CHAPTER 274: CHAPTER 256: ARE YOU THREATENING ME?

"Don’t be mad, I was wrong." A heartfelt apology, "I’m sorry."

Gu Qili knew she should push him away at this moment, otherwise, she would completely fall into the trap he had carefully set,

but she pathetically chose to stand still and listen to his entire apology.

"Still mad?" Mu Shuoqian rubbed her nose with his, causing her to turn her face away.

"This is the last chance I’m giving you. If anything like this happens again, I will absolutely, absolutely not forgive you." Gu Qili pointed at his forehead forcefully with her finger.

Mu Shuoqian let her vent on his head obediently, like a well-behaved baby, not daring to resist at all.

Perhaps it was his very humble attitude that made Gu Qili unable to stay angry. She turned to hold his hand, asking with concern, "Does it still hurt?"

"It doesn’t hurt."

"Are you stupid? Purposely injuring yourself like that, if the cut had been deeper, you would have needed stitches."

"Would you ignore me again then?" He had been completely disregarded by her for two whole days; God knows how he had endured those forty-eight hours. Despite knowing she would ignore him, he still found various excuses to visit the French Restaurant every day,

if it wasn’t for the injury to his hand today, she would have continued to ignore him. That feeling was truly awful, like a person losing their soul, everything becoming absent-minded.

"If I ignore you again, are you going to hurt your hand?" Gu Qili glared at him disapprovingly, "Mu Shuoqian, are you a child? Stop imitating others by harming yourself."

He curved his lips into a faint smile and leaned in to embrace her: "You can try it out."

"Mu Shuoqian, are you threatening me?"

"I wouldn’t dare." He kissed her temple, "How could I dare?"

Gu Qili walked away in anger, yet there was a smile on her lips, feeling even worse when she was cross with him. Now that they were reconciled, of course she was happy.

After the opening event of the restaurant ended, Mu Shuoqian received a phone call. There was an urgent matter to attend to in Aus City, so he took an afternoon flight back.

Gu Qili remained in City A for the work handover. Ten days later, having completed her assignment, Gu Qili and Liu Zhining also returned to Aus City.

In the waiting lounge, she vaguely saw a person. She wore a large hat, and her silhouette resembled Qiu Yufei, her arm entwined with a woman’s. Since they were facing away from her, their faces were unclear.

The two quickly left her line of sight, and Gu Qili did not dwell on it.

At their airport farewell, Liu Zhining thanked her for the first time. Initially skeptical and dismissive of her, he was eventually impressed by her professionalism, dedication, and positive character,

His "thank you" took Gu Qili by surprise; she quickly waved her hands and said, "It’s my job to do well, and if not, feel free to criticize. I really can’t accept your thanks."

Liu Zhining smiled and said, "This thank you, on one hand, is for your work. Your performance was indeed outstanding, a valuable assistant. On the other hand, it’s for personal reasons. Thank you for praising me during that self-recommendation meeting."

"Ah?" Gu Qili was somewhat confused, "I praised you?"

Liu Zhining smiled enigmatically, "That chef who once slept with geese, that was me."

Gu Qili then realized, this was the story that had particularly moved her at the time, so she spontaneously decided to use it to highlight the glory of Lisboa, never expecting the person to be the present Liu Zhining.

Seeing the surprise on her face, Liu Zhining helplessly waved his hand, "I won’t invite you for a meal, I’ll take a day off tomorrow, see you at the restaurant the day after."

Gu Qili watched Liu Zhining hail a taxi and leave. She was about to queue for a cab when Mu Shuoqian’s call came through, and she hastily moved aside with her luggage to answer.

Since they were on an evening flight, and the plane was delayed due to weather conditions, they ended up sitting in the cabin for a whole four hours. By the time they arrived in Aus City, it was already 2 a.m.

She didn’t want to disturb Mu Shuoqian and hadn’t told him which flight she was on.

"Wait for me here, I’ll be right there."

