Chapter 363: Chapter 328: All Like Your Mother
Mu Shuoqian exhaled a ring of smoke: "It took us a month to finally reach Detroit. Some people on the boat fell ill and died, their bodies were thrown into the sea. Many couldn’t endure the torment and jumped in themselves. During that month, every two days, they would take me to a cabin. Their pleasure was to see when this kid that seemingly couldn’t cry would finally break down in tears. I was curious too, wondering if I would ever cry, but in the end, I didn’t cry. I only retched continuously."
Gu Qili listened to his recount, covering her mouth with one hand, turning her face away.
The winter in Detroit was truly cold, she kept shivering despite wearing a cotton-padded jacket, and people passing by cast curious glances at their oriental faces.
Mu Shuoqian seemed as though he saw no one, just continuing to smoke. After a while, his voice sounded again: "After we reached Detroit, we were sold to an entertainment venue. Every day, I washed dishes for them. This kind of life lasted for two years. Two years later, my mom met a man who redeemed her. We got a dilapidated house here,"
"Once, she exchanged her body with the owner of the grain store across the street for a bag of rice. The owner was old enough to be my grandfather."
"My mom had become numb. Later she fell ill, was bedridden for a while. We had no food, no money for treatment. I was only ten years old then, besides doing odd jobs, I’d play basketball on the streets. Playing basketball endlessly every day could earn us two burgers to survive on. We didn’t starve to death, we survived."
"Life started to improve when my mom found a proper job, and then she met Jason."
Gu Qili gazed at his still expressionless face, the tragic story coming from his lips as if he was talking about someone else’s life.
"My mom told me she used to believe in Gu Dezhong so much, thinking he would take her away from misery. But in the end, her trust turned into betrayal, hence her hatred accumulated day by day until it was uncontrollable. She also hated Mu Haotian, it was his constant indulgence that emboldened Miao Yuan, and after our catastrophe, he never tried to reach out to us."
His cigarette finished, he opened the cigarette box only to find that it was the last stick, he then threw the box towards a nearby trash heap.
"I’m sorry." Gu Qili suddenly grabbed his sleeve, bowing her head, her voice choking, repeating: "I’m sorry."
If it wasn’t for Cheng Menghong, they wouldn’t have endured such a tragic life. Some tragedies might be described in a few words, but the real experience is incredibly tortuous. She isn’t him; how could she know his pain? Thus, all she could say was this single, deeply sincere apology.
Mu Shuoqian’s gaze fell on the pale hand at his cuff: "Why apologize? It wasn’t you who did it, it was Cheng Menghong."
"But she is my mom."
"Don’t forget, it was I who bankrupted the Gu family; I wrongly accused your father." His gaze intensely fixed on her where she bowed her head, he could only see the top of her head, her scalp snow-white and her hair black, somewhat fluffy under the sunlight.
Gu Qili stayed silent, this was a matter she’d always tried to avoid.
Mu Shuoqian sighed: "I’m sorry, your father had 3 percent of shares in Muguang Group, and the initial funding for Qixi Vineyard was also provided by Miao Yuan. I confirmed it with the seriously ill Miao Yuan at the time, she unabashedly revealed the conspiracy back then to me, all evidence pointed towards your father."
Gu Qili silently tightened her grip on his sleeve, her fragile shoulders trembling violently. This much, she knew too well. Even if Cheng Menghong had done wrong, her innocent father took the blame for her."
"Qiqi." A very tired voice suddenly came from above her, she lifted her head, his broken gaze covering her puzzled look: "Your father’s death was not caused by me."
Word by word, like small hammers striking her heart, and towards the end, her eyes gradually widened: "What?"
A cold wind passed through the two of them. Wearing only a coat, Mu Shuoqian seemed not to feel the cold at all, on the contrary, there was a surprisingly warm expression in his eyes.
"Although I don’t know what my mom said to your dad back then, it’s not hard to guess now. It shattered the illusions your father held for decades, hence, out of acute distress, he suddenly became ill. If I am not mistaken, your father loved my mom till his death." Mu Shuoqian’s hand landed on her shoulder, "I have no intention of evading responsibility. Even if it wasn’t the bankruptcy of the Gu family that caused his illness, but as you said, she is my mom."
Gu Qili didn’t recover from his words for a long time. The complex enmity of the older generation had inadvertently troubled their younger generation, giving them no peace.
"Regardless of the reason, it was I who caused the bankruptcy of the Gu family. Even if you can’t forgive me, it’s understandable." Mu Shuoqian slowly retracted his hand that rested on her shoulder, adjusting the zipper of her cotton jacket for her.
