His expression was indescribable in that moment, as if he had been cruelly thrown from the clouds to the ground, suffering a fall as disgraceful as a dog eating shit.
Qin Mu simply lifted her eyes to look at him, and she was gradually remembering something.
He really was here, but...
Where was he last night?
Behind him was a voice all too familiar to Qin Mu.
Yang Qianxi came running over, looking disheveled and embarrassed as if she had just been through something scandalous.
Qin Mu’s heart seemed to suddenly plummet off a cliff.
Her eyes brimming with weighty emotion, Qin Mu could no longer see clearly.
She only tried to choke back a sob, forcefully pushing away the man gripping her shoulders before the tears could fall down her cheeks.
She turned and hurried towards the stairwell, her steps staggered and rushed.
The guesthouse wasn’t very large, yet...
Yang Qianxi was behind him, clad only in a simple nightgown.
As Mu Yichen tried to chase after Qin Mu, the disheveled Yang Qianxi grabbed hold of him, and in that moment, Mu Yichen wished he could punch the woman in the face, but—
It was then, that the man emerged from Qin Mu’s room wearing only shorts and a tank top.
Mu Yichen’s dark, hawk-like eyes instinctively searched for the source of the noise, and Yang Qianxi also involuntarily looked that way.
Wang Mingyu walked out, his face darkening when he saw the two of them, and then he froze.
Suddenly, Mu Yichen remembered the disheveled way Qin Mu had bumped into him, and his fists clenched tightly before swinging fiercely at Wang Mingyu.
Yang Qianxi was inadvertently pushed by him, her body slamming into the cold wall, where she stood huddled and embarrassed, not daring to approach.
Mu Yichen gritted his teeth, he didn’t need to speak the harsh words, because he would act on them.
Completely bewildered, Wang Mingyu remained frozen in place until Mu Yichen, wearing his crumpled suit, hastened downstairs, then Wang turned to see the girl standing by the wall, her face streaked with tears, and his brows furrowed.
Qin Mu’s car was shaking on the way back to the city, her face was wet with tears, streaming down ceaselessly.
She had meant to go to Meilin’s house to find Mu Yichen last night, so why did she wake up in the morning lying in the same bed as Wang Mingyu, and naked at that?
Her slender hands gripped the steering wheel with all her might, her face indescribably distressed.
Trembling, she dialed a number: "I want to see you!"
Her voice sounded weak as if quivering.
She had traveled that road in the city for over a year, but for the first time, she felt so frightened, so desperate.
Like a little bird finally with its wings broken, with no more hope of soaring once again.
After returning to the city, Mu Yichen immediately went home, Qin Mu’s car was not in the garage; he rushed upstairs, and when he saw the woman eating with his daughter in the dining room, his gaze became somewhat scattered.
"Mu Yichen, where were you last night? Where’s Mumu? Why didn’t Mumu come back with you?"
Upon seeing him, Helian Hao breathed a sigh of relief, but then he asked again anxiously.
Mu Yichen’s heels suddenly gave way, and under Huanhuan’s puzzled gaze, he turned and ran back outside.
Huanhuan was holding the big bowl of small wontons that Helian Hao had helped her cook. She looked at Helian Hao curiously while Helian Hao turned to glance at her, afraid of startling her, then said softly, "Your daddy had to go to work because of an emergency meeting, can you stay with auntie today?"
Huanhuan recognized Helian Hao and obediently nodded her head.
Helian Hao immediately went to find her phone to call Jing Feng, "Hello? Mu Yichen has come back, but Mamu is nowhere to be found."
"Yichen came back? Did he mention where Xiaoqing is?"
Helian Hao had no idea what had happened last night, but suddenly remembered the words Qin Mu had whispered to her... Could something really have happened?
That day, not daring to take Huanhuan to the Mu Family, Helian Hao went to the hospital with her instead.
There was still no news from Jing Qing. Jing Feng wanted to contact Mu Yichen, but Mu Yichen wasn’t answering his calls and was just searching the whole city for Qin Mu.
Jing Feng went to the hospital and involuntarily frowned again when he saw Huanhuan there.
"He came back this morning looking disheveled. When I asked him where Mamu was, he didn’t say anything. He just glanced at Huanhuan and left. Now, I can’t get through to his phone or Mamu’s phone. What on earth happened last night?"
Helian Hao asked anxiously.
"Weren’t you with Qin Mu last night?"
"I was, but later when she seemed to have fallen asleep, I lay down beside her — and when I woke up, she was no longer at home."
Helian Hao spoke with some guilt; if she had taken good care of Qin Mu last night, perhaps nothing would have gone wrong.
Jing Qing’s gaze fell weakly: Xiaoqing was still missing. What exactly happened last night?
"Didn’t you call Mu Yichen? He might know something."
"He’s not answering the phone at all!"
Huanhuan sat in the chair that Helian Hao used while working, clutching the Barbie doll that Qin Haiming had bought her, but her eyes were on her uncle and auntie.
"What exactly happened? Why did they suddenly disappear? Mamu is pregnant; if something happened to her..."
Helian Hao couldn’t bear to continue, for her heart began to tremble as she spoke.
Jing Feng looked down, lost in thought, with his brows continuously furrowed.
Later, Yang Bo called Jing Feng to tell him that both Qin Mu’s and Jing Qing’s cars had been spotted at an inn on the outskirts of the city called Meilin’s Home the previous night.
"I need to head out of the city."
Jing Feng said to Helian Hao after hanging up the phone.
"Yang Bo said Xiaoqing’s car is there."
Helian Hao urged anxiously.
Jing Feng then left her office, and Helian Hao intended to see him out, but the phone on her desk began to ring.
Huanhuan was the first to answer. After hearing the voice on the other end, Huanhuan immediately called out, "Mommy!"
Helian Hao walked over and stood there, making sure she had heard the word "mommy" clearly before softly coaxing Huanhuan, "Can Huanhuan give the phone to auntie?"
Huanhuan looked at her, then handed over the phone.
"Hello? Mamu, is that you? Where are you?"
Helian Hao asked nervously, her hands tightly gripping the phone.