Yata Road

Chapter 316 - 292 Xiao Mi is Missing

Chapter 316: Chapter 292 Xiao Mi is Missing


The baby’s father?


Gu Qili’s gaze dimmed instantly. Over the past few months, she had tried to focus her attention on the baby, doing her best to avoid thinking about the father. But now, Zhuo Yuqing had inadvertently brought it up,


However, it was a fleeting thought.


She adjusted her mood, half-jokingly saying, "Anyway, he’s not your brother."


Zhuo Yuqing, feeling guilty for her sudden pettiness, looked down in embarrassment, "I didn’t mean to doubt you and my brother, but my brother has really been too good to you. In the eyes of those unaware of the situation, he completely looks like your boyfriend. Not only do I think so, but so does my Tang dad."


Gu Qili was somewhat surprised. She had interacted with Tang dad a few times; he had always been polite and courteous, occasionally asking about the child, advising her to rest and eat well, but she didn’t expect even he had misunderstood.


"But, Qili, do you really not like my brother at all? Although my brother is in the casino business, he’s not a bad person at all, he never engages in heinous activities like murder or arson, and besides, he’s handsome, considerate, detail-oriented..." Zhuo Yuqing fiddled with her fingers, listing Tang Tianyou’s virtues non-stop, seemingly endless.


"He has pampered me the most since we were young, but he only sees me as a sister." Zhuo Yuqing’s hands subconsciously tugged at the hem of her clothes, and a sad expression appeared on her face, "I don’t know what type of woman he likes, but now it seems, perhaps someone like you."


"Right, do you know that he has face blindness?"


Gu Qili hummed in acknowledgment; of course, she knew. When they first met, he had cut her photo into pieces in an attempt to piece it together, and she thought he was crazy at the time.


"How long did it take for him to remember you?" Zhuo Yuqing’s eyes sparkled as she looked at her.


Pretending to ponder, Gu Qili eventually smiled and said, "Several times, I can’t even remember clearly. Obviously, we had met before, but the next time I saw him, it was as if he was looking at a stranger. At first, I thought he was prideful, but later I learned about his face blindness."


Hearing Gu Qili’s response, Zhuo Yuqing’s small concern finally settled down. If Tang Tianyou could truly fall in love with someone, for him, with face blindness, he should remember them at first glance, love at first sight.


"My brother didn’t have this condition when he was a child. He was hospitalized once at the age of fifteen, and after he recovered, he started to have face blindness, even not recognizing Tang dad. It took him a very long time to finally remember the faces of us and those close to him, like Xiong Da and Xiong Er, who I’ve heard didn’t change their hairstyles for five years."


Zhuo Yuqing kept on talking, but Gu Qili was somewhat shocked. Was she the first person he could remember at a glance?


Sigh, fortunately, she hadn’t just mentioned that, or else Zhuo Yuqing would have felt heartbroken again.


Zhuo Yuqing continued to recount Tang Tianyou’s childhood embarrassments when Gu Qili’s phone suddenly rang. This number was her A City number; not many people had it saved.


"What’s up, Yishu?" Gu Qili placed her cup on the coffee table.


"Qiqi, did Mickey go to find you?"


"No, she didn’t say she was coming over."


"It’s like this; her parents can’t get in touch with her and discovered your mobile number had changed, so they called me," Chen Yishu’s voice was somewhat anxious, "She really didn’t go to find you?"


"No." A bad feeling suddenly rose in Gu Qili, "I’ll go back to Aus City right now. Yishu, please ask some friends to help us search."


"Okay, be careful on your own."


Gu Qili hung up the call and quickly dialed Mickey’s number, which was turned off. She then called Mickey’s dad, who was already frantic. He said he had been unable to contact her since last night. It had been a whole day now.


Perhaps it was her grave expression that made Zhuo Yuqing unable to help but ask: "What’s happened?"


"A friend of mine has gone missing, I must go back to Aus City now."


"Ah?" Zhuo Yuqing hurriedly shook her head, disapproval on her face: "How can that be okay? You’re only a little over twenty days away from your due date, my brother repeatedly stressed to take good care of you."


Gu Qili knew that she shouldn’t travel at this time, indeed, but she couldn’t just stand by while Mickey possibly in trouble; and she had an intuition that Mickey’s sudden disappearance was related to her.


"Yuqing, can you help me arrange the trip back to Aus City? Don’t worry, as soon as I get to Aus City, I’ll contact your brother. With your brother accompanying me, nothing will go wrong." Gu Qili had a determined look. This time, she must go, and she couldn’t stay in A City forever; sooner or later, she would have to go back.


Zhuo Yuqing, unable to persuade her otherwise, only managed to arrange a ride. Air travel was definitely out of the question, and the train was unreliable; for safety’s sake, she found an RV and also contacted a doctor to accompany them, in case there were any complications on the road.


