Gu Yanqing didn’t show mercy to those people.

They could see he wasn’t joking around, so everyone nervously spoke their minds, whether good or bad.

At that moment, they could only blame themselves for not having a powerful husband to back them up.

If they hadn’t spoken out, Gu Yanqing might not have even noticed them, let alone caused trouble.

In the end, everyone spoke quickly and hoped this powerful figure would leave soon.

Fortunately, Gu Yanqing was only supporting Qiao Wanqing and didn’t mean any harm.

Once everyone had their turn to speak, they all returned to their seats, relieved.

Seeing Gu Yanqing’s attitude, it was clear that Qiao Wanqing’s position as a wealthy lady was secure.

Things like being pregnant before marriage or coming from a low background didn’t matter anymore.

She was a Cinderella making a comeback, and no amount of gossip could change that—only risked bringing trouble upon themselves.

Gu Yanqing’s response was still mild; if he held a grudge, he could easily sabotage their family business.

With the Gu family’s influence, it would be as easy as squashing an ant.

Once they left the banquet and got into their car, Qiao Wanqing finally had the chance to laugh.

She nudged Gu Yanqing and said, “Your approach really relies on timing and teamwork. How did you make them bring their kids?”

Gu Yanqing explained the red envelope situation to her.

After hearing this, Qiao Wanqing pulled out the red envelope they had received for Kouko.

She opened it and was surprised to find a thick stack of money—definitely in the thousands, probably more.

“Wow, that’s a lot!” Qiao Wanqing put the red envelope back in her bag, feeling a bit worried about the money.

They might not care about the amount, but giving it to those people didn’t feel good. “It’s such a big expense for Auntie and the others.”

“Don’t worry, they were planning to give that red envelope anyway. And don’t use Kouko as a reference; it’s his first time visiting, so of course, the envelope is thick. For them, I estimate it’s just a few hundred each, probably just to hit a lucky number, like Kouko’s birthday or his first month.”

Hearing this made Qiao Wanqing feel reassured.

She remembered they were wealthy, so they wouldn’t mind this amount.

Plus, it was common in many places to give red envelopes for good luck, especially to children or for longevity.

“So, you did that with the egg on purpose, right?”

Gu Yanqing nodded. “Was it fun?”

Gu Yanqing wrapped his arm around her and leaned on his shoulder.

After a moment, she kissed him on the cheek and said, “Dad Gu is awesome.”

Kouko, who had been dozing off, immediately opened his eyes and leaned closer, making “mm-mm” sounds to ask for a kiss.

Qiao Wanqing happily kissed his cheek.

Gu Yanqing poked Kouko’s little face. “Little rascal, you’re already trying to win favor at such a young age, huh?”

Kouko just grinned happily.

Yesterday, Gu Yanqing suggested she try farming, and after thinking about it, she decided to give it a shot.

So, she contacted them to ask if she could still sign up.

The other party was enthusiastic and positive, saying it was completely fine to join.

All she had to do was add them on WeChat or QQ, and they would send a Word registration form.

Once she filled it out and sent it back, her registration would be complete.

“However, Miss Qiao,” they continued, “this training is free, but it takes place in City C, so you’ll need to cover your own travel and accommodation costs. If you decide to participate, there will be travel expenses when you get to the training site, and we will arrange meals and lodging for you. We just wanted to mention this upfront.”

No wonder they were recruiting people everywhere; the costs were a big factor.

Looking at the training schedule, Qiao Wanqing saw it was divided into cycles, each lasting about two weeks.

Even if staying in a budget hotel, it would cost at least one or two hundred a night, plus meals.

If they ate at the hotel, splitting the cost could easily add up to over a hundred a day, even for the lowest meal standard.

Whether e-commerce entrepreneurship would succeed was uncertain, but spending several thousand like this was a significant amount for someone from the countryside.

Losing that money would be a huge blow.

Most importantly, how could she know if this training was genuinely beneficial or just a show for appearances?

Many companies hype themselves during bidding to get government funding, claiming their services are fantastic for the public, but when it comes to execution, they often fall flat.

Some instructors might not know much at all, just throwing together a PowerPoint and talking for two hours, with barely five minutes of useful content.

“Miss Qiao, please don’t worry,” they noticed she hadn’t replied and thought she was scared off by the costs.

“This event is a collaboration between the government, schools, and e-commerce companies. You can check it out; there are news reports on it, and it’s reputable. As long as you participate in the training, you will definitely see results and won’t be taken advantage of.”

