Chapter 357: Chapter 322 Good Night, Qiqi
It was the most mundane of phrases, devoid of any emotional color, yet it stirred ripples in the depths of her heart.
She quietly observed the man before her, and although it was only for a few seconds, he seemed to have sensed her gaze. As their eyes met, Gu Qili, feeling somewhat flustered, tried to look away and pulled at her hand to free it. But he was holding on tightly, and despite several tugs, she couldn’t get it loose. With curious looks coming from the people around, Gu Qili had no choice but to give up.
She couldn’t understand what this man really wanted. It was he who had pushed her away so ruthlessly to begin with,
"Daddy, I want to buy this." Mu Qinian ran back swiftly and immediately noticed their intertwined hands. He walked over, somewhat indignantly, and pointing at their hands, he asked with a tone full of accusation: "Daddy, how can you hold hands with Ali behind my back? Have you considered my feelings?"
Seeing the little one’s face turn red with anger, Gu Qili attempted to break free again, only to hear the man beside her calmly say, "Don’t we have another hand?"
Mu Qinian, who was on the verge of tears, suddenly realized and scurried over, happily grabbing Gu Qili’s left hand and tilting his tender face up in satisfaction.
The child’s warm smile made Gu Qili forget the struggle, letting the father and son "divide her up" between them.
"Qini, what did you say you wanted to buy just now?" Gu Qili hadn’t forgotten Mu Qinian’s loud shout from earlier.
"I want to buy a Mickey hat." Mu Qinian pulled the two adults over to a stall and pointed at the black Mickey hats displayed on the counter, somewhat sheepishly saying, "That one there."
Gu Qili had seen many people wearing such hats and hairpins along the way, and so she asked the seller for the price. Seeing the family of three holding hands, the seller immediately brought forth three hats, enthusiastically explaining, "These are family hats, this is for daddy, this is for mummy, and this is for the child. Buy all three together, and I’ll give you a discount."
Gu Qili sneaked a glance at the man beside her, and he was also looking at her. Their eyes met, and she flinched as if pricked by something, but she was already picturing Mu Shuoqian’s funny look when wearing the hat.
"Then we’ll take three," Gu Qili smiled at Mu Qinian, "Is that okay?"
"Sure!" The little guy was overjoyed, "Daddy, hurry and pay."
Mu Shuoqian hesitated for a moment, but eventually took out his wallet to pay. Since he had to pay, he had to let go of the hand he had been holding tightly, and the sudden loss of that soft, warm touch left a hollow feeling in his heart.
Gu Qili first placed a hat on Mu Qinian’s head, then on her own, and with the remaining hat in her hand, she decided to return it to the store owner, "This one is extra, can I return it?"
Before the shop owner could respond, the hat in Gu Qili’s hand disappeared. Surprised, she turned her head to see Mu Shuoqian reluctantly putting the hat on his head.
A man in a suit and shoes suddenly donning a very cartoonish Mickey hat—it was an indescribably weird and funny sight, drawing looks from passersby.
Gu Qili struggled to hold back her laughter and pulled the equally stifled Mu Qinian, "Let’s go."
Mu Shuoqian saw that the woman was utterly unappreciative. He had gone through a great internal struggle before he was willing to put on that hideous hat, and it was all to make her happy. Despite knowing she was teasing him on purpose, he still went along with her wish.
"Dear little friend, would you like to take a family portrait?" The photographer who suddenly popped up in front of Mu Qinian startled him. He turned to see the professional equipment beside him, and with a glint in his eyes, he whispered to the photographer, "I don’t want to take a family portrait, I want to take a couple’s photo, is that okay?"
The photographer understood and nodded immediately, "No problem."
Mu Qinian, successful in his scheme, found a spot with a fountain in the background, pulling Gu Qili towards it. Gu Qili, not knowing why, followed along, while Mu Shuoqian watched coldly from the side.
The photographer directed him to one side, "Kid, just wait over there, we don’t need children for a couple’s photo." Then, beckoning Mu Shuoqian over, "Sir, please come here."
In the blink of an eye, Mu Shuoqian had briskly walked over and taken the spot where Mu Qinian was meant to stand.
Mu Qinian felt utterly defeated. Could the photographer’s understanding be any worse?
Seeing Mu Shuoqian dominating the spot like a cuckoo taking over the nest, Mu Qinian couldn’t help but run over and hug Gu Qili’s legs, shouting at the photographer, "I want to take a family portrait."
Click!
Mu Qinian bit his cotton candy, looking at the photo in his hands with dissatisfaction. He was hugging Ali’s legs, and daddy was hugging Ali’s shoulders. No matter how one looked at it, he seemed like the odd one out.
"Hmph." He tossed the photo into his backpack.
