Qin He was still a little stunned. Gu Qichen had clearly been able to dodge it. Even with her seven-month pregnant belly, she could have dodged that speed.
She had seen Gu Qichen's skills before. He had deliberately not dodged.
Qin He pursed her lips.
"Xiao He?" Old Mrs. Gu pressed.
Qin He snapped back to reality, giving a sheepish smile and looking at Mrs. Gu opposite her, who nodded meaningfully.
Her heart was a mix of emotions, "Mmm."
"Qichen, you can't bully Xiao He anymore, understand?" Old Mrs. Gu pulled Qin He's hand. "Look, Xiao He's hands are calloused from cooking for you every day!"
Saying this, she lowered her head to look at Qin He's soft little hands, a hint of confusion in her voice, "Where are the calluses?"
Qin He paused. She had lost her memory before, but for the past six months since waking up, she had been pampered by the Qin family. Her mother and brother wouldn't let her do any chores, so where would calluses come from?
Only when she held a scalpel before did she get some thin calluses, but they were on the side of her fingertips and almost invisible.
Gu Qichen's gaze fell on Qin He's hand.
After she left him, she had indeed been doted on by the Qin family.
She had been before as well.
Only when she was married to him did she experience the only hardship in her life.
A sharp pain pierced his heart, and Gu Qichen's face turned slightly pale.
"Don't worry, Grandma. From now on, it'll be her bullying me. I'll never bully her."
Qin He was slightly taken aback and looked up at the man.
Gu Qichen seemed to be placating Old Mrs. Gu, but Qin He's heart inexplicably fluttered at his words.
Old Mrs. Gu held Gu Qichen's hand in one hand and Qin He's in the other, bringing their hands together.
After a long while, Old Mrs. Gu seemed to snap out of a daze and looked at Gu Qichen, "Qichen, when did you get back?"
Qin He seized the opportunity to quickly withdraw her hand.
After accompanying Old Mrs. Gu for dinner and coaxing the elderly woman to sleep, Qin He then got up and left the Gu family's old residence.
Gu Qichen came out to see her off. Qin He's expression was slightly cold, "I drove here, so please don't bother."
The excessive intimacy inexplicably gave her a sense of crisis.
Between her and Gu Qichen, a vortex seemed to be forming, drawing her in with its gravitational pull.
Qin He did not want to get involved and deliberately kept her distance.
Gu Qichen stood at the door, watching Qin He leave before returning to the villa in the old residence.
Mrs. Gu was sitting in the living room. Seeing Gu Qichen enter, she sighed softly.
"Qichen, sit down. Mom wants to talk to you."
After Gu Qichen sat down, Mrs. Gu looked intently at her son, her eyes reddening.
"Son, Qin He has been visiting your grandmother recently, and I've gotten to know her better. She's indeed a good person. Mom can also see that you have feelings for her—"
Mrs. Gu hesitated, "It's just that you're divorced now, and she's carrying someone else's child. Have you thought it through?"
Gu Qichen's expression was indifferent, his voice carrying a resolute certainty, "I will only marry her in this lifetime."
Mrs. Gu's face turned bitter. If her son and Qin He hadn't divorced, how good would that be?
None of this would have happened later, and Qin He wouldn't be carrying someone else's child.
But all of this was also related to Song Nuan.
She had even let Song Nuan bully Qin He.
Mrs. Gu's emotions were a jumble.
Selfishly, she wanted her son to have his own child, rather than directly becoming a father to someone else's.
But she couldn't escape her own conscience, nor could she ignore the mistakes she had made, which had led to her son's subsequent emotional misfortune.
"Qin He told your grandmother today that she won't be able to visit for the next half a month."
Seeing Gu Qichen look up, Mrs. Gu smiled, "Qin He is going to Hai City for half a month. Her maternal grandmother, Old Mrs. Ming, is having her birthday."
Gu Qichen nodded, "I know."
