The Scheming Ex-Husband's Courtship
Chapter 164 - 161: Has He Confessed to You?

Chapter 164: Chapter 161: Has He Confessed to You?

Early in the morning, Gu Qili sat in the kitchen eating breakfast, with earphones plugged in and listening to music.

After Mu Shuoqian finished washing up, he came out, but she didn’t call him to eat breakfast with the usual attentiveness, and there weren’t even bowl and chopsticks set for him on the table. She might have just made breakfast for one person.

He pursed his lips, his face darkened, and he left.

Gu Qili couldn’t finish her thin porridge; she was still somewhat worried about his stomach. It had been hard to break his habit of skipping breakfast; was she now undoing all her efforts?

However, it was impossible for her to give in and admit defeat first. Since she had made this decision, she was also prepared to stick to it till the end.

After eating, she tidied up and went to school. She didn’t have many classes, so she went to the library to work on her thesis.

"Qiqi, come have dinner at my house tonight, my mom made dumplings." After school, Mickey hooked her arm, "Your man won’t object, right?"

"Don’t worry about him." When she mentioned Mu Shuoqian, her tone became heavier than usual and not as warm.

"Did you guys have a fight?"

Gu Qili curled her lip: "It’s because of the job application. I won’t work as his translator, so he’s unhappy and also doesn’t agree with me working at a restaurant."

"He just doesn’t want you to get tired. Being a waitress means walking non-stop all day long, and having to deal politely with all sorts of people. He’s just being considerate of you!"

"I’m not afraid of hardships." Gu Qili’s attitude was firm.

Mickey shook her head: "Forget it, you guys, a couple, fight at the head of the bed and make up at the end of the bed. There’s no point in me persuading. Let’s go, time for dumplings."

Gu Qili went to Mickey’s house, and Mickey’s parents were very familiar with her, treating her like a daughter. During her university years, she often came here for meals and sometimes stayed over the weekend because, besides school, she had nowhere else to go.

During the meal, Gu Qili noticed that Mickey’s father kept making phone calls. He barely ate a few dumplings, going back and forth to the balcony several times—probably because she was there, and there were some things he felt awkward to say.

"Qiqi, eat your food. Your uncle has been busy with some things lately, don’t mind him," Mickey’s mom added a few more dumplings to her bowl, urging her to eat more.

Soon, Mickey’s father came back and also encouraged her to eat more, saying she was too thin.

After dinner, Mickey’s parents returned to their own room,

"Your dad isn’t troubled by something, is he? He seemed a bit unhappy." During a commercial break, Gu Qili asked concernedly.

Mickey said, "It’s nothing serious, you know, he works at the casino. Business hasn’t been good recently, his commission has decreased a lot, and apparently, there’s a threat of takeover. He’s on good terms with the boss and actively helping him find connections."

"Takeovers?"

"That’s quite intense."

"Qiqi, are you really not going back tonight? Aren’t you afraid your man will come looking for you?" Mickey was somewhat concerned about her staying over. If they continued this fight without seeing each other, wouldn’t the rift just grow? If neither of them would compromise, there’d be no room for things to turn around.

Gu Qili huffed, "I won’t go back, and he certainly wouldn’t come looking for me."

"Oh my, seriously, wouldn’t it be alright if you guys just talked it out?"

"I’ve spoken quite frankly, it’s him who won’t listen. There is nothing I can do."

Mickey hugged her arm and laid her head on Gu Qili’s shoulder, speaking cheerfully, "Right now, you two don’t seem like a married couple but more like a pair of young lovers who have just started dating, bickering and squabbling, yet the affection doesn’t diminish one bit."

Gu Qili felt that was a fallacy; she didn’t feel like she was in love at all because between the two of them, he was always the dominant one. She didn’t even have the right to choose her work, so this time, she was determined to fight to the end.

"Has he ever confessed to you?"

Gu Qili shook her head.

The truth was, their relationship suddenly grew closer after an incident where she got hurt. The relationship appeared to become even closer, and after returning to the country, their interactions grew naturally sweeter. However, she had never heard any so-called confessions from him, nor did he ever use words related to love or affection.

What was their relationship even considered now? Gu Qili herself couldn’t clearly define it, but before their fight, she was quite content with their way of being together. At least she clearly knew in her heart that he cared about her, cared a great deal.

"Will he come looking for you? Does he know where my house is? Oh, right, he found the restaurant where we were eating last time, so it’s probably a matter of minutes for him to find out my home address," Mickey said to herself. Gu Qili interrupted with annoyance, "That’s enough, you’ve been watching too many soap operas."

Gu Qili had not told Mu Shuoqian where she was going; she used to always inform him.

Mu Shuoqian sat on the couch with a cold look in his eyes, incapable of paying any attention to the soccer match on TV. The kitchen stove was cold, her room’s bedding neatly folded, and the clock now pointed to eleven p.m.; she still hadn’t returned, with no new messages on WeChat either.

Mu Shuoqian yanked at his tie in irritation and got up to take a shower.

