Chapter 41: Identity Exposed
Knowing that today was also Gu Zheng’s birthday, Qiao Xi’s first thought was that it had nothing to do with her. Her second thought was that she should get him a birthday present as well. After all, she still had to rely on Gu Zheng to taste food.
At the thought of this, she took a taxi and went straight to the nearest internet cafe.
At the same time, Gu Zheng was sitting on the sofa in the apartment, looking at the gift Black Tide had given him with a frown.
There was a pair of silver cufflinks and a greeting card.
The card said, “Happy birthday.” The signature belonged to Black Tide. The handwriting was bold and unrestrained.
Gu Zheng put the card aside and picked up one side of the cufflinks. The silver cufflink had complicated patterns on it. When looked at carefully, it looked like a coiled five-clawed dragon. The dragon’s eyes were embedded with shining obsidians. After looking at it for a long time, the dragon seemed to come alive, making others feel as though they were flying in between clouds.
Gu Zheng massaged the space between his eyebrows.
The cufflinks were nice, but they were too showy. They were more suitable for young people in their 20s.
In the past, Black Tide would always send him an animation of a person waving their lightsticks according to the rhythm of the music. Why was it different this year? Could it be that she felt she had been asking him too many questions recently?
When he thought about this, he could not help but think of Qiao Xi. Black Tide had only asked him a few questions yet she knew how to give him a gift to express her gratitude, but what about Qiao Xi? She clearly still needed him to treat her illness that made whatever she eat bitter, yet she did not even say anything to him. Did she still want him to help treat her? He would let her taste only bitter things for the rest of her life!
Ding!
The notification sound of a new email pulled Gu Zheng out of his negative emotions. He casually clicked on it and saw two words. [Happy birthday!]
Immediately after, there was another line of words. [I wish you happiness every day. I wish you all the best!]
Gu Zheng sneered. He was just about to mock the person who had sent such an old-fashioned and dull blessing when he saw the signature below. “Qiao Xi.”
Gu Zheng, “…”
This blessing was actually quite good. It was simple and sincere.
However, Qiao Xi wanted to brush him off with just an email? Was he that easy to fool? Gu Zheng tried his best to ignore the corners of his mouth that were curled up. He continued reading the email and finally found a link at the bottom.
He clicked on it and the familiar birthday song played. In the middle of the screen was a colorful figure waving a light stick along to the rhythm of the music.
Looking at this familiar scene, Gu Zheng was stunned.
This… Did Black Tide not send him this every year? She said that it was exclusively made? Various emotions flashed across Gu Zheng’s eyes. He grabbed his car keys and returned to Longwan Residential without hesitation.
Back in Longwan Residential, Gu Zheng went straight to the third floor as soon as he entered. Qiao Xi’s tools were still placed in the corner. He looked through them one by one and finally found a stack of designs that had been modified countless times. This design was exactly the same as the cufflinks he received.
“Heh.”
Gu Zheng chuckled with an inexplicable meaning.
Black Tide… Qiao Xi… It turned out that Black Tide was Qiao Xi, and Qiao Xi was Black Tide.
Who would have thought that the eldest daughter of the Qiao family, who was tossed to the countryside, would be a hacker? They were clearly two people who should have nothing to do with each other, yet she and he were strangely connected.
However, the smile on Gu Zheng’s face soon vanished. He recalled that Qiao Xi had sent him a message earlier asking him what it meant to like someone. How did he answer her then? Did he warn her not to like anyone?!
If he had a device that could allow him to time travel, he would definitely return to that moment and slap himself! What kind of stupid words did he say?!
When he found out that Black Tide was Qiao Xi, Gu Zheng was surprised. However, there was an indescribable and obscure feeling under his surprise.
In Gu Zheng’s heart, Qiao Xi was like a floating cloud. He kept having the feeling that she would suddenly float away at any time without leaving a trace. They had nothing to do with each other apart from their marriage certificate.
Now, however, he knew that Qiao Xi was Black Tide—the Black Tide he had known for many years. In Gu Zheng’s heart, his relationship with Qiao Xi was like a kite with a string or like a large tree that had taken root—steady and reliable.
…
When Song Shiyu received Gu Zheng’s call, he was uneasy. He knew that the things Qiao Xi had requested earlier were not to make Gu Zheng a gift. He kept feeling like there was a knife hanging over his head and it might just drop anytime soon.
Hence, he could not even tell the difference in Gu Zheng’s tone and apologized directly. “President, I’m sorry. I misunderstood Young Madam. If you want to hit or scold me, go ahead. As long as you don’t deduct my bonus for this year, you can punish me however you like.”
Gu Zheng knew that he was apologizing for the birthday gift, but without Song Shiyu, he might not have had the chance to discover Qiao Xi’s secret.
“Five minutes. Find Young Madam if you want to make up for your mistakes.”
Song Shiyu did not expect the punishment to be so simple. He agreed without hesitation. “Alright, I’ll do it right away!”
After the call ended, Song Shiyu finally realized that Gu Zheng’s tone was off… He did not sound angry but seemed to be in a good mood. Had he gone mad from anger?
Chapter 42: Help Collect The Bodies
After sending Gu Zheng his birthday present, Qiao Xi was prepared to leave the internet cafe.
