My Villain Is Super Sweet (GL) - CHAPTER 42

Gu Qingci sat to the side, happily chatting with her younger cousin.

Next to them, two tables of mahjong were ablaze with heated battle.

Every now and then, someone would remember her presence and throw a few casual remarks her way.

Among the three juniors present, only the youngest cousin—just past twenty—was temporarily spared the pressure due to her age. Meanwhile, both Gu Qingci and her older male cousin were name-dropped by the elders.

But the situations were different: the cousin already had a steady relationship and had introduced his girlfriend to the family.

So, when the elders brought him up, it was with:
“They say a man should establish himself by thirty—it’s time to build a career and start a family. So, when are you getting married?”
“A girl’s youth doesn’t last forever. You better act fast!”

The cousin had come prepared and answered smoothly:
“It’s set; it’s set. We’re getting married next year.”

But the elders weren’t so easily brushed off and immediately pressed further:
“Which next year? You mean after this Lunar New Year? Or after the next New Year’s Day?”

The cousin laughed helplessly:
“After this Spring Festival—this coming year.”

“We’ve already talked about it before the holiday. After the New Year, the two families will pick a time to sit down and discuss the wedding properly.”

“Now that’s what we like to hear. As the older one, you’re setting a good example.”

“About time too! Already thirty-two, and only now thinking of getting married!”

Once they finished lecturing the cousin, the elders turned their attention to Gu Qingci.
“Got a boyfriend yet?”
“Tsk, you better hurry up! Date a few more so you can find the right one!”

“What do you mean, ‘date a few more’? Don’t be teaching her bad habits!”

“How is that teaching her bad habits? Even when you’re buying vegetables, you have to shop around for the freshest! Dating to find someone to marry shouldn’t be rushed either. You need to date at least three to five people to really know!”

Gu Qingci felt her scalp go numb just listening to all this. She forced a polite smile, thanked everyone for their concern, and promised she would “hurry up.”

Finally, her mother, Gu Minglan, stepped in to rescue her:
“Alright, alright, let’s focus on the one who’s actually getting married next year. As for Qingci, let her date a few, and when she’s sure, she can bring the right one home for us to meet.”

“If she brings every single one back, wouldn’t you all be exhausted?”

Which made sense.

No need to meet every person she dates. Just the final chosen one—the destined soulmate.

The family was cheerful and lively, tossing around suggestions about what kind of partner Gu Qingci should find.

He must be good-looking! That’s the most important!

Tall, preferably.

Someone who works out and has a bit of muscle would be even better.

Career success didn’t matter much, since Gu Qingci already had money and her own career—but his character had to be solid.

And ideally, he should adore and take good care of her.

In short, their girl absolutely must not settle for less—whether it was looks, physique, or daily life!

Gu Qingci nodded along, laughing. In her heart, she thought:
Lin Lang actually fits every single one of these…
But she wondered if they’d be scared if she really brought Lin Lang home.

Seeing her daughter smiling so sweetly—clearly thinking about someone—Gu Minglan felt a sour pang in her chest. She turned her head away in mock irritation.

She couldn’t bear to watch anymore! That kind of soft, dreamy smile, the kind you can’t help but make when you’re thinking of your sweetheart… it really challenged her commitment to being a “non-interfering” mother!

It wasn’t until the housekeeper came up and said the New Year’s Eve dinner was ready that everyone reluctantly wrapped up the conversation, hurriedly finished their current mahjong hands, and went downstairs for the meal.

When Gu Qingci received Lin Lang’s messages, her family had just finished a lively reunion dinner and were bustling about moving the mahjong tables down from the third floor.
Seeing Lin Lang’s string of three messages, Gu Qingci’s lips twitched into a smile.
Hmph! Who’s missing you?!

Then she saw the last message: Lin Lang saying she would be back by eleven at the latest—its teasing undertone practically oozing through the screen.

The young lady mentally spat at her:
Tsk, shameless!

Acting like she had promised something by saying she’d be back before eleven…

Hmph, shameless!

Though internally scolding Lin Lang for being shameless, Gu Qingci’s fingers were far more honest. After hesitating for a moment, she composed herself and sent back a very reserved reply.
“I did miss you—but just a little bit!”

