‘I’ll call you tomorrow,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
Qiao Tan Yuan left Du Lei Xin’s office, and Du Lei Xin’s secretary brought two cups of coffee into his office.
Gu Jiao Wu walked into Du Lei Xin’s office from the adjoining room.
‘Big brother, do you think I should help Tan Yuan?’ Du Lei Xin asked.
Gu Jiao Wu sat on the same chair Qiao Tan Yuan occupied a moment ago. He drank a sip of coffee and smiled.
‘Why bother asking if you know my answer?’ Gu Jiao Wu asked.
‘Do you want me to turn her down so she’ll knock on your door?’ Du Lei Xin asked.
‘You’re a real charmer,’ Gu Jiao Wu said sarcastically. ‘Why don’t you use your charm on Jiao Mai?’
‘Jiao Mai is different to Tan Yuan,’ Du Lei Xin said.
‘If I was you I would enlist Chen Ting Yu’s help,’ Gu Jiao Wu said.
‘You don’t understand,’ Du Lei Xin said. ‘If Jiao Mai is pressured into being with me, she wouldn’t be happy.’
Gu Jiao Wu didn’t understand what Du Lei Xin was thinking. He and Du Lei Xin were two different types of men. If Du Lei Xin loved Gu Jiao Mai then Du Lei Xin should do whatever it took to be with Gu Jiao Mai. He wanted to be with Qiao Tan Yuan. He knew Qiao Tan Yuan was avoiding him, but he was confident he could find ways to get her to take the initiative to seek him.
Du Lei Xin didn’t know how Gu Jiao Wu felt toward Qiao Tan Yuan. But he knew Gu Jiao Wu was the father of Qiao Tan Yuan’s daughter. Gu Jiao Wu wouldn’t leave Qiao’s company in the lurch. Even if Gu Jiao Wu and Qiao Tan Yuan shared a daughter, he knew Gu Jiao Wu still didn’t have closure from Gu Jiao Wu’s previous relationship with Chu Da otherwise Gu Jiao Wu would have been interested in Qiao Tan Yuan years ago.
‘Jokes aside, what’s your next move regarding Tan Yuan?’ Du Lei Xin asked.
‘Didn’t you have dinner plans with your client?’ Gu Jiao Wu asked. ‘If you don’t get moving, you’ll be late.’
‘OK, I’ll help,’ Du Lei Xin said. ‘But you shouldn’t regret letting go of this opportunity.’
‘I don’t have any regrets,’ Gu Jiao Wu said.
At the Qiao Mansion, Qiao Tan Yuan walked into the nursery. Mrs Chu was changing Xiao Bao’s nappy. Xiao Bao’s lips were pouting, she knew it meant Xiao Bao was hungry. She breast fed Xiao Bao, and Xiao Bao slept.
Afterward Qiao Tan Yuan sat on the bed, turned on her laptop and searched online about the unknown company Qiao Jie carelessly invested in while drunk. The company was a start-up company, and the value of their total assets were worth less than one million so Qiao’s company wouldn’t recover their investment if the company Qiao Jie invested in declared bankruptcy. She looked at hers and Xiao Bao’s packed bags, because of Qiao Jie’s mess she didn’t know what to do about the Denmark flight tickets. She opened another window, and searched for the airline customer contact number.
Gu Jiao Wu quietly walked into Qiao Tan Yuan’s bedroom. She was sitting on the bed, and frowning at the laptop screen. He knew she was worried about Qiao’s company, but he would act like he didn’t know what happened. When he was two steps in front of the bed, she quickly closed the window screens on the laptop and looked at him suspiciously.
‘How did you come in here?’ Qiao Tan Yuan asked.
Qiao Tan Yuan asked her family and Mrs Chu not to let Gu Jiao Wu into their home.
‘I walked,’ Gu Jiao Wu said.
Qiao Tan Yuan slammed the laptop screen down. Gu Jiao Wu always knew how to make her frustrated.
‘Get out,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
‘Is Qiao’s company diversifying?’ Gu Jiao Wu asked and sat on the bed next to Qiao Tan Yuan.
‘Has nothing to do with you,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said. ‘If there’s nothing else, get out and let me sleep.’
‘Don’t you have anything you want to say to me?’ Gu Jiao Wu asked.
‘I don’t have anything I want to say to you,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
Even if Qiao Tan Yuan had to cancel her flight tickets and was worried about Qiao’s company, she wouldn’t give Gu Jiao Wu a chance to blackmail her.
‘Are you sure?’ Gu Jiao Wu asked.
‘I’m sure,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
Gu Jiao Wu’s lips were coming toward Qiao Tan Yuan’s lips so she sat further away from him.
‘Gu Jiao Wu, don’t you need to work overtime?’ Qiao Tan Yuan asked.
Qiao Tan Yuan’s white night gown hugged her body. The body Gu Jiao Wu remembered tasted sweet in his car. He held her face, and kissed her lips.
Qiao Tan Yuan recognised the lust in Gu Jiao Wu’s eyes while he was kissing her. It was the same the same way he looked at her in his car, she blushed and pushed his chest.
‘Gu Jiao Wu, get out,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
‘Qiao Tan Yuan, besides those words, do you know how to say other words?’ Gu Jiao Wu asked.
‘If you don’t want to leave then I’ll leave,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
There were plenty of rooms in the Qiao Mansion. If Gu Jiao Wu liked Qiao Tan Yuan’s bedroom, she wouldn’t care if he spent the rest of his life in her bedroom without her in it.
Qiao Tan Yuan reached for the laptop, Gu Jiao Wu lifted her onto his lap and wrapped her legs around his waist. He wanted to kiss her lips, but she turned her head to the side and his lips landed on her cheek.
‘Gu Jiao Wu, it’s wrong for a man to force himself on a woman,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
‘You’re right,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘Tan Yuan… I haven’t forced myself on a woman before…’
Gu Jiao Wu kissed Qiao Tan Yuan’s lips. She clamped her mouth closed, and withheld her tongue from him. His hand on her waist moved down her thigh, and under her white night gown. She opened her mouth to protest, and his tongue reunited with her tongue.
Qiao Tan Yuan dug her fingernails into her palms to force herself not to immerse herself in Gu Jiao Wu’s kisses. But her heart defied her will power. She could feel his hot body even through their clothes. Suddenly she heard Xiao Bao’s cry. She pushed his chest, and would have fallen on the floor if he wasn’t holding her waist.
Gu Jiao Wu wasn’t happy to let go of Qiao Tan Yuan’s soft body on his lap. But he let her push him back on the bed to go to the nursery.
Gu Jiao Wu waited for his body to cool down before he walked to the nursery. Xiao Bao was crying, Mrs Chu changed Xiao Bao’s nappy and Xiao Bao raised her small hands toward Qiao Tan Yuan.
‘Does Xiao Bao want mummy?’ Qiao Tan Yuan asked and smiled.
Qiao Tan Yuan was at work most of the day, but Xiao Bao was always in her heart. She held Xiao Bao in her arms, and Xiao Bao’s small hands reached for her breasts.
‘Xiao Bao, you drank mummy’s milk before,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said. She held Xiao Bao’s small hand. ‘Are you still hungry?’ Xiao Bao’s face rubbed against her chest. ‘Yes, yes, Xiao Bao’s hungry. Mummy will feed you.’
Qiao Tan Yuan turned around, and carried Xiao Bao to her bedroom. Gu Jiao Wu was leaning against the nursery door, and the smile on her face disappeared.
‘Why haven’t you left?’ Qiao Tan Yuan asked.
End of Chapter Fifty-Six