"I don’t have a phone with me yet."
"You can use mine." Mickey handed over the phone, "Hurry up and tell him, he’s worried to death."
Gu Qili asked everyone to sit down and eat fruit, while Mickey helped her sit up and placed two pillows behind her back to make her more comfortable.
After dialing the number, Tang Tianyou’s familiar voice came through: "Mickey?"
"Qili." Tang Tianyou’s voice could hardly conceal his joy, "You’re awake."
"I’m awake, bouncing around." Gu Qili held the phone and chuckled, "Xiao Mi said you’ve been here guarding me these past few days, thank you for your hard work."
"What’s there to thank for, as long as you’re awake, it’s all worth it. How are you feeling?" The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩✶𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚✶𝕟𝕖𝕥
"I’ve got some stuff to handle right now, I’ll come see you tomorrow."
"You do your thing, I’m really fine now, no need to come over specially."
The two chatted for a while longer and then Gu Qili hung up the phone.
"Sigh, Tang Tianyou really has it rough. He’s very worried about you, but in order not to create misunderstandings, he keeps avoiding the situation. Yet, his anxiousness is no less than your husband’s," Mickey said, peeling an orange and popping it into her mouth.
Gu Qili just smiled and stayed silent, how much she hoped that Tang Tianyou could find his own happiness.
Chen Yishu’s wife, who was gentle and virtuous, also sat nearby bombarding her with various questions, and Chen Yishu himself always stood by his wife’s side, inseparable in their affection for each other.
Mu Shuoqian came back with water, followed by the doctor, and nobody stayed to disturb the patient further, so they took their leave one after another.
Gu Qili was discharged from the hospital ten days later. Once her body had mostly recovered, Mu Shuoqian planned to take her to the United States for further post-treatment.
Although Qiu Lan was unable to come back in time, she had already found a professional medical team in the M country, just waiting for their arrival.
Before leaving, Mu Shuoqian took her to eat at Xiangshan, joined by Bai Chengxi and others, partly to celebrate Gu Qili’s recovery from serious illness and partly to bid them farewell.
Everyone gathered together in high spirits until the party ended at seven in the evening.
Gu Qili thought Mu Shuoqian would take her straight home, but the car headed in the opposite direction.
Confused, she asked, "Where are we going?"
"Tired?" He glanced at her worriedly, thinking she was uncomfortable.
"No, just curious. Look at you, all secretive." Gu Qili rested her head on his shoulder, looking out at the colorful, splendid city ahead, feeling like she had stolen a piece of happiness, joyful, yet also a little uneasy.
But no matter what, she would cherish the present, for only almost losing it made her realize its preciousness.
"You’ll know when we get there." Mu Shuoqian deliberately teased.
Gu Qili had no clue what he was up to but obediently leaned on his shoulder and pretended to sleep.
Soon, the car stopped in front of Pujing Hotel. Staring at the familiar building before her, Gu Qili was filled with many emotions. There were just too many memories here, from a small waitress to the head of the restaurant, she gave her all and received in turn, and even when she resigned in the end, she was still reluctant to leave.
Past events surged to her mind like a dream, making her feel the time passed was extremely precious.
"Come." Mu Shuoqian took her hand and they ascended the steps.
"You’re not thinking of taking me to the French Restaurant for a midnight snack, are you?" Gu Qili looked skeptically at this mysterious man. "I’m really full already."
He glanced at her, his eyes carrying a touch of sarcasm: "You always think about eating."
While they spoke, they entered Pujing Hotel. He didn’t go to the French Restaurant but took her straight up the stairs to the second floor.
Normally, the second-floor lobby was always full of guests, hosting wedding banquets and longevity feasts every day, but today it was transformed into the look of an auditorium, and Gu Qili could hear fluent French being spoken from afar.
As she approached, she found that a French speech competition was taking place in the auditorium, with junior high students from Aus City participating; despite their young ages, their accents were smooth and pronunciations precise when they spoke in a foreign language.
Currently, a girl on the stage, wearing a white shirt and black skirt with a ponytail, was giving a vivid and lively speech, her large eyes sparkled with intelligence and the naive innocence of an adolescent girl.
Gu Qili felt a moment of daze, and suddenly, she remembered ten years ago, she also stood in the Pujing Hotel’s auditorium for a speech. She had participated in many speech competitions, but only that one left her with a lasting memory, not because she had won first place, but because of a feeling that she cannot articulate to this day. Throughout the speech, besides Gu Dezhong sitting in the front row, she always felt a burning gaze, and until the end of the speech, she was searching through the crowd, but never found the person she had imagined, which made her feel somewhat lost, as if she had misplaced something precious.
Suddenly, her right hand was enveloped by a warm palm. The man standing by her side gazed at her tenderly, "Do you remember this place?"
"I do." Gu Qili nodded her head and as if struck by enlightenment, looked at him incredulously. "Mu Shuoqian, don’t tell me you were standing here watching me give my speech back then?"
Mu Shuoqian’s lips curved up in a deeply sentimental smile, and without caring for the audience listening to the speech, he said, "Wife, this is where I first met you. So, let’s start again from here; you are going to fully recover."
Gu Qili suddenly thought of that photo wall, realizing that this was where he had first recognized her, and from the very moment he stood here, their fate was already predetermined.
Gu Qili cried tears of joy and dove into his embrace, holding him tightly. "If I had seen you back then, we wouldn’t have missed out on those ten years. Husband, I will live well, and make up for those years."
They still had many decades ahead, each just beginning, so they had plenty of time, didn’t they? **