CHAPTER 275: CHAPTER 257: CAN YOU CALL OFF THE WEDDING?

Because she had agreed to attend the wedding, Gu Qili was pulled into a group chat by Zhang Xi, which had more than thirty people, all of them were their high school classmates. Gu Qili saw many familiar names but couldn’t match them with faces from her memory, as it had been many years since she last had contact with these people.

"Everyone welcome Qili," Zhang Xi sent a clapping emoji.

This message was sent long ago, and there was no response in the group. Finally, someone spoke up, asking Zhang Xi, "Can I bring my boyfriend along?"

Zhang Xi said, "Everyone is welcome to bring their family members, no limit on the number of attendees haha."

Then a bunch of people jumped in saying they want to bring their boyfriends.

"My boyfriend’s company has been extremely busy recently, not sure if he can make time."

"Sigh, I don’t know if he can make it back, but he said as long as it concerns me, he will definitely fly back."

"Your boyfriend is really good to you, mine is not so, he only gives me money and bags, it’s irritating."

It was supposed to be a welcome for Gu Qili, but it suddenly turned into a bunch of people showing off their boyfriends, and some even posted photos of their boyfriends who looked quite handsome,

After all these years not seeing each other, Gu Qili wanted to say hello to everyone, but her message "Hello everyone" was typed but not yet sent, she was treated as if she was invisible.

Previously, wherever she appeared, there would be at least four or five people clustering around her, but now nobody seemed to notice even her greeting.

"Didn’t we just say we were welcoming Gu Qili, where is she?" Finally, someone mentioned her, but it was the person Gu Qili disliked the most—Hu Jiaojiao.

She almost forgot, Hu Jiaojiao was also her high school classmate.

Perhaps because her name was mentioned a couple of times, people finally paid attention.

"Ah, Miss Gu has joined the group, welcome, welcome." Someone typed out a line indifferently.

"Miss Gu, haven’t seen you in years, where are you working now?"

"Right, did Miss Gu finish her college?"

"Her family was too poor to pay the tuition, how could she possibly finish college? Was she supposed to sell herself? Our Miss Gu wouldn’t do that."

After these words were said, a row of emojis covering mouths and sneering appeared below.

When Gu Qili was in her prime, these people would follow behind her and flatter her, but now knowing she was not doing well, they rushed to kick her while she was down.

Gu Qili was already used to this, just about to close the WeChat group, when suddenly she saw Hu Jiaojiao say, "You women, have you forgotten how you used to suck up to Gu Qili in the past? Now you think you’re doing better than her so you can mock her? Pah, clean your dog eyes before you talk." After saying this, Hu Jiaojiao sent two emojis, one of a dog and one of poop.

The group quieted for a moment, and Zhang Xi quickly changed the topic, "Can you guys help me choose which wedding dress I should wear for the toast?"

She posted more than a dozen pictures of wedding dresses which moved past Hu Jiaojiao’s "dog. poop".

Gu Qili stared at the screen for a while, could she interpret that Hu Jiaojiao was actually speaking up for her just now?

Heh, it was really unnecessary. After all, it was her who trod on her the hardest back in the day, could she suddenly have a change of heart?

"What are you chatting about, why does the phone keep ringing, is it Xiao Mi again?" Mu Shuoqian came out from the bathroom,

She recalled that every time she talked with that Xiao Mi, her phone would keep ringing endlessly, and she would laugh while chatting, wondering what was so joyous.

"Nothing much, just a classmate group, joined today, just that there are quite a few people." Gu Qili casually placed her phone aside, picked up a clean nightgown,"

"Go ahead, the water temperature is just right." Mu Shuoqian sat on the bed and picked up a towel to dry his hair.

He had just started when Gu Qili’s phone rang a few times,

indicating a male’s tone.

Mu Shuoqian’s brows furrowed unhappily.

He didn’t intend to continue reading, but the next sentence caught his eye again.

"Miss Gu was just maintained by money originally, now without money or influence she must have become an old hag, you men who used to have crushes on her should stop daydreaming, she must be uglier than your girlfriends now."

This time a layer of anger coated the bottom of Mu Shuoqian’s eyes.

He scrolled up through the chat record, just to see those women flaunting their husbands while stepping on Gu Qili.

He clenched the phone in his hand and was about to throw it away, but his hand stopped mid-air and he put it back, leaning against the headboard and picking up a book to read.

Mu Shuoqian stared at her face for a while and could not find a trace of displeasure, he suddenly felt a bit heartbroken and guilty, over the years, she must have gotten used to such gossip and developed a resistance to it, able to pretend not to care anymore.

He couldn’t help but lower his head to find her lips and kissed her fiercely.

