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Liu Jian understood Qiu Mowen's meaning, so he hurriedly walked up to Qiu Mowen. The two whispered for a moment, and then Qiu Mowen turned and disappeared.
This scene had been stored in Autumn Wind's memory for a long time, but unlike last time, this time the look Qiu Mowen gave Autumn Wind was relaxed and pure, so clean that Autumn Wind felt as if she had grown wings and flew up into the sky.
Liu Jian came to Autumn Wind's bedside again, his expression more serious than before, like a cloud heavy with rain. He bit his lip and said, "Um... it seems we have to leave here... Ervin went down to block the reporters... so we..."
Before he could finish, Autumn Wind lifted the blanket off her body and placed her feet on the ground. Having experienced hiding in the hospital last time, Autumn Wind naturally knew what to do.
While putting on her shoes, Autumn Wind instinctively placed her hand on her belly. When the warmth of her hand touched her skin, she sighed in relief.
Liu Jian bent down carefully to help Autumn Wind tie her shoelaces. "You won't be able to wear these kinds of shoes for much longer!" Autumn Wind looked at the beautiful swirl of hair on top of his head but felt a sense of desolation.
Liu Jian took Autumn Wind directly to the parking lot. As soon as they drove out of the hospital, they saw a large group of reporters surrounding Qiu Mowen.
Through the glass, Autumn Wind could clearly see his expression; he frowned with his hand pressed against his temple, beads of light glimmering on his face—probably sweat! But why was he sweating? This wasn't the Qiu Mowen from Autumn Wind's memory!
Liu Jian's apartment had been exposed, and he frowned as he told Autumn Wind that they couldn't go back because reporters were surrounding the apartment. After thinking for a moment, he said, "My cousin has an empty apartment in Dazhi; we can go there first!"
Autumn Wind didn't know that Yao Lizhen and Qiu Ruolan were close friends. She paused for a moment and asked back, "Sister Lizhen, have you seen the newspaper? I am currently..."
Liu Jian didn't answer directly; perhaps he didn't know the answer either. He let out a laugh—a very forced laugh. "Originally she was supposed to go swimming with those people today, but hearing that we were going to stay over, she canceled..." He laughed awkwardly, with a hint of bitterness.
For some reason, after hearing these words, Autumn Wind felt a bitterness in her heart as well.
Liu Jian's hand came off the steering wheel and rested on Autumn Wind's hand. When Liu Jian's hand touched the back of her hand, Autumn Wind felt as if she had been pricked by a needle and quickly pulled away.
Thinking about the content in the newspaper, Autumn Wind felt a tightness in her heart. She had thought that Qiu Ruolan was far removed from her life, yet she had meticulously arranged everything for her—boyfriend, marriage. Should she be happy? Or should she feel sorrow?
At the moment Autumn Wind's hand withdrew to her chest, it turned into a fist. Even so, her fingers remained limp and powerless. Then, the corners of Autumn Wind's mouth involuntarily began to twitch. "You... approaching me... was it really arranged by her?"
Liu Jian pulled his hand back and placed it back on the steering wheel. His mouth twitched slightly. "If I say no, would you believe me?"
"As long as it's the truth, I will believe it..." The guilt Autumn Wind had felt towards Liu Jian transformed into anger when she saw the newspaper. She should have realized that such a situation could exist in the world—two people about to enter marriage could be so indifferent to each other's families.
Now, that anger had turned into a heart-wrenching pain, leaving her with no strength to blame or question further.
The narrow space became heavy with silence as both of them remained wordless.
Suddenly, Autumn Wind's phone rang; it was Manager Uncle. On the other end of the line, he sounded mysterious and slightly nervous. "Girl, did something happen? So many people are looking for you!"
Autumn Wind took a deep breath and forced a smile with her hand, but realizing that Uncle couldn't see her smile made it freeze on her face. She sighed and said, "It's nothing serious! Many people?"
"Yes, many... but I've chased them all away... It's fine! Uncle is holding up for you!"
In his tone, Uncle sounded proud, like a retired soldier recounting his heroic deeds from years ago.
Autumn Wind knew Uncle liked reading newspapers, but he had no interest in entertainment news. She figured he probably didn't know about the front-page story related to her and felt her mood relax slightly. "Thank you, Uncle!"
"Uncle doesn't pay attention to those messy news articles! Don't worry! No reporter can escape my eyes... Don't be afraid! Girl, keep going! Uncle supports you!" As he spoke, Uncle patted his chest, and the sound echoed through the phone into Autumn Wind's ears.
Hearing these superfluous words from Uncle, Autumn Wind suddenly welled up with tears and couldn't hold back any longer, exclaiming, "Wow," as she cried.
...
Under Qiu Mowen's protection, Liu Jian quickly took Autumn Wind to the house that supposedly belonged to Yao Lizhen. It was a villa complex with strict security.
As soon as she stepped into the villa, Autumn Wind developed serious doubts about the owner of the house. From her understanding of Yao Lizhen, such a warm-hearted person would not fail to make a single phone call.
