"So, next time when you mention me in front of others, could you possibly use a term like ’brother’ instead of the unfamiliar and distant ’Su Yunling’?" Su Yunling said with a negotiable tone, speaking to Gu Zhiqi in a good-natured manner.
Upon hearing this, Gu Zhiqi’s expression flickered slightly. She did not respond to Su Yunling directly but instead countered with a question, "How did you know?"
Su Yunling asked, "Know what?"
"That when I mention you in front of others, I use your name? Like, in front of Sister Yun Yi?" Gu Zhiqi tilted her head up slightly, looking at Su Yunling with a gaze more profound and obscure than usual, which was already impenetrable, and now even more so.
Su Yunling raised her eyebrows lightly and retorted nonchalantly, "Don’t you call me that in front of Tang Yichen and Yun Yi?"
The matter of the child calling him by his full name was something Tang Yichen had brought up to Su Yunling after the banquet ended that day.
At that time, Su Yunling hadn’t really taken it to heart.
After all, in Su Yunling’s view, Gu Zhiqi’s nature was as cold as ice down to her very bones; becoming truly close to her would likely take a long time.
She indeed needed a long time.
Early that morning, Yun Yi had been boasting to Su Yunling.
Boasting how Gu Zhiqi called her sister, and even said that Gu Zhiqi only wanted to be his grandfather.
Although Su Yunling was somewhat speechless, she didn’t feel much else.
But, what had he just heard?
This child called Yun Yi "sister" in his presence, but called him by his full name in front of Yun Yi.
So, the saying that ignorance is bliss was utterly true.
He did, in fact, feel a sense of imbalance in his heart.
Although he had known the child first, Yun Yi had only met the child twice.
Listening to Su Yunling’s retort, Gu Zhiqi fell silent for several seconds and then asked, "Is your information all shared among you?"
Why did she feel that if one person knew something, several others knew as well?
Su Yunling raised his eyebrows slightly and asked Gu Zhiqi, "Why do you ask that?"
Gu Zhiqi lowered her eyes and fiddled with her fingers, recounting each point to Su Yunling in a tepid tone, "The matter with Jiu was known by the three of you, right?"
"The affairs of me treating Tang Yichen, refining medicine for Yun Yan, and treating Fu Xiyan—Sister Yun Yi knows about them too." Gu Zhiqi raised her eyes to look at Su Yunling, "And now, you’re also aware that I call you by your full name in front of Tang Yichen and Sister Yun Yi?"
Upon hearing this, Su Yunling fell silent for two seconds before looking back at Gu Zhiqi and answering each point, "The incident with Jiu was completely coincidental; that day, indeed, three people knew about it. As for now, Yun Miao probably also knows, but there likely won’t be a fifth person."
"As for your medical skills, the news is indeed shared among us. Tang Yichen has discussed it in our childhood friends group, so it’s not strange for Yun Yi to know."
"Regarding the fact that you mention my full name, it would only be Tang Yichen and Yun Yi who would share such trivial news with me."
Fu Xiyan, Yun Sen, and others all knew Gu Zhiqi and would not bother to discuss with him how the child called him by his full name.
After answering all the questions, Su Yunling steered the topic back to the original discussion, "So, about what we were negotiating?"
A mischievous smile played at the corners of Gu Zhiqi’s eyes as she looked back at Su Yunling with a cunning glint, "Don’t worry, from now on, I will definitely replace the three words ’Su Yunling’ with ’dear grandchild.’
It would have been better not to negotiate.
"So, shall you call out ’Master Zhi’ to see how it sounds?"
Truth be told, others calling him Master Zhi didn’t sound as nice as when Su Yunling did.