Mr.CEO, Please Sign the Divorce Agreement
Chapter 616: He is a Deserter

Chapter 616: Chapter 616: He is a Deserter

Su Mu has become extremely sensitive to phone calls. She always subconsciously associates them with Qiqi—could it be news about Qiqi? Could Qiqi already be home? But she knows that such expectations are practically a miracle.

Even though the chances are slim, Su Mu hasn’t given up. It wasn’t until she saw Fu Shinian pick up his phone and furrow his brow slightly at the name on the screen that Su Mu asked:

"Who is it?"

"The old lady."

Su Mu tiredly leaned back against the chair: "Let’s not tell her for now. Grandma’s health isn’t good."

"I’m afraid it won’t stay hidden for long."

"As long as we can hold off, let’s hold off." Su Mu gazed out the window. "Maybe Qiqi will come back tomorrow."

Fu Shinian glanced at her deeply and pressed the answer button.

Honestly, the moment he hung up the phone, he couldn’t even remember what he had just said to the old lady. His responses seemed mechanical yet strangely seamless. Either way, Fu Shinian felt like none of it mattered right now.

His tightly wound nerves seemed like they couldn’t hold out much longer.

Su Mu might look fine, but Fu Shinian knows she’s not. It’s already close to 11 p.m., and she hasn’t closed her eyes even once. Fu Shinian doesn’t know when she’ll finally take a moment to rest, but he doesn’t want to force her—no one understands her feelings better than he does.

"Back to Bishui Yuntian, or..."

"To the hospital," Su Mu said. "I want to hear Ji Qingluan talk about the details."

"Susu..."

"I said, I want to go to the hospital."

Her patience was wearing thin, cutting off Fu Shinian’s words mid-sentence, as if she’d explode the moment he said one more thing. He didn’t press further and drove straight to the hospital, but Ji Qingluan—having just undergone surgery—had already slipped into a deep sleep by the time they arrived. Her earlier awakening had relied purely on willpower.

Fortunately, Wen Shaoyuan was awake.

When Su Mu and Fu Shinian entered the room, Wen Shaoyuan’s emotions were tumultuous, but as soon as he saw the two of them, he instantly calmed down, leaving only silent tears. Jiang Bei froze upon seeing them, thinking Fu Shinian’s departure earlier in such a rush meant there would be news about Qiqi—maybe even that Qiqi had been brought back.

Though she knew the odds were slim, she still clung to hope. But now, seeing the two of them, Jiang Bei didn’t even need to ask to understand the story. The emptiness on their faces said it all. She didn’t ask further and simply said:

"Shaoyuan was very agitated, he..."

Before Jiang Bei could finish, Wen Shaoyuan interrupted, getting up despite the wounds on his shoulder. Concerned, Su Mu quickly stepped forward to sit by the bedside and gently pressed him back onto the bed. Wen Shaoyuan held her hand tightly:

"Where’s Qiqi?"

Su Mu looked at Wen Shaoyuan but said nothing.

"Where’s Qiqi, Aunt Su?"

Su Mu remained silent, yet Wen Shaoyuan didn’t need words to understand the meaning of her silence. He loosened his grip on her hand and lay lifelessly in bed, as if even his breathing had grown faint.

Fu Shinian stepped over and gazed at Wen Shaoyuan lying on the bed:

"Wen Shaoyuan, we went to the place where you and Qiqi were kidnapped. Qiqi is no longer there, but she seems to be out of immediate danger. Don’t..."

"I left her there," Wen Shaoyuan said in a hoarse voice, then curled his lips into a mocking, self-deprecating smile. "I swore that no matter what, I’d stay by her side, that I’d accompany her and protect her. She trusted me so much, but... I left her behind."

"That place—it’s so dark, so eerie. She’s afraid of the dark, afraid of ghosts, afraid of being alone. I knew... I knew, but I still left her there."

Su Mu wanted to comfort Wen Shaoyuan, to tell him it wasn’t his fault, that he was injured too. She knew if Wen Shaoyuan had the slightest ability, if Ji Qingluan had any leeway, they wouldn’t have left Qiqi behind. They had done their best.

But hearing Wen Shaoyuan’s words reminded her of Qiqi’s fear of unfamiliar environments, how even the sound of rain could terrify her. The words lodging in Su Mu’s throat refused to come out, as if she had lost her voice.

Because that was her daughter—the flesh and blood born from her own body.

Yet as a mother, she hadn’t been able to protect her. Where was she now? Who was she with? Had she cried? Was she scared? Had her captors hurt her?... She didn’t dare imagine, didn’t dare dwell on it, yet couldn’t stop herself from doing so. Every thought about what Qiqi might be enduring gripped Su Mu’s heart with suffocating pain.

But she had to keep thinking, had to keep hurting—only then could she stay alert.

Fu Shinian remained silent for a long time before speaking:

"If Qiqi comes back, she won’t blame you."

His words didn’t comfort Wen Shaoyuan. His wide-open eyes stayed fixed on the empty ceiling, tears streaming silently as Qiqi’s face filled his mind. She had been tightly tied to a stone pillar, her gaze unwaveringly fixed on him. She didn’t cry, didn’t ask them to stay—she just looked at him, looked at him...

Wen Shaoyuan’s heart ached, so much it nearly rendered him unconscious. He shouldn’t have come back. He shouldn’t have left Qiqi behind in that pitch-black place. What about the man? Was he dead or alive? If alive, what might he do to Qiqi?

She was so afraid of the dark, so afraid of being alone. In that desolate, eerie place, accompanied by a blood-covered man and her own terror from the gunshots, Qiqi needed everything Wen Shaoyuan had to offer to protect her. But in the end, he left her behind.

The person who, despite fear, stood up to protect him—Qiqi—had been abandoned by him.

This realization was like countless hands tearing Wen Shaoyuan apart.

This realization drove Wen Shaoyuan to the brink. All at once, it was as if an invisible switch inside him had been flipped. He sprang out of bed, barefoot, rushing out of the room before anyone could react. The IV drip and heart monitor wires attached to him tore free, scattering onto the floor.

Fu Shinian was the first to react and ran after him, but Wen Shaoyuan had already collapsed to the ground, once again losing consciousness.

Jiang Bei quickly pressed the emergency button:

"Quick, get him back in bed!"

Fu Shinian lifted him back onto the bed just as the doctors and nurses arrived in the room. Fu Shinian held Su Mu’s hand and led her out, with Jiang Bei following behind. She looked at Su Mu’s pale face and said, "You should get some rest."

Su Mu shook her head:

"How can I rest?"

Qiqi hasn’t come back. How can I rest?