinghan raised an eyebrow. “Hm?”

After Aunt left for the day, Xie Zhifei explained Aunt’s open-mindedness to Wen Pinghan, reassuring her to relax.

Wen Pinghan nodded, thought for a moment, and asked, “Wang Wan mentioned before that people in your circle often end up in arranged marriages. What does your dad think about that?”

“No need to worry about that. I’m not the old me anymore. In my dad’s eyes, my mom is like an eagle soaring with wings spread wide! If I suddenly got married off or had kids, it’d probably hold me back. He wouldn’t want that. Right now, he just wants to see how high and far I can fly, then maybe have someone marry into our family~” Xie Zhifei grinned at her. “Sister, would you be willing to marry into my family?”

Wen Pinghan gave a small smile.

“Are you willing or not?” Xie Zhifei pressed playfully.

“Willing, willing.”

“At this moment, the eagle-like woman shed tears of emotion.”

Wen Pinghan burst out laughing.

After some playful banter, they went to freshen up. While Wen Pinghan was showering, Xie Zhifei sprayed some perfume in the room and on the bed.

“Achoo!” As soon as Wen Pinghan neared the bed, she sneezed several times and hurried out of the room to get some fresh air.

Xie Zhifei finally saw her in that fluffy pajamas, chasing after her to touch the soft fabric, utterly smitten.

“…” Wen Pinghan gave her a sidelong glance. “You like it that much? Should I buy you a set too?”

“Do I like the pajamas? Clearly, I like the person wearing them.”

“…” Then let go of the fabric before you say that.

They lingered in the hallway for a bit when the doorbell suddenly rang.

“Who could it be this late?” Xie Zhifei wondered.

“That’s a question for you. Who’d come looking for you in the middle of the night?” Wen Pinghan asked, narrowing her eyes.

“No idea. I’ll go check.” Xie Zhifei ran downstairs, glanced at the monitor, and opened the door in surprise. “Changsheng? What are you doing here?”

“You’re really home! Sorry, I thought you’d be at the Xie residence. I didn’t expect the lights to be on here…” Zhang Changsheng explained.

“Yeah, something came up, so I didn’t go. Come in, it’s cold outside.” Xie Zhifei ushered her inside, asking, “Is your event over?”

“It ended over an hour ago,” Zhang Changsheng said, stepping into the house. She glanced around and spotted Wen Pinghan on the second floor, giving a faint smile. “You’re here too.”

“Yeah. Why’d you come alone?” Wen Pinghan asked, descending the stairs.

“Something happened, so I snuck over. Am I interrupting your rest? Maybe I should find a hotel instead,” Zhang Changsheng said, starting to head back out.

“No need. We’ve got plenty of rooms here. One more person is no problem, as long as you don’t mind us being noisy,” Xie Zhifei said.

Zhang Changsheng shook her head slowly. “Not at all. I like lively places, especially with friends. Tonight’s event was great too—I haven’t had that much fun in ages.”

“If Zhao Xiaojing heard you say that, she’d be thrilled.”

“I already told her,” Zhang Changsheng said with a gentle smile, glancing at their pajamas. “Are you about to sleep? Which room should I take?”

“This way.” Xie Zhifei led her to a guest room, set out toiletries for her, and prepared to leave. “Rest early, then. We won’t disturb you. If you need anything, just let me know.”

“Thanks, you guys.”

“No problem.”

After closing the door, Xie Zhifei tiptoed back to her room, whispering, “Something’s definitely up. This morning, she was all about keeping things low-key and staying at the Gu house until the New Year. I didn’t think she’d show up here. With her personality, she’s not the type to sneak out in the middle of the night.”

“And she was having so much fun tonight. It’s probably something that happened at the Gu house,” Wen Pinghan said, frowning.

The doorbell rang again. They exchanged a glance, and Xie Zhifei said, “Guess who it is?”

“Gu Zhizhang?”

“I’m betting on the old lady.”

It was neither.

Wang Wan stormed in, looking around frantically. “Zhang Changsheng’s here, right?”

“Yeah, how’d you get here?” Xie Zhifei asked.

“Got any water? I’m parched.”

Wen Pinghan poured her a glass, and Wang Wan downed half of it in one go before catching her breath. “After we got back from the amusement park, we went to our rooms to rest. But my aunt and cousin thought we weren’t back yet, so they were plotting loudly in the study. My aunt wants my cousin to marry Zhang Changsheng to help the Gu Group reclaim its peak, but he not only refused, he said some nasty things too.”

It was easy to imagine how much of it was aimed at Zhang Changsheng. If it was just Gu Zhizhang’s harsh words, that’d be one thing—Zhang Changsheng already saw him as irrelevant. But she overheard Gu’s mother too.

With her parents too busy with work, the ailing Zhang Changsheng couldn’t be with them often. Abroad, she’d found rare warmth from an elder in Gu’s mother, only to learn it was just a ploy to use her to fuel the Gu Group’s fire.

“I was going to get water and overheard them arguing. When I looked up, I saw Zhang Changsheng in the hallway, hearing every word,” Wang Wan said. “Later, I felt something was off and kept my door open. Sure enough, I heard her sneak out. I followed her but lost her at the intersection. Since this place is close to your house, I came to check.”