“Can I not stay overnight? My boyfriend has a house in City C, so I’ll stay with him.”

It wasn’t that she was worried about the money; it was just impossible for her to stay in a hotel with Kouko at night.

If she stayed with Gu Yanqing, she could ask Grandma Qiao or someone else to help watch Kouko while she attended class during the day, and then spend time with Kouko in the morning and evening.

But staying in a hotel wouldn’t work.

Even though balancing career and family is tough, she couldn’t give up her family for an uncertain career opportunity.

Her original plan was to learn while also spending some time in City C with Kouko, to broaden their horizons and help him socialize with other kids.

Kouko was too shy, and that wasn’t good for him.

“Well…” The other person hesitated for a moment and said, “I’m afraid that won’t be possible. We need to manage everyone uniformly, and sometimes there are evening meetings or casual gatherings to share learning experiences, so it might not work out.”

“Oh, okay,” Qiao Wanqing replied, a bit disappointed. “I have a one-year-old child, so it’s not possible. Thank you for your help, and sorry for the trouble.”

“Wait, Miss Qiao,” the person quickly responded upon hearing this. “Your situation is special. Let me discuss it with the leadership and see if we can make an exception for you.”

“…Really? That was fast. Please ask.”

Less than an hour later, they called back to say they had consulted with the leaders.

Because of her special situation, she wouldn’t need to stay in uniform accommodations, but she was still expected to attend any meetings if possible.

Qiao Wanqing agreed.

So, the plan for the farming training was set.

Qiao Wanqing and her family stayed at the Gu family’s place for five days and even met Tang Yueyue, who was also in X City.

Tang Yueyue already knew they were together and playfully teased Qiao Wanqing, complaining about being a single dog with no one to date.

She was busy lately and couldn’t get away, but promised that after July, she would come to pray to the matchmaking deity and visit Qiao Wanqing’s restaurant to help her find a partner!

On the day they were leaving for City C, Gu Jingzhi and Madam Gu both stuffed red envelopes for Qiao Wanqing and Koko and prepared a bunch of things for them to take home, including gifts for Grandma Qiao and their neighbors.

According to Madam Gu, since they came this far, they couldn’t leave empty-handed.

Qiao Wanqing found it both funny and touching; for Madam Gu, maintaining face was very important, and losing face was not an option.

As they were getting ready to leave, Madam Gu was especially reluctant to part with Koko.

“Is Kouko going to miss Grandma?” Before they left, Madam Gu hugged Kouko and kissed his little face several times.

“Will! Miss… Miss Grandma!”

“Then you have to come back to visit Grandma often, okay?”

“Okay!” Kouko nodded obediently.

“Mom, we’ll miss our flight if we don’t go soon,” Gu Yanqing said.

Madam Gu’s warm expression immediately changed when she looked at her son, and she said crossly, “When are you going to move your business back to X City? Don’t you feel guilty making us old folks not see our grandson?”

“…”

The Gu family’s business in X City was their old family industry.

Gu Jingzhi wasn’t at retirement age yet, and Gu Yanqing was ambitious, so he started his own business in City C.

After two to three years of development, the business there was stable enough for him to step back, but he still had meetings, events, and documents that required his personal attention.

It was easy for him to drive to City C in under three hours from Qiao Wanqing’s side, but from home in X City, he could only fly.

Madam Gu couldn’t expect him to move back and deal with all that hassle, so she could only ask him to relocate his business.

Before Kouko was born, she didn’t feel much when he went to develop his career in other provinces.

But now that she had a grandson, seeing her son every day was much more pleasant, and having Kouko around made her look at her son more favorably too.

Gu Jingzhi helplessly said, “His business has development resources in City C. Moving it back to X City would be a disaster. Let’s just let them leave; we can visit them later.”

“I was just saying! Why do you take it so seriously?” Madam Gu shot him a glare.

“…Are you sure you were just saying?”

Since everything at home was fine and Kouko loved Gu Yanqing’s house in City C, the three of them decided to stay a few more days.

That night, after putting Kouko to bed, Qiao Wanqing realized Gu Yanqing hadn’t come back yet.

He had a social event and would be late.

After taking a shower and drying her hair, it was already 10:30, and she was considering whether to call him when her phone rang—Gu Yanqing was calling.

Worried about waking Kouko, she stepped out onto the balcony to answer.

From her balcony, she could see a street filled with tall buildings, brightly lit and bustling with cars, with a cool breeze blowing, making it a pleasant atmosphere.

