Chapter 165: Then I Shall Come to Find You (3)

"If you won't go back to Fengyang, then I will come to you." Gu Heng gazed fixedly at her, his tone carrying an unquestionable firmness.

Hearing this, Qiao Xi was reminded of what he had said that day.

"I won't allow you to leave again!"

Enveloped by his warm embrace, she did not push him away. Instead, she said right there in his arms, "Right now, I only want to focus on my studies."

"You can do that in Fengyang too. If you're afraid you won't be able to concentrate, I promise I won't fight anymore."

"No, I don't want you to make that promise." Even if he stopped fighting, it didn't mean others wouldn't cause trouble for him. If he ended up getting hurt because he kept his promise to her and refused to fight back, her heart would ache. "I don't want you to get hurt again."

After she said that, he didn't say anything more.

Was that why?

Unwilling to force her to go back, he simply transferred here along with her.

There were too many hostilities in Fengyang, making it impossible to concentrate on studying, so he had let go of everything just to transfer and be with her...

"Why go to such lengths?" she had asked him.

"For you, I am willing to do anything." He had looked straight into her eyes as he answered.

At that very moment, a pang of ache pierced her heart.

...

"Do you like me?"

"I have something to attend to. We'll talk another day."

...

"If you won't go back to Fengyang, then I will come to you."

...

She thought of that conversation with Ou Ya, then of what Gu Heng had just said.

Her fondness for Ou Ya had gradually developed as they spent time together; that must have been genuine heartbeat.

As for Gu Heng, it wasn't that she didn't like him, but their long-standing habit made it truly difficult for her to distinguish whether that fondness was romantic love or mere friendship.

Actually, why was she torturing herself over such details? If being together felt right, wouldn't that be enough?

Being with Gu Heng felt completely natural; even when they sat in silence, there was never any awkwardness or sense of alienation.

At this thought, she smiled.

A faint smile, yet utterly enchanting.

"Heng, we..."

Waking up abruptly, she felt as though three unspoken words were still lingering in her throat.

It was just a dream.

She couldn't tell whether she felt a sense of relief or even deeper exhaustion.

Her phone was still ringing. Reaching out, she picked it up to see it was a call from Chou Chou.

Just as she was about to answer, the call disconnected, and the screen displayed six missed calls.

She checked the log; almost all of them were from Chou Chou, while Er Nan and Xin Meng had each called once as well.

With all of them calling, something urgent must have happened.

The thought of Gu Heng sent a tremor through her heart.

Resisting the urge to let her imagination run wild, she called Chou Chou back, but only heard the prompt that the line was busy.

Hanging up, she dialed Xin Meng instead.

Xin Meng picked up almost immediately, and her voice came through right away, "Qiao Xi, is Gu Heng with you?"

Xin Meng's tone was extremely urgent, lacking her usual impatience, replaced by genuine anxiety.

Qiao Xi asked in a deep voice, "What's going on?"

"Well... I don't feel like explaining it all over again. Chou Chou will tell you."

With those words, Xin Meng quickly handed the phone over to Chou Chou.

"Qiao Xi, it's me, Chou Chou. Here's the thing: Auntie went out to buy groceries this afternoon, and when she got back, Young Master Gu was already gone. Auntie thought he was feeling cooped up at home and went out for a walk, and that he'd be right back, so she went to start cooking. By the time she finished making dinner, Young Master Gu still hadn't returned, so she started calling everyone to ask around. But nobody has seen him. Qiao Xi, didn't Young Master Gu come looking for you?"

Qiao Xi checked the time; it was already approaching ten o'clock. This meant Gu Heng had been missing for nearly four hours.

"He didn't..."

Stopping herself abruptly mid-sentence, she said into the phone, "Wait for me a second."

With that, she threw off the covers, scrambled out of bed, and hurried outside.

There was no sign of Gu Heng anywhere...

Which meant he hadn't come to look for her?