CHAPTER 257: CHAPTER 241 YOU DON’T HAVE THE QUALIFICATION

The sound was so immense that the coffee Gu Qili had just sipped almost sprayed out.

She instinctively turned her head, looking back at the coffee shop through the car window.

The road in front of the shop was where she had just left, and now there was a black Jeep stopped there, with a woman in white lying in front of it, "Hu Jiaojiao?" Gu Qili felt her own voice waver, and the hand holding the coffee cup squeezed so hard that the white ice cream and the brown liquid oozed out together, splattering her all over.

Mu Shuoqian slowly pulled the car over to the side of the road and followed her gaze to see the hit-and-run driver turning the vehicle to the right, driving away without even checking the scene.

Gu Qili noted down his license plate but couldn’t make out his face; he wore a cap and sunglasses, and even a mask in the midst of summer, she guessed the license plate must also be fake, otherwise, how would he dare to commit a hit-and-run in broad daylight.

There were countless grudges between Gu Qili and Hu Jiaojiao; they both wished the other would disappear forever, yet when a living life was bleeding out before her eyes, when she knew there was an unformed child in her belly, she couldn’t resort to indifference and standing by idly.

No matter how deep the enmity, it was not deeper than life.

Gu Qili took out her phone: "Mu Shuoqian, could you call an ambulance, please?"

Mu Shuoqian hummed in agreement, and Gu Qili pushed the car door open and got out. At this point, the accident scene had already attracted many onlookers; most were there for the spectacle. Since the responsible vehicle had fled, no one dared to offer help, fearing the responsibility would fall on them.

Pushing through the crowd of onlookers, Gu Qili saw Hu Jiaojiao lying in a pool of blood, her hands clutching her abdomen, her beautiful face twisted in pain.

She was desperately begging the people around her to call for an ambulance, but they turned a deaf ear, unwilling to even pull out their phones. Making a call could inadvertently cast suspicion on them as the culprits.

"Please, I have a child in my belly, please help me," she implored weakly, pleading until she saw a familiar face among the crowd.

She suddenly let out a bitter smile. The person she least wanted to see in her moment of utter despair and vulnerability was Gu Qili, yet every time she was in distress, Gu Qili was there, watching her as if from a spectating high ground.

This time, she must be delighted, thought Hu Jiaojiao. Struck down like this, with no one willing to lend a hand, she lay there like a paper doll for people to gawk at, her child slipping away from her body little by little...

The more Hu Jiaojiao thought about it, the more tragic it seemed, but just as she was about to turn her face away, she saw Gu Qili walking towards her. Gu Qili crouched in front of her, her expression still cold, but her words made Hu Jiaojiao freeze.

"I’ve called the ambulance already, hang in there," she said.

Hu Jiaojiao opened her mouth, surprised and at a loss for words.

Gu Qili should hate her to death, so why would she help her when no one else would? For a moment, Hu Jiaojiao’s heart surged with mixed feelings.

Seeing through her thoughts, Gu Qili’s voice grew colder: "Don’t flatter yourself. I’m not helping you; you’re not worth that much. I just don’t want an innocent life to vanish like this."

Gu Qili felt regret, regret for giving that ultrasound report to Qi Meihui. Even though she knew that Qi Meihui would find out sooner or later, the sight of this small life fading away made her feel it was the most unforgivable thing she had ever done. Regardless of the mistakes adults made, the children were innocent.

Now, helping Hu Jiaojiao was also helping herself.

Hu Jiaojiao just looked at her, her lips pale and bloodless, but her eyes garnered a complexity.

Gu Qili did not look at her, instead frantically staring at her incessantly bleeding lower body. She bit her lip, unsure of what to do, and could only say, "Hang in there."

Soon, the ambulance arrived, and the medical staff lifted Hu Jiaojiao onto the ambulance. Gu Qili instinctively grabbed Mu Shuoqian’s hand, murmuring, "I hope the kid’s alright,"

"There’s no need for self-blame. She was never supposed to have this child. A child is meant to enjoy the love of parents, not to be used as a tool. If the child is lost, perhaps it was meant to be, for being born might just lead to unhappiness," Mu Shuoqian gently embraced her, "Let’s go, have lunch first, and then I’ll take you home."

"Okay." Gu Qili took one more glance in the direction the ambulance drove off. She truly wasn’t cut out for scheming against others.

Throughout lunch, she still thought about Hu Jiaojiao’s child. After they finished eating, Mu Shuoqian informed her that Hu Jiaojiao’s child was safe, but had experienced shock and was now resting in the hospital.

Hu Jiaojiao didn’t care about her own well-being, but upon hearing that the child was fine, her heart finally settled down.

