Shu Li was not very tall, and when Qi Youxuan stood on top of the chair, he was roughly the same height as her.
His fleshy fingers swiped across the screen a couple of times before he placed the phone to his ear.
…
…
Song Yu was at the construction site during that very moment. She was holding her design plan and engaging in discussions with the foreman. All of a sudden, her phone rang, and when she took it out, she was surprised to see Qi Youxuan’s name on the screen.
Puzzled, she went to one side and picked up the call. “Youxuan? Is there something wrong?”
“Auntie, stay on the line. Some lady who likes Uncle wants to talk with you.” The line fell silent after he said that.
Song Yu blinked her eyes incredulously. It took her a while to come back to her senses.
She had no idea how to respond after hearing such an unexpected statement from him.
‘What does he mean by ‘some lady who likes Uncle wants to talk to me’?’
‘Was it Yu Keyao?’
‘Or was it some other woman from God-knows-where? And why must Qi Youxuan become the messenger?’
Shu Li was equally shocked, and before she could even process what was happening, Qi Youxuan shoved the phone close to her ear.
“Here lady, you can talk with my auntie and see that my phone’s not a toy one.” Qi Youxuan sported a huge smile and let go of his hands.
Shu Li was mortified and worried that the phone might fall to its demise on the ground. If that fatty put all the blame on her and bawled, it was inevitable that she would be painted as the bad guy.
She grabbed the phone immediately and heard a soft voice on the other end. “Youxuan? Youxuan, are you still there?”
Shu Li felt so awkward and did not know whether to answer or give the phone back to the boy. If she were to hand it back to Qi Youxuan, it would seem far too rude and much too undignified—it would make her look exactly like someone who was guilty and feared the wrath of the seducee’s true partner.
She looked at Qi Chengzhi, but the man’s back was facing her and he seemed to be concentrating on the makeup artist applying makeup on the old lady.
She was not buying his apparent ignorance of what happened, but there was no indication that he was going to help her out of her predicament.
Shu Li straightened her back and felt no need to tone her character down when dealing with whoever was on the line.
After all, his girlfriend was no more than an ordinary woman who might know who Shu Li was. Better still, the woman might even be a fan of Shu Li’s. If that were the case, then the woman might feel honored to have had the pleasure of speaking with Shu Li.
It was perfect timing for the woman to see the disparity between their status, which in turn would imbue a sense of inferiority in the mind.
Perhaps that could spark a misunderstanding between Qi Chengzhi and the woman. She might argue and get into a fight with Qi Chengzhi, making him unhappy and speeding up the breakdown in their relationship.
Shu Li stood confidently and smiled slightly, allowing her dimples to make a brief appearance.
“Hello, I’m Shu Li,” she introduced herself with confidence.
Song Yu went blank for a moment. “Shu Li?”
The name rang a bell, and with further thought, Song Yu realized that she had the same name as the actress who stood on the platform during the officiating ceremony for Qilin’s hotel project.
Song Yu had no doubts that the person she was speaking to was the same as the actress from the dinner.
The only question that remained was why the actress was with Qi Youxuan.
“Miss Shu, hi,” Song Yu responded plainly. “Is something the matter?”
It was Shu Li’s turn to feel perplexed. The person on the other end of the line sounded so inanimate instead of being taken aback.
Shu Li smiled. ‘No wonder she got the old lady’s blessing.’
A woman who could nail Qi Chengzhi down would surely be someone who was not to be messed with.
“I’m sorry, Youxuan misunderstood.” Shu Li put on a smile. “I’m going to be acting with his grandmother in a movie. Young Master Cheng and Youxuan are both here. I’m guessing this little boy is a bit sensitive, that’s why he misunderstood.”
“Oh, I see. So, Qi Chengzhi is beside you somewhere, isn’t he? Can you put him on the phone?” Song Yu requested.
Song Yu was never skeptical of Qi Youxuan’s IQ. Anyone who wrote him off because of his age would end up regretting it.
Qi Youxuan’s phone call indicated clearly to Song Yu that the celebrity actress was eyeing up Qi Chengzhi.
Song Yu still remembered how Shu Li was brazenly flirting with Qi Chengzhi on the night of the officiating ceremony.
It surprised Shu Li that Song Yu simply dismissed her like that. Under normal circumstances, the other party would definitely have plenty of questions.
Many of Shu Li’s friends got involved with other people’s relationships, and the conversations between the third party and actual partner usually started with plenty of questions thrown at the third party.
