Chapter 9: Nearly Perished

"Huahua, let's go for a stroll in the small town." Su Tuantuan shouted to her from downstairs.

"Mm."

Qin Shu got up and walked downstairs.

The ancient town was bustling with many tourists, and Su Tuantuan was skipping along.

Qin Shu followed behind her with a smile on her face, but the next second, her smile vanished abruptly; Qin Shu stood rooted to the spot, staring fixedly at the man and woman in front.

Chu Sheng was wearing a white dress, and she was holding the man's arm with a radiant smile, the two of them looking like a perfect couple.

Chu Sheng walked to a sugar figurine stall, turned her head to look at Gu Tingyan, and said in a sweet voice, "Tingyan, I want this sugar figurine."

The stall owner looked at the handsome man and beautiful woman and smiled brightly, "Sir, why don't you buy a sugar figurine for your girlfriend?"

Girlfriend?

The smile on Chu Sheng's face deepened as she looked back at him.

Gu Tingyan frowned, looking down at Chu Sheng's heartfelt smile with gentle eyes; he did not refute it, but instead took out his phone to pay.

Qin Shu stood there with cold hands and feet, only emerging from the corner after they had left.

She had heard every word of the conversation just now.

Qin Shu took out her phone to call Gu Tingyan, staring at their departing backs.

She saw with her own eyes Gu Tingyan take out his phone, glance at it, and then heartlessly hang up the call.

Qin Shu lowered her head and sent him a WeChat message: "Gu Tingyan, where are you?"

As if unwilling to give up, she only wanted to get verification—would he choose to lie to her?

After a long while, Gu Tingyan replied to her coldly:

"On a business trip, back tomorrow."

Seeing the WeChat message the man had sent back, Qin Shu felt a chill run through her entire body, and even her heart went numb along with it.

He lied to her.

The man who was supposed to be on a business trip had appeared here, and the person accompanying him was Chu Sheng.

"Huahua? What's wrong?" Su Tuantuan ran over holding a newly bought cattail fan, looked in the direction of her gaze, and her expression changed abruptly: "Damn!"

"Those two scumbags!"

"Isn't your Gu Tingyan on a business trip?"

Su Tuantuan's eyes were spitting fire: "So he went to accompany an old flame!"

As she said this, she was about to go up and confront the two of them, but Qin Shu hurriedly reached out to pull her back, her voice trembling: "Don't go."

She couldn't go.

The only one who would be humiliated in the end would be her.

"Huahua, are you okay?" Su Tuantuan saw that her expression was wrong and hurriedly turned to support her.

Qin Shu took a deep, shaky breath, her nose stinging, and managed a forced smile: "I'm fine."

Seeing her in such distress, Su Tuantuan's eyes turned red: "Pah! How unlucky!"

"Forget it, let's not walk around anymore, let's go back."

Qin Shu nodded, and the two walked back; as they reached the stone-paved road of the alley, they ran straight into Gu Tingyan and Chu Sheng.

Chu Sheng was holding the sugar figurine in one hand and holding Gu Tingyan's arm with the other; the two looked intimate, just like a couple.

Qin Shu stood where she was, her gaze falling on their linked arms, a trace of sarcasm flashing across her face.

Seeing Qin Shu, Gu Tingyan moved away from Chu Sheng without a trace.

Chu Sheng let go of his arm. She looked directly at Qin Shu with a calm expression, the corners of her lips curling into a faint sneer.

Gu Tingyan looked at Qin Shu's cold face, his heart sinking slightly, his lips moving slightly: "Qin Shu—"

Before his words could finish, a worker's urgent and anxious shout came from above: "Quick, get out of the way!"

"Something is falling!"

The heavy billboard on the top floor crashed down, with bricks sliding down over a large area; passersby screamed and scattered in all directions.

Gu Tingyan's expression changed slightly: "Huahua!"

Su Tuantuan: "Huahua!"

Chu Sheng's face turned pale; she reached out to grab the corner of Gu Tingyan's clothes, her body swaying: "Tingyan, save me!"

Gu Tingyan looked up at the falling bricks, turned back to shield Chu Sheng tightly in his arms, and the bricks smashed heavily onto his back.

Su Tuantuan was pushed to the side by Qin Shu; she collapsed to the ground, watching the heavy billboard crash down, and screamed heart-rendingly: "Huahua!"

A large area of the billboard and bricks from the roof had fallen; if that hit someone on the head, it would kill them!

Hearing Qin Shu's name, Gu Tingyan looked up abruptly, his face instantly turning as pale as paper, filled with extreme panic.

Gu Tingyan saw this horrifying scene, his pupils shaking, his whole body trembling; his eyes were bloodshot, and he roared: "Qin Shu!"

Chu Sheng screamed, used her hands to protect his head, and after glancing in Qin Shu's direction, she hugged him tightly: "Tingyan, don't go over! It's dangerous!"

"You'll die!"

Qin Shu couldn't dodge in time, and a brick smashed directly onto her shoulder; she let out a muffled groan of pain, used her hands to protect her head, and started to run, but it was too late.

The billboard and bricks from the roof were crashing straight down toward Qin Shu.

Gu Tingyan's eyes were wide with horror, his heart gripped tightly by a pair of large hands and jerked upward.

"Qin Shu!"

