After returning home that night, Gu Yanqing didn’t bother explaining much to Madam Gu.

After all, whom he liked or disliked was his own business, and Madam Gu couldn’t influence that.

However, Madam Gu couldn’t shake the feeling that the girl seemed familiar, like someone she had seen before.

Several days later, it suddenly struck Madam Gu.

There was a maternity store incident in City X some time ago that she had glanced at because of a news alert.

One of the women holding a child in the picture looked remarkably like Gu Yanqing when he was young!

She had even asked Gu Yanqing about it before, but he had denied it.

Now, thinking back, that woman she saw yesterday… could it be the same person?

Unfortunately, she hadn’t saved the picture.

When she tried searching online later, there was no trace of the incident or any related images.

Suspecting foul play, Madam Gu calmly sent someone to investigate the woman.

They found out she had studied and worked in City X before suddenly leaving last year and moving to City C.

Beyond that, her whereabouts and activities were unknown.

Was her son keeping a mistress in luxury?

Madam Gu wondered about his intentions.

Despite her displeasure towards Qiao Wanqing, if Gu Yanqing insisted on being with her, she wouldn’t say anything.

Gu Yanqing had never mentioned any of this to his family.

He even denied it when asked last year, despite having a child now.

This series of actions by her son left Madam Gu intensely curious.

Without informing Gu Yanqing, she arranged to meet his assistant, Wang Xiao, to get to the bottom of things.

“Madam,” Wang Xiao arrived while Madam Gu was having afternoon tea. “You wanted to see me.”

Madam Gu had arranged to meet at an outdoor afternoon tea restaurant, taking advantage of the spring weather with its blue skies and green grass, where affluent ladies could sit for hours.

“Please, have a seat,” Madam Gu lifted her chin slightly, gesturing for him to sit across from her.

Wang Xiao was nervous, unsure of Madam Gu’s intentions, and hesitated to take a seat.

Madam Gu rarely involved herself in her son Gu Yanqing’s private affairs.

He was mature and had his own thoughts, and she disliked prying into his personal life unnecessarily.

If she was seeking answers now, it definitely meant something serious.

“What’s the matter,” Madam Gu raised an eyebrow at him, “afraid I’ll bite?”

“Not at all,” Wang Xiao pulled out a chair and sat down, “I’m just… pleasantly surprised.”

Madam Gu calmly sipped her tea without revealing her thoughts.

At that moment, a waiter brought a tea tray over and served Wang Xiao tea.

He took a sip and almost choked.

Damn bitter.

Under Madam Gu’s slightly amused gaze, he swallowed the tea with effort, trying to appear composed as he asked, “Madam Gu, what can I help you with?”

“Qiao Wanqing,” Madam Gu observed Wang Xiao’s reaction to the name, saying, “You know about her, right?”

Wang Xiao maintained his composure, trying not to show any cracks, and nodded.

Wang Xiao maintained his composure, trying not to show any cracks, and nodded, “Yes.”

“How long have they been together?”

“Um…” Wang Xiao had no idea they were already together, but he knew Gu Yanqing would indeed go see her.

He hesitated, saying, “Madam, Mr. Gu doesn’t like others prying into his personal life. I only know Miss Qiao Wanqing, I didn’t know they were already together.”

“Alright then,” Madam Gu didn’t press further, instead asking, “Is that child theirs?”

Wang Xiao: “I’m not sure which child you’re referring to, Madam.”

Madam Gu chuckled softly, “Have some tea.”

Wang Xiao: “…”

He knew Madam Gu’s offer of tea wasn’t a polite gesture, but a command.

He reluctantly bowed his head and took a sip.

The tea seemed to be brewed from some unknown bitter leaves, making it unbearable bitter.

The second sip was even more bitter than the first.

Wang Xiao felt tears welling up from the bitterness.

Madam Gu continued, “Alright then, if you don’t know that, let’s skip it. How about something you do know? Where is Qiao Wanqing now?”

Wang Xiao: “…”

He silently took another bitter sip of tea, forcing it down.

Being an assistant was tough these days.

“So, this one is also ‘I don’t know’?” Madam Gu asked.

Wang Xiao nodded.

But after enduring the bitterness of those two sips, he had already crafted a perfect excuse.

“I only know Mr. Gu knows this person because he instructed me to handle news from the maternity store previously. That’s how I learned about Qiao Wanqing and her child’s existence. As for their relationship with Mr. Gu, when it started, and whose child it is, I didn’t dare ask further.”

Madam Gu learned about Qiao Wanqing and Koukou through the maternity store incident, which Wang Xiao was aware of.

Initially, Gu Yanqing had instructed him to contact the website to delete the news, based on the photo Madam Gu had seen on the site.

So Wang Xiao only mentioned what he knew, and Madam Gu couldn’t do much to him.

He concealed what he knew and shared useless information with Madam Gu, making it impossible for her to press him further.

Gu Yanqing wouldn’t trouble him over this either.

“Lies,” Madam Gu said without hesitation, “Wang Xiao, don’t think I’m easy to deceive.”

“I…” Wang Xiao faced a dilemma between his boss, Gu Yanqing, and the formidable Madam Gu.

Unable to offend either side, he reluctantly drank the entire cup of tea.

The bitterness made him shiver uncontrollably, almost causing him to spit it out.

He swore never to consume anything related to bitterness again in his life.

“Madam,” he wiped his mouth with a tissue, “please spare me. Right now, I’m just like this bitter tea—burdened with bitterness I can’t express.”

“Bitterness you can’t express…” Madam Gu slowly repeated these words, then said, “Alright.”

Although Madam Gu didn’t get the information she wanted, she was certain that the child must be her own grandson.

She “generously” let Wang Xiao off.

