chapter 70

What happened?

Qin Shu was confused and followed Su Xiaoya to bend down on her seat. However, she couldn’t help but raise her head slightly. Then, she saw Mu Qian and his girlfriend Qi Mingya.

The two of them were talking and walking towards the inside hand in hand. They did not notice Qin Shu and Su Xiaoya.

When their figures were about to disappear from the corridor of the Guxuanzhai, Su Xiaoya finally had the courage to raise her head and stare blankly in that direction.

“What a perfect match of them,” she muttered with disappointment, sitting in the car with a dumbfounded expression. She pulled at the furry pendant in the front of the car unconsciously with her both hands.

Qin Shu was really caring about Su Xiaoya. She held Su Xiaoya’s hand and whispered, “If you keep acting like this after coming back, I would rather you stay abroad forever.”

Su Xiaoya remained silent.

Ever since she reached puberty at fifteen, she had fallen in love with that person and thought that she would be with him for the rest of her life. She had that thought in her mind until she grew up. Then she realized that it was impossible for them to be with each other in this life.

She went abroad under the pretext of studying and endured the loneliness and bitterness of the secret love alone in a foreign country.

Four years later, she thought that she was no longer obsessed with Mu Qian, but after returning home from abroad, when she saw Mu Qian again, Su Xiaoya still couldn’t control the throbbing in her heart.

However, Mu Qian already had a girlfriend. Even if she were his biological sister, she could not pester him, much less that she was not his biological sister.

The two of them only had a simple sibling relationship in law. What reason could she use to ask Mu Qian to care about her and love her? She didn’t even have the qualification to act like a spoiled child in front of him as before.

“Let’s go!” Su Xiaoya suddenly lifted up her face with a grin and opened the car door to jump out.

Qin Shu raised her eyebrows and looked at her. “Are you sure you still want to eat here?”

“Of course!” Su Xiaoya chinned up and chested out, showing not the slightest bit of loneliness that appeared on her adorable and innocent face a moment ago. She acted as if nothing could affect her. “Come, come, come, darling, get out of the car quickly. It took me a lot of work to reserve a seat here, so I absolutely cannot waste it!”

“Well, just as you like.” Qin Shu was okay with anywhere.

The two of them walked towards the Guxuanzhai hand in hand. When they arrived at the gate, Su Xiaoya was scared again. “Hey, can you find where his seat is? Remember, be quiet. Don’t let him see you. He will definitely know that I’m here if he sees you.”

Qin Shu was speechless. She turned to the waiter and said, “Excuse me, we are Mr. Mu’s friends. May I ask which table he is at?”

The waiter thought that she and Su Xiaoya were Mu Qian’s friends who had an appointment with him, so the waiter smiled and said, “Mr. Mu is at table five. Please follow me.”

Qin Shu quickly glanced inside to spot the table that the waiter told her. Then, she smiled and said, “No need, we have booked table ten. We’ll go over to greet Mr. Mu later.”

“Alright.” The waiter nodded and took Su Xiaoya’s membership card to check the reservation information.

Table five was in the middle, and table ten was at the side. There was a passage between the two tables where the lush and green bonsai was placed.

They took a detour by another passage to get to table ten and sat down. The bonsai nearby happened to block the view from table five.

Su Xiaoya gave Qin Shu a thumb-up. “Darling, you’re smart.”

“Humph.” Qin Shu smiled and got enough of Su Xiaoya. “You’re good for nothing!”

Su Xiaoya rubbed her nose and puffed her cute cheeks, then she said, “I’m not. This is to cut off all my emotions and put an end to all my delusions that shouldn’t exist!”

“So you even have to have a dinner secretly?” Qin Shu felt a little powerless and changed the topic, “When are you going to move out? Have you found a place to rent?”

Su Xiaoya looked over at table five and saw through the cracks in the leaves and branches of the bonsai that Mu Qian was talking to Qi Mingya. Watching the gentle smile on his face, Su Xiaoya’s heart pounded.

