Chapter 28

Qi Baizi followed Gu Yuetong upstairs, her face flushing red all the way to her earlobes in the dim light.

After the long day, she was both exhausted and tense, her scalp tight. She didn’t even hear Gu Yuetong say goodnight to her. As she watched Gu Yuetong return to her bedroom, she finally quieted down, curled up in bed, and went to sleep.

Auntie Qin and the lawyer successfully had Chen Hao detained. Surveillance evidence showed that Chen Hao had deliberately brought a bouquet of lilies that morning and given it to his girlfriend, Xu Li. Then, taking advantage of the afternoon meeting, Chen Hao had cut off a part of a lily and sprinkled the pollen on himself.

Chen Hao insisted he was innocent, claiming the pollen had accidentally spilled on him and that he had only cut the lily because it was no longer fresh and the petals were turning yellow. As for the asthma medicine, he had yet to provide an explanation.

In short, everything would have to wait for more conclusive evidence to be settled.

Auntie Qin returned in high spirits, turned on the lights on the first floor, and was about to pour herself a small drink when she saw a figure on the sofa. A closer look revealed it was Qi Baizi.

Why was this girl sleeping here?

Auntie Qin was about to wake her up and ask when Gu Yuetong suddenly emerged from the small kitchen next to the living room, holding a glass of milk.

Auntie Qin was taken aback and mouthed to her, asking why she wasn’t asleep yet. She glanced at her watch; it was already past two in the morning.

Gu Yuetong pulled her over to the entryway and whispered, “It seems Qi Baizi isn’t used to soft beds. I heard her crying out in pain in the middle of the night from next door. I went in to check, and she was clutching her back, whimpering while dead asleep.” Just like a little puppy that wasn’t used to being weaned.

Auntie Qin scratched her cheek. All the beds in the house were custom-made Simmons mattresses; there really wasn’t a hard bed to be found.

“I woke her up and brought her downstairs for some hot water, but she fell asleep again before the water even boiled.”

Auntie Qin saw a flash of fondness on Gu Yuetong’s face and couldn’t help but click her tongue. “She’s your assistant. How did it become your turn to take care of her?”

Gu Yuetong let out a soft “oh,” her beautiful eyebrows raising slightly. “I remember when I was eight, you made me help you warm up milk.”

“And look, I’ve been doing it ever since.” As she spoke, she held out the hot milk in her hand. “I timed it, figuring you’d be back soon. I warmed this up especially for you. Don’t be jealous of a child.”

Auntie Qin huffed haughtily and took the milk. “At least you have some conscience.”

“So what about you? Are you going up to sleep?”

“No.” Gu Yuetong pursed her lips and shook her head. “Auntie Qin, you should get some rest. I had too much oxygen today, so my brain is very active. I’m not sleepy at all.”

“Then are you still going to the company tomorrow?”

“Hmm… we’ll see.” Gu Yuetong knew Auntie Qin definitely wanted her to rest for another day and spend time with her, but there was a mess of things at the company. Chen Hao had been arrested, and the project might be halted. It was all waiting for her to handle.

Auntie Qin could see she was being perfunctory. She sighed, drank the milk in one gulp, and went upstairs alone.

Gu Yuetong returned to the living room, took out her iPad, and continued to read her poetry appreciation, occasionally glancing at the soundly sleeping Qi Baizi. A smile unconsciously appeared on her face.

***

Qi Baizi was terrified in the morning. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in the living room. Then she looked again and saw Gu Yuetong asleep right beside her.

Qi Baizi nearly jumped up. In her haste, her knee hit the coffee table, causing her to suck in a sharp breath of pain. Auntie Qin, who was preparing breakfast in the kitchen, heard the noise, poked her head out, and made a “shh” gesture to her, then motioned for her to come over.

Qi Baizi tiptoed into the kitchen, a million questions in her head. “Auntie Qin, why was President Gu sleeping here?”

Auntie Qin hesitated, then asked, “Do you remember how you got downstairs last night?”

Qi Baizi scratched her head; she didn’t remember at all. Auntie Qin understood and sighed, “You two…”

Auntie Qin recounted her conversation with Gu Yuetong from when she returned. Qi Baizi felt embarrassed and asked, “Then why didn’t President Gu go back to sleep?”

“How would I know?” Auntie Qin pouted. “The child is all grown up, I can’t control her.”

