The position of a steward is inherently higher than that of a driver, so there’s no comparison.

It’s natural for the employer to treat the steward better than the driver, just as a boss would value a senior executive more and treat them better than regular employees.

But this Feng Qi, as he’s grown older and less sharp, feels that despite serving the Gu family for his whole life and having the highest seniority, he’s still not as valued as someone who’s only been here for seven or eight years.

It’s just a momentary feeling of unfairness.

However, as long as her son doesn’t become an antagonist, there shouldn’t be anyone trying to influence him.

So, all those assumptions about what might happen next wouldn’t exist.

But would it be possible that even without her son, there could still be other antagonists trying to influence their family’s driver number two or three?

Qiao Wanqing facepalmed. “This is such a tricky situation.”

“What are you thinking about?” Gu Yanqing asked while holding Kou Kou, noticing Qiao Wanqing lost in thought.

He held Kou Kou, who was sleeping, not as skillfully as Feng Qi did.

Kou Kou squirmed unhappily in his arms several times, showing signs of waking up.

Gu Yanqing quickly adjusted his posture, laying Kou Kou flat and keeping his feet still.

Kou Kou grumbled once but soon settled down again.

Such a little emperor.

“Nothing,” Qiao Wanqing snapped out of her contemplation.

She almost amused herself with her own thoughts.

Unless Gu Yanqing stops riding in cars altogether, the risk will always be there.

“Oh, by the way,” Qiao Wanqing suddenly remembered something. “Don’t let Madam Gu know about Kou Kou’s existence. I’m worried she might investigate me after what happened.”

Miss Tan probably won’t say anything for her own position’s sake, but she’s afraid Madam Gu might investigate on her own.

Gu Yanqing nodded in understanding.

Thinking back to their melodramatic encounter earlier, Qiao Wanqing sighed and joked, “Do you think Madam Gu will find me tomorrow and offer me a million to leave her son?”

Gu Yanqing chuckled at her words. “You have quite the imagination.”

“Well, that’s how it goes in TV dramas.”

“Yeah, but nowadays, a million won’t send anyone away. It would have to be ten million.”

Qiao Wanqing was left speechless.

She suddenly felt sorry for the original host being sent away with just two hundred thousand.

At the hotel entrance, Qiao Wanqing knew Gu Yanqing still had to deal with matters concerning Madam Gu and Miss Tan, so she didn’t want to delay him.

She picked up her bag, took Kou Kou in her arms, and said, “I left some dried fruits and vegetables in your car for Yuanyuan. Thanks for today.”

Gu Yanqing didn’t say much, just let her go back.

But Qiao Wanqing had just put Kou Kou to bed and taken off her painful high heels.

She had removed her slightly smudged makeup when she received a call from Gu Yanqing asking her to come downstairs.

Qiao Wanqing didn’t know what Gu Yanqing was up to, so she went down in slippers without makeup.

Gu Yanqing was standing under the trees at the hotel entrance’s green area.

Qiao Wanqing walked over. “Is there something else, Mr. Gu?”

Gu Yanqing glanced at her.

Even without makeup, Qiao Wanqing wasn’t as stunning as with makeup, but in Gu Yanqing’s eyes, she was still beautiful—less glamorous but more innocent.

“This is for you,” Gu Yanqing handed her a bag. “It’s ointment for frostbite and hand cream.”

Qiao Wanqing hesitated.

How thoughtful of him…

Instinctively, she was about to refuse, but Gu Yanqing seemed to anticipate it and said politely, “Take it as a thank-you for the dried fruits and vegetables you gave to Kou Kou.”

With things having reached this point, it would be impolite for Qiao Wanqing not to accept.

“Then… can I go upstairs now?” Qiao Wanqing pointed to the door.

Gu Yanqing nodded.

But just as Qiao Wanqing turned to leave, Gu Yanqing suddenly stopped her. “Qiao Wanqing, how about we give it a try?”

“????” Qiao Wanqing was bewildered, wondering if she misheard. “Give it a try… what?”

“Give dating a try.”

“What are you joking about? This isn’t funny at all.”

Gu Yanqing didn’t say anything, just raised an eyebrow and looked at her with an expression that implied sincerity.

Qiao Wanqing was stunned.

Damn, he’s serious.

And with such a straightforward proposal, Qiao Wanqing was momentarily frozen in place.

She could actually vaguely sense that Gu Yanqing’s attitude and perception towards her had been changing, but she never thought it would turn into… love?

Well, maybe it wasn’t entirely unexpected.

Gu Yanqing’s attitude towards her was too obvious.

Today with the Luo couple, it was clear they didn’t need to schedule for the evening, but Gu Yanqing insisted on meeting at night, obviously to have her stay overnight.

But one could still argue he just wanted an excuse to bring her over.

However, the fake couple incident was too obvious a sign of his intentions.

It’s just that Qiao Wanqing always felt like an ordinary woman, without any outstanding features or attractions other than her good looks.

Nothing special.

And around Gu Yanqing, beautiful women were the least scarce.

Also influenced by the original book, where Gu Yanqing’s attitude towards Qiao Wanqing could only be described as terrible, which was putting it lightly; he found her disgusting.

So, every time she thought about it, Qiao Wanqing felt like she was deluding herself.

Thinking up to this point, Qiao Wanqing awkwardly laughed, “The moon looks really nice tonight.”

Gu Yanqing: “…”

“Wanqing.” Gu Yanqing called her name, dropping even the surname, speaking in a low voice, “I’m serious.”

