Chapter 32  : Not an Outsider!

Qiao Nian felt that something was wrong. Shouldn’t Gu Zhou be eager to divorce her?

Just then, Lin Nan walked over with a folder in his hand. He greeted politely, “Second Young Master, Second Young Madam.”

“Secretary Lin.” Seeing that Lin Nan was hesitating to speak, Qiao Nian prepared to find an excuse to leave.

“Just say it here!” Gu Zhou gave Qiao Nian a meaningful look, then looked toward Lin Nan calmly. “She is not an outsider.”

Qiao Nian looked at Gu Zhou with a complicated expression, frowning slightly. She stood there with her head lowered, trying to reduce her presence as much as possible.

“I’ve withdrawn the investment in Wang Shuo’s company. Second Young Master, I’ve bought that new medical company too. The renovations will start tomorrow,” Lin Nan said respectfully.

At Lin Nan’s words, Gu Zhou nodded with satisfaction. He turned to Qiao Nian and said, “Would you like to visit the research company tomorrow?”

Qiao Nian nodded blankly. The more she spent time with Gu Zhou, the more she found herself puzzled by him.

When they returned to the house at night, Gu Zhou did not request for Qiao Nian to sleep with him. Qiao Nian privately heaved a sigh of relief and hurriedly ran back to her room.

Qiao Nian lounged lazily on the bed after taking a shower. When she thought of Gu Zhou’s strange behavior tonight, she couldn’t help but frown. She knew that no matter what she asked, Gu Zhou wouldn’t say anything if he didn’t want to.

The next day, Qiao Nian was reading a book on medicine at home. When she heard from Butler Zhao that Matriarch Gu had returned, she closed the book and walked downstairs.

“My darling girl, you’re finally here.” Matriarch Gu smiled at Qiao Nian and said gently, “I have something to tell you.”

Qiao Nian smiled and nodded.

“Today is Madam Shen’s 70th birthday. Come with me to her birthday banquet. I’ve already prepared the birthday gift for you!” Matriarch Gu smiled at Qiao Nian. In a tone that left no room for argument, she said, “I’ll bring you to select a gown first, then bring you to the stylist. Then, you’ll be able to visit the Shen family tonight.”

The Shen family?

Qiao Nian lowered her gaze. Could it be Shen Yue’s family?

That night five years ago, when she was in a daze, the person supporting her seemed to have met Shen Yue along the way.

Qiao Nian had asked someone to contact Shen Yue in the past, but Shen Yue seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving no trace behind.

How odd.

Both Li Chun and Shen Yue had disappeared after that incident five years ago.

Li Chun came from an ordinary family. The Qiao family would only need to raise a finger, and Li Chun would naturally be unable to fight back.

But Shen Yue was different. Shen Yue was the eldest daughter of the Shen family. The Qiao family did not have the ability to do anything to Shen Yue. If they did, the Qiao family would have easily been ruined five years ago.

What went wrong?

Qiao Nian’s brow furrowed slightly.

“My darling?”

“Grandma.” Qiao Nian came back to her senses. With a warm smile on her face, she gazed unblinkingly at Matriarch Gu.

Matriarch Gu grasped Qiao Nian’s hand and patted it gently. She said softly, “I know you’ve never attended such an event before. You must be afraid. But don’t worry. With Grandma around, no one can bully you!”

“Thank you, Grandma.” Qiao Nian smiled.

Qiao Nian left the house with Matriarch Gu. In the car, she secretly sent a text to Old A, asking him to continue investigating Shen Yue.

In the past, Qiao Nian had attended several banquets with Su Xue. At that time, she was still young, and she had grown up in the countryside. Every time Su Xue tossed her a gown, she would change into it, and that would be all!

After that, she was locked up in the mental hospital, and rarely appeared at any social events.

Last night was her first time attending a school banquet. That banquet was mainly a networking event, so it did have high standards for make-up or style.

However, the Shen family’s birthday banquet was different.

Matriarch Gu led Qiao Nian to the store and asked the service staff to help Qiao Nian pick a gown.

Qiao Nian had always been the kind of person who preferred staying at home most of the time. After choosing a dress, she would try it on and buy it if there were no problems.

But today, she couldn’t.

When Qiao Nian came out of the fitting room wearing the twentieth dress, she was so exhausted she could have collapsed. She stood in front of the fitting room mirror and looked at herself, not understanding the differences between each of the dresses.

“This one looks good!” Matriarch Gu, who was sitting on the sofa, saw that Qiao Nian was wearing a light blue gown that hugged her waist. The back of the dress extended all the way to her ankles and the front to her knees. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Matriarch Gu said to the service staff, “This one will do!”

Qiao Nian secretly heaved a sigh of relief. She had already been picking a dress for two hours. The morning was almost over.

Smiling, the service staff paid Qiao Nian a few compliments, and didn’t forget to issue the bill.

Matriarch Gu walked in a circle around Qiao Nian. This gown made her look even more elegant, fitting Qiao Nian’s aura perfectly. Matriarch Gu said admiringly, “This gown seems to be tailor-made for you.”

Qiao Nian smiled lightly. Lowering her gaze, she said, “Grandma, may I change out of it now?”

“Alright, you may!” Matriarch Gu nodded in satisfaction.