“She’s probably still washing up,” Xie Zhifei said, glancing at the closed guest room door.

“Let’s not disturb her, or she might end up disliking me too. Oh, I’m exhausted. Set me up with a room,” Wang Wan said.

Xie Zhifei blinked. “? You found her. You can go back now.”

“It’s so late. If I go back and get caught, they’ll ask what I was doing, and then they’ll know Zhang Changsheng ran off too,” Wang Wan reasoned, then lowered her voice. “Besides, I don’t want to go back right now. My aunt and cousin don’t feel like the family I knew when I was little.”

Especially her aunt, whom she relied on most. She used everyone, no matter how close. Someone as dear as Wang Wan was pushed into arranged marriage talks, while someone as distant as Zhang Changsheng, even ill, was schemed against.

It was as if, in her aunt’s eyes, they weren’t living people but items with price tags, ready to be traded for maximum gain.

“Let her stay. It’s late, and it’s not safe for her to go back alone,” Wen Pinghan said.

“You’re the best. No wonder so many people like you!” Wang Wan said.

“Of course,” Xie Zhifei said smugly, then led her to another guest room.

Back in their room, they continued their discussion. Wen Pinghan frowned. “Gu Zhizhang—how do we get him to shut up? He’s like a fly, buzzing around and annoying everyone. And his mother? She might as well have ‘profit’ carved on her forehead.”

Xie Zhifei thought for a moment. “They’re too idle, with wallets too full. Once the Gu Group collapses, their pride will crumble too.”

“Will the Gu Group really fall?” Wen Pinghan said incredulously. “That’s the Gu Group.”

“Industries change unpredictably. Besides, Gu Zhizhang doesn’t seem to care much about his work.” After all, in the original story, he was either chasing love or groveling for forgiveness, leaving Fang Ningshu to handle most of the company’s affairs.

“And the old lady, she’s so proud, thinking everyone wants to cozy up to the Gu family, not realizing how many people are already pulling away. She’s sucking up to Li Hongyan’s mom now, but at the last Li family banquet, I saw Mrs. Li roll her eyes at her behind her back. Even Wang Wan, the niece she raised, is starting to question her and break free from her control,” Xie Zhifei said.

Wen Pinghan nodded. “Suddenly, the future feels promising.”

Xie Zhifei laughed, then eagerly rubbed her hands. “It’s getting late, Sister. Let’s hit the hay.”

Wen Pinghan gave her an ambiguous look. Xie Zhifei rolled onto the bed, slipped under the covers, and patted the spot beside her. “Sister, come play~”

Wen Pinghan: “…”

Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong—

“Who’s that!” Xie Zhifei shot up from the bed, fuming. “Who’s got the nerve to show up in the middle of the night now?”

Wen Pinghan couldn’t help but laugh. “Guess who this time?”

“It better not be that Gu mother-son duo, or I’ll kick them out!” Xie Zhifei stormed downstairs to open the door.

“I knew you weren’t asleep. I brought you some roast duck,” Zhao Xiaojing said, holding up the bag as she walked in. Seeing Xie Zhifei’s annoyed expression, she didn’t bother with small talk. “No time to explain. I’m crashing here tonight. Don’t mind me, I’ll find a room myself.”

She set down the roast duck and headed upstairs, spotting Wen Pinghan in the hallway and waving. “Oh, Wen Pinghan, you’re here too?”

“Yeah.”

After the greeting, Zhao Xiaojing made a beeline for the largest guest room, pushed open the door, and froze. “Yo, Zhang Changsheng, you’re here too?”

“Yeah.” Zhang Changsheng nodded, a bit dazed. “You…”

Before she could finish, Zhao Xiaojing shut the door and moved to the next room. “Holy crap, Wang Wan, you’re here too? You guys aren’t secretly holding a team-building thing and leaving me out, are you?”

“No time to explain, go sleep!” Xie Zhifei shouted from the hallway.

Zhao Xiaojing slunk off to another guest room.

“Now we can finally sleep, right?” Xie Zhifei cautiously glanced at the door.

“You know Murphy’s Law?” Wen Pinghan teased.

“No way!” Xie Zhifei wailed, staring at the door. After a long pause, she finally started heading back to the room when—ding-dong.

“No way!” Xie Zhifei clutched her head in despair.

“No way, I was just kidding…” Wen Pinghan muttered, equally stunned.

They went downstairs to open the door again.

“Finance sent an urgent document that needs your signature… What’s with those faces? I’m just here for a signature, not to collect a debt,” Fang Ningshu said, standing at the door.

“Ningshu, Ningshu! You’re here too!” Wang Wan burst out, leaning over the railing and shouting. “Come in and join the fun!”

“Great, everyone’s here. You guys are definitely holding a secret team-building event without me!” Zhao Xiaojing stormed out of her room, pointing and scolding them.

The door to the largest guest room slowly opened, and Zhang Changsheng stepped out unhurriedly, looking at the people upstairs and downstairs. “So many people,” she remarked.

Xie Zhifei: “”

Ugh! Can we please get back to seriously discussing the grand question of being the 1 or the 0?