She had intended to confront Gu Yanqing about this matter, but thinking about how her son had kept this from her for so long, she figured he probably wouldn’t tell the truth and grew even more irritated.

She decided to stop probing.

She wanted to see how long Gu Yanqing planned to keep this matter hidden.

…

Meanwhile, in the village, people persisted in trying to introduce marriage prospects to Qiao Wanqing.

Playing matchmaker was a source of amusement for them.

No matter how they tried, Qiao Wanqing remained unmoved.

She felt as detached as a nun in a monastery—completely indifferent to whoever they introduced to her.

Occasionally, she would think of Gu Yanqing.

Before, she was certain she didn’t like him, but now that Gu Yanqing no longer visited, every time she thought of those three words, her emotions became complicated.

Whenever she heard the sound of cars on the highway below her house, she couldn’t help but feel a bit hopeful.

Even she couldn’t understand what she was hoping for.

No wonder people say, “Don’t try to guess a woman’s mind. Even she can’t guess her own thoughts, so what’s the use in guessing?”

Last time she went to the vegetarian restaurant run by the Luo couple, she was surprised by the chef’s skills.

She had a strong ability herself—she could discern the ingredients used in dishes just by taste.

So when she returned, she tried to recreate each dish based on her memory of its cooking method and seasonings.

The dishes did improve slightly in taste, but the gap from her expectations was still significant.

She wondered what technique their chef used.

She had no intention to steal their skills, but she simply wanted to know what cooking methods the chef employed to make the dishes so delicious.

Despite trying several methods with the same seasonings, she saw no improvement.

After failing again to make a dish, Qiao Wanqing felt a bit frustrated, realizing there was indeed a gap between a professional chef and an amateur like her.

At that moment, Huang probably felt hungry and wandered into the kitchen looking for food.

Qiao Wanqing had grown wary of it lately—after the harsh winter, Huang had started shedding fur, leaving clumps of hair wherever it rubbed against.

Huang whimpered at her, indicating its desire to eat.

Qiao Wanqing, setting aside her usual aversion to it, lifted Huang by its armpits, ignoring the small flurry of floating fur, and said, “Oh Great Yellow God, if you really have some magic, grant me the ability to cook vegetarian dishes even tastier than meat.”

The Yellow God didn’t understand human language.

It was uncomfortable with all four limbs off the ground, its hind legs kicking frantically to get down, and its sparse fur fluffed up with its two little eggs bouncing around.

Qiao Wanqing suddenly thought of something: Spring was coming, would the Yellow God go into heat?

Qiao Wanqing didn’t know what a weasel’s mating season was like, but she had seen cats in heat.

Without a male or female cat, they would keep meowing, searching for a mate to mate with.

In these wild hills, it was definitely not the only weasel.

She dreaded the idea of having a family of weasels coming to her house for food and drink by summer.

Thinking of a floor covered with weasels, Qiao Wanqing could afford to keep them, but having pets was troublesome—bathing them, vaccinating them, all that took time.

She didn’t have that much time to take care of them.

“Huang,” Qiao Wanqing said with feigned heartache, “I’ll take you to town in a couple of days for a neutering surgery. Even if you can’t do it anymore, I’ll still take good care of you.”

Unfortunately, the Yellow God didn’t understand human speech.

If it knew it was giving up its eggs just for some food, it would surely regret coming into the kitchen.

But Qiao Wanqing didn’t have time to do that just yet.

She needed to go to Lingshui County, where Dongyang Village was, to pick up the necessary documents for her store.

Since the Maternity Temple was a government project and she had rented the land for so long, she sailed through the approval process with hardly any hassle and got the permit without much trouble.

She took Koukou with her.

At home, she had asked her second uncle and aunt to help water the plants, and to pick vegetables for the school, the local farm-to-table restaurants, and the various eateries in town.

With the permit in hand, Qiao Wanqing and Koukou wandered around.

Although it wasn’t a big city, it was still a bustling county town.

After getting the permit, it was still early, so she took Koukou for a stroll.

“Can you ride on a rocking horse?” Qiao Wanqing noticed a rocking horse at the entrance of the supermarket and lifted him onto it.

Koukou was already sitting steadily.

Seeing that he wasn’t scared, Qiao Wanqing put a coin in, and the rocking horse immediately started to sway.

Koukou initially clung tightly to Qiao Wanqing’s sleeve, a bit scared, but after observing and realizing there was no danger, he immediately got excited, calling out “ah da ya ya,” laughing with his little eyes curved into crescents, obviously loving the rocking horse ride.

Qiao Wanqing smiled and held Koukou as he enjoyed himself immensely, twisting and turning in his seat to the rhythm of the music.

After the ride was over with just one coin, Koukou refused to leave, so Qiao Wanqing had to put another coin in.

“After this ride, no more rides, okay?”

Qiao Wanqing told Koukou.

It wasn’t that she was stingy and didn’t want to spend money; although Koukou was still young, she couldn’t spoil him too much.

Everything needed moderation, or it would be easy to foster a character that always demanded more.

“Ya ah!” Koukou exclaimed excitedly, swinging happily with the rocking horse.

“You little rascal.”

Qiao Wanqing sighed helplessly, wanting to pinch his little nose, but remembering her second aunt’s advice that a child’s nose shouldn’t be constantly pinched—baby’s nasal bones are delicate, and their nasal passages are rich in blood vessels, so it’s easy to accidentally damage them.

Instead, Qiao Wanqing gently rubbed his cheek with the back of her hand.

Just then, Qiao Wanqing’s phone rang.

She held Koukou with one hand and took out her phone with the other.

It was a call from her second aunt.

Qiao Wanqing answered, but before she could speak, she heard her second aunt’s urgent voice, “Qingqing, your second uncle has had an accident!”