According to Yao Lizhen's personality, she would carefully explain how to use every appliance in the house and would even be present to guide or assist Autumn Wind during her first shower or first cooking experience.
However, up until now, Autumn Wind had not received a single call from her.
Liu Jian followed behind Autumn Wind. She noticed he was struggling to carry a large bag. Once inside, he placed the bag on the floor and, as if performing a magic trick, took out another paper bag and handed it to Autumn Wind. "These are your daily necessities. The bag contains your change of clothes; I’ll put them in the wardrobe for you later!"
He dared not look directly at Autumn Wind, like a child who had done something wrong.
Autumn Wind opened the paper bag and found at the top her "one-on-one" phone with Qiu Ruolan. Below it was a black photo frame.
Autumn Wind was puzzled by the appearance of this photo frame because she clearly remembered it should not be in Liu Jian's home. Further down were some miscellaneous items like a data cable and an iPad.
The sight of these items jolted Autumn Wind out of her daze: "Did you tidy up after I fainted before taking me to the hospital, or did you go home to collect these things after dropping me off? Did you anticipate that reporters would come to surround us?"
Liu Jian's previously serious face suddenly broke into a smile. However, for some reason, his smile made Autumn Wind feel uncomfortable. Despite his delicate and calm expression, it seemed to merely linger on his face without reaching his eyes.
But he still persistently showed his relaxed demeanor, saying, "It was Ervin who went back to help organize!"
Autumn Wind had no idea what was going on; she felt like she was about to collapse. Countless questions surged to her lips. Autumn Wind wanted to know what kind of deal Liu Jian and Qiu Ruolan had made, but she was even more curious about the story between him and Qiu Mowen.
Autumn Wind repeatedly reassured herself that they wouldn't harm her; they loved her very much.
However, after each self-hypnosis session, Autumn Wind felt deeply that there was a beast with a gaping maw waiting for her. If she took another step forward, its agile tongue would wrap around her and pull her into its belly, leaving her completely homeless.
So Autumn Wind waited, waiting for the truth to reveal itself, waiting for Liu Jian to disclose the truth—not for any other reason, but just to leave herself a way out.
Due to this incident, the engagement ceremony originally planned for the weekend had to be indefinitely postponed.
In this villa, during the following time, Autumn Wind locked herself in her bedroom except when it was time to eat.
Bored and despondent, Autumn Wind gazed out at the fountain in the middle of the pond, watching it shoot out various shapes. She heard the water splashing down and shattering as it fell back into the pond. Leaning against the glass window, she held her exclusive phone with Qiu Ruolan and stared blankly, her eyes always stinging as if filled with iron filings.
The air conditioning inside was set very low, which reminded Autumn Wind of a night last winter in Jinan when ice particles pelted against the glass and then fell helplessly to the ground.
At that time, outside was a cold and hard wind blowing against people's chests, effortlessly turning a heavy and warm heart into icy fragments that scattered on the ground—just like her current feelings.
The comments on social media generally fell into three categories: one group supported Qiu Ruolan, believing that her concealment had unspoken reasons; another group was furious and indignant, their anger seemingly reaching an unbearable level; and the last group were bystanders who were just watching without any emotion.
Autumn Wind suddenly realized that none of these seemed to have much to do with her; their focus was on Qiu Ruolan.
But what Autumn Wind couldn't accept the most was that amidst the accusations and mockery surrounding her, Qiu Ruolan seemed to have evaporated from the world. Her phone went unanswered, and she no longer attended any events; she was nowhere to be seen at the company, home, or store.
As the reporters were taken aback, more news began to emerge. It was said that Qiu Ruolan had a difficult labor when giving birth to Autumn Wind, and a fortune teller had specifically arranged for Autumn Wind's existence to remain undisclosed. There were also rumors that Autumn Wind was actually Qiu Mowen's illegitimate child.
The truth of the matter seemed to remain forever unclear. Even Autumn Wind, as the person involved, gradually began to doubt her own identity.
On sleepless nights, Autumn Wind ordered Liu Jian to turn on the computer. Just like when she was searching for information on Huang Zihe, she started browsing all news related to Autumn Wind and Qiu Ruolan. Leaning against Liu Jian's warm chest, with tears in her eyes, she watched a variety show called Talking Head that began commenting on Qiu Ruolan as if she were one of the parties involved.
It was at this moment that Autumn Wind received a call from Yu again.
Since the news broke in the Newspaper, Autumn Wind's phone had been in a constant state of ringing. Liu Jian repeatedly signaled for her to turn it off, but Autumn Wind refused; she simply switched her phone to silent mode.
Autumn Wind told him that she just wanted to know who was interested in her, but in reality, she simply didn't want to miss a call from Qiu Ruolan.
Unlike before, when she quietly stared at the flashing screen of her phone, this time she chose to answer Yu's call directly. On the other end of the line, Yu revealed a silence that made Autumn Wind even more anxious.
Usually noisy and boisterous, she now resembled a child stunned by an adult's reprimand, hiding silently with her fingers in her mouth, the silence almost terrifying.
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