Song Yu, however, was different from the rest. Shu Li had an entire conversation ready in her head but was not even given an opportunity to say a single word.
Nevertheless, Shu Li did not consider it a failure. At the very least, seeds of mistrust would have been sown in her rival’s mind even though her rival did not say anything to her. There must be some level of suspicion present, for the other party would not have asked to talk with Qi Chengzhi after barely a few sentences.
A polite and courteous expression graced Shu Li’s face as she nodded. “Sure.”
The phone was then handed over to Qi Chengzhi, and when he took it, his stern facial expression became gentle. He spoke with extreme tenderness, “What is it?”
Shu Li was so startled that she simply gawked at him. It was then that she realized how the girlfriend had dismissed her so effortlessly without even a simple introduction.
Jealousy began manifesting in Shu Li at the mere thought of their intimacy; the expression on his face was an affectionate one, and his girlfriend even called him by name.
Qi Chengzhi placed one hand into his pants pocket while the other held the Totoro-shaped phone. It should have been a ridiculous spectacle to see his elegant fingers grasping the childish phone, but his magnificent and elegant mannerisms were compelling enough to make one ignore the odd-looking mismatch.
“I’m at the construction site. I’ll be done in about an hour. Just ask Chang Lai to pick me up here, so I don’t need to go back to the company again,” Song Yu suggested. She did not ask about Shu Li because she could not care less about that actress.
If Qi Chengzhi wanted to be with a female celebrity, he would have found one long ago. Shu Li’s turn would never arrive since many other female stars would come in waves just to get to him.
Why would he suddenly want a female star as his companion if he never sought one out from the beginning?
“Alright. Did you go there alone?” The incident involving those workers was still fresh in Qi Chengzhi’s mind.
“I didn’t. I remember what you told me, so I brought some of my male colleagues from the engineering department.” Song Yu held down her wind-blown hair and noticed that the workers, as well as her colleagues, had all stopped discussing because they were waiting for her.
“We’ll talk later. I need to get back to work.” Song Yu was quite pleased when she left him with a final message, “Help me say thank you to Youxuan.”
She hung up immediately, leaving no time for Qi Chengzhi to respond.
He lowered his gaze and chuckled softly to himself while looking at the phone.
Shu Li’s heart sank when she realized that the situation was not as advantageous to her as it originally seemed.
Qi Chengzhi really seemed to like that woman. His tenderness toward her was something that no one else had ever seen.
When Qi Chengzhi finally looked up, his face resumed its usual sternness. He passed the phone back to Qi Youxuan, and even toward his nephew, there was no sign of that gentleness and warmth.
If he was already so affectionate despite being separated by two phones, how much more affectionate would he be if he were to be with his girlfriend in person?
“Your auntie says thank you.” Qi Chengzhi returned the phone and helped Qi Youxuan down from the chair.
“She should.” Qi Youxuan stood straight and thumped his fist on his chest. “I side with my auntie.”
He even shot Shu Li a glance after finishing his sentence. Shu Li wished that she could just kick the boy out.
Qi Chengzhi said his goodbyes to his grandmother, intending to take his leave for the moment. The old lady was happy, of course, since she could not stand the sight of Shu Li putting on an act just to try and tempt Qi Chengzhi.
Similarly, Qi Youxuan did not want to hang around anymore as he felt that it was pointless to watch the filming. He decided to follow Qi Chengzhi.
Shu Li gnashed her teeth and had one goal in mind—to utilize an opportunity that would soon to be given to her.
The old lady’s attitude toward her was not too favorable, and it was obvious that she could not set her plan in motion by currying favor with the old lady.
She mustered up the courage and ran up to him. “Young Master Cheng!”
Qi Chengzhi halted his footsteps and looked at her insipidly.
Shu Li handed him a piece of paper with her number on it. In a moment of desperation, she had written it down using an eyebrow pencil that was lying on the makeup counter.
“This is my phone number.” Shu Li and her pink-tinted fair cheeks looked at Qi Chengzhi. Her appearance was like the purest of maidens and—likely due to anxiousness and shyness—was biting her lip. There was also a slight pitiful look that would touch the soft spot of most men and capture their hearts.
“If there’s anything at all, you can find me at any time,” Shu Li remarked. Her slight smile allowed her dimples to disappear as quickly as they appeared. “No matter what it is, I think I’ll be able to help you in one way or another.”
Qi Chengzhi looked at the delicate fingers that held the piece of paper. They were well taken care of, and the fingernails even had red nail polish painted on them with the utmost perfection. Neither a blemish nor a wrinkle was present.