She didn’t have time to respond before the call ended.

About two or three minutes later, the familiar Maybach with license plate 5277 drove over from not far away.

This road was dedicated to taxis picking up passengers, so naturally, the appearance of a private car attracted a lot of attention. The airport security was about to stop it, but upon seeing the car insignia, they very wisely chose to look the other way.

Mu Shuoqian’s car pulled up in front of Gu Qili and stopped. The door opened, revealing a long leg, followed by a man of remarkable bearing entering the public’s view.

Those waiting for their rides here had just disembarked from the same flight as Gu Qili. The Maybach was already eye-catching. Now, this man’s presence completely overshadowed the grandeur of the Maybach as the waiting passengers all turned to look.

Mu Shuoqian walked around the front of the car, naturally took Gu Qili’s suitcase, placed it in the trunk, and then opened the passenger’s door for her.

Gu Qili clearly heard the envious whispers and even saw some people raise their phones to take pictures.

As they left the airport, there was nearly no traffic on the usually congested roads.

Gu Qili ate the late-night snack he had prepared for her, puzzled, she asked, "How did you know I was on this flight? Did you check?"

Mu Shuoqian looked ahead, hearing her question and responded with a mysterious smile.

Gu Qili shoved a hot barbecue pork bun into her mouth, suddenly realizing something, she stared at him incredulously, "Mu Shuoqian, don’t tell me you’ve been at the airport the whole day?"

She hadn’t specified which flight she was on, so he had been waiting here, ready at the exit for any flight arriving from City A.

"Are you silly? Couldn’t you have just called to ask?" Gu Qili felt somewhat ashamed for not notifying him of her specific itinerary, imagining him waiting for so long.

Mu Shuoqian turned onto the Upper Ring Road, with a hint of grievance, he said, "I originally wanted to surprise you, but I fell asleep."

It was then that Gu Qili noticed a large bouquet of pink roses on the rear seat – he had planned to present them to her at the exit, but because he had fallen asleep, he couldn’t do so in time.

Gu Qili leaned over to bring the bouquet into her embrace, contentedly saying, "It’s already a big surprise."

Him waiting here for her was the biggest surprise. Moreover, this was the first time he had ever given her flowers. She had thought that a cold-hearted person like Mu Shuoqian would disdain such gestures.

She cradled the flowers carefully, smiling all the way home.

Back at the house, Mu Shuoqian went to the bedroom to change clothes, while Gu Qili, not feeling sleepy after her shower, sat on the bedside preparing to play games on her phone. Her gaze, however, was suddenly drawn to several pamphlets on the table.

It was a brochure from a top-tier bridal salon that custom-made gowns for only 52 couples each year, symbolizing "true love." Some people had to pull strings two to three years in advance to secure an appointment.

Hardly had Gu Qili flipped a page when a reservation card fell out. Picking it up, she saw her and Mu Shuoqian’s names on it. And on the location options for the outdoor photo shoots, she saw the Aegean Sea, Provence, the Pyramids, and Koh Samui – all places she had once dreamed of visiting.

Was he really planning to take her to all these places for their wedding photos?

Though it felt dreamlike,

"Think of any place you want to go,"

"Does Mars count?" she giggled, revealing her joy, "The Solar System?"

Gu Qili laughed out loud. Although she knew he was joking, she was utterly convinced that if she truly wished to go to space, he would find a way to fulfill her wish.

"This series looks nice." Gu Qili browsed through the brochure, her eyes sparkling without a hint of sleepiness, completely forgetting it was already 3 a.m., "Ah, this one looks even better, no, this one is the best."

The photos were more astonishing than the last – truly worthy of the work from a top-tier bridal salon.

"Then let’s shoot all of them." Mu Shuoqian wasn’t interested in which wedding photo series it was, as long as she was happy his efforts weren’t in vain. To secure an appointment at this bridal shop, he had agreed to invest in a new drama for Bai Chengxi and took no dividends in return.