Chapter 104: A Familiar Face

After work, Qin Miaoyu spotted Lu Qian waiting at the company entrance.

Aside from an accidental encounter, Lu Qian would not have come all the way here just to wait for her. She walked up to his car and asked, "Did you come by today for something?"

"Are there still vegetables in the refrigerator?" Lu Qian asked.

Qin Miaoyu did not catch on at first, and only after a moment did she realize he must have been asking about the leftovers from the last time they cooked.

"Yes."

She only cooked when she happened to feel like it, and since Gu Jing would occasionally go grocery shopping and bring things back, there should still be some vegetables left in the fridge.

"Good. Get in. Grandma asked me to cook for you again, so I made time to come over."

Qin Miaoyu had meant to refuse, but hearing that he had made time just to come, her heart softened a little, and she got into the car.

Soft music played inside, the very style she had once adored. Yet now Qin Miaoyu was not much in the mood to listen, and instead asked about Grandma's recent condition.

"Grandma's leg is much better. With the nurse looking after her, and with your advice last time that she stay in the hospital a while longer for observation, she's recovered quite quickly. If she goes home, she'll definitely not sit still and will want to do things, and that could easily strain her leg."

Hearing this, Qin Miaoyu was delighted. "That's good. When people are older, we really do have to pay extra attention to these things."

"Yes. Grandma also said that once she's discharged, she'll treat you to a meal at home. I wonder whether Miss Qin would do her the honor?"

At his playful tone, Qin Miaoyu could not help shooting Lu Qian a mild glare.

"If Grandma invites me, of course I'll go!"

After they got home, Qin Miaoyu saw a note left on the wall by the entrance.

It was written by Gu Jing: going out on a date, not coming back tonight. My dear Miaoyu, don't miss me too much!

Qin Miaoyu smiled as she peeled the note off and set it on the shoe cabinet.

Lu Qian had just changed his shoes and straightened up when he noticed the thing she had casually set aside. Leaning over to look, he read it aloud.

At the first mention of "dear" coming from Lu Qian's mouth, Qin Miaoyu inexplicably felt her face grow warm. She thought she might not only be shallow enough to care about looks, but also a little weak for a good voice—especially when Lu Qian read that line with such a gentle tone.

She hurried into the kitchen, only to find there was not much left in it at all.

Seeing the trash in the kitchen bin, Qin Miaoyu guessed that Miss Gu had once again become a kitchen disaster. She just did not know who her latest victim was likely to be. The greatest possibility was probably Xia Lingyan.

Since Xia Lingyan had gone to Gu Jing and laid everything out in the open, the two of them had clearly made progress in their relationship, and lately Gu Jing had been going out often to see him.

Looking at the nearly empty fridge, Qin Miaoyu said helplessly to Lu Qian, "I misjudged it. There isn't much left."

Lu Qian came over, looked through the vegetables in the fridge, then rummaged in the cabinet and found some noodles.

"These vegetables are enough to make noodles."

"All right, then you decide how to do it."

Qin Miaoyu had originally wanted to help, but Lu Qian sent her to the living room to rest.

"It doesn't take much time to make a bowl of noodles."

Since he said so, Qin Miaoyu was happy to rest and went to the living room.

Only after picking up her phone did she discover that Pei Yixue had already sent her a message.

Yixue: I've already talked with them about the follow-up order. The contract also said changes could be made within a reasonable scope, so the other side agreed rather quickly.

The tension in Qin Miaoyu's heart finally eased. It was good that communication was possible; otherwise she kept feeling that something was off. She did not know whether it was because of the previous order from Miss Zhou's former fiance's family.

QMY: Okay, thank you for your hard work, my dear Yixue! Love you.

When Pei Yixue sent back a kissing emoji, Qin Miaoyu exited the chat and casually opened a short-video app to scroll.

Since she was now mainly doing wedding planning, the content she usually watched on short-video apps was along those lines as well, so most of the recommendations she received were of a similar sort.

When she unexpectedly came across a wedding setup that somehow felt familiar, Qin Miaoyu immediately sat up straight.

She tapped into the uploader's profile and found it was just an ordinary personal account. The creator was not doing marketing or traffic generation; from the content, it was simply everyday life, though lately it had become records of wedding preparations and wedding sharing.

Qin Miaoyu carefully watched the blogger's recent videos and confirmed one thing: this wedding scene arrangement was almost identical to a wedding design the studio had recently revised...

She sent the blogger a message asking which company had done the setup.

But the blogger did not look at the message for a long while.

Qin Miaoyu backed out, then called Xu Xiaoqi and explained the matter.

Xu Xiaoqi immediately realized the seriousness of it and contacted the studio staff at once.

When Lu Qian came out carrying the noodles, he saw Qin Miaoyu wearing a grave expression.

"Miaoyu, what's wrong?"

Qin Miaoyu shook her head. "It's nothing. The noodles are ready, so let's eat."

Seeing that she did not want to talk, Lu Qian merely set the bowl of noodles in front of her and handed her the chopsticks.

After they finished eating, they called Grandma.

Because Qin Miaoyu had added Grandma on social media when she visited the hospital last time, the video call this time was made by Qin Miaoyu at Lu Qian's suggestion.

"Miaoyu, that brat Qian cooked for you, didn't he?"

"Yes. He made noodles and stir-fried a topping. It was delicious!"

"Good, good. He's good at cooking, so make him do more of it when you can."

"Right, I..."

Qin Miaoyu had not finished when she heard the voice of the nurse caring for Grandma, as if she were saying something about "get out" and "you're not welcome."

"Grandma, what's going on over there?"

As she asked, she handed the phone to Lu Qian. "Listen to what they're saying over there."

"It's fine, it's fine, don't worry. It's just some fool who barged in. You haven't finished dinner yet, have you? Hurry up and eat, don't let it get cold. Grandma will call you next time."

Then the sound of the call ending came through.

Clearly, she had just said that she and Lu Qian had already finished eating, yet Grandma was telling them to hurry up and eat. Something had absolutely happened over there that Grandma did not want them to know about.

Lu Qian also suddenly rose to his feet.

"Miaoyu, I need to go to Grandma's place. I'll head out first."

Qin Miaoyu was worried too, and said, "Wait, I'll go with you and take a look."

The two of them left in a hurry and headed to the hospital.

In the hospital, Cao Xiuhua looked coldly at the woman being stopped by the nurse from approaching the bed.

Whether it was because time had favored her especially, or because her improved financial situation allowed her to enjoy all kinds of upkeep, the woman in the distance looked at least ten years younger than her actual age.

Thinking of how her own hair had already turned white at the temples, Cao Xiuhua felt that she still did not know how to enjoy life.

"Cao Xiuhua, I hear your grandson ended the cooperation between a subsidiary of the Lu Group and the Li family?"