CHAPTER 293: CHAPTER 273: HER PATH HAS NO MORE HIM

The doctor arrived promptly, and after an examination, he preliminarily judged that Mu Shuoqian’s calf had traces of a fracture. However, a definitive conclusion would require a more specific examination at the hospital. After removing the glass shards from his leg and bandaging it, the doctor also arranged for someone to call an ambulance.

The doctor was surprised. He had heard from Xiao Ran that this was not the scene of the incident. So how did a person with a broken leg endure such excruciating pain and make it to the office?

Is this really human?

No sooner had the doctor finished speaking than Mu Shuoqian was already standing up and walking towards the break room.

"Mr. Mu, you really shouldn’t be moving right now." If you move around too much, this leg might become useless.

Mu Shuoqian completely ignored him, taking the new clothes Xiao Ran had bought for him into the break room. First, he took a shower. The wound that had just been wrapped got wet again,

"Young Master Qian, are you alright? The car is already here. You need to go to the hospital now; you can’t delay any further."

It was a while before the sound of water stopped. About five minutes later, Mu Shuoqian finally opened the bathroom door, having changed into a fresh set of clothes from the inside out.

Xiao Ran didn’t react, but the doctor on the side felt somewhat embarrassed, thinking how this man, who could turn into a cripple any second, still had the mindset to take a bath and change clothes despite the injury.

After arriving at the hospital, Mu Shuoqian was admitted. Following a systematic examination, his calf was confirmed to be fractured. The doctors treated him and finally put his leg in a cast.

The man who had been silent and hadn’t said a word suddenly instructed Xiao Ran after the doctor left: "Check that chandelier to see if someone tampered with it."

"Young Master Qian, I have already had it checked. The chandelier was indeed tampered with by someone. I suspect someone hid with an invisible wire and yanked it with force when they saw someone approaching. The already damaged chandelier would naturally fall down. But the investigator told me there was no sight of the so-called invisible wire; it was probably taken away by the culprit who was still on the scene at the time."

Without anyone controlling it, the chandelier wouldn’t have fallen at such a precise time. Mu Shuoqian thought of Qiu Yufei, who had run out of the restroom after the incident occurred; that distance was enough for her to manipulate the invisible wire from inside.

"Keep investigating, if they could tamper with the chandelier, they surely bribed someone inside the restaurant."

"Understood, I know."

Having said this, Mu Shuoqian then gazed out the window and fell silent.

No, he must send Qiu Lan and Qiu Yufei back to country M as soon as possible. As long as they are here, he won’t be at peace for a day. Even though he is now vigorously distancing himself from Gu Qili, his current state inevitably exposes his vulnerability, so Qiu Lan must leave, and that Execution Order must be made to disappear.

"How is the progress with the task I gave you?"

Xiao Ran quickly said, "Everything is going smoothly."

"First, send all the documents to my email."

"Yes, I’ll send them as soon as I get back."

But since it was Mu Shuoqian’s order, he must do it well.

"How is the restaurant holding up?"

"The lady acted promptly, taking measures to deal with the situation right from the start. The accident hasn’t leaked, and the restaurant continues to operate as usual."

A trace of relieved smile appeared on Mu Shuoqian’s face, happy for her growth. But the thought of her journey ahead no longer requiring his accompaniment hollowed him out from the bottom of his heart, leaving him at a loss as to how to go on alone.

"Don’t let the lady know about my injury."

Mu Shuoqian seemed a bit tired, leaning back on the pillow and closing his eyes with evident dark circles beneath them.

He hardly slept a peaceful night, with insomnia night after night, particularly severe over the past week, often staying awake until dawn and suffering unbearable headaches the next day.

He had Xiao Ran prescribe sleeping pills; at first, he took one, then two, then three...

Just like now, with his eyes closed, despite being insanely tired, he still couldn’t fall asleep, his mind filled with the image of her despairing expression as she left.

Just as Xiao Ran was about to say something, he saw Mu Shuoqian closing his eyes and seemingly about to sleep; he didn’t disturb him further, quietly closing the door of the hospital room and stepped out.

~

Gu Qili didn’t expect that a week after the chandelier incident, she would see Mu Shuoqian again.

The intentional injury case of Luan Yi was handled by Nan Zhan. With the court session approaching, there were some issues that required consultation with her as the party involved.

The two arranged to meet in a café. After Gu Qili cooperated with Lawyer Nan to prepare for the lawsuit, Nan Zhan glanced at his watch, noticing it was nearly noon, so he invited her to have lunch together.

Gu Qili actually wanted to refuse; Nan Zhan was a friend of Mu Shuoqian’s, and she now didn’t want to be too involved with his friends. But Nan Zhan was different; he successfully handled Guan Zhe’s case last time, and now such a high-profile lawyer was dealing with her minor case. Out of gratitude, she had no reason to decline.

"Lawyer Nan, let me treat you."