Leaning against the railing, she answered the phone, “What’s up?”

“Qing,” Gu Yanqing said lazily, “I’m drunk.”

“…Should I send the driver to pick you up?”

Gu Yanqing slurred, “You come.”

“Uh, I haven’t driven in a long time. I can’t.”

She had a driver’s license in reality, and the original owner did too, but since they were both part of a carless lifestyle, driving was a thing of the past.

Besides being forced by her dad to drive to the market a couple of times, Qiao Wanqing had never actually driven on the road.

She had already forgotten most of what she knew, and without anyone to guide her, she definitely wouldn’t dare to drive.

“Let the driver drive. Come on!” Saying this, she hung up the phone without caring whether Qiao Wanqing agreed or not.

Qiao Wanqing: “…”

So domineering.

She had thought about asking the family driver, Feng Qi, to pick him up, but remembering how Gu Yanqing reacted when she was drunk last time—like a big child—she worried that if she didn’t go, he might throw a tantrum.

After thinking it over, Qiao Wanqing changed her clothes and had Feng Qi wait downstairs.

She also asked the butler, who was still awake, to keep an eye on Koko, promising she would be back soon.

The butler hesitated and said, “Miss Qiao, I can look after Kouko, but I’m afraid it won’t be convenient for me to enter your room. Mr. Gu wouldn’t be happy about that.”

“… Really? This Gu Yanqing is a jealous type, isn’t he? It’s fine, Kouko usually doesn’t wake up. He sleeps through the night.”

The butler awkwardly replied, “I’m just worried that if he does wake up, you might as well put him in Mr. Gu’s bed.”

Although Qiao Wanqing thought the butler was overreacting, she understood his concerns.

After all, who knows what could happen? She had to carry Kouko to put him in Gu Yanqing’s bed.

Kouko, half-awake from being carried, mumbled something softly.

But as soon as he touched the soft bed that smelled like his dad, he rubbed his head against the pillow and smacked his lips a bit before falling back into a deep sleep.

Qiao Wanqing took her phone and went downstairs, getting into the car.

She suddenly realized she didn’t know where Gu Yanqing was.

Just as she was about to call, Feng Qi said he knew because Mr. Gu had told him.

Qiao Wanqing: “…”

Actually, Gu Yanqing was just using this as an excuse to have her pick him up.

She couldn’t help but smile at this domineering CEO; sometimes he had a childish side.

The club where they were having dinner wasn’t far from home, and it was midnight, so the traffic was smooth.

They arrived in about 20 minutes.

As she went to help him, she noticed most of his business partners were also drunk, boasting loudly.

When she called out, they teased her as Mrs. Gu, making her a bit shy, so she quickly helped Gu Yanqing leave.

Gu Yanqing was a little unsteady on his feet, but luckily he wasn’t causing a scene.

On the way back, he insisted on resting his head on Qiao Wanqing’s lap.

It was hot today, and after taking a shower, she was in shorts and a T-shirt, with half her thighs exposed.

When his head rested there, she felt overwhelmed.

His short, coarse hair scratched against her legs, making her feel ticklish and annoyed.

She was about to go crazy.

Without a boyfriend, she had no idea how sensitive she could be, and this drunk didn’t know the trouble he was causing, moving around like a little troublemaker.

“Stop moving!” Qiao Wanqing finally couldn’t hold back and spoke up.

“I’m dizzy,” he said lazily, lying back and covering his eyes with his hand.

He was wearing a black shirt, and just then he had unbuttoned a couple of buttons, exposing a lot of his chest.

Qiao Wanqing quickly covered her eyes, realizing she was a bit mesmerized.

“You can’t drink so much if you can’t handle it.”

Gu Yanqing sighed deeply, “I had no choice. I need to make money to support my wife and buy milk powder for the baby.”

“…” Seeing him like this made Qiao Wanqing feel a bit heartbroken.

Everyone’s money doesn’t come easily, and even though Gu Yanqing earned more and had a higher status, he couldn’t just avoid socializing.

She couldn’t help but rub his head. “Don’t tire yourself out too much.”

Gu Yanqing mumbled a soft “hmm,” and blinded by love, Qiao Wanqing didn’t notice the smug smile on his face.

Author’s note: I know you want to see Koko; I’ll bring him out in the next chapter! Also, this story isn’t ending anytime soon—Koko still doesn’t have a little brother or sister, and the heroine hasn’t reached her peak or married a wealthy handsome guy yet!