In order to get lollipops, Qiao Shu and Gu Chenyan missed their flight, so they had to buy another set of tickets.
Luckily, it wasn’t a peak holiday period, so they quickly managed to purchase new tickets with the help of an assistant.
Qiao Shu packed up their belongings.
When they came, Gu Chenyan packed clothes in two large suitcases, but now they had even more to take back.
There were two additional large suitcases, as well as two large cardboard boxes containing the special hot spring sauce packets Qiao Shu had asked the boss to make, along with rare fruit wine from Bingcheng.
There were also small toys Qiao Shu bought for the baby when he went out to play, as well as small gifts and snacks for Jiang Jiayu and the others.
Of course, Qiao Shu didn’t forget the big fat fish he had luckily caught.
The delivery arrived at their door.
When handing over the glass tank containing the big fat fish, Qiao Shu repeatedly instructed: “You must take good care of my fish, remember to change its water. It must not die.”
This was a VIP customer, so they had purchased the most expensive courier service and even bought a hefty insurance policy. The courier was completely cautious and received the glass tank with utmost care.
Handling it carefully, the courier repeatedly assured Qiao Shu.
Only then did Qiao Shu feel relieved.
After all, he still needed to use this big fat fish to make soup for the baby.
They were still in first class.
Qiao Shu, feeling a bit tired, leaned against Gu Chenyan’s chest. He looked up at Gu Chenyan and couldn’t help but recall the lollipop incident from this morning.
Today’s Gu Chenyan was very different.
Passionate yet mischievous.
He would intentionally tease him, making him uncomfortable, yet coaxing him to say those embarrassing words in such difficult situations.
He was firmly held in place, his palm tightly intertwined with the man’s, causing the bedsheets to become disheveled.
Each “I love you” uttered.
Each forceful collision.
There was a hint of relentless passion.
Qiao Shu patted his warm cheeks.
Gu Chenyan: “What’s wrong?”
Qiao Shu’s embarrassed eyelashes fluttered up and down. “Nothing, nothing.”
Suddenly, something was stuffed into his mouth.
Qiao Shu instinctively licked it. “Sweet.” He pulled the object out of his mouth. “Lollipop?”
His face flushed again.
Gu Chenyan chuckled. “Yes.”
“Do you like it?”
Qiao Shu: “…”
His face was burning.
Gu Chenyan evolved again.
Ah!
He was so innocent, why did he feel so romantic?
Gu Chenyan asked again, “Do you like it?”
Suppressing his shyness, Qiao Shu blushingly put the lollipop back in his mouth and said, “I-I like it.”
Qiao Shu: “When did you buy it?”
Gu Chenyan chuckled, “I bought it this morning.”
Qiao Shu: …
Ah!
He lost!
While biting the lollipop, Qiao Shu buried his head in Gu Chenyan’s embrace, not showing his face. “Mr. Gu is bullying me.”
Gu Chenyan: “How am I bullying you?”
Qiao Shu: “Hmph!”
“You know it yourself,” Qiao Shu retorted.
“Don’t like lollipops?” Gu Chenyan asked.
Qiao Shu felt like biting someone out of anger.
Gu Chenyan laughed heartily.
Despite the five-hour journey, Qiao Shu still slept through it. After getting drunk last night and having eaten lollipops all morning, he felt both mentally and physically exhausted.
Qiao Shu had originally curled up beside Gu Chenyan to sleep.
But soon enough, Gu Chenyan had him entirely in his arms.
Qiao Shu, half asleep, opened his eyes.
Gu Chenyan whispered softly to him, “Go back to sleep.”
Qiao Shu closed his eyes contentedly.
When he woke up, he was still in Gu Chenyan’s embrace.
Yawning, Qiao Shu unconsciously wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Have you been holding me all this time?” he asked.
Gu Chenyan replied, “Not all the time.”
“Just for a while,” he added.
Qiao Shu giggled, “Mr. Gu can’t bear to be without Little Mr. Qiao, huh?”
Gu Chenyan: “Yes.”
Gu Chenyan nodded seriously.
He spoke seriously.
His expression was serious too.
Qiao Shu couldn’t help but pause for a moment. Then, he obediently wrapped his arms around the man’s neck and said seriously, “Little Mr. Qiao also can’t live without Mr. Gu.”
Qiao Shu: “Super, super can’t live without.”
Qiao Shu: “So—”
Qiao Shu: “Mr. Gu must spoil Little Mr. Qiao for a lifetime.”
Gu Chenyan held Qiao Shu’s hand. Some warm kisses landed on the base of Qiao Shu’s middle and ring fingers.
In an instant, it felt like a warm current surged into the tip of Qiao Shu’s heart.
