CHAPTER 297: CHAPTER 277: THE WALL OF MEMORIES PHOTOGRAPHS

Inside the package was a CD,

Mu Shuoqian put the CD into the computer and double-clicked it; the screen started playing a VCR. In the bustling street, a host was interviewing couples. It was in the middle when he suddenly saw a familiar face, it was him and Gu Qili.

Mu Shuoqian repeatedly watched this segment, as if he was infected by her smile, the smile lines at the corners of his mouth deepening more and more.

It was also then, amidst the sky full of fireworks, that he said those three words to her, the only and also the last time, but she seemed not to have heard clearly.

Mu Shuoqian edited this segment of the VCR and saved it on a USB drive, then printed out two photos from his phone before he left the house when Yuan Yi arrived.

Seeing his cast gone, Yuan Yi exclaimed immediately: "Young Master Qian, your leg, no, we must go to the hospital immediately, what if there are sequelae?"

Mu Shuoqian didn’t care. Even if he were crippled and disfigured, what then? He no longer needed to look in the mirror for her, nor did he have to pay attention to his own appearance for her. His good, his bad, were all for her alone.

"Now, to the old house."

"Young Master Qian, you should really go to the hospital first, nothing is as important as your leg." Yuan Yi still tried to persuade him, but when he saw that cold glance, he silently took out the car keys.

The car quickly stopped in front of the Mu Family old house, and Mu Shuoqian, upon entering, Mu Fan ran down from upstairs after hearing the noise.

"Big brother, why are you back?" He threw two potato chips into his mouth and asked with his cheeks puffed, "Oh wow, what’s wrong with your leg? Why are you limping? Did you visit the hospital?" He hurriedly put aside the potato chips and followed the fast-moving Mu Shuoqian.

After saying it was nothing, Mu Shuoqian steadied himself on the stairs and went upstairs, took out the keys to his bedroom, and opened the door, as he addressed the still chatterbox Mu Fan:

"Soon."

"How did the exam go?"

"Pretty good, just as I expected. By the way, big brother, when is Gu Qili free? I’ll ask her out for a meal and let her guide me in filling out my university applications."

Hearing Gu Qili’s name, Mu Shuoqian’s hand that was opening the door paused, his glacier-like face darkened a few shades, under Mu Fan’s eager gaze, he spoke solemnly: "What’s the use in finding her,

Gu Qili will never know that Mu Shuoqian was sitting in the nearest empty classroom to her, a privilege he’d earned after donating a library to that school.

Separated by just one wall, she was vigorously scribbling on her exam paper while he typed away on the computer.

After the exam, many classmates gathered around her to discuss answers, she stood among the crowd, her smile bright and confident, yet oblivious to his presence while he watched her silently the entire time.

His Qiqi, always so outstanding, which made him feel incredibly proud and honored.

Mu Fan was left blocked outside by his words, wanting to say more, but the door was already tightly shut, and even locked from the inside.

He pushed a few times but couldn’t budge it, annoyed, he rubbed his hair, muttering: "What’s Big Brother up to with his room, always so secretive whenever he comes back."

Since Mu Shuoqian took the position as the President at Grand Lisboa, he moved away from the Mu Family old house, and even when he came back for meals, he rarely entered this room, only when no one was around would he occasionally come back a few times, this was the third time Mu Fan had caught him.

After Mu Shuoqian entered the room, he went straight to the wall behind the TV, while the TV that was originally hanging there had been moved to the head of the bed.

He pulled out a remote from the drawer and pressed a red button on the wall, and then the entire wall started moving to the right, revealing the second wall inside which was covered with photos, all of the same person.

The first year he met her, she was still a slightly chubby middle school student, that year, she had won several first prizes in speech competitions and even ran a marathon, in the photos, she either stood passionately on the podium, or held a trophy with a beaming smile, or sat by the railing of the playground chatting and laughing with others...

Back then, he was only in his twenties and had never been fond of anyone, much less been in a relationship, so, despite being beyond the impetuous age of a young lad, he was still like a stalker, occasionally driving behind her, secretly taking her photos, developing the photos he was most satisfied with, and pasting them on this wall, thoughtfully writing down the date and location on the back of each one.