She was clearly very familiar with that face. She knew where the little nevus was on his face, she could even imagine his complete appearance with her eyes closed, but she still could not help but greedily stare at him.

Just like that, staring at him secretly and unscrupulously.

“I will move out this weekend,” Su Xiaoya said reluctantly, with a trace of loneliness flashing through her eyes. She slowly lowered her head and looked at the tea leaf in the teacup. “He didn’t agree at first, but then he said there was an apartment in the center of the city where I could live.”

Qin Shu frowned slightly because she seemed to sense something not right from Su Xiaoya’s words. “He suddenly changed his mind and agreed to let you move out?”

“Yeah, on that day when Qi Mingya was invited over, I bumped into them kissing on the balcony. Then he agreed to let me move out.” Su Xiaoya lay on the table dejectedly. “I know that he doesn’t want me to disturb them in the future.”

Qin Shu didn’t know what to say to comfort her, so she could only say, “It’s good you’ll move out early. When you meet a better person in the future, you won’t be obsessed with him.”

“Who knows.” Su Xiaoya curled her lips and secretly glanced at table five again. Then, she suddenly sat up straight and said, “Humph, we’re out for dinner. Let’s not talk about these annoying things. Come with me to see the apartment after dinner.”

“Alright,” Qin Shu happily agreed.

Very soon, the waiter served the dishes one after another.

There were royal chicken wings, sunflower with bamboo shoots, meatball shrimps, free range chicken stewed soup, and a vegetarian dish. Each dish looked ordinary, but in fact, they were cooked very delicately with perfect combination of colors, aroma and taste. Just by looking at them, one would have a great appetite.

Su Xiaoya’s eyes lit up and she instantly threw Mu Qian all behind. As quickly, accurately and steadily as it was, she picked up a chicken wing with the chopsticks and began to nibble on it contentedly.

Qin Shu was not a courteous and reserved person at table either. She quickly poured herself a bowl of chicken soup and tasted it. The delicious taste was really great!

The two of them talked over food. Soon, more than half of the dishes on the table were empty.

Just as Su Xiaoya extended her claws towards the last chicken wing, she suddenly felt someone approaching. There was also a familiar, faint smell of tobacco.

“Brother Mu Qian, sister Mingya.” Qin Shu was the first to greet the man and woman who were walking over, and then she kicked Su Xiaoya lightly under the table.

Su Xiaoya raised her head in panic. Looking at the couple in front of her, she suddenly burped loudly.

Qin Shu, “…”

She didn’t have the heart to look at Su Xiaoya now!

Su Xiaoya’s expression was embarrassed and she stood up and smiled, saying in surprise, “Brother, sister Mingya, you two are having dinner here too?”

Good acting!

“Look at your mouth, you just don’t know to wipe your mouth clean in eating, still like a child.” Mu Qian frowned slightly and took out a piece of tissue from the napkin box on the table. Then, he naturally reached it out to help wipe the remaining sauce from the corner of Su Xiaoya’s mouth.

Su Xiaoya’s body stiffened slightly and she turned her head to avoid him. She pulled out another piece of tissue herself and said with a smile, “Brother, I’m not a child anymore.”

Mu Qian’s hand paused in the air for a moment. He did not throw away the tissue. Instead, he took it in his palm and said to Su Xiaoya and Qin Shu, “Guxuanzhai’s food is good. Mingya likes the vegetarian dishes here very much, so I came to have dinner with her.”

“Yeah, I didn’t know that there was such a hidden private restaurant in City Lin until when Mu Qian took me here.” Qi Mingya held Mu Qian’s arm, elegant and graceful, mature and gentle, with her tone revealing a trace of intimacy between lovers.

Qi Mingya was Qi Mingran’s elder sister, and her appearance and temperament were as outstanding as her younger brother’s. She was really a good match for Mu Qian.

Qin Shu looked at Su Xiaoya again. Su Xiaoya had two big eyes, a round face, and a pouted pink mouth, which all made her look cute and adorable.

