Chapter 45
The moment the words “Jingzhou Suburbs B&B” were mentioned, Gu Yuetong felt a twinge of apprehension. But Qi Baizi and Auntie Qin were clearly quite interested.
Auntie Qin said, “The Jingzhou Suburbs are great. It’s close, so we don’t need to take a plane, and Xiao Bai can go too, right?”
Qi Baizi echoed her words, saying, “The scenery in the suburbs is indeed nice this season.”
“And it’s cooler in the mountains,” Li Yi nodded, then looked at Gu Yuetong. “President Gu, what do you think?”
Gu Yuetong naturally didn’t want to be a wet blanket, but she still asked, “Where is this B&B located?”
Li Yi replied seriously, “It’s in Clearwater County. It was opened by a few college graduates, and I think it’s only been open for half a year, so the facilities are still very new. A colleague from our team went there before. During the day, they had a barbecue and sang nearby, and at night, they could soak in the hot springs back at the B&B. I’ve seen the live photos she took, and it’s really beautiful.”
“When are we going?” Auntie Qin asked eagerly. “Do we need to make a reservation?”
Three pairs of eyes turned to Gu Yuetong. Her gaze swept over their faces, paused for a moment, and she silently gave her approval.
Seeing this, Auntie Qin raised her glass. “Then after the typhoon, let’s be the first ones there!” As she spoke, the four wine glasses clinked together.
After the meal, Li Yi called to book the B&B for the day after tomorrow. Then, she attended an online meeting on Gu Yuetong’s behalf, an internal company meeting regarding the joint lawsuit.
Although it was called an internal meeting, there were many attendees. Li Yi used an anonymous avatar to join via a link, and no one noticed. The first half of the meeting was hosted by the shareholder, Peng Chunyue. It was quite dull, consisting of summaries, event analysis, and explanations for the escalating public opinion, urging employees to trust the group and so on—a string of hollow, corporate platitudes. Then, the speaker suddenly changed. Qi Baizi, who had been idly cracking sunflower seeds on the coffee table, perked up when she heard the new voice.
It was Gu Hezhu.
She still had the strength to host a meeting? Qi Baizi was very surprised. Didn’t President Gu say she was sick when she was called away so early in the morning?
Gu Yuetong, on the other hand, was much calmer. She took the teacup Qi Baizi handed her and had her first sip of tea for the day.
Qi Baizi listened carefully to the meeting content coming from the computer. Strangely, Gu Hezhu was talking about projects, not the joint lawsuit.
After listening a bit longer, Gu Hezhu announced that all the projects she had just mentioned would be handled by Gu Yuetong. During Gu Yuetong’s suspension, all project-related reports were to be submitted directly to her.
A question mark appeared over Qi Baizi’s head. She and Li Yi both looked at Gu Yuetong.
Gu Yuetong just shrugged. It turned out she already knew.
“Has the Chairman had such a big change of heart?” Li Yi gossiped cautiously. After all, the discord between the Chairman and the President, mother and daughter, was no secret. “If I remember correctly, these projects, including the proposal our team worked on before, were all being overseen by President Peng’s people, right?”
“Perhaps she suddenly realized that the enemy of her enemy is not necessarily her friend,” Gu Yuetong said with a raised eyebrow. “Work’s over. Time to rest.”
With that, she got up and went upstairs. Li Yi turned off the computer and slumped onto the sofa to play games on her phone.
Only Qi Baizi was idle again.
Before her mother got sick, she was either in class or working part-time, with no time to cultivate hobbies. At most, she would follow anime to learn some Japanese. After her mother fell ill, she had even less time to rest. The occasional break was spent catching up on sleep.
Auntie Qin had woken up early today and went for a nap after the meal. Gu Yuetong was busy with something in her room. Qi Baizi suddenly felt that she was a very boring person.
She returned to her room and started organizing her few belongings. Suddenly, she spotted a thick dictionary, a French-Chinese Dictionary, which Gu Yuetong had given her in Donglin City.
But she really didn’t know a single word of French. A dictionary alone was useless.
Qi Baizi sat cross-legged on the bed, holding the dictionary. A business card suddenly fell out from between the pages. The card was from a publisher, but it was clearly placed there separately. There was a QR code on the card. Qi Baizi took out her phone and scanned it, discovering it was a read-along applet.
Well… President Gu was actually quite thoughtful.
After a moment of embarrassment, Qi Baizi put on her headphones and softly followed along a few times, finding it wasn’t as difficult as she had imagined.
In two hours, she had learned several dozen basic words and mastered their pronunciation.
It had been a long time since she had focused on learning something new. Qi Baizi suddenly found herself getting addicted, until there was a knock on the door.
When she opened it, she found it was Gu Yuetong.
“Are you busy?” Gu Yuetong was wearing white pajamas, her hair falling naturally. She looked like she had just taken a nap, her expression still carrying a hint of sleepy laziness.
Their eyes met. Qi Baizi’s heart inexplicably sped up, her ears turning hot. She quickly looked away. “Not busy. I, I was learning French…”
“Oh, then I won’t disturb you. You can continue,” Gu Yuetong said with a gratified smile when she saw the French dictionary and headphones on Qi Baizi’s bed. “If there’s any grammar you don’t understand, you can come ask me.”
“Okay… no, it’s fine.” Qi Baizi nodded, then quickly shook her head. “I mean, I’m done studying for today. I need to digest what I’ve learned.”
“Did you need something?”
Gu Yuetong gave a friendly smile. “Don’t be nervous. I wanted to ask if you’d like to come to the studio with me. I need a model.”
“Okay, let me just tidy up.”
Is this more alone time?
