The Scheming Ex-Husband's Courtship
Chapter 175 - 169: Ignore It

Chapter 175: Chapter 169: Ignore It

Leng Shaoqing’s hidden agenda was that since he had drunk the soup, he wouldn’t let those others get away with it lightly. After all, happiness shared is happiness doubled, and misery shared is misery halved!

Everyone picked up their spoons one after another to drink the soup, and with the sound of spoons clinking against porcelain bowls, their faces all wore different expressions, but they were all trying their best to hold back.

Gu Qili carefully watched them, as if waiting for their evaluation, considering that if the taste also satisfied everyone, she would think about making it for Mu Shuoqian every day.

"Hehe," Bai Chengxi laughed dryly with a throat that seemed to have swallowed a huge chunk of salt. "Qili, good skills."

"Yeah, it really tastes good," said Nan Zhan, his smile a bit stiff. But seeing Gu Qili’s hopeful eyes, he didn’t spit out the truth. After all, compared to Mu’s fierceness, she was truly hospitable and it was hard to decline such warmth.

Zhuo Yanbei rested his chin, as if he had turned into salt.

Luo Shangqing, on the other hand, was the most composed one, his lips slightly pursed and his eyebrows and eyes carried a hint of a mysterious smile.

Seeing that they seemed quite happy, Gu Qili also picked up her spoon ready to drink, but before it touched the bowl, she accidentally knocked over the soup bowl.

Mu Shuoqian glared at Leng Shaoqing, angrily demanding, "Why did you bump into me?"

Leng Shaoqing: "..."

Damn, who bumped into him?

Gu Qili didn’t pursue who actually bumped whom, but it was a pity that her soup had spilled, making the table messy, so she had to get up and go to the kitchen for a towel.

As soon as she turned around, Mu Shuoqian acted with the speed of lightning and directly poured the bowl of soup in front of him into a vase, seemingly having planned it in advance since he was closest to the vase,

Seeing this, the others thought it was an excellent idea and just about to do the same, Gu Qili came out with a towel,

Seeing the confused look towards them, her eyes blinked, wondering why everyone suddenly stood up while eating.

Having said that, with a grimace, as if a hero ready to face death, she gulped down the whole bowl of soup in one breath.

Fuck, I feel an urge never to eat salt again in my life.

Seeing this, the others also gritted their teeth secretly and tilted their heads back to drink the soup.

"My soup tastes so good?" The expression on her face was somewhat smug, she felt her cooking really had potential.

Mu Shuoqian nodded, glancing at the empty bowl in front of him, "Indeed, it’s delicious, I couldn’t wait to finish it."

"Too bad mine spilled," Gu Qili said regretfully, shaking her head, but she quickly cheered up and jovially urged everyone to eat the dishes.

Learning from the lesson of the soup, everyone was very cautious while eating the dishes. In the meantime, the pot of water Gu Qili had previously saved soon ran out, so she had to boil another pot.

Gu Qili happily thought, not only does she make delicious dishes, her home water is also tasty.

However, one day when Gu Qili was cooking in the kitchen, she could no longer find the salt, recalling that she had just opened a packet not long ago.

After eating, as Gu Qili was clearing up the table, the big crabs brought by Leng Shaoqing were also all eaten, leaving a pile of crab shells on the table.

Mu Shuoqian stood in the living room issuing an expulsion order: "You’ve eaten your fill and drunk your fill, now hurry up and scram."

"I see now," Bai Chengxi insightfully discerned, "Mu dislikes us so much because we’ve interrupted his private world with Qili."

The others agreed, as normally Mu wasn’t so unwelcoming, but he hadn’t gone so far as to deliberately put salt in their soup.

Yes, they had reason to believe that the salt was added by this crafty old fox because apart from that soup, the taste of the other dishes was quite unique. They couldn’t believe that Gu Qili had accidentally knocked over the salt container into the soup.

So, the more he wanted them to leave, the more they wanted to stay and stir up trouble.

Thus, Leng Shaoqing casually sat down on the sofa, calling everyone, "Now that we’re full and satisfied, what fun is there to be had?"

Zhuo Yanbei pinched his chin thinking for a moment, "With so many people, why not play some cards?"

Mu Shuoqian’s face turned even uglier, right now he couldn’t wait to throw these people out one by one.

"I don’t have any playing cards here."

"I brought some," Luo Shangqing, who had been quiet, calmly pulled out a deck of cards from his pocket, as everyone knew,

so he would always carry a deck of cards wherever he went.

Mu Shuoqian’s gaze seemed to drill holes into him, Luo Shangqing merely shrugged helplessly.

He liked playing cards, but people always complained about his lousy play, and whenever he suggested playing cards everyone found excuses to avoid it. Today, finally having the chance to get together and play, he certainly wouldn’t miss such a great opportunity.

The group settled around the living room coffee table; Zhuo Yanbei and Leng Shaoqing had no seats so they moved the sofa cushions down to the carpet to sit, truly making themselves at home.

Gu Qili came out from the kitchen just to see this lively group playing cards.