Song Yu’s was different—her nails were always short and without any nail polish, making for a very clean look.
“I’m sorry, my fiancée doesn’t allow me to accept phone numbers from other women.” Qi Chengzhi’s voice was indifferent. He gave her a simple nod and left, caring not that Shu Li was standing motionlessly with her hand still holding out the piece of paper.
Qi Youxuan looked up at the embarrassedly red-faced Shu Li and shook his little head exaggeratedly. He shrugged her off with his upturned palms and turned his back on her, leaving her with the sight of his jiggling bottom as he ran to catch up with Qi Chengzhi.
A thousand invisible tentacles stretched out from Shu Li’s heart to grasp at Qi Chengzhi. She looked at his handsome and elegant silhouette, knowing that a man with his magnificence was not someone she could forget easily.
“Madam, please don’t laugh, just relax.” The old lady was grinning from ear to ear, causing her face to bunch up at her eyes. Brother Jin implored to her because he simply could not work with her if she continued smiling.
Eventually, the old lady gathered herself together, but she still could not help but curl her lips up somewhat. Qi Chengzhi’s attitude toward Shu Li made her overjoyed!
…
…
After completing discussions with the workers, Song Yu put away the design plan and began walking with her male colleagues.
When they were reaching the side of the road, Song Yu saw a black Range Rover parked behind the company’s black Buick Regal.
“I’ll leave directly. I won’t be going back to the company,” Song Yu informed her colleagues.
Just as they wanted to ask her how she was leaving the place, they saw the Range Rover and immediately understood. Without further ado, they headed to their vehicles.
While walking with them to the roadside, Song Yu found it odd that Chang Lai did not get down from the car. He would usually get down and wait for her as soon as he spotted her, even if she was still a hundred meters away.
Her mind was still filled with that exact thought when the car door swung open. It was Qi Chengzhi who stepped down from the car—his exquisite looking fingers were placed on the inner side of the door and he sported a pair of sunglasses, looking at her direction.
The eyewear enhanced his stern look even more.
He was clothed in a V-neck sweater with blue and white stripes, but his trousers were not seen because the car door blocked them from view.
Full-body casual lent him a look that was different from his usual business suits.
“Young Master Cheng!” One of her colleagues became incredibly flustered and blurted out excitedly.
To meet Qi Chengzhi there was like meeting him in his personal capacity, and his little secret with Song Yu became all the more exhilarating.
It did not occur to Song Yu that Qi Chengzhi would drive over himself. Two of her colleagues turned to her and said, “Well, we’ll be going now.”
They also made sure to say a respectful goodbye to Qi Chengzhi before getting into their Buick Regal and leaving.
“Why did you drive here?” Song Yu felt touched. It was rare for him to get a day off, and yet there he was, having driven all the way there just to fetch her.
“Well, since I had nothing to do, I won’t ask Chang Lai to pick you up,” Qi Chengzhi answered bluntly and had a simple smile on his lips. His long fingers gently combed a few wayward strands of hair that were blown by the wind.
“Auntie, I think Uncle’s guilty. That’s why he’s making it up to you by coming to fetch you.” Qi Youxuan’s little round head popped up from the rear windows, frightening Song Yu.
Qi Chengzhi pulled a long face. He drove Qi Youxuan home immediately after leaving the set, but the boy questioned why Qi Chengzhi was not getting off. After finding out that he was going to pick Song Yu up, Qi Youxuan re-entered the car and wanted to tag along.
The boy reasoned that he should not let his auntie be deceived by Qi Chengzhi’s dishonest rhetoric—he wanted to recount the cold hard facts to his auntie regarding Qi Chengzhi’s ability to attract the attention of some woman celebrity.
Song Yu looked at Qi Chengzhi with teasing eyes and went to the back seat to sit with Qi Youxuan.
“What’s he guilty about?” Song Yu asked smilingly.
Qi Youxuan was busy munching on some potato chips and his fingers were fully coated with powdered flavoring. He was just about to begin his story when Qi Chengzhi sat back in the car.
The man started the car and glared at the boy.
It seemed to choke Qi Youxuan up. His little face had a greenish tone and he could no longer spit out the words he intended to say.
Qi Chengzhi mocked him. “Go on then! Why are you keeping quiet? What were you going to tell Auntie?”
The little boy’s face looked exactly like the Chinese character for ‘Jiong 1’. His chubby body was shivering when he muttered, “Auntie, Uncle is scaring me!”