Qi Baizi felt a flicker of excitement, then remembered something and turned back to ask Gu Yuetong, “What do I need to prepare to be a model? Do I need to change my clothes?”
Gu Yuetong smiled. “You don’t need anything. I’ll draw you just as you are.”
Qi Baizi felt a small leap of joy for a few seconds. After quickly tidying her bed, she followed Gu Yuetong to the art studio. But as soon as she walked in, her excitement vanished.
Li Yi was sitting on a chair in the studio.
Seeing Qi Baizi, Li Yi shifted over. Fortunately, the chair was big enough for two.
“It’s my first time being a model, so I was a little nervous. I told President Gu to call someone else to join. Auntie Qin didn’t want to, so I had to bother you,” Li Yi whispered in Qi Baizi’s ear. “Are you okay?”
Li Yi had originally thought Qi Baizi would be happy. After all, it was President Gu personally drawing them, a treatment no one else had ever received. But seeing Qi Baizi’s downturned lips, she wasn’t so sure anymore.
“Were you sleeping? Sorry, we didn’t mean to wake you…”
“No.” Qi Baizi gave Li Yi a cool glance, then looked up to face Gu Yuetong. “Go ahead and draw.”
Seeing her attitude, Li Yi didn’t know what to say for a moment. She simply found a comfortable position, sat up straight, and looked forward.
Gu Yuetong held her brush and started sketching, completely ignoring the unpleasant little episode between them, fully focused on her paper.
An hour or so later, an exquisite sketch was complete.
Li Yi took one look and gave a flattering thumbs-up. “That’s amazing, President Gu! Your artistic talent is truly something to be in awe of…” She even nudged Qi Baizi, who was standing there blankly.
Qi Baizi didn’t know what to say, so she just mumbled a few words of praise along with her.
Gu Yuetong noticed her unhappiness. Although she didn’t say anything, after Li Yi took the drawing, she asked Qi Baizi to stay behind.
The studio door was closed. Gu Yuetong tilted her head up slightly, her deep eyes fixed on Qi Baizi’s face. “Are you unhappy?”
Qi Baizi mumbled a sullen “mm.” Gu Yuetong sighed softly and pulled another sheet of paper from the drawing board’s clip.
Qi Baizi deliberately lowered her eyes, refusing to look. Gu Yuetong said in a mock-regretful tone, “Are you sure you don’t want to see it? Then I’ll have to treasure it all by myself.”
Qi Baizi snorted through her nose, took the paper from her hand, and froze when she saw the drawing of herself.
It was a simple sketch, with fluid lines, but the facial contours were remarkably lifelike, bearing a striking resemblance to Qi Baizi herself.
This must have been drawn at the same time, as the clothes were the same, but the expression… Qi Baizi was certain she hadn’t been smiling that brightly just now.
“This is how I hope to see you,” Gu Yuetong explained from the side. “I hope to see you happy, not always weighed down by worries.”
“President Gu…” Qi Baizi’s voice suddenly choked up. This was the first time someone had told her they hoped she would be happy. It was also the first time someone had drawn her.
Gu Yuetong patted Qi Baizi’s shoulder comfortingly and explained, “Before deciding to draw, I asked Li Yi, and she said you had gone back to your room and were probably sleeping, so I didn’t disturb you. Later, I heard a noise from your room and was sure you were awake, so I went to knock.”
“Sorry, I should have sent you a message to ask first.”
“You don’t need to apologize…” Qi Baizi became flustered. She had indeed been a bit annoyed, but after seeing this sketch, the annoyance had vanished, replaced by a feeling of being touched.
“I was being childish, getting jealous for no reason,” Qi Baizi said. “I thought I was just here to make up the numbers.”
“Of course not.” Gu Yuetong’s eyes narrowed slightly. Jealousy was not a good sign. A secret relationship required desensitization to avoid giving themselves away in front of others.
She was just about to take the opportunity to “educate” Qi Baizi when her phone suddenly vibrated.
After answering, Qi Baizi’s expression changed. She said a few words and hung up.
Gu Yuetong was a little curious. “What’s wrong? Who called?”
“My younger female cousin… It’s nothing.” Qi Baizi hesitated. Qi Wu had called to ask for money, saying her aunt, Wu Yanfang, was preparing to be hospitalized.
Qi Baizi wanted to hide it, and Gu Yuetong didn’t press further. After a moment of silence, Qi Baizi suddenly asked Gu Yuetong if she could get a salary advance.
Her salary was supposed to be paid on Wednesday anyway, and Gu Yuetong had already instructed Auntie Qin, so it wasn’t a matter of one or two days. But Qi Baizi’s sudden request made Gu Yuetong a little curious. “Are you short on money?”
Qi Baizi was reluctant to admit it, not out of low self-esteem, but because she didn’t want to exploit Gu Yuetong’s sympathy, especially given their current relationship…
Qi Baizi organized her thoughts and said evasively, “I’m okay, but I have an urgent need for a sum of money right now.”
“I’ll talk to Auntie Qin about it later then.”
“Thank you, President Gu…”
Gu Yuetong paused, then asked, “Do you want me to transfer it to you now?”
Without waiting for Qi Baizi to refuse, Gu Yuetong took out her phone, tapped into the transfer screen, and a moment later, Qi Baizi received a bank text message—“Deposit of 50,000 yuan.”
“President Gu, I…”
“I remember you mentioned before that a family member was sick. I don’t know if I’m guessing correctly. If so, use the extra money to buy something for me, as a gift from me,” Gu Yuetong said with a smile. “After all, we have another layer to our relationship now. If your family member is sick, it’s only right for me to show some consideration.”