Julie parked her car in the underground parking garage and was walking into the building like a machine gun, her phone clicking away. Before she even entered the revolving door, she heard a deep, clear male voice behind her.
"Miss Yan."
Julie raised her eyelids slightly, stopped uncertainly, turned around and looked at the tall, handsome man in front of her, who pointed uncertainly at herself.
Looking for me?
Chu Mu smiled faintly, a meaningful look on his lips. "Of course, if your name is Yan Qiyue."
Julie's mind went blank for a moment before she suddenly remembered who this man was. It was clearly Shu Yi'an's ex-husband, that diplomat! Even with her impassive demeanor, Julie couldn't help but tremble as she took those few steps forward.
Jiang Beichen, a mere mortal, was already enough for her to handle, but now that the real Jiang Beichen has arrived, how is she supposed to cope?
With limited time, Chu Mu didn't want to beat around the bush and went straight to the point.
Where is Shu Yi'an?
Julie silently cursed in her heart, "Damn it, such a good-looking face, does she have to be so direct?" But she had promised to keep it a secret for Shu Yi'an, so even if Chu Mu stood in front of her, she had to hold on.
Julie tossed her hair with a flirtatious flourish, her smile as glamorous as a public relations professional. "Why are you all coming to me asking about her whereabouts? She resigned half a year ago. As for where she went... I don't know."
Chu Mu knew she would give this answer, and although he was incredibly anxious inside, he had to keep a straight face. He turned his head and smiled nonchalantly, then suddenly gave her an address.
“This is your company’s reprocessing plant in Suzhou. If I’m not mistaken, Shu Yi’an must work there. If Miss Yan doesn’t want to tell me, that’s fine. I can have your boss check for me, of course.” Chu Mu shrugged indifferently, “provided you don’t want to lose this job.”
Julie was surprised that Chu Mu had found her so quickly, her beautiful eyes filled with astonishment. Her tone couldn't help but become sarcastic and aggressive, "Since you know so much, why bother asking me about her whereabouts? You're already divorced, why are you still so concerned, Mr. Chu? What was the point of getting a divorce in the first place?"
These two sentences were undoubtedly enough to anger Chu Mu, but he calmly watched Julie finish speaking and instead of getting angry, he took a step forward and lowered his voice.
“She called me at 2:30 a.m., and she was clearly crying on the other end. I don’t know what happened to her. Ms. Yan, if you don’t want anything to happen to her, please give me her address.”
Julie was stunned. She grabbed Chu Mu and bombarded him with questions. "Late at night? Crying? What happened to her?"
"So, if you still don't want to say, I can't guarantee what's wrong with her." Chu Mu emphasized the last three words heavily, whether from his deepest fear or his current anxiety, it was hard to tell.
Julie took a few deep breaths, quickly snatched the phone from Chu Mu's hand, and typed in an address. Chu Mu looked at the flashing cursor, then turned and walked towards his car without hesitation.
"Thanks."
“Mr. Chu!” Julie called out to him, still shaken. Looking at the man who turned slightly, Julie clenched her fists tightly. “Find her and treat her well. Don’t hurt her anymore.”
Yi'an, please forgive me for telling him your address. Because right now, this man speeding away in his car might really be the person you need most.
Shu Yi'an, who was at the bus station, was completely unaware of all that was happening in Beijing.
Some things always happen so unpredictably that it's infuriating. While Chu Mu was boarding a flight to find her, Shu Yi'an was already sitting on a bus heading back to her hometown of Yangzhou.
After what happened yesterday, Shu Yi'an really couldn't bring herself to stay in that house. With the Lunar New Year just two days away, watching the sky slowly brighten, Shu Yi'an missed her family terribly, especially her elderly grandfather who doted on her. She thought, thankfully, in this vast world, she still had someone to rely on.
Chu Mu took a train directly after getting off the plane to Suzhou. The weather was damp and cold. Wearing a coat, he looked a bit disheveled as he weaved through the crowd of people traveling home for the Spring Festival. This was the first time he had used such a common mode of transportation, and he was not used to it and found it hard to accept. However, for the sake of the person who had been away from him for a very long time, he remained silent.
When Chu Mu found the apartment complex according to the address Julie gave him, it was already four o'clock in the evening, the time when every family was preparing dinner. On the third floor, with seventy-two steps, Chu Mu's sense of urgency grew stronger with each step he took. Looking at that small door number, he had already decided that as soon as she opened the door, he would never let go.
But before he could even reach out, the door was opened from the inside.
Both those inside and outside the door were taken aback when they saw each other.
The landlady looked at the young man outside the door and asked in her not-so-standard Mandarin, "Who are you looking for?"
Chu Mu frowned and looked behind the middle-aged woman. Although he was extremely anxious, he still greeted the middle-aged woman with great patience and manners.
"Hello, I'm looking for the person who lives here. Her name is Shu Yi'an."
The landlady suddenly realized what was happening and slammed her hand on the doorknob. "Oh! You're looking for her? She's moving out!"
Chu Mu's heart sank even further. "Moved away? When?"
"This morning, the young lady called me and checked out of the apartment. I still owe her a month's rent! Look."
The middle-aged woman took an envelope out of her pocket. Chu Mu was all too familiar with the neat handwriting on the rental receipt...
"She was probably scared. It's really unlucky. This neighborhood has always been very safe. It's no wonder that girl wanted to move out after what happened last night. The neighbors across the hall were arguing and banging on my door. It's so unfair."
Chu Mu's brows furrowed as he looked at the obvious signs of being smashed on the door and thought of her tearful breathing; his throat became unusually dry.
"What happened yesterday? Was she injured?"
"It's nothing. The couple across the hall had a fight, and the wife's family, upset, came here to get revenge on their son-in-law. They ended up vandalizing the wrong place. Look, my apartment and a few others upstairs have been damaged. Luckily, no one was hurt, and the police took them away." At this point, the landlady gave him a wary look. "Young man, what's your relationship to this girl? What are you doing here?"
Chu Mu's mind was filled with the image of Shu Yi'an curled up alone in the corner of the house, calling him. Even the duffel bag in his hand fell to the ground in his daze.
“I’m her… friend.” He didn’t know if he was still worthy of being called her husband…
The landlady waved her hand, gesturing for Chu Mu to step back, and while locking the door, she muttered to herself, "That girl said she went back to her hometown for the New Year. If you know where her hometown is, go there to find her."
"Oh dear... in this freezing weather, it must be quite difficult for her, a pregnant woman, to carry such a big belly..."
"...Pregnant woman?" Chu Mu frowned and interrupted her, quickly taking out his phone and trying to steady his trembling hands as he found the woman in his photo album, his voice trembling slightly.
Are you talking about her?
The hallway was dimly lit, and the landlady squinted as she looked at the screen, struggling to make out the young girl standing in the snow.
"It's her, no doubt about it."
As dusk fell, Chu Mu suddenly felt a buzzing in his head, as if struck by lightning, and his whole body stiffened, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Shu Yi'an!! She's actually pregnant.