Gu Qili had only glanced at the photo while Mu Qinian was looking at it, and just that one look left her restless up till now. She had intended to take a photo with just Mu Qinian, but she hadn’t expected Mu Shuoqian to suddenly barge in, and for him to even put his arm around her shoulder. Their pose felt unspeakably intimate. In the photo, he was the only one looking at the camera, composed and at ease, while she was looking at him with her head tilted, and Mu Qinian was looking up at her.
A terribly disjointed photo,
After finishing their visit to Qixiang Garden, it was already evening. They had dinner at a restaurant, and Gu Qili, worried about Mu Qinian being tired, suggested they return to the hotel.
The little boy also wanted to save enough energy to continue playing tomorrow, so he nodded in agreement immediately.
After returning to the hotel, Mu Shuoqian took a call. It was from the person in charge in City S. They had arranged a welcoming banquet for him. Mu Shuoqian had not been to City S for several years and wanted to take the opportunity to inspect their work, so he agreed.
The person in charge had arranged a car to pick him up directly from the hotel lobby.
Without Mu Shuoqian by his side, Gu Qili and Mu Qinian lived comfortably. Mu Qinian lounged on the sofa, snacking and watching TV while humming a tune out of key.
Gu Qili put the clothes he had worn today into the washing machine and was about to find him a set of clean clothes to change into when she suddenly remembered that he had brought nothing but a box of toys—no change of clothes.
"Niannian, I’m going to buy you some clothes downstairs; don’t run around and behave yourself." Gu Qili took several hundred yuan from her wallet and put it into her pocket.
"Bring me a box of cake when you come back." Mu Qinian’s little feet rested on the back of the sofa, with a piece of chocolate in his mouth.
Gu Qili shook her head helplessly. Although she knew she should control his diet to prevent further horizontal growth, for the motherly love he had lacked in the past four years, she wanted to use all her efforts to compensate. So, a cake it is. Just one piece won’t make him fat.
Gu Qili picked out several pieces of clothing at the children’s clothing store on the first floor but discovered she hadn’t brought enough money when she went to pay.
Thinking about returning two items, she couldn’t bear to part with any of them, feeling that each piece suited Niannian perfectly. As she was struggling to decide, her phone rang—it was from the suite’s landline.
"Ali, where did you go? Where’s my cake? I’m starving." Mu Qinian took a bite of the ham in his hand, sounding very dissatisfied.
Gu Qili quickly said, "Niannian, bring my wallet down; I’m at the children’s clothing store on the first floor."
"Got it."
After a while, Mu Qinian appeared in the children’s clothing store, wearing a tank top and shorts. The hotel’s air conditioning was good enough that he didn’t feel cold at all.
His clothes from today had been thrown into the washing machine, and he had nothing to change into, so he had to come out like this.
Gu Qili hurriedly took off her jacket and draped it over him, feeling immensely guilty for her oversight.
"Here." Mu Qinian slapped a black wallet into her palm. "I couldn’t find your wallet; I just found Dad’s wallet in the suitcase. You can use his money."
Although Gu Qili was reluctant to spend his money, she really liked the clothes, so she didn’t think too much about it and opened Mu Shuoqian’s wallet directly.
There wasn’t much cash in the wallet, but there were several bank cards. She took the one on the outside, and then a photo fluttered down.
"Hey, Ali, when did you take such an old-fashioned photo?" Mu Qinian, with his sharp eyes, quickly picked up the dropped photo. In the photo, Gu Qili had a ponytail and wore a school uniform. Her eyes were clear and innocent, and her shallow smile exuded youthful vitality.
This was... this was the two-inch photo she took in her first year of university, the one used for her graduation certificate and other certificates because she particularly liked it.
Gu Qili held the thin paper. There was no embossed seal, so it wasn’t cut out from any certificates. There was only one other possibility—it had been taken from her resume when she applied for a job.
That was from her first job application at the Grand Lisboa, and Mu Shuoqian had been present at the recruitment scene.
Gu Qili felt as if she were nailed in place, unable to recover her senses for a long time.
Why would Mu Shuoqian have her photo in his wallet, a man who had discarded her like an old shoe, a man who had personally ruined the Gu Family? Who could tell her why he still kept her photo?
"Ali, Ali, what are you thinking about? I want to eat cake." Her arm was shaken by a little hand, and Gu Qili slowly came back to her senses. She chose two pieces of clothing, had the salesperson send them back, paid with her own money, and then took Mu Qinian to the nearby food store to buy a cake.
Until Mu Qinian fell asleep beside her, Gu Qili had not fully recovered from the shock the photo had brought her. She stared at the colored photo and the exquisite men’s wallet in her hands for a long time, unable to find her thoughts.
Why, why!
After much thought, Gu Qili put the photo back in its place and returned the wallet to where it belonged. She climbed into the bed and lay down, hugging Mu Qinian.
She didn’t know how much time had passed, probably in the middle of the night, when Gu Qili had not fallen asleep. She heard the door opening,
"Good night, Qiqi."