Gu Chenyan said, “Alright.”
Gu Chenyan: “I’ll spoil you for a lifetime.”
Qiao Shu flashed a brilliant smile.
When they returned home, their baby burst into tears upon seeing them. Qiao Shu and Gu Chenyan took turns comforting the baby before finally settling him down.
Then, they unpacked their luggage with the baby.
As they took out one toy after another, the baby exclaimed in delight, drooling with excitement.
Qiao Shu couldn’t help but chuckle.
His Zai Zai was so adorable.
On the second day after returning home, Qiao Shu’s parcel arrived at Lanting. He proudly kept the big fat fish in the pond outside and took several boastful photos.
After packing up all their luggage, carrying over a hundred pounds of belongings, they proudly brought them to Jiang Jiayu’s house and gave them to Jiang Jiayu.
Jiang Jiayu: “…”
Jiang Jiayu: “You’re awesome!”
Qiao Shu proudly lifted his head, “Of course, just look at who I am.”
Qiao Shu: “I specifically asked. This fruit wine can be drunk by pregnant husbands. But you can’t drink too much.”
Qiao Shu: “And these hot spring noodles are really delicious, incredible! The boss usually doesn’t even make sauce packets.”
Qiao Shu: “And also, these small toys. One set for my Zai Zai, and one set for your Zai Zai.”
Qiao Shu: “Ah!”
Qiao Shu: “I want to feel Zai Zai.”
After showing the gifts, Qiao Shu’s eyes lit up as he reached out to touch Jiang Jiayu’s big belly, while Jiang Jiayu was playing with Qiao Shu’s Zai Zai. Both of them liked each other’s children very much.
Gu Chenyan returned to work at the company, and Qiao Shu’s routine became divided between taking care of the baby and attending acting classes at Starry Sky Entertainment.
Occasionally, he would bring carefully stewed soup to Gu Chenyan’s company to deliver lunch.
And every day, Gu Chenyan would diligently feed the little fat fish that Qiao Shu had caught.
At night, he would feed Qiao Shu with lollipops.
In just a few days, Qiao Shu started shooting for a new project.
Although his role had fewer scenes, they were quite eye-catching, making him a very popular and stunning character. Xuan Mingyong even used his influence to have several well-known screenwriters rewrite the script that Qiao Shu was involved in.
They extracted the essence and removed the dross.
They refined and refined again.
All the arrangements of the crew were top-notch, even the boxed meals.
Qiao Shu’s filming went smoothly within a week, and the shoot was completed perfectly in no time.
After the shoot, Qiao Shu began to contemplate the opening of his dream bookstore.
Choosing a location made Qiao Shu particularly indecisive.
According to his previous plan, he wanted to open a bookstore near the school, but now he hesitated.
He wanted to open the bookstore closer to Gu Chenyan’s company, so that sometimes when he didn’t feel like reading and wanted to see Gu Chenyan, he could quickly meet him.
The schools in Haicheng are quite far from the city center.
Qiao Shu sat in the study looking at the information sent by the agents for various shops, biting his pen and scribbling.
This one won’t work, it’s too small. He also needs to set up an area next to the bookstore to sell milk tea and coffee.
This one won’t work either, the layout is not good.
This one is good, but it’s too far.
…
It’s so difficult!
During dinner, Qiao Shu was still pondering, and then accidentally overate.
Qiao Shu: “…”
He rubbed his round belly and was led by Gu Chenyan to walk in the yard.
Gu Chenyan: “What have you been thinking about all night?”
Qiao Shu pouted, “I haven’t decided where to open the bookstore yet. I’m not very satisfied with the shop information sent by the agents.”
Qiao Shu: “It’s hard to open a store.”
Gu Chenyan: “A bookstore?”
Qiao Shu: “Yes.”
Qiao Shu: “I don’t think I’ve had a chance to tell you yet.”
Qiao Shu: “I plan to advance my retirement plan. In the future, I’ll occasionally act in some minor roles and spend the rest of my time running the bookstore, taking our Zai Zai out to play.”
Qiao Shu: “And also spend time with Mr. Gu.”
Qiao Shu: “My future plans include Mr. Gu.”
Gu Chenyan was touched by the sweetness.
He smiled and ruffled Qiao Shu’s hair, then thought for a moment before saying, “How about opening the bookstore downstairs in my company?”
Qiao Shu: “Huh?”
Gu Chenyan analyzed seriously, “That area is a commercial center with heavy foot traffic. You can set up a silent study room there. Many business people will find it useful.”
Gu Chenyan: “And one more thing.”
Gu Chenyan: “The most important thing.”
Qiao Shu inquired, “What?”
