The Slacker Stepmother and the Non-Domineering CEO

Chapter 175

[Group Chat: The Four Most Handsome Boys of No. 15 High School]

[Gu Zhijing: I'm treating everyone to lunch today!]

[Qu Zizhou: Did you strike it rich?]

[Chu Mingyan: Thanks, young master Gu!]

[Qi Anlu: Meet at the bookstore on Jiangxin Road]

Gu Zhijing could barely remember the last time he'd been to a bookstore. To show how seriously he was taking this occasion, he specially picked out his current favorite pair of shoes from his shoe cabinet.

Truth be told, Gu Zhijing usually received quite a generous allowance, but whenever he actually needed money for something, he felt broke. The reason wasn't hard to figure out: it had everything to do with the wall full of shoes in his room.

Gu Junxing knew about this habit but didn't interfere with whether his son was buying shoes or anything else, as long as it wasn't anything questionable. After all, the allowance was fixed: once it was spent, it was gone.

Around 9:30 in the morning, the four boys gradually arrived and met up outside the bookstore.

Chu Mingyan's practice books were usually bought by his mother, while Gu Zhijing and Qu Zizhou... well, they were considered diligent if they could just complete the school-assigned workbooks.

So upon entering the bookstore, it was essentially Qi Anlu leading three followers, each clutching a shopping basket and trailing behind him like ducklings.

In the educational materials section, whenever Qi Anlu found suitable books, he'd take out three copies and distribute them like dealing cards, one into each basket. With each additional book, Qu Zizhou's face dropped a little more.

After selecting one or two books for each subject, Qi Anlu stopped. There was no point in getting more: they wouldn't be able to finish them anyway. Of course, the selections weren't identical; he had adjusted them according to each person's academic situation.

"That's enough. Try to finish these before the final exams," he said. The timeline was tight, but there was no other way: progress required effort.

"Why do I have the most?" Qu Zizhou complained after comparing his basket with Chu Mingyan's and Gu Zhijing's, confirming he indeed had the largest pile.

"Mingyan has already done some of these, and Zhijing is good at English and has a solid foundation in math," Qi Anlu explained, leaving the rest unsaid.

After spending considerable time selecting books for the three of them, Qi Anlu picked up two different ones for himself and was ready to head to checkout for lunch.

Walking in front, Qi Anlu suddenly stopped as he turned past a bookshelf. He backed up and grabbed Qu Zizhou, who was about to walk out.

"Wait, don't go out yet."

"What's wrong? Did you see someone?" Qu Zizhou instinctively shrank back, whispering.

"I saw my mom."

Qi Anlu found it strange: he couldn't understand why his mother would suddenly visit a bookstore. Although she had graduated from high school, he had never seen her read books at home in all these years.

Qu Zizhou, still clueless, asked, "Auntie's here? Why don't you go say hello?"

Gu Zhijing kicked Qu Zizhou's shoe, signaling him to be quiet.

Though not understanding why, years of friendship made Qu Zizhou tactfully fall silent.

Qi Anlu peeked out again and saw his mother talking to a store clerk, who pointed her in a certain direction, which she then followed.

The bookstore had different sections: they were in the educational materials area, with classic literature and other sections further in, though he couldn't remember exactly what else.

He asked his friends to wait while he quietly moved deeper into the store, using the tall bookshelves as cover to observe his mother.

He watched as she approached a bookshelf in the far right corner, pulled out a book after browsing for a while, and sat down on the floor to read.

He noticed she didn't start from the first page but from somewhere in the middle, suggesting this probably wasn't her first visit.

Afraid of being discovered, he didn't get closer and retreated instead.

"Let's go," he said quietly, gesturing his friends toward checkout.

Gu Zhijing gently patted him. "Everything okay?"

"It's fine. Maybe my mom just suddenly felt like reading."

After purchasing their books, the four went for lunch. Though it was supposed to be Gu Zhijing's treat, and Qu Zizhou had planned to take full advantage of this opportunity, they wandered around for quite a while without deciding where to eat.

They ended up at KFC, where everyone ordered piles of fried chicken and burgers.

"See how considerate we are, Zhijing? Choosing KFC so we don't make you spend too much."

"Since when is KFC cheap?!" Gu Zhijing stuffed a crispy chicken leg into his mouth. "You're just a country bumpkin who can't appreciate fine dining. You should be grateful for KFC."

Qi Anlu listened to his friends' banter from the side, feeling somewhat relaxed, though doubts still lingered in his mind. He couldn't shake the feeling that his mother's appearance at the bookstore wasn't coincidental.

After lunch, Qu Zizhou wanted to hang out longer, but his request was firmly rejected.

"No more playing games for now. Go home and start working on these problems immediately. Try to do as many as you can, and ask me about anything you don't understand on Monday," Qi Anlu diligently fulfilled his role as the group's "tutor."

Qu Zizhou asked with a grimace, "What if I can't solve any of them?"

"Many of these are the most basic problems. If you can't solve any, maybe you should repeat the year."

After giving his instructions, the four went their separate ways.

Before leaving, Qi Anlu looked back at the bookstore but decided to head home first.

Around three in the afternoon, while doing homework in his room, Qi Anlu heard movement outside and guessed his mother had returned.

"Mom, where did you go?"

"Oh? You're home? Didn't you say you were going to the school library? You're back early. Have you eaten?"

Going to the school library was Qi Anlu's excuse, in case Qi Wenhan suddenly asked his mother about his whereabouts.

Qi Anlu had to answer, "There wasn't much to do so I came back. I ate before coming home. Where did you go?"

Zhou Xinfang smiled and said, "Nowhere special, just went shopping with a friend, looking for clothes, but couldn't find anything suitable."

Qi Anlu nodded and said, "If you didn't find anything suitable, you can always look around more."

Inside, he felt increasingly uneasy. Going to a bookstore wasn't something to be ashamed of, so why hide it?

"What would you like for dinner? Your father said he won't be home tonight, so it's just the two of us."

"I've been craving your braised pork," Qi Anlu said, while forming a plan in his mind.

"Mom, I left a book at school. I'm going to go get it."

Zhou Xinfang didn't suspect anything, only reminding him to be careful and to return before dinner as she watched him prepare to leave.

After leaving home, instead of going to school as he'd told his mother, Qi Anlu returned to the morning's bookstore.

He had deliberately memorized where his mother had been reading earlier, and now he wanted to see exactly what kinds of books were in that section.