novelQi Chengzhi's Secret Hotel Rendezvous with A Lover (First Upload)
| ← Ch.195 | Ch.197 → |
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The next morning, the Range Rover stopped in front of Chengshi. As usual, Song Yu gave him a kiss right before getting out, but she did get out immediately.
Noticing the lack of reaction from Qi Chengzhi, Song Yu pointed to her stomach and said, "Aren't you gonna say goodbye to the baby?"
Qi Chengzhi's gaze shifted to her belly, which he then placed his elegant hands on. He had his head lowered for a long time, and after that, he said, "I can't feel anything."
"..." Ignoring him, Song Yu looked down at her tummy and said, "Darling, daddy's saying bye-bye to you, darling."
Qi Chengzhi felt that she was only trying to humor herself.
Content at last, she then got down from the car.
Song Yu entered the building and took the lift. When she came out of it and was heading to her office, Yang Yunshu came out from the design department and they met face-to-face.
Ever since Yang Yunshu's transferal to an administrative position in the engineering department, she regarded Song Yu as nonexistent. She would always pull a long face when she walked past Song Yu.
Yang Yunshu attempted to search up some jobs online, even taking leave to visit different architecture firms and apply for a position. None, however, accepted her.
That was why she grew to loathe Song Yu. Her future prospects had been ruined for apparently no reason.
On that particular day, however, Yan Yunshu was the first to smile when she saw Song Yu. It was an evil grin, and she seemed to be reveling in some sort of mishap.
"Yo, Mrs. Qi is here!" Yan Yunshu smiled weirdly.
Song Yu simply glanced at her without saying a word.
"Why don't you look too good today? Did you find out what happened? Is that why you can't sleep last night?" Yang Yunshu looked askance at Song Yu with a sly smile in the corner of her pursed lips.
Song Yu frowned. She thought her complexion was rather good when she looked in the mirror earlier that day.
"Find out what?" Song Yu asked curiously.
Neither head nor tail could be made of Yang Yunshu's odd words.
"Oh no, you still don't know about it?" Yang Yunshu took a dramatic step back and placed her hand over her mouth.
Song Yu pursed her lips and ceased paying attention to her. She headed immediately for her office instead.
Yan Yunshu turned around and said from behind her, "Your husband cheated on you. I think your days are numbered, don't you? People always say that once you enter into a rich family, they'll surely kick you out someday. I just didn't think that it'd come so soon. You're no longer novel to him anymore!"
Song Yu stopped in her tracks and turned around to glare at her.
She used to treat Yang Yunshu rather indifferently in the past, but at that moment, Song Yu felt an intense hatred toward that woman.
The glare caught Yang Yunshu by surprise, and for a brief moment, she was stunned into silence. Her body turned stiff and she was unable to speak.
Song Yu said not a word as she turned around and entered the office.
The atmosphere within changed drastically upon her entrance. When she was outside, she could hear chattering coming from inside, but after entering, the entire room fell silent.
Everyone gave her odd looks—some looked like they were taking delight in other's misfortune, while others seemed like they already knew what was coming. Many, though, appeared to pity her.
Recalling Yang Yunshu's response, Song Yu had no intention to show a puzzled expression. She calmly went straight for her seat.
The rest of them were not like Yang Yunshu, and although no one had any grudges toward Song Yu, most were usually jealous and envious that she could marry into a rich family. Despite that, they would not stoop so low as to add insult to injury. Therefore, no one came to ask questions or make thoughtless remarks at her. They all sat in their seats, watching inquisitively for something to happen.
Song Yu ignored everything and turned on her computer. She then took her cellphone out of her bag and sent a text to Ruan Danchen. [What's going on?]
After a while, Song Yu received a website link from Ruan Danchen. The domain name was from a well-known portal.
Song Yu tapped on the link and the phone opened it in her browser automatically. It brought her to the webpage, and after it finished loading, a black headline was the first thing that caught her eye. 'Qi Chengzhi, Director of Qilin Properties and Eldest Grandson of the Qi Family, Caught Having A Secret Rendezvous with His Lover in A Hotel. '
Song Yu narrowed her eyes and scrolled down. The first picture appeared to have been taken from a place just opposite Dynasty. It was taken through a mirror from a very far distance, and even with the use of a professional telephoto lens, the picture was still rather blurry.
Qi Chengzhi was seated on the sofa in the picture. A woman was standing right opposite him, wearing only a white bathrobe. Anyone could guess that nothing else was worn underneath it.
Only the sides of their faces were visible. The photo editor was kind enough to put a red circle around Qi Chengzhi's face and magnify that part of the picture at one corner. Beside that magnified picture was a proper but old photo of Qi Chengzhi's frontal face.
On the other hand, the woman's face was not magnified. It was unclear in the photograph, but Song Yu's intuition told her that the woman was Mu Sisi.
