Chapter 405: Chapter 364: Do You Want to Cooperate?
On such a fine day, how could we let someone like Yufei dampen the mood? Gu Qili quickly forgot about the episode and helped the chef in the kitchen while wearing an apron.
In the living room, Qiu Lan was watching TV. Mu Shuoqian came out of the study room, poured a glass of water, and placed it in front of her: "Has Jason called you?"
"He did." Qiu Lan said with a confident smile, "He is very worried about me and has already urged me to come back."
"That’s good." Feeling guilty about Qiu Lan’s situation, Mu Shuoqian also felt relieved. If it weren’t out of necessity, she would never have taken action. Despite his cold demeanor, Qiu Lan was his mother, who had suffered greatly in the first half of her life and deserved happiness in the latter half.
Actually, he had made plans from the start—if Qiu Lan really fell out with Jason, he would bring her back to the country and take care of her for the rest of her life.
"Qili, that child, has a gentle temperament just like her father," Qiu Lan glanced towards the kitchen, "Shuoqian, we owe her father. You can’t let her down anymore."
"I know." Mu Shuoqian didn’t need Qiu Lan’s reminder to treat Gu Qili well. On the contrary, he wished he could give her everything he had, doing anything she wanted without a second thought.
"For the wedding, I contacted a classmate of mine who owns a well-known wedding planning company in Aus City. Wait until her plan comes out for you and Qili to look over."
"Mom, Qili and I have discussed it. She doesn’t like grandeur, and I don’t like crowded places, so we decided to have a destination wedding when we can also take our wedding photos." Mu Shuoqian took out a cigarette, "Actually, we had agreed on this a long time ago. The other day when you mentioned organizing the wedding, Qili didn’t want to refuse your kindness, so she agreed."
"You don’t want to show off, that’s fine, but you should still invite your friends and relatives to sit down for a celebratory drink. Let’s do this—I will handle the banquet."
Mu Shuoqian did not refuse, "Alright."
"Grandma, I’m home!" A crisp child’s voice floated over, and Qiu Lan hurriedly got up to greet him.
Mu Qinian ran in frantically, followed by Yu Bo, who couldn’t catch up with him.
"Grandma." The relationship between the grandchild and grandmother was growing stronger, and Mu Qinian was fond of his grandma who always fulfilled his wishes.
Qiu Lan squatted down to wipe his sweat, "Run slower, what if you fell?"
"Grandma, I’m hungry." Mu Qinian turned his head towards the kitchen and saw Gu Qili busy inside; the smell of food wafting out made his eyes widen in surprise: "Is A-li also here?"
Qiu Lan tapped his forehead, "She’s your mother, you can’t call her A-li anymore."
Mu Qinian pouted and threw his backpack to Qiu Lan before running into the kitchen. Gu Qili, amidst the noise of the oil fumes, turned around and saw the little boy rushing towards her, so she quickly picked up a piece of meat with chopsticks and held it to his mouth.
"What’s the occasion today, why did you cook so many delicious dishes?" Mu Qinian happily chewed the meat and stretched his neck long.
Before Gu Qili could answer, Qiu Lan already replied on her behalf: "Starting today, your mom and dad are legally married."
Mu Qinian’s eyes rolled around: "Then you can stay here every day from now on? Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday—all mine?"
"Go do your homework." Suddenly, a hand yanked him up by the collar, and Mu Shuoqian tossed him toward the living room like lifting a chick, with a look of disdain, "Don’t even think about it for a day."
"Dad." Mu Qinian was annoyed, "There’s no homework in kindergarten."
Yet his anger was completely ignored. After pouting for a while, he threw himself into Qiu Lan’s arms, "Grandma, you have to stand up for me."
Feeling sorry for her grandson, Qiu Lan turned her head to scold her son: "Can you speak nicely? What if you scare the child?"
Mu Shuoqian scoffed, "Mom, you’re overthinking it. Your grandson’s skin is definitely thicker than you imagine."
Just as Qiu Lan was about to scold her son some more, she saw Mu Qinian had already climbed onto his chair, tied his little bib, and was munching on the lamb chops Gu Qili had given him, seeming completely unharmed.
She smiled helplessly and walked over to sit next to Mu Qinian, gently rubbing his little head, "Eat slowly, don’t choke."
Mu Shuoqian brought over a bottle of red wine and filled several glasses, Yu Bo also sat down beside them.
Seeing everyone drinking, Mu Qinian took a big gulp of juice from his glass, dissatisfied, he asked: "When can I drink alcohol?"
Gu Qili served him some dishes, smiling, "You can drink when you get married."
"Then never mind." Mu Qinian focused on gnawing his lamb chop, "I don’t want to be the second Mu Shuoqian."
Mu Shuoqian: "..."
The others burst into laughter.
The dinner in JingShan was lively, but outside the neighborhood, Qiu Yufei stood unable to enter; the two security guards at the door were guarding against her like thieves, staring her down whenever she attempted to step forward.
