Chapter 306: Chapter 285: How to Fall Out of Love
Hearing Tang Tianyou’s words, Gu Qili paused while stroking her myna bird, then her gaze shifted to the two medicine boxes and some documents on the coffee table.
Her expression was calm, her eyes dark, and she pursed her lips before she finally said, "You saw those medicines, didn’t you?"
Tang Tianyou hadn’t expected her to address the issue so directly, and in truth, he was unprepared. He had even been considering how to pretend he hadn’t seen anything.
It wasn’t that he wasn’t heartbroken. The girl he loved was pregnant, but the child wasn’t his, perhaps the greatest irony in the world. Yet his pain did not stem from the question of whether the child was his or not. What pained him was contemplating the mindset with which she would face this child, given that she and the man she loved had already parted ways. The child represented an existence that shouldn’t be, and yet, as a mother, who could bear to kill their own child?
He stared at those medicines, and for a time seemed to lose all strength that could offer comfort, his fists clenched tightly as he gritted his teeth in secret.
"I want to ask you a favor, can you do it?"
"Go ahead."
Gu Qili spoke slowly and Tang Tianyou’s face changed. He didn’t ask her why, he nodded without hesitation: "Okay."
～
Mu Shuoqian stared at the slowly darkening screen in his hand but ultimately didn’t make the call to her.
He tossed the phone aside on the passenger seat, leaned back in his seat, and his gaze drifted mockingly into the distance.
What was he thinking, wanting to call and interrogate her? Had he forgotten? Right there in that cafe, they had severed all ties and agreed to never cross paths again.
This was exactly the ending he had wanted to see, wasn’t it? So why, now that it had come to pass, did he recoil, regretting it? Therefore, when he found out she knew that Zhou Xiaoyu was just a substitute he had found, an unexpected expectation and excitement surged within him. He thought that she wanted to reconcile with him.
No matter what her initial reason was for seeking him out, the last words she said to him are something he thought he would never forget in this lifetime.
It doesn’t matter anymore, who told her isn’t important either, because from now on, there will be no more interactions between them. Her heart for him had died, and he was learning how to let his own heart die—not to give up on her, but to give up on himself.
Mu Shuoqian came to the company two days later. Seeing his unmistakably dejected demeanor, Xiao Ran knew he’d been sleeping poorly again. His insomnia was getting worse, and there were concerns it might affect his health. Moreover, his eating habits were very irregular; when his wife was around, he almost always had breakfast every day. Now that she was gone, he had reverted to his habit of skipping breakfast.
Though he skipped breakfast, he liked to have him buy a sandwich in the morning.
Sometimes, when he came in to deliver documents, he would catch him staring absentmindedly at that sandwich, but it was always just staring. He never actually took a bite, and in the end, the sandwich would be thrown away by the secretary.
"Young Master Qian, there’s a meeting later, don’t forget," Xiao Ran said as he placed the express delivery he was holding on his desk, "You’ve got an express delivery."
Mu Shuoqian was still lost in thought, staring at the sandwich, and did not notice what he had said.
"Young Master Qian, I’ll leave first if there’s nothing else." Xiao Ran gently shook his head and turned to leave with a look of holding back words.
Mu Shuoqian remained in a daze for a long time, until the familiar sound of music from the phone caused his heart to skip a beat.
"Just this once, I’ll take you to see the eternal silence of the world, to laugh heartily in the brilliant sunshine."
This was the special ringtone for him and her, whether it was a phone call or a message, it was this song.
Mu Shuoqian nearly grabbed the phone with some excitement, even though it was just a text message, he felt somewhat surprised. Even when opening the message, a certain impossible impulse emerged from the bottom of his heart.
A brief line of text appeared on the screen: "Did you receive my express delivery?"
Express delivery?
Mu Shuoqian vaguely remembered that Xiao Ran seemed to have mentioned the word "express delivery". He searched his desk eagerly, and due to his rush, all of the files on top ended up scattered on the floor. Finally, a blue express envelope emerged.
He picked up the envelope and looked at it. The sender’s name indeed included the character "Gu". The faint, gentle handwriting was hers.
He couldn’t help but feel his blood rushing again, and hastily tore open the envelope.
Inside the envelope were a few sheets of paper, very thin. He took them out and glanced at them, and saw Aus City Central Hospital’s letterhead.