Chapter 419: Parent-Child Time

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

When she went to work, her hair was casually tied up in a bun, casually but beautifully done. She wore a simple T-shirt and jeans, dressing no differently from an ordinary doctor. Gu Ci recognized Zhou Li’s car, tapped on the car window, and Zhou Li opened the door, waving with a smile, “Dr. Gu, who saves lives, you’ve worked hard. This is a little treat for you on behalf of all the patients.”

Zhou Li handed over a box of snacks, and Gu Ci chuckled, saying, “This famous snack place usually has a queue of over three hours. Did you wait in line?”

“In this world, there’s a group called scalpers,” Zhou Li teased. “They stand in line for three hours and make three hundred bucks. Isn’t that easy money?” “Especially for people like you who fall for it.”

Although Gu Ci was teasing, she had already eaten two pieces of pastry. She had low blood sugar, but it wasn’t too severe. After a long surgery, her abdomen was empty, and desserts and chocolates were her favorite snacks. Every time Zhou Li came to pick her up, he would bring some sweets.

Gu Ci told him about the emergency room patients, and despite being from different fields, Zhou Li listened attentively. “You saved that patient. It’s trending today. It was a steel pipe piercing the body, and netizens were saying there was no hope.”

“But 1 saved them,” Gu Ci chuckled.

“Wow, our Dr. Gu is truly a miracle worker,” Zhou Li praised, thumb raised, having looked at the trending topic a couple more times because of Gu Ci’s presence in the emergency room at Nan Cheng Hospital. The situation had been quite dire, but no one expected a successful rescue.

Gu Ci was about to respond when she received a call from her son, Gu Ziyu.

“Mom, I got off work early today. I’ll come pick you up, and we can have dinner together,” Gu Ziyu, who was going through voice changes, had a slightly hoarse voice but sounded cheerful.

Gu Ci replied, “I made plans to have dinner with Zhou Li. I can’t accompany you.”

“All…” Gu Ziyu was a bit unhappy. He had just returned from a business trip the previous week and had been busy with work ever since. He finally managed to arrange everything and his mom didn’t have time.

“Alright, Mom, enjoy your meal.”

After some thought, Gu Ziyu asked Chen Fei to go to the Global Center while he went to find Lu Zhiyuan.

Ji Chi and Rong Li moved to live downstairs from Lu Zhiyuan. Black Hawk’s business had been in Asia for the past few years, and now Rong Li, Ji Chi, and Lu Zhiyuan were all at Global Center. Security was also easier to manage, and this time, Gu Ziyu’s case was related to Black Hawk.

Ji Chi and Black Hawk had just finished a meeting with the nine major CEOs. As they came out, they saw Gu Ziyu. The kid had free access to Global Center. “Baby, why are you here?”

“Don’t call me ‘baby’ anymore,” Gu Ziyu protested. At twelve years old, Gu Ziyu was over 1.6 meters tall and growing rapidly. Ji Chi and Rong Li finally believed in the young boy’s ambitions; he was on his way to reaching 1.9 meters.

He now looked like a typical teenager, and his charisma was becoming more and more like Lu Zhiyuan’s. If he were to debut as a child star, he could easily captivate a large audience of teenage girls and their mothers.

Ji Chi chuckled and ruffled his hair, noting that Rong Li was away on a business trip. Only Ji Chi and Lu Zhiyuan were at Global Center. Lu Zhiyuan was upstairs, reviewing the information Rong Li had sent back. There was a case related to national security, and it was Gu Ziyu’s responsibility. Lu Zhiyuan furrowed his brow slightly as he heard a knock on the door from outside. “Third Master, Young Master has arrived.”

Lu Zhiyuan raised an eyebrow. His beloved son had graduated with a Ph.D. two years ago and was now a full-time child laborer. He and Gu Ci were like a divorced couple, with custody of the child in Gu Ci’s hands. Gu Ziyu would come to visit him and have meals together on weekends, mostly without discussing business.

On weekdays, Gu Ziyu rarely came by.

“Dad, I’m here to mooch a meal,” Gu Ziyu threw his backpack onto the couch and flopped onto the sofa, lounging like a lazy fish. “I finally managed to free up some time to have dinner with Mom, but she had a date.”

