Gu Xunjun sighed and sat down beside Su Xiaonai, then encouragingly gave her shoulder a pat.
"I'm here for you! You need to take back what belongs to you."
Su Xiaonai nodded in agreement. The two friends looked at each other and smiled.
Su Mubei, who was sitting beside her, had grown so hungry that his stomach audibly growled, breaking the mood. Su Xiaonai looked at him helplessly.
Somehow finding it funny, she laughed out loud. Su Mubei's ears instantly turned red and he pouted, a childish expression he rarely displayed.
"Mommy, Godmother, I'm hungry."
Gu Xunjun patted Su Mubei's head lovingly before turning to the waiter.
"We've been waiting for a while now, is the food still not ready?"
The waiter was professional and didn't get upset at the customers. Instead he apologized and urged the kitchen through the walkie-talkie.
After a while, several dishes were served, each one looking inviting. Su Mubei skillfully picked up a piece of fried eggplant with chopsticks.
Bringing it to his mouth, he blew on the food gently until it had cooled down a little. As soon as he put it in his mouth, his eyes closed with contentment.
Seeing Su Mubei's satisfaction, Gu Xunjun was relieved. She knew she could count on Anran Lodge.
She was about to ask Su Xiaonai to start eating as well when she saw that her friend was gone. She scratched her head in confusion.
Su Xiaonai was on her way to the children's play area and immediately spotted Su Mubai in a group of children.
She stopped a child near her and asked in a gentle voice.
"Hey kiddo, can you help me fetch that girl in the corner that's playing with toy blocks?"
The child was about to throw a tantrum, but upon seeing Su Xiaonai's face, forgot what he had been thinking.
Such a pretty lady!
In response to Su Xiaonai's request, he puffed up his chest in pride, as if he had been entrusted with some important mission.
So he walked towards Su Mubai and gently poked the little girl's soft forearm.
"Hey, your mommy is here for you."
As soon as she heard the word "mommy", Su Mubai put the toy blocks down and quickly walked out of the play area.
She bumped right into her mommy.
Su Xiaonai pulled Su Mubai away, her eyes filled with worry. She carefully inspected her daughter, afraid that she had hurt her.
"You OK?"
Su Mubai waved her hand to show that she was alright. She didn't like how pale her mom's face looked, so she looked up and gave her a radiant smile.
"I'm fine, Mommy! Let's go eat."
Reassured, Su Xiaonai heaved a sigh of relief and took Su Mubai's hand.
They walked towards the table where Gu Xunjun was sitting.
Reaching the table, Su Xiaonai saw that there was still much food left. As if she had read Su Xiaonai's mind, Gu Xunjun explained.
"I saved it for you guys."
Su Mubai had no time for this. She picked up her chopsticks and started eating immediately. She was probably starving.
Su Xiaonai smiled, lowering her head to eat as well.
…
Gu Xunjun switched on the car's radio and slowly stepped on the brakes. The traffic light turned red, and Su Xiaonai glanced at the streets aimlessly.
All of a sudden, Su Xiaonai's pupils focused on the tall figure of a man.
Su Xiaonai rubbed her eyes a few times. When she looked again, the man had disappeared.
She pursed her lips and her expression softened.
It must have been someone else. That's right. Why would Qi Lingyan show up around here?
The song playing on the radio was slow and casual, and Su Xiaonai felt her tense muscles relaxed.
She tilted her head and closed her eyes, trying to unwind.
What happened today was too strange. It was really cursed to have bumped into nobody else but Qi Lingyan.
She didn't want to get involved with that man.
On the other side of the block, Qi Lingyan had just crossed the street and arrived at an old-fashioned pastry shop hidden in the alley.
The wind chimes rang as he walked in.
A middle-aged woman with soft features looked up and smiled in surprise when she saw that it was Qi Lingyan.
"Is Mr. President Qi here to get some pastries for the Madame?"
Qi Lingyan smiled politely and replied.
"Yes, Grandmother really wanted to have some date cake today, so I came over to buy some."
The middle-aged woman nodded and picked up a few pieces of date cake with tongs. Four pieces in total. Just as always, she wrapped the cake up with some brown paper and handed it to Qi Lingyan.
Qi Lingyan scanned the barcode for payment, thanked the woman and walked back towards his car.
Meanwhile, Gu Xunjun patted Su Xiaonai awake, who had been dozing, and beckoned her to get out of the car.
"We're here. This is the place I found for you."
Su Xiaonai paused and shook her head, trying to stay awake. She looked up at the building in front of her.
"Isn't this your place?"
Gu Xunjun hadn't expected Su Xiaonai to remember where she lived after all these years. After a moment of surprise, she burst into laughter.
"I got it through my connections. Now we can look after each other."
Su Xiaonai smiled faintly in agreement with her friend.
She woke up the children in the backseat, picked up her luggage, and took the elevator to the twentieth floor.
Ding dong. The elevator signaled their arrival.
The way the building was constructed ensured that there would only be one apartment per floor. With no neighbors, it was the privacy that Su Xiaonai needed. She was not the type of person interested in building relationships with neighbors.
When she opened the door, she saw that the apartment had already been furnished Japanese-style, looking warm and cozy.
Su Mubai popped her small head from behind, her mouth open.
"Wow! I like it here!"
Without looking back, Su Mubai walked straight towards her room. Her brother pursed his lips disapprovingly.
Turning around, he looked at Su Xiaonai and asked with his perfect manners.
"Mommy, I'd like to rest now. Can I go to my room?"
Su Xiaonai nodded. Looking at the boy's back, she smiled in relief.
Suddenly, something crossed her mind and she turned to look at Gu Xunjun.
"Can you lend me your car?"
Gu Xunjun paused and nodded without thinking. Then she remembered something and asked Su Xiaonai.
"Can you use your international driver's license here?"
Su Xiaonai had forgotten about it. As she stood there, not knowing what to do, Gu Xunjun had come up with an idea.
"I'll find you a driver tonight to take you to the damned wedding of those assholes."
Upon hearing this, Su Xiaonai relaxed, but her friend hesitated before speaking again.
"Do you want me to go with you?"
Su Xiaonai waved her off, declining the offer.
"No need. I can deal with them myself. Besides, you've got work tomorrow."