Qi Xi scratched her cheek. Had she fallen behind on the news?
“Don’t worry, your girl never goes into battle unprepared. Even if he says no, I have backup plans.”
Of course, if she hadn’t gotten the marriage certificate with Qi Chenyan, Yu Li wouldn’t have dared to be this bold.
But they were legally married now, and besides, he was the father of her child. Even if he refused the interview, she could settle for asking for something less.
After all, if it weren’t for that accident with Qi Chenyan, she wouldn’t have gotten pregnant.
And if she hadn’t gotten pregnant, she wouldn’t have been forced to give up competing for the prime-time anchor position and settle for this interview program instead.
In short, Qi Chenyan bore half the responsibility—he had to take responsibility for it!
Yu Li had never been one to waste energy on internal struggles. Only a fool would leave resources unused.
“By the way, Lili, your prenatal checkup is in the next couple of days, right? What time exactly? I’ll take leave and go with you.”
Seeing how calm Yu Li was, Qi Xi naturally trusted her abilities and didn’t dwell on the topic any further.
Now it was Yu Li’s turn to feel a little guilty. She scratched her cheek and said, “Xixi, you don’t need to come with me to this checkup. After all, this is when I’ll be registering my maternity file. No matter what, the baby’s daddy should be there too.”
“Otherwise, being a dad would be way too easy for him—a hands-off boss who doesn’t lift a finger. That would be letting him off far too lightly, don’t you think?”
Qi Xi didn’t sense anything off at all and nodded in agreement. “Everything else aside, he definitely has to come to the prenatal checkup. Otherwise, Lili, you’d spend ten long months of hard pregnancy while he becomes a father without putting in any effort at all. Way too easy for him.”
Yu Li had timed it carefully, only messaging Qi Chenyan when the one-week deadline was about to expire.
As it happened, Qi Chenyan had just finished his itinerary and was on his way back to the hotel to rest.
His phone vibrated once, and the secretary beside him instantly perked up his ears.
Qi Chenyan, who had been resting his eyes, wearied from a full day’s schedule, picked up his phone and glanced at it.
He was instantly wide awake—not only did his eyes open, but he even sat up a little straighter.
It was a message from his young wife of a flash marriage.
But Qi Chenyan’s gaze lingered on the two-character form of address at the beginning for more than five seconds.
【Hubby~ Is work over? Will you be able to come back to the country in the next couple of days? I’ve scheduled a prenatal checkup to register the baby’s file. For such a meaningful, important occasion, I don’t think you, as the baby’s father, should be absent.
Of course, if you’re really too busy, I won’t force it. Reply when you see this, mwah~】
This message was the final version Yu Li had spent two days drafting.
Too serious a tone would make it seem like the two of them barely knew each other—even though that was, in fact, the truth.
But to close the distance, she used “hubby” to emphasize that they were already legally married, so that Qi Chenyan would remember his responsibilities as a husband.
Qi Chenyan stared at the word “hubby” for several seconds before his eyes finally moved down, stopping on the last two characters, his brow furrowing slightly.
“What does ‘mwah’ mean?”
The secretary, seeing Qi Chenyan staring at his phone so intently for so long, had assumed it was some critically important work matter. He hadn’t expected such a question to be thrown at him.
“‘Mwah’ means… a kiss. Young people online these days, to make their chats more fun, like to use cute little words as substitutes.”
Qi Chenyan gave a soft “mm” and returned his attention to his phone, typing out a reply. Yet at an angle no one could detect, his thin lips curved into the faintest hint of a smile.
Meanwhile, the secretary, after answering the question, was burning with curiosity, as if having eight claws scratching at her heart.
Was someone sending the Director a cute kissy emoji? My God, who could be so audacious as to flirt with the Director?
Wait—could the Director possibly be… in a relationship?
As soon as this terrifying thought surfaced, the secretary immediately dismissed it.
Impossible. Absolutely impossible.
The odds of the Director falling in love were even lower than the odds of a sow climbing a tree.
After all, who at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs didn’t know that work was the Director’s one and only other half!
“Notify everyone—we’re heading back today.”
Originally, all the visits were scheduled to be completed today, with the return flight home tomorrow.
Though surprised as to why the Director was suddenly in such a rush to get back—after all, one day wouldn’t make a difference—the secretary didn’t dare ask too many questions.
“Yes, Director.”
The prenatal checkup was scheduled during work hours.
After handing over her work and getting leave approved by Xu Hui, Yu Li planned to drive to the hospital. She didn’t know what time Qi Chenyan would arrive, but he had said he’d be back today, so he surely wouldn’t break his promise.
Just as she got downstairs, she ran into Qi Jianyue and her group.
“Yu Li, leaving work so early? Well, that makes sense—you’ve already withdrawn from the prime-time competition, so I suppose there’s not much for you to do.”
One of Qi Jianyue’s lackeys opened her mouth with a provocation.
Yu Li shot back: “Is Lanshan TV Station really so helpless that it can’t function without the seven-thirty prime-time slot? Or has someone become such a big shot since landing the lead anchor position that now she’s got the golden slot, the entire station revolves around her?”
The lackey choked, unable to come up with a response.
Qi Jianyue put on a gentle smile. “Yu Li, what’s with all the anger? I was only showing concern as a colleague.”
“But if I remember correctly, there are only two days left in your one-week deadline. I wonder—have you managed to invite Director Qi to appear on your exclusive interview show?”
The lackey immediately sneered, “Forget about inviting Director Qi—she probably can’t even get a meeting with him.”
“Oh my, could it be that you’ve been secretly following me? Otherwise, how would you know my whereabouts so well?”
The lackey blurted out, “Who would follow you!”
“If you know nothing, then shut that mouth of yours, which smells worse than a latrine pit. Nobody will think you’re mute if you stay quiet, but the moment you open your mouth, the stench could knock out half the sky.”
The lackey flushed with anger. “You—!”
“All right, since Yu Li won’t appreciate our kindness, we won’t say any more. Let’s hope you can be this tough in two days’ time.”
Qi Jianyue held the lackey back, preventing her from getting into a direct confrontation with Yu Li.
After all, whether in verbal sparring or in fighting ability, they were no match for Yu Li.
Yu Li alone could out-argue a whole crowd without suffering the slightest disadvantage.
The lackey snorted disdainfully. “Just you wait. We’ll let you stay arrogant for two more days. When those two days are up, not only will a certain someone have nothing to be arrogant about, she might even anger the board of directors and get thrown out on the street.”
“Don’t worry. In two days, you’ll be the ones kneeling and calling me Daddy.”
Both Qi Jianyue and the lackey darkened.
Having won the war of words, Yu Li walked out of the station doors, her achievements hidden and her fame unclaimed.
Her phone buzzed. It was a message from Qi Chenyan.
[Look across from you.]
Yu Li instinctively looked up and saw a Hongqi parked across the way. Compared to those million-yuan luxury cars, it seemed modest in price.
But the two characters printed on it—”Official Business”—were enough to make anyone dread it.
Yu Li hadn’t expected Qi Chenyan to come pick her up in person.