Gu Yanqing woke up quite early today because he had an important meeting, so he got up at 6 AM to review the materials again.

After washing up in the bathroom, he heard his phone ringing.

It was a video call on WeChat from Qiao Wanqing.

He chuckled softly and answered it.

When he saw a face with thick bangs on the screen, he was momentarily stunned before realizing that Qiao Wanqing had changed her hairstyle.

But this hairstyle… It wasn’t that his love filter wasn’t thick enough; it was that he really wanted to laugh.

It wasn’t ugly, but it really didn’t suit Qiao Wanqing.

She wasn’t the sweet and cute type.

“Hey beauty, who are you?” Gu Yanqing deliberately teased her.

Initially, Qiao Wanqing had a small hope that President Gu, with his straight male aesthetics, would like this sweet style.

However, his teasing dashed that hope, making her feel hopeless.

This skill was even worse than Master Wang at their village entrance.

“Your wife found you a mistress, do you like her, President Gu?”

Gu Yanqing: “…”

This was a deadly question.

Whether he said he liked it or not, he would get in trouble.

So he cleverly asked, “Why did you get such a hairstyle?”

“Don’t mention it,” Qiao Wanqing really wanted to complain about the director, who was as magical as Tony the hairstylist, but since she was still in the salon, it wasn’t appropriate to openly complain. “Just pretend I’ve turned into a little princess.”

Gu Yanqing stifled a laugh, “As you wish, Your Highness.”

“…” Feeling awkward for half a second, Qiao Wanqing noticed everyone around her was looking at her, so she quickly changed the subject to the main issue. “Kouko doesn’t want to cut his hair. You need to tell him you’ll buy him a spaceship, the model kind, and distract him with the video call.”

In the end, Qiao Wanqing had to promise that Gu Yanqing would buy Kouko a spaceship before he agreed to get his hair cut.

As for the spaceship, of course, Gu Yanqing would buy a spaceship model.

They couldn’t possibly get a real spaceship.

Moreover, she realized that no matter how big the house was, it would still get filled up.

Kouko was extremely pampered.

Madam Gu often bought him toys, and Gu Yanqing also bought him toys.

As a result, their house, big as it was, had toys everywhere.

Some toys were played with only a couple of times and then left unused, piled up by the nanny.

“Alright.”

Kouko’s haircut was simple.

They just needed to shave it shorter with the clipper, nothing technical or stylish to worry about.

The hairstylist picked up the clipper and turned it on.

Even through the video, Gu Yanqing could sense his son’s reluctance and said, “Baby, don’t be afraid. It will be over soon.”

“Kouko, Kouko is not afraid!” Even though he was really scared, Koko still wanted to bravely show that he wasn’t afraid.

“Yes, Koukou is the bravest boy in the world.”

Koukou, pleased by the praise, seemed a bit less nervous.

The hairstylist started cutting his hair, while Gu Yanqing chatted about random topics to distract him.

Koukou, extremely nervous, had his eyes tightly shut, his little face turning red as he murmured, “Not scared, not scared~”

Gu Yanqing found it both amusing and heart-wrenching.

Koukou, apart from being afraid of the dark, was most afraid of getting haircuts.

Otherwise, he could play outside, catching caterpillars and scaring his mom for half a day.

Everyone in the salon was amused by Koukou’s antics.

The mischievous Tang Yueyue even recorded a video, saying she would keep it for Koukou to watch in the future to remember his fear of haircuts.

After the haircut, Qiao Wanqing kept her promise and took Koukou to buy his favorite cake.

She and Tang Yueyue also planned to have a meal.

Qiao Wanqing remembered a nice restaurant Gu Yanqing had taken her to, so she decided to take Tang Yueyue there.

At the restaurant, Qiao Wanqing mentioned Gu Yanqing’s name.

Once confirmed, they were led to a private room.

The room was small but elegantly decorated, overlooking an artificial lake with a view of the night scene, making for an enjoyable dining experience.

