CHAPTER 8
Shu Yanyan's gaze seemed unfocused, unable to find a focal point. Chu Yu felt like she was the one Shu Yanyan was looking at, but then thought it couldn't be possible.
She approached and returned Yunmiao to the distraught mother, comforting her gently, "I'm sorry, the situation was unusual, so I kept her by my side for the time being."
Yunmiao couldn't hold back and peeked out from Chu Yu's embrace. "Mommy, hug~"
Shu Yanyan instinctively turned her head, but then snapped back to reality, reaching out to wipe away the tears on her face. She took Yunmiao in her arms and asked with concern, "Is Yunmiao okay?"
Yunmiao looked at her with concern, saying, "Mommy, I'm fine..."
Shu Yanyan's emotions were off. Yunmiao saw this and she pouted, tears welling up in her eyes. "It's Yunmiao's fault. Yunmiao went with Guan Guan and made you worry. Mommy, don't cry, Yunmiao knows she was wrong..."
Shu Yanyan quickly forced a smile. "It's not Yunmiao's fault!"
She tried to cheer up. "Actually, Guan Guan already told Mommy about your outing. Yunmiao did nothing wrong, and Mommy wasn't worried." She made up an excuse. "It's just... Mommy missed Yunmiao so much that seeing her makes Mommy especially happy!"
Yunmiao was convinced and sniffled, retracting her tears. "I miss Mommy too!"
Shu Yanyan caressed her hair. "When Mommy saw you in the car, our little Yunmiao did so well, not showing any hint of stage fright. Mommy is proud of you."
Yunmiao's face immediately turned red. "It was big sister who taught me."
She became excited as she recalled what happened earlier. "Mommy, do you know what? Big sister is amazing. When the bad person kicked Yunmiao to the ground, but in the blink of an eye, Yunmiao appeared in big sister's arms. Yunmiao doesn't even know what happened."
Shu Yanyan nodded with a smile.
Chu Yu didn't want to interrupt their mother-daughter moment, so she tactfully stepped aside.
Xiao Yun approached and reported on the situation from Star Network.
Chu Yu smirked. "The situation is out of control. Uncle will definitely take action."
"Monitor him closely along with his assistants. I need to obtain direct evidence of their connection with the navy."
Xiao Yun nodded. "I understand. Also..."
As Chu Yu listened to her report, she kept an eye on Shu Yanyan and Yunmiao.
Suddenly, it seemed like the mother and daughter started discussing something about her, and Shu Yanyan looked up in her direction.
Chu Yu felt a slight stiffness in her body.
Xiao Yun had been following Chu Yu for a long time and immediately noticed her unusual behavior. Distracted, she asked, "...Emperor?"
Chu Yu stiffened her neck and raised her hand to adjust her collar. "...Did my clothes and hair get a bit messy from holding the child just now?"
Xiao Yun didn't understand, but answered honestly, "Yes, a little."
Chu Yu widened her eyes slightly. "My hair is messy? I can't see it."
Xiao Yun reached out directly.
Chu Yu instinctively wanted to dodge, but ultimately resisted and allowed Xiao Yun to smooth out a stray strand of hair on her head.
On the other side, Shu Yanyan withdrew her gaze, feeling complex emotions as she lowered her head.
Did she... already have a partner?
Their actions were so natural and intimate.
After confirming her appearance was in order, Chu Yu once again used her peripheral vision to observe Shu Yanyan. However, she noticed that Shu Yanyan had already shifted her gaze elsewhere and wasn't looking at her anymore.
For some reason, the Emperor felt a bit deflated.
With her mind in a muddle, Shu Yanyan didn't want to stay in this place any longer. After finishing a topic, she approached Chu Yu with Yunmiao in her arms to bid farewell. "...Emperor, Yunmiao has caused you trouble. Thank you for taking care of her just now."
"It's getting late, we should leave." Chu Yu clenched her fist and then relaxed it, nodding in agreement.
She looked at Xiao Yun. "Arrange a car to escort Ms. Shu and the child back home."
