Chapter 4
Qi Baizi slept very soundly. She had set an alarm for six in the morning the night before, but when she opened her eyes, it was already 6:40.
Yesterday afternoon, she had stood for four hours during the meeting, and then sat quietly waiting for two hours while Gu Yuetong swam. This was nothing for Qi Baizi, who often worked part-time at a milk tea shop. What truly drained her energy was the constant anxiety throughout the day.
After being forcibly awakened by the delayed alarm, Qi Baizi felt her heart racing. But after sitting still for a few seconds, she immediately jumped out of bed to wash up.
As she was getting dressed, she remembered that she had sent her coffee-stained professional suit to the hotel’s dry cleaning service before bed, so she had to leave her bedroom in her white T-shirt.
There was no one outside. The electric curtains were still closed, just as she had left them when she returned last night. It seemed Gu Yuetong was not awake yet.
Qi Baizi tiptoed to call the hotel front desk, then opened her phone to check her schedule. Yesterday, she had been added to the President’s Office’s information list by the Administration Group, and the to-do list contained Gu Yuetong’s work arrangements for the next three days.
This afternoon, there was a shareholder meeting in the same conference room as yesterday. Tomorrow at 11 AM, they had a flight back to Jingzhou, arriving at the company at 4 PM for the mid-week regular meeting. The day after tomorrow was a full day of a friendly business’s celebration event.
Qi Baizi scanned the list carefully. It seemed there were no work arrangements for this morning.
No wonder it was almost seven, and Gu Yuetong was still asleep.
Qi Baizi pulled open the curtains to check the weather. It was overcast.
Her mother had loved overcast days. Because she worked manual labor on a construction site with her uncle and aunt, sunny days were not so friendly to her.
But Jingzhou rarely had overcast days. The sun always hung high in the sky, its rays piercing through the thin clouds to hit the skin. From constantly bending over to move bricks, the skin on the back of her mother’s neck was tanned dark red, and it would become painful and itchy when it flared up.
So, with the first salary she earned from her part-time job at sixteen, Qi Baizi bought her mother a bottle of sunscreen. Her uncle had even complained about it, saying such things were useless.
At first, Qi Baizi didn’t understand. Later, during one summer vacation, she also worked on a construction site for a few days. As she labored outdoors under the scorching sun for six or seven hours, the sunscreen mixed with sweat and turned into a white liquid that streamed down her neck and arms. At that moment, she understood that her uncle hadn’t been fooling her.
As she was staring out the window in a daze, the doorbell suddenly rang behind her.
Thinking it was her dry-cleaned clothes being delivered, Qi Baizi opened the door.
Unexpectedly, an elegantly dressed middle-aged woman stood outside.
Qi Baizi blinked hard. It was hard not to recognize her as the famous entrepreneur known throughout Jingzhou and even the entire country—Gu Hezhu.
In other words, Gu Yuetong’s mother. The two looked remarkably alike.
After standing frozen for a full three seconds, Qi Baizi finally remembered to invite her in.
Gu Hezhu came in but didn’t sit down. Instead, she looked around and then asked Qi Baizi, “Which bedroom are you staying in?”
Qi Baizi was a little nervous and also curious. She hadn’t even introduced herself, yet Gu Hezhu already knew who she was?
“Chairman, I’m staying in the guest room.”
“And Yuetong?”
Qi Baizi extended her hand and answered politely and respectfully, “President Gu is staying in the master bedroom over here.”
Gu Hezhu sized her up for a few moments, then turned without a word and walked to the master bedroom door, turning the handle.
Qi Baizi stood a meter away, her eyes lowered, pretending to ignore it.
The door didn’t open. Gu Hezhu frowned slightly and raised her hand to knock.
There was no movement inside.
Gu Hezhu took a step back and said to Qi Baizi, “You knock.”
That wasn’t a big deal.
