Chapter 67 "I just got confessed to, and I can't wait to..."
The torrential rain that had lasted for two days finally stopped.
The wind outside the window was still howling, carrying a sense of sorrow.
This season is neither as bright as spring, nor as intense as summer, nor as snowy as winter.
It seems that all the words used to describe autumn carry a touch of melancholy.
Jiang Muzhou stood in front of the mirror and gently lifted the gauze from his forehead.
The dark red scar had scabbed over, and he covered the wound with an inconspicuous bandage.
Yesterday's unexpected event is still fresh in my mind.
On a highway completely jammed with traffic, he was walking in the emergency lane looking for a cell phone signal when, just as a signal bar appeared, a BMW SUV lost control and crashed into him from the side.
He was knocked and rolled away.
In a brief moment of disorientation, through the car window, he saw the driver still being intimate with the person in the passenger seat.
It was probably because the movement was too intense that his toe accidentally stepped on the accelerator, causing the car to lose control and crash into him.
The road was slippery due to the rain, and the sudden impact knocked him heavily to the ground, causing him to slide uncontrollably for several meters.
In the instant of weightlessness, he instinctively braced himself with his palms. The rough asphalt road surface rubbed violently against his skin, instantly turning his palms into a bloody mess. The sleeves of his windbreaker were also ripped, and several bloody scratches appeared on his forearms.
Finally, his forehead slammed heavily against the railing, and a fine layer of blood seeped out.
When Wang Yuemeng saw that he hadn't returned yet, she got out of the car to look for him and immediately spotted a dark figure curled up on the emergency lane.
After figuring out what had happened, Wang Yuemeng flew into a rage, rushed over cursing, and grabbed the SUV owner by the collar to argue.
The driver looked to be in his forties and was dressed respectably. The passenger in the front seat never showed herself, but it was vaguely discernible that she was a young woman in her early twenties.
While Wang Yuemeng was still arguing with the other party about compensation for emotional distress, lost wages, and medical expenses, Jiang Muzhou was able to slowly straighten up by supporting himself on the ground. He moved his hands and feet and confirmed that it was just a superficial injury and that his bones should be fine, so he breathed a slight sigh of relief.
But thinking of Su Cheng, he couldn't help but worry. What if she needed to contact him? If he couldn't reach her, she would be anxious.
Wang Yuemeng held on tightly, emphasizing that the phone contained important video footage, and now that it was broken, he either had to pay for it or find a way to get it back.
Since the BMW owner was in the wrong, the other party obviously wanted to settle the matter as soon as possible, so they paid the money readily and even offered to call an ambulance.
But after looking at the lanes in front and behind that were blocked off, Jiang Muzhou decided to go back to his car and use the iodine swabs and gauze he always kept in the trunk to treat his wound.
For the second half of the journey, Wang Yuemeng, a "bookworm," volunteered to take over driving.
It was almost 11 p.m. when the car finally arrived at the apartment building.
He almost wanted to rush upstairs immediately and tell her in person, "I'm back."
But the mirror in the elevator car reflected his disheveled state.
The torn cuffs were stained with dust, and the gauze on his forehead was still stained with mottled blood.
He hesitated immediately.
If she saw him like this now, she would definitely panic, frown, focus all her attention on his injury, and worry about him all night, just like when he was in the hospital last time.
He couldn't bear to part with it.
I really couldn't bear to see her clear eyes clouded with worry because of me.
Let's go back and tidy ourselves up properly first.
When Jiang Muzhou finished showering and went outside, he found a cake on her doorstep.
He picked up the soaking wet takeout order and looked at it. The order was placed in the evening, but it was only delivered after he returned.
Su Cheng did not come out to retrieve it.
Recalling her slightly nasal voice in the voice message, Jiang Muzhou guessed that she had probably taken her medicine and gone to bed early.
Looking at the tightly closed door, he couldn't bear to disturb them and decided to wait until dawn.
He barely slept that night.
He got up as soon as the sky began to lighten.
The wound on his forehead was still throbbing, so he quickly treated it and put on a khaki cardigan.
Instead of opening the door, he sat down in the shadows of the entryway.
If I go too early, I fear I will disturb her peaceful sleep; if I go too late, I fear she will have already left.
He had no choice but to wait quietly.
Time slipped by second by second, and my thoughts rose and fell with it.
Yuanbao would occasionally wander over, sometimes gently nudging the back of his hand with its wet nose, and sometimes sweeping his palm with its fluffy tail.
A series of fine, stinging pains came from my palm.
The wound had not fully healed, and the gruesome abrasions were still a shocking sight.
Jiang Muzhou got up and walked towards the study, deliberately opening the security door slightly, leaving a crack so that he could immediately detect any movement if Su Cheng went out.
He decided to give it a try and log into WeChat on his computer to leave a message for Su Cheng.
He could only sigh helplessly when he saw the message "You have not logged in for more than seven days. Please scan the QR code to verify with your mobile phone" pop up on the screen.
Without a mobile phone, even the most basic communication becomes a problem.
It wasn't until noon that he finally got up and went to knock on the door next door.
The chocolate cake in front of the door remained untouched in its original spot.
I left it on the floor mat all night, and I don't know if it's gone bad.
Jiang Muzhou recalled the cake-making ingredients he had glimpsed at her house before, and a guess flashed through his mind: was this cake something she planned to eat herself, or was it originally intended to be given to someone else?
