CHAPTER 246: CHAPTER 231: HEART-PIERCING PAIN

Luan Yi’s gaze deepened as she watched Gu Qili leave, a hint of resentment flickering in her eyes. She then turned to look at the row of neat lockers beside her, the flicker in her eyes turning eerier.

That afternoon, a familiar face came into the restaurant.

Gu Qili only knew about it after overhearing two waitstaff chattering like infatuated fans.

"He’s so handsome, how lucky am I to take his order! Thankfully, I kept my composure, otherwise it would have been embarrassing. His voice is also really pleasant to listen to, it’s magnetically soothing."

The other waiter immediately followed her gaze and from this angle could see the man sitting by the window. He had finished ordering, was resting his chin in his hand, and stared out the window in a quiet and lazy posture. A dim halo of light fell on him, as if gilded with a thin layer of gold.

"He’s so good-looking." The two chatted away, completely oblivious to Gu Qili standing behind them until her calm voice arose: "What are you so focused on looking at?"

The two jumped in fright and immediately stood in line obediently, not daring to lift their heads.

Gu Qili said, ’Be mindful next time’ and looked towards the window just as the man gazing outside shifted his gaze toward her, smiling lightly and waving his hand.

Tang Tianyou?

Tang Tianyou was not alone; behind him stood Xiong Da and Xiong Er, both wearing sunglasses. Gu Qili walked over without surprise to see him here.

"Hey, Qili," he grinned at her, "why don’t you sit down and join us?"

Qili?

Gu Qili paused for a moment. Was he calling her that? People usually called her Qiqi. "Tang, what brings you to our restaurant?"

"Suddenly felt like eating foie gras, and I heard there’s new red wine here, couldn’t miss the flavors of heaven," he said as his ordered meal was served. The sommelier had just fetched the wine from the cellar, let him taste it first before taking it to switch bottles. It was an older red wine, requiring filtration of sediments into a new bottle for proper consumption due to its age.

The sommelier skillfully switched bottles, pouring a little wine into his glass before him: "Please enjoy, sir."

Tang Tianyou tasted the wine and nodded slightly in approval: "Not bad."

Gu Qili smiled, "This bottle was just acquired at an auction, it hasn’t been in the cellar for long but already caught a discerning eye."

She then winked at him, implying he had good taste.

"Tang, the doctor said you can’t drink," Xiong Da said casually, while Xiong Er fittingly pulled out a bottle of mineral water from his person, placing it in front of Tang Tianyou then stood still like a statue.

Tang Tianyou frowned, "Both of you get lost."

"We won’t leave," Xiong Da stated firmly. "We have to ensure your safety given the number of enemies you’ve made recently."

"Too many," Xiong Er echoed Xiong Da’s words, looking around vigilantly and adding solemnly, "No suspicious characters, bro."

As Xiong Er’s gaze shifted to Gu Qili, she quickly gestured with her hands and took two steps back, "I definitely have no improper thoughts towards Tang."

Xiong Da thought to himself, he actually wishes you had improper thoughts towards him.

Seeing them frightening Gu Qili, Tang Tianyou’s expression darkened a few shades: "Are you going to leave or not? If not, just shut up."

The two immediately quieted down.

Just then, a waiter whispered something to Gu Qili. After the person left, she apologetically said: "I have some things to handle. Enjoy your meal, just call me if you need anything."

"Do your thing." Tang Tianyou elegantly waved at her after placing a piece of foie gras in his mouth.

Only when her figure disappeared did Tang Tianyou set down his fork, grabbed a napkin, and lightly dabbed at his lips.

No appetite, even though the foie gras here is famous, he has no appetite. Aren’t people with lovesickness supposed to lose their appetite for food and drink?

He must be severely love-sick to impulsively come here to eat French food, feeling nauseated with what he was eating. If not for the desire to stealthily gaze at her, he wouldn’t have stupidly subjected himself to this torture.

"What time is it?" Tang Tianyou unscrewed the cap of the mineral water bottle.

There was silence behind him; Xiong Da and Xiong Er stood straight with their mouths firmly shut.

"Gone mute, have you? What time is it?" he raised his voice again.

After a while, Xiong Er cautiously said, "Tang, you said earlier to shut up if we aren’t leaving, so we didn’t dare to speak."

Tang Tianyou turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow: "You two are so obedient, then I’ll have you eat up this table of dishes right now."

Hearing that, the two immediately sat opposite him with the speed of lightning, grabbing knives and forks to start eating.