A moment later, he looked at Mrs. Gu, "Thank you, Mom."
Gu Qichen did not stay overnight at the old residence and returned directly to Senyuan.
At nine o'clock in the evening, Yu Jing and several of Gu Qichen's confidants were summoned directly to Gu Corporation for overtime—
...
At Qingcheng Airport, Qin He and Qin Yun boarded the plane.
Their seats were next to each other. As soon as Qin He got on the plane, she took out her eye mask, asked for a blanket, and planned to catch up on sleep.
Qin Yun frowned, "It's only two hours, you won't get any sleep."
Qin He yawned lazily, "Brother, you shouldn't have booked a morning flight!"
"A 7 AM flight isn't that early. You're just too lazy."
Qin He said nothing. As her belly grew larger, her body became increasingly fatigued. Her sleep increased daily, yet she still lacked energy.
As they were about to land, Qin Yun woke her up.
When they exited the passage, they saw people from the Ming family were already there to pick them up.
This time, everyone was present: Uncle Ming Yusheng and Aunt Ming Fang Meiyan had both come.
Qin He happily ran out of the passage and first hugged Aunt Fang Meiyan.
Fang Meiyan was in her forties, well-maintained, spoke softly, and was beautiful and kind-hearted, yet also intelligent and sharp.
Qin He had always had a good relationship with her.
Fang Meiyan leaned over slightly, chuckling, "Be careful of your belly."
Uncle Ming Yusheng pretended to be angry beside her, but the smile on his face couldn't be hidden. "Who is your real uncle? Why are you closer to your aunt than me?"
Qin He smiled, "Uncle is jealous? Who told me my aunt is beautiful and generous? I just like my aunt."
Ming Yusheng puffed out his beard in anger.
Qin He smiled, "I missed Uncle too."
Ming Yusheng was delighted, "Give your uncle a kiss then."
Fang Meiyan laughed and chided, "He'er is all grown up, and you still want her to kiss you? Aren't you afraid she'll be embarrassed?"
The group walked out of the airport, chatting and laughing.
When they reached the car, Qin He was surprised.
"This RV, isn't it a bit too big?"
Ming Yusheng smiled, "We thought of you being pregnant, and your aunt insisted on using this car, saying it would be more comfortable for you to lie down on the way home."
Qin He was delighted and held onto Fang Meiyan's hand, refusing to let go.
"Why didn't my mother come?"
Fang Meiyan smiled, "Your mother is at home looking after your grandmother. Not everyone can come. The birthday banquet is approaching, and someone needs to be there to oversee the arrangements at all times. I missed you so much that your mother gave me the chance to pick you up."
Qin Yun smiled gently from the side, "I wanted to ask Ming Xue to come back too, but she refused, saying she wanted to come with Ming Chi. Ming Chi seems to have an engagement today, so they'll probably be back tomorrow."
Ming Yusheng sat opposite them, his face darkening when he mentioned his son and daughter, "Those two little brats, one doesn't properly come back to take over the Ming Corporation, and the other goes to Qingcheng to study. Neither of them is worry-free!"
"You still complain about them every day even though they're not worry-free?" Fang Meiyan smiled, exposing Ming Yusheng's shortcomings.
From the airport to the bustling area of Hai City, Qin He leaned against the car window and hummed a little tune, "It's been so long since I've been to Hai City. It's really nice."
Hai City and Qingcheng were both super-first-tier cities, but their architectural styles were quite different.
Because Hai City was also a tourist destination, many places still retained their old styles, albeit constantly renovated and repaired. When Qin He had previously rebuilt the western district of Qingcheng, she had also referenced Hai City's approach.
The car soon arrived at the Ming family's residence. The Ming family was located in a prime coastal area of Hai City. Old Mrs. Ming was extremely fond of planting flowers and trees, and the Ming family's landscaping was exceptionally good. Even the exterior walls of the villa were covered with climbing ivy, making the entire estate appear to be hidden among various green plants, almost invisible.