The naive Qi Baizi clearly hadn’t realized she was being used as a pawn. She stepped forward, preparing to knock.
Suddenly, the door to the other vacant guest room opened.
Gu Yuetong stood there, fully dressed, a paintbrush in her hand, her face dark as she stared at Gu Hezhu and Qi Baizi.
“A clever rabbit has three burrows, I see,” Gu Hezhu chuckled softly as she turned around.
But Qi Baizi felt a chill run down her spine.
The moment she saw Gu Yuetong’s eyes, she clearly felt a bone-chilling coldness. Even though she had done nothing, it felt as if she had been branded a condemned criminal.
“Good morning, President Gu.” Although Qi Baizi was confused, she keenly sensed the smell of gunpowder spreading through the air.
“Chairman, please chat. I’ll go to the front desk to check on my dry-cleaned clothes.”
Having found an excuse to escape, Qi Baizi ran right into the housekeeping manager delivering her clothes as soon as she stepped out the door. Holding the heavy suit, Qi Baizi was caught in a dilemma.
She didn’t know what kind of love-hate relationship the Gu mother and daughter had, and she didn’t want to get involved. But because of the knocking incident just now, it seemed Gu Yuetong had already formed a new opinion of her.
Damn it, she was going to lose her job!
Realizing this, alarm bells went off in Qi Baizi’s head.
She tiptoed back to the door and pressed her ear against it.
The sounds from inside weren’t loud, but she could just make out the conversation.
Gu Yuetong’s tone was calm, but her words were startling. “Is Qi Baizi one of your people too?”
Qi Baizi: ?
I’m not, I don’t have one, I’ve never met her!
But Gu Hezhu didn’t deny it. “Everything you have was given to you by me. Without me, you are nothing.”
Gu Yuetong let out a cold laugh. “Mother, I’d rather be nothing.”
After that, the room fell silent for a long time.
Qi Baizi’s heart was in her throat. She set her phone to vibrate and clutched it to her chest, praying that she wouldn’t receive a dismissal notice in the next second.
However, what came was the sound of the door opening.
Before Qi Baizi could react to what had happened, Gu Yuetong had already walked past her with her bag.
She glanced at Gu Hezhu, who was standing still in the room, hesitated for a second, and then chose to grit her teeth and chase after Gu Yuetong.
Whatever, she was hired as Gu Yuetong’s assistant. What did the Chairman have to do with her!
Qi Baizi followed her into the elevator just before the doors closed.
“President Gu, I…”
“How much money did she give you?”
Qi Baizi was taken aback. “What money?”
Gu Yuetong stared into her eyes. Although she was taller than Gu Yuetong, she felt an intense sense of pressure.
“You looked at my phone at the swimming pool yesterday.”
Qi Baizi froze, remembering the message from the person labeled “Ex-wife Sister,” and nodded stiffly. “Yes.”
“So you really were sent by her to spy on me.” Gu Yuetong gave a bitter smile. “I thought you were different.”
“I’m sorry, President Gu, I’m not…”
The elevator reached the underground parking garage and dinged, interrupting what Qi Baizi was about to say.
Gu Yuetong’s face was cold, and she showed no intention of questioning her further.
After getting out of the elevator, Qi Baizi took a step and blocked Gu Yuetong’s path.
She dropped the freshly dry-cleaned clothes and spread her arms as if to embrace Gu Yuetong, forcing her to stop.
Their eyes met, and Qi Baizi explained with utmost seriousness, “Before today, I had only seen Chairman Gu on TV and on trending online searches. We have no way of contacting each other.”
It seemed her words had gotten through. Gu Yuetong calmed down a little, her expression softening slightly.
Qi Baizi continued, “If you insist on saying that I’m a spy she planted by your side, then we must be communicating through telepathy.”
Gu Yuetong was taken aback for a moment, then tilted her head slightly and covered her face.
Qi Baizi was being very solemn; she didn’t understand why Gu Yuetong was secretly laughing.