Further downward was another photograph. Qi Chengzhi and the woman were near the door and their backs were facing the camera. Mu Sisi was stark naked, though her bottom was pixelated. Her fair-skinned body was clinging to Qi Chengzhi's back as she hugged him tightly.
No other picture was present after that.
The text was brief, stating, "The Qi family is one of eight great families in B City. Poised to become the family's next generation patriarch, their eldest grandson Qi Chengzhi—current director of Qilin Properties, formerly director of Qilin Technology—was pictured in a secret rendezvous at Dynasty Hotel with an unknown woman. According to reports, Qi Chengzhi has secretly gotten married, but the wife's identity is not known as of yet. The photographs depict the woman as being reluctant to let Qi Chengzhi leave, and the two of them looked enamored with each other."
Song Yu exited the news portal and drew an immediate inference.
It was not by virtue of her intelligence that she came to that conclusion, for she was still furious with the fake news. Rather, it was her undying trust for him—she did not believe that a man who waited for her more than twenty years would betray her with the snap of a finger. He had many a chance to date other women when he was studying abroad, at a time where none of it could even be considered a betrayal, yet not once did he go for those other women. Why, then, would he choose to wait until then to do those things to her?
Reporters were always skilled at putting words to pictures and blowing things out of proportion.
The trust she had for him meant that she did not suspect him of anything, but she still could not control herself from being angry at him.
Part of the reason was that she saw how Mu Sisi threw herself all over him during the night of Wei Minghao's birthday celebration.
Song Yu dialed home."Aunt Yang, could you please wash the clothes that Chengzhi wore yesterday?"
After hanging up, Song Yu put the matter to bed and no longer kept it in her heart. Nevertheless, she decided to give Qi Chengzhi a stern warning when she got back home. It was outrageous that he could even fall into Mu Sisi's trap!
She proceeded to continue with her work.
Half an hour later, the front desk called. She picked up the phone and heard the receptionist say, "Song Yu, two people are looking for you."
"Two people? Who are they?" Song Yu asked as she was puzzled.
"I don't know. One is an old lady and the other is a middle-aged woman. The old lady is being mysterious. She's not telling anyone who she is, and she's even wearing sunglasses inside the building, " the receptionist faced the wall and whispered into the phone.
Almost immediately, Song Yu put two and two together and was left utterly shocked! She wondered if it was really the old lady who made a personal visit just to look for her!
She immediately hung up and went out. There, she saw the old lady sitting on the sofa with Xia Wenna.
"Grandma, Mom, " Song Yu greeted, albeit still somewhat taken aback. She then joined them on the sofa.
The receptionist inhaled sharply. 'These two are from the Qi family?
'From the way Song Yu greeted them, wouldn't they be Qi Chengzhi's mother and grandmother?'
"Why did you come here?" Song Yu asked.
Xia Wenna helped the old lady up. The latter then pulled Song Yu's hand, whispering to her, "Is there someplace we can talk privately?"
Song Yu stared in bafflement at the old lady and Xia Wenna, whose faces looked uneasy and anxious. She pondered for a moment before bringing them to the alfresco lounge on the rooftop.
That way, there would not be too many colleagues who would spot them, thus preventing the old lady and Xia Wenna from feeling embarrassed.
The still-trending news was part of the reason why the old lady decided to talk inside the company instead of going to another place. Things were still heated, and they were afraid of being spotted by reporters. If the three of them were seen discussing something together, the reporters would sensationalize it and make further unfavorable assumptions.
The rooftop of the office building was a communal lounge area that every company within the building could use. It was like a rooftop garden, providing a place for office workers to chat and relax if they had some spare time.
Other than chairs, tables, and potted plants, there were no water dispensers or coffee machines. One must bring one's own food and drink.
The area was not frequented often during winter, as it was quite cold there. Although the weather was considerably warmer than usual, the wind was still strong, and so there were not many people there at the time.
Song Yu felt that it would not do much harm if they only stayed there for a while.
The old lady never expected the building to have such an area. Satisfied, she sat down.
She and Xia Wenna continued to be silent, leaving Song Yu to be the first one to say something."Grandma, Mom, you're here because of the news involving Chengzhi, aren't you?"
The elderly lady exchanged glances with Xia Wenna, shocked that Song Yu would be the first to bring up the topic. Even more surprising was how Song Yu looked absolutely unperturbed with the news.
"You're... okay?" Xia Wenna asked doubtfully. If those things happened to Xia Wenna, she would never have been able to stay as calm as Song Yu.
Song Yu smiled briefly before saying, "Although the picture wasn't clear, I can recognize the woman as Mu Sisi. I didn't verify it with Chengzhi, but I can't think of any other woman except her. I say that because Chengzhi received a message from Mu Huaisheng, asking to meet him at Dynasty this Thursday. It fits the time frame of the news report. Now that the picture has come out, I think Mu Sisi wanted to seduce Chengzhi, and to do that, she used Mu Huaisheng's name to trick Chengzhi into going to the hotel.
