The three people at the mahjong table turned their heads in unison at the sound.
Qi Mo's tall and straight figure appeared before everyone.
The mahjong room in Mrs. Sun's home had warm ceiling lights that shone down, illuminating Qi Mo's prominent brow bones.
His long eyelashes were thick, casting a small shadow beneath his eyes. The beam of light continued downward, grazing the bridge of his nose before finally being cut off by the hard lines of his jaw.
He was handsome as if he had stepped out of a comic book.
His cool eyes swept over the flustered Wang Qinwei, his voice carrying a bone-chilling authority as he calmly said,
"Is the assurance I gave enough?"
Wang Qinwei's body stiffened, not daring to meet Qi Mo's piercing cold gaze directly.
"Mr...Mr. Qi?"
Mrs. Zhou, who was standing to the side, held her breath. For a moment, she forgot the earlier chaotic scene, staring fixedly at Qi Mo.
She had caught glimpses of Qi Mo before in the neighborhood but had never spoken to him.
Only today did she realize how nice his voice was and how good-looking he was.
Mrs. Zhou finally understood why Mrs. Qi stayed silent even though she knew he was having an affair.
If it had been her in Mrs. Qi's position, she would have definitely clung onto her position as the main wife no matter what.
Even if he kept ten or eight mistresses on the side, she would absolutely defend her status as the official wife.
Sheng Mumu had already been visually attacked by Qi Mo's handsome face and beauty many times, so she was basically immune. She would not be distracted by ogling his face and forget the main issue. She blurted out, "How did you get here?"
Qi Mo's gaze slowly moved away from Wang Qinwei and landed on Sheng Mumu. The chilling aura that made people shudder completely disappeared from his eyes when looking at her. He said in a low voice, "I came to take you home."
He knew she didn't want to participate in the wives' mahjong games.
By coming directly to the Suns' to find her, he wanted to naturally lead her away.
He didn't expect to hear Wang Qinwei's words when he reached the porch.
Sheng Mumu secretly raised her eyebrows at him twice.
She transmitted a telepathic message with her eyes: Was it because you knew your affair was exposed so you came to save the situation by pretending to be a loving couple?
Qi Mo was amused by her two raised eyebrows, faintly hooking up the corners of his lips.
Sheng Mumu took a deep breath: "..."
Okay.
She understood what she had to do now.
It seemed her guess was right - it was time again to abide by their prenuptial agreement and pretend to be a loving couple in front of others.
She got up and walked over to Qi Mo, her fair arm circling around his neck as she squeezed out a sickeningly sweet smile and said,
"Hubby, you came to pick me up. We just finished our game."
Qi Mo's body stiffened as he reflexively put his hand around her waist.
Sheng Mumu took the opportunity to move closer and lowered her voice to whisper in his ear,
"Luckily you came, I was almost annoyed to death by this gossiping woman. Your affair is getting harder to cover up. Let's go home and discuss how to deal with it next."
Qi Mo's gaze darkened as he stared at her for a few seconds before replying in a normal voice, "No need to deal with it, there is no affair, it's a misunderstanding."
Sheng Mumu blinked: "???"
Hey, isn't that blatantly lying?
Weren't you seen entering a love nest with someone?
Wang Qinwei had already been stunned speechless to the side.
She had assumed a cheating man would treat his official wife coldly.
She didn't expect Qi Mo to show no coldness at all.
On the contrary, there was an indescribable gentleness in his eyes.
This kind of gentleness was something she had never seen in her husband, whom she was so proud of.
Witnessing the loving interaction between Qi Mo and Sheng Mumu made her feel like she had just eaten shit - extremely uncomfortable. She completely lost her rationality and critical thinking abilities, scornfully mocking:
"What's with the act? Everyone knows you two are estranged."
Mrs. Zhou abruptly turned her head, signalling urgently with her eyes for Wang Qinwei to stop talking.
Everyone knew that although the residents of Xiyu Yue Ting were all wealthy, there were still differences in status among the rich.
For example, her husband Zhou only had enough assets to barely purchase a house here, in order to get acquainted with more social elites.
Whereas Wang Qinwei's husband Wang's business was large in scale, but the company had been declining the past two years. It was possible that a wrong decision could lead to bankruptcy at any time.