This restaurant was famous for its seafood, so they ordered cheese-baked shrimp, oil-drizzled grouper, tomato-braised shellfish, braised sea cucumber with scallions, and seafood chowder.

The dishes were exquisite and portioned just right.

“I suddenly understand the true meaning of rising to fame through connections,” Tang Yueyue said, reverting to her true self once the polite waiter left.

Qiao Wanqing: “… Show some class!”

In the past, Qiao Wanqing had felt the same.

Gu Yanqing often took her to high-end places, and initially, she didn’t know what to say, staying quietly by his side and learning by watching.

Otherwise, it was easy to feel out of place in such settings.

“Hey, it’s okay to lose some dignity in front of you, right, Koukou?”

Koukou, confused, couldn’t follow his godmother’s thoughts.

The dishes arrived quickly.

Koukou, having eaten cake earlier, wasn’t very hungry.

Qiao Wanqing fed him some grouper and soup, then peeled a shrimp for him, but he refused to eat more.

“You stay here with your godmother. Mommy is going to the restroom,” Qiao Wanqing said, peeling another shrimp for him before heading to the restroom to wash her hands and relieve herself.

Thinking about it, she hadn’t gone to the bathroom for six hours!

“Okay,” Kouko obediently agreed.

Qiao Wanqing went to the bathroom, and after finishing, she couldn’t help but look in the mirror again.

No matter how she looked, it was hard to find words to describe it.

She had thought that the hairdresser at the high-end salon would be more reliable, and since he was the director, she chose to trust him wholeheartedly.

She was still too naive.

A heavily made-up woman was also in the bathroom, looking in the mirror.

In this weather, the woman was wearing fishnet stockings and high heels, appearing beautiful but feeling cold.

The perfume on her was very strong.

Qiao Wanqing, with her sensitive sense of smell, couldn’t stand such a scent.

Just as she was about to leave, the woman, in her high heels, “click-clacked” out in front of her.

Qiao Wanqing walked behind her.

The woman turned left out the door, while she turned right.

They were just strangers who would go their separate ways once they left the bathroom.

But when she heard the woman’s coquettish voice calling “darling,” it made her body stiffen involuntarily.

She still couldn’t appreciate this kind of tone.

Just as she was about to walk faster, she heard the “darling” waiting at the door say, “Why so slow?”

Qiao Wanqing stopped in her tracks.

That voice… how could it be?

She quickly turned around to look.

The two of them were already walking away hand in hand.

Qiao Wanqing recognized the man’s voice and his silhouette, making her freeze in place.

The first time she went to the Gu family, she had brought Yuan Yuan with her.

Yuan Yuan stayed at the Gu family’s house for a night, and his parents came to pick him up the next evening, so Qiao Wanqing had met Yuan Yuan’s parents.

Yuan Yuan’s father, Gu Yanze, probably had a distinctive smoker’s voice due to years of smoking—a deep, husky tone, much like the “bass” described in romance novels—so Qiao Wanqing remembered his voice well.

Moreover, he wasn’t very tall, less than 1.75 meters, and had a slender build, making his figure easy to remember.

The combination of his voice and stature left no doubt that it was him.

But the woman just now… was not Yuan Yuan’s mother, Chu Shishi.

Seeing their intimate behavior, Qiao Wanqing felt a wave of unease.

Was this… a dramatic twist in the plot?

At that moment, Qiao Wanqing felt a bit fortunate for her drastic hairstyle change.

As they passed by earlier, Gu Yanze glanced at her but probably didn’t recognize her due to her dramatic transformation.

“Miss, miss,” seeing her somewhat distressed look, a server approached quickly, “is everything alright? Do you need any help?”

“No, no, it’s fine.” Qiao Wanqing pulled herself together.

Just as she was about to thank the server, she noticed a look of sympathy in their eyes.

The server probably thought her husband had run off with someone else.

Quickly regaining her composure, she smiled gracefully and said, “Thank you.”

As the server watched Qiao Wanqing walk away, they sighed softly: Being a rich wife isn’t easy.

