Chapter 187: Grandson

Not long after, Lu Qi'an and Qin Miaoyu got into the car with grave expressions.

Watching the brooding Lu Qi'an, Qin Miaoyu couldn't help asking, "What are you planning to do? Brush Li Qixiao off or what?"

Lu Qi'an shook his head. "We can't do anything for now. You know what? Li Qixiao and Grandpa actually share no blood relation..."

Qin Miaoyu's voice involuntarily rose. "No blood relation? Then why did Old Madam Li use this to provoke Grandmother?"

"That just means their plan succeeded completely with the old man!"

Otherwise, Old Madam Li wouldn't have run over there specifically.

Had he not already won Grandpa's acknowledgment, Grandpa wouldn't have suddenly been so generous to the Li family, nor would he have tried repeatedly to push for a partnership with them again.

"Then how do you know Li Qixiao has no relation to your family?" Qin Miaoyu asked.

Lu Qi'an replied, "Because of that name before, I had someone take samples from the old man and Li Qixiao for a DNA test. The results showed no biological relationship."

Qin Miaoyu found it even harder to understand. "If even you could think of using a paternity test to resolve this, why didn't Old Master Lu discover it?"

Lu Qi'an said slowly and with difficulty, "Probably because he never even thought of doing a test! There must be something else going on behind the scenes that made Grandpa accept Li Qixiao as his grandson without any testing at all!"

What a mess! Qin Miaoyu thought. Didn't Old Master Lu act all imposing and arrogant toward her before? Who would have thought he'd do something this foolish, acknowledging a grandson without so much as a DNA test!

"Still, that Li Qixiao's silhouette really looks too much like yours, and his face does bear some resemblance to the Lu family members."

At this, Qin Miaoyu suddenly clapped her hands. "Right, both of us are fools! If a grandson just popped up, wouldn't Li Qixiao's nominal 'father' be Old Master Lu's illegitimate son? Who is this person?"

Lu Qi'an massaged his temples. His mind had been entirely occupied by the fact that the old man had recognized a new grandson, completely overlooking this detail...

However, they had no idea who this illegitimate son was.

"I previously suspected that the second son of the Li family might be from the Lu family, but my father stated very firmly that it definitely wasn't him. The ages don't match up at all."

"Well, this definitely needs to be looked into. But Old Master Lu must have acknowledged this 'grandson' quite a while ago, and he never once mentioned it to any of you. How does the old man plan to handle this? I don't get it."

Lu Qi'an didn't get it either. In the past, without these complications, he naturally never imagined such a day would come.

Investigating Li Qixiao's "father" did not go smoothly at all.

It had already taken a tremendous amount of effort to dig up anything on Li Qixiao previously, but digging into this mysterious, unknown person turned out to be even more troublesome!

He wondered if Old Master Lu had cleaned up the traces once again, which was why nothing could be found.

Lu Qi'an even felt the urge to storm up to Old Master Lu and demand answers, but ultimately restrained himself. Acting impulsively might only make the situation harder to handle...

He didn't want to burn bridges with Grandpa either. After all, Grandpa's kindness to him was genuine. Though the old man's mind was currently consumed by this newly recognized "grandson," he hadn't done anything else to harm him yet.

Even so, the fact that Grandpa had deceived him inevitably left a thorn in his heart.

Last time, he had specifically returned to the old residence to ask Grandpa about this, but the old man hadn't revealed a single thing.

After checking on Grandmother, Qin Miaoyu returned to the studio.

Ever since the last group dinner, the studio employees had clearly been greatly motivated. They now exuded a fierce drive. Seeing Qin Miaoyu arrive only at this hour, someone asked, "Director Qin, did you go out to pitch a new client again?"

Qin Miaoyu laughed in spite of herself. "No. Aren't the accounts Director Xu brought in enough for you all? If I go out chasing more clients on top of that, everyone will end up working around the clock every single day."

The person who asked chuckled. Naturally, none of them wanted to work around the clock without a break, but they were also looking forward to a few more projects—after all, more projects meant a substantial commission.

Qin Miaoyu sat down at her desk, her mind still lingering on Lu Qi'an's situation, wondering how things were being handled over there.

However, when she saw Gao Qingqing waiting in the reception room, she remembered this person whom she had almost forgotten.

Had Qin Miaoyu only seen Gao Qingqing's old photographs, she definitely wouldn't have recognized her.

Gao Qingqing's previous appearance wasn't top-tier, but it wasn't bad either. Coupled with the poised demeanor cultivated by a wealthy upbringing, she had struck people as a refined beauty.

However, the current Gao Qingqing had spent nearly five years in Country Y. Presumably to better blend into the local environment, her makeup style leaned heavily toward the aesthetic of Country Y. At a glance, one might genuinely mistake her for a native of Country Y.

Her wardrobe and styling also leaned toward hip-hop, bearing no resemblance whatsoever to her former elegant persona.

Precisely because Gao Qingqing knew how vast the difference was between her past and present self, she had walked in without a trace of fear, even knowing that the studio included Pei Yixue, with whom she had past ties.

Yet, she never imagined that not only had Julia and Lu Qi'an already discovered her true identity, but Qin Miaoyu knew as well.

Therefore, no matter how differently she was dressed, Qin Miaoyu—who had seen Gao Qingqing's recent photos—recognized her instantly!

Even so, Qin Miaoyu didn't expose her, because Gao Qingqing hadn't come under her real name, introducing herself instead as Joan Raven...

"Joan Raven..."

Before Qin Miaoyu could finish, Gao Qingqing interrupted, "Raven, Joan. Just call me Joan."

Qin Miaoyu noticed that Gao Qingqing placed heavy emphasis on her English name, but she didn't dwell on it. Following the other's lead, she asked, "Alright, Miss Joan, which aspect of wedding planning would you like to explore?"

Gao Qingqing said, "Which aspect? I want to know if your studio does dark-themed weddings? I really love this style, so I hope my wedding will be like that."

A dark theme was naturally feasible, but knowing that Gao Qingqing's purpose wasn't actually to book a wedding design, Qin Miaoyu deliberately asked, "May I ask if Miss Joan's significant other is also willing to have the venue decorated in this style? If not, it might lead to a lot of trouble later on."

Qin Miaoyu wasn't making this up; after all, one of the studio's very first projects after opening had nearly hit the rocks due to conflicting opinions between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

Consequently, whenever their studio took on orders thereafter, they made it a point to confirm both parties' stances. Only when both sides agreed would they accept the commission and begin designing, so as to avoid messy complications down the line.

Gao Qingqing's expression darkened slightly at this question, and she merely retorted, "Never mind about that, he listens to whatever I say. Just tell me whether you can do it or not!"