Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Gu Lingsha's eyes turned cold at Qi Feng's words. She could not release the pent-up anger in her chest. As she looked at Qi Feng's darkened and unhappy expression, she suddenly felt a piercing ache in her heart.
She did not know why Qi Feng was like this recently. He was apathetic and hard to see through, no longer like before. At least, he did not use to talk to her like this. Even though he did not usually say much, he would never use such a tone with her.
What was happening?
Gu Lingsha's beautiful eyes widened slightly and she looked at Qi Feng silently. For a long time, she kept quiet. There was only weakness and sadness in her eyes. After that, she could only take a deep breath in, cover her face, and blink. She took the temporary crutch from the side and turned to walk towards the bedroom without another glimpse at Qi Feng...
Qi Feng did not go after her. His eyes were only obscure and unclear as he calmed down.
When Morrison came over, it was already late at night.
He looked at Qi Feng whose leg was being massaged by the masseuse as he reported softly, "Master, CEO Qi has agreed to let Xi Xinyi be Second Master's assistant."
"Mmm, how did Yue Hai react?" Qi Feng asked nonchalantly, his eyes remaining fixed on the magazine before him.
"We don't know for now, but I think he'll probably just wait and see."
Qi Feng then closed the magazine in hand and waved the masseuse away. The masseuse swiftly packed up his things and left.
"He's a sly fox too. Don't you see how he almost always remains neutral at meetings? Father's attitude is a little vague. Right now, he's probably having some thoughts, especially after this whole ordeal. I can no longer guess what my father's thinking about Qi Lei."
When Morrison saw Qi Feng's expression darkened, he said softly, "It's not necessarily a great thing for things to happen right in front of our eyes too."
Qi Feng tossed aside the magazine in his hand and massaged the fatigue between his brows. "Qi Lei staying here is equal to a pair of Mu Yuchen's eyes. He's a very strong chess piece. Qi Lei even went against my father for him. I don't quite understand what he's up to. From what I can see, Qi Lei might not be after Qi Kai, but because of that, he shouldn't be so harsh against my father. Could Mu Yuchen have promised him some benefits?"
Obviously, someone like Qi Feng would never believe in anything such as pure friendship. His belief was that—
There were no forever relationships and friends, only benefits.
Those that put relationships above all else were only doing so because the other person did not have a large enough bargaining chip.
"Master, what you're saying is..."
"Mu Yuchen must've promised him something good. Otherwise, why would Qi Lei be so strong against his own family? It's not like he doesn't know what the consequences will be if he truly angers my father? Do you remember what happened years ago when Wang Qin sent him abroad?"
When Qi Feng said this, his dark eyes squinted slightly and were filled with amusement.
Upon hearing this, Morrison paused. He breathed in after a long while and nodded. "Got it, Master, I'll get people to investigate Second Master and Mu Yuchen right away. Oh, right, Mu Yuchen seems to be..."
Morrison wanted to continue, but Qi Feng suddenly lifted a hand to stop him.
Qi Feng did not continue the earlier topic and asked instead, "How are things on Doris's end?"
"We've informed her and are waiting on her reply."
"Mmm, got it. Go home then."
Qi Feng then moved his wheelchair with waning interest. Morrison nodded before silently leaving the room.
When Qi Feng returned to the bedroom, it was pitch black. He felt around for a bit before he found the switch and turned the lights on.
The bright lights instantly filled the whole room, and he subconsciously looked to the bed—
Gu Lingsha was already asleep with the blanket tightly tucked around her, but Qi Feng had a keen eye and he could see that the person under the blanket was clearly trembling.
He fell silent for a long while. Then, he moved closer with his wheelchair. When he reached her bedside, he heard her sniffling, so he could not help but turn to look at Gu Lingsha with a mixed expression. After he pulled the blanket away, he saw her tearful face hidden under the blanket.
Gu Lingsha was not willing to look at him though. She turned away with her back facing him as she could not help but sniffle.
Qi Feng thought about it, then his soft, raspy voice was heard. "Let's talk, Shasha."
Gu Lingsha sniffed, her voice choking on her tears. "Qi Feng, do you remember what you promised me back then?"
When Qi Feng heard that, his gaze froze, then he nodded before answering very calmly, "Of course, I remember. I said that the only person who can stand by my side and be my wife is you, Gu Lingsha."
Gu Lingsha's eyes could not help but well up with hot tears. Soon, her cheeks were streaked with tears. She lifted a hand to wipe them away as she spoke with difficulty, "Ah Feng, you know very well how I've treated you all these years. I've lost too many things. I don't want to lose you and my daughter too. If that's how it's going to be, then I don't want to live anymore."
"What are you saying? Aren't Weiwei and I right here?" Qi Feng sighed and calmed down before he responded.
"Right here? Qi Lei said that he would always be right here too, but now? He's become our enemy. Do you know what I'm most afraid of? My mother told me to be more vigilant because, in front of you, I've lost all the upper hand. I can no longer give birth to children for you while Weiwei's like this...I said that I trust you. I trusted that you wouldn't let me down. I gambled everything on you, that you would protect me and love me for life, but right now, I want to ask you, Qi Feng, will you let me down?"
As Gu Lingsha said this, she suddenly turned her head, and with teary, reddened eyes, she fixed her gaze on Qi Feng's deep eyes.
Qi Feng fell silent, suddenly lowering his gaze. "Shasha, we shouldn't let these external things affect the trust between us."
"Trust? I do trust you, but right now with the things you're doing, and the way you've been treating me, what would you think if you were me? You know that I've always been a realistic person. I hope you'll show me your..."
"Enough, Shasha."
Before Gu Lingsha could finish, Qi Feng already cut her off. "You'll see it if you ask for it."
Qi Feng turned around in his wheelchair and went out.