Qin Shu closed her eyes, feeling that she wouldn't survive today.

Just when she thought she was doomed, Qin Shu was pulled back hard by someone behind her, and she fell directly into a man's arms.

"Careful!"

"Huahua!"

"Bang!"

A massive billboard and countless bricks fell and smashed onto the ground, creating deep pits and kicking up a thick layer of dust, landing exactly where Qin Shu had been standing just moments before.

Qin Shu's face was deathly pale; facing the fear and threat of death for the first time, her body trembled uncontrollably, and her legs were so weak she could barely stand.

If not for the person behind her pulling her back.

She might have truly died.

Qin Shu heard Gu Tingyan's voice; she looked up with a pale face and saw Gu Tingyan shielding Chu Sheng in his arms as if protecting a precious treasure, the man's own back having been struck and bloodied.

Her face felt as if it had been fiercely slapped, burning with pain; Qin Shu's nose stung, and a round tear welled up in her eye, trembling on her lower lashes as if it were about to shatter.

Gu Tingyan held Chu Sheng tightly in his arms, looked up at Qin Shu, and let out a sigh of relief upon seeing she was unharmed, but his body stiffened slightly as his gaze fell upon the tear at the corner of her eye.

Qin Shu stared fixedly at this scene, a pain like a knife twisting in her heart washing over her, as if countless electric currents were coursing through her body, leaving her feeling incomparably stung and numb.

Gu Tingyan would rather be injured himself than fail to keep Chu Sheng safe; from beginning to end, he held her tightly, terrified that she might be harmed.

In his eyes, there had never been her.

It is said that in the moment danger arrives, a man will subconsciously protect the person most important to him.

Between her and Chu Sheng, Gu Tingyan chose to save Chu Sheng.

For these past five years, she had lived like a joke; her own husband had actually saved another woman.

If no one had pulled her back, she would have been crushed to death alive today.

Qin Shu wanted to laugh, but she couldn't; her heart felt as if it had been viciously stabbed by a knife, and her entire body was in pain.

Qin Shu's body trembled slightly, her face pale to a terrifying degree, and she gazed at Gu Tingyan with an intense aura of sorrow flowing from the depths of her eyes.

Gu Tingyan looked up while holding Chu Sheng, and catching sight of the desperate, sorrowful look in Qin Shu's eyes made his heart tremble violently.

Gu Tingyan watched as Qin Shu's lips trembled slightly, wanting to speak but stopping herself.

On one side was the wife who had accompanied him for years.

On the other, was the woman he had loved most in the beginning.

Chu Sheng had died in the year Gu Tingyan loved her most.

The dead "white moonlight" had returned to life.

And he, had already married and had a child.

This felt like a cruel joke played by fate, ruthlessly snatching away the person he cherished most in his heart.

His love for Chu Sheng was like a burning flame, scorching and intense; yet, this flame had been extinguished by a sudden, violent gale at its most brilliant moment.

Qin Shu knew that from the moment Chu Sheng returned, she had completely lost.

She had spent five years, yet could not trade them for Gu Tingyan's partiality toward her.

Someone in the crowd was the first to recognize Gu Tingyan: "Ah, isn't that the CEO of Gu Group?"

Seeing him holding a woman in his arms, their eyes filled with surprise.

Who would have thought, the cold and ascetic-looking Gu CEO who never touched women! Actually had a girlfriend!

And his girlfriend was so beautiful!

Gu Tingyan and Qin Shu had been in a hidden marriage for five years; no one knew he was already married and had a child.

"CEO Gu!"

"It really is Gu Tingyan! My god!"

"He's so handsome! Much more handsome than on TV!"

"CEO Gu, may I ask if the person you are holding is your girlfriend?!"

"CEO Gu, you are so good to your girlfriend!"

"CEO Gu even got hurt to protect his girlfriend."

As Qin Shu listened to these words from the crowd, the irony on her face grew ever more pronounced.

Gu Tingyan was active in the news year-round and possessed an extraordinarily handsome face; after that car accident five years ago, everyone thought the Gu Group was about to change hands.

Who would have known that even while sitting in a wheelchair, Gu Tingyan's methods were swift and decisive, and he handled the internal executives who tried to take advantage of the chaos with an iron fist.

In just five years, he had led the Gu Group to even greater heights!

Seeing that someone had recognized him, a crowd swarmed around him, even taking out their phones to take pictures.

Gu Tingyan's expression turned ugly in an instant; he shielded Chu Sheng's face tightly, using his hand to press her into his chest so her face would not be exposed to the public.

He barked sternly: "Stop filming!"

Chu Sheng shrank into his arms in fear, trembling uncontrollably, her hands clutching his lapels tightly, panicked and uneasy as she said weakly: "Tingyan, I'm scared."

Chu Sheng's illness had flared up.

She suffered from severe depression and had already reached the point of having suicidal tendencies.

Gu Tingyan was heartbroken; he lowered his head and patted her back to comfort her, his movements gentle and his voice tender: "Don't be afraid, I am here; I won't let anyone hurt you."

The tenderness in the man's eyes was almost overflowing.

His movements were gentle, his posture cautious, like someone protecting his most cherished treasure for fear it might be shattered.

In their five years of marriage, Gu Tingyan had never once treated her with such meticulous care.