CHAPTER 277: CHAPTER 259 LET’S ELOPE

Her Maybach was still parked in the corner, the high temperature causing the car body to scorch under the sunlight.

She opened the door, sat in the car without turning on the air conditioning, letting the sweat trickle down from her forehead. A streak found its way to the corner of her mouth, making her taste the salty bitterness.

The temperature was too high; her body felt like it was being steamed in a steam basket, each breath a struggle in the stifling air.

Yet her thoughts suddenly became exceptionally clear.

No wonder she felt Qiu Lan was familiar, because she had seen her picture in the old photo album Mu Shuoqian gave her. Back then she was much younger and didn’t look much like she does now.

And the first time she bumped into Qiu Lan at the airport, Qiu Lan had just arrived in Aus City, while she was on her way to City A.

How could it be such a coincidence that she arrived as she left?

And during that nearly one month period, Mu Shuoqian had been acting strangely. Yuan Yi said he was rarely at home, so he must have been spending time with his mother; yet he told her it was work and social engagements, he even lied when she returned to Aus City wanting to give him a surprise and found he wasn’t home.

Moreover, he clearly knew Qiu Yufei, yet he lied to her about that as well.

His transferring her to City A wasn’t to train her, but to get her out of the way because he didn’t want her to meet his mother and sister at all.

She knew that their marriage began just for mutual benefits. Mu Haotian thought she was Ruyan and despised her background, thus forbidding anyone from revealing their married status to the public.

But Mu Shuoqian was never one to acquiesce to Mu Haotian’s ways; on the contrary, he always stood his ground against Mu Haotian. Even if Mu Haotian forbade him from disclosing their relationship, if he wanted to, he could announce it to the world in a minute.

However, he never introduced her as his wife to anyone. To Li Ruhai and others, he said she was a trainee translator; in front of the Qi Family, he claimed she was his woman. Even to strangers, he never admitted her real identity.

In the past, Gu Qili never gave these things much thought, but now, many of the previously insignificant matters have been magnified and clarified.

He said he couldn’t give her a grand wedding.

Back then, she thought it was because of Mu Haotian, but now it seems that was not the reason at all.

He was afraid of her identity being known to outsiders and even more so didn’t want his close ones to know. So their marriage was just an existence even more disgraceful than mere benefits, and she had foolishly been oblivious until now.

The more Gu Qili thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt. The roiling emotions she had been suppressing could no longer be held back, and she couldn’t help but gently sob, leaning over the steering wheel.

The temperature inside the car was getting higher and higher, and yet she was completely unaware. Sweat mixed with tears slowly streamed down her cheeks, and her heart grew colder and colder.

Gradually, she began to feel some headache and dizziness, sweating even more than before,

She thought sluggishly that she might be getting heatstroke, but her limbs were weak, and even opening her mouth was difficult. If no one found her, she could suffocate to death in the car.

Her phone in the bag rang, the familiar song echoing in her ears:

～

As Mu Shuoqian left the hotel, he didn’t stop, speaking with a cold tone to Qiu Yufei who was following behind, "Didn’t you leave already? Why are you back again?"

Ye Yu looked at him with a laugh, "Shuoqian, are you surprised?"

"Answer me." His tone grew a few degrees colder.

Qiu Yufei stuck out her tongue, not daring to defy him further, and started babbling, "Well, we got to the airport, and mom received a phone call from an old classmate, who happens to be the mother of the groom holding the wedding today. As soon as mom heard her old classmate’s child was getting married, she changed the flight tickets."

"Where have you been these past few days then?"

"I took mom to City A for fun, you know I have a project over there."

Mu Shuoqian’s brow furrowed slightly, it’s very likely that on the day Gu Qili returned from City A, the mother and daughter had gone to City A, yet he had thought they had already left.

Coincidences in this world always come unexpectedly, as if someone is arranging them on purpose. No matter how much he tries to avoid them, he ultimately cannot escape.

"If the wedding is over, then leave quickly." Mu Shuoqian walked towards his car, unapologetically issuing the order for them to leave.

"Shuoqian brother, are you afraid that we might discover something here?" Qiu Yufei followed him to his car, pouting and dissatisfiedly questioning him.

Mu Shuoqian’s gaze was colder than before, and with one look, he stopped Qiu Yufei from moving any further. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Qiu Lan leisurely descending the steps.