Qi Baizi, not understanding, went upstairs to wash up. When she came down, she heard Auntie Qin singing to herself, “Love is a cup of wine that makes everyone drunk—”

She sang with quite a bit of flair. After she entered, she closed the kitchen door. “Should I wake President Gu?”

“No need, she’ll wake up on her own later,” Auntie Qin said. “Go rest. We’ll be eating soon. We’re having meat buns and vegetable congee today.”

Qi Baizi was too embarrassed to do that, so she offered to help Auntie Qin. Auntie Qin tried to push her away a few times, but couldn’t, so she simply let her stay and wash the vegetables.

While washing the vegetables, Auntie Qin was still humming softly. Through the sound of the running water, Qi Baizi recognized the song she was humming was called “Partial Love.”

Partial Love. The song wasn’t old, but it wasn’t new either. It didn’t seem like the kind of song Auntie Qin would listen to; she was usually quite trendy.

Auntie Qin hummed for a little while. Seeing no reaction from Qi Baizi, she clicked her tongue again, put down the basin, and asked Qi Baizi, “Do I hum well?”

Qi Baizi looked up and said sincerely, “Very well.”

“Then did you understand it?”

“Huh?” Qi Baizi paused. What did she mean?

Auntie Qin patiently asked again, “I said, do you understand what this song means?”

Qi Baizi nodded, hesitated for a second, then shook her head.

Auntie Qin was speaking in riddles.

“I’m sorry, Auntie Qin, I…” She pointed to her own head. “I’m a bit slow. Please be direct.”

Auntie Qin was exasperated. She lowered her voice and whispered in Qi Baizi’s ear.

Qi Baizi’s face instantly turned red and hot.

“You… you’re joking!” She turned off the faucet and turned her back.

Auntie Qin scoffed and went back to kneading the dough. “Am I joking? The last time I saw her this attentive was…” Auntie Qin glanced at her sideways and cleared her throat. “Anyway, I’m telling you, Gu Yuetong has never been this patient with anyone else.”

Qi Baizi’s facial muscles twitched. She buried her head in her work, pretending not to hear.

Auntie Qin continued on her own, “It’s not like I haven’t seen her other assistants. Few of them last more than a week by her side. And she gets angry at the drop of a hat. You can’t even make a sound while eating.”

“Now look at how you were eating yesterday, gobbling down your food. And her? She was just watching you with a smile. If that’s not love, if that’s not partiality, what is it?”

Auntie Qin got herself worked up, and so did Gu Yuetong, who was eavesdropping at the door. She yanked the door open and looked coldly at the two people in the kitchen.

Both of them were startled by her.

Auntie Qin came to her senses and pretended not to see her, but Qi Baizi was terrified, nearly shredding the vegetable leaves in her hands.

“Pre-pre-pre-pre-President Gu… I, I, good morning, President Gu.” She was just short of giving a salute.

Gu Yuetong ignored her, walked over to Auntie Qin, and said, “Didn’t I tell you she’s timid? Why are you teasing her again?”

Auntie Qin muttered nonchalantly, “I didn’t…”

Gu Yuetong rolled her eyes at her and went upstairs to change.

Seeing her leave, Auntie Qin immediately reverted to her previous state and started up again, her voice full of conviction, “See, see? She only scolds me, not you. Her previous assistants never got this kind of treatment. Isn’t that because she likes you?”

Qi Baizi pretended to be a clam and continued washing the vegetables.

Until the meal was over, Gu Yuetong hadn’t said a single word to her. After the meal, Gu Yuetong said to her from across the table, “Get ready, we’re going to the company.”

Qi Baizi responded with a grunt. Still, no one mentioned what had just happened.

Two days passed peacefully. On Friday evening, just before getting off work, Gu Yuetong suddenly asked her about someone.

“Li Yi,” Gu Yuetong said. “The evidence she provided before was crucial. The vending machine area is a surveillance blind spot. Without that photo, we would have been missing a key piece of evidence, and Chen Hao wouldn’t have been left without a defense.”

“Auntie Qin said she wants to invite her over for dinner tonight. You should come too.”

Qi Baizi was silent for a moment, then said, “I’ll ask her.”

“Okay.” Gu Yuetong’s tone was businesslike. After finishing, she lowered her head and continued to look at her documents.

