The hand on her shoulder finally moved away, and the touch of air on the fabric brought a slight chill. Her heart, too, momentarily felt empty. But she quickly composed herself, dismissing the faint unease.
Mu Shuoqian leaned against the balcony, his tall figure silhouetted against it. The wind blew in through the narrow crack of the open window, dispersing the smoke from his cigarette. He squinted his eyes, shadows of faint dark circles beneath them betraying a night of sleeplessness.
"Stomachache? Is it serious?" Gu Qili’s gaze naturally fell on his stomach, forgetting that such concern was superfluous between them.
Mu Shuoqian continued to smoke, indifferent, his gaze cold as he looked at her. Her cheeks were slightly swollen.
Without waiting for his answer, Gu Qili’s lip corner lifted in self-mockery. From what stance should she concern herself with him? As contractual friends? Why bother. Beyond that, they weren’t even truly ’acquainted’.
However, she was grateful that he had intervened on her behalf earlier. If he hadn’t suddenly appeared, Chen Jiehui wouldn’t have known when to stop flaunting.
"Young Master Qian." From a distance, his assistant Xiao Ran stood holding a large bag of medicine, seeking guidance, "Shall I go down first, then?"
Mu Shuoqian nodded, stopped smoking, casually extinguished the cigarette on the windowsill, and tossed the butt into the trash can.
Xiao Ran politely nodded to Gu Qili before leaving with the medicine bag.
"I should also head back to school now." Gu Qili seized the opportunity to make a quick exit.
"Come to Jingshan tonight." He straightened up, his deep shadow looming over her head. She detested his height, which exerted a domineering presence even without speaking.
"I have classes tomorrow." She tilted her head back to look up at him, her voice tinged with dissatisfaction.
Jingshan was two bus rides away from the school, dreadfully far. She didn’t want to waste all her time commuting.
"My luggage isn’t packed." His gaze firmly on her, "You can’t leave a job half-done, didn’t your teacher ever teach you that?"
Gu Qili was speechless. Was he incapable of managing his own life? Not able to pack before a business trip, nor tidy up after returning? Or was it that he was the pampered young master, stretching out his hand to be dressed and opening his mouth to be fed, never bothering with such trifling matters? Why not hire a maid, after all, it’s only a bit of money.
She fell silent, sulking.
Mu Shuoqian slightly tilted his head, noticing the various documents she’d been clutching in her hand: "What are you doing with these?"
It was only then that Gu Qili remembered she had gone to handle the hospital discharge procedures for Chen Yishu. With the incident that had occurred, the Chen family probably didn’t want to see her again.
"A friend was hospitalized, this is his paperwork. I’ll deliver it now, and then head straight to your car."
Gu Qili hurried towards the ward, only to realize after a few steps that he was leisurely following behind. She turned her head in surprise, and he casually asked, "What are you looking at?"
Gu Qili twitched the corners of her mouth and pointed toward an exit: "To go downstairs, we should use this way."
Unperturbed, with an aura of integrity, he replied, "I like to take the longer route."
Well, there was no buying his willingness with money. If he wanted to follow, then let him.
Not far ahead, a faint voice from behind questioned, "I sent you a text, why didn’t you reply?"
Gu Qili thought of the warm yet casual content of his text and felt her cheeks heat up unnaturally. Perhaps he hadn’t meant it, but the heart sees what it wishes.
She countered with a touch of guilt, "What text?"
His gaze grew heavier.
Hastily, she took out her phone to check. After flipping through it, she suddenly smacked her forehead, "Saw it."
His gaze still as heavy as ink, she felt extremely uncomfortable, as if not replying to his text was a grave and unforgivable sin. This text is hosted at n̷o̷v̷e̷l̷f̷i̷r̷e̷.net
Gu Qili could only scratch her head and evade, "Why didn’t you send a WeChat? Who still checks text messages nowadays?"