Chapter 17: Quickly Return The Money
“Everyone here will receive a lawyer’s letter for slander.”
Mr. Zhang continued, “Don’t worry, Eldest Miss. Leave this matter to me. I’ll definitely clear your name.”
The people who just spoke out earlier were stunned.
They had just casually echoed a few words, how did it become slander?
After dealing with the customers who were spouting nonsense, Qiao Xi looked at Gu Moling and asked with a smile, “I heard that you came over today because you’ve taken a fancy to a guitar that just arrived at our shop?”
Gu Moling said unnaturally, “Yes, why?”
The corners of Qiao Xi’s mouth curled up lightly. “It’s nothing. If you have taken a liking to something in the shop, you could’ve just gotten someone to make the trip here. I would’ve asked someone to deliver it to you. Why would you trouble yourself by coming all the way here?”
Gu Moling did not expect that Qiao Xi would say this and was slightly surprised. “It’s alright. I wanted to come over and take a look myself. Thank you, Xi Xi, for your kind intentions.”
Xi Xi?
He was calling her Xi Xi after she just said a few words?
Qiao Xi shook her head. Her exquisite facial features were not concealed by makeup, and it was the first time that Gu Moling realized Qiao Xi was actually a true beauty! She was wearing an inconspicuous sweater, but she could easily attract everyone’s attention even if she stood in a crowd.
Her arched eyebrows had a sharpness that was different from Qiao Rou’s, like an unsheathed sword—mysterious and dangerous.
“There’s no need to thank me. After all, that guitar is priceless. We spent a lot of effort to get it. It’s fate that you’ve taken a liking to it. As the owner of the shop, I’ll give you a 10% discount.”
Qiao Xi continued, “The price of the guitar is 1.2 million. May I ask if you’re paying by card or check?”
The moment she said that, the shop fell into a dead silence.
Gu Moling’s expression was a little ugly. “Xi Xi, what did you say?”
“I said it’s a total of 1.2 million. Young Master Gu, please pay up.” Qiao Xi smiled meaningfully.
“Sister, what are you doing?”
Qiao Rou saw that Gu Moling’s expression was not looking good and took the initiative to say shyly, “Brother Moling has close ties with our family. How could we ask him to pay?”
Qiao Xi smiled slightly. “What’s his relationship with the Qiao family? Why doesn’t he need to pay for things? When doing business, even blood-related brothers have to settle accounts openly. I spent a great deal of money to get this guitar but you expect me to give it to him for free?”
If that was the case, she did not need to continue operating this shop anymore.
If Gu Moling came over a few times a month, their shop would close down!
“You…” Qiao Rou choked.
Qiao Xi did not care what she thought. She asked Mr. Zhang to bring out the bill. She wanted to know just how many things had Gu Moling taken from this shop over the years without paying a cent!
Gu Moling’s expression was very ugly.
The marriage between the Gu family and the Qiao family had been set in stone long ago. Every time he came to the shop to buy things, Qiao Rou would say that he did not need to pay. They would be a family sooner or later, so there was no need to hurt their relationship over such a small amount of money.
At first, Gu Moling did not think it was a good idea, but he gradually got used to it. Every time he came to the store to get something, he would later give Qiao Rou a gift of the same price.
However, no one else knew about this!
Qiao Xi’s expression was slightly unsightly after they finished counting the total amount of all the things Gu Moling had taken from the store all these years.
“Young Master Gu, it’s over 30 million yuan… How much is our shop’s annual turnover? There are even many musical instruments that are beyond our purchasing power. Just because you wanted them, we spent a lot of effort to find them for you, but you took them away just like that. Don’t you have any shame?”
This was the first time Gu Moling knew that Qiao Xi could be so overbearing!
He explained with a dark expression, “I didn’t do it.”
“You didn’t?”
Qiao Xi pointed at the computer screen, which showed multiple records. “You didn’t take them? Could it be that the employees in our store have wronged you by keying in false records?”
Mr. Zhang was anxious. “Eldest Miss, I’m innocent. I swear that every single record here is real. Young Master Gu, you must be joking, right? The Gu family is big and powerful. You can easily fork up 30 million yuan. We also have surveillance cameras in our shop. We can find footage of you taking away all the things.”
Upon hearing Mr. Zhang’s words, Gu Moling’s expression turned even uglier. He had indeed taken those things, but they were not necessarily free!
If he had to admit that he took those things for free, he would rather die!
Fortunately, Qiao Rou knew how to read people’s expressions. She bit her lip and pulled the corner of Qiao Xi’s clothes, saying somewhat embarrassedly, “Sister, don’t force Brother Moling, okay? Those things were all given to Brother Moling by me. He didn’t take our things without paying…”
“You gave them to him? That’s perfect.”
Qiao Xi printed out the bill and stuffed it into Qiao Rou’s hands. “You’ll pay for what you gave away.”
Qiao Rou held the bill like it was a hot potato. How was she going to return the 30 million?
“Sister, why are you like this…” She looked aggrieved and was about to cry.
