Gu Qimiao hesitated and didn’t answer immediately. After a while, she explained, "But I still need to work for him for a while."
Gu Moming looked at her seriously and said, "Quit your job, I’ll take care of you."
"I like my current job, and it’s more like I’ll be taking care of you, you’re so wasteful."
This made Gu Moming laugh. Seeing his expression soften, Gu Qimiao said, "I promise you that this won’t happen again, and I’ll try not to go out so much. I’ll come home on time every day!"
Gu Moming gave her a sidelong glance, as if considering whether to forgive her or not. Gu Qimiao stared at him with wide, unblinking eyes, looking so innocent that he couldn’t bear to get angry with her.
He reached out and pulled her into his arms, asking, "Where do you want to eat?"
Gu Qimiao smiled softly and said, "That place we went to last time."
She took a few steps with him, then turned back to take the half-finished pack of cigarettes from his desk and stuffed it into her bag. "No more sneaking cigarettes!"
He grabbed the car keys and gave a perfunctory "Mm-hmm."
They originally planned to eat hotpot, but considering Gu Moming had surgery last night and couldn’t have spicy food, they went to a place with milder home-style dishes instead.
They had lunch at two in the afternoon, both starving. Once Gu Qimiao had eaten a bit, she hesitated to bring up the blind date his mother mentioned.
"Moming, what do you think about what your mom said last time?"
Gu Moming looked up at her briefly, "What about it?"
Gu Qimiao gave a dry laugh, feeling like mentioning it would get her scolded, but if she didn’t, she’d be scolded by his mom instead. A dilemma.
"The blind date! Your mom is thinking of you. It’s time you found a wife. You can’t spend your life with just cars, right?"
Gu Moming put down his chopsticks and stared at her, "What did she offer you for this?"
"Nothing, I just think your mom’s concerns aren’t without reason. You’re 29 now, almost 30. Look at your classmates, their kids are already in kindergarten!"
Gu Moming chuckled, "You’re 23, in girl terms, that’s an aging leftover woman. Should I get you married off first?"
"Why drag me into this? How is 23 an aging leftover woman? I just graduated from college!"
"See, you don’t want a blind date either. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, okay?"
Of course she understood, but she was being pushed by his mom!
"Oh come on, it’s not like you don’t enjoy flirting. Since you came back, you’ve been busy with the store. Just take it as meeting some new girls. It’s not a big deal for you."
Gu Moming took a sip of tea, "Didn’t you tell me to stop flirting?"
"This isn’t flirting. Just go and have a look. Those girls are really pretty... Or if you don’t like them, you could date Xiaoxiao! She really likes you!"
At the mention of that name, the smile vanished from Gu Moming’s face, "Because she’s Shen Yanchen’s sister, you’re favoring her? What? If I marry her, you’ll get closer to Shen Yanchen?"
"No... If you don’t like Xiaoxiao, then you really should go on the blind date. Once she knows you’re taken, she won’t bother you anymore."
Actually, she was pushing Gu Moming to make a decision, not wanting to see Xiaoxiao keep making unreciprocated efforts. Even she thought it wasn’t worth it.
Gu Qimiao turned and took out two photos from her bag, ones she guessed he’d like.
"Look at this one, how about meeting tonight?"
Gu Moming glanced at the photos and immediately understood why she was pushing him to go on the blind date so actively. These photos were from his mom. She must’ve been behind this.
"And this one, don’t you type with a good figure?"
Gu Moming took the photos, pretending to be interested, and looked at the information on the back. Just when Gu Qimiao thought he was interested, he said, "Women like these should be directly taken to a hotel."
"They’re respectable working women!"
"You think they’re good?"
"Yes, how about meeting tonight? It’s not like you have to marry them right after meeting."
"Okay, I’ll meet them. You come with me."
Outside the restaurant, a black SUV was parked by the roadside. He Ye took a few photos and sent them to Shen Yanchen, with a message: Your Miaomiao is on a date.