Chapter 277 - Youjin Kicked Me (1/2)
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Past memories flashed past her mind, and images of her at the playground, carnival, and room escape during their school years flooded her brain. There were memories of her participating in the same curriculum in university, and there were also memories from when he participated in a basketball competition, and she went and supported him. Jian Yi purposely asked for the others to let Song Yu work in Chengshi after her graduation. Even her reunion with Qi Chengzhi on the project was all thanks to Jian Yi. Furthermore, Song Donglin and Yu Qianying were so happy every time he came to her house and brought a lot of gifts with his visit. The four of them would have meals together, with him sat at her side as he looked elegant and well-behaved.
Jian Yi wore a prison uniform, and he had a buzzcut – what happened in the past stayed in the past.
Song Yu sobbed and buried her face in Qi Chengzhi’s chest.
Zhou Mingyan was frenzied, and she wailed as the prison guard pulled her back. “What should I do after I am released from jail? My son won’t be here anymore. My son… what should I do? What should I do… Jian Yi…”
Jian Yi ground his teeth and looked at Jian Shifu for the last time before the bailiff escorted him away. He glimpsed at the public gallery when he walked past and saw Qi Chengyue stood beside Cheng Dongge and amongst the Qi family. Her stare was cold and emotionless as if she could not wait for him to be jailed forever.
Jian Yi felt only despair and contempt. Initially, Qi Chengyue would do anything for him, but at that moment, all she could think of was for him to go to jail so that she could live a prosperous life.
The bailiff escorted Jian Yi out of the room through a door at the corner of the courtroom. Jian Shifu stared at Jian Yi’s face for one last time before he vanished through the door. He then stumbled back to the chair and buried his face in his hands.
Qi Chengzhi gave a handkerchief to Song Yu so she could wipe her tears, and his heart ached when he saw her reddened eyes.
He glanced at Jian Shifu, who sat nearby, and asked her, “Do you want to talk to Jian Yi’s father?”
Song Yu shook her head and said, “We put Jian Yi to jail, so I fear our presence may irritate him.”
“Then let’s go.” Qi Chengzhi wrapped his arm around Song Yu’s shoulder and left with the rest of the Qi family.
That day, the clouds were like white marbles on blue satin as the sun streamed through the breaks in the clouds in a watery shaft of gold on B city. It was a contrast to the gloomy and somber environment in the courtroom.
From then on, Jian Yi’s existence was erased from her life, and he was isolated from the world where the warm light touched.
Song Yu sighed and followed Qi Chengzhi into the car. Then they made their way back to the old mansion.
…
…
Mu Sisi was summoned to Mu Huaisheng’s office, and she saw Mu Huili as she entered the room.
Mu Huili and Fang Anci were finally back in the country after decades, and the first thing that they tried to do after their return to B City was to assimilate themselves into the social circle of the upper classes. However, they were shocked to learn that they were not welcomed at all. They yearned to blend into top-notch social circles like The Great Eight Families. Since Mu Huaisheng and Qi Chengzhi were friends, they thought that Qi Chengzhi would not be offended by the terrible things that Mu Sisi had previously done.
At least he should have had a different approach to Mu Huaisheng and not just sat and watched even if he was annoyed at Mu Sisi.
The most direct method to assimilate themselves into a top-notch social circle was to acquire an invitation card to any of the banquets that The Great Eight Families would attend. Fang Anci might have been in the United States of America with Mu Huili for a long time, but her maternal family in B City still had some relevant foundations. So she asked her brother to contact an organizer for an invitation card. She would even pay for it, if necessary.
They did not expect the organizer to reject them as soon as he learned that they were from the Mu family. He could accept requests from any other family, but the Mu family was banned from his events. After Fang Fuquan persisted with his attempts to learn the reason for that, the organizer finally caved and revealed that The Great Eight Families had announced that they would have nothing to do with the Mu family. However, he did not know how long that would last.
Mu Huili was surprised by the news. He thought that Mu Huaisheng and Qi Chengzhi were still good friends.
Chen Zhengming, Mu Huaisheng’s assistant, mentioned that all the celebrities from the other agencies also rejected MU’s invitation for brand promotion. After they investigated the matter, they found out that it was all thanks to Han Zhuoli, who declared that anyone who accepted MU’s invitation would end their collaboration with Han Bang. They would also not be considered for cast selection for any of the movies that Han Bang had invested in.
