CHAPTER 271: CHAPTER 253: AREN’T YOU AT ALL SURPRISED?

Seeing Mu Shuoqian suddenly stop in his tracks, Gu Qili’s heart instantly tightened.

Her mind was racing, thinking of an excuse to leave without offending the leaders, but even more so, she didn’t want to offend him.

Mu Shuoqian paused only for two or three seconds before continuing forward as if nothing had happened, leaving the private room for the lounge, his hand still in his trouser pocket.

A large group followed behind, chattering and laughing until they reached the hotel entrance.

A senior executive was on the phone booking a room; Gu Qili walked side by side with Liu Zhining, discussing work matters with him.

Suddenly, Mu Shuoqian, who was at the front, had his phone ring from his pocket. He didn’t continue outside but stopped in front of the revolving door to answer the call. As he didn’t move, the rest of the people, like beached fish, could only wait quietly in place.

"Cancelled? Alright, then I won’t go over," he said nonchalantly, putting his phone back and then staring outside through the glass door at the street, lost in thought. In fact, he was waiting for a few executives to come closer.

As expected, an attentive executive heard his voice, which wasn’t intentionally lowered. The executive walked over hastily, smiling, and said, "Young Master Qian, since there’s nothing else, come and sing karaoke with us. It’s rare for you to come to Aus City, let us show you some hospitality."

Mu Shuoqian appeared to be rather troubled, but ultimately "couldn’t resist" the executive’s invitation and reluctantly nodded: "Alright."

Gu Qili couldn’t help but twitch at the corners of her mouth, having seen someone dig their own grave before, but watching someone climb out so calmly after being buried was a first for her. Truly an eye-opening experience.

Gu Qili had heard Mu Shuoqian sing; he had a pleasant singing voice. However, once they got to the KTV, he just sat on the side on a sofa and didn’t touch the microphone at all.

Out of propriety, Gu Qili sat next to Liu Zhining. She didn’t sing either but held a bucket of popcorn and listened attentively to others sing.

At that moment, someone shouted: "Young Master Qian, why don’t you sing a duet with Miss Gu? You two haven’t touched the microphone all night."

As soon as this suggestion was made, the others quickly chimed in.

Gu Qili coughed twice, nearly choking on her popcorn, and hurriedly looked over at Mu Shuoqian.

Mu Shuoqian put down the cup in his hand and said generously, "Alright."

After speaking, he turned to Gu Qili and asked, "Miss Gu, what song can you sing?"

Gu Qili couldn’t think of any song at the moment, so she said: "Whatever song Young Master Qian likes, I’ll follow."

He nodded understandingly, then leaned towards one of the executives and whispered a few words. That executive immediately scurried to the song-selection device and queued up a song, giving priority to the song Mu Shuoqian wanted to sing; the previously selected songs had to step aside.

When the music started, Gu Qili was slightly stunned—the song he picked was "Once Is Enough."

Gu Qili highly suspected that Mu Shuoqian could only sing this one song.

"Miss Gu, come sit next to Young Master Qian, with such distance, how can you coordinate?" Someone offered a spot, proactively trading places with her. Gu Qili couldn’t refuse and had to sit by Mu Shuoqian.

Since when does singing require people to be close for coordination? What kind of logic is that.

Mu Shuoqian glanced at her sideways, and in the dim light of the private room, he winked at her.

Gu Qili responded with an understanding smile and whispered, "You sing the first verse."

When Mu Shuoqian’s voice rang out, the private room quieted down immediately. His voice was deep and pleasant, his timbre luxurious, fitting the song perfectly.

After Mu Shuoqian finished a section, everyone immediately applauded warmly.

It was Gu Qili’s turn for the next section. Her hand holding the microphone was actually a bit excited; it was her first time singing with Mu Shuoqian, and she couldn’t help feeling nervous.

Although her voice started off somewhat shaky, as the melody progressed, she gradually found her rhythm. Her mood settled down, and she soon immersed herself in the music.

Gu Qili’s singing naturally elicited applause, not because she sang exceptionally well, but mostly people were currying favor.

Although Mu Shuoqian never did anything too outrageous, perceptive people were always observing covertly. Even though Mu Shuoqian was sitting in a corner, his gaze often subtly fell across to the other side of the sofa, mostly on Miss Gu.

No matter what the relationship between these two was, it was certain that the CEO had intentions, so this flattery was bound to hit the mark with extra volume.

When it came to the duet, Mu Shuoqian’s voice was elegant, and Gu Qili’s voice was sweet. Their harmonizing was like a match made in heaven, perfected to the utmost.

"Would you realize that all my heartbeats, follow yours."

Until the last note fell, the music eased into a lingering close, and the room was silent for five seconds, followed by continuous acclaim.

Facing everyone’s praise, Gu Qili felt a bit embarrassed and quickly passed the microphone on to someone else.

She sneaked a peek at Mu Shuoqian next to her. He appeared calm and collected, but she still noticed a hint of pleasure in his eyes.

