Belated Romance (Mu Tongrui)

Bohai bridge was illuminated by the street lamps at night. The chilly wind from the sea blew towards

her and brushed against her neck.

She stood on the bridge and looked out to the vast sea, tranquil and calm. She could not control her

emotions any longer and finally released her pent-up feelings.

“Fu Lingye! Fu Lingye! I will wait for you to come home! Please come back soon....”

She shouted till her voice grew hoarse while choking on her sobs.

The cold, wintry wind pierced through her skin and when her warm tears flowed down, they turned icy

on her face.

Her vision became blurry as she stared at the sea, while standing on the bridge.

Lingye... where on earth are you?

Driver Liu stood at one end and kept his gaze on Mu Tongrui.

His phone rang. It was from the Fu family residence.

He picked up, “Hello, Old Master.”

“Please ensure that you keep a close watch on her. I am afraid she would do some silly things.”

“Yes, Old Master, please be rest assured. I will not let anything happen to her.”

After he hung up, Liu took out a blanket from the car and walked over to Mu Tongrui to pass it to her.

“Young mistress, it is very windy by the sea. You are not wearing enough warm clothes. How about

covering yourself with a blanket in order to avoid catching a cold?

Tears slid down Mu Tongrui's face. She turned her head to look at Liu, bit her lip, and asked, “Do you

think that Lingye will feel very cold in the sea?”

Liu froze for a moment before answering, “This... Young Mistress, perhaps Young Master...”

“All of you actually wanted to tell me that Fu Lingye is already dead, is that it?”

“Young mistress, please take care of yourself. You are expecting.”

Mu Tongrui cried before breaking out into a laugh, “So, do all of you think that Fu Lingye is dead?”

Ten hours or so had passed. How could someone survive after falling into the sea from a car accident?

However, Liu did not have the heart to say the truth aloud.

Mu Tongrui looked out at the sea again, and said slowly, “As long as I have yet to see his body, there is

a possibility that he is still alive. He promised me that he would return home early tonight.”

Liu felt that he was also welling up.

Mu Tongrui held onto the railing, and shouted again towards the ocean, “Fu Lingye! Listen hard! I will

always wait for you to come home!”

..........

At Blue County Villa.

Qiao Luo was sound asleep. There were beads of perspiration forming on her forehead.

Qi Yanli hugged her and woke her up softly, “Sang, wake up. Sang?”

“Ah——!”

Qiao Luo was startled awake and stared at Qi Yanli in terror.

Qi Yanli asked, “Why? Did you have a nightmare?”

Qiao Luo threw herself into his arms, and pulled tightly close to his chest, “I... I dreamt that I killed

someone...”

“How could it be? My Sang is so kind. Why would she kill someone? Your imagination is too wild.”

Qi Yanli lifted her hand to plant a kiss on it.

“Are you hungry? I will get the helper to cook some supper for you.”

While saying so, Qi Yanli was about to get up to leave before Qiao Luo pulled on his sleeve, “Qi Yanli,

please don't go anywhere. I am afraid.”

Qi Yanli then sat back down again, and hugged her tight, “Don't be afraid. I will not leave you.”

He pulled out a few pieces of tissue paper to wipe away the perspiration on her forehead. He gently

patted her back. He could not help but feel a sense of happiness seeing how she depended on him so

much.

“Sang, it seems that you are now more dependent on me than in the past.”

“.......”

Qi Yanli laughed faintly and said, “I am actually happy that you are depending on me.”

“If... What if, I am not the person you imagined me to be? Will you hate me?”

His gaze was fixed on her, “No matter what you will become, you will always be my Qiao Sang. I really

love you, so how will I ever hate you?”

Qi Yanli reached out to tidy up her loose hair strands. Qiao Luo continued to look at him, her eyes

shaking.

“Oh yes, there is something I should tell you.”

“What is it?”

Qi Yanli said, “Fu Lingye met with a car accident today. He was in the car when it crashed into the sea.

They have yet to locate his body.”

Qiao Luo felt a sudden chillness all over and her heart trembled.

Does that mean that... Fu Lingye is dead?

She was speechless, “How... How did it happen?”

Qi Yanli's eyebrows furrowed, “Perhaps he encountered an enemy in the business circle, but I cannot

think of anyone who has so much courage.”

Qiao Luo stared at him cautiously, and asked, “Now that Fu Lingye is dead, do you... you feel sad?”

Qi Yanli then laughed in jest and said, “I used to lose you because of him. I cannot wait for him to be

dead thousands of times though that is not enough for me. However, now that I have learned about this

accident, I am unable to feel happy. I suddenly remembered the time when we were good friends. Now,

he is gone and my heart feels empty all of a sudden.”

Qiao Luo mumbled to herself, “Is he really dead?”

“It has been more than 10 hours already. No one has been able to find him. The possibility of surviving

is very low. Also, there might be a change of hands in Fu Corporation.”

Qiao Luo closed her eyes and felt a tightness in her chest. She thought that she would feel a sense of

release and happiness after seeking revenge, but she did not feel it at all. In fact, she felt heavy-

hearted, weighed down with even more negative emotions.

Qiao Luo remembered that she had some unfinished matters to attend to, so she told Qi Yanli, “I am a

little hungry. Could you get someone to make something for me to eat?”

Qi Yanli brushed his finger lightly on her nose and said lovingly, “Alright.”