Mu Huaisheng and Mu Huili knew that it was a punishment from The Great Eight Families, but they did not understand the reason for that. It came as a surprise to them, as there were no signs or warnings that preluded their predicament.
Mu Huaisheng racked his brain, but he could only think of one possible culprit, and that was Mu Sisi.
“Dad,” Mu Sisi greeted him, and then with much hesitation, she mumbled, “Brother.”
“Huaisheng, you are more familiar with this, so speak your mind,” Mu Huili said.
Mu Huaisheng nodded and gave Mu Sisi a blank stare. “Did you go and find Qi Chengzhi again recently?”
Mu Sisi answered quickly and without much thought, “What are you talking about? I don’t have the time to find Qi Chengzhi. I work weekdays and rot at home on the weekends, didn’t you know?”
Mu Huaisheng frowned. “Did you really not bother him at all?”
Mu Sisi had not looked for Qi Chengzhi for more than a month after the embarrassing incident in the hospital last time. She assumed what her brother meant when he said ‘recently’ referred to the past one month.
Mu Sisi did recall that moment, but she thought that the event was so long ago, and Mu Huaisheng only asked for a recent event, right?
Thus, Mu Sisi answered confidently, “No.”
Mu Huaisheng and Mu Huili looked at each other for a while, and then Mu Huili said, “You can go back to work now.”
“What happened?” Mu Sisi was perturbed, so she asked.
Mu Huaisheng glanced at Mu Sisi thoughtfully and said, “The Great Eight Families are punishing the Mu family. Initially, the project to register with the Wei family’s mall was almost complete, but all of a sudden, Wei Ziqi broke the agreement. At first, I thought it was just a business move, and Wei Ziqi had no need to inform me of the details. However, it was obvious that the Mu family was not welcomed at any banquet that The Great Eight Families attended. Furthermore, we couldn’t even invite a single celebrity to promote MU’s flagship store. This is just the beginning, who knows what other fate awaits us later.”
Mu Sisi’s expression changed. “You didn’t try to find Qi Chengzhi?”
Mu Huaisheng narrowed his eyes in distrust. “Find him?
“Even if we don’t speak of the despicable things that you have done, I am still too embarrassed to find him. We have not had much contact with the other members of The Great Eight Families except for Qi Chengzhi and Gui Rongxuan whom you have managed to offend last time. The Gui family didn’t punish us for offending Gui Rongxuan at that time, so I assumed that this was not their doing. The only other possibility is that Qi Chengzhi was somehow offended, and out of everyone in the Mu family, it seemed that only you could do that.”
“I’ve said that I didn’t look for him at all, so how could I have offended him?” Mu Sisi exclaimed in a slightly panicked voice.
“If you really didn’t see him, then go back to work,” Mu Huaisheng said coldly.
Mu Sisi pursed her lips and left the room.
…
…
Since Song Yu’s physical condition had stabilized, her health status further improved when her parents reconciled with Qi Chengzhi. When her mental health got better, she went back to her work at Chengshi. Even though she did not need the small income from Chengshi, she was enriched with her experience there. She thought that it was too dull to rot at home the whole day.
She told Qi Chengzhi that she would rest at home to nurture her pregnancy a month before her expected date of delivery.
She had mixed emotions about her first day back at work as she felt nervous and excited at the same time.
Qi Chengzhi had also recovered from his injury, and he was back at work too. Qi Chenglin had his hands full as Qi Chengzhi had passed him all of his workloads during his stay at the hospital.
Song Yu unfastened her seatbelt when Qi Chengzhi stopped his car at Chengshi. His gaze rested on her large belly. At that point, Song Yu’s belly looked like an inflated balloon, and Qi Chengzhi was a bit worried if she was too big for her pregnancy.
He noticed that only her belly had expanded while none of her other body parts shared the same growth. He was worried that her skinny frame would not be able to support her pregnancy weight anymore.
He only relaxed when the doctor told them that everything was normal during her routine antenatal checkup.
Song Yu’s movements were quite clumsy due to her huge belly, and so, Qi Chengzhi initiated the kiss. His warm hands held her face as her head rested on the car seat, and his kiss was soft and loving. She could even feel his long fingers as they massaged the back of her neck and ears soothingly.
Qi Chengzhi was reluctant to let her go as he kissed her. If it were not for the huge amount of work that was the cause for his hectic days ahead, he would bring Song Yu to his office with him.
His kiss transitioned from a tender and loving kiss to a passionate kiss that followed the lines of her lips. His pupils shone through his half-closed eyelids as he savored her delicate skin.