Gu Chenyan looked down at him, “With the bookstore there, Little Mr. Qiao can be very close to me.”
Gu Chenyan: “Is that okay?”
Gu Chenyan: “I want to be even closer to Little Mr. Qiao.”
Pfft
Qiao Shu chuckled, “Mr. Gu, I’ve realized something…”
Gu Chenyan: “Hmm?”
Qiao Shu tiptoed, his lips intimately close to Gu Chenyan’s earlobe, “We—”
Qiao Shu: “Are simply,”
Qiao Shu: “Mentally connected.”
Qiao Shu: “A perfect match!”
He hugged Gu Chenyan’s waist, affectionately kissing the corner of Gu Chenyan’s lips, “I was thinking the same thing.”
Qiao Shu: “I want the bookstore to be closer to Mr. Gu.”
Qiao Shu: “So when I miss Mr. Gu, I can quickly find him.”
Qiao Shu: “I can’t be without Mr. Gu.”
Under the moonlight, the two smiled at each other.
The location for the bookstore was thus settled. Gu Chenyan had many commercial properties under his name, so he had Chen Wenyuan take a look and find a suitable one among them.
It was adjacent to the Gu Group on the left and a commercial plaza on the right, just a few minutes away from anywhere.
The key was that the shop was quite spacious.
Two floors.
It’s practically a golden shop. Even the golden-hearted Qiao Shu feels it’s a bit of a waste to use it for a bookstore.
But he’s rich.
His husband is even richer.
The important thing is happiness.
Gu Chenyan also had Chen Wenyuan help Qiao Shu find a designer. The designer perfectly matched Qiao Shu’s preferences. Every time Qiao Shu expressed the feeling he wanted, the designer quickly understood and provided him with a satisfactory blueprint.
After half a month of deliberation, the renovation plans were finally settled, and a dedicated person was hired to take care of the renovation matters. Qiao Shu only needed to occasionally check the progress. When he was busy, the responsible person would report the progress to him every day, so he didn’t have to worry much.
One day, after feeding the baby and playing with him for a while, Qiao Shu changed his clothes and took a tour with the stylist. He then linked arms with Gu Chenyan and attended a charity auction together.
Various wealthy and influential figures were present at the auction, along with many celebrities.
Everyone was dressed exquisitely and elegantly.
Handsome men and beautiful women made the atmosphere lively.
Zhou Yanqing was also there.
He was wearing a flashy purple suit, his eyebrows raised with infinite charm, effortlessly mingling among the beautiful women.
But as soon as he saw Qiao Shu and them, he couldn’t wait to push through the crowd and walk towards them.
Zhou Yanqing: “Brother, sister-in-law.”
Gu Chenyan nodded, “Hmm.”
Qiao Shu covered his mouth and chuckled, “Aunt Lan would be delighted to see you like that just now.”
Zhou Yanqing looked grateful but declined, “Let’s forget it. It’s just routine business, and my mom hasn’t been urging me to marry for a long time.”
He felt a little regretful at this point.
Qiao Shu couldn’t help but stifle a laugh.
Gu Chenyan was a well-known figure in Haicheng, worth billions. As soon as he entered, many people stared at him, one after another coming over to greet him.
The auction hadn’t even started yet.
Afraid that Qiao Shu would be bored, Gu Chenyan got rid of those who kept coming up to greet them and personally picked some desserts for Qiao Shu in the buffet area.
Qiao Shu: “I still want the cherry one.”
Gu Chenyan shook his head and handed the plate to Qiao Shu, “You’ve already had enough today.”
Qiao Shu pouted.
Gu Chenyan rubbed Qiao Shu’s head, “Be good, eat a little less today. Tomorrow I’ll make you mango mille-feuille, with lots of mangoes.”
Qiao Shu’s eyes lit up with joy, “Deal!”
Gu Chenyan nodded, “Okay.”
Qiao Shu was ecstatic.
He loved all the food Gu Chenyan made, and everything he ate brought him double the happiness and contentment.
When the organizers of the auction heard that Gu Chenyan had arrived, they came out to greet him.
There were some other matters to discuss.
Gu Chenyan couldn’t leave suddenly, so he asked Zhou Yanqing to accompany Qiao Shu.
The two of them took their cake plates to the terrace, enjoying the breeze and eating.
Zhou Yanqing took a sip of wine, “It’s a pity there’s no crayfish here, just some melons and desserts.”
Qiao Shu, hearing this, licked his lips in longing, “Crayfish in this season are so delicious.”
He took a bite of the cake to satisfy his craving.
Zhou Yanqing suggested, “How about we go for crayfish later? I know a place nearby that serves delicious crayfish.”
