Chapter 26: Gu Yunqi's Choice

“Brother, I’m fine, it’s just that the wound still hurts.”
“As long as you’re all right.”
Gu Yunqi let out a sigh of relief, but then quickly remembered something. “You said you wanted to call the police? Why?”
Gu Luosheng opened her mouth, hesitant. She didn’t want to tell Gu Yunqi the truth. He had always treated her so well; she didn’t want to put him in a difficult position. Besides, she had no solid evidence—would he even believe her?
But she truly had no other options. All she had was her own word.
“Brother, do you believe… do you believe it was Gu Qingwan who pushed me off the cliff?” Gu Luosheng’s face was pale as she spoke.
“This…” Gu Yunqi’s words caught in his throat, his eyes wide with shock. He never expected Luosheng to say such a thing.
Aunt Wang, upon hearing this, quickly turned away and pretended not to notice. Matters of a wealthy family like this were far above her station. Today she might enjoy some gossip, but tomorrow she could easily lose her job.
Gu Yunqi scratched his head and sat down at the edge of Luosheng’s bed. “Luosheng, isn’t this all just a misunderstanding?”
“Qingwan told me that because it was raining so hard, she was afraid it would be dangerous if you two got separated, so she held onto you. But the ground was slippery, and you were on a slope, so you fell down the mountain…”
“The staff at Zijin Mountain also said the wooden railings up there have been rotted by years of wind and rain. They’re so decayed that they couldn’t possibly have stopped you from falling.”
Luosheng gave a wan smile. “Brother, I can tell the difference between being pulled and being pushed.”
Gu Yunqi fell silent, his head bowed, lost in thought. In his eyes, both girls were his sisters, yet their conflicts had never truly ceased. This time, the quarrel touched on life and death—he dared not take it lightly.
After a long while, he licked his lips and said, “Luosheng, how about this—I’ll call Qingwan over, and the three of us can talk about it face to face. Maybe it’s all just a misunderstanding.”
Luosheng sighed inwardly. “Forget it, brother. I won’t call the police, and you don’t have to bring Qingwan here either.”
“You should go home and rest.”
Gu Yunqi wanted to say more, but Luosheng simply closed her eyes, making it clear she wished for no further conversation.
With heavy steps, Gu Yunqi left the hospital. He didn’t go to the company but returned to the Gu family home instead.
Gu Qingwan and Gu Yunzhou were sitting on the sofa watching television. After what had happened to Luosheng, both had kept a low profile at home, rarely stepping out.
“Brother, why are you home from work so early?” Yunzhou greeted him.
Gu Yunqi walked straight up to Qingwan. “Qingwan…”
“Brother!” Qingwan’s soft, coquettish voice held a hint of playfulness.
“Qingwan, did you push Luosheng off the cliff?”
Faced with the sudden question, a flicker of panic flashed in Qingwan’s eyes.
Gu Yunqi, seasoned in the business world and a master of reading people, instantly caught the panic in her gaze.
“Brother, how could I possibly push Sister Luosheng off a cliff?” Qingwan quickly composed herself, her reply sounding aggrieved.
If Yunzhou had been watching, he surely would have believed Qingwan’s words.
Gu Yunqi asked no further. He already knew the answer. Turning on his heel, he headed for the door.
“Brother, you’ve just come home—where are you going?” Yunzhou called after him, but was answered only by the heavy slam of the door.
Qingwan’s brows knit together, confusion clouding her eyes. She replayed everything she had done in her mind—there shouldn’t have been any flaws. So why was Gu Yunqi’s face so dark as he left? Was it directed at her… or at Luosheng?
Gu Yunqi sat alone in his car, lighting a cigarette, watching as the ash piled up in the tray. His chest felt tight and stifled. Only then did he realize he’d been smoking with the windows up. Hurriedly, he rolled one down and gulped in the fresh air outside.
He coughed.
He didn’t know what to do. On one side was the Gu family, on the other, Luosheng.
Should he call the police?
But there were no cameras on the mountain; even if Luosheng accused Qingwan, it would be useless. The rain that day had been so heavy, no one else could have noticed what happened between the two of them.
After long deliberation, Gu Yunqi made his decision.
He looked up at the sky.
Dark clouds gathered overhead, as if another storm was brewing.
…
What Luosheng hadn’t expected was that after Gu Yunqi left, another uninvited guest arrived at the hospital.
Lin Yichen came to see her, carrying flowers and a fruit basket. He’d come several times before, but Luosheng had always been unconscious.
“What are you doing here?” She spoke coldly, inwardly dreading the very thing she feared most.
“I just wanted to check on you. Are you feeling better?” Lin Yichen’s tone, for once, carried a hint of warmth. It was a warmth Luosheng had never heard from him before, and she found it unsettling.
“Well, you’ve seen me. Can you leave now?” She showed Lin Yichen no kindness, her words pointed and indifferent. She didn’t care about his feelings—after all, she’d lived this way for so long.
She had poured out her heart, only to be drenched in cold water.
Whatever Lin Yichen wanted to say was smothered by her indifference. Thinking back, he realized he had always treated her this way, hadn’t he?
Now the roles were reversed, and he finally understood just how unpleasant it felt… A sharp pang of guilt welled up from deep inside him.
“I’ll come see you again tomorrow then…” Lin Yichen rose to leave, but Luosheng didn’t spare him a glance.
After he left, Luosheng tried to move, and the pain made her grimace in agony.
“Miss Gu, please don’t move around. Let me help you instead!” Aunt Wang hurried to steady her.
Luosheng just wanted to sit up and change positions. Lying in the same posture in a hospital bed for too long could easily cause bedsores.
“Aunt Wang, where’s my phone?”
At her request, Aunt Wang opened the drawer of the bedside cabinet and handed her the phone. “Here you are, Miss Gu. I’ve charged it for you.”
“Thank you.”
Luosheng’s arm couldn’t move, but her fingers were still nimble. Her phone was on silent mode, and she saw many unread messages—all from Shen Mo.
The further back she scrolled, the more her heart pounded. Could it have been Shen Mo who saved her?
Sure enough, when she reached the chat records from the day she fell, there was a voice message she had sent to Shen Mo, and a location share from him as well.
So it was Shen Mo who had saved her?
She exited the chat and then opened it again.
All the messages she had received afterward were greetings from Shen Mo, checking in on her condition.
Luosheng took a deep breath and slowly typed a line with her finger: “I’m awake. Thank you for saving me.”
Sent!