CHAPTER 233: CHAPTER 219: MU SHUOQIAN, YOU’RE SO BAD

The certificate was still floating on the surface of the water as Hu Jiaojiao swam a long distance to reach the center of the lake.

This man-made lake hadn’t been dredged for a long time, and when Hu Jiaojiao swam back to shore, her body was covered in black, rotten mud. She sat on the stone steps in her disheveled state, cherishingly opening the certificate, but the content inside made Hu Jiaojiao’s face turn ashen once again.

What she had retrieved was just the cover of the certificate; the actual certificate had been replaced with a piece of white paper, which despite being soaked was still very readable: Want it? Exchange it with the photos and videos.

"Ah, Gu Qili." Hu Jiaojiao clenched her fists and pounded the ground forcefully several times, so angry that her nose was almost askew.

Of course, Gu Qili knew that Hu Jiaojiao no longer had those photos and videos. She just wanted to see her in a state of desperation and madness. As her "friend" for so many years, she understood Hu Jiaojiao quite well. Hu Jiaojiao always treasured certificates and awards, especially this Level Eight Certification. She once sat in the dormitory hallway for days and nights, just to memorize vocabulary for the exam.

It’s unclear where her obsession came from, but to hit a snake, you must strike its vital point. Since Hu Jiaojiao cared so much about it, Gu Qili would keep it to dangle before her.

The likelihood of getting the original certificate replaced was slim; at most, the school would issue a proof, but to Hu Jiaojiao, those proofs were as good as trash.

Hu Jiaojiao took her phone out of her pocket, intending to call Gu Qili to negotiate terms, but as soon as she took it out, she got a handful of mud, and the screen was already black. This was the second phone she had ruined in a few days.

Without a second thought, she furiously threw her phone into the artificial lake.

Hu Jiaojiao wandered alone by the lake for a long time, thinking over her options. She was caught between two fronts: she had to guard against Gu Qili while being even more wary of Qi Meihui. She wasn’t afraid of Gu Qili; it was Qi Meihui she feared.

If things really escalated, and Mu Hewen didn’t take her side, wouldn’t she lose her husband along with her soldiers?

After a long thought, she finally came up with a plan.

She touched her belly, a smug smile on her lips. Yes, why had she forgotten that she was carrying Mu Hewen’s child?

When she first realized she might be pregnant, she went to the hospital for a check-up. The ultrasound report showed that she was indeed pregnant and already two months along. She felt so disgusted and repulsed at the time that she threw the report straight into the trash can.

She was someone destined to marry Mu Shuoqian; how could she bear the child of a loser like Mu Hewen?

But now the situation had changed. This child could be her weapon against Qi Meihui. With its existence, Qi Meihui wouldn’t dare act rashly.

With this thought, Hu Jiaojiao felt as if the day’s gloominess had been swept away, and she even began humming a song happily.

～

Gu Qili returned to Jingshan and casually threw Hu Jiaojiao’s certificate into a drawer. Watching this drama was actually quite tiring, but she found joy in it nonetheless.

"Running wild, I thought you weren’t coming back." The sudden voice from behind carried a deep tone.

Gu Qili turned around in surprise, squinting and smiling as she took two steps forward and hugged him: "Weren’t you in a meeting? Why did you come back so early?"

Mu Shuoqian raised his hand and lightly tapped her forehead: "I’ve been back for an hour."

"Really? I didn’t hear anything."

"But I heard someone laughing in triumph." Mu Shuoqian wrapped his arms around her shoulders, kneading her arm gently with his palm, "Was it fun?"

"It was alright, but I sort of feel guilty." Gu Qili told the truth. She had never actively schemed against others; she always adhered to the principle of not offending unless offended. This time, she really was pushed to her limits. With Mu Shuoqian’s silent approval, she dared to instigate trouble between Qi Meihui and Hu Jiaojiao, purposefully placing the ultrasound she found in the hospital into Qi Meihui’s folder. Since those two had always wanted to put her in a deadly position, why should she be soft on them?

"You’ll get used to it if you feel guilty enough times." Mu Shuoqian’s answer was light and breezy. In Gu Qili’s eyes, what could be an earth-shaking matter was nothing more than child’s play to him.

Suddenly she stepped out of his embrace, wrinkling her nose and questioned: "Mu Shuoqian, have you done many things that made you feel guilty, so now you can do bad things without even a change in expression or a skip in heartbeat?"

"Mu Shuoqian, mmm!"

...

