Chapter 99: When I Needed You, Where Were You?!

Zhou Anbei watched this scene, then averted his gaze, as if he had seen nothing at all.

The helicopter landed at the last coordinates Hua Qianjiao had sent to Wen Zhixia. When they arrived, she was still wearing her hospital gown, layered only under a voluminous, calf-length down jacket. The fuzzy gray-white collar was pulled up to its highest point, brushing softly against her cheeks.

The sky over Jincheng was pitch black, yet the area where the yacht was docked was illuminated by a blaze of lights. The coastal wind was fierce, howling as if it intended to sweep everyone away.

Ye Lanzhou ignored her