Xiao Yun replied, "Yes."
Shu Yanyan quickly waved her hand. "Ah... there's no need. We can go back on our own."
Chu Yu said, "It's no trouble. I just want to send you back, not..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Shu Yanyan's communicator rang.
Shu Yanyan said, "Sorry," and took a few steps away to answer the call.
"Yanyan, are you done with your task? I'm taking Xiao Tian out now. Let's have lunch together and then we can go to the shopping street in the afternoon."
Shu Yanyan paused for a moment, then nodded in response. "Okay."
She glanced at Chu Yu and Xiao Yun. "Can you come to the vicinity of Zhenan Road to pick us up?"
The voice from the communicator confirmed, "Zhenan Road? The one next to the palace?"
Shu Yanyan replied, "Yes!"
The other person chuckled lightly. "How did you end up there? But it's a coincidence, we're not far from the palace. I'll probably... hmm, be there in ten minutes. Wait for me somewhere nearby."
Shu Yanyan breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, I will."
After ending the call, she looked at Chu Yu. "Um, my friend is coming to pick me up, so you don't have to trouble yourself anymore."
Chu Yu didn't insist any further and nodded. She personally saw Shu Yanyan and Yunmiao off.
Little chubby bird was lingering behind the mother and daughter and waved goodbye to Chu Yu. Chu Yu glanced at it and said coldly, "Connect to the MF620 system by yourself tonight."
Little chubby bird blinked, nodded dejectedly, and then flapped its wings to catch up with Shu Yanyan's pace as they left.
Chu Yu didn't immediately return but stood on the steps for a while.
Xiao Yun felt puzzled by her behavior but didn't dare to rush her. She observed carefully and noticed that Emperor's gaze was still following Shu Yanyan and her daughter, who were already walking far away.
Emperor, what are you thinking...
Can't bear to part with that little girl?
Xiao Yun was very satisfied with her own speculation. She herself couldn't bear to part with such an adorable and well-behaved little cutie! Unfortunately, with the Emperor around, she didn't have a chance to get closer to Yunmiao. Otherwise, she would have definitely invited the little cutie to play more!
In the end, she could only stand behind Chu Yu and watch as Shu Yanyan and Yunmiao boarded a new hover car on the side of the street.
The distance was too far for her to see clearly the face of the woman who opened the door for Shu Yanyan as they got off the car, but she had a sense that the person was of decent height and was likely an Alpha.
"Let's go."
Xiao Yun was startled by these words and quickly caught up with Chu Yu's steps.
Chu Yu took off her gloves while giving instructions. "Have the Southwest Financial Bureau initiate an investigation into Xiqi Qilin Resources Company and bring it under state ownership."
Xiao Yun tried to keep up with the Emperor's train of thought and reacted with surprise. "Didn't you say before... the focus was on pressuring the prince in the preliminary stage? Are we directly taking back Xiqi Qilin?"
Chu Yu's tone turned cold. "Can't I change my mind?"
Xiao Yun shivered.
She understood now that her Emperor was angry, and moreover...
Extremely angry!
But what is she angry about?
Wasn't she happy when she was holding the little girl in the car just now?
Xiao Yun was puzzled and responded, "Of course, of course you can. Hehe, I've always said before that the prince should be taught a lesson! I'll take care of it right away!"
Chu Yu was slightly satisfied with this response and quickened her pace as she walked ahead.
Now let's go back to Shu Yanyan's side.
She fastened her seatbelt in the driver's seat and looked up. "Miss Fang, thank you for your help."
"I've told you to call me 'Suqing'," Fang Suqing responded while setting the destination. "Your daughter calls my daughter 'Tian Tian,' and my daughter calls Yunmiao 'Miao Miao.' But you keep calling me 'Miss Fang'. Does that mean you don't consider me as a friend?"
Shu Yanyan waved her hand. "No, it's not like that."
She lowered her head, quickly adapting to the situation, and said, "Then... thank you, Suqing."