Nan Zhan smiled slightly: "My attorney’s fees are not low, you don’t have to buy me a meal specially."

Gu Qili knew that the attorney fees were paid by Mu Shuoqian. After all, this was all before their breakup.

"What would you like to eat?" Gu Qili asked directly.

"Let’s go eat at Old Leng’s. I’m really not accustomed to other places."

When Xiangshan Club was mentioned, Gu Qili’s eyes dimmed. It was the place she and Mu Shuoqian used to frequent the most, and he favored the food from Xiangshan, whether for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. As long as he wished, he would order all his meals as takeout from Xiangshan.

Nan Zhan noticed her change of expression, and his inquisitive gaze shot over: "Is it inconvenient?"

Gu Qili hurriedly shook her head and smiled brightly: "It’s convenient. Let’s go to Xiangshan Club."

Nan Zhan took her to his private room here, which had many brightly colored decorations. Gu Qili couldn’t imagine someone as deep and wise as Nan Zhan would like such bright colors.

After taking their seats, Nan Zhan gentlemanly handed the menu to her.

Gu Qili ordered two dishes and then pushed the menu back to him. Nan Zhan pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose and mentioned a few dish names to the waiter.

After the waiter left, he took off his glasses and set them aside, lifting his right hand to gently rub the corner of his eye.

"Lawyer Nan, are you nearsighted?" Gu Qili noticed he was always wearing glasses whenever she saw him.

Nan Zhan’s slender fingers remained at the corner of his eye, and his eyes, that seemed to see everything, squinted slightly: "No."

"Then why do you wear glasses?" Gu Qili felt he looked even more handsome without the glasses, though he also looked stylish with them on.

He picked up the teacup from the table and took a gentle sip, chuckling sardonically: "Isn’t it said that people who wear glasses appear more cultured?"

Pfft!

Gu Qili almost burst out laughing.

As the top lawyer in Aus City, does he really need to make himself look cultured? Everyone knows he’s well-versed in a wide range of subjects, immensely learned and extremely talented.

Knowing he was joking, she also lifted the teacup for a sip.

Nan Zhan’s phone buzzed once, probably a message. He looked at it and swiftly replied with one hand.

Soon, the dishes they ordered were served one after another.

Seeing that Nan Zhan didn’t start eating, Gu Qili also felt awkward about starting first and continued holding her teacup.

"Sorry, there’s one more person. Let’s wait for him," Nan Zhan hurriedly explained.

"Mm, no rush. I’m not that hungry."

But what Gu Qili hadn’t expected was that the person Nan Zhan was waiting for would be Mu Shuoqian.

After the door to the private room was opened, she was facing away from the door. She only heard Nan Zhan say: "Young Master Mu, you’ve arrived quite quickly."

Gu Qili stiffened suddenly; her hands out of control and the teacup fell onto the table, spilling all the tea inside.

"Qili, are you alright?" Nan Zhan offered a tissue with concern and called the waiter over to deal with the spill.

Gu Qili took the tissue he handed over and wiped blindly in front of her.

Frowning, Nan Zhan reminded her: "Qili, I don’t think you spilled it there, did you?"

Only then did Gu Qili realize she had been wiping the other side of the table. She lowered her head in embarrassment, while Mu Shuoqian had already taken a seat not far from her.

The familiar scent that suddenly drew near made her feel panicked.

They had sat here together countless times before, but the man was no longer the attentive and caring Shuoqian he used to be. Now he had his own love, and she was just a thing of the past he used to replace someone else.

Gu Qili admitted that even after a month and a half, no matter how hard she tried to adjust herself, every time she saw anything related to him, she would be reminded of the good and the bad about him.

She thought she was poisoned by him, and perhaps she would never be cured in this lifetime. The idea of pretending as if nothing had happened, of wanting to nonchalantly wave it off as if nothing had occurred, was extremely difficult.

"Young Master Mu, surprise, isn’t it? You must not have expected Qili to be here, right?" When Nan Zhan received a message from Mu Shuoqian asking where he was, he directly suggested the name of Xiangshan Club and invited him to have lunch, aiming to surprise him.

Mu Shuoqian didn’t speak but calmly picked up the chopsticks from the table, ready to start eating.

"Did you two... have a fight?" Nan Zhan finally noticed that since they met, there had been zero communication between the two, and they hadn’t even looked at each other. He vaguely felt something was amiss.

"No." Mu Shuoqian, who had been silent all this time, finally looked up at him, "How’s the case going?"

"When have I ever lost a case I’ve taken on? But you better think it through. If you really let Qi Yexin’s granddaughter go to jail, you’ll be making a lifelong enemy of the Qi Family."

Gu Qili, who was about to reach out with her chopsticks, suddenly stopped, a bit eager to hear Mu Shuoqian’s response.

Would he, like before, unhesitatingly offend the Qi Family for her sake? Now would he still do such a thing that was disadvantageous without benefits?