After that, Lin Lang went completely silent.

Gu Qingci was baffled—what the hell is this woman doing?

Did she say she’d be back before eleven just to report in… and then run off to party?

But she didn’t have much time to dwell on it. Her family was already calling her out for hiding away on her phone and told her to come join the fun.

They’d moved the mahjong tables down to the living room on the first floor, determined to battle it out while the Spring Festival Gala played in the background for ambiance.

Since only two people weren’t playing, they were thoughtfully given something to do—a “betting channel” to bet on who would win each round, just so they could stay involved.

But Gu Qingci’s mind was clearly elsewhere, tied up in knots over a certain someone. She made random guesses each round, totally ignoring the game.

In no time, she’d already lost several hundred yuan.

By 10:30 p.m., she had received New Year’s messages from her colleagues, classmates, friends, even her roommates—but not a single word from Lin Lang.

Miss Gu was officially pissed off.

Seriously, what kind of person does that? She even admitted she missed her earlier!

She’d even sent another message afterward asking what Lin Lang was doing—still no reply.

Hmph. Too much. Way too much.

Just wait till I get back—she’s not getting off easy!
She restlessly fidgeted until eleven o’clock.

Looking over at her mom, who was still full of energy and dominating the mahjong table, Gu Qingci thought maybe it wasn’t the best time to say she wanted to leave.
But she still slowly inched over, wrapped her arms around her mom’s neck, and whined sweetly,
“Mom, I’m sleepy… I want to go home and sleep.”

Gu Minglan played a tile, then turned to look at her:
“Alright, alright, if you’re tired, go on home first. I’m staying over at my mom’s place tonight.”

“The car keys are over there in the basket. Drive yourself back. Come over for lunch after you sleep in tomorrow, okay?”

Gu Qingci’s eyes lit up—Mom’s not coming home tonight!

That meant zero psychological pressure!

She was thrilled!

She leaned in and gave her mom a soft kiss on the cheek:
“Happy New Year, Mom! Stay healthy and beautiful forever! Love you!”

Her mom laughed and lightly tapped her forehead:
“You’re just trying to sweet-talk me.”

Hmph, if you really have the guts, why don’t you bring out that little secret lover you’re hiding and let me have a look?

On New Year’s Eve night, the whole city of Rong was eerily quiet and empty. Hardly any cars on the road.
Gu Qingci kept the speed right at the limit and made it back to Yuyuan before 11:30.

After parking, she hummed a cheerful tune and called Lin Lang.

She thought proudly to herself—I rushed back just to spend New Year’s with her. She’s going to be so smug about it.
Wonder how she’s planning to tease me this time.

But the call rang and rang… until it auto-hung up.

The smile on Miss Gu’s face instantly vanished—snap.

Still not picking up at this hour??

With a dark expression, she slammed the car door shut and stormed upstairs.

Hmph!
Don’t answer the phone? Fine! Go have your New Year’s fun alone, then!

If I call that woman again, I’m a freaking pig!

Fuming, Miss Gu stomped up to the top floor, threw her bag onto the entryway bench, and stormed off to shower.

She could do separation of mind and machine just fine, thank you very much!
By the time she finally finished her slow, reluctant shower, blew her hair dry, and looked at the clock—almost midnight—Miss Gu couldn’t help but glance at her phone.
Wonderful!

No missed calls.
No messages.

If earlier she was just a little annoyed, now she was genuinely pissed off.

A deep sense of grievance welled up inside her.

She was the one who pestered me to spend New Year’s together! Flirted and teased until I said yes! And now this?

I even rushed back early, and she stood me up?!

If you’re not serious, why flirt at all?!

Miss Gu was absolutely furious.

If that woman doesn’t have a D*mn good excuse, she is NOT getting through that door tonight!

She waited… and waited… until 1:00 AM.
Yawning nonstop now, Miss Gu still hadn’t gotten a call.

She bit her lip hard.
She had sworn to herself that if she called Lin Lang again tonight, she’d be a pig.

But hey, she only said it in her heart. Not out loud. So it doesn’t count, right??

Fine! Pig it is!