She took a deep breath and said earnestly, “I really need this job. Although I’m a workplace newbie and might not be the most convenient for you to use, I’m not unchangeable. I will improve and show you my loyalty…”
Saying these dramatic words out loud made Qi Baizi feel a little embarrassed and a little insecure.
She didn’t know if Gu Yuetong would fall for this, but sincerity was the only tool she had left to save her job.
“Maybe you have some misunderstanding about me. Whether it was yesterday or today, I can explain everything…”
“That’s enough,” Gu Yuetong interrupted. “Let’s drive.”
Seeing that her job was safe, Qi Baizi quickly took the car keys Gu Yuetong handed her.
After starting the car, she asked Gu Yuetong if she had a destination in mind. Gu Yuetong was silent for a moment, then suggested, “There seems to be an art exhibition nearby.”
Qi Baizi had seen it when they arrived at the hotel yesterday. A huge promotional banner for a famous painter’s exhibition was hanging on a building in downtown Donglin.
She checked her phone and turned back to say, “President Gu, the exhibition opens at nine.”
Gu Yuetong said nothing.
Qi Baizi asked if she wanted to eat breakfast.
She nodded slightly, and Qi Baizi immediately opened her phone and found a dim sum restaurant that Zheng Xiaoxiao had recommended in their group chat yesterday.
Zheng Xiaoxiao wasn’t a local, but she came here often. Donglin was her mother’s hometown.
Yesterday, when she saw that Qi Baizi was also in Donglin, she had asked if she had time to meet for a meal. Qi Baizi hadn’t explicitly refused, but seeing her faint complaints in the group chat, Zheng Xiaoxiao had guessed that it was probably not going to happen.
Unexpectedly, they ran into each other at the dim sum restaurant in the morning.
And they also ran into the CEO of Gu Corporation, Gu Yuetong. Zheng Xiaoxiao immediately lowered the hand she had raised to greet her, pretending not to know Qi Baizi.
Qi Baizi led Gu Yuetong into a private room. As soon as they were seated, Gu Yuetong asked if Qi Baizi knew the girl from just now.
Qi Baizi nodded. Gu Yuetong said “oh” and added, “It’s work hours. I hope you can keep your priorities straight.”
Qi Baizi hadn’t planned on catching up with Zheng Xiaoxiao in front of Gu Yuetong anyway. Now that she had said that, the thought was completely dismissed.
Gu Yuetong pushed the menu forward. “You recommended the restaurant, so you order.”
It was Qi Baizi’s first time here too, so she could only randomly choose a few of the signature dishes.
After the dishes were served, Qi Baizi turned to wait by the door, but Gu Yuetong stopped her. “Where are you going?”
“To the door,” Qi Baizi said. “Don’t worry, I won’t be more than ten meters away from you.”
Gu Yuetong was taken aback; that wasn’t what she meant. A wave of frustration welled up inside her, and her face darkened as she snapped, “Sit down and eat!”
Qi Baizi was startled by her sudden raised voice and quickly sat down opposite her.
But after picking up her chopsticks, she thought about it again. It didn’t seem like Gu Yuetong was actually angry.
It was more like she was a bit…
Qi Baizi couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
During the meal, Qi Baizi noticed that Gu Yuetong was a very picky eater. She didn’t touch any of the dishes that contained minced ginger or fatty meat. So, she silently made a note of this in her memo app.
The meal passed in silence and was quickly finished.
Qi Baizi got up to pay at the front desk. As she passed through the main hall, she wondered why she hadn’t seen Zheng Xiaoxiao. On her way back to the private room, she found her standing at the doorway, but the door to the room was tightly shut.
Qi Baizi was stunned and walked over to ask, “Why are you standing here?”
Zheng Xiaoxiao’s voice was low, and she seemed a bit flustered. “My mom found out the CEO of Gu Corporation was inside, so she…”