When she was in high school, she grew more graceful, yet her smile remained as clean and clear as ever.

Boys started pursuing her, girls clustered around her.

He was terrified at the time, afraid she would say yes to one of the boys. Once, a boy a grade older than her confessed to her, bought flowers and gifts to give her after school. In a rash moment, he drove his car and slightly scratched the boy. Although the scratch was not serious, he kindly took him to the hospital, and that confession ended without issue.

Throughout three years of high school, he took over a hundred photos, of course, these were only the select gems he chose.

Then came the university years, where he took fewer photos, because he was closer to her, and thus his crazed actions came to a pause.

This grand unrequited love filled him with pleasure yet intense anxiety. At times, he felt like a maniac. They were nine years apart, yet how did he fall for her youthful self? He shunned all other women, but why was she the only one he went to great lengths to get close to?

As if destined, the first time he saw her, a single glance lasted a thousand years.

Mu Shuoqian took out the freshly developed photos, wrote on the back "X year X month X day, with Qiqi in Provence," and after a thought, added: Ah Qian LOVES Qiqi, forever.

After writing on the photos and placing them in the final spot, which aside from their marriage certificate, was their only portrait together, seeing her smiling beamingly, his heart felt an unprecedented fulfillment, as if she had never been away from him.

Mu Shuoqian also attached the carefully edited USB to the back of the photo, preserving all the memories he could, for they would be his only consolation and self-deceptive illusion for the rest of his life.

Having done all this,

She would never know, there was a man who from her youth to her bloom, had always been chasing after her, liking her, deeply loving her, and this love would continue into her young adulthood, middle age, until her hair turned white.

Even if they couldn’t be together, his yearning was with her.

As Mu Shuoqian was leaving, Mu Fan was playing squash in his room. Hearing the door, he immediately dropped his racket and peeked out, "Big Bro, you’re leaving?"

"Yes."

"Remember to visit the hospital."

"Yes." Mu Shuoqian said and then went downstairs.

Only after hearing the sound of the car starting up and leaving, Mu Fan sneakily crept out, went to Mu Shuoqian’s room, and tried pushing the door, which was indeed locked.

In this place, there was nothing of value warranting secrecy, why lock the door every time, turning it all mysterious.

Being a curious boy, he then devised a plan to distract the servant responsible for cleaning the rooms. Once the servant was gone, he found all the spare keys for the rooms and rushed upstairs.

Mu Shuoqian’s room was very sparse, with a monochrome color scheme, almost devoid of any furniture or decoration.

At first glance, Mu Fan felt something weird about the room, he inspected it more closely and noticed the odd part.

Normally, TVs are mounted on the wall opposite the bed, but here the TV was mounted above the bed head. Would a normal person hang a TV like this?

He instinctively walked to the bare wall and tapped it, astonished to find it hollow. Mu Fan’s eyes lit up, as if he had discovered a world mystery.

He hurriedly searched for a switch and eventually found a small remote. This remote had only two buttons, clearly not for the TV. He pressed the green button, and the wall in front of him shook lightly then began moving to the right, revealing a series of vivid photos displayed before him.

Mu Fan opened his mouth in surprise, murmuring to himself, "No way, why did Big Bro take so many photos of Gu Qili? This one, she looks so young, could Big Bro have known her since she was in junior high?"

Mu Fan shuddered,

Mu Fan quickly went back to his room to fetch his computer and plugged in the USB, which contained a short video.

"Wow, Big Bro is so cool and romantic," Mu Fan with a face full of admiration carefully stuck the USB back, and looked over these hundreds of photos, feeling incredibly thrilled.

"Big Bro is planning to give Gu Qili a surprise, absolutely breathtaking, I wonder if Gu Qili will go crazy with joy."

He took his phone and snapped two photos of the wall,

"What a clueless Gu Qili, she must be ecstatic to faint. My Big Bro has liked her since six years ago, it’s a bit freaky but so cool and touching."

He selected the photos he just took and clicked send.