Xiong Er, his mouth greasy from eating, didn’t forget to comment, "Tang, the whole world knows you don’t like French food, we’ve been waiting for you to say that. I haven’t even had breakfast."

Tang Tianyou: "..."

The whole world? But she was just outside his world, an existence he could clearly see but couldn’t reach, with Mu Shuoqian standing between them.

He understood how much she loved Mu Shuoqian.

Gu Qili was called to attend a meeting that was originally scheduled for next week, but it was moved up. However, she was well prepared, and the USB drive containing the PPT was in her bag.

She had just returned to the restaurant when a human resources staff member came to her. Because Zhu Ping had taken multiple leaves of absence and been absent from work twice, HR was considering terminating her.

As Gu Qili was coordinating with the person, she couldn’t get away, so she stopped Zhu Ping, who was passing by, and handed over her locker key to her, asking her to bring the USB drive over.

Zhu Ping took the key and left, and after a while, she returned with the USB drive.

She didn’t know what Gu Qili was discussing with that staff member, but she heard the word "termination" from Gu Qili’s mouth. Since the restaurant was busy, she didn’t continue listening.

"I ask you to reconsider. Zhu Ping was genuinely ill. She’s always proactive and willingly takes on tasks at the restaurant, a truly good employee. I don’t want her to be dismissed just because she took a few sick leaves," Gu Qili pleaded her case to the lowest but the HR officer was unyielding. With a bureaucratic tone, she said, "I’m sorry, this is the company’s policy, which cannot be broken by anyone. I understand your points, but there’s nothing we can do. We need to maintain strict discipline."

Gu Qili said many good words, but the officer was not moved. It wasn’t until the meeting was about to start that she had no choice but to leave.

What she didn’t expect was that the next day, HR issued the notice.

Zhu Ping was fired.

Her email was filled with various messages every day, but this one email was particularly glaring.

She didn’t know how to break the news to Zhu Ping, whose salary supported her entire family, including a ten-year-old younger brother, and her parents, who were unemployed.

She remembered the scene where she argued with someone over an orange.

Gu Qili stared at the email for a long time, finally, she stood up to seek Mu Shuoqian’s help. Since starting work, she had never bothered him about work issues. She didn’t want to use his influence, but today she made up her mind to rely on him once more for Zhu Ping.

Principles are rigid, but people are not. She couldn’t just watch Zhu Ping get fired because of her so-called principles.

As soon as Gu Qili stepped out of the office, she ran into Zhu Ping.

"Qili, where are you going?"

"I need to step out for a moment."

Gu Qili didn’t know how to start explaining, she wanted to make an attempt first.

Zhu Ping stopped in front of her, blinked her eyes slowly and then spoke softly, "I got fired, didn’t I?"

Who told her? Such emails wouldn’t be sent to regular employees.

"As expected." Zhu Ping guessed from her expression. She lowered her head, speaking very calmly, "I know; I will go take care of the procedures now."

"Zhu Ping, I was going to try to help you," Gu Qili grabbed her, "please don’t be upset yet."

"It’s no use, since it’s a decision from above," Zhu Ping suddenly smiled at her, "Thank you, Qili."

After saying that, she brushed off Gu Qili’s hand with her other hand, her gaze somewhat desolate as she walked towards the changing room.

Gu Qili wasn’t sure if it was her own illusion, but as Zhu Ping turned around, she saw a trace of deep resentment in her eyes, a look that was shocking coming from the honest and kind Zhu Ping.

One morning after Zhu Ping left, Gu Qili tried calling her the nth time, but she was still unreachable.

About this, she had already spoken to Mu Shuoqian. He promised her, although he couldn’t keep Zhu Ping’s job, he could refer her to another hotel for a better position than her current one.

But when she wanted to convey this good news, she couldn’t reach her at all.

"That handsome guy came again," Gu Qili heard a starry-eyed waiter upon returning to the restaurant.

She turned her head and saw Tang Tianyou sitting at his usual spot by the window. He had, as usual, ordered a whole table of dishes and red wine. Sensing her gaze, he raised his glass in a greeting to her.

Tang Tianyou seemed particularly fond of French cuisine lately; this was the third time she had seen him.

And his appetite appeared to be good. Once after he left, she happened to pass by his table, where not a single dish or bowl was left.

It turned out he liked French cuisine that much.

When it was time to get off work, Gu Qili went to the changing room as usual, used her key to open her storage locker, and reached for the clothes piled on the lower shelf.

A strange noise seemed to echo in her ears; she couldn’t distinguish what it was,

just as she was distracted, a sharp pain suddenly came from the back of her hand.