The Real Heiress Has an Appraisal System

Gu Shengsheng was still stunned as he took a bottle of liniment for bruises and sprains out of the first-aid kit. He didn’t bother reading the instructions, let alone the label—he just grabbed it.

’How does he know where everything is?’

To be honest, Gu Shengsheng didn’t even know where the liniment was kept herself.

She asked in disbelief, "Mr. Ryan, is the layout of your apartment the same as ours?"

Lu Shijing finally realized that everything had gone a little too smoothly. He’d forgotten to put on an act.

So he could only say with feigned confidence, "We live in the same complex, so the apartment layouts are identical. This is a standard cabinet for first-aid kits; everyone’s is placed in this spot. Ours is too."

"You said it yourself on your stream—you always keep the first-aid kit under the TV stand. Don’t you remember?"

Gu Shengsheng was speechless. She had said so many things, she talked about everything on her streams and had no idea if she’d ever said that.

’She doubted herself, questioned herself...’

"Then I guess I forgot. Sorry about that. My memory hasn’t been the best lately," she answered awkwardly.

Still, a seed of suspicion was planted in her mind. ’Why is Mr. Ryan so familiar with this place, and why is he being so nice to me? I have to look into this when I have time.’

’Nothing happens without a reason, and Gu Shengsheng didn’t believe in such coincidences.’

’This Mr. Ryan was just too strange, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on why.’

After that, Lu Shijing didn’t push things any further. He gave her the medicine, explained how to use it, and then tactfully left.

If he had pressed any further, Gu Shengsheng would probably have found him even more suspicious. He had already seen the wariness in Shengsheng’s eyes.

He let out a sigh of relief only after he was back in his own apartment.

He immediately called his grandmother.

It rang for a long time before the call connected. "So now that you need something from your grandma, you decide to come back from the dead? My grandson is dead. And you’re calling me from a new number? What’s wrong with your old one?"

’...’ ’Grandma was really something else. She’d known his new number all along and was just waiting for him to call her.’

Lu Shijing said, "Grandma, let’s meet at the Blue Pavilion Cafe in an hour."

"Oh? Are you having problems with my granddaughter-in-law that you suddenly want to see me? It’s clear to me you have no intention of actually coming back. Am I just a useless old decoration to you?"

"You brat, you’re a real piece of work." The more Mrs. Lu Sr. thought about it, the angrier she got. "Your sister and I were worried sick about you for so long, and you come back without so much as a peep!"

Seeing that she was getting more and more worked up, Lu Shijing said, "Mm, she’s going to bars and nightclubs every day."

"Without me around, you and Linnin are both having a grand old time."

"..." It was as if someone on the other end had hit the mute button.

Then, she said furiously, "I’m hanging up! Don’t you dare come looking for me to settle your scores, you brat."

"I only have a granddaughter-in-law, not a grandson!"

——

「One hour later, at the Blue Pavilion Cafe.」

Lu Shijing was sitting with Jin Ran. "Do you think she’ll really come?" Jin Ran asked.

"If that were my grandmother, she’d break my legs for sure!" Jin Ran said.

Just then, an elderly woman entered their private room, bundled up tightly with a silk scarf wrapped around her head.

Jin Ran’s eyes widened. "Grandma Lu?"

"The one and only."

Lu Shijing was speechless.

"Don’t look at me like that. I just don’t want anyone to find out I’m meeting with a dead man. What if my granddaughter-in-law misunderstands?"

Jin Ran nodded. "But I’m the owner here, so it should be fine. Who would know you came to see Lu Shijing?"

This time, it was Lu Shijing’s turn to stare at Jin Ran.

He said, "My grandmother has access to your cafe’s security feeds. From when I got here, right, Grandma?"

Mrs. Lu Sr. waved her hand, feigning embarrassment. "An accident, purely an accident."

Jin Ran was stunned. No wonder his own grandfather said that Mrs. Lu Sr. used to be an intelligence chief. He’d even asked Grandma Lu to help him screen potential marriage candidates.

’So that’s how it was.’

Mrs. Lu Sr. glanced at Jin Ran’s dumbfounded expression and snorted. "Looking like that, don’t you dare expect me to introduce any decent girls to you. You and Lu Shijing are partners in crime, and you don’t give me a single little update, yet your grandfather still expects me to find a good girl for you?"

"Just look at the wife I found for Shi Jing. You must be crying with envy, right?" Mrs. Lu Sr. said smugly.

Jin Ran waved his hands. "No need, Grandma Lu. I don’t do matchmaking. I prefer to date freely. I have too many girls I’m seeing right now; they all just want me for my looks, and I really don’t know who to choose," he added, feigning distress.

Mrs. Lu Sr. looked at him with disgust. "All right, you can go now. I want to talk to Shi Jing alone."

"It really must be hard for someone like you to find a partner and get married. I’ll tell your grandfather not to worry—since you’ll never find one anyway."

With that, she shooed Jin Ran out of the room.

Mrs. Lu Sr. then removed her sunglasses, headscarf, and mask.

She asked, "All right, spit it out. Why did you need to see your grandma?"

"I went back to the apartment today, and I was too comfortable finding things. I think Shengsheng is starting to suspect me."

"So what? You should’ve just seized the moment and told her you’re her husband. ’Surprise, your whirlwind-marriage husband is right here!’ It’s enough to write a novel about." Mrs. Lu Sr. was getting excited. "And you’re scared of that? Are you really my grandson?"

"What exactly are your feelings for Shengsheng? If this is purely about protecting her or whatever, then there’s no need. Either you like her or you don’t. If you don’t, I’ll disown you. It makes no difference to me whether I have a grandson or not."

"At first, it really was just because she married me to ward off bad luck, and I didn’t want an innocent person getting dragged into the Lu Family’s problems. But now..."

He was usually a man of few words, so for him to say this much was already a feat.

Mrs. Lu Sr. waved her hand dismissively. "All right, all right, I get it. You’re hopelessly in love. Shengsheng is such a wonderful girl, how could anyone not like her?"

"I liked her from the moment I saw her, too."

"It’s just that... she might not actually be into you." Mrs. Lu Sr. looked a little troubled. "Good thing I locked her down for you in advance. You have to take advantage of that."

That hit the nail on the head.

The corner of Lu Shijing’s lip curled up. "Mm."

"Grandma, you know I don’t have the upper hand here. That’s why it’s not a good idea to reveal that I’m her husband. Otherwise, she’d probably divorce me immediately."

He knew that Gu Shengsheng had absolutely no intention of being married to a living man.

’As far as she was concerned, her husband being dead was a good thing.’

Grandma Lu nodded. "You have a point..."

"You’re the one trying to take down the Lu Group, aren’t you? When Chaoyang finds out you’re the mastermind, he’ll probably get so angry he faints again. He was just hospitalized half a month ago because of Shengsheng. You two are quite the pair."

"Fine, I won’t pry into your plans. I’ll cover for you with Shengsheng. When the time comes, I’ll smooth everything over. Your grandma is an expert when it comes to being a spy."

"Just one thing—if Shengsheng blames someone in the end, it has nothing to do with me. When that happens, I won’t admit to anything. I’ll play dumb to the very end."

"Deal." Lu Shijing nodded.

As his grandmother started to put her sunglasses and mask back on to leave, Lu Shijing remarked, "You know, you’re actually more conspicuous dressed like that."

"No one is paying attention to you."

’...’ ’Honestly, this kid. Why did he have to state the obvious? He completely ruined the peerless spy atmosphere.’