Shortly after, Hu Jiaojiao’s mother rushed to the scene, and seeing Hu Jiaojiao lying there weakly breathing, tears fell from her eyes.

"Mom, it’s okay now." Hu Jiaojiao comforted her.

Hu Jiaojiao’s mother fed her some Xiaomi porridge and peeled her an apple. Having lost a lot of blood, Hu Jiaojiao fell asleep after eating something.

Hu Jiaojiao didn’t let the caregivers and the doctor tell her mother about her pregnancy; her mother only knew she had been hit by a car.

"It will be handled, Mom, don’t ask anymore, I’m very tired."

"Alas, Jiaojiao, I’m not saying this to criticize you," Hu Jiaojiao’s mother looked at the two caregivers busy at work, "You have never had many friends since you were young, and now that something has happened, not a single visitor has come to see you. Where’s Qiqi? Qiqi is the only one who truly cares for you; why hasn’t she come by now? She must not know yet, right?"

Hu Jiaojiao remained silent, but her mind was filled with the despair she felt facing the indifferent crowd in the street today. Yet the last person she expected to help her extended a hand, and even said to her, "Hold on."

Hu Jiaojiao was distracted when her mother, peeling an orange, muttered to herself: "Qiqi is a good girl. Ever since you were children, she’s been the only one who cares about you and treats you sincerely. Your father passed away early, and the Gu Family has been gracious to us. But she never felt entitled to their help and gratefulness. On the contrary, when those so-called friends of yours talked behind your back, saying you relied on the Gu Family’s power and calling you Gu Family’s little lapdog, she didn’t hesitate to fight with them. How could she beat three or four people by herself? If I hadn’t been there by chance, who knows what shape she’d have been beaten into. Alas, which of those rich girls isn’t arrogant and domineering? Yet this child has a kind heart and has always been good to you."

"Mom, when did this happen? Why don’t I know about it?" Hu Jiaojiao suddenly sat up.

"It was that time you went to a speech competition, yeah, the one where you came first."

Hu Jiaojiao remembered. The only time she had won first place was when Gu Qili didn’t go. After she had won the prize and went looking for her, she found Gu Qili with a bruised face, claiming she fell off her bike by accident. That was when Gu Qili had a three-minute passion for cycling, and without suspicion, she believed her.

Hu Jiaojiao’s mother went on rambling about many things, many of which Hu Jiaojiao didn’t know. And all these things, Gu Qili had done for her. Yet she hadn’t told her about a single one. If it weren’t for her mother mentioning them, these things would become truly past and submerged by time.

Why did she do that? To protect her pride? To take care of her feelings? For the sake of their false friendship?

A week later, Hu Jiaojiao was discharged from the hospital, and Mu Haotian sent a driver to take her to the old Mu Family mansion.

"Miss Hu, it’s better for you to stay in these coming days, to avoid any more accidents," Mu Haotian said, glancing at her from the sofa before focusing back on the newspaper in his hands.

What he really cared about was the Mu Family’s offspring in her belly, wasn’t it?

Hu Jiaojiao suddenly thought of her mother’s words again: "She is the only one who cares about you, who truly treats you well."

Hu Jiaojiao frowned, brushing away the inner unease, walked up to Mu Haotian and said, "Mr. Mu, this car accident was intentional."

"Oh?" Mu Haotian raised his head, squinting his eyes, "Do you have evidence?"

"Although I have no evidence, the place I was at was on the sidewalk in front of the café. How could a car suddenly crash onto the sidewalk? And with so many people around at the time, the car drove straight towards me. Clearly, it was premeditated."

"I will look into this matter."

"Mr. Mu, it must have been Qi Meihui who did it. She’s been displeased with my child for a long time. She’s afraid that I’ll take her position as the wife of the eldest son of the Mu Family, so she wants to get rid of my child and then me." Hu Jiaojiao clenched her fists tightly, her eyes red with anger. The hardship she had suffered in the hospital these past days made her hate Qi Meihui even more.

"Miss Hu, without evidence, you shouldn’t sling mud," Mu Haotian’s face suddenly darkened, and his tone became sharp, a complete change from his previous mildness, "You’re tired, go upstairs and rest. The servants will call you for dinner."

"Mr. Mu..." Hu Jiaojiao tried to persuade him again.

"Go rest, don’t make me say it a second time," Mu Haotian said impatiently, opening his newspaper and giving her a stern and cold profile.

Though he was advanced in age, he still had delicate features and was well-preserved. Sitting like this, he resembled Mu Shuoqian to a certain degree.

Hu Jiaojiao stared at his face for a long time, and suddenly a daring thought sprouted in her heart, sending a chill down her spine.