Qiao Wanqing saw that she couldn’t brush this off with a laugh, stopped smiling, and said, “I’m serious too, Mr. Gu. We’re not compatible.”

“Where are we not compatible?” Gu Yanqing wasn’t fooled by her attempts to evade.

“Leaving aside whether we’re a match in terms of background, just this place alone—I’m definitely not leaving here in the next five years unless something drastic happens. You have your career, and you can’t just give it up for me. So, we’d be in a long-distance relationship, which is painful, right?”

Qiao Wanqing didn’t give Gu Yanqing a chance to speak, continuing, “Most importantly, I don’t like you either. So, there’s no point in trying, right? Mr. Gu, you wouldn’t force yourself to try with a lady, would you?”

“Mm,” Gu Yanqing nodded, “Your reasoning is sound and convincing.”

Before Qiao Wanqing could catch her breath, Gu Yanqing added, “So, Miss Qiao’s point is that I can pursue Miss Qiao.”

“…” It seemed that was indeed the case.

Qiao Wanqing was truly amazed by Gu Yanqing.

With his qualities, he could have any woman he wanted, yet he chose to hit a wall with her.

Did her personal charm really hold such sway?

“Mr. Gu, please don’t waste your energy on me. It’s impossible for us to be together,” Qiao Wanqing earnestly pleaded, “We can remain friends like this, and if you want to visit Koukou, I won’t refuse you. I’ll even entertain you, keeping up appearances. Isn’t that nice? But if you pursue me, I might have to shut you out completely just to avoid complications.”

Gu Yanqing: “…”

Gu Yanqing hadn’t expected her rejection to be so thorough.

It was the first time Gu, the young man who wanted to be genuinely with someone, had been so completely rejected: “Not even a chance?”

“Hmm.”

“Alright.” Gu Yanqing said simply, “Go upstairs, get some rest. You have a journey tomorrow.”

Gu Yanqing didn’t linger or press further; he left.

Qiao Wanqing breathed a sigh of relief.

It had been a thrilling night.

She really didn’t like Gu Yanqing, despite his charm and dominance—qualities that might make him a perfect man in others’ eyes, but not in hers.

Moreover, if she ever did get involved with Gu Yanqing, she couldn’t accept Yuanyuan trying to be his son and competing with her son, turning into the storyline of brothers turning against each other, with her son becoming the villain.

But Gu Yanqing clearly loved Yuanyuan a lot.

When his parents divorced later, he definitely wouldn’t leave him.

When there’s a difference of opinion later, others will be able to see the big differences in their roles.

Qiao Wanqing didn’t dwell on the matter with Gu Yanqing.

She had plenty of other things to consider, and she let go of anything she could afford to let go.

As the weather gradually warmed up, the rough work at the vegetarian restaurant was completed.

Qiao Wanqing began coordinating with a decoration company to start the interior design.

The houses here were all uniformly styled with red brick exteriors and white tiled facades.

They typically had three floors with two windows per floor, giving them a distinctive appearance.

If Qiao Wanqing hired the local decoration team, they probably wouldn’t bring any new ideas; it would likely end up looking just average.

Honestly, quite ugly.

So, after some thought, Qiao Wanqing decided to bring in a decoration team from Lingshui County, even though it was more expensive, at least it wouldn’t look so outdated.

Koukou grew fast.

By the time he was nearly 10 months old, he could hold someone’s hands and walk a bit, understanding how to take steps.

Sometimes, in a good mood, he would take several steps while being praised.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t quite mastered the art of walking yet.

Often, he would vigorously move his feet forward, but his body didn’t follow, which was both silly and cute.

“M-mom.” Once again, he took a step forward with his feet, while his body remained behind, ending up in a backward pose, smiling foolishly at Qiao Wanqing, and calling out “mom” without a sense of urgency.

He didn’t grasp what “mom” meant.

Still, Qiao Wanqing patiently taught him.

Whenever he said “mom,” she would be happy to see him and often talk about these two syllables.

Qiao Wanqing laughed and kissed his chin.

Suddenly, Koukou lifted his head, causing Qiao Wanqing to move aside.

Koukou’s forehead collided with her chin.

Qiao Wanqing winced in pain, quickly rubbing Koko’s forehead. “Sweetie, did that hurt?”

Clearly in pain, Koukou pouted for a moment, then burst into tears when Qiao Wanqing held him close.

“Poor baby, it’s okay, it’s okay,” Qiao Wanqing said tenderly, kissing and comforting him, but Koukou cried even louder, not buying it.

A bump appeared on his forehead.

“What should we do? It’s such a big bump,” Qiao Wanqing looked at the bump on his forehead, unsure what to do.

She asked Grandma Qiao, “Would a band-aid help?”

But it seemed like a band-aid wasn’t suitable for this.

Grandma Qiao suggested, “How about rubbing some lard on it? It won’t hurt then.”

Rubbing lard? What kind of remedy was this?

Setting aside whether it would work, it would definitely make a mess.

Qiao Wanqing chuckled helplessly, “Forget it, it should go away soon. It’ll be fine, right?”

Kids bumping into things was quite normal.

As Qiao Wanqing held Koko, he was initially soothed after hurting himself, but when he saw his mom talking to Grandma Qiao instead of comforting him, he became increasingly upset and cried more intensely, eventually unable to stop.

He cried while calling out “baba,” seeming to feel wronged and seeking his father, behaving like a child who felt wronged by his mother.

Qiao Wanqing: “…”