He got into the car, and through the partially open window, he tossed out a sentence: Tell her I’ve gone back to the company.

After he spoke, the car took a turn ahead and disappeared onto the main road.

Mu Shuoqian didn’t return to the company; instead, he drove around the highways in the area, only turning back towards the hotel once he was sure that Qiu Lan and Qiu Yufei had left. On the way, he couldn’t wait to call Gu Qili, but no one answered the phone.

He knew she must be extremely angry, so it was normal for her not to answer the phone.

Mu Shuoqian put the phone aside, floored the accelerator, and ran a red light. A driver who was driving normally almost got hit by him. The driver’s car came to an abrupt stop, the driver stuck his head out and cursed, "Are you insane? Think you’re great because you drive a Maybach?"

Mu Shuoqian ran three red lights to get back to the hotel. He parked the car on the roadside and got out, slamming the car door.

He remembered she had arrived in that Maybach, so if she hadn’t left, the car must still be parked nearby.

He didn’t walk far before he saw the familiar car parked under the hotel. Even though it was in a corner, he spotted it instantly.

Mu Shuoqian strode over and looked through the driver’s side window, only to see Gu Qili slumped over in the driver’s seat.

Shocked, he hurriedly opened the door, and a wave of heat hit him in the face, almost suffocating him.

She was actually sitting alone in such a stuffy environment; didn’t she know this could suffocate someone to death?

Desperate, Mu Shuoqian bent down, scooped her up, and ran to his car. The inside of the car was so hot, yet her skin was ice cold. Could it be heatstroke?

He held her and ran to his own car, opened the door, lowered all the windows around, took a bottle of mineral water from the trunk, aimed it at her mouth, but her lips were tightly sealed, and the water simply could not be poured in. In urgency, he drank a big gulp first, then pinched her cheeks, and mouth-to-mouth, he fed the water to her. After giving her more than half a bottle this way,

her complexion gradually regained a bit of color. Only then did he get into the driver’s seat, not bothering with the seatbelt, and stepped on the gas. The car shot off at an incredible speed.

All of Mu Shuoqian’s attention was on Gu Qili. His usual vigilance was completely gone, so as soon as he left, a mother and daughter came out of the hotel’s side door.

"Mom, you were right, Shuoqian really does know Qili?" Qiu Yufei pouted her small lips, "But why did he lie to us?"

Qiu Lan stared in the direction where the car disappeared, her beautiful eyes glinting sharply like blades.

Indeed, this was also what Qiu Lan was wondering,

That face, she knew it well, but for some reason, she couldn’t remember where she had seen it.

"Ah Zhong." Qiu Lan’s voice suddenly became heavy.

Ah Zhong had been standing not far away; hearing her speak, he stepped forward two steps closer: "Madam, do you have any instructions?"

"Get me a photo of her immediately."

"Yes, Madam."

～

Gu Qili was not seriously harmed; it was just heat exhaustion. The doctor gave her an IV saline drip, advised her to drink more water, rest more, and then left.

Mu Shuoqian stayed by the bedside the whole time, holding her right hand, which didn’t have an IV needle, in his palm, just watching her with sorrowful and complicated eyes.

It was all his fault. It was that sentence of his that had hurt her, which is why she was alone in the car, suffering from heat exhaustion. If he hadn’t turned back halfway to find her, and she had been left alone in the car unnoticed, what he would be facing now would be a cold corpse.

Every time he thought about her leaving him, his heart felt as if it was being pricked by needles; so painful that he couldn’t make a sound.

All he had done was in the hope of being with her without any ties, but some things he simply could not explain to her because to explain was to lose, something he couldn’t and didn’t dare to do.

Perhaps this is what stolen happiness feels like; every step is like walking on thin ice, being careful with every second.

Mu Shuoqian thought a lot, made several phone calls in between, and after taking care of the things he wanted to do, he stayed by the bedside and didn’t close his eyes all night.

When Gu Qili woke up the next morning, what she saw were his bloodshot eyes.

That second, she stared at him, her heart aching to see his reddened eyes, but the next second, the memories of yesterday rushed back, making her eyes become as red as his in an instant.

She thought she would hysterically question him, but her expression was even calmer than she imagined.

She just quietly observed him without speaking, believing that he knew what she wanted to ask better than anyone, so she patiently waited for his answer.