Mr.CEO, Please Sign the Divorce Agreement
Chapter 631: Enduring Suffering

Chapter 631: Chapter 631: Enduring Suffering

From morning to noon, Su Mu stood motionless like a statue. She didn’t eat, drink, or use the bathroom. She seemed to have no such needs. Her eagerness to see Qiqi had consumed her to the point where nothing else mattered—only waiting.

But Qin Nianwan never appeared.

Su Mu told herself it was impossible to not feel anxious. After all, she had been standing here for an entire morning. At first, she firmly believed that Qin Nianwan would show up, but now—though she didn’t want to admit it—that belief was starting to crack.

Maybe Qin Nianwan genuinely wouldn’t come.

As soon as this thought entered her mind, Su Mu waved it away. Impossible.

She would appear. It was only noon now; there was still an entire afternoon and evening ahead. She would appear. She had to appear. Today, Su Mu was certain she could see Qiqi and bring her home.

Smiling faintly at the thought, Su Mu continued standing there, watching the passing crowds without the slightest trace of impatience.

She didn’t feel as though she was waiting for Qin Nianwan but rather waiting for Qiqi.

Her Qiqi would soon be back by her side. Just the thought of this made Su Mu feel as though she could stand here for an entire year without an issue.

Qin Nianwan neither called nor announced her departure. Even if someone said so, Su Mu would dismiss it. Everything proceeded as planned—no one approached Su Mu, and those around her watched her silently as she stood from noon to dusk. She did go to the restroom once, briefly, and then returned to her spot. Fu Shinian didn’t dare come near; he thought Su Mu was on the verge of breaking.

As night fell, the plaza at the central bus terminal had emptied of almost all people. The silent protectors stationed around Su Mu began to leave, blending into the shadows without the bustle of the crowd for cover—staying further would make them conspicuous. Su Mu was left alone in the wide-open square.

Qin Nianwan still didn’t appear.

Fu Shinian sat in his car not far away, hesitating whether to walk over and urge Su Mu to leave, to tell her that Qin Nianwan definitely wouldn’t show up. Just then, his phone rang. He glanced at it—a strange number, but not the same number Qin Nianwan used last time. Still, he knew—it was her.

He looked at Su Mu, standing nearby, then pressed the answer button:

"You’re late."

Qin Nianwan chuckled softly on the other end of the line:

"If I’m late, have you kept your promises? We agreed it would be just one person. How many did you bring? Or did you think I’m blind and wouldn’t notice?"

Fu Shinian opened his mouth to say something, but Qin Nianwan interrupted:

"Let her go home. Don’t let her freeze out there. You should be heartbroken by now."

With that, Qin Nianwan hung up the call, giving Fu Shinian no chance to respond. He stared at the phone, now disconnected, muttered a curse under his breath, then pushed open the car door and got out. As he walked toward Su Mu, he dialed Ji Nanfeng:

"Pull the people back. Qin Nianwan isn’t coming."

Ji Nanfeng, known for his impatience, uncharacteristically held it together this time: "Pull back? What happened? Did Qin Nianwan call you?"

"Yeah. She’s not coming."

"Shit." Ji Nanfeng cursed, "Did she figure it out?"

As Fu Shinian approached Su Mu, now close enough for her to notice him watching, he lightly murmured affirmation before hanging up.

Fu Shinian had thought Su Mu would break down, but she didn’t.

Upon seeing him standing before her, she simply stared, not speaking. Fu Shinian opened his mouth to say something, but Su Mu spoke first:

"She’s not coming, is she?"

"She isn’t."

Su Mu nodded calmly, her tone devoid of sharp emotion: "I had guessed as much. If she didn’t appear when there were crowds earlier, now that it’s empty, she’s even less likely to show."

"Susu, don’t worry. Since Qin Nianwan made this call and showed interest in meeting, if it didn’t work out this time, there’ll definitely be another chance. Let’s be patient and wait."

Su Mu nodded: "It seems there’s no other option."

"Qin Nianwan seems to be nearby. She said she noticed we brought a lot of people. I’ve already dispatched the police to search the area, but don’t get your hopes up; they might not find anything." Fu Shinian took Su Mu’s icy hand: "Let’s head back and wait for news."

Su Mu nodded, but just as she prepared to take a step, darkness abruptly swallowed her vision, and she collapsed.