Qiao Shu happily nodded, “Sure, sure! I barely had any last year, so I have to make up for it this year.”
The two of them began discussing the cooking methods and flavors of crayfish, each description more tantalizing than the last until they both surrendered in sadness.
It was too tempting.
So they stared at each other wide-eyed.
Zhou Yanqing touched his nose and changed the topic to something less tempting, “Sister-in-law, aren’t you afraid my brother might get hit on in there?”
Qiao Shu replied confidently, “Not at all. Those people can’t compare to me. Mr. Gu only has eyes for me.”
Zhou Yanqing applauded, “Sister-in-law, you’re amazing!”
Zhou Yanqing: “So much confidence!”
Then the two of them started talking about Zai Zai again, their heads close together as they joyfully looked at photos and daily videos of Zai Zai. Zhou Yanqing’s eyes sparkled as he looked at the photos of Zai Zai, wanting this one and that one.
Qiao Shu generously shared these with Zhou Yanqing, the doting uncle.
As they were engrossed, two crisp footsteps in high heels gradually approached.
Then stopped not far behind them.
Woman 1: “I got scared just now. I was about to go over and try, but Mr. Gu scared me back with just a glance.”
Woman 2: “How did someone like him get married? We didn’t even have a chance to get close.”
“We don’t even know how that Qiao Shu managed to seduce Mr. Gu. And he even gave birth to his child. A man like him is a monster. It’s disgusting.”
Qiao Shu: “…”
Suddenly hit where it hurts.
Zhou Yanqing also heard it, and angrily stood up to go and confront them, but was promptly stopped by Qiao Shu.
Qiao Shu shook his head.
Zhou Yanqing sat back down, murmuring angrily, “Sister-in-law, aren’t you angry at what they said about you?”
Qiao Shu smiled, “What’s there to be angry about? It’s just sour grapes. There’s nothing worth getting upset over; anger is just a waste of one’s emotions.”
Zhou Yanqing was still a little angry.
Qiao Shu reassured him, “Just wait.”
Qiao Shu: “You’ll see how I’ll make them regret it later.”
Zhou Yanqing was curious.
The two women over there continued to slander Qiao Shu.
Woman 1: “Let’s just wait. Sooner or later, Mr. Gu will abandon him.”
She gloated, “Look, today Mr. Gu brought him here, but in the end, he’s alone again. Who knows where he’s hiding and crying right now.”
Woman 2: “That’s right.”
“I heard that Qiao Shu was arranged for Mr. Gu by Old Master Gu. Mr. Gu only married Qiao Shu out of desperation.”
“Divorce is inevitable.”
Woman 1: “We’ll have our chance. Men, they can’t resist us women’s charms.”
“Honey~”
A soft, coquettish voice of a man came over, startling the two women who were currently slandering and envying Qiao Shu. They looked towards the source of the sound.
Qiao Shu was holding a phone, acting cute, “I’m thirsty and craving pearl milk tea. Can you bring me some?”
Qiao Shu: “Don’t feel like it.”
Qiao Shu: “I want eight pearls added. I won’t drink it if there’s one more or one less.”
Qiao Shu: “Then three-quarters sugar it is.”
Qiao Shu: “I’m on the terrace.”
Qiao Shu: “Love you.”
After hanging up the phone, Qiao Shu turned his head, and the light fell on his face, causing the two women who were looking in their direction to see Qiao Shu’s face clearly.
Both of them felt guilty instantly.
They wanted to run.
Zhou Yanqing quickly stepped forward to intercept them, “The night is deep and the dew is heavy. Why don’t you two ladies stay and chat with us?”
“Let’s continue the conversation you just had.”
The two women: “…”
They wanted to leave.
But Zhou Yanqing wouldn’t let them.
Just as the two women were feeling uneasy, Qiao Shu casually turned back and sat down again, lowering his head to play with his phone as if he hadn’t heard anything.
The two women looked at each other.
Could it be that Qiao Shu didn’t hear them?
They couldn’t help but think. Zhou Yanqing was still engaging with them, and since the two women were also fans of Zhou Yanqing, plus considering that Gu Chenyan might come over later, they hesitated and decided to stay.
Not long after, sure enough, Gu Chenyan arrived.
He walked steadily to the terrace. He immediately spotted Qiao Shu playing with his phone and walked over.
Qiao Shu heard the footsteps and looked up.
Gu Chenyan rubbed Qiao Shu’s head and said gently, “Little Mr. Qiao’s milk tea.”
Gu Chenyan: “With eight pearls.”
Qiao Shu happily put down his phone, jumped up, and hugged Gu Chenyan. He leaned up to kiss him on the cheek loudly, “Husband, you’re so good. Little Mr. Qiao loves you the most.”
