CHAPTER 236: CHAPTER 222 MOVING THE LADY OUT

Gu Qili held one foot up high, her hands propped against the sofa, her gaze fixed unblinkingly on Mu Shuoqian’s back, with a smile growing in her eyes.

After finding a band-aid in the drawer, he squatted in front of her again, and with nimble fingers, he tore off the outer protective film. With one hand he straightened her little foot and with the other, he deftly smoothed the band-aid carefully, his movements so gentle that they wouldn’t touch the wound on the foot.

A man who is ordinarily as grand as a prince now kneeling before her to apply a band-aid, the poise and grace he usually carries seem to have all faded away at this moment, leaving only deep affection that warms the heart.

"There, don’t wear these shoes again," Mu Shuoqian said, picking up the pair of shoes and throwing them into the trash can.

Gu Qili exclaimed in distress: "Ah, but they’re new."

"Shoes that don’t fit should be thrown away." He stood up, poured a glass of water, and put it into her hand, "Tell me right away if you encounter this kind of situation next time."

He had indeed been negligent today for not noticing that her shoes were ill-fitting; otherwise, he would not have let her busy herself running around.

"Mhm," Gu Qili obediently nodded. She had kept a very good facade at the noodle shop, so it was no wonder Mu Shuoqian hadn’t noticed.

"By the way, why did you call me here?" Gu Qili took a sip of water while holding the cup.

He sat next to her, looking at a document in his hand, and said lightly, "Nothing important."

Gu Qili pouted, thinking that if it was nothing important then why call her over when she still had so much work to do.

However, she didn’t rush to leave but instead leaned her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes to rest. She knew, after all, that he just wanted her company.

In the quiet space, there was only the occasional sound of him flipping through the book and their shallow breathing, creating a peaceful and beautiful atmosphere.

Gu Qili was almost asleep when suddenly there came a gentle knocking from outside. Mu Shuoqian, without turning his head, said, "Come in."

The secretary entered carrying a shoe box, glanced at the desk at first not locating Mu Shuoqian, and then turned towards the sofa. To her shock, she saw the CEO with his legs crossed, reading a document, and a girl leaning onto his shoulder; since she was turned to the side, they could only see her slender, fair neck and pointed chin.

"Young Master Qian..." The secretary quickly averted her gaze, holding the box in silent inquiry.

Mu Shuoqian pointed to the floor to one side, and the secretary quickly placed the shoe box down and left the room, gently closing the door behind her.

Gu Qili felt someone talking in a daze but was too tired to care. She blinked twice and then continued to sleep.

Perhaps because the position was uncomfortable, she slept restlessly, occasionally shifting to adjust her angle.

Mu Shuoqian set the document he was reading on the coffee table, extended an arm to embrace her into his chest, and allowed her to rest her head on his lap. As he gazed at her peaceful sleeping face, he seemed to lose interest in work and leaned back against the sofa to rest his eyes as well.

After an indefinite amount of time, the phone on the coffee table suddenly rang. As the sleep was not deep, Mu Shuoqian opened his eyes quickly, worried about waking the person asleep beside him, he reached forward carefully and swiftly to grab the phone.

Seeing the caller ID, he frowned slightly, switched the phone to silent, carefully moved Gu Qili from his lap onto the sofa, then got up and went to the balcony.

"Are you busy? Why has it taken you longer and longer to answer the phone?" The person on the other end seemed to be complaining with dissatisfaction.

Mu Shuoqian didn’t respond immediately, instead, he looked sideways towards the sofa. The warm glow of light tenderly enveloped her, and after a while, he finally said, "Nothing, I was just in a meeting."

"I might have to go back for a bit soon. Have you had someone take care of the house in Tanxi?"

"Yes, it’s been cleaned," Mu Shuoqian said and then reached into his pocket, hoping to grab a cigarette, searching for a moment before realizing the cigarette was on the table.

"I haven’t been back for a long time, I don’t even know if I can adapt to the water, soil, and air in Aus City anymore."

Mu Shuoqian still did not speak, and at the same time, he saw Gu Qili’s long eyelashes tremble twice, her thin eyelids gently fluttered open, she was awake.

"Hang up," he hastily said two words and put away the phone, striding from the balcony to the sofa, and bent down as Gu Qili rubbed her eyes, looking at him with a bewildered face: "I’ll go make breakfast."