She knew what he was referring to, so she went to see Auntie V’s home-brewed wine again. Auntie V said not to open it, but several times, impatiently, she wanted to secretly pry open a crack to take a whiff.

"Team leader, they’re calling for you to have a meeting outside." Zhu Ping knocked on the door from outside.

"Mhm, got it, thank you." Gu Qili covered the glass vessel with the cloth very carefully. Before leaving, she also said to Zhu Ping, "Keep an eye on it for me."

"I know how precious this thing is to you, I’ve been keeping an eye on it." Zhu Ping said with a smile.

"Then I’m off to the meeting."

Gu Qili was attending a meeting about arrangements for the general manager’s stay at the hotel. She sat next to Qi Meihui, but they didn’t talk to each other.

Qi Meihui’s complexion hadn’t been great lately, and there were private whispers that she was going through an early menopause, taking her temper out on anyone she could find.

As for why she was in a bad mood, Gu Qili knew very well.

"Get a menu ready quickly for the restaurant; the general manager will have lunch there tomorrow." Direct instructions were given from above, and Gu Qili started discussing it with the kitchen staff right after returning.

In the end, she handed the draft menu to Qi Meihui, who was on the phone in her office. Gu Qili faintly heard her say, "Have you no shame? You think you can win by doing this..."

Feeling someone’s presence, Qi Meihui hastily hung up the phone and turned around to give Gu Qili a cold look, taking her anger out on her, "You walk as silently as a ghost."

Gu Qili didn’t stoop to her level and handed her the menu to review.

Qi Meihui glanced at it, her mind clearly elsewhere, rubbed her temples, and waved her off, "Got it, just go ahead and do as this says."

Right after stepping out of the office, Gu Qili saw the flustered Zhu Ping, who upon seeing her, abruptly grabbed her hand, so anxious she could barely speak clearly, "Qili, hurry, go take a look."

A bad feeling washed over Gu Qili, her hand instinctively clenched into a fist, "Look at what?"

"The bottle, that bottle."

Without another word, Gu Qili turned and dashed toward AV’s lounge. She was running so quickly that she bumped into a waiter, who staggered almost to the point of falling. After coming to her senses, the waiter turned and asked Zhu Ping, who was following closely behind, "What’s wrong with the supervisor?"

Zhu Ping didn’t answer and rushed past.

This was Gu Qili’s fifth time searching AV’s lounge. No matter how much she hoped for a miracle, the jar with the wine was nowhere to be found – it was lost, right under her watch.

Feeling as if all strength had been drained from her body, Gu Qili dejectedly sat on the floor. The cloth from before was still there, but the bottle was missing. No one would bother stealing a worthless bottle, especially since it contained only cheap, self-brewed wine.

"Qili, I’m sorry." Zhu Ping couldn’t help crying as she saw Gu Qili’s distress, "It’s all my fault; I didn’t keep an eye on it for you."

Gu Qili waved her hand, her gaze dropping to the floor in a daze.

It wasn’t Zhu Ping’s fault; she had her own work to do. Sometimes her duties brought her near here, and only for that reason did Gu Qili ask her to keep an eye on it. She wasn’t always there; if someone intended to steal it, there would be plenty of opportunities to do so.

"Qili, don’t you want to ask AV if he took it?"

Right, she could ask AV.

Hastily, Gu Qili went to the changing room to get her phone and swiftly dialed AV’s number. He was still asleep, his voice hoarse, "Didn’t see it, look more carefully, why would anyone steal it?"

Indeed, why would anyone steal it?

"Supervisor, are you looking for a bottle for brewing wine?" Someone suddenly came running up, out of breath, "I found it."

Gu Qili’s spirits lifted, and she quickly followed him outside.

But the closer she got to where the waiter said it was found, the colder her heart felt, until she saw the bottle, shattered into pieces, her heart went completely cold.

The waiter found it outside the kitchen’s garbage passage. The bottle was already broken, with all the grape juice inside spilled out, the purple liquid splashing everywhere, and a faint fragrance of wine lingering in the air.

It wouldn’t have been long before it turned into real wine.

Gu Qili crouched down in front of the broken pieces; the wine she had been so looking forward to brewing was gone, it was supposedly a birthday gift for Mu Shuoqian.

After a long silence, she reached out to touch the broken bottle, but before her fingers could meet the sharp edges, her splayed hand suddenly clenched into a fist.

Gu Qili abruptly stood up and strode with an edge of anger towards the kitchen behind.

Zhu Ping and the waiter exchanged a glance, knowing that the supervisor was truly angered this time, and they quickly followed after her.