Gu Qili stared at him, emotions surging in her heart, almost on the verge of bursting out.
Whether to forgive no longer seemed so important, because she had sadly realized a few days ago that even if there was a deep hatred between them, she still deeply loved him.
Before she could speak, Mu Shuoqian’s phone suddenly rang. Not knowing what was said on the other end, his expression abruptly darkened: "I understand, I’ll come back right away."
"What happened?" Gu Qili asked anxiously.
"It’s Qini, he got into a fight, needed four stitches in his head."
Hearing this, Gu Qili almost fainted from fright. She’d never cared for children and hadn’t faced such a scenario before, and immediately became somewhat flustered, not knowing what to do: "Which hospital is he at? Are the doctors good? Will there be a scar? Maybe we should notify Professor Luo... it’s all my fault,"
A pair of strong hands suddenly rested on her shoulders, the warmth of his palms gradually calming her down. She looked at the man in front of her who seemed capable of anything, at that moment, he was her stabilizer.
"He’ll be okay, don’t worry too much, I’ll take care of it."
Gu Qili said with a choked voice, "I’m just a little scared."
"A little?"
Thinking about bearing it all alone, Niannian pictured him bloodied, remembering how lonely he must feel without the care of mom and dad, and tears couldn’t help but start streaming down her face, "Very scared."
"Don’t be afraid," he patted her shoulder, "I’m here for you."
Before boarding the plane, Mu Shuoqian made a call to Mu Qinian, who was in good spirits, talking while nibbling on a pig’s foot.
"Qinian." Mu Shuoqian had barely said a few words when Gu Qili snatched his phone away, and just as she spoke two words, her eyes reddened.
"I’m really pitiful, dad doesn’t care about me, and even Ali doesn’t want me either. Now I’m disfigured, which will even make finding a wife problematic, how can I be this miserable."
Gu Qili’s eyes had just reddened earlier, but now upon hearing his words, her tears flowed freely: "I’m sorry, Qinian, it’s my fault, I’m sorry."
Mu Qinian was originally teasing her, and didn’t expect to actually make her cry, immediately panicking, Vexed that this woman was so easily moved to tears.
"Mu Qinian." He scolded sternly, "Don’t go overboard, just obediently eat your pig’s foot."
Mu Qinian felt his dad was amazing, he obviously couldn’t see, yet how did he know he was eating pig’s foot meal.
"Dad, give the phone to Ali." "You still want to spout nonsense to her, see, you’ve even made her cry." Mu Shuoqian glanced at the woman beside him still sobbing, profoundly distressed, "Wait till I get back and see how I deal with you."
After that, he hung up the phone right away.
"Why hang up the phone? I wasn’t done talking to Qinian yet."
"Don’t listen to his wild fabrications, he’s happily munching on pig’s foot and doesn’t have a care."
Gu Qili disliked his dismissive tone, "He is already hurt, and you still talk to him like that, aren’t you just rubbing salt into his wound?"
"He’s my son, Mu Shuoqian, a few stitches won’t kill him."
"But he’s still a child, you’ve never cared about his psychological health, always demanding performance which makes him rebellious."
Listening to her incessant complaints, not one being in his favor, Mu Shuoqian felt somewhat slighted, feeling even more that Mu Qinian was a kilowatt-level spotlight.
When Gu Qili arrived in Aus City, she rushed straight to the hospital without a moment’s rest.
Mu Qinian lay in the hospital bed with his bare little feet, crossed legs, leaning against the headboard, a cola in one hand and a chicken wing in the other, watching One Piece on an iPad.
Hearing the hurried footsteps outside, he immediately threw everything in his hands into the trash can, wiped his hands, and quickly lay down in bed.
"Qinian." Gu Qili pushed open the door abruptly, seeing the little figure curled up on the bed, head wrapped in gauze, she couldn’t help but start crying.
Four stitches, how painful they must have been; she would rather suffer the pain herself than have him hurt even a little.
"Ali, you came." Mu Qinian’s voice sounded incredibly weak, listlessly half-closing his eyes, "I thought I’d never see you again."
Gu Qili cried even harder, holding his small frame, unable to speak.
"Ali, my face is ruined, no one will want me in the future, would you also despise me?"
"Not at all, how could I? Your Uncle Luo said it wouldn’t leave a scar."
"Sigh, doctors these days just lie," at the same time, he nuzzled forcefully into Gu Qili’s arms, "Ali, do you like me? Tell me quickly, or else I won’t die with my eyes closed."
It should have been "won’t die with eyes open."
"Mu Qinian." From the side a harsh shout, Mu Shuoqian pointed towards the nearby trash can, "Damn, just seconds ago you were eating and drinking heartily,