Lu Zhiyuan was momentarily surprised, and Ji Chi, with mischief in his eyes, asked, “Who is Gu Ci dating?”

“It’s Zhou Li.”

“Oh, the superstar. He’s quite famous, and he’s the brand ambassador for the jewelry company Black Hawk invested in last year,” Ji Chi said. “You went to his concert with Gu Ci at the beginning of the year, right?”

“Yes, VIP family tickets,” Gu Ziyu said. “He’s handsome, thoughtful, and listens to my mom. He shares her interests. 1 have a chance to gain a stepfather.”

Lu Zhiyuan said,

Ji Chi burst into laughter. “Are you intentionally here to tease Third Master?”

“I just came to mooch a meal,” Gu Ziyu blinked innocently. “Dad, you’re not mad, are you?”

“What would you like to eat tonight? I’ll cook for you!”

“No need!” Gu Ziyu declined. “Brother, you can do it. I like the food you cook.”

“Okay, I’ll cook for you guys!” Ji Chi had improved his cooking skills over the years and had become the Ji Chi that Gu Ziyu remembered, the one who made delicious meals. He was also quick in the kitchen. He prepared five dishes and one soup for Gu Ziyu and Lu Zhiyuan, with both meat and vegetables, ensuring a nutritious and healthy meal.

“We’re more like a family of three,” Gu Ziyu couldn’t help but remark as he enjoyed the spare ribs.

Ji Chi and Lu Zhiyuan chuckled helplessly.

Lu Zhiyuan said, “Why do you, a minor, have to go on business trips? You work over ten hours a day, and occasionally you have to go on business trips. Even the seasoned professionals in the field can’t match your dedication.”

Gu Ziyu was frustrated when he talked about this. “One of my team members messed up, so 1 had to go and clean up the mess. That’s not the worst part; they also deducted my bonus.”

“Poor thing. How much did they deduct?” Ji Chi asked with a smile.

“My entire year’s bonus.”

Ji Chi pitied him and pinched his cheek. “A child laborer going on business trips and getting his bonus deducted. How unfortunate.”

“You’re about to burst into laughter!” Gu Ziyu scolded.

Ji Chi couldn’t help it and burst into laughter. “How much is your bonus? Why’re you so upset?”

“Regardless of how much your bonus is, it’s your hard-earned money.”

“As a leader, if your subordinates make mistakes, it’s only natural that you take the blame,” Lu Zhiyuan said. Although Gu Ziyu had improved his understanding of human relations and the world, managing a team would inevitably come with its challenges.

He was still so young.

The admission criteria for the MSS were either a doctoral degree in a defense-related field from a military academy or a top-tier university. Some of the people who got in were already in their thirties, and they were all highly talented, arrogant, and thought highly of themselves. Gu Ziyu was only twelve years old, and it was challenging to assert authority over such individuals.

Lu Zhiyuan and Ji Chi had heard Gu Ziyu talk about problems with his team multiple times before.

“You should learn from Ji Chi,” Lu Zhiyuan advised. In terms of managing subordinates, Ji Chi was the most naturally gifted person Lu Zhiyuan had ever seen. Perhaps it was because he grew up on the streets and had experienced hardship, but he had an innate ability to understand people’s hearts and always knew how to find their soft spots.

Gu Ziyu had also gone through a dark period in his life, but he had been withdrawn and avoided socializing with others. Therefore, he had to start from scratch when it came to managing subordinates. It would have been different if he were an adult, but with his entire team averaging around thirty years of age, it was challenging for him to assert authority. Chen Liangdong seemed to understand the root of the problem but didn’t intervene.

“My team currently has nine people, and only three of them are competent. Apart from these three, one is a bookworm who only knows how to work with data and has almost zero adaptability. The other two got in through connections, and I suspect they bought their doctoral degrees. They need things explained to them in the simplest terms, and they act like they come from privileged backgrounds. They think they’re talented, and no one can tell them otherwise,” Gu Ziyu sighed with exhaustion. “If I were the boss, I would have fired them all by now..”