——

"You don’t have to worry so much; it’s nothing serious. She fainted suddenly because she hadn’t eaten all day and was under immense emotional strain. With some rest, she’ll be fine."

Qiao Yu stood by the bedside, watching Fu Shinian refuse to leave Su Mu’s side, and couldn’t hold back from saying so.

Fu Shinian nodded but still kept Su Mu’s hand tightly in his grasp, showing no intention of letting go:

"Any updates from the police?"

"What do you think?" Qiao Yu sighed. "The bus terminal’s flow of people is enormous; trying to pick out a suspicious person from all of them is like finding a needle in a haystack. Besides, we can’t even be sure if Qin Nianwan was truly there—or whether she’d bring accomplices. You know too well that the police are unlikely to turn up anything definitive."

Fu Shinian didn’t reply, but his gaze as he looked at Su Mu grew firmer, as if he had suddenly made some critical decision.

After waking up, Su Mu still seemed composed. When Fu Shinian asked if she wanted something to eat, she nodded and even smiled slightly: "Of course, I’m a bit hungry."

Fu Shinian felt uncertain about Su Mu’s demeanor. He watched her closely:

"Susu, if you’re feeling upset, just tell me. Don’t bottle it up inside."

"I’m not." Su Mu lowered her gaze to the white blankets. "I’m not upset. Right now, I simply want to keep up my strength. Qin Nianwan will call again, I’m sure. I can’t let myself spiral into despair. Qiqi is still waiting for me to rescue her. Once she’s back, I need to take good care of her."

Fu Shinian studied her for a few seconds, then smiled faintly:

"What do you feel like eating? I’ll make it for you."

"Anything’s fine; I’m hungry and not picky."

"Then rest for a bit; when it’s ready, I’ll call you."

Su Mu nodded, saying no more. Fu Shinian gently brushed her cheek, then rose and went downstairs.

In the kitchen, Fu Shinian declined Auntie Lin’s help. He pulled out ingredients from the fridge and began washing them yet couldn’t focus. Su Mu’s reaction was a constant source of unease.

Though her proactive attitude seemed positive—knowing what’s urgent, taking care of herself—he couldn’t help feeling more worried. Qin Nianwan’s contact was ostensibly good news, but Fu Shinian had deep doubts about where all this might ultimately lead.

In the recent months when Su Mu had been lethargic, Fu Shinian had thoroughly investigated Qin Nianwan’s whereabouts over the past three years but chose not to share the findings with Su Mu out of concern for her.

When Qin Nianwan fled the hospital back then, she likely knew Fu Shinian wouldn’t let her off the hook easily. She would sooner bear another crime, staging her own death. The police are still investigating discrepancies in the DNA results.

Initially, Qin Nianwan didn’t immediately leave Shen City. She got involved with a gang; they admired her beauty while she sought the deadly equipment they possessed. For a long time, she had no opportunity to act until Song Zhengxian returned to the country and kidnapped Su Mu.

Qin Nianwan stole the gang leader’s gun and followed along to the scene, attempting to kill Su Mu amidst the chaos. She hadn’t expected Fu Shinian to shield Su Mu by taking the bullet himself. Killing Fu Shinian wasn’t her intention—whether he lived or died didn’t concern her—but police arrived too quickly, forcing her to flee to save herself.

Thinking she was safe, Qin Nianwan discarded the gun and didn’t intend to return to the gang. She even stole a considerable sum of money from them. But before she could board a vehicle and leave, she was caught and dragged back.

Lacking feelings to begin with, the gang leader, realizing he had been used, took every opportunity to make her suffer. Qin Nianwan became a tool for earning money, taking clients day after day. Different men came and went from her body without pause.

She endured a full year of this torment before managing to escape, fleeing abroad, only to find her biological daughter had died of illness in an orphanage. She underwent plastic surgery and returned to the country.

Back then, leaving had never been her plan; she simply wished to be with her daughter. Yet all her efforts to reunite led her to a corpse—or rather, not even that.

From then on, she transformed, holding Su Mu and Fu Shinian responsible for everything that had befallen her.

Strictly speaking, neither Su Mu nor Fu Shinian was at fault. But for Qin Nianwan, logic didn’t apply anymore. Once a person’s psyche twists, reasoning becomes meaningless.

