Chapter 347: Chapter 314: It Wasn’t Mu Shuoqian Who Took Niannian Away
Mickey carefully observed her expression before continuing, "Back then when you were in a bad mood, I mentioned Mu Shuoqian’s name a few times, and you always showed that you didn’t want to hear it and changed the subject. Therefore, I didn’t dare to bring this up. Later, seeing you living so peacefully in Bordeaux, I didn’t want to disturb you either. But since we are talking about Niannian today, I feel it’s necessary to tell you."
"What did he want from you?" Gu Qili tightened her grip on the cup she was holding.
"I was also shocked when I saw him; he was staying in the VIP ward, seriously injured, with bandages all over his body and head, even moving slightly seemed difficult."
Gu Qili thought of the somewhat fierce scar on Mu Shuoqian’s forehead.
"Actually, he didn’t know at all that you hadn’t aborted the baby, nor did he know you had returned to Aus City. From the look on his face when he spoke, it didn’t seem fake." Mickey swallowed hard, "Qiqi, it might not be Mu Shuoqian who took Niannian away. On the contrary, I think he might have had a car accident while chasing those criminals. Seeing how badly he was injured, I reckon he must’ve been in a coma for at least three or four days."
If Mu Shuoqian was in a coma due to a car accident, then who sent her that cruel and heartless text message? She still remembered the content of the text; it said she did not deserve to bear his child, it said Niannian was killed by her own hands, every word cut deeply like a knife, etched in her heart and lungs.
"Qiqi, do you think Mu Shuoqian still has lingering feelings for you? When he heard about what happened to you, he immediately showed anxiety and concern, though he quickly resumed his cold expression, but a person’s genuine emotions can’t fool others."
"Xiao Mi." Gu Qili interrupted her, she dared not entertain such thoughts anymore. The trauma from the past was still fresh; even if there were lingering feelings, how could it change the fact that he indirectly caused Gu Dezhong’s death? And, did he really not know that someone was going to snatch Niannian? "Let’s not talk about this for now. I will discuss this matter with the lawyer, we must go ahead with the lawsuit no matter what."
As for whether she could win, she felt uncertain.
"Oh, by the way, did you watch those videos sent by Glasses in the group?" Mickey picked up an apple from the table and started eating.
"Hasn’t Glasses gone abroad?"
The ’Glasses’ they were talking about was a classmate from A University, who went abroad right after graduation and hadn’t been in touch for many years.
Gu Qili vividly remembered the incident on the day they took their graduation photo; she almost had an accident when she fell down from the stairs, but luckily Mu Shuoqian caught her just in time.
Thinking of Mu Shuoqian, she involuntarily recalled that sudden, crazy kiss, making her cheeks unconsciously flush with redness.
"Oh my, Yishu was really tender back then, now he’s already a father, look isn’t this Yang Fatty from our class? Heard he’s successfully lost weight and even became a fitness coach." The sisters held the phone, joyously reminiscing about their college days.
Just as Mickey opened the third video, Gu Qili suddenly stretched out her hand to pause it, then she grabbed Mickey’s phone, sliding her fingers across the screen, zooming in constantly, stopping at a still somewhat blurry side profile.
Mickey was startled by her sudden action, and leaned over to take a closer look: "Who is this, do you recognize her? Someone from another class?"
The girl in the video wore black-framed glasses, and her graduation cap was pressed low.
"Qiu Yufei." Gu Qili felt a cold sweat break out from the shock of her discovery; even though it was just a side profile and she had disguised herself considerably, she recognized her at a glance.
"Qiu Yufei? Mu Shuoqian’s sister?" Mickey scrutinized the enlarged video, "Why would she attend our graduation ceremony? She’s not even a student at A University, plus she’s older than you."
"Xiao Mi, after I cleared up Zhou Xiaoyu’s identity and planned to find Mu Shuoqian, on my way to Pujing, I received a message from an unknown number containing two voice messages. Tell me, who would send such a message to me, and what is their purpose?" Gu Qili stared at the blurred side profile of Qiu Yufei, "Could it be that someone has been secretly stalking me? When I met Zhou Xiaoyu, she was already lurking in the shadows, she eavesdropped on my conversation with Zhou Xiaoyu and followed me to the hospital after my injury. When I found out that I was pregnant, she knew it too."
Reflecting on all this, Gu Qili felt a chilling fear, she had been being tracked without her knowledge, something she hadn’t anticipated at all.
"Xiao Mi, accompany me to the hospital."
Back then, she couldn’t comprehend why her pregnancy, which she had concealed so well, was still exposed, and someone in the shadows was plotting against her baby. If it hadn’t been for seeing Qiu Yufei in this video, she wouldn’t have realized she was being tracked.