It’s clear at first glance that it’s top-quality goods.

Mu Shuoqian lifted one of her small feet and personally slipped the sandals on for her; they fit just right. "Walk a few steps and see how they feel."

Today, he had personally applied a band-aid for her, and now he was personally putting shoes on for her; Gu Qili felt somewhat embarrassed, while at the same time, her stomach was filled to the brim with happiness and emotion.

She stood up and walked around in place. The flat shoes were very comfortable — such expensive shoes wouldn’t be worth their price if they ended up causing blisters.

At this moment, Xiao Ran knocked on the door and entered after receiving permission. He first greeted Gu Qili, then turned to remind Mu Shuoqian, "Young Master Qian, you have a dinner engagement at seven o’clock tonight."

"Cancel it," Mu Shuoqian replied without a second thought.

"This dinner is hosted by Director Wang, and the contract we just negotiated with him hasn’t been fully signed yet. If Young Master Qian doesn’t attend..."

Mu Shuoqian gave him a cold glance, instantly blocking the rest of Xiao Ran’s words in his throat.

Helpless, Xiao Ran could only look towards Gu Qili with eyes pleading for help; this dinner was truly very important, and they had been negotiating this deal for almost half a month.

Gu Qili knew that Mu Shuoqian had canceled the dinner engagement suddenly because he had just said he wanted to eat the meal she cooked. She could cook for him anytime, but it would be a pity if such a hard-earned opportunity were lost.

Thus, she shook his arm and coaxed with a whining tone, "Don’t cancel such an important dinner. If anything, just eat less at night, and I’ll make you a midnight snack."

Mu Shuoqian was unimpressed: "No matter how important the dinner, it’s not as important as the meal you cook."

"Ah!" She suddenly tapped her head, "I just remembered, I can’t go home and cook for you tonight. I have a training session at CAFA. Look at my memory." As she spoke, Gu Qili pulled out her phone to check the calendar, and to add proof, she pointed to the memo right in front of him: "See, I’m not lying to you."

He looked down with slightly less cheer in his eyes.

Finally, after a series of persistent pleas, he sighed as if showing mercy: "All right, I know."

Gu Qili breathed a sigh of relief, and covertly gestured a ’victory’ sign to Xiao Ran behind her back.

Xiao Ran was still in extreme shock, standing at the door as if petrified. Young Master Qian, who always stood by his decisions, had been willing to cancel such an important dinner on a whim, yet he agreed to her request with just a shake of her arm.

In the past, when Young Master Qian was angry or stubborn, all their efforts were in vain. Now, seeing Madam’s method, he had an epiphany; if he ever made some unforgivable error in the future, the best solution would be to involve Madam and let her simply sway Young Master Qian’s arm.

Xiao Ran praised his own discovery thirty-two times over, so much that he couldn’t suppress the smile at the corner of his mouth and finally laughed out loud.

Then, he felt Mu Shuoqian’s gaze sharper than a knife cut over to him, and he immediately straightened his face, adopting a serious expression.

However, Gu Qili saw this and couldn’t help but giggle.

Alas, only the Madam dared to cry or laugh in front of Young Master Qian as she wished.

After returning to the restaurant, Gu Qili’s daytime colleagues were preparing to leave. Her class wasn’t until seven in the evening, so she wasn’t in a hurry. Instead, she stayed to handle some work.

As the month was ending, inventory had to be checked, revenues settled, and evaluations for outstanding employees conducted—there was a mountain of work waiting for her.

Being a novice, she lacked qualifications and experience, naturally requiring her to put in more effort to keep up with the fast pace of the workplace.

Gu Qili was writing something in the shared office when Gao Xing knocked and entered. His face serious as he saw her, he asked, "How could the bottle go missing? Did you figure it out?"

A day’s worth of busyness had almost made her forget about the lost bottle of wine. Now that Gao Xing had brought it up, Gu Qili couldn’t avoid feeling a bit sad again. She put down her pen and shook her head: "No, I only found the broken bottle. I’m not sure who did it."

Gao Xing felt sorry for her too; he had witnessed firsthand the effort and anticipation she had put into that bottle of wine.

Just as he was about to offer some words of comfort, Gao Xing suddenly noticed a bag of grapes that Gu Qili had placed at the edge of the table—she had just brought them back from Mei Zi today.