"Where are you going?"
Gu Lingsha could not care less about the tears on her face. She suddenly propped herself up and saw him leaving.
"Sleep first. I've still got some documents to handle. Shasha, I hope that you can calm down too. Think about it. What we need right now is to be calm and have faith," Qi Feng said, then his figure slowly vanished out of the doorway.
Gu Lingsha was stunned. After a while, she sobbed...
The afternoon sun was dazzling. The calm breeze rustled through the bamboo forest. When it brushed one's face, it felt very refreshing.
When Mu Lingshi walked into Bamboo Teahouse, she could see Gu Qiwu sitting in a corner by the window from afar.
It seemed like he had been waiting for quite a while. He was steeping some tea, and there were delicious pastries on the table too.
"Have a seat."
Gu Qiwu quickly noticed Mu Lingshi too. When he looked up at her, his usually stern face looked quite at ease.
Mu Lingshi stood there looking at him for quite a while. She could see an indescribable bleakness in his gaze. A faint smile flashed on her lips, then she sat down.
He knew that Mu Lingshi was pregnant and could not drink tea, so Gu Qiwu ordered some flower tea instead. He took a cup and poured her some tea. "Earlier when I sat down, I was guessing whether you would come or not."
Mu Lingshi was not courteous as she picked the teacup up and took a nonchalant sip. She did not bother hiding the indifference and irony she felt. "I really didn't want to, but I don't want to be Mother Teresa either."
Upon hearing that, Gu Qiwu looked up to watch Mu Lingshi silently. She still had her sunglasses on, so he could not see her gaze underneath them, but when he saw the scar faintly showing, his eyes darkened.
As if he was thinking about something, Gu Qiwu's eyes were dazed for a moment, then he said softly, "I was betting on you to come. You're stronger and tougher than your mother."
"My mother's Zhuang Shurong. To me, she's a perfect woman."
Mu Lingshi did not want to admit it, but she actually did not have much feelings for Mu Zi. After all, she ended her life soon after giving birth to her. From then on, the person who had raised her and taught her life, was Zhuang Shurong and the rest.
While Gu Qiwu lowered his gaze and looked at the teacup before him, the steam blurred his sight. He fell silent for a while, then smiled and said, "You shouldn't be so against your mother. She loved you and your brother. I'm the one who let you down. It's not like I never thought of bringing the both of you back to the Gu family."
"Mr. Gu, you're funny, I will always be part of the Mu family."
"No, you know very well yourself that you, Lingtian, are indeed the child of Zixi and I. We're your biological parents. Although this is hard to accept, it's the truth. On Doris's side, she's long had our DNA report," Gu Qiwu said. His dark eyes suddenly glowed with a cold light, then it turned into sorrow. Lastly, it became the calm after the bleakness.
Upon hearing that, Mu Lingshi suddenly grinned and said in disdain, "So? What are you planning on having me do? Do you want to get rid of us just like how Mu Zi sacrificed herself to let you all be happy? I'm telling you to dream on! I'm not Mu Zi. I wish that you and your wife will be done for. That way, I'll feel freer from worry."
"The thing between Doris and me, and also your mother, isn't something that can be easily explained. Your mother's a good woman, but..."
"But you don't love her. The woman you love is Doris, so for Doris's sake, you can let any woman down. It used to be Mu Zi, and now it's me? Tell me what do you want? I already detest that your blood runs through me. If I could sever all ties with you, I would be happy to co-operate."
Mu Lingshi was tired too. All the news about Mu Zi and Gu Qiwu was endless. Even she and the Mu family were implicated. Naturally, she did not want to see such chaos.
"Lingshi, you're mistaken. I'm sure you know about Doris and me. We're going to court soon. I'm asking you out because I hope you'd forgive me and come home to the Gu residence with me," Gu Qiwu said in a low voice as his gaze was fixed on Mu Lingshi.
Nevertheless, when Mu Lingshi heard this, she laughed gently, then took a deep breath before she lowered her head and continued to have another sip of tea. She sneered, "Mr. Gu, I'm not interested in the Gu family at all."
"Even if you're not interested in the Gu family, aren't you interested in the Hui Gu Corporation? If you aren't, then what did you do all of that from before for? Don't tell me that you don't even know Mu Yuchen's intentions yourself." Gu Qiwu's calm voice came through. In that smooth voice, you could not hear any emotions.
"Does that mean you're blaming us for Doris cheating on you? Haha, Mr. Gu, I don't know how much you love Doris that you could even accept this. Do you want to protect her so much? No wonder you don't want to divorce her."
The more Gu Qiwu showed that he cared about Doris, the more Mu Lingshi felt sad and pitiful for Mu Zi!
"If you can be so considerate and loyal, why don't you think about Mu Zi who's passed away? Do you know that hearing all these make me wish I could just kill you!" Mu Lingshi was white from anger while her hands were clenched into fists, and the resentment in her eyes could not be concealed.
"Lingshi, calm down. Let me finish."
There were mixed emotions in Gu Qiwu's eyes. He thought about it, then decided to explain to Mu LIngshi, "I couldn't avoid going to court for the divorce with Doris because the things she wants to take away is enough to waver the Gu family's family property. She and I only had your sister, Lingsha. Initially, I thought we'd still have your brother, Lingtian, but..."
"Do you want Doris to leave with nothing?" Mu Lingshi ridiculed.
"Yes, she betrayed me. I want her to know that she can't just do whatever she wants." When Gu Qiwu said this, a sinister chill flashed in his eyes.
Mu Lingshi seemed to be able to feel the love and hatred that Gu Qiwu felt towards Doris.
"In fact, I've been wanting to make it up to you." Gu Qiwu paused, then poured Mu Lingshi more tea. "Apart from Lingsha, I have you too..."