Chapter 554: Chapter 554

Right from the moment she walked out of the company and spotted the car parked at the entrance, Song Qiao had already recognized it as Gu Linyuan’s car.

Not because she was familiar with it, but because this flashy sports car seemed to be the only one in An City. It wasn’t that she paid much attention to news about sports cars, but she had caught a glimpse of it previously when hanging out with Gu Linyuan and his friends, who had shown her pictures of the car. Perhaps because of its ostentatiousness, it had unconsciously stuck in her memory.

Initially, she planned to completely ignore Gu Linyuan as if he were nonexistent and leave, but to her surprise, after only two steps, she was stopped. Song Qiao looked at the man blocking her path, her brows involuntarily furrowing.

The moment she heard his words, it was as if she’d heard some joke, unintentionally laughing out loud, scorn flashing across her face as her red lips parted to say with a gentle voice laced with a hint of coldness, "Young Master Gu, if there’s nothing important, please step aside, oh, even if there is something, please let me by, I’m in a hurry!"

With that said, she directly bypassed Gu Linyuan and headed towards the bus stop.

Today, she had promised her grandfather that she would visit him at the hospital and also buy his favorite wontons on the way. It was the perfect timing to get there for dinner.

She was well aware that her grandfather, looking forward to eating the wontons she bought for him, probably wouldn’t even have his dinner.

Watching Song Qiao leave without a second glance, without any intention of responding to his words, Gu Linyuan’s eyes instantly darkened with obscurity. Almost subconsciously, he reached out and grabbed her arm firmly, causing her to stop and repeated, "Song Qiao, I heard your grandfather is going to have surgery and needs 500,000. I’ll give you 500,000 if you leave that man. He is not suitable for you!"

The expression on Song Qiao’s face faded, and in an instant, her delicate face turned expressionless. "That’s my business, it has nothing to do with you!"

Gu Linyuan’s face darkened, his grip tightening on Song Qiao’s arm as he almost growled, "Song Qiao, a man of Lu Jingchen’s status is simply not someone you can match. Did you not understand what I’m saying? You need 500,000, right? I’ll give it to you! Leave Lu Jingchen, you simply stand no chance against him!"

The pain in her arm caused Song Qiao’s brows to knit tightly, a sensation creeping up on her as though Gu Linyuan was about to break her arm with his grasp.

Perhaps realizing her discomfort, Gu Linyuan let go of Song Qiao’s hand but still stood in her way.

It was peak time for leaving work, and a stream of employees was exiting the company. The attention-grabbing sports car was already quite conspicuous, and now with the two of them standing there, it attracted even more sidelong glances from many onlookers.

Raising her eyes to look at his face, once so familiar and once seen with an indulgent smile when looking at her, Song Qiao suddenly remembered their past together and thought of Gu Linyuan with Yun Wei and his time with Song Xi, realizing for the first time that she indeed never truly understood Gu Linyuan’s character. Orıginal content can be found at 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝕟𝕖𝕥

Not to mention what he had kept from her, just take the fact that right after they broke up, when everyone thought Gu Linyuan would be with Yun Family’s young miss Yun Wei, he surprisingly became an item with Song Xi.

She couldn’t help but ruefully think that the phrase "the past is like smoke" truly reflected their history. In just less than half a month, how could this man reappear and say such words to her?

Am I not good enough for Lu Jingchen?

Yes, indeed not good enough, but it’s not his place to say so.

Song Qiao took a step back and lifted her other hand, a hand as white as jade and seeming most suited to playing the piano, unable to resist massaging her sore arm, her lips curving into a mocking smile, "Young Master Gu, have you forgotten what we said before? When we meet again, we should be strangers. So, my affairs are none of your business, please make way. I’m in a hurry and don’t have time to waste here with you!"

"Song Qiao, for the sake of the times we were together, what I’m saying is for your own good..." The man stared intensely at her, perhaps out of agitation, even his breathing grew heavy, his hand by his side unconsciously clenching as he continued to persuade, "How could a lofty man like Lu Jingchen possibly like you? Song Qiao, be realistic, he’s just toying with you and will kick you to the curb once he tires of you!"

The name Lu Jingchen was very familiar at first hearing, as if he had heard it somewhere before. But at that time, with Song Xi throwing a tantrum and coupled with Song Qiao claiming she was married to that man, claiming he was her husband, it felt like a heavy blow to him, so he didn’t care to check the identity of this man at that time.

There is only one Lu Family in An City, and that Lu Family is one of the top prestigious families, far surpassing the Gu Family in both family and industry.