Until her breathing became unstable, he let go of her and asked casually, "Did you say yesterday that your classmate is getting married?"

"Yeah, getting married right after graduation, it really surprised me."

"It seems like you got married even before graduating, right?" Mu Shuoqian teased her.

Gu Qili snorted and leaned her head on his shoulder, "Isn’t it all someone’s fault?"

"Are you regretting it?"

"Yes, I am regretting it. Can I call off the marriage?"

Mu Shuoqian chuckled lightly and gave her four words: "Daydreaming in broad daylight."

"Tch, I knew it." Gu Qili burrowed further into his embrace, mumbling to herself: "What should I wear this weekend? Feels like I haven’t bought clothes in a while, I need to take Xiao Mi shopping when I have time."

"Can you bring family members to the wedding you’re attending?"

"Yes, of course." Gu Qili didn’t notice anything suspicious about Mu Shuoqian’s question, because she was absolutely certain that Mu Shuoqian would never care for such events, hence, she didn’t trouble him to accompany her.

Time swiftly moved on to the day of the wedding.

Gu Qili was in the midst of getting ready when she heard the doorbell. Mu Shuoqian had gone to the office early in the morning and wasn’t at home, so she hurriedly put down her toothpaste and toothbrush to answer the door.

A delivery man was holding a box at the doorstep and asked, "Is this Miss Gu Qili?"

"That’s me."

"Your package, please sign here."

Gu Qili hadn’t ordered anything online, she took the box suspiciously, shaking it by her ear—it was very light, and seemed to contain something like fabric.

She unboxed it to find a bright red one-shoulder cocktail dress with a golden butterfly knot cinching the waist—lively and cute yet elegantly dignified.

She fell in love with the dress at first sight; it was perfect for today’s event—neither too attention-grabbing nor easily outshone.

Gu Qili knew it was prepared by Mu Shuoqian and quickly texted him: Received the gift, thanks!

Soon, she got his reply: I only accept physical repayment.

Gu Qili rolled her eyes, ignoring this despicable man, and happily entered the bedroom with the dress.

The dress seemed tailor-made for her, revealing but not too conservative. She tied her hair in the latest popular bun style, simple and stylish.

After dressing up, Gu Qili went to the garage and drove her Maybach out.

Arriving at the hotel, she saw from a distance the red arch at the entrance with the bride and groom’s names on it. The groom’s surname was Jiang, known for his good family background, his father had a big business, and his mother was a university professor.

Gu Qili parked her car in a discreet corner before getting out. Just as she entered the lobby, she saw a familiar figure, Deng Feifei, whom she hadn’t seen in about half a year.

Ever since being exposed for plastic surgery and indecent photos, Deng Feifei had almost vanished from the entertainment circle, but her wealthy father opened a styling studio for her, apparently tailored for actors.

Two female classmates surrounded Deng Feifei. In school, they used to hang around Gu Qili with Deng Feifei.

Gu Qili saw Deng Feifei but had no intention of greeting her, heading straight for the wedding hall instead.

"Hey, isn’t that Miss Gu? Miss Gu is coming alone?" one of the girls with Deng Feifei called out, the one who had bragged about her husband in the group chat, she was also the first to mock Gu Qili.

Deng Feifei didn’t speak, her gaze somber as she watched her.

"Miss Gu is coming alone?"

The girl’s voice was particularly loud, immediately drawing about a dozen classmates, some arm-in-arm with their boyfriends. It seemed they had planned to come and witness Gu Qili’s embarrassment.

Gu Qili wasn’t planning on dealing with them, but the path ahead was blocked by a wall of people; her eyebrows furrowed, her gaze darkening.

"I saw Miss Gu in the newspaper recently, heard you’re thriving as a waitress in the hotel, alas, the Miss who once wouldn’t even touch spring water, now washing dishes, tsk tsk."

"That’s why I say, ten years in the east of the river, ten years in the west, without the Gu Family as the big tree, Miss Gu is nothing at all."

Amidst this, laughter broke out from the crowd.

Gu Qili didn’t want to acknowledge these people, she coldly told the woman and her boyfriend standing in front: "Move aside."

"Wow, Miss Gu came here alone? Back when we were in school, boys lined up in the street to chase you, how come now you don’t even have a man? Seems those chasers were only after your family’s money after all."

Her companion also smirked maliciously: "Beibei, how about I introduce some junior staff from our company to her? Oh right, if you don’t mind divorced or older ones, there’s also an office manager available."

Gu Qili’s expression completely chilled, she was just about to retort when a cold voice from behind calmly stated: "We agreed to go in together, how come you ran ahead alone?"