Half a year ago, the man who died in the car accident—Rong Shen—was one of Qin Nianwan’s moves. A revenge plan against the man who subjected her to a year of humiliation, executed without a trace. She then appeared as Qiqi’s teacher, playing her next calculated hand. No matter how careful Fu Shinian had been, he hadn’t anticipated her infiltrating through Qiqi.

Qin Nianwan was no longer the person she once was. Her ultimate intentions remained unclear, but Fu Shinian knew she wouldn’t let things go. Having lost her daughter, with Qiqi so close in age to her deceased child, he couldn’t resist imagining what horrors Qin Nianwan might have planned for Qiqi.

He chose not to tell Su Mu any of this—he feared it would overwhelm her.

Understanding the situation didn’t help solve it. All Fu Shinian could do was wait for Qin Nianwan’s next move.

Su Mu appeared at the kitchen door without him noticing. She gazed at Fu Shinian as he stood by the sink, lost in thought, and spoke softly:

"What’s on your mind?"

Fu Shinian snapped back to attention almost instantly, his expression briefly flustered before recovering: "Nothing."

Meanwhile, Qin Nianwan returned to the underground lair, finding Qiqi asleep. But the moment Qin Nianwan stepped inside, Qiqi rose cautiously from the bed, her eyes fixed on the entrance. Upon recognizing it was Qin Nianwan, disappointment flickered across her face—though she was careful not to show it.

Days before, she had demanded to speak with Su Mu and Fu Shinian, and for the first time in a month, she heard her parents’ voices. Qiqi felt elated because she believed Qin Nianwan would take her along to meet them. But she didn’t.

Before leaving, Qin Nianwan locked her ankles with chains to prevent escape. While Qiqi felt disheartened, she didn’t despair; she believed that even if she couldn’t go with Qin Nianwan, her parents could find this place and save her.

But her two-day hunger left her anticipating someone else’s return—only for it to be Qin Nianwan once more.

Lighting an oil lamp on the table, Qin Nianwan sat on a wooden stool nearby. She watched Qiqi cautiously studying her with a guarded expression, smiling faintly:

"Disappointed?"

Qiqi shook her head slightly. She considered herself clever, able to please everyone with little effort, but this woman before her was unfathomable. No matter how hard she tried, Qin Nianwan’s mood remained impossible to predict.

Qiqi didn’t know whether her words would trigger rage, making her cautious about both admission and denial.

Qin Nianwan’s mood appeared light—no yelling, no grabbing the whip to lash her—just an unnerving smile while she stared:

"Today, I saw Su Mu. She’s lost so much weight; she must miss you terribly. I also saw Fu Shinian; he sat in a nearby car, watching her. He thought he was well-hidden, but I spotted their setup immediately—there were people everywhere surrounding them."

Qiqi remained silent, avoiding eye contact.

"You must miss them too, right? After all, you’ve never been away from them this long before."

"It’s fine; you’ll grow accustomed to it. My daughter was separated from me far longer than you’ve been apart from Su Mu."

"Don’t overthink this or let yourself down. The moment I brought you here, I never intended for you to return alive."

Qin Nianwan rose and walked step by step toward Qiqi. Though Qiqi didn’t look directly at her, each step felt like it tread upon her soul, wearing away her fragile defenses. This month had reduced her to an easily startled shadow of herself. Her small frame had grown alarmingly thin. When Qin Nianwan took a step closer, Qiqi instinctively backed away another step, knowing that retreating only provoked greater wrath but unable to stop herself from doing it.

Qin Nianwan took note of Qiqi’s shrinking demeanor and laughed faintly. She reached for the whip nearby, lifting Qiqi’s chin with the handle and forcing her to meet her gaze:

"Why are you avoiding?"

Qiqi shook her head immediately, trembling from head to toe.

"The space here is so small—do you honestly think you have anywhere to hide?"

Qiqi shook her head again, prepared to plead for mercy, but Qin Nianwan gave her no opportunity. The whip swung down mercilessly, and Qiqi’s cries of pain echoed endlessly in the desolate mountain.

Eventually, Qin Nianwan grew weary and stopped. She watched the figure curled in the corner, reduced to a quivering bundle, and felt a faint pang in her chest. Her own daughter had once suffered similar torment at Song Zhengxian’s hands.