Gu Qiaoqiao had no choice but to stop, whispering, "He’s gone."
"How could he leave? Didn’t I ask you to keep him for dinner? I made several dishes he loves,"
Lian Yuhong said anxiously.
Gu Qiaoqiao lifted her head and said earnestly, "Mom, I’m not a child anymore. I know what I’m doing. Can you please not worry for now?"
Without waiting for Lian Yuhong to reply, Gu Qiaoqiao continued, "Mom, I have a headache."
After saying that, Gu Qiaoqiao, with a furrowed brow, made her way toward the staircase in the large living room.
Lian Yuhong watched her daughter’s figure, sighing helplessly.
She followed into the room.
By the time she reached the living room, Gu Qiaoqiao had already returned to her carving studio.
And shut the door tightly behind her.
At that very moment, Qin Yize’s anger seemed about to burst his chest.
He restrained himself with a calmness he had never before possessed.
And steered the car toward the outskirts, speeding away.
Right now, he didn’t want to see anyone.
And he needed a place to calm down.
One hour later, he had driven out of Imperial Capital.
The jeep drove across a field covered in snow.
This road seemed to be the one he and Qiaoqiao had taken chasing human traffickers.
At this time, since it was winter and the busy farming season had passed,
there were hardly any people on the road.
Thick snow blocked the path ahead.
But the jeep was custom-made.
Such snow could hardly stop the wild pace of the jeep.
The tires flung up snow, dancing behind the car.
Turning into airborne flakes, they completely enveloped the vehicle’s rear.
Then, Qin Yize finally stopped the car.
He opened the door and got out.
In the vast wilderness, solitary trees swayed in the cold wind.
Mountains sprawled in the distance,
resembling a sleeping black dragon.
The wind was also strong in the fields.
As it swept through each time, it was like a heavy snowfall.
The sky today was overcast.
Viewing this somber sky over the fields made him feel even more oppressed.
With nothing to block it, the sky seemed much closer to the ground,
and the heavy dark clouds felt suffocating.
Coming here was meant to release his emotions, yet it had instead become more oppressive.
Qin Yize took a deep breath.
The wind howled past,
stinging his face as it struck.
Qin Yize walked into the field.
As he walked, he eventually collapsed onto the snow behind him.
After a long while, Qin Yize finally roared, "Gu Qiaoqiao, Gu Qiaoqiao, Gu Qiaoqiao..."
By the end, his voice was hoarse.
He never knew why he was shouting Gu Qiaoqiao’s name.
He just kept repeating it over and over.
These three words had never felt so bitter and bloody in his mouth.
He was still bleeding from the corner of his mouth.
He speculated countless times.
Gu Qiaoqiao must be under some duress, coerced by someone.
Otherwise, her behavior wouldn’t have changed so drastically.
Yet after he and Dongfang Yu had fought and both got hurt, Gu Qiaoqiao seemed to care only about Dongfang Yu.
The stranger they’d probably met only a few times, yet Gu Qiaoqiao wouldn’t even glance at him.
He remembered when they first left the mountains, he had an inconsequential wound on his back, and Gu Qiaoqiao was anxious about it.
But now, when he needed her to care, Gu Qiaoqiao didn’t.
Qin Yize cracked a self-deprecating smile, not sure if it was bitter or a cold sneer.