CHAPTER 286: CHAPTER 267: BEHIND HER IS MU SHUOQIAN

Mickey saw Gu Qili standing at the door with big and small bundles, and the apple she was nibbling on dropped to the ground with a "pop".

"Qiqi, you... have you been struck by a disaster? You..."

Before she could finish, Gu Qili suddenly stepped forward and embraced her neck; soon after, her neck felt warm as scorching tears started to drop onto it.

"Qiqi, what’s wrong with you, don’t scare me." Mickey could hear her suppressed sobs, felt a pang in her heart, and tears began to fall from her own eyes too. She hugged her tightly, her voice choked with sobs, "What’s happened, talk to me, don’t cry. Did Mu Shuoqian bully you? I’ll go with you to get back at him, don’t cry anymore, Qiqi, don’t cry."

Gu Qili held her tightly, her face buried in her neck, crying breathlessly.

It wasn’t until her crying had gradually subsided that Mickey pushed her slightly: "What exactly happened? One would think you’ve been bullied by someone."

Gu Qili wiped away her snot and tears, and then said in a hiccuping voice, "I broke up with Mu Shuoqian."

Mickey was dumbfounded by this news. She just couldn’t believe that Mu Shuoqian, who pampered Qiqi to her very bones, would break up with her. To be honest, Mu Shuoqian was the most flawed man she had ever seen, cold-hearted, ruthless, germophobic, arrogant, but he was different towards Gu Qili, pampering her, indulging her, dependent on her.

She was both envious and jealous of that.

Mickey’s first reaction was: "You found someone else? You fell in love with someone else?"

Mu Shuoqian was so good to her, she would never believe that the problem lay with Mu Shuoqian.

"Then, does he have someone else?"

Upon hearing Mickey’s words, Gu Qili’s tears started flowing uncontrollably again.

She’d rather it be that he had someone else because then there would be a way to solve the problem, but the reality was, if she continued to drag things out with him, she would end up being the other woman. Even with a marriage agreement, she wasn’t his true love in the end.

Gu Qili shook her head.

"Xiao Mi, can I stay at your place for a few days, is that alright?"

"Of course it’s alright, silly, didn’t you use to stay at my place all the time?"

"You said you wanted to find a place to move out to after your thesis defense, how is that going?"

"I’ve already found two, I’ve seen them both, they’re not bad, just a bit far from the city center, in Perfume Bay."

Gu Qili’s eyes lit up: "Perfume Bay, that’s close to the winery, would it be convenient for us to share a rental?"

Mickey sighed: "Of course it would be convenient, but I can’t just move out to rent a place, my mom absolutely won’t allow it. She’s worried about me facing danger outside, and she thinks if I move out, she’ll lose control over me. You forget she’s dead set on making me a translator."

"Then give me the landlord’s number; I’ll go check out the place."

"You want to rent a place? But don’t you still have the winery’s villa?"

Before seeking refuge with Mickey, Gu Qili had thought about the winery’s villa, but that place held happy memories as well as painful pasts. Going back there would only remind her of Gu Dezhong and Mu Shuoqian, so, for the moment, she didn’t want to go back.

"I want to sell that villa. The farmer next to the vineyard had his eye on it for years. If I want to develop the winery, I need money. Selling the villa will give me some capital, plus it’s really a waste for such a big house to house only me." Gu Qili rubbed her nose, "I’m hungry, can you not block the doorway?"

Only then did Mickey hurry to let her in, helping her with the big and small bundles.

Both Mickey’s dad and mom were at work, and she was alone at home. Her bedroom was too small to fit all these things, so they had to temporarily be piled in the living room.

Mickey went to the kitchen to cook two bowls of noodles, and after a hasty meal, they contacted the landlord to check out the apartment.

While waiting outside the agreed-upon neighborhood, a white Audi drove up, which Gu Qili found eerily familiar. Before she had time to think where she had seen it, a familiar figure stepped out of the car.

"Qili?" Chen Yishu was both surprised and delighted, almost running to her side and inspecting her carefully to confirm he wasn’t seeing things, "It really is you, what are you doing here?"

The two hadn’t seen each other for a while, and seeing Chen Yishu here made Gu Qili quite happy.

"I made an appointment to look at an apartment."

"What a coincidence, I happen to be here to help rent out an apartment." Chen Yishu said, then suddenly pointed to the young man who got out of the passenger seat, "Is it the building at Perfume Bay 30?"

Mickey nodded vigorously on the side: "Yes, is it your friend’s place?"

"Yeah, it’s his. His dad bought him this apartment before the year began, planning for him to move in this year, but he ended up receiving an offer for a graduate program abroad, so he decided to rent it out. It really is quite the coincidence." Chen Yishu’s friend also came over, and after a brief introduction, they all went to check out the apartment together.

The apartment wasn’t big—a simple one-bedroom with a living room—perfect for one person. It was newly renovated and hadn’t been lived in before they decided to rent it out. Although it was a bit far from the city center, the price was quite cheap.

