On the day Fu Shinian left, Su Mu took Qiqi back to the small apartnt and called the old lady to report back. The old lady laughed and said that Fu Shinian had already told her about it, and by chance, she was going to Fanshan Temple to offer incense and would not be at ho for a week. She would take her and Qiqi over after she returned.
Su Mu did not know if the old lady was really going to Fanshan Temple, but she clearly felt Fu Shinian’s thoughtfulness. After all, for her, the relationship with Fu Shinian was just a pretense. Now that Fu Shinian was not at ho, Su Mu would feel uncomfortable staying there whether it was appropriate or not.
Perhaps Fu Shinian was worried that it would be difficult for Su Mu to explain things to the old lady, especially since the old lady was very fond of Qiqi. Therefore, everything was arranged in advance and Su Mu simply notified her.
Qiqi took on all the tasks that Fu Shinian had given her. Besides going to school, whenever it was just her and Su Mu at ho, she constantly supervised Su Mu, forbidding her from touching water or lifting heavy objects—she was a little monitor in full effect.
After a day’s ’supervision’ work, Qiqi would always spend a few minutes video calling Fu Shinian, reporting what she had done that day seeking praise. Sotis, Fu Shinian would be in a eting, but as long as Qiqi called, he would pause the eting to answer.
Su Mu also had a few conversations with Fu Shinian, telling him not to indulge Qiqi too much and to prioritize his work. Fu Shinian smiled at Su Mu on the screen and said softly:
"I’m not indulging Qiqi. I just want to know what you did today, whether you behaved, whether you ate well. If I called you, you wouldn’t patiently tell everything like Qiqi does."
Even through the screen, Su Mu felt her face red with embarrassnt. It was ridiculous—she had been married before, and now Qiqi was three years old. Yet at this mont, she felt the sensation of being in love. She laughed at herself, scorning her own thoughts.
"Aren’t you worried that Qiqi won’t behave?"
"I’m not worried," said Fu Shinian. "She has you to look after her, and I am at ease with that. But now that I am not by your side, I can’t help but worry."
Su Mu’s reaction was to hang up on Fu Shinian’s video call after being taken aback for a few seconds. Nevertheless, her heart, pounding chaotically, took a long ti to return to calm.
Qiqi had fully adapted to kindergarten life. Every ti Su Mu picked her up, the teachers couldn’t help but praise Qiqi, comnting on her politeness and friendliness towards classmates. They could see the careful upbringing and nurturing by the parents, and Su Mu felt a little proud with each complint.
Qiqi was the child she had raised with all her heart, and to receive such recognition naturally filled her with joy.
Su Shiyue had also started working at the studio. Although there wasn’t much work every day, she was satisfied with her current life, feeling very fulfilled. Her interest in photography hadn’t been unearthed yet, but that didn’t stop her from enjoying her ti there.
The forr Su Shiyue was cold and aloof due to her family background, which inevitably led to so arrogance. But after years of experience, her character had llowed, and she had made quite a few friends at the studio. Su Mu was very pleased about this.
On the fourth day of Fu Shinian’s business trip, Su Mu dropped off Qiqi in the morning and returned to the studio. She soon received a call from Wei Shaoqin, who got straight to the point:
"Are you at the studio?"
Su Mu: "Yes, what’s up?"
"I’ll be there soon," Wei Shaoqin paused. "Bringing a friend."
Su Mu almost imdiately thought of Yu Qingzhou. Last ti, he ca to Jiangcheng City intending to do a photoshoot, but Su Mu was facing the studio’s relocation and couldn’t take the job. He ntioned he would co to Shen City to find her later, but he hadn’t done so yet. Perhaps today was the day.
When Wei Shaoqin arrived at the studio, Su Mu was reviewing a new set of photographs. When Lin Ning brought Wei Shaoqin and Yu Qingzhou into the office, Su Mu looked up and smiled slightly:
"That was quick. Were you nearby?"
"Hmm," Wei Shaoqin responded, imdiately noticing the bandaged arm and frowning slightly, "What happened?"
Wei Shaoqin probably didn’t know about the incident that had occurred between Su Mu and Jiang Bei in the mall last ti. Su Mu could have ntioned it, but since Yu Qingzhou was present and it sowhat concerned Jiang Bei’s privacy, she didn’t elaborate, rely saying:
"I accidentally took a fall."
Though most of the wound on her arm had scabbed over, it still looked rather startling. Wei Shaoqin definitely wouldn’t believe an excuse like tripping, but he seed to understand she had her reasons for not explaining and didn’t pry further, instead giving her a deep look. He cursed Fu Shinian inwardly for keeping the truth from him, when he had said it was nothing serious that day, but the reality proved otherwise.
Su Mu invited the two to sit in the guest lounge and instructed Lin Ning to bring in coffee. Before she could say anything to Yu Qingzhou, Wei Shaoqin had already spoken up:
"I ca here intending to ask you to shoot a set of portraits for him, but seeing this, let’s forget it."
Su Mu looked at Yu Qingzhou:
"You already made one trip to Jiangcheng City without succeeding, I’m really sorry. I won’t let you co all this way for nothing again. Do you have any preferred style? If not, you could take a look at our sample work and make a choice."
Hearing this, Wei Shaoqin glared:
"What do you an? Are you saying you want to take the photos?"
"Of course, I’ll shoot them."
"Don’t forget, you’re still injured."
Su Mu glanced down at the mostly healed wound on her arm: "It’s fine now."
Then, looking at Yu Qingzhou, she said, "Don’t listen to him. Whether or not I can shoot is up to ."
"No!" Wei Shaoqin was firm for once: "If you dare pick up the cara today, I’ll call Fu Shinian. I doubt he’d allow you to do this, right? Have you thought about how to explain it to him? Aren’t you afraid he’ll co back and give you trouble?"
Su Mu was about to say sothing to Wei Shaoqin but was interrupted by Yu Qingzhou with a smiling interruption:
"Alright, you two don’t have to argue over . Miss Su, it’s not mandatory to shoot today. Let’s wait until your injury heals so it doesn’t leave any complications. I’ll be in Shen City for a while anyway, there’s plenty of ti."
Su Mu smiled:
"No one knows better than I do how my injuries are. I wouldn’t joke around with my health. If I really couldn’t shoot, I wouldn’t have told you so."
"Okay, I know, but I’m not prepared today. Let’s look at the sample work first."
Since Yu Qingzhou said that, Su Mu couldn’t insist otherwise. With a slight smile, she pressed the intercom to have soone bring over the sample work.
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