Chapter 208: Chapter 186 Gu Yanjing Can’t Let Go
The Gu Linhai family has their own house in Capital City.
But typically, they would stay at the Gu Mansion while in the city.
Yesterday, the whole family went to Gu Yicheng’s grandmother’s place and returned early this morning.
Besides their family of three, Ji Xiaoxiao was also present.
Qiao Yuxian joined them for a meal in a cordial manner, as if the incident with Dong Qian hadn’t happened.
Even Meng Qian gave Qiao Yuxian a red envelope.
Initially, after breakfast, Gu Yanjing and Qiao Yuxian planned to visit the Qiao Family.
But since the Gu Linhai family came over, they delayed leaving for a bit.
The group chatted casually, and Qiao Yuxian felt drowsy and decided to go to the bathroom to refresh herself.
As she stood up, Gu Yanjing looked at her.
Qiao Yuxian glanced at him and said, "I’m going to the bathroom, you all continue chatting."
"Okay."
Then she notified Old Sir Gu and the Gu Family couple.
"I’ll join you," said Ji Xiaoxiao, who was equally bored and struggling to stay awake.
Qiao Yuxian looked at her with a rejecting glance.
Ignoring her refusal, Ji Xiaoxiao stood, took her arm, and led her to the bathroom.
Qiao Yuxian tried to pull away with effort, but Ji Xiaoxiao didn’t let go.
The two walked to the bathroom, one quietly trying to break free, the other holding on tighter, yet on the surface it seemed harmonious.
Meng Qian was still behind them, commenting on how good their relationship was.
Gu Yicheng watched them until they were out of sight before looking away.
His glance met Gu Yanjing’s, and he trembled slightly, almost blurting out: I wasn’t looking at my sister-in-law; I was looking at my wife.
Gu Linhai glanced at his disappointing son.
Gu Yicheng immediately lowered his head, avoiding Gu Yanjing’s gaze, trying to minimize his presence.
The bathroom was on the first floor, a bit far from the main hall.
There were two bathrooms next to each other.
Qiao Yuxian and Ji Xiaoxiao each entered one.
When Qiao Yuxian came out, Ji Xiaoxiao was already outside.
And just as Qiao Yuxian was about to leave, Ji Xiaoxiao pushed her back into the bathroom.
"What are you doing?" Qiao Yuxian asked, looking at her. "There’s no one here. No need to pretend we’re close."
"Who’s pretending?" Ji Xiaoxiao locked the bathroom door and leaned against the sink, "Who wants to be close to you? They are too dull. Let’s stay here a bit longer before going back."
Qiao Yuxian said nothing.
Indeed, it was a bit dull.
"Later, just say you had a stomachache and take your time," Ji Xiaoxiao suggested.
Qiao Yuxian: "......Why don’t you say you had a stomachache?"
"I have to maintain an image."
"And I don’t?" Qiao Yuxian said in a low voice.
"You’re slightly worse off," Ji Xiaoxiao said, revealing her true self in the bathroom, looking exhausted, her flawless makeup barely masking her fatigue, "You’re already married into the Gu Family, and I haven’t yet. Plus, I’m planning to become a star; my image is more important."
Qiao Yuxian didn’t want to engage with her.
Silence fell between them. After a while, Ji Xiaoxiao asked, "Why aren’t you speaking?"
"What should I say?" Qiao Yuxian replied. "What is there to talk about between us?"
"You..." Ji Xiaoxiao grew anxious.
She looked truly angry.
Qiao Yuxian glanced at her and avoided further argument, asking instead, "Why do you look so tired?"
"I filmed three night scenes back to back," Ji Xiaoxiao said listlessly, "It’s nearing New Year, I shoot at night, and during the day follow Gu Yicheng visiting relatives, entertaining guests. Last night was a rare break, so I wanted to sleep. But Gu Yicheng kept me up half the night. I feel like I’m going to drop dead."
Qiao Yuxian: "......"
"Why are you quiet again?" Ji Xiaoxiao asked once more.
Qiao Yuxian took a deep breath and said, "Can’t you refuse?"