Steeling herself, she muttered,
“I’ll give you one last chance,”
and called Lin Lang again.

Once again, the phone rang out until it auto-hung up. No answer.

This time, Miss Gu’s anger gave way to worry.

Lin Lang wasn’t the type to be irresponsible.
If she said she’d be back by 11:00, she’d usually have it planned out.

So why still no word? Why not picking up?

Did something happen?

Maybe she drank too much and fell asleep?

But that didn’t make sense.
Lin Lang was practically estranged from her family.
She didn’t even like them—how could she have gotten drunk celebrating with them?

Or maybe she left early and went drinking with friends?

Gu Qingci’s heart was a chaotic mess—anger, worry, frustration all tangled together.

But with no way to reach her, what could she even do?

She didn’t know any of Lin Lang’s friends, nor did she have a single one of their contacts.

Stuffed full of anger and worry, Miss Gu clutched her phone and tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep until exhaustion finally overwhelmed her and she drifted off.

Right before she fell asleep, she thought bitterly:
If Lin Lang comes back tomorrow and it turns out she ditched me for no good reason, I’ll personally make sure she regrets it!

When she woke up past nine in the morning, her first instinct was to check her phone—still no news.

She couldn’t help but call Lin Lang again, only to be met once more with that infuriating “temporarily unavailable” message.

Feeling deflated, she got up, washed up, and drove over to her grandparents’ house.

The longer Lin Lang remained out of contact, the deeper Gu Qingci’s worry grew, her mind spinning wild scenarios.
She found herself calling once every half hour, unable to stop herself.

It wasn’t until after lunch, close to 1 PM, when she’d nearly given up hope—
suddenly, the call connected.

A surge of surprise and joy overwhelmed her.
She blurted out, “Lin Lang!”

The heavy worry she had been carrying all night evaporated in an instant—
but then the bitterness from being stood up rushed back, and she was just about to start venting her grievances…

When suddenly, a young and particularly childish voice, full of confusion, came through:
“Huh? Are you looking for my sister?”

Gu Qingci’s words froze on her tongue.
She quickly asked, “Yes, and you are…?”

“I’m her little sister, Lin Yao,” the girl replied brightly. “Are you my sister’s boss?”

Gu Qingci dryly replied, “Yeah.”

She remembered that title—
Lin Lang had once gleefully shown her the contact name she used:
Boss Gu—both at work and at home.

Lin Yao giggled behind her hand:
“So what did you need my sister for? She might’ve left her phone behind when she came back home last night. When she—”
Lin Yao was about to say, “When she comes back to pick it up, I’ll tell her you were looking for her,”
but before she could finish, Gu Qingci, completely shocked, interrupted:

“Wait, you said she came back home last night?”

“Yeah,” Lin Yao answered sweetly and obediently.
After eating New Year’s Eve dinner last night, Lin Yao had originally wanted to chat with her sister for a bit.
But their mother said Lin Lang was tired and needed a nap and told her to go out and hang with her cousins instead.
By the time Lin Yao returned home, her sister was already gone.

She had been pretty upset about it.

“This morning was the ancestor worship ceremony,” Lin Yao added.

At those words, Gu Qingci’s expression immediately turned serious.

She carefully questioned Lin Yao about everything that had happened the previous night, then forced herself to stay calm as she confirmed:
“You’re saying Lin Lang didn’t drink, ate dinner, said she was tired, and went to her room to rest. But when you got back around 10 PM, she had already left, right?”

Lin Yao, sensing the tension, answered nervously but obediently:
“Yes.”

Then, almost instinctively, she added:
“We had the ancestor worship this morning, but my sister didn’t show up. She always comes every year.”

Every year, their family would gather on New Year’s Eve afternoon and again early on New Year’s Day—around 7 or 8 AM—to hold the ceremony.

Lin Yao had found it super boring without her sister there this morning, so after breakfast, she went back home by herself.
While there, she kept hearing the faint sound of a phone vibrating.
After searching for a while, she finally found her sister’s phone stuffed under her pillow—just as Gu Qingci was calling for the third time.

Lin Yao rambled on, telling the whole story.

Meanwhile, Gu Qingci felt like she had fallen into an ice-cold abyss.