CHAPTER 292: CHAPTER 272: NO RELATION AT ALL

Mu Shuoqian acted as if he hadn’t noticed the situation here, pulling out another napkin for Zhou Xiaoyu,

Once upon a time, he treated her the same, except back then in his eyes she was only a stand-in for Zhou Xiaoyu. He couldn’t be nice to Zhou Xiaoyu,

Gu Qili tried hard to maintain her composure and indifference, pretending the man sitting there had nothing to do with her.

Once the issue with the wine was resolved, she said "Enjoy your meal" and turned away to leave.

What she couldn’t see was Mu Shuoqian, who had been elegantly eating, clenching the fist by his side tighter and tighter until he finally slammed it down onto the chair.

"Shuoqian, here, this is for you." Qiu Yufei suddenly raised her glass, perhaps due to using too much strength, she couldn’t control it,

"Ah, I’m sorry, Shuoqian, I didn’t mean to." Qiu Yufei covered her mouth, showing a startled expression of having done something wrong, "I’m sorry."

Mu Shuoqian didn’t say anything but stood up and went to the restroom, as he had no appetite for this meal anyway, and it was good to find a place to calm down.

As soon as Mu Shuoqian left, Qiu Yufei said to Zhou Xiaoyu, "Miss Zhou, would you mind accompanying me to the restroom?"

"Sure." Zhou Xiaoyu agreed genially, taking a pack of tissues from her bag and leaving with Qiu Yufei.

Of the four people, only Qiu Lan was left. She calmly asked the waiter to call Gu Qili back again.

Gu Qili quickly came over, wearing a professional smile: "Ma’am, what can I do for you?"

"Miss Gu, it’s like this, Miss Zhou’s phone was left here, and she went to the restroom. There were two calls just now that seemed urgent, could you please deliver the phone to her?"

"No problem." Gu Qili took the phone, "I will go and deliver it now."

When she arrived at the entrance of the restroom, she happened to see Zhou Xiaoyu standing in the corridor; Zhou Xiaoyu stood under a crystal chandelier, bathed in its white light,

Gu Qili watched her silently for a while and then remembered that she came to deliver the phone, so she approached and asked softly, "Are you Miss Zhou?"

This was her first face-to-face encounter with Zhou Xiaoyu, who seemed more beautiful in person than in photographs.

Zhou Xiaoyu turned around and uttered, "Hmm? Is there something you need?"

"Your phone, Madam Qiu said that there were two urgent calls, so she asked me to bring it to you."

"Oh, thank you." Zhou Xiaoyu took the phone, expressed her thanks, and then began to check it.

Mu Shuoqian, who had been smoking in the restroom, suddenly heard Gu Qili’s voice, and almost without hesitation, he pushed open the door and came out.

Gu Qili and Zhou Xiaoyu stood under the light, and even though there was no interaction between them, he felt an inexplicable tension.

At that moment, Gu Qili looked up, and their gazes collided in the air, merging like two rivers.

Such eye contact lasted for only a brief two seconds,

After delivering the phone, she had completed her task and was about to turn around to leave when she heard a strange noise above her head.

The crystal chandelier hanging high above suddenly loosened and then crashed down.

And she and Zhou Xiaoyu were standing right underneath it, with a distance between them.

Mu Shuoqian clearly saw the suddenly loosened chandelier,

Gu Qili wasn’t hit, just grazed by the crystal on her face; she sat on the ground in shock, unscathed, but seeing the scene before her, she felt as if she had narrowly escaped death.

She and Zhou Xiaoyu were standing under the chandelier together, yet at the critical moment, Mu Shuoqian chose to save Zhou Xiaoyu.

The reason she escaped was only that his leg had tripped her, while Mu Shuoqian lay atop Zhou Xiaoyu, shielding her completely unharmed.

People who heard the noise immediately rushed over from all around, Qiu Yufei also ran out of the restroom in a hurry, asking anxiously with concern, "Shuoqian, are you alright?"

"I’m fine, check on Xiaoyu first."

