Transmigration: On the Gossip Front
Chapter 289 True or False First Love 89_1

Chapter 289: Chapter 289 True or False First Love 89_1

Zhou Lina’s wedding this time really was as low-key as it could be.

Gu Wei had secretly consulted the almanac and picked a day that was auspicious for them, based on their birthdates.

Neither Gu Kai nor Zhou Lina had many relatives, so there was no banquet, just a simple meal at home.

Besides the newlyweds, only Gu Wei and Zhang Shifen, with her son, joined the meal.

This scene, observed by the neighbors, seemed excessively quiet for a wedding.

No matter how few relatives one had, normally some would come to visit. It wasn’t just the five of them eating together.

Zhou Lina didn’t care what others thought. Whether a marriage was happy did not depend on guests’ blessings, but on how the couple lived their lives thereafter.

Gu Wei was overjoyed to see her favorite nephew finally settling down with a niece-in-law to her satisfaction.

At the dinner table, Gu Wei presented the wedding gift she had prepared for Gu Kai and his wife.

Zhou Lina couldn’t guess what it was from the wrapping, but that didn’t matter. Gu Wei was generous, especially since it was her favorite nephew’s wedding—how could she be stingy?

When Zhou Lina unwrapped the gift, she found a watch, and based on its design and the inscription, she was surprised.

Zhou Lina looked at Gu Wei in astonishment. Why had she just mentioned a few days ago her wish for a watch, so she wouldn’t have to rush to the office, and now here it was?

But it wasn’t just one watch.

Looking at the English on the watch, her first thought was that it must be a foreign brand, though she didn’t know if it was designer.

Gu Wei noticed Zhou Lina examining the watch. "I actually wanted to get you a Shanghai-brand watch, but I was short on time."

"So I got you two watches." Indeed, they were a matching pair of watches.

"The brand is quite famous," Gu Wei casually mentioned the name.

Zhou Lina knew Gu Wei’s gifts were never meager, but she didn’t expect them to be this lavish.

Even without knowing the current price, these watches could easily cost tens of thousands. In the 1970s, a pair of watches at such a price would shock many people.

Of course, some might not believe that even watches brought from abroad could be so expensive.

But now these watches were indeed valuable, and who knows, in ten or twenty years, their price could have two more zeros added.

"Imported watches, huh?" Zhang Shifen, not quite understanding these matters, stared at the watches. "They do look much nicer than domestic ones."

Zhou Lina nodded vigorously. How could they not look good? After all, their price was there to see, potentially exchangeable for many domestic watches.

Zhou Lina turned to Gu Kai, wondering if it was appropriate to accept such valuable items.

Gu Kai took a look at the watches and said, "Take them. My brothers had the same when they got married."

Huh? No way. Was this brand of watch akin to a wholesale item in the Gu Family?

Even if the price wasn’t astronomically high, it wasn’t exactly affordable either; yet at the Gu Family, it seemed to be casually available.

"My brothers had different brands, but the price was similar. My family had some connections back then," Gu Kai mumbled vaguely.

"We also had some overseas connections, or else my family would have run into trouble."

"Of course, if they wanted to act against us, having overseas connections was one thing, but they could always find ways to get to us."

"Those people won’t end up well," Zhang Shifen said from experience.

"Whether they will get their just desserts, I don’t know," Gu Wei said with a wistful smile. "Many families are scattered, torn apart by separation or death."

"My family is one of the better cases. We helped quite a few people, and now they’re all over the place."

"The days aren’t good, but at least the people are still there." Gu Wei knew her parents were doing fine in the Northwest, certainly better than some under strict control, as they had some degree of freedom.

But life was really not easy there. In the Great Northwest, the food and climate were not friendly to the elderly.

"As long as people are alive, there is still hope." After a simple exchange, Zhang Shifen and her son closed up shop early and went back.

When Gu Wei returned home, it felt especially empty. She had spent the previous years alone without ever feeling this sense of emptiness.

Gu Kai had only been with her for a little over a year, but she had already grown accustomed to having someone at home. "Now, I have to start getting used to living alone again."

"But that’s okay, in another year, the house will surely be lively again."

Once Gu Kai and his wife had a child, the house would be filled with the noise of a baby, bringing even more liveliness.

As she thought of this, Gu Wei couldn’t help but sigh. "I hope that by then, my parents and my brothers can be reunited."

It was uncertain how many people the family had grown by. When their troubles began, Gu Kai had just graduated from high school. There were younger and older children, all unmarried before they were scattered.

In the last couple of years, they had reconnected, knowing some had gotten married while others were still holding out, unmarried.

"I hope good news comes sooner rather than later."

Gu Wei knew people had started returning to the cities. Though they didn’t go back to their original units, it was at least a sign that the darkness would eventually pass.

Gu Wei hoped her parents would receive good news soon and swiftly return to the city. Despite being medical professionals, living in a harsh environment with a lack of medical supplies could lead to regrets in the face of a crisis.

Gu Wei delicately took out the family portrait taken before the trouble started, gazing at the smiling faces. "We will meet again."

Talking to the family portrait, Gu Wei babbled on about many things, as she often did when she encountered both joyful and sorrowful events.

Only by doing so did she feel like she was with her family. "Xiao Kai’s wife is really nice. Although some may think she’s fierce, she’s a reasonable girl."

"And she’s someone who loves to learn." She was not only ambitious herself but also kept a watchful eye on Zhou Xuan’s studies.

In this era, it was rare to find a kid who studied so diligently.

On the day Zhou Lina got married, Zhou Dajiang was also lost in thought. He had wanted to use the opportunity to return Zhang Shifen’s wedding gift for Zhou Yong’s wedding as a way to re-establish contact.

Since divorcing Zhang Shifen, Zhou Dajiang had felt the warmth and cold of the world acutely.

When they first separated, he thought the workshop leaders disapproved of him, but they were still polite.

But after the divorce, he noticed not just the leaders’ expressions but also that many colleagues, who used to greet him warmly, now treated him with cold indifference.