Qi Baizi quietly stepped out of the office to call Li Yi, who answered quickly. “What’s up, Little Bai?”

“Are you free tonight?”

“Tonight… I should be free, but I might have to work an extra hour of overtime. There’s some data that hasn’t been proofread yet.” The sound of typing came from Li Yi’s end.

Qi Baizi was silent for a moment, then said, “You can be busy.”

If Li Yi didn’t go, she wouldn’t have to go either. Then she wouldn’t have to face Auntie Qin’s teasing again. Although after last time, Auntie Qin would probably be more restrained, but with her cheerful and outgoing personality… Qi Baizi felt a headache coming on.

A phrase inexplicably came to Qi Baizi’s mind to describe herself: when in doubt, run away. But she wasn’t usually like that!

How come she couldn’t make up her mind whenever Gu Yuetong was involved?

On the other end of the line, Li Yi was swamped with work, her eyes not leaving the computer screen for a second. She didn’t catch the meaning behind her words at all. “I can go. Tell me where. I can speed things up.”

Qi Baizi: …

“Gu Yuetong is treating you to dinner.”

Li Yi subconsciously agreed, “Okay, okay, if there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up first. Talk to you later.”

Qi Baizi angrily pressed the hang-up button.

On the other end, by the time Li Yi came to her senses, her phone screen had already gone black.

Gu Yuetong usually got off work at seven, while Li Yi and other employees normally finished at six. Li Yi rushed to finish her work by six-forty, then went upstairs to find Qi Baizi, only to find that Gu Yuetong was still in her office.

“That scared me. I thought I was going to make President Gu wait for me.” Li Yi patted her chest and took a sip of the drink Qi Baizi handed her to calm her nerves.

She lowered her voice and asked Qi Baizi, “Why is President Gu treating me to dinner?”

Qi Baizi was still struggling with the pain of not being able to escape Auntie Qin. Li Yi’s arrival was a welcome distraction.

“Last time you helped me find the flower in the trash can, which became evidence that someone was trying to harm President Gu. She’s specially thanking you.”

“Harm?” Li Yi was dumbfounded. “Am I in a movie?”

“No,” Qi Baizi said. “That person is named Chen Hao. You should have heard of him.”

“Uh-huh.” Seeing there was gossip to be had, Li Yi’s eyes widened as she nodded. “I know him. He’s the project director’s boyfriend.”

Qi Baizi froze. “Isn’t it Xu Li?”

The two looked at each other and scratched their heads.

Returning to the topic of Gu Yuetong, Qi Baizi continued, “Chen Hao wanted to use the pollen to make President Gu have an allergic reaction, then provide medicine to save her life, so that President Gu would thank him and promote him. He didn’t expect to be found out.”

“That’s too evil!” Li Yi suddenly became indignant. “And he’s already a group leader, and he still wants a promotion? What else does he want? To be a director? Did he discuss it with his girlfriend?”

Qi Baizi was silent.

Li Yi was on a roll and nudged her shoulder. “Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“…Because the position he was after is mine.”

Li Yi’s mouth fell open, and it took her a long time to let out a startling, “Huh?!”

Qi Baizi immediately told her to keep her voice down so as not to disturb Gu Yuetong’s work. The next second, Gu Yuetong opened the door from her office and said to them with a smile, “Let’s go. It’s a long way, so let’s leave a little early today.”

After getting in the car, Li Yi was arranged to sit next to Gu Yuetong. She had wanted to sit in the front passenger seat, but Qi Baizi said that as a guest today, she was on the same level as Gu Yuetong and should sit in the back.

Li Yi was on pins and needles, and at the same time, a little surprised at Qi Baizi’s growth.

She remembered that Qi Baizi used to be the most casual person, scorning things like social etiquette. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have caused misunderstandings with Zheng Xiaoxiao.

Now she was quite adept at it.

Just like the other day, Gu Yuetong called Auntie Qin on the way, and the food was on the table just as they arrived.

The moment Auntie Qin saw Li Yi, she became excited, holding her hand and praising her endlessly. She also praised Qi Baizi along the way, saying that it was no wonder they were classmates, both so smart and kind.

When she was praising Qi Baizi, Qi Baizi couldn’t help but feel that Auntie Qin’s eyes were deliberately glancing at Gu Yuetong. Was it just her imagination?

What was going on? Had this head of the shipping fanclub not given up yet?