1068 I, Swift Snowy 1
“Younger brother or sister?”
Gu Lingsha immediately frowned. She thought about it for a moment, then her expression stiffened and her blue eyes darkened. She could not help but say a little bitterly, “Father, don’t you know about my situation too? After I gave birth to Weiwei, I can’t…so in this lifetime, I’ll only have Weiwei as my only daughter.”
Gu Qiwu’s expression turned slightly solemn as he paused in consideration, then continued, “But you know very well yourself how Weiwei’s situation is. If we don’t work harder on guiding her, it won’t do her any good to go on being like this. When it comes to this point, I agree with Qi Feng more. It will be great to let Weiwei experience how it’s like to live like other people and interact with normal people.”
“I know, Father! But Weiwei…she seems to be quite afraid of strangers ever since she returned this time around. Even when I play with her, she seems to reject me. Right now, she only listens to Qi Feng. At home, with Mary around, she’s closer to her compared to me as her mother.” When Gu Lingsha said this, she had helplessness in her eyes.
“Lingsha, you have to make plans for yourself too. You should understand that the reason why Qi Qiming agreed easily to your marriage with Qi Feng wasn’t because of your many years of relationship with Qi Feng. He cares more about the Hui Gu Corporation. Even though Qi Feng’s legs are crippled now, he may or may not recover in the future, and he may not get together with another woman. You should know very well how Qi Qiming’s situation is. Although he looks strict, the women around him…” Gu Qiwu reminded her earnestly as he turned to fix his gaze on Gu Lingsha.
“You can’t guarantee that Qi Feng won’t be like him in the future while you, just as you said, can’t give birth anymore. You don’t need me to spell out the rest.”
Gu Qiwu stopped there, yet Gu Lingsha’s expression froze at that moment while she thought about it. Then, she could not help but bite her lip and breathed in sharply. “Father, I understand what you mean. I’ll be more aware of that.”
“It’s good that you understand. You should be vigilant about some things. Now, most importantly, you should be cultivating your capabilities at Qi Kai and have your own trusted aides. With the Hui Gu Corporation’s support, you don’t need to worry that Qi Feng will become another Qi Qiming.”
Following Gu Qiwu’s reminder, Gu Lingsha continued, “I understand. After w.a.n.g Qin died, Qi Kai practically fell into Uncle Qi’s hands. However, at the same time, corrupted practices were exposed. Even on Uncle Qi’s side, not everyone is loyal. For example, the dissatisfaction Yue Hai has towards Uncle Qi. Still, Yue Hai’s quite capable and Xi Xinyi is on his team too. If we can get him on our side, my position in Qi Kai will definitely be much stronger.”
“I’ll let you decide on what you should do. You need to handle your mother well too. Don’t let any other problems sprout up. If I can’t make it back in time tomorrow, then I might stay for another day or two in City B. Regardless, if there’s anything, just give me a call again.”
“Alright, don’t worry, Father!”
After that, the father and daughter had some idle talk. When Gu Lingsha left, it was already in the evening.
…
After quite a few days of wind and rain, the weather became much sunnier and the evening sky was azure as the warm sun hung on the western horizon, showering the entire City Z in a sacred tenderness.
Situated in the north of the city center was a high-end but quiet main street.
A black, luxury race car slowly stopped by the roadside. Yang Sheng, who sat in the front pa.s.senger seat, turned to say to Qi Lei, “Master, we’re here. De Feng Avenue is here and De Bao is right in the middle. I’ve been here many times.”
Qi Lei then opened his eyes gently. His calm gaze looked through the thick sungla.s.ses and out of the window while in front, Yang Sheng had already swiftly gotten down to open the car door. “Master Qi, I’ve found out that De Bao only has one boss, and that is Dongfang Liuyun. She’s been in the shop recently and rarely goes out. If you go at this time, there shouldn’t be too many people and she should be free as well. Oh, Master Qi, do you want me to help you get a bouquet of flowers? Since this is your first time meeting her, it feels more official and polite to turn up with a bouquet!”
Yang Sheng began to feel nervous on Qi Lei’s behalf. He glanced around, and soon his sight fell on a florist. Meanwhile, Qi Lei only rolled his eyes at him.
“You can’t expect good words from a scoundrel! I’m here to look at antiques. It’s not a meetup with an internet friend. No, not even a blind date. Do I need flowers? Even if I do, I don’t need you to teach me how to get girls. Just wait here for me!” Qi Lei said and fixed his sungla.s.ses and his shirt. Then, he cleared his throat before walking slowly ahead.
Based on Yang Sheng’s directions, Qi Lei walked along the streets and looked at every store. He walked for quite a distance before he found the huge signboard with the words “De Bao” written on it.
This street specialized in collecting antiques. Along the way, both sides of the streets were quite a sight and Qi Lei was overwhelmed by the beauty of the rusticness. Finally, he found his target.
At that moment, the entrance to De Bao was wide open. The shop was huge. From the outside, you could feel that De Bao was decorated in a very subdued lavish fashion. It was rich with a charm of antiquity and was not quite the same as the other antique stores around. It had more uniqueness to it. You could tell that the owner who decorated the store had exquisite taste.
Qi Lei raised his handsome brows and stood in front of the entrance for a long time. He seemed to be pondering before he finally walked slowly in.
He had just stepped foot into the store when there was a faint fragrance of earthy wood. An air of antiquity suddenly came over him, making him feel much more at ease. The fatigue that he felt from a day’s work unexpectedly began to fade.
Then, he heard an elegant and melodious zither tune.
On both sides of the rack were filled with all sorts of antiques. Qi Lei fixed his eyes on a little golden plate beside him, and just by the looks of the carved dragon and phoenix, you could tell that it was not cheap.
As he walked further in, the smell that filled his nose became even thicker. He looked all around, and soon noticed the customer waiting area inside. There was a steaming pot of tea, and on the wooden coffee table before the mahogany chair, there was also a cup of hot tea. Whiffs of fragrant tea filled the air, making one feel much more relaxed.