Perhaps it was because she wanted to save time, so Qiao Xi sent the small animation of a figure waving a lightstick that she previously always sent to Mo Yuan. She subconsciously thought that Gu Zheng might like it.
However, after sending it, Gu Zheng did not reply. She was a little uncertain again.
Qiao Xi looked at her phone which was silent with no notifications. What a rude man.
She put her phone in her pocket and walked toward the door of the internet cafe. However, before she could reach, she was stopped by someone. It was a lecherous man with a grin on his face. He had yellow teeth too. “Pretty lady, are you alone? Do you want to have fun? Follow me.”
The man moved to touch her face.
Qiao Xi took a step back to avoid the man’s large hand. The people around her did not mind the commotion. They just shouted, “Beauty, just agree to Brother Long. He’s very powerful in this area, so it’s absolutely not a loss for you to follow him.”
Hearing the praises from the people around him, Brother Long said proudly, “Did you hear that? Follow me and I’ll protect you. Come, let me get closer to you.”
Brother Long thought that Qiao Xi would not refuse him anymore, but he did not expect Qiao Xi to take another step back and avoid his hand. Brother Long’s face instantly darkened. “Stinking wh*re, don’t be so shameless!”
Qiao Xi touched her trouser pocket. She had left in a rush today and forgot to bring mint candy. Twisting her fingers, she raised her chin and said, “I don’t want to fight today. You… get lost.”
The surrounding people booed.
“Haha, it’s over. This beauty isn’t showing Brother Long any respect. Brother Long is going to go mad.”
“This is so fun. Not only is this woman good-looking but she’s also very fierce!”
“Only such a woman is fun to play with. Brother Long, go get her!”
Qiao Xi’s rejection made Brother Long feel extremely embarrassed. Coupled with the voices of the people around him, he lowered his voice and warned, “Woman, don’t fail to appreciate my kindness. You’re lucky that I’ve taken a liking to you. Don’t be so shameless.”
As he spoke, he forcefully wanted to grab Qiao Xi’s arm.
Bang!
Qiao Xi finally could not take it anymore. With a twist of her wrist, she punched the bridge of Brother Long’s nose.
Two streams of blood trickled down from his nose.
The surroundings fell silent.
Brother Long was infuriated. “B*tch, how dare you hit me? Do you want to die… Ah!”
Before he could finish speaking, Qiao Xi kicked his stomach. “Hit you? What do you mean hit you?” If he dared to tease her, he had to be prepared to be beaten up!
Qiao Xi did not hold back at all. Brother Long felt as if his internal organs had shifted. It was so painful that his back was bent like a shrimp. When Brother Long’s underlings saw him getting beaten up, they all stood up.
“Hit her! Hit her!” Brother Long held his stomach and ordered sinisterly, “But don’t hit her in the face. Bring her to my place after this. I’m going to play with her till she’s wrecked today!”
Qiao Xi was instantly surrounded by a few people.
She moved her wrists. Today was Gu Zheng and Mo Yuan’s birthday. One should avoid seeing blood on birthdays, but it would be a waste if she did not beat up these fools who came knocking on her door! Anyway, Gu Zheng and Mo Yuan were not here to see it, so she would just beat them up and run. She would pretend that this had never happened!
…
However, Gu Zheng and Song Shiyu immediately saw this scene when they arrived.
Seven to eight men were groaning on the floor. Qiao Xi stood in the middle, asking, “You can’t take it anymore? Such trash!”
They wanted to be hoodlums with such skills? They should go home and continue learning!
Song Shiyu adjusted his glasses that were about to fall to his chin and stuttered as he asked Gu Zheng, “President… President, should we go help Young Madam?”
Gu Zheng asked, “Help with what? Should we help her collect the bodies of the people on the floor?”
Song Shiyu fell silent.
The hooligans surrendered and lay on the floor, pretending to be dead. They did not get up no matter what Qiao Xi said.
Qiao Xi curled her lips in a disinterested manner. She had yet to enjoy herself from fighting these people, yet they already surrendered. She straightened her clothes and left under the gazes that were filled with either admiration or horror.
She had just taken a step when she suddenly met Gu Zheng’s teasing gaze.
Qiao Xi: “?!”
Why was he here?!
Seeing that Qiao Xi had noticed him, Gu Zheng casually raised his hand and clapped. “Young Madam Gu, you’re quite skilled.”
Qiao Xi: “…”
She suddenly understood what it would feel like to have a heart attack.
The awkwardness lasted for only an instant. Qiao Xi quickly composed herself and pointed at the men who were groaning on the floor. “They were after my beauty and conspired against me.”
Then, she pointed at Brother Long, who was trying to escape. “This man, especially. He wanted to capture me and fool around with me till I was wrecked.”
Qiao Xi’s meaning was very obvious. She was not the one who initiated trouble, she was just counterattacking.
Gu Zheng’s face instantly darkened. “Deal with them.”
Song Shiyu understood what Gu Zheng meant. The man who wanted to taint President Gu’s wife would be doomed for the rest of his life.
Qiao Xi did not care about what would happen to these men. When she thought of how Gu Zheng had to help her clean up her mess on his birthday, she felt embarrassed. “I’ve really troubled you this time.”
Gu Zheng looked at her meaningfully. “It’s no trouble. It’s my duty.”