But Mu Qian wouldn’t like this type.

Qin Shu sighed in her heart.

Su Xiaoya had felt a little uneasy when she saw Mu Qian and Qi Mingya coming here, now she heard Qi Mingya speaking with Mu Qian in an intimate tone, she felt even more depressed.

Just as she was about to find an excuse to leave, she heard Mu Qian ask, “Why didn’t I see you two come in?”

“Ah?” Su Xiaoya was a little dumbfounded. Would she have to tell the truth that she had taken a long detour purposely to avoid them and walked in through another passage?

At this time, Qin Shu smiled calmly and said, “Maybe we arrived before you two, but we ate slowly, so we’re still in the middle of our dinner.”

“Yes!” Su Xiaoya hurriedly nodded and pointed at the dishes on the table. “Look, I haven’t finished yet. Brother, sister Mingya, you two must have other plans, right?”

She deliberately winked and made signs to Mu Qian and Qi Mingya, and she kept giggling, seemingly to be suggesting that they two could leave for their romantic world.

In fact, when Su Xiaoya said those words, it was like a needle piercing into her heart.

But what could she do?

Mu Qian looked at Qi Mingya with his head slightly down and said, “I’ll send you back.”

“Okay.” Qi Mingya smiled and turned to look at Su Xiaoya and Qin Shu. “Well, we’ll leave first then. We can treat you two to dinner another time.”

Qin Shu didn’t know whether she was having an illusion, but, Qin Shu felt that Qi Mingya had purposely stared at her when she turned around and left. Qi Mingya’s gaze had an indescribable meaning.

Could it be that she knew what happened between Qin Shu and Qi Mingran?

Yes, she must know.

Qin Shu had made a big scene at the banquet, so how could Qi Mingya not know about it as the Qi family’s eldest young miss?

But so what?

Qin Shu was too lazy to guess what Qi Mingya’s gaze meant. She said to Su Xiaoya, who had turned her grief and indignation into appetite, “I’m going to the restroom. Don’t eat too much. Beware that you’ll get a stomachache.”

“Mm-hmm.” Su Xiaoya nodded her head randomly. She seemed to take Qin Shu’s words to heart, seemed not either, and she was still scooping chicken soup into her bowl.

Qin Shu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, and she turned around and walked towards the restroom.

When she came out of the cubicle to wash her hands, she saw Qi Mingya standing in front of the mirror and was refining her makeup. Then, Qi Mingya turned her head and smiled at Qin Shu. “I left my things behind, so I came back to find it and refine the makeup in passing. I didn’t expect you to be here too.”

Qin Shu did not expose her lies and nodded. She did not intend to communicate with her.

Qi Mingya frowned slightly. She probably didn’t expect Qin Shu to be so cold and aloof, so she stared at Qin Shu quietly.

Someone went out of the restroom, leaving only the two of them and the crashing sound of water flowing in the bathroom.

After washing her hands, Qin Shu turned around and walked out.

“Don’t you have anything to say to me?” Qi Mingya finally asked impatiently.

Qin Shu stopped and didn’t even turn her head. She asked indifferently, “What should I say? I don’t remember having any other personal interactions with you, sister Mingya.”

Qi Mingya came up to Qin Shu as she put on an elegant smile on her face that was wearing a delicate makeup. “Since you still take me as your sister Mingya, I’ll just remind you kindly that you shouldn’t go too far on something. Giving others a slim chance of survival will possibly earn yourself an extra way out in the future.”

“Oh?” Qin Shu smiled gently. “I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

“Mingran is my younger brother, don’t you know that?” Qi Mingya didn’t change her smile, but her gaze was fixed on Qin Shu. “You showed your chatting records with Mingran to the public openly at the annual banquet of the Military Industry Group, isn’t it a little improper for you to do that?”

Looked like Qi Mingya was here to revenge on Qin Shu for her younger brother!