Watching your husband be so intimate with another woman but unable to confront the mistress, all while maintaining an elegant smile.

Qiao Wanqing didn’t know what the server was imagining.

Her thoughts were scattered, and she wanted to call Gu Yanqing immediately to confirm if Gu Yanze was indeed in City C.

If it was really him, she wondered how to handle it.

But considering the time, Gu Yanqing was probably in or preparing for a meeting.

She remembered him mentioning an important meeting today and didn’t want to distract him with this.

She sighed.

If it was true, it would be so tragic for Chu Shishi and Yuan Yuan.

Especially Yuan Yuan, who had already endured a family crisis and was finally experiencing harmony at home.

Another upheaval would be devastating…

As she returned to the private room, her mind was filled with these chaotic thoughts.

She was always cautious when opening doors because Koukou often hid behind or beside them.

As soon as she opened the door, there was Koukou standing by the entrance, looking distressed.

All her jumbled thoughts vanished instantly.

She knelt down and asked, “What’s wrong, baby?”

“Koukou… Koukou wants mommy.”

“…”

She had only been gone a few minutes.

Qiao Wanqing knew that Koukou might not truly miss her.

Sometimes, this little child could be a drama king, creating all sorts of antics.

Never underestimate such a small child; you can never fully grasp their cunning.

“Mommy.”

Seeing no response from Qiao Wanqing, Koukou reached out, wanting to hug her neck, looking like an abandoned child.

Qiao Wanqing had no choice but to pick him up.

Tang Yueyue, feeling dejected, said, “As soon as you left, he started missing you. He wouldn’t let me hold him, didn’t want me to take him to find you. In the afternoon, he played with me all day without missing you.”

“Children are like this. Sometimes they suddenly become very clingy, especially in the evening.”

In front of the godmother, Qiao Wanqing maintained Koukou’s dignity, not revealing his dramatic antics.

After finishing their meal, the three went shopping.

Qiao Wanqing, focused on her child and husband, could even forgo social interactions while dating, let alone with a child.

After coming to City C, she had been busy studying and hadn’t made many friends apart from Chen Yu.

Whenever she went out, it was usually with Gu Yanqing or Madam Gu, so she hadn’t enjoyed a carefree shopping trip with a friend for a long time.

The two women shopped until after 10 p.m., each buying two sets of clothes, two pairs of shoes, and also getting a stylish outfit for Kouko.

They also bought a jacket for Gu Yanqing and a variety of other items, filling the car’s trunk to the brim.

“Wow, that felt so good,” Tang Yueyue exclaimed as she got into the car. “Shopping feels so damn good.”

Kouko, sitting in his special seat while being held by Qiao Wanqing, mimicked Tang Yueyue by leaning back and saying, “Wow, feels so, so damn good.”

Kouko couldn’t form long sentences yet but had remembered the last three words.

Tang Yueyue was amused by him, hugged his head, and kissed him.

Realizing she had lipstick on, she rubbed his head instead. “Kouko, you are so adorable!”

Kouko touched his head, which had been freshly buzzed and felt prickly.

He rubbed it and then reached out to Qiao Wanqing, complaining, “Prickly.”

Qiao Wanqing blew on his head to comfort him and then said to Tang Yueyue, “Don’t teach him bad words. He picks up on them very quickly. Last time his grandmother took him to the playground and he learned a curse word that sounded like a rude phrase. It took days to get him to forget it, and his dad almost spanked him.”

Tang Yueyue, picturing the adorable Kouko saying a bad word, was a bit taken aback. “Really? That happened?”

Qiao Wanqing nodded. “He’s in a phase where he repeats everything he hears.”

Tang Yueyue promised not to swear in front of Kouko again.

She couldn’t resist ruffling his hair once more, even though she knew he didn’t like it.

Kouko, likely feeling the prickly sensation from his freshly cut hair, smoothed his hair and then, almost as if on purpose, told Tang Yueyue, “Don’t, don’t touch.”

Tang Yueyue was left speechless.

And then, Kouko got a light smack on his bottom from his mom.