In the end, Qiu Yufei had no choice but to get into a taxi and leave JingShan. One of the security guards said, "Put that woman on the blacklist, Mr. Mu said that she should never be allowed in again."
Qiu Yufei didn’t want to return. She got off the taxi at a bustling street, furious at the disdainful look Gu Qili had given her earlier. Why should she be able to marry Shuoqian and call Qiu Lan mom, and yet her child, who should have been dead by now, was still alive? She couldn’t accept it. It was she who first knew Shuoqian, she who first liked him. She was merely a later third party.
Qiu Yufei kept walking along the road, not knowing where to go, suddenly feeling like life had lost its direction.
Since the first time she saw Mu Shuoqian, he had been etched into her marrow. He was like a thorn that initially brought pain, but later, this thorn had grown into her flesh and blood, becoming impossible to remove.
Mu Shuoqian had become the most crucial part of her life. Over the years, she had strived to make herself outstanding, wanting to appear in the best light possible beside him.
She became a famous fashion designer, able to approach him brilliantly, only to find that she still couldn’t surpass a woman called Gu Qili.
Just a bankrupt heiress, what did she have to compare with him?
Full of resentment with nowhere to vent, Qiu Yufei walked with her head down and bumped into a pedestrian in front, who nearly fell backward from the impact. She furiously raised her head, "Aren’t you watching your way?"
"Gu Qili?" Qiu Yufei recognized the face and pointed at her in surprise, "Have you been following me all this time?"
The person adjusted her sunglasses, clearly disinclined to engage her, and circled around to leave.
"Gu Qili, explain yourself, why are you following me?" Qiu Yufei was certain this person was Gu Qili, surprised that she had been stealthily following her.
The person looked at her with disdain, then suddenly spoke, "You’ve mistaken me for someone else."
"How could I? You think I can’t recognize you just because you’re wearing sunglasses?" Qiu Yufei persisted, attracting a crowd of onlookers, "Give Shuoqian back to me."
Hearing the name ’Shuoqian’, the person paused, a hint of intrigue flashing in her eyes, "Who are you talking about?"
"Brother Shuoqian, give Brother Shuoqian back to me, stop pretending."
"Mu Shuoqian?" The person lifted her sunglasses slightly, "You know Mu Shuoqian?"
"Nonsense, what are you playing dumb for? Don’t tell me you don’t know who I am?" Qiu Yufei scoffed.
"I am not Gu Qili." The person removed her sunglasses, "You’ve mistaken me for someone else."
Not removing the sunglasses would have been better. With them off, Qiu Yufei was even more certain; not only did the face match perfectly, but even the voice sounded the same, saying she wasn’t Gu Qili, how could she believe that.
Before Qiu Yufei could speak, the person said, "Although I’m not Gu Qili, I do know her. Well, do you have time to sit down and talk?"
Qiu Yufei was stunned for a good while, incredulously scrutinizing her. Though their appearance and voice had over ninety percent similarity, Gu Qili had a gentle demeanor, whereas she seemed cold.
She hesitantly asked, "Are you really not Gu Qili?"
"Let’s go, there’s a cafe over there." The person no longer paid her any attention and directly headed towards the direction of a mall, putting the sunglasses back on.
Qiu Yufei thought for a moment, then followed her.
Seated in the cafe, Qiu Yufei still couldn’t believe her eyes as she observed the woman in front of her. She claimed she wasn’t Gu Qili, but she looked just like her.
The woman ordered a cup of coffee, indifferent to Qiu Yufei’s skeptical gaze.
"Do I really look that much like her?" the woman suddenly spoke, Qiu Yufei paused before responding, "Yes, incredibly alike."
"Heh." The woman didn’t mind her phrasing of mixing up what was real or fake, "What is your relationship with Mu Shuoqian?"
"I’m his sister."
"He has a sister?"
"We’re not related by blood, we met in M country. You haven’t said yet, if you’re not Gu Qili, then who are you? Why do you look exactly like Gu Qili?"
By then, their coffee arrived. The woman took a casual sip of her coffee before saying, "My name is Gu Yunxi, Gu Qili is my twin sister."
Qiu Yufei almost knocked over her cup in surprise, looking at her incredulously, "No wonder you two look so alike; so, you are Gu Qili’s older sister. Are you looking for Gu Qili?"
Gu Yunxi slightly lifted the corner of her mouth, "I am looking for them, but not now. What about you, what was that about Gu Qili taking your Brother Shuoqian?"
"Hmph, it’s your sister that shameless woman, Brother Shuoqian was clearly mine, but she stole him away." Qiu Yufei blurted out impulsively, suddenly remembering that Gu Qili was the sister of the woman across from her.
Gu Yunxi remained unmoved, coldly stating, "I don’t have such a sister."
Qiu Yufei looked puzzled.
Gu Yunxi put down her cup: "Would you like to collaborate?"