Fang Suqing was finally satisfied.
She asked, "Is it okay if we have regular home-cooked dishes? Do you or Yunmiao have any dietary restrictions?"
Shu Yanyan nodded. "Everything is fine."
Fang Suqing smiled. "This restaurant has very good reviews and the dishes are healthy. I've taken Xiao Tian there twice, and she really liked it. I hope Yunmiao will also enjoy it."
Shu Yanyan's mood eased a bit. "Their tastes are very similar, so Yunmiao will definitely like it too."
"Speaking of tastes," Fang Suqing looked at her and said, "I've always been looking forward to your cooking."
"I wonder when I'll have the opportunity?"
Shu Yanyan was taken aback but quickly agreed, "Once I have everything prepared for the restaurant, I will definitely invite you all before the grand opening."
Fang Suqing nodded. "I'll hold you to that. You can't go back on your word."
Shu Yanyan also smiled. "I won't."
The four of them happily visited a restaurant, and in the afternoon, Fang Suqing drove them to a shopping street in the east of the city.
She took out a card and opened a storefront, introducing it to Shu Yanyan. "This is it."
Shu Yanyan clicked her tongue. "I didn't expect the location to be so good. The rent is only 200,000 for two years... Isn't that too little?"
One of the reasons she made up her mind to bring Yunmiao to the Huaqi Empire was because of Fang Suqing.
Before Shu Qing disappeared, Shu Yanyan frequently made pastries and sold them on the Star Network. She didn't advertise and the production was limited, so she never promoted it widely.
Fang Suqing was one of her loyal customers.
During the period when Shu Qing had just disappeared, Shu Yanyan closed her business for nearly half a year. Fang Suqing left many messages for her on Star Network. Later, when Shu Yanyan saw them and replied, their relationship gradually became closer than an ordinary customer.
In these two years, Fang Suqing had helped Shu Yanyan a lot. Of course, Shu Yanyan had also sent many pastries as a token of gratitude.
About two months ago, Fang Suqing had a shop under her name. The previous tenant couldn't continue the business due to personal reasons, and Fang Suqing immediately thought of Shu Yanyan.
She persuaded Shu Yanyan and invited her to open a shop there.
With money only going in and not coming out, and with the lack of progress in the investigation by the Federation, Shu Yanyan finally made up her mind to bring Shu Yunmiao to this unfamiliar empire.
Fang Suqing replied, "...It is indeed slightly lower than the market price."
She invited Shu Yanyan to enter the shop together. "But as you know, the shop was transferred because the previous tenant breached the contract. The other party compensated for the breach, so the rent was accordingly reduced."
Shu Yanyan said, "But this is still too low..."
Fang Suqing replied vaguely, "Are you still worrying about me, the capitalist?"
Shu Yanyan was taken aback and fell silent.
The interior of the shop had already been renovated, and it was evident that the previous tenant also intended to operate a food and beverage business. The overall interior decoration of the shop was cozy and lovely. Shu Yanyan walked around and was extremely satisfied. "The layout doesn't need to be modified. I just need to have someone make some minor changes to the interior decoration, and we can open for business right away!"
Fang Suqing said, "That's great!"
She bent down and touched her daughter's hair. "Both I and Tiantian are looking forward to it."
"By the way, what are you going to sell? Have you decided?"
Fang Tian chimed in. "Aunt Shu, Aunt Shu, I want to eat delicious food!"
Shu Yanyan winked at her. "I'll keep it a secret for now. I plan to open a beverage shop as the first store, and also sell some desserts that you both have never tasted before."
Fang Tian got excited.
She hugged Yunmiao and said, "I want to come here every day! That way, I can play with Miao Miao and eat delicious food!"
Yunmiao, being pressed in her embrace, had a distorted face but still nodded happily. "Tian Tian, come every day~"
Shu Yanyan didn't say anything, she just smiled as she looked at the two of them.
However, beneath the cheerful facade, her heart was shrouded in a shadow.
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