Mu Shuoqian grabbed her hand and headed back to the room, coldly saying, "Don’t bother with these lunatics."

But Gu Qili’s feet seemed nailed to the spot, her eyes gleaming as she stared at them, yearning to join the card game.

"Qili, want to come and play?" Nan Zhan beckoned with the cards in his hand, his gaze glancing at Mu Shuoqian whose face had darkened a few shades.

Gu Qili immediately broke free from Mu Shuoqian’s hand and walked over: "Sure, what are you guys playing?"

"It’s simple, you’ll learn it in no time."

"Then let me try a couple of rounds first. I don’t want to drag you down," Gu Qili said as she sat down where Nan Zhan made space for her.

"No worries, come on."

Due to Gu Qili’s participation, the round was voided, and everyone started to deal the cards again.

Mu Shuoqian, trying to suppress the frustration boiling inside, walked over, pushed Nan Zhan aside, and sat next to Gu Qili, wrapping his arm around her waist.

Gu Qili had already picked up her cards, and being smart with excellent memory, she had remembered the game rules after Nan Zhan explained them just once and was getting the hang of it after a couple of rounds.

Nobody was betting money.

Whoever loses, sticks a note on their face. Whoever wins, gets to remove one.

Zhuo Yanbei glanced at his cards, then suddenly looked at Mu Shuoqian with a smile, "Bro, if Qili loses, you should stick the note for her."

Before Mu Shuoqian could react, Gu Qili raised her hand in agreement, "Yes, yes."

The man beside her stayed silent, indulgently acquiescing.

Everyone knew perfectly well that Mu Shuoqian doted on Gu Qili beyond words—the more they knew him, the deeper they understood this fact.

Gu Qili was young and loved to play; although initially not too familiar with these people and slightly intimidated by their status, she didn’t feel estranged and really enjoyed the game.

However, Mu Shuoqian’s face suffered, now stuck with seven or eight notes, his eyes nearly covered.

Gu Qili felt quite embarrassed and secretly pinched his hand to comfort him: "I’ll get the hang of it, and make sure you won’t have to stick any more notes."

Mu Shuoqian didn’t speak; since the game started, he had been quiet, but as more notes stuck to his face, he couldn’t remain silent any longer, fearing eventually his eyes would be completely covered—when did Mu Shuoqian ever end up in such an embarrassing situation?

"Hold your horses, don’t play this round," he surveyed her hand and suddenly spoke with authority.

Gu Qili was about to play a card, but upon hearing him, she withdrew it and truly held her cards still.

Following a few more tips from Mu Shuoqian, Gu Qili actually won.

She giggled joyfully, her face blossoming into a smile, while one note was removed from Mu Shuoqian’s face and stuck onto Luo Shangqing’s face.

Only then did Gu Qili notice Luo Shangqing’s face, nearly blindfolded by all the notes.

She hadn’t expected that someone like Luo Shangqing, who seemed to have high intelligence, would be so terrible at cards—no wonder these people disliked playing with him, as it felt like adults bullying a child.

Under Mu Shuoqian’s guidance, Gu Qili got faster and faster on the uptake, winning almost every round, and all notes were eventually removed from Mu Shuoqian’s face.

"It’s one o’clock, do you want to keep playing?" The last to hold out was not the full-faced-note Luo Shangqing, but Bai Chengxi, who couldn’t stop yawning.

He had stayed up late last night, severely sleepy now, and playing cards with someone like Luo Shangqing was straight-up insulting his intelligence, making him even sleepier.

When the others heard it was already one o’clock, guessing their ’breaking up the lovebirds’ mission had been accomplished, they immediately tossed their cards on the coffee table: "Let’s go, time to go home."

Gu Qili pouted; she hadn’t had enough fun yet.

Eventually, after a night of noise, the men left one by one. Once they were gone, the lively atmosphere vanished too, and Gu Qili, yawning twice, felt the tiredness hit her.

Mu Shuoqian looked at her: "Shouldn’t you sleep early since we are going out tomorrow?"

"I’ll take a shower and then sleep," Gu Qili said as she headed to the bathroom.

Mu Shuoqian glanced around the somewhat messy living room, silently taking note of the mess.

Even though she’d sleep early, he wouldn’t really do anything; he just wanted to spend more time alone with her, to hold her a bit,

In his eyes, she was still young, and it was not wise to rush anything.

Being young, staying up late was okay for her. Early in the morning, Gu Qili had her packed luggage ready at the door. They were scheduled for training on a small island in A City, which required a flight from Aus City followed by a ferry.

After checking her ID and wallet, she went to make breakfast while Mu Shuoqian was still not up, clearly due to last night’s late hours.

Thinking of the long week ahead without seeing him, Gu Qili couldn’t help but turn back as she approached the door, tiptoeing back into the room. Fearing she might wake him up, she didn’t linger, grabbing her suitcase and leaving.

The moment she left, Mu Shuoqian opened his eyes, looking in the direction she had gone with a smile on his lips.

Mu Shuoqian got up to pour some water in the dining room. Just as he picked up a cup, he noticed something, his eyes that were calm at sunrise now tender as water.