Yue Jun looked at her daughter, feeling deeply moved.
Today her daughter and Tingyu are engaged, and she will soon get married and have children, becoming someone else’s daughter-in-law. Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but sigh; eventually, her daughter will leave her and leave home.
Seeing Yue Jun like this, Old Master Ding couldn’t help but ask, "What’s wrong?"
"Nothing, just thinking that Yiyi will get married someday, I’m a bit reluctant."
Hearing this, Old Master Ding couldn’t help but laugh, "Even if Yiyi gets married, it doesn’t matter. Our family and the Gu Family are so close, even if Yiyi wants to come home every day, it’s fine."
Upon hearing this, Yue Jun finally felt a bit better.
By this time other people had mostly left, so she went directly over to her daughter and Tingyu and said, "Yiyi, you have nothing to do this afternoon. You and Tingyu should go out for a walk. After all, today is your engagement day, which is quite meaningful, so don’t waste it at home."
Hearing her mother’s words, Yiyi smiled and nodded.
Gu Tingyu thanked Yue Jun even more sincerely.
If Yue Jun hadn’t mentioned it, he would have brought it up himself. Today is his engagement day with Yiyi, and he has prepared other things to show Yiyi.
"Alright, then you two better hurry up and go."
Gu Tingyu said goodbye to Old Master Ding and Yue Jun and then left with Yiyi.
"Gu Tingyu, where are we going?"
Originally, Yiyi thought Gu Tingyu would take her for a walk downtown, but they were heading further away, evidently not toward downtown.
Gu Tingyu smiled faintly and said, "You’ll know soon enough."
"So mysterious."
Yiyi said with a smile, and at the same time, she couldn’t help but feel curious about where Gu Tingyu planned to take her.
After walking for another fifteen minutes, they finally saw an old-fashioned courtyard.
"Here we are."
Gu Tingyu held Yiyi’s hand as he walked forward, with his other hand reaching for a key to unlock the courtyard door.
"What is this place?"
Yiyi looked at the courtyard in front of her with curiosity and a touch of amazement. Although the courtyard wasn’t lavish, its simple charm was captivating.
Seeing Yiyi liked it, Gu Tingyu laughed and said, "This will be our home in the future."
"What..."
Hearing this, Yiyi was genuinely surprised, "Really? But when did you prepare this?"
Seeing the surprised look on the young lady, Gu Tingyu laughed directly.
"Actually, I can’t say I prepared this. This courtyard is a gift from grandmother for our engagement. It’s meant to serve as our future home. Although it’s located off the beaten path, it’s not far from the city center. You can learn to drive then; it will be convenient for outings."
Upon hearing this, Yiyi asked, "Do other people in your family know about this?"
This courtyard was evidently exceptional; she was worried that other members of the Gu Family might have opinions. Actually, she didn’t have many demands regarding future living arrangements. Gu Tingyu’s previous apartment was just fine, and besides, the elders of the Gu Family had already given them a property before. Adding this courtyard now might cause some disputes within the Gu Family.
Upon hearing Yiyi’s concern, Gu Tingyu replied directly, "Don’t worry, everyone in the family knows. Besides, since it’s grandpa and grandma’s decision, even father cannot object. Moreover, this courtyard is grandma’s private property, her dowry, so she can dispose of it as she wishes."
When grandma made this decision, someone in uncle’s family did oppose it, but grandma always liked Yiyi. Her dowry she could give to whomever she pleases without needing anyone’s approval, so the courtyard was ultimately given to Yiyi. As for Aunt and Cousin Gu Tingting, grandma’s attitude towards them cooled significantly.
Actually, it was Aunt who misjudged the situation. When he got engaged, grandma gave away an entire courtyard, and when Cousin gets engaged and married, grandma will surely give suitable gifts too. But Aunt and Cousin Gu Tingting immediately objected, which only made grandma less fond of them.
Seeing Gu Tingyu’s confident assurance, Yiyi didn’t say much more. Instead, she excitedly tugged at him and said, "Let’s go in and take a look."
Seeing the joy on the young lady’s face, Gu Tingyu didn’t hesitate further and led her inside with a smile.
"Wow...this place is really beautiful."
The well-preserved courtyard, with its intricate woodwork and paintings, gave Yiyi the impression she had stepped into ancient times. Once she opened a room, she found its layout was equally antique-style, completely devoid of modern elements, though hidden places had some switches and outlets to ensure convenience of living.
"With such a dowry, grandma must have been from a pretty prominent family back then."
Upon hearing Yiyi’s speculation, Gu Tingyu couldn’t help but laugh, "You guessed right. Grandpa had to put in a lot of effort to get grandma’s father to agree to the marriage back then, considering he was just a poor young man."
Speaking of grandpa and grandma, nostalgia flickered in Gu Tingyu’s eyes.
"Although grandma’s family was big and endured quite a shake-up, this courtyard only returned to grandma when ancestral properties were returned."
Hearing this, Yiyi couldn’t help but feel sentimental, then said jokingly, "Everything is in the past now, and it’s wonderful that the whole family is happy together."
Gu Tingyu smiled and nodded, and finally took Yiyi to explore other rooms.
Once the two had toured the ancient-style courtyard thoroughly, they then locked the door and returned.
"Yiyi, when I have some time off, we can stay here for a while."
"Alright."
Yiyi naturally nodded in agreement with a smile. However, remembering that Gu Tingyu would report to his new work unit the day after tomorrow, she suggested, "Tomorrow, we should invite my dorm mates for a meal." This time, the engagement party was jointly hosted by both families, and there were too many attendees, so Yiyi planned to invite Tao Cuizhu and others separately.
Gu Tingyu nodded directly and said, "Alright."
The next day, Yiyi went to school first, picked everyone up, and headed to the Shangjing Hotel.
Seeing the luxurious and imposing hotel, Tao Cuizhu immediately said, "Yiyi, it’s just a meal, we should choose another place."
Yiyi led everyone to a private room with a smile and said, "I’ve already booked it, and besides, today I want to share some good news."
"What good news?"
Cao Panpan asked curiously.
Yiyi smiled and said, "You’ll find out soon enough."
It was only when they entered the private room that they discovered Gu Tingyu was there too.
Cao Panpan whispered in Yiyi’s ear, "So your fiancé is here too."
"Gu Tingyu is already my fiancé. We’ve gotten engaged."
"Really..."
Cao Panpan and others were a bit surprised, then they all congratulated them warmly.
However, Feng Yudan and An Xueqing were not there today, which made the conversation more relaxed. They congratulated Yiyi while playfully teasing her, saying, "No wonder you’re treating us to a meal, turns out you two got engaged, congratulations!"