Afterward, everyone sang and drank simultaneously, with several people coming up to toast Mu Shuoqian. He declined some and could not get out of others, so he drank.

When Gu Qili returned from the restroom, the bottle of foreign liquor in front of Mu Shuoqian was empty, but looking at his expression, he seemed unaffected, sitting there as if nothing was wrong.

Did he just toss her warning out of the window?

Taking advantage of the dim lighting, Gu Qili glared at him with force several times.

Mu Shuoqian seemed to feel the knife-like sharpness of her gaze, and the cup he was about to lift to his mouth was set down again. This time he obediently switched to drinking mineral water, but he had drunk too much earlier, and when they left the KTV, his legs were a bit unsteady. However, he was sober-minded and pretended to be alright, acting as if he was fine and not drunk.

Several executives, not reassured, personally escorted him to the presidential suite at the hotel and left only after seeing him enter his room.

Gu Qili returned to her own room, took a shower, and was about to call Mu Shuoqian to see if he had sobered up when an unfamiliar phone number from M country appeared on her cell phone.

～

Mu Shuoqian was not too badly drunk; his stomach was just a little uncomfortable, but he was completely lucid. After taking a shower, he sent a message to Gu Qili, asking her to come to his room.

After sending the message, he placed his phone on the bedside and went to make tea.

Once the tea was ready, there was a knock on the door. He put down his teacup, his lips curled up slightly—a little thing, arriving so promptly.

He opened the door, but his smile froze suddenly upon seeing the person standing at the threshold.

Not so much a person, but a teddy bear nearly as tall as a human, with its face obscured by the bear. As the door opened, the person suddenly unveiled half of her face: "Surprise."

The girl’s smile was like blooming flowers, her dark, large eyes fixed on him with joy. When she noticed that Mu Shuoqian had no reaction, she pouted and said, "Shuoqian, aren’t you even a little bit surprised?"

"What are you doing here?" Mu Shuoqian’s voice was indifferent.

"Of course, I came to see you. I went through quite an effort to find out that you were in Aus City, I wanted to give you a surprise."

"Not necessary." Mu Shuoqian said and moved to close the door, but the girl quickly pushed the large teddy bear in, blocking the door.

"Shuoqian, I promise I’ll just sit for a while and then go. I’ve booked a room upstairs, have you had dinner yet? I brought some late-night snacks. Let’s eat together." She bustled in without waiting for his permission.

Mu Shuoqian stepped back, wanting neither to touch her nor the teddy bear. He pursed his lips, impatience flickering in his eyes: "Yufei, go back to your room."

"No, I haven’t sat for a while." Qiu Yufei casually sat down on the sofa in the living room, naturally grabbing a cushion, "As expected of the presidential suite, even the sofa is so comfortable. Too bad the best presidential suite in the casino was given to you; mine isn’t as good as yours."

She looked around the room, her eyes falling on the freshly brewed tea on the coffee table. She took a cup for herself: "Shuoqian, it’s been so long since I’ve had tea that you brewed. In M country, everyone drinks coffee, only you drink tea, they call you a weirdo."

Mu Shuoqian, as if he hadn’t heard her, picked up the landline phone on the table and made a call.

"Security? Room 2008, come up here."

Qiu Yufei, who was sipping her tea, spat it out in shock, looking innocently at the cold-faced man, "Shuoqian, after all these years, you still haven’t cured this habit. Alright, I get it, I’m leaving, okay? Oh right, this cushion, this teapot, I guess you won’t want them anymore since I’ve touched them, so I’ll take them all with me."

"Whatever." Mu Shuoqian watched as she gathered all the things she touched into her arms, along with the teapot, "Hurry back to Aus City and don’t bother people here."

"As if I came specially to see you, don’t flatter yourself. I was here on business. Fine, I won’t talk anymore, good night." Qiu Yufei seemed accustomed to his tone, clutched her stuff, and walked out.

Just as she reached the elevator and was about to press the button, the elevator halted right in front of her.

The elevator doors opened, and Gu Qili walked out. Seeing the girl with the cushions, teddy bear, and even a teapot, she couldn’t help but give a couple of extra glances.

The girl, half of her face obscured, didn’t look at her and entered the elevator directly.

As Gu Qili approached Mu Shuoqian’s room, she suddenly remembered that the girl was the same one she had met at the airport, who had liked the same tie as her and had been in first class on the plane.

Before she could reflect further, the door opened, and an arm reached out, pulling her inside while simultaneously closing the door.

"Gu Qili, what are you, a turtle? Taking so long to come up." The man, dissatisfied, pulled her into his embrace. Although he had taken a shower, there was still a faint smell of alcohol on him. The light from the foyer shone on his handsome face, making it extraordinarily stunning.

But Gu Qili had no time to fuss over his slight irritation and suddenly embraced his waist, speaking softly, "Mu Shuoqian, can you do me a favor?"