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Chapter 8 – Stopping the Car
As someone born and raised in Tang County, being able to squeeze in a visit to her parents while on a business trip made Gu Yao all the more willing to go.
After hanging up the call, she took some clothes and headed into the bathroom to shower.
Halfway through, she suddenly remembered—tomorrow was the birthday party.
Regardless of whether the proposal was real or not, ghosting her boyfriend at the last minute without any warning wasn’t right. She should at least give him a heads-up.
She turned off the shower, stepped out wrapped in a towel, and sent Cheng Mu a message.
She felt a pang of guilt.
Her tone naturally softened.
But the message vanished into the void. Not a single reply after half an hour.
Cheng Mu, who was used to staying up late, suddenly went to bed early tonight?
When no response came, Gu Yao started packing while keeping an eye on her phone.
Eventually, she couldn’t resist and called.
After a few rings, a man’s unfamiliar voice came through the receiver. It wasn’t Cheng Mu—it was his assistant.
He said Mr. Cheng had had too much to drink and was resting in a private room.
“He didn’t go home?” Gu Yao asked.
The assistant explained, “He has a meeting with a client in two hours. The location’s also at the club.”
So what kind of client schedules meetings in the middle of the night?
Such a clumsy lie.
The guilt she’d felt earlier instantly evaporated.
“Tell Cheng Mu to check his WeChat when he wakes up.”
With that cool remark, she hung up.
—
In the quiet of the night, Gu Yao lay in bed, unable to sleep. Her mind kept circling back to her cousin’s warnings.
Perfume and lipstick stains—if it happens once, it’ll happen again.
If a man truly loves someone, he can’t tolerate even a grain of sand in his eyes.
And now, Gu Yao asked herself once more:
How much did she really feel for Cheng Mu?
She knew his late nights and no-shows weren’t about some mysterious client—it was just who he was at his core. And yet, she continued to stay calm, letting this kind of thing happen again and again.
She didn’t want to confront him. She didn’t want to spend every day wracking her brain trying to catch him red-handed.
If he had even the slightest intention of changing for her, no matter how difficult, he wouldn’t keep hiding behind the excuse of “it’s all just a game.”
Cheng Mu…
Why did he chase her for five years in the first place?
Was it love—or just the unwillingness to lose something he couldn’t have?
There was no answer.
The next morning, Gu Yao finished getting ready and rolled her suitcase downstairs.
She arrived at the municipal parking lot right at 9:50.
The side door of the Toyota Coaster opened. Several officials had already arrived and were helping the driver load the luggage and supplies for the trip.
Gu Yao boarded and greeted each person politely in turn.
She’d reviewed the team list the night before and could more or less match names to faces.
Director Zhang gave the young woman a quick but cordial look and smiled warmly. “If you get carsick, feel free to sit up front.”
Carsick? Not a chance.
She was just about to reply when another official chimed in, “It’s better for a girl to sit in front anyway. We big guys tend to snore when we nap—wouldn’t want to disturb you.”
With just a few casual remarks, Comrade Gu’s seat was decided—for her. She never got a say in it.
Not that it really mattered to her.
Or so she naively thought.
Because the moment she saw who boarded next, Gu Yao’s smile froze.
The Coaster was a mid-sized luxury minibus, roomy and comfortable inside. Yet, as soon as the tall, commanding figure of the top leader came into view, the air tightened in an instant, the spaciousness shrinking around his presence.
Instinctively, Gu Yao rose to her feet and joined the others in greeting: “Secretary Zhou.”
Her gaze followed those long strides—until he sat down.
In the front seat.
Right next to hers.
Her heart thumped hard.
She finally understood why the front seat had been passed around like a hot potato.
Still too young, too naïve.
There was no turning back now. Gu Yao quietly held her breath and slowly sat down.
The Coaster soon pulled out of the lot.
Just as she was trying to adapt to the claustrophobic pressure of sharing a seat with Zhou Zhengliang, the sharp roar of a sports car engine suddenly cut through the air outside.
The sound grew louder, fast approaching—then screeched to a halt as a sleek vehicle swerved abruptly and blocked the exit.
A Porsche.
License plate ending in 703…
The front bumper stopped less than five centimeters from the Coaster—an insanely dangerous move.
The moment she registered the plate number, her phone vibrated in her bag.
Cheng Mu.
Gu Yao’s instincts flared—alarms blaring in her head.
But before she could react, a cold, steely voice rang out beside her, catching her completely off guard.
Zhou Zhengliang, eyes closed and expression unreadable, said calmly to Xu Mo,
“Call Cheng Shaoguo. Tell him to pick up his son from the police station.”
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@ apricity[Translator]
Immerse yourself in a captivating tale brought to life through my natural and fluid translation—where every emotion, twist, and character shines as vividly as in the original work! ^_^