The name Lu Jingchen had become quite famous in An City several years ago, but after he abruptly went abroad for reasons unknown, his fame gradually diminished under others, yet the legends about Lu Jingchen’s past remained forever.

A few years ago in An City, a big boss who used to call the shots once commented on Lu Jingchen in his youth, saying that in a few years, An City would definitely be Lu Jingchen’s domain, and what’s more, he would be the only formidable figure able to turn the clouds and rain with his hands during the prime of his life.

At that time, he was just in high school, and Lu Jingchen was the idol he worshipped in his youth, a figure he could only see in news magazines.

Because other people may become famous due to their family’s influence, but Lu Jingchen became famous entirely due to his own efforts, his genius-like thinking, and his superhuman tactics.

This time Lu Jingchen’s return to the country was not widely known; he checked yesterday and found out that the man had been back in An City for half a month, but had only appeared in a magazine once, and that was because of Song Qiao.

Regarding that not-so-clear photo showing just a silhouette, Gu Linyuan naturally recognized it as Song Qiao at a glance; after all, they had been together for so many years.

Looking at the girl in front of him, he still felt guilt in his heart because she was the girl he once loved, but... due to family reasons, he had no choice but to give up on the dream of being with her.

This visit was entirely for Song Qiao’s sake.

The pain in Song Qiao’s hand gradually diminished, but it still felt a little uncomfortable to the touch. Gu Linyuan had really pinched too hard just now; it seemed he wanted to directly wrench her hand off.

Her face growing colder, she sneered at Gu Linyuan in front of her, her voice still carrying a hint of clear defiance, "Even if I get tired of his games and get dumped, that’s my own business, what does it have to do with you? You’ve played with my feelings for so many years, and I haven’t even held you accountable. What right do you have to lecture me?" Her face growing more scornful, she raised her hand to tug at her backpack strap, and continued, "Gu Linyuan, since we’ve broken up, don’t bother me again, or else in the end I’ll find your very presence abhorrent."

Upon hearing Song Qiao’s words, Gu Linyuan’s eyes suddenly tightened, and he instinctively took a step back, his face slowly draining of color as if he had been dealt a blow, his eyes even displaying disbelief as he looked at the girl in front of him wearing a mocking expression, his lips moved, but he was unable to speak.

After giving him a brief look, Song Qiao knew that her words had taken effect, so she had no intention of wasting any more time there and straight up started walking towards the bus stop.

The number of employees leaving work increased around them, but there were very few employees at this company who rode the bus; probably only the cleaning ladies like Song Qiao used public transportation.

Once, someone with a mind for such things had calculated that 99.9 percent of the company’s employees either drove or took taxis every day, but those people would definitely not take the bus because they felt it was beneath their dignity.

Song Qiao had once thought about it depressingly, guessing that she and the cleaning ladies were in that 0.9 percent, and even the cleaning ladies probably drove their own cars.

Watching Song Qiao’s figure gradually disappear from his sight, Gu Linyuan experienced what real defeat felt like for the first time; he clenched his fist tight, and eventually slammed it onto the expensive sports car.

When Song Qiao arrived at the hospital, it was already an hour later.

An City wasn’t known for terrible traffic congestion, and the transportation was generally smooth. The reason she played around for almost half an hour was totally that she realized she didn’t bring cash when paying for wontons and only had a bank card and ID. After finding a place to withdraw money and buying the wontons, it was already half an hour later when she arrived at the hospital.

Carrying a steaming hot bowl of wontons out of the elevator, she was startled by the scene in front of her, causing her heart to skip a beat.

Standing outside her grandfather’s hospital room were two expressionless men in black suits with sunglasses, like door gods, and Aunt Zhang seemed a bit flustered in the corridor, wanting to enter the room, but was blocked by the men in black.

Aunt Zhang, catching a glimpse of Song Qiao stunned at the elevator entrance, seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and quickly spoke anxiously, "Miss, you’re here, that man and that woman have come!"

Hearing this, Song Qiao’s heart almost reached her throat. The wontons in her hand fell to the ground, but she didn’t care about them and quickly ran over and rushed into the hospital room, her voice urgent and cold, "Get out of the way! Let me in!"

The men in black naturally didn’t let Song Qiao enter; the two of them blocked the doorway.

"Get out of the way! All of you get out, let me go in!" Driven by the worry for her grandfather, Song Qiao’s eyes reddened with anger, and she shouted hoarsely as she recklessly tried to push past the two men into the room.