"I can't say that I'm not angry at all after seeing the photographs. I am, but only because Mu Sisi had the chance to hug him while she's naked. I wasn't worried about him cheating on me. I mean, he's liked me for so many years now, from his university days outside of the country and during my bankruptcy, too. We've lost contact for many, many years. That's not a short time at all, and I wasn't even beside him during that period. I wasn't even his girlfriend then. He could have as many women as he wanted and I wouldn't have the right to say anything.
"He didn't even look for any other women during that span of time. Why would he suddenly decide to do so after marrying me? Mu Sisi likes Chengzhi and she admitted it herself. I'm not surprised at all that she came up with all these tricks. If I argue with Qi Chengzhi, it'll only make her secretly happy, and I'm not going to let her have that luxury." Song Yu smiled.
The old lady was very touched after hearing Song Yu's words. She felt lucky to have a granddaughter-in-law that was very understanding. From those words alone, the elderly lady knew that Song Yu would have Qi Chengzhi's back when he became the patriarch. In tandem with him, they could bring the Qi family to greater heights.
Xia Wenna always knew that Song Yu was a reasonable woman who kept a level-head in all situations. She was always good-tempered and had a clear mind in everything she did, but at that moment, Xia Wenna was particularly in awe of Song Yu's reaction. Xia Wenna was worried sick, but fortunately for her, there was nothing to be worried about. Her mood was beginning to change for the better.
Putting aside Song Yu's earlier engagement to Qi Chengji, Xia Wenna was sincerely beginning to actually like Song Yu. Song Yu's status as Qi Chengji's ex-fiancée became increasingly unimportant, and bit-by-bit, Song Yu's status became solely that of 'Qi Chengzhi's wife'.
"Has Chengzhi called you and explained everything?" Xia Wenna asked compassionately and her voice was gentle too.
Song Yu went blank for a moment, but she shook her head in all honesty.
"This child!" Xia Wenna slapped the table in anger."This is a very serious matter! Even if you trust him, he has to at least explain himself to you. Even though he didn't do anything to disappoint you, it's a fact that he gave Mu Sisi the chance to get close to him. How can he just keep quiet?!"
Xia Wenna took out her cellphone and prepared to dial Qi Chengzhi's number. She was going to him a good scolding. Song Yu stopped her, however, saying, "Mom, he doesn't need to explain it to me. He trusts me and knows that I won't misunderstand him because of something like this."
"Still, you said you're angry at him. You can't indulge a man when it comes to such things. It'll make him think that there's nothing wrong about it. If something similar happens next time, he'll rely on your trust to say that there isn't a need for him to explain anything. You must let him know that even if you trust him, there must never be a 'next time'. He can't let the same thing happen again, " Xia Wenna protested.
Song Yu was surprised that Xia Wenna would make remarks that sided with her. Xia Wenna was practically standing on her side of the fence and considering her point of view.
Still perplexed, the old lady said aggressively, "I think you're correct, my dear Song Yu. That Mu Sisi tricked our Chengzhi. And why was it such a coincidence that the reporter managed to take a picture of it? This isn't a big street we're talking about, it's a room in Dynasty. The reporter isn't psychic, I believe. How could they have known what was going to happen in that exact room?"
"That's right. The other rooms were not photographed, only that one room. Mu Sisi isn't a celebrity, so why would there be paparazzi following her?" Xia Wenna mulled it over.
The old lady than slammed her hands on the table and drew up a conclusion."Mu Sisi was definitely the one who arranged this! If she truly wanted to commit an affair, why would she stand naked in the room without closing the blinds? The only logical reason was to let someone photograph her! Ever since I saw that girl at Xiao Wei's birthday, I never liked her. She's chock-full of ulterior motives!"
"We can't just let this matter slide. Our Qi family can't be seen to be suffering such humiliation!" Xia Wenna exclaimed. Realizing that the old lady was still beside her, she remembered that these things were not for her to decide.
Xia Wenna turned around and asked, "Mom, what do you think?"
"You're absolutely right." The old lady nodded affirmatively."We can't just let her tarnish Song Yu and Qi Chengzhi's name. It'll make everyone think that their relationship is shaky!"
The old lady did not detail their course of action though, as she simply left with Xia Wenna.
...
...
Mu Huaisheng flung his tablet angrily to one side. Mu Sisi though, was all dressed-up as she came out of her room. She was clothed entirely in her family's brand.
Seemingly in high spirits, she flicked a curl of hair to her back and shook her head of hair, humming a tune while she was at it.
Mu Huai Sheng looked at her and asked in a low voice."You look pretty happy. Are you going to flaunt yourself to Song Yu?"
Mu Sisi stopped what she was doing and turned to look at the seething Mu Huaisheng.
"I don't understand what you're talking about." Mu Sisi's relaxed and cheery expression disappeared, leaving only iciness in its place.
| ← Ch. 195 | Ch. 197 → |