He knew she was throwing a temper tantrum at him.

Mu Shuoqian came out of the bathroom and took out his phone to call Xiao Ran.

"Has the resume been received by the catering department?" He didn’t mention a name, but as clever as Xiao Ran was, he instantly guessed who he was referring to.

"It’s been received." Xiao Ran wouldn’t make the same mistake again, and he had already checked the matter thoroughly, just waiting for him to inquire.

"Have them hold off on it for now, don’t call her in for an interview."

"Understood, Young Master Qian." After hanging up, Xiao Ran couldn’t help but sigh to the heavens. This lady of theirs really didn’t know how to enjoy her good fortune; abandoning her fine translation work to wait tables, he really couldn’t figure it out.

Although Gu Qili was angry, staying at Mickey’s home to avoid the issue wasn’t a solution, so she went back the next morning.

As she entered, she found to her surprise that Mu Shuoqian was at home, even though she remembered today wasn’t the weekend.

He didn’t speak to her, and she ignored him too, pouring a glass of water before heading back to her room.

At that moment, Yuan Yi knocked and came in, greeted her politely as "madam", and then went to put a packet of medicine on the coffee table next to Mu Shuoqian.

"Young Master Qian, if there’s nothing else, I’ll leave first."

Mu Shuoqian nodded and continued reading his newspaper. Yuan Yi gave her another nod before he left.

Before coming in, Yuan Yi was somewhat baffled. For the past few days, Young Master Qian hadn’t had stomach issues, yet he had been sent to the hospital to get a large amount of stomach medicine, with the doctor being instructed to prescribe more severe medication. The doctor even asked with a concerned face, "Is it late-stage?" leaving him unsure of what to say.

Having brought back the medicine now and seeing him seemingly in a cold war with his wife, Yuan Yi immediately understood – Young Master Qian wanted to play the pity card to gain sympathy.

He suddenly felt that the madam was a bit pitiable. Being so naïve and guileless, how could she outmaneuver someone as cunning as Young Master Qian?

After Yuan Yi left, Mu Shuoqian also went back to work in his study.

Seeing that he had walked away, Gu Qili slowly sauntered over to watch TV. Just as she sat down on the sofa, she noticed the packet of stomach medicine.

Mu Shuoqian sat in front of his computer, smoking while staring at the screen.

Gu Qili had forgotten that their home was equipped with cameras. She opened the plastic bag and carefully examined the medicine inside. Upon seeing some painkillers, her brow furrowed. It was just common stomach illness, so why the need for painkillers? Such medicine wasn’t prescribed casually, was it?

Had his stomach condition become this serious? Could it be...

Feeling anxious, Gu Qili carefully put the medicine away and couldn’t help glancing towards the study, suddenly regretting not having made him breakfast.

So, she changed clothes and went into the kitchen, washing rice to start cooking porridge.

Soon, the meal was ready. She knocked on the door of the study. Mu Shuoqian, as if expecting her, was there already but still had a cold expression when he saw her.

Without saying anything, Gu Qili turned back to the dining room to eat. Mu Shuoqian paused for a moment, then followed her in as well.

Both sat at opposite ends of the table, eating in silence. Gu Qili finished first and left without looking at him, carrying something as she went out.

Mu Shuoqian saw her fiddling with something outside the window, hurriedly wolfing down a few bites before pretending to go for a walk outside.

What Gu Qili was holding were grapevine seedlings she had brought back from France. She had been keeping them in the soil without time to plant them, and now that she finally had a moment, she wanted to get them into the ground quickly.

Reynolds once said, if cultivated well, the vines could bear grapes in three to four years.

She was clumsily digging the earth, her shoulder still ached a little, forcing her to dig for a while and then rest.

Suddenly, the spade in her hands was snatched away by a large hand. "Taking a walk" Mu Shuoqian had approached at some point, and with a push, he sat her aside, his tall figure crouching down to start digging.

He wore light-colored homewear with slippers on his feet. The dirt stained his hands and clothes, and he clearly wasn’t experienced in this – probably he had never done such a thing before.

However, Gu Qili couldn’t help but smile.

Who would have thought that the usually lofty Mu Shuoqian would squat down here to plant a tree for her? His clumsy movements were endearing.

After the hole was dug, she hurried inside to fetch a small bucket of water. But before she’d gone far, he snatched it too, giving her a look that said, "Don’t you know you’re injured?" before carrying the bucket to the prepared hole.

Truthfully, he didn’t know how much water to pour; he just followed his whims as he filled the hole.

Once the water was in, it was time to fill the hole with soil. Gu Qili wanted to contribute and began to crouch down, scooping earth into the tree pit with her hands; he helped too, and together, they quickly filled the hole.

Gu Qili observed her own hands, now caked with dirt, and saw that Mu Shuoqian’s were even dirtier than hers.

Suddenly feeling mischievous, she lifted her dirty hand and smeared a bit on his clean face. Seeing the mark on his handsome features, she couldn’t help but let out a snicker.

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