Gu Qili thanked Zhuo Yuqing, quickly packed up, and set off for Aus City.


The vehicle raced all the way, and it wasn’t until four o’clock in the early morning of the next day that they arrived in Aus City. Gu Qili called Chen Yishu several times; despite his efforts to search, there was still no news of Mickey.


As soon as she arrived in Aus City, Tang Tianyou came to pick her up.


Upon getting into the car, Gu Qili couldn’t wait to ask: "Any news?"


"My people are still investigating, but there are some clues now. Don’t worry. Take care of the baby." He handed her a glass of water, signaling the driver to start the car.


Upon hearing that there were some clues, Gu Qili’s anxious heart finally eased a bit.


After drinking some water, she expressed her concern hesitantly, "Tianyou, I have a premonition that if I go back to Aus City, Xiao Mi will be fine."


"Are you saying this isn’t an accident, but a premeditated act?" Tang Tianyou’s expression turned stern as well.


Gu Qili nodded, "If the person who wants to harm me is still at it but can’t find me, hiding Xiao Mi away would force me to show up. So, I must return, even though I am fully aware of this, because I can’t put Xiao Mi in such danger."


"Don’t worry, I will protect you," he assured.


"Mmm, thank you, Tianyou," Gu Qili smiled gratefully at him, "I don’t know what I would have done during this time without you."


"You should stay at my place for now; it’s safer that way."


Gu Qili agreed without hesitation, knowing someone was plotting against her, she needed to be extremely careful, prioritizing the safety of her baby above all else.


Just after settling down at Tang Tianyou’s home, Gu Qili received a call from Chen Yishu, exuberantly telling her that they had found Mickey.


He then passed the phone to Mickey.


"Xiao Mi, are you okay? Are you hurt?" Gu Qili immediately became tense.


Mickey was completely unaware of the commotion she caused; she blinked in confusion, "Qiqi, have you returned to Aus City?"


"Answer me first, are you alright?" Gu Qili pressed anxiously.


"I’m fine. I was just taking a student home and then I drank the juice he gave me; after that..." Mickey came to a realization mid-sentence and felt a chill, "The juice was drugged; I felt very tired after drinking it, then I fell asleep, and I don’t know what happened next. I thought it was just a nap, but it turned out so much time had passed."


Chen Yishu chimed in from the side: "When we found you, the room was already empty, and we have no idea where that student of yours went."


Mickey was shaken, "Qiqi, it looks like I’ve been set up."


But she couldn’t understand why, as she’d only lost a piece or two of gold jewelry she was wearing and some cash from her bag; such a fuss seemed unwarranted.


"Xiao Mi, call your parents right now; they’re worried sick. We’ll talk about the rest later." After ending the call with Mickey, Gu Qili felt a chill up her spine; her intuition had been correct—once she returned to Aus City, Mickey was safe.


In the following days, Gu Qili stayed indoors and also reminded Mickey and Chen Yishu to be cautious to prevent others from exploiting them again.


Life continued peacefully, day by day, to the point where Gu Qili began to think she might be overly concerned.


Before long, the Spring Festival approached.


To take care of her, Tang Tianyou decided not to return to City A for the Spring Festival. With Gu Qili’s limited mobility, on the morning of New Year’s Eve, Tang Tianyou went out and bought lots of New Year goodies and couplets.


The servants had gone on holiday three days before, and as Tang Tianyou clumsily prepared vegetables, Gu Qili took charge of the cooking. However, before she could even start, she suddenly clutched her stomach and panickedly grabbed Tang Tianyou’s clothes, "Tianyou, my stomach hurts."


"Your stomach hurts?" Tang Tianyou also panicked, lacking any experience in this area. Having heard her say her stomach hurt, he started turning in circles on the spot as if looking for something.


Gu Qili looked at him puzzled, "What are you looking for?"


"For the phone, to call." Tang Tianyou was somewhat incoherent.


Gu Qili couldn’t help but laugh, "You expect to find the phone on the floor? Your phone is in your pocket."


Though she had no experience either, having read quite a few pregnancy books, she knew her current pains were just contractions, not intense ones, and according to the books she could calmly take a bath before going to the hospital.


"Don’t panic, we can drive ourselves to the hospital, it’s not time for the birth yet." Gu Qili helplessly shook her head at Tang Tianyou, honestly, he seemed more nervous than she was, and now it seemed she had to comfort him.


Finding his composure, Tang Tianyou took off his apron and went upstairs to fetch two large bags, which were maternity packs prepared by the servants a few days before.


With one hand holding the bags and the other holding Gu Qili’s hand, he started walking out, but halfway through he seemed to remember something, shouldering the bag and then lifting her in his arms.


At the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve, Gu Qili safely gave birth to a baby boy, whom she joyfully nicknamed "Niannian."