"Qiqi, it has been so long, that doctor won’t remember you anymore."
"It’s okay, as long as we can get the hospital to adjust the surveillance video from that day, we can find out. I remember that day very clearly, I will never forget it in this lifetime."
So much happened that day, learning about Zhou Xiaoyu’s false identity, finding out I was pregnant, accidentally hearing the truth about the Gu Family’s bankruptcy, and finally, the complete rupture with Mu Shuoqian. How could she possibly forget such a special day?
After the two arrived at the hospital, Mickey made a call to a doctor he knew. The doctor said that the surveillance was internal data of the hospital and could not be easily leaked. Gu Qili directly transferred some money to his WeChat. After seeing the money, the doctor silently put away his phone and took them to the security department: "You know what you want to see, just don’t leak it out, otherwise I can’t bear the responsibility."
Gu Qili and Mickey tipped the head of the security, and that’s how they managed to pull up the video from four years ago.
The video captured various hallways and public areas but not inside the consultation rooms. However, in the end, Gu Qili still managed to spot a familiar figure in the crowd in the corridor. Although wearing a hat and sunglasses, the figure was unmistakably Qiu Yufei.
"It really is her! After you left, she entered the consultation room you were in." Mickey also broke into a cold sweat; this sensation was truly dreadful.
Gu Qili was almost certain that the anonymous voice messages must have been sent by Qiu Yufei. Only she had the opportunity to interact with Mu Shuoqian and Qiu Lan. The incident at school where someone almost fell down the stairs was also her doing. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have no reason to appear in the crowd. Then, the text message when Mu Shuoqian was unconscious must have also come from her, and the kidnapping of Niannian also couldn’t be disconnected from her.
Qiu Yufei!
Gu Qili gnashed her teeth at this name. She had never imagined that the girl who was gentle and cheerful when they first met, the girl who took her arm and called them friends, the girl who after Niannian’s birth looked at the little one with endless affection and proclaimed herself an aunt, could harbor such a cruel and vicious heart underneath such an innocent appearance.
"What should we do, Qiqi, does Mu Shuoqian not know his sister is so bad?"
Is it that he doesn’t know, or he has always known and just been covering for her?
"Xiao Mi, you go back first."
"Huh? You’re going to find Mu Shuoqian? Then I’ll go with you. If he really is covering for his sister, and you rashly go to him, could he harm you?"
"He shouldn’t. Actually, what we found can hardly be considered evidence; it’s all just our speculation. None of the footage showed Qiu Yufei doing any wrongdoing. I just want to confront Mu Shuoqian to clarify whether he instructed her or if it was her own unilateral action. How does he plan to handle this? After all, Qiu Yufei’s actions almost cost Niannian his life, and I can’t just watch the perpetrator walk free." Gu Qili thought of the time Qiu Yufei had lingered around Niannian in her hospital room, a chill rose from the bottom of her heart. If she had noticed these clues earlier, Niannian would not have been in danger.
Mickey understood her thoughts and breathed out uneasily: "Qiu Yufei is too insidious; she’s done so many bad things yet remains unscathed. She pretends to be pure and innocent on the surface, making everyone overlook and not suspect her, but in reality, she’s doing disgraceful deeds behind the scenes. Such a person truly deserves to go to hell."
Suddenly, she raised a finger, her face showing horror, and said: "Qiqi, does she like Mu Shuoqian, is that why she’s doing these crazy things, just to sabotage your relationship?"
What Mickey said was the only reasonable explanation. Besides this, Gu Qili couldn’t think of any other reason that would drive a woman to be so heartlessly cruel.
When Gu Qili arrived at the Pujing Government Building, it was already after work hours. She didn’t go up directly but had the new receptionist at the lobby inform her presence. The receptionist, who didn’t recognize Gu Qili, courteously invited her upstairs after making the call.
The security guard on the twenty-fourth floor had also changed; it was Xiao Ran waiting at the door to greet her. Four years had changed so much.
"Miss Gu, the president is still in a meeting. Please wait in his office," Xiao Ran, the gentleman, opened the door to the president’s office for her. "Would you like anything to drink?"
"No, thank you."
Gu Qili stepped directly into the office, settled into a sofa on the side, and couldn’t help but look around. The place, which she had smashed into disrepair back then, was now newly decorated but still retained its original style.
Soon, the office door was opened again, and the familiar and stern presence made her instinctively look up, meeting Mu Shuoqian’s somewhat deep and surprised gaze, though that surprise was fleeting.
He walked to his desk and sat down, naturally turning over a picture frame on the desk, which Gu Qili did not see. It was a photo of him and her in Provence, his only solace over the years.
"What did you need?" Mu Shuoqian’s first reaction was that she wanted to take back Niannian, his tone cool but vaguely anxious.