Chapter 69: The One Who Gave Up? The One Who Was Abandoned?

As Mu Yi turned around, the people in the hallway couldn't help but shake their heads and sigh.

She looked like such a pure, well-behaved little girl. But it seemed she was only that way on the outside.

Different on the inside than on the outside. Beautiful on the outside, ugly on the inside.

People's hearts are not what they used to be.

Some people also whispered among themselves.

"From what I heard, it sounds like this girl is messing around with some guy outside?"

"Yeah, yeah. And it seems she abandoned her own mother for a man."

"That's her real mother. She doesn't even want her own mother? Tsk tsk tsk. What a bad girl who needs to be disciplined~"

Hearing these murmurs word for word, Bai Zhi's expression gradually became strange.

Hmm?

Were they talking about Mu Shuang?

She was distracted for a moment.

She looked back at the elevator entrance.

The elevator doors had just closed. Mu Yi had gone downstairs.

Seeing this, Bai Zhi quickly turned around, went back into the room, and told Gu Anran everything.

After hearing this, Gu Anran's jaw nearly dropped to the floor. Although she didn't know Mu Shuang very well.

She had only recently learned that Mu Yi even had this younger sister.

Having learned from her past mistakes of jumping to conclusions, Gu Anran didn't make any guesses this time. Instead, she hesitated between Mu Yi and her own brother.

Who should she contact first?

Not long after, Gu Zhiren received a call from Gu Anran.

"Hello…"

"Brother, it's bad. Mu Shuang is in trouble!"

Hearing this, Gu Zhiren frowned. He suppressed the anxiety rising in his heart.

"What happened? Don't panic. Calm down first. Speak slowly and tell me clearly."

Even though he said this, Gu Zhiren was actually more anxious than his sister.

It had been less than a few minutes since he and Mu Yi had parted.

And Mu Yi was already in trouble?

His heart was full of worry. He turned the steering wheel and pulled the car over to the side of the road.

He held his forehead with one hand and listened to the voice on the phone. Soon, he had a general understanding of the situation, which only made him more worried about Mu Yi's current state.

"Anran, don't panic. You try to contact Mu Yi from your end. If you get through, tell me immediately."

As he spoke, Gu Zhiren turned the steering wheel, preparing to drive back to the hospital. "I'll try to look for Mu Shuang near the hospital. Okay, that's it for now. Goodbye."

As soon as the call ended, he frowned deeply, no longer able to hide the anxiety in his heart.

He turned the car around and drove back to the hospital. At the same time, he called Mu Yi.

He recalled the words Gu Anran had said on the phone.

Gu Zhiren knew that the person who told Mu Yi to leave the hospital, and even leave Ganlan City, was definitely Shen Muxue.

He didn't know exactly what Mu Yi's mental state was at that moment, but he felt it was probably very bad. So bad that she would instinctively consider Shen Muxue's words seriously.

That is, leave this city and disappear from his sight again without a word.

"She's not answering…"

Gu Zhiren ignored the automated message saying no one was available and redialed.

While waiting, he got closer and closer to the hospital.

He watched both sides of the road, not wanting to accidentally pass by her.

On either side of the road, nothing.

At the bus stop, there were many people, but not the figure he wanted to see.

He found nothing along the way.

And so, he returned to the hospital, the place where he had parted from Mu Yi.

Looking toward the hospital entrance, Gu Zhiren knew that Mu Yi was unlikely to stay inside the hospital. Since he hadn't seen her on the way here, he could only guess that she had left in some other direction.

The voice on the phone came again, the automated message saying no one was answering. Mu Yi still wasn't picking up.

So Gu Zhiren redialed a second time, a third time, without getting tired of it…

But no matter how many times he redialed, all he ever got was that annoying automated message. It made him suddenly afraid to keep calling.

He was afraid of draining Mu Yi's phone battery.

Once her phone died, her situation would become even more dangerous, and she would be even harder to find.

After thinking for a moment, Gu Zhiren decisively gave up and called his special assistant, Xiao Xi. He told Xiao Xi that he was temporarily unable to attend to matters and asked him to handle things on his own for now.

After finishing that call, he turned the steering wheel again, but now he felt somewhat lost.

Where would Mu Yi go now?

Would she go back to the rental apartment?

Or would she go to Uncle Mu's place?

If he went to one place but Mu Yi was at the other, would they just separate like they did when they were children? Once separated, would the next meeting be far off in the distant future?

To be fair, with his current network of connections, that wouldn't necessarily happen.

No matter where Mu Yi was, as long as he wanted to find her, he definitely could.

It was just a matter of time.

But…

Gu Zhiren felt sad, and also a little hurt.

She already knew everything.

Was she planning to abandon him again, to leave without saying goodbye like before?

Just as Gu Zhiren was hesitating about whether to ask Xiao Xi to go check one of those places, a call suddenly came in, it was Gu Anran.

"Brother, I got in touch with Mu Yi…"

He listened for a while.

He learned that Mu Yi had not only treated Gu Anran differently but had also discussed with her that she would continue writing her book properly. She asked Gu Anran to call him off, to stop him from supervising her anymore.

In that moment, Gu Zhiren felt as if the world had lost its color, turning completely gray.

"Brother?"

"Brother, are you still there?"

After a brief silence, the corners of Gu Zhiren's mouth lifted slightly, but there was no trace of a smile in his eyes. In a low, slow voice, he softly replied with two words.

"I'm here."

…………………………

At the bus stop that Gu Zhiren had passed earlier.

A bus arrived at the stop. The crowd surged inside. There was no one left in front of the sign.

As the bus drove away, the white-haired girl who had been standing behind the bus sign slowly stepped out. She sat down on the bench, then lifted her head and let out a long, heavy breath.

Her thick, curled eyelashes trembled five or six times.

Her beautifully shaped eyes were still reddish. Traces of tears remained at the corners.

She lowered her gaze slightly and looked at the missed calls on her phone screen.

"Little Chubby…"

Mu Yi glanced at the clothing bag in her arms. She felt like she was doomed.

Not to mention anything else, after Shen Muxue pointed it out so clearly, she suddenly realized something.

She had lived eighteen years as a male. After her gender changed, she seemed to have developed an inappropriate feeling for another man.

She had never truly been in love before, but she had once liked someone.

She knew clearly that it wasn't just friendship.

Could she and he really be called friends? When they were children, yes. But now?

Mu Yi wasn't sure what he thought.

She herself was definitely the problem. She had only been a girl for a few days.

She should feel resistant. She used to be a man. Shouldn't she have a natural immunity to men, shouldn't the idea of "I will never fall for a man" be engraved in her DNA?

Was the estrogen too strong? Was her male consciousness too weak?

In any other situation, she would have no choice but to go with the flow.

But now, Mu Yi saw only one option.

Give up!

Because Gu Zhiren wasn't just anyone. He was her childhood friend.

He deserved a better wife!

If Gu Zhiren were a stranger, Mu Yi thought, maybe she wouldn't mind ruining him a little~

"Time to go home!"

Watching the approaching bus, Mu Yi stood up, hugged the clothing bag tightly, and jogged a few small steps.

Go home and pack up.

Then, leave Ganlan City as soon as possible. Go find Dad.

The bus stopped in front of Mu Yi and opened its doors. She hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath and ran straight onto the bus.