Since it was Chen Yishu’s friend, Gu Qili didn’t hesitate anymore. With Chen Yishu vouching, they didn’t even sign a contract, and she directly transferred half a year’s rent to his friend’s card.

Chen Yishu’s friend still had some procedures for going abroad to handle, so they left after viewing the apartment.

"There’s a good restaurant nearby, I’ll treat you both to a meal," Chen Yishu said, glancing at Gu Qili worriedly, hoping she wouldn’t decline.

And indeed, Gu Qili was quite hungry. It had been almost two days since she last ate, which was a significant breakthrough for someone like her who never missed a meal.

Seeing Gu Qili nod made Chen Yishu bloom with joy, and after opening the car doors for both of them, he climbed into the driver’s seat.

"Yishu, did you just buy this car?" Mickey looked around the car for a while.

"It’s my dad’s. He bought a new one and gave this one to me," Chen Yishu said as he reversed the car out of the community, "What have the two of you been up to recently? How come you never contact me? I’ve been stuck learning in my dad’s company every day, almost driving myself crazy."

Mickey replied: "I haven’t started working. I’m doing Taekwondo coaching and recently went for grading. Though I’m not working, it’s more exhausting than a job."

"And how about you, Qili? Is your restaurant still busy?" Chen Yishu glanced at her through the rearview mirror.

The girl was gazing out the window, daydreaming, fixated on nothing special—just a Li Ji Pork Trotter Rice restaurant in Aus City with a bit of local fame. Even after the car had gone far past, she remained leaning against the glass, staring at the unassuming eatery.

Even authentic Chinese restaurants were scarce there, but he miraculously managed to produce a pork trotter rice dish. Despite him eating all the pork trotters, leaving only vegetables and soybeans for her.

Pork trotter rice was also often her midnight snack after night shifts. He was busy all day, then picked her up after midnight. She lost count of how many times they drove on the empty streets of Aus City, with her eating the late-night snack he prepared, her heart filled with gratitude and happiness.

He had treated her well, and perhaps his thoughtful care had nothing to do with his ’Xiaoyu.’ But no matter how much good outweighed the bad, it didn’t compare to Xiaoyu’s return. Compared to that, his kindness seemed trivial.

"Qiqi, Yishu is talking to you." Mickey tugged on her sleeve several times, bringing Gu Qili back to reality. She quickly withdrew her distant gaze, looking at Chen Yishu somewhat blankly.

"Is your restaurant still busy lately? You seem to have lost weight from exhaustion?" Chen Yishu patiently repeated.

"It’s okay, I’ve been on a business trip to City A, just got back not long ago. The new store opening there was pretty tough," Gu Qili gave him a smile, "I’ve seen your social media posts. You’ve got a girlfriend recently, right?"

A blush crept onto Chen Yishu’s face, and he explained awkwardly: "Don’t get me wrong, she’s just a travel companion. I went to the Great Plateau a while ago, met her on the road—she’s warm and talkative, and we hit it off on the journey. Our relationship is not bad."

"Hmm, she seems like a nice girl. If she doesn’t have a boyfriend, you could consider a relationship."

Chen Yishu looked at her again; her expression was gentle, her lips curled in a warm smile. Although she still looked the same as he remembered, he felt something about her had changed.

After dining, Chen Yishu played the role of driver and took them to the mall, where Gu Qili bought some daily necessities and a few kitchen utensils.

There was an event happening in the lobby on the first floor. They browsed around, and soon saw two staff members hanging up a new poster.

"Why change the spokesperson all of a sudden? Wasn’t the previous girl pretty too?" one staff member commented.

"These entertainment industry affairs are unpredictable. One day this person rises to fame, the next another is hidden away; it’s all decided by those with money," another replied.

"By the way, what’s the name of the new spokesperson?"

"Zhou Xiaoyu."

Upon hearing these three words, Gu Qili’s footsteps halted abruptly. She couldn’t help but turn back and saw the staff members hoisting the poster higher.

This giant poster was over three meters tall, and on it, Zhou Xiaoyu was dressed in a white gown, wearing exquisite makeup. Since she was endorsing cosmetics, she held a delicate glass bottle in her hand.

Below the poster, it read: "The film and television rising star, Zhou Xiaoyu."

"Who’s Zhou Xiaoyu?" Mickey bit into her ice cream, "I’ve never heard of her. Her face is also unfamiliar."

Chen Yishu, with his good memory, recalled some details: "She’s acted in a few dramas before, mostly minor roles like the fourth or fifth female lead, passerby A. She once played a zombie ghost, which she did quite convincingly, so I remembered her. It’s crazy that such a high-profile cosmetic brand would pick a virtually unknown actress as their spokesperson, right?"

The poster was hung quite high, forcing Gu Qili to look up. After staring for a while, her eyes began to feel sore.

Perhaps the former Zhou Xiaoyu was unknown, but now Zhou Xiaoyu was destined to become a shining star in the entertainment circle in no time, all thanks to Mu Shuoqian backing her.