He then nuzzled into Song Yu’s embrace and remained there.
“You little brat! Don’t you take advantage of your auntie!” Qi Chengzhi was thoroughly unhappy when he saw the boy nestled in Song Yu’s bosom!
The boy was being more and more unreasonable!
Qi Chengzhi stretched over to the back, wanting to pull Qi Youxuan out of Song Yu’s embrace. Song Yu, however, hugged Qi Youxuan even tighter and told him off, “Why are you scaring the boy!”
Qi Chengzhi’s displeased expression soured even more. Song Yu looked at him suspiciously, “Is it because you really are guilty?”
A firm, solid stare was shot at Song Yu, causing her hair to stand on its end. Her lips trembled slightly and her confidence diminished. “You’re not going to drive anymore?” she asked softly.
His continued staring at her briefly before letting out a teasing chuckle and driving the car away.
With a twist of his body, Qi Youxuan finally wiggled away from Song Yu’s grip. His hunger pangs returned after all that shock his uncle inflicted onto him. A couple of potato chips later, he took out Aunt Liu’s freshly pressed fruit juice and gulped down a few mouthfuls.
“What was it you wanted to tell me?” Song Yu rubbed his soft hair. She enjoyed being with the smart little boy that he was.
Like an adult who had finished a glass of beer, he ahh-ed in delight and retold the entire sequence of events that happened at the set.
“Auntie, you have to keep your eye on Uncle. He’s very capable of seducing countless women.” Qi Youxuan took out another potato chip from the bag and ate it in one go.
Qi Chengzhi shot his nephew a look. Such a small boy he was, and yet he already knew how to use the words ‘seducing countless women’.
Everything was retold down to the very last detail, including at the very end when Qi Chengzhi rejected Shu Li’s number. Song Yu did not expect Qi Chengzhi to do that, with Song Yu as his excuse.
She did not mind it at all, but there was still some concern that his image would be tarnished if it gave people the wrong idea that he was a henpecked partner.
His actions meanwhile, elicited a warm smile from Song Yu, and she could not resist taking a peek at the back of her man’s head.
Song Yu patted Qi Youxuan’s soft hair, which was akin to the fur on a little pet. It was particularly pleasing to the touch.
Qi Youxuan’s face was slightly reddened and he felt bashful.
“Youxuan, thank you for helping Auntie chase away all those women.” Song Yu smiled and praised him warmly.
Since Qi Youxuan was already in the habit of calling her ‘auntie’, Song Yu was also brainwashed into addressing herself as so.
Hearing her profess herself in that manner, Qi Chengzhi looked at her. Though the sunglasses hid his eyes away from view, she could still make out the glimmer of happiness in his charismatic pupils.
Song Yu felt a burning sensation on her cheek. When she looked at Qi Youxuan, he too was blushing and lowering his head shyly. He looked at Song Yu for a short moment and said, “Auntie, just make sure you’ll help me next time when I’m getting married.”
“Don’t worry.” Song Yu continued patting his head. “I’ll definitely be on your side.”
“I’m relieved.” Qi Youxuan felt as though a stone-like burden had been extracted from his heart. Relaxation filled his entire body and his appetite seemed to perk up even more. He mumbled to him, “My future father-in-law looks like he’s hard to handle. But with you, my future mother-in-law will be persuaded easily, and then my future father-in-law won’t be a problem anymore.”
“…” Song Yu looked at him and wondered. ‘Did he really find his future wife already? He even seems to know who his future in-laws are.’
Song Yu did not take it too seriously of course. Qi Youxuan was only five-years-old, and his declaration of finding a wife should rightly be taken in jest.
In spite of that, Song Yu was curious about who his crush was.
“Who’s your future in-laws? Do I know them?” Song Yu asked, intrigued. Qi Youxuan’s mumbling suggested that they were people whom Song Yu knew well.
“It’s Wei Ziqi!” Crunching sounds were heard as the boy munched on his potato chips. “You’re on such good terms with my future mother-in-law, and my future father-in-law always listens to his wife. When the time comes, as long as my future mother-in-law says something, my future father-in-law wouldn’t go against her, right?”
Qi Youxuan addressed them as his future in-laws so fluidly and naturally.
Song Yu was speechless.
…
…
The Range Rover was parked at the entrance to the home. Qi Youxuan grabbed his bag and was the first to get out of the car. He ran into the house and shouted, “Nanny Liu, I’m hungry!”