He knocked harder several more times, but there was still no sound from inside the house.
He glanced down at the cake at his feet. Had she not come home all night yesterday?
The sun throbbed, and an inexplicable sense of unease crept in.
Jiang Muzhou couldn't wait any longer, so he turned around, went back into the house to get his ID card and wallet, and went straight to the nearest service center to get a replacement SIM card and buy a new mobile phone.
All he wanted to do was contact Su Cheng as soon as possible to confirm her safety.
But when he logged into WeChat, he found that apart from the voice message he received yesterday afternoon, Su Cheng had not sent any new messages.
The entire chat interface abruptly stopped there.
Jiang Muzhou dialed Su Cheng's number, but instead of the familiar, bright voice, he heard the cold, repetitive tone of a phone being switched off.
The faint unease he had felt earlier spread clearly and rapidly in his heart, like ink dripping into water.
Jiang Muzhou's fingers tapped rapidly on the screen, leaving a message for Su Cheng, asking her to call back when she had time, and also sending a message to Shen Siqi, asking if Su Cheng had contacted him and Xu Zhisui recently.
After doing all that, he immediately started the car and sped off toward the rescue station.
There seemed to be a few new eye-catching notices posted at the entrance of the shelter, but he didn't have time to look at them carefully and went straight in.
Because it was a weekday, the office was rather deserted, with only Wu Xin there.
Jiang Muzhou quickly scanned the office and found that Su Cheng was not there, and his expectations were dashed.
But he couldn't help but ask, "Did Su Cheng come today?"
Upon seeing Jiang Muzhou, Wu Xin seemed somewhat surprised. She shook her head and said, "No."
Jiang Muzhou was about to leave when his gaze inadvertently swept over a business card on Su Cheng's desk.
He picked it up and examined it closely. It clearly read: Tiancheng Insurance, General Manager, Cheng Muye.
His nerves tightened instantly. He frowned, pointed at the business card, and pressed Wu Xin for an answer: "Cheng Muye has been here?"
A look of confusion crossed Wu Xin's face, clearly indicating that she was not familiar with the name. She looked down at the business card, tried hard to recall, and then said, "I think she came the day before yesterday, to talk to Su Su about cooperation."
"Okay, thank you."
Wu Xin behind him seemed to want to say something, but Jiang Muzhou didn't linger and drove straight to find Cheng Muye.
As the car merged into the traffic, Jiang Muzhou's mood grew increasingly heavy.
Deep in his memory, Cheng Muye was indeed the only warmth he could feel in that cold family, a rare ray of light in his childhood. The last time he was willing to step into the Cheng family's door, it was entirely out of respect for Cheng Muye.
But who would have thought that he would actually side with his parents?
The force under his feet unconsciously increased.
So what exactly did he want to do by appearing in front of Su Cheng this time?
Jiang Muzhou slammed on the gas pedal, and the Land Rover sped along the elevated highway, but the roar of the engine couldn't drown out the growing unease in his heart.
His knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel, and his tightly furrowed brows remained furrowed for a long time.
The black car slowly came to a stop in front of the skyscraper whose entire exterior was covered by glass curtain walls.
The sky was overcast, with thick, dark clouds pressing down, except for the "Tiancheng Insurance" sign on the rooftop, which shone with dazzling gold against the gray background.
When filling out college applications in his senior year of high school, Jiang Jianguo suggested that he apply to the finance department, saying that it would be helpful for him to work at Tiancheng after graduation.
At that time, he still harbored illusions, thinking that he would finally gain recognition.
But who could have imagined that my first real visit here would be under such circumstances?
"Hello, do you have an appointment?" the receptionist asked with a polite, professional smile.
"I'm looking for Cheng Muye." Jiang Muzhou's voice was cold, devoid of any emotion.
In truth, deep down, he wasn't as indifferent to everything as he appeared on the surface.
On the contrary, he longed to be loved and accepted more than anyone else.
He heard from the nanny, Zhang Ma, that the eldest son was gentle and had excellent grades.
He once naively thought that as long as he was as outstanding as Cheng Muye, he could win a little pity from his parents.
So during those years, he began to clumsily imitate Makino's every move, always flashing the perfect smile when he met people, and striving to be number one in every exam.
He thought that as long as he worked hard enough, he could eventually get a little bit of attention from his parents.
It wasn't until much later that he truly understood that from the moment he was born, some things were already destined, and no matter how much he tried, he would never gain their genuine affection.
But he could no longer shake off this habit of feigning gentleness that had gradually developed.
But now, the person he cares about most is gone.
He no longer cared about maintaining any decorum or gentleness; he wanted to see Cheng Muye now and find out Su Cheng's whereabouts.
The receptionist wanted to look through the register, but Jiang Muzhou reached out and pressed the register down.
Jiang Muzhou took the elevator directly to the floor where the general manager's office was located.
The elevator car ascended smoothly, but his heart felt like it was suspended in mid-air, unable to find a stable place to land.
The moment Cheng Muye saw him, he was first surprised, then skillfully raised the gentle smile that Jiang Muzhou was most familiar with and most disgusted by.
"Finally decided to come find your brother?" Cheng Muye raised an eyebrow slightly, his tone carrying a familiar familiarity.
"What, you just got confessed to and can't wait to share the good news with me?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