After Qi Yanli left the bathroom, Qiao Luo took out her phone to send a message.

“I will wire 5 million to you within the next three days. Do not call me on my phone. Once you have

received it, leave Bei City with your daughter as soon as possible. Do not ever return to Bei City.”

After sending the text message, Qiao Luo deleted it immediately and switched off her phone. She threw

it to a corner.

She took a deep breath and placed both hands tightly on her face to cover it. Her emotions settled

down after some time, then she removed her blanket and got out of the bed.

Qi Yanli was making some congee in the kitchen. He felt a pair of arms wrapping him from behind all of

a sudden.

His lips curled, “Why did you get up?”

“I do not want to be alone.”

Qi Yanli then pulled her into a warm embrace, his chin resting on her head. He laughed gently, “Since

when did you become so attached to me?”

“Do you think that I am annoying?”

“Of course not. I like it when you are attached to me. I also feel a sense of security this way.”

He lowered his head to kiss her temple.

Qiao Luo hesitated for a while before saying aloud, “I... need to discuss with you about something.”

“Hmm?”

“Could you lend me some money?”

Qi Yanli raised his eyebrows and looked at her, “How much do you need?”

Qiao Luo was not confident, “5 million.....”

She had said she needed to borrow 5 million at one shot. Would Qi Yanli suspect her?

“Why do you need so much money?” Qi Yanli turned serious.

Qiao Luo felt her heart racing, “I....”

Qi Yanli frowned and said after looking at her pale complexion, “Are you thinking of leaving me another

time after taking the 5 million?”

“......”

“Hmm?” He continued questioning her.

Qiao Luo felt her ears flush red, “No... nothing like that. I just feel like heading out alone for some

shopping. I saw that there were so many things I wanted to buy, but I realized that I do not have much

money with me now.”

She said it while putting up a wall of pretense and feeling slightly distressed at the same time.

Qi Yanli stared at her for a long time before saying, “I was not considerate enough. I am worried that

you do not have a phone with you when you head out today. I am also concerned if you have money

with you, if you will lose your way or if you will be bullied by others.”

Qiao Luo's eyes sank and mumbled softly, “I am not a cat or dog, I will not lose my way that easily.”

Qi Yanli looked at her this time, gently, “Sang, please tell me more about how you have spent the last

10 years.”

“There is really nothing much to say. I fell into the sea that year and was rescued by some fishermen.

However, I had lost my memory after knocking my head against the reefs. I stayed in the fishing village

for quite some time before remembering some things from here and there. I returned home and stayed

at home for a long period of time. My grandmother told me that I used to study at Bei City University.

So, I figured that I would find people who would recognize me if I were to head back to Bei City and

also to try to retrieve my lost memories. Finally, thanks to fate, I was able to meet Dr. Han. As for what

happened after that, I am sure you know about them already.”

Even though Qiao Luo spoke and recounted the happenings rather casually, but Qi Yanli felt his heart

ache every now and then.

He hugged her tightly and sighed, “Sang, I promise that I will never let you leave me again. I will also

not let anyone hurt you anymore.”

Qiao Luo could not resist hugging him on his waist.

When Qiao Luo was in the midst of eating her congee, Qi Yanli passed her a bank card after retrieving

it from his study room.

“I have made arrangements for this bank card upon your return, but I kept forgetting to pass it to you.

The password is your birthday.”

Qiao Luo received the bank card from him. It felt really heavy in her hands.

Qi Yanli treated her really well. This man was obviously doting on her like she was his daughter.

“There is 1 million in it. I will wire more money later when I make an online transfer. If there is not

enough money, just tell me about it. Sang, you are not borrowing money from me. My money is for you

to spend.”

He smoothed her hair gently with his hands.

Qiao Luo looked at the card with her lips curled, “My parents do not even treat me this well.”

“Then let me be the one who pampers you the most.”

....

It was already late at night when Mu Tongrui returned to Fu family residence from Bohai bridge.

Her eyes were red and swollen.

She heard Old Master Fu and Sweetheart's voices coming from the living room.

“Sweetheart, be good and listen. Go and sleep early. It's getting late now. You still have school

tomorrow.”

Sweetheart frowned and said unpleasantly, “I do not want to, Grandpa. I want to wait for Mu'mu to

come home. Where on earth did she go!”

Mu Tongrui entered the house to hear Sweetheart greeting her loudly, “Mu'mu!”

She ran over from the sofa towards Mu Tongrui and hugged her legs with both arms.

“Where did you go to? Why did you not return home earlier? It is already so late! What if a bad person

were to take you away? What am I going to do?”

Mu Tongrui sniffed and bent down to hold Sweetheart's hand. Her voice was a bit hoarse. She

squeezed the corners of her lips and managed a smile before saying, “Haven't I returned home? Does

Sweetheart want to sleep with me tonight?”

“That's good! It's rare that Daddy is not at home!”

Mu Tongrui's tears flowed out at the very mention of Fu Lingye.

Sweetheart looked at her, clueless, “Mu'mu, what happened to you!”

“Nothing. The wind is too strong outside. My eyes are dry and painful after being outside for so long.”

Fu Zhengyuan propped himself onto his walking stick and walked over. He said, “Quickly bring

Sweetheart upstairs to sleep. It is getting late. If there is anything, let's talk tomorrow.”

Mu Tongrui understood what Old Master Fu meant. She nodded and said, “Alright.”