Ji Xiaoxiao looked at her as if she was a fool: "Would you refuse if Gu Yanjing wanted you?"
Qiao Yuxian pursed her lips and remained silent.
Yet a voice in her mind automatically responded: Gu Yanjing would never treat me like that.
Ji Xiaoxiao snorted softly, whispering, "Men, you have to entice them but also satisfy their desires. Only then can you keep them around for the long term."
Qiao Yuxian’s mouth twitched slightly.
It seemed this was an area of knowledge she was completely clueless about, her face went blank.
After holding back for a while, she finally uttered, "That sounds exhausting."
Ji Xiaoxiao gave her another look, making no effort to hide her thoughts, "This is the price I’m willing to pay to become the Young Madam Gu. As long as I can marry into the Gu Family, I’d double my efforts,"
Qiao Yuxian didn’t respond.
Everyone has their own pursuits, the life they want to live, and the price they’re willing to pay.
Whether the journey is bitter or sweet, worthwhile or not, only they can know.
What you think is great, others may not care for. What you disdain might be someone else’s greatest pursuit.
As for whether the result is good or bad...
With so many people in the world, no matter how they choose to live, who can say for sure if their outcome will be good or bad?
As long as it’s legal, outsiders have no right to judge.
"When did you join the crew?" Qiao Yuxian asked.
"After the final exams," Ji Xiaoxiao said. "Gu Yicheng’s investor prepared it for a long time, waiting for my exams to finish."
Qiao Yuxian nodded.
Ji Xiaoxiao rubbed her temples, then closed her eyes and said, "Oh, by the way, have you heard? Someone went missing at school."
Qiao Yuxian raised her eyes to look at her.
Seeing her silence, Ji Xiaoxiao opened her eyes and looked at her, "You don’t know?"
Qiao Yuxian shook her head.
"Didn’t Gu Yanjing tell you?"
Qiao Yuxian remained silent.
Ji Xiaoxiao glanced at the ring on her hand, her tone turning acerbic and sour, "I thought living with such a nice diamond ring that he bought you, your life would’ve been quite good. But it seems he doesn’t tell you anything."
A layman might think her ring was just a piece of glass with two different colors.
However, anyone with a little knowledge would recognize the value of the diamond on this ring was beyond estimation.
From the first glance, the big diamond ring on her finger caught Ji Xiaoxiao’s envious gaze.
Qiao Yuxian: "......Are you going to tell me or not?"
Ji Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes disdainfully and said, "You know there are students who don’t go home and stay in the dorms. Around the twenty-fifth of the New Year, a female student from the Business School went missing from a neighborhood near the school."
Qiao Yuxian frowned.
"I heard from her roommate that they went out shopping together and on the way back, they met a pregnant woman who had trouble carrying water," Ji Xiaoxiao explained, "The girl who went missing offered to help carry the water. The pregnant woman said there was no elevator in her building and asked if they could help carry it upstairs. The missing girl agreed."
Qiao Yuxian listened as she spoke.
Ji Xiaoxiao continued, "Both the missing girl and her roommate had a lot of shopping bags. The pregnant woman asked for help, and they didn’t think much of it. They talked it over, and the missing girl decided to help the woman while the roommate took the shopping back to the school. After that, the missing girl couldn’t be contacted anymore."
"Aren’t there surveillance cameras in the old neighborhoods near the school? Didn’t they catch anything?" Qiao Yuxian asked.
"No," Ji Xiaoxiao replied, "Apparently, several cameras were broken, which just happened to allow someone to evade monitoring while leaving the neighborhood."
Qiao Yuxian said nothing.
Ji Xiaoxiao added, "Isn’t that too much of a coincidence? It’s clearly intentional."
"The police are investigating, but they’re keeping a tight lid on the information, trying not to alert the suspect," Ji Xiaoxiao continued, "There should be an announcement after the New Year."
"How did Gu Yicheng know?" Qiao Yuxian asked.
"That I don’t know," Ji Xiaoxiao said, "He just mentioned it to me, telling me to be more cautious. I didn’t ask about anything else."
Qiao Yuxian didn’t say anything, but her expression hardened slightly.