The Scheming Ex-Husband's Courtship
Chapter 198 - 188: Tracking

Chapter 198: Chapter 188: Tracking

The work of a server is just like that, they’re busy when the customers are dining, and only get a chance to grab a bite after the lunch rush slows down around two or three in the afternoon.

Gu Qili spent the time she could have been eating sending messages to Mu Shuoqian, her fingers flying across the keyboard.

"Today I washed fifty more glasses than yesterday, and even though I was really careful, I almost smashed one. Luckily, I have quick reflexes, or else I would have had to pay for it. I heard the glasses here are super expensive."

"I’ll be on the night shift tomorrow. I’ve never done a night shift before, so I’m actually quite excited."

"Oh, and one of my colleagues said she’s going to sign up for a CAFA sommelier tutorial class. I gave her the materials today and asked her to sign me up too. I plan to get the intermediate sommelier certification by the end of the year."

"Alright, that’s enough chit-chat, my stomach is protesting. I’ll wait for your return."

Gu Qili didn’t tell him about being punished yesterday or scolded today. Such small matters are common in the workplace and not worth bothering him over.

After sending the messages, she didn’t expect a reply. She treated him more like a confidante, a tree hole to confide her troubles.

She had just returned to the staff dining room when Guo Jun said, "The group at the table outside just finished. You go and reset the table."

Gu Qili had not even had a bite of her hot meal before being ordered back to work. She was about to pull out her chair but pushed it back in. Everyone was eating, and there was a server specifically assigned to resetting tables. And yet, he took a liking to making her do it.

Even though her position was washing glasses, when the restaurant got busy, everyone had to help with everything. No position was fixed.

Zhu Ping and Kang Hongxiu looked at her with sympathetic eyes but were helpless to do anything.

Without hesitation, Gu Qili said, "I’m on it," and left the dining room. Her bowl of rice still sat there, steaming hot.

Resetting a table meant reorganizing and setting it with new utensils after guests had finished eating, which she had been trained to do.

Gu Qili cleared the wine bottles, glasses, plates, and soup bowls from the table onto a cart, wiped the table down with a disinfectant, and laid out a clean new tablecloth with sparkling clean plates, cutlery, and wine glasses.

After all that, she returned to the dining room to find that everyone had finished eating and dispersed, leaving little food on the tables. Her bowl of rice had also gone cold.

Nevertheless, she picked up the bowl and began eating at breakneck speed.

She was busy until right before closing time, her legs felt as if they were filled with lead, and she had to sit down in the changing room, tapping on them.

Zhu Ping was changing too and saw how tired she was. She walked over and began kneading Gu Qili’s shoulders.

"Qili, this isn’t sustainable. The supervisor obviously has it out for you, making you do things outside of your job scope. I’m sure he’s in cahoots with Manager Qi," Zhu Ping said with righteous indignation, her hands exerting more force.

"So you know pain? You’re so exhausted, yet I haven’t heard you say ’no’ even once."

Gu Qili patted the hand Zhu Ping had placed on her shoulder, looking wronged: "Don’t be mad. I don’t mind doing a little more or a little less work. I’m just not used to it yet, which is why I’m so tired. Once I get accustomed to the intensity of this job, I’m sure nothing will be too much for me."

"That’s just you being stubborn. Don’t work yourself sick."

When Gu Qili got home, the first thing she wanted to do was take a hot bath, but as soon as she entered, she saw the Pug squatting there with an empty bowl in front, looking at her with a helpless gaze.

She sighed, walked over, and rubbed its head: "Hang in there, I’ll go buy you some dog food."

The pet stores nearby closed at six, and it was almost seven when she got home. Gu Qili had no choice but to head to a street a bit further away. It wasn’t too far, but neither was it close. Driving there was unnecessary, and parking was a problem. Biting the bullet, she decided to walk.

The streets at night were ablaze with lights, many shops doing brisk business.

Gu Qili turned into a slightly off-the-beaten-path alley, remembering that there were rows of pet shops there.

She hadn’t walked far when she noticed someone following her, maintaining a moderate distance behind her.

Because she wasn’t out for a leisurely stroll, she had no reason to look around and thus could sensitively sense someone was tailing her.

Realizing she was being followed, she tried to walk in busier and more crowded areas. Glancing at the large glass windows of a nearby mall, she saw the figure still standing not too far off; she was now certain that she was the target.

Gu Qili quickly turned into the mall. It was crowded here, and the pursuer likely wouldn’t dare to do anything rash.

Indeed, after Gu Qili entered the mall, the person hesitated and did not follow.

Gu Qili hid behind a pillar to stealthily look outside, just in time to see the man making a phone call and then glancing into the mall a couple of times before leaving.

Gu Qili wandered around the mall for quite some time, feeling no one was following her anymore; she then left through a side door and headed straight for the pet shop.

The pet shops here closed early, and several had already begun to close when she arrived. Gu Qili hurried into one, worried that the owner wouldn’t serve her, and quickly asked, "Do you have dog food?"

"Yes, what brand does your dog usually eat?"

"I, I’m not sure either, the dog was picked up by me, it’s a Pug."

"Pick one from these varieties. Here are the expensive ones, and these are progressively cheaper. For a Pug, that kind of cheaper dog, there’s no need for too fancy dog food."

The pet store was about to close. The owner looked at her and said, "Young lady, I see you’ve never bought dog food before. Pick this kind then. It’s usually one hundred per bag, I’ll give it to you for eighty, we’re closing soon."

Gu Qili didn’t understand the market prices, but seeing the boss being so sincere, she took out the money and bought two bags.

Carrying the dog food, she left the pet store. The sound of the owner pulling down the shutter door followed, with a clang.

"Young lady, is your friend coming to pick you up?" The owner, with keys in hand, passed by her and smiled, pointing towards the side of the road.

Only then did Gu Qili see a black sedan parked across the way, with someone inside staring at her. She had planned to take a taxi home after leaving the shop, because today’s events were too bizarre, but before she had the chance to call a taxi, the person in the car got out—and there were two of them.

They walked towards Gu Qili with big strides, their footsteps growing more and more rapid.

"Boss." In her urgency, Gu Qili quickly called out to the owner who had just walked past, but he was probably in a hurry to get home. He got into his car and even waved at her as he left.

Gu Qili glanced around: there were pedestrians, not few but not many either. Without thinking, she turned and ran toward the more crowded area, and after a moment’s hesitation, the two men started to chase her.

Gu Qili never expected that they would dare to blatantly force themselves upon her in the street. Just as she was about to shout for help, a hand suddenly extended from a door beside her, covered her mouth, and dragged her inside.

The room was pitch-dark, she couldn’t see anything, and the hand kept her mouth tightly covered, the faint smell of tobacco reaching her nose.

Strangely enough, although she didn’t know who he was, and wasn’t sure if he was with those two men or not, the scent coming off his body made her less afraid, and her racing heart gradually calmed and stilled.

Through the door, she could see what was happening outside, but those outside couldn’t see into the room. Gu Qili clearly saw the two men looking around before walking away.

Only after they had walked far away did the hand that was covering her mouth slowly let go.

Still shaken, Gu Qili peered through the darkness at him. She couldn’t really see anything, but she sensed he was unusually tall and somehow familiar.

In the dark, suddenly a sliver of light flared up—it was his lighter. He brought his face close to the flame, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, the flickering dark orange light making his face look sinister. He blinked his hawkish eyes, knowing she was looking at him, and squinted slightly.

The cigarette lit, and the lighter stayed on, casting both of them in a faint orange glow.

"Tianyou?!" Gu Qili pointed at him, still in shock.

"Seeing me is that much of a surprise, huh?"

Gu Qili pursed her lips; she hadn’t shown any sign of being pleasantly surprised.

"Thank you." She instinctively peeked outside again, not understanding why she was being followed.

"It’s Chen Jiu’s people." Tang Tianyou took a drag of his cigarette,

Gu Qili was focused on the name "Chen Jiu" and didn’t notice that he had leaned a bit closer to her.

"How do you know that?"

"Just a guess."

Gu Qili thought for a moment and looked around the pitch-dark surroundings: "Where is this place, and when can we get out?"

"Those people haven’t gone far yet, wait a bit longer." The space was so cramped, he was almost pressed up against her, with only a thin layer of fabric separating them,

"Right, how come you’re here?" Gu Qili wasn’t too comfortable being this close to him, but when she tried to move back, there was no space. This seemed to be a small storage room, extremely cramped, and because he was tall, he took up two-thirds of the space.

"I’m looking for a dog." Looking for the dog was just by the way; in fact, he had noticed her early on and had been secretly following her.

The space was small, and the smell of his cigarette dispersed slowly, causing Gu Qili to cough.

"Did I make you choke?" Tang Tianyou quickly snuffed out the cigarette against the wall next to him, fanning his hands to clear the smoke, "I’ll stop smoking."

"It’s okay." Gu Qili had already gotten used to the smell of Mu Shuoqian smoking, and after coughing twice, she suddenly grasped the important point in his words, her bright eyes widening with excitement in the dark, "You’re looking for a dog?"

"Yeah, my dog has been lost for quite a while. It got lost around here, so I come and take my chances whenever I have time."

"You really lost a dog?" Gu Qili was too excited, and she couldn’t help but grab his arm, her eyes shining excitedly as she looked at him.

The spot she grabbed felt inexplicably hot, and even the hand holding the lighter was almost unsteady.

"Is it a Pug?"

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