Check on Xiaoyu first...

The restaurant’s air conditioning wasn’t too strong, but Gu Qili still felt chills time and again,

She picked herself up from the ground and turned to leave.

"Supervisor, are you all right? Are you hurt?" Several waiters immediately surrounded her with concern.

"I’ll report it right away."

Gu Qili stopped her: "Don’t call the police, suppress the news, we can’t let the media find out about this. Manage the guests outside quickly, and yes, notify Manager Qi."

Such an accident in the restaurant would inevitably affect its reputation, so it was crucial to minimize its impact immediately.

"Understood, Supervisor. But how did that crystal chandelier suddenly fall? It’s really strange."

Gu Qili was about to report to the higher-ups when she turned her head and saw Qiu Lan standing not far away, seemingly having witnessed everything. When their eyes met, Qiu Lan appeared indifferent, as if she did not see her and averted her gaze, then she went over to her son.

"Shuoqian, are you okay, are you hurt?" Seeing Qiu Lan’s anxious face, Mu Shuoqian merely said, "Take care of Xiaoyu, I’ve left my phone in the restroom."

After saying that, he pushed Zhou Xiaoyu towards Qiu Lan and went back into the restroom.

Pulling open the last stall door, he leaned against the wall and started vomiting, trembling all over until he slowly sat down on the toilet.

As soon as he sat down, it felt as if his flesh was being torn apart. Touching it with his hand, his palm was covered in blood, presumably from the shattered crystals that had pierced him.

Earlier, he had gone into the restroom trying to remain calm so others wouldn’t notice, but once he sat down, the pain in his legs was unbearable, and cold sweat rolled down his forehead.

Mu Shuoqian picked up the phone and called Xiao Ran to bring a change of clothes over, but after he put the phone down,

The previous commotion outside had died down, and the fallen crystal chandelier had been cleared away. Qiu Yufei was showing her concern for Zhou Xiaoyu.

"Brother Shuoqian, are you okay?" Qiu Yufei rushed over when she saw him.

"Shuoqian, you’re fine, right?" Qiu Lan also showed a look of concern.

Mu Shuoqian shook his head: "I’m taking Xiaoyu back home first; she was really frightened earlier."

"Yeah, Miss Zhou really got a scare. She looks quite pale."

"Thank you, Auntie," said Zhou Xiaoyu softly, "Goodbye, Auntie. Goodbye, Miss Qiu."

"Goodbye." Qiu Yufei smiled and waved her hand.

Mu Shuoqian left without saying a word, taking Zhou Xiaoyu with him. Yuan Yi had parked the car at the entrance, with Xiao Ran already waiting inside.

"Young Master Qian." Zhou Xiaoyu noticed he was sweating as he walked; recalling how he had almost recklessly saved her earlier, she was moved but also worried: "Are you not hurt?"

Zhou Xiaoyu, seeing that he had no intention of speaking, immediately settled quietly into her own seat. She understood boundaries and knew which questions to ask and which not to.

But just now, she clearly saw, but somehow the focus suddenly shifted to her.

In fact, she never understood why Mu Shuoqian had given her such a large amount of money to act in this charade. She had been playing this role for so long, yet she didn’t know who it was for.

Yuan Yi drove to Nanyuan Mansion. After Zhou Xiaoyu got out of the car, Mu Shuoqian didn’t come down but went straight back to the company.

It wasn’t until he entered his office that Mu Shuoqian let all his pretenses fall away, finding it difficult to breathe due to the pain.

Xiao Ran said anxiously: "Young Master Qian, a doctor has been called, just hang in there a bit longer." He had noticed something off about Mu Shuoqian in the car and had already sent a message to his secretary to call a doctor on the way.

All he could think about was Gu Qili’s eyes when she left, desperate and vacant, as if countless needles were stabbing at his heart, his flesh, his very innards.

This time, she must have truly given up hope, truly stopped loving, truly planning to leave him, it really was all over, wasn’t it?

At the thought, a surge of heat welled up in his eyes, and he lifted a hand to cover them.