The minor skirmishes that arose among wives due to gossip, if it really spread to the men's social circles, would take on a completely different meaning.
Right now, President Qi had already stood up to defend Mrs. Qi. Wang Qinwei really needn't continue arguing just to save face.
Mrs. Zhou pulled Wang Qinwei's clothes and advised, "Stop arguing. You misunderstood them. Mr. and Mrs. Qi have a great relationship."
Then she turned to look at Qi Mo and Sheng Mumu, "She lost money today and is in a bad mood, that's why she lashed out. Don't take it to heart Mr. Qi."
Wang Qinwei was halfway through speaking, how could she stop there? She shook off Mrs. Zhou's hand and said,
"What misunderstanding? Everyone here is married. Who doesn't understand that it's normal for a man to keep an official wife at home while secretly raising a lover outside? It's nothing surprising."
Wang Qinwei's fingers clenched tightly. "I'm just stating the facts. How is that wrong?"
Just as the confrontation had reached an impasse, Mrs. Sun, who had gone to the washroom, came back.
Her voice floated over before her figure appeared, "Aiya, Mrs. Wang, Mrs. Wang, check out the news quick, something big happened!"
Everyone looked over at the sound. A look of bewilderment on their faces.
Only Qi Mo remained unmoving, as if he already knew what was going to happen.
Mrs. Sun appeared before everyone holding her phone, "The news said that Mr. and Mrs. Wang attended a banquet together."
She looked at Wang Qinwei awkwardly, "But the Mrs. Wang in the photo isn't you!"
There was a full three seconds of frozen silence after she finished speaking.
Everyone was processing the amount of information in Mrs. Sun's words.
Sheng Mumu: ???
Today's mahjong game was truly worth it!
Not only did she earn money, she also got to eat up fresh hot gossip.
Mrs. Zhou looked back and forth between Mrs. Sun and Wang Qinwei.
Wang Qinwei was completely frozen. Before Mrs. Sun could even walk over, she rushed forward to snatch the phone, yelling,
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
Mrs. Sun, who had her phone snatched away, stumbled. After being stabilized by a servant, she saw Qi Mo was here and was surprised.
"Oh? Mr. Qi?"
Although she was concerned about the news she just saw, her instincts as Mrs. Sun still made her give the appropriate reaction first.
"We've been neighbors for so many years, yet this is the first time you've come to our home. Old Sun will be overjoyed when he finds out. He's been wanting to chat with you for a while. Old Sun will be back soon. Mr. Qi, stay for a casual meal."
Mr. Sun had tried many times to get acquainted with Qi Mo, taking the initiative to visit and invite Qi Mo out for tea or fishing, but had been rejected every time.
Mrs. Sun wanted to take this opportunity to build ties for her husband.
Qi Mo's lips curved into a faint smile, his tone calm, "Next time when I'm free, I'll make plans with Mr. Sun for tea. Today is not very convenient."
Mrs. Sun glanced at Sheng Mumu, whose waist was being held by Qi Mo, and suddenly understood. Laughing, she patted her own forehead.
"Look at me, I forgot Mr. Qi came to pick up Mrs. Qi. Next time, I'll have Old Sun set up a gathering."
Qi Mo softly responded, "Mm."
Sheng Mumu's attention was not on the conversation between Qi Mo and Mrs. Sun. Led by curiosity, her focus drifted to Wang Qinwei's side.
Wang Qinwei's eyes were wide open in shock. Her expression gradually changed from bewilderment to disappointment, then to hysterical anger.
Her nails dug into her palms, her lips pressed tightly together.
Seeing the photos in the news, her legs turned soft and she could barely stand. She managed to steady herself by gripping the corner of the mahjong table.
It was truly laughable.
She had always loved showing off her affection in the wives' chat group, whether it was a new bag or new jewelry her husband bought her, she would take a photo and post it on Moments immediately.
It was as if doing so would let everyone know how much her husband doted on her.
But only she herself knew that after five years of marriage, her husband had never been willing to take a photo with her.
He indulged her every whim when they were alone but never brought her out to meet others or introduce her to friends and relatives.
Seeing the photos in the news now, she finally found the answer.