Chapter 18: Mrs. Gu Is So Fierce
“What’s wrong with me? You should be asking yourself who else on earth does business like you do. Giving away things worth over 30 million just like that? Do you think the Qiao family is doing charity? No matter how big Qiao Corporation is, they won’t allow you to squander money like this, right?”
Who said that Qiao Rou was a genius? In Qiao Xi’s eyes, she was a stupid woman!
“I…”
Qiao Rou’s nails dug into her palms. Qiao Xi was pushing all the blame to her with just a few sentences. If her father found out that she had given Qiao Corporation’s things to Gu Moling for free, who knew how he would scold her?
The marriage between their two families was for mutual benefits; not to let the Gu family suck their resources!
Thinking about this, Qiao Rou could only suppress her resentment and grit her teeth. She agreed and said, “Sister, you’re right. I’ll cover the bill.”
“Three days.”
Qiao Xi lazily leaned against the table and stretched out three fingers. “I’ll give you three days to transfer everything to me with interest.”
Qiao Rou looked troubled. Where could she get the money in such a short time?!
Her gaze swept past the silent Gu Moling, and Qiao Xi gave a light tsk. “You have such bad taste in men.”
She waved at Gu Moling. “Even though my engagement with you has been canceled, I heard that you’ve hooked up with my sister? As a man, isn’t this the time when you should step forward?”
Those words carried a lot of information!
Sensing the probing gazes of the people around him, Gu Moling finally could not take it anymore. He quickly paid with his card and pulled Qiao Rou away!
Before he left, he glanced fiercely at Qiao Xi.
The hacker he contacted earlier had already accepted his request. Once he erased the video on Qiao Xi’s phone, he would see if she could continue acting this way in front of him!
Qiao Xi did not mind Gu Moling’s gaze at all. She was in a good mood and was about to pack her things to go home. Suddenly, she was stunned.
Gu Zheng was standing in a corner of the shop, leaning against a pillar. His long legs were slightly bent, and his dark eyes were full of smiles.
Earlier, Qiao Xi had looked like a lion defending its territory—ferocious and difficult to deal with.
However, she was inexplicably cute at the same time.
Gu Zheng chuckled. “Mrs. Gu…”
This was the first time Gu Zheng addressed Qiao Xi as ‘Mrs. Gu’. His voice was low and charming, like a small brush that tickled one’s heart. “Mrs. Gu, you’re so fierce.”
Qiao Xi’s expression froze.
‘You think I was being fierce? I was clearly very polite just now, alright?’
Qiao Xi silently rolled her eyes. At this moment, she suddenly recalled the rumors about her from the outside world, so she raised her eyes and pretended to be puzzled as she looked at Gu Zheng. “Am I fierce? Everyone says that the weak can’t take care of themselves.”
Gu Zheng, “???”
He looked at her in disbelief. What was wrong with this woman? Was she crazy?
She was weak and could not take care of herself?
After feeling content from looking at Gu Zheng’s shocked expression, Qiao Xi rubbed her face and said seriously, “Mr. Gu, you’re too inexperienced. If you think I was fierce earlier, you might not be able to accept me when I show you just how fierce I can be.”
If he was calling her fierce for just getting Gu Moling and Qiao Rou to pay their debts… Would he not be scared to death if he ever found out what she had done in the past?
However, as the overlord of Li City, he would not be so timid, right?
Qiao Xi pondered in her heart.
“I’m inexperienced?”
Gu Zheng was so angry that he laughed. “Are you saying that I’m inexperienced?”
He approached Qiao Xi step by step, his long eyelashes casting a shadow under his eyes. His aura was terrifying. “Qiao Xi, should I say that you’re fearless because you don’t know anything, or should I say it’s because you’re too naive?”
Despite being the youngest child of the Gu family, he was able to surpass his brother who was ranked at the top and become the head of the Gu family. He only took one year to lead the Gu family into becoming the overlord of Li City.
How could someone like him be called inexperienced?
Qiao Xi gasped softly and raised her head to meet Gu Zheng’s gloomy eyes. “Or should I say that I’m full of confidence? The brave are invincible, no?”
After all, although Gu Zheng was powerful, she was not weak either.
Gu Zheng’s face darkened as he turned around to leave. He could not communicate with this woman! Where did she get the confidence to say such things?
As she watched Gu Zheng leave in a huff, Qiao Xi massaged the space between her eyebrows. She realized that Gu Zheng was too difficult to understand. He always got angry at the slightest thing.
Mr. Zhang recovered his initial shock from seeing Gu Zheng and carefully advised, “Perhaps you should learn to be a little more gentle, Eldest Miss?”
Qiao Xi lazily propped up her chin. “How should I be gentle? Like Qiao Rou?”
Mr. Zhang thought about the image and shuddered. “Forget it, forget it. Eldest Miss, you’re good enough just like this.”
Qiao Xi nodded. She also felt that it was good for her to just be like this.
However, how was she going to kiss Gu Zheng if he angrily left the room every time? How would she enjoy the original flavors of food?
Thinking about this, Qiao Xi opened WeChat and scrolled through her contacts before finally sending a message to Mo Yuan.