The Scheming Ex-Husband's Courtship
Chapter 209 - 197: Either You Die or I Live

This was the birthday surprise she had prepared for him, of course, she wouldn’t tell him now.

Mu Shuoqian did not ask further and pointed to the supper placed in front of the windshield: "Let’s eat."

Today, it wasn’t pork knuckle rice, it was char siu porridge from Xiangshan Club.

Gu Qili ate most of the bowl, then suddenly puffed her cheeks at him and said, "You don’t need to pick me up anymore."

He worked so hard during the day and had to stay up until three or four in the morning just to pick her up, she felt heartbroken thinking about it.

"I can’t sleep when you’re not at home." He lifted his eyebrows affectionately at her, "I like sleeping with you in my arms."

"Cough!" Gu Qili almost choked on her porridge, her face turned red and she coughed violently before stopping, wondering why this man always managed to steer a warm topic into something dirty.

She could only lower her head and continue eating her porridge.

The next morning, Mu Shuoqian went to work, and Gu Qili was still nestled in her blanket sleeping when the doorbell rang incessantly, preventing her from sleeping.

She had no choice but to get out of bed, casually tied up her hair, and went to open the door.

Standing at the door was the meticulously groomed Hu Jiaojiao, who appeared much more refined compared to the disheveled Gu Qili who had not slept well.

Gu Qili did not expect Hu Jiaojiao to find this place, she blocked the door showing no intention of letting her in, glaring at her annoyed: "What are you doing here?"

"Qili, can we talk?"

"You and I only hit each other, we don’t talk." Gu Qili said and was about to close the door, but Hu Jiaojiao was quick to grab onto the doorframe, wedging her right foot forcefully under it, showing an inexplicable strength that prevented Gu Qili from shutting the door despite several attempts, making her furious and almost on the verge of cursing loudly.

Now that there was no one else around, Hu Jiaojiao did not need to pretend to be a good best friend, she straightforwardly said: "I want that French translator position."

"Do you also want the stars in the sky?" Gu Qili felt this woman must be crazy, "Go find your mom for whatever you want."

"Gu Qili, don’t forget, you still have a weakness in my hands." Hu Jiaojiao said confidently, her words laced with smugness.

Gu Qili’s expression turned serious, her face chilling as she looked at her: "So it really was you who put those photos on the school bulletin board."

Hu Jiaojiao adjusted the loose hair by her temples, smiling and said: "So what if it was me, didn’t you naively think I was your good best friend initially?"

"Those photos, where did you get them from?" Gu Qili gritted her teeth; she had long suspected that it was Hu Jiaojiao’s doing, but didn’t expect her to admit it willingly. Maybe, a long time ago when they were still close, she had already been scheming against her.

Using the same makeup, wearing the same clothes, it made her sick to her stomach.

I was so blind, truly blind.

"You don’t need to worry about where I got them from, what I want to tell you is that those photos are just a trifle, I have videos in my hands too." Hu Jiaojiao’s innocent face wore a sinister smile, "The content of the videos is much more sensational than the photos. If your colleagues see them, if Yishu sees them, even if Mu Shuoqian sees them, guess what kind of expressions they will make?"

"Hu Jiaojiao..." Gu Qili felt a deep disgust for the face in front of her, wanting to rush up and slap her twice, "You wouldn’t dare."

"Hehe, of course I dare. However, I prefer the expression you have now, very angry yet helpless against me." Hu Jiaojiao lifted her face proudly: "So, you better go beg Mu Shuoqian to give me that position. I think he would be very willing to let me have it, at least I won’t cuckol...

"No way to handle you?" Gu Qili suddenly laughed, her cold expression chilling to the bone, "Hu Jiaojiao, since you’ve openly chosen to tear our friendship apart, then I don’t mind going all out until the end, you can try and make those photos public and let’s see who will survive in the end."

In Hu Jiaojiao’s impression, Gu Qili had never shown such a cold and heartless side before. The way she looked at her seemed as if she really wanted to perish together with her in utter despair; she even felt somewhat nervous, thinking that if she truly angered her...

While she was hesitating, Gu Qili had already lifted her foot to kick her stomach. Fortunately, Hu Jiaojiao quickly came to her senses and retreated backward in time, barely avoiding the kick.

However, due to her unstable center of gravity, she fell on her bottom on the ground, which was still wet from yesterday’s rain.

Seizing the moment her hand loosened, Gu Qili slammed the door shut with a bang, and outside, Hu Jiaojiao went straight back to her own bedroom and turned on the stereo.

Soon after, Gu Qili’s phone buzzed once. She opened WeChat, and a picture popped up. Their relationship had broken down, but she had never blocked her. Now, seeing this photo, her face instantly turned pale.

Gu Qili felt incredibly frustrated and promptly added Hu Jiaojiao to the blacklist.

But although her name was on the blacklist, the two screenshots kept flashing before her eyes, unshakable. She believed that Hu Jiaojiao really had the so-called video.

Originally planning to sleep in on her day off, Gu Qili found herself utterly restless due to Hu Jiaojiao’s visit, unable to feel even a bit sleepy.

Working on her thesis at the computer, when she came back to her senses and looked at the screen, she saw she had accidentally typed a string of random digits. She quickly deleted them and stood up to pour a glass of water.

Holding the water glass, she became lost in thought once again.

Should she tell Mu Shuoqian about this? But would he believe her words?

Mu Shuoqian was sitting at his desk working, fully engrossed, his demeanor serene and detached as if he was disconnected from worldly matters.

Li Ruhai and several other executives were present, sitting on the sofa reporting to work.

Mu Shuoqian listened intently, occasionally jotting something down on the paper in front of him, and he made special notes in his notebook upon hearing this point.

Long ago, Mu Haotian had inquired about this matter and repeatedly stressed that he and Mu Hewen must secure this deal at all costs. The money was not important; what mattered was the future reputation of Macau.

"Yo, I’m late again." The door was pushed open abruptly, and Mu Hewen walked in smoking a cigarette. Seeing everyone in a meeting, he casually sat down on a single sofa to the side, propped up his legs, and under everyone’s gaze, he raised his hand holding the cigarette and signaled, "Keep talking, I’m listening."

Everyone looked toward Mu Shuoqian, who continued writing something on paper, appearing completely unaware of Mu Hewen’s arrival, prompting Li Ruhai to resume his report.

"Dad took this project very seriously," Mu Hewen suddenly interrupted Li Ruhai with a meaningful look, "Little brother, don’t mess this up,

It was unexpected that he escalated this matter to such a serious level, leaving the others with puzzled looks on their faces.

Everyone knew that within the Mu Family, Mu Haotian was truly the head of the household; that was also why Mu Shuoqian and Mu Hewen, despite their discord, could not oust Mu Hewen from their circle.

But in recent years, the contributions made by Mu Shuoqian were evident to all, while Mu Hewen? Well, that could only elicit wry smiles from the crowd.

"Ahem." Li Ruhai coughed lightly, hurriedly changing the subject, "The hotel investment project in Country F...

"Who gave you the right to talk? Shut your mouth." Mu Hewen, like a lit stick of dynamite, furiously yelled at Li Ruhai, startling the people in the room.

Li Ruhai, feeling wronged, was about to say something when he suddenly saw Mu Shuoqian, who had been focused on his work, slowly raise his eyes. His sharp gaze fell on Mu Hewen. Nonchalantly, he tossed the pen onto the table, his thin lips slightly parting, "Fine then, if they don’t check in, I’ll voluntarily resign; on the other hand, if they do check in, you’ll need to get out of here, and the further, the better."

"Young Master Qian." The others, hearing this, immediately became tense, wanting to stop him. They hadn’t expected the usually calm and composed Mu Shuoqian to be provoked by Mu Hewen into such a risky move; sticking to conventional tactics would have easily settled the matter. He was, after all, a head of state. Amidst the competition from several major hotels, success wasn’t completely guaranteed. Mu Shuoqian was putting his CEO position at stake over this—a matter blown way out of proportion. What if the deal fell through? Was he really prepared to resign as CEO, and what if it ended up in Mu Hewen’s hands...

Mu Shuoqian raised his hand to stop everyone’s attempts at persuasion, his deep gaze piercing the seemingly unresponsive Mu Hewen: "Do you dare or not?"

Only then did Mu Hewen regain his composure, a proud sneer in his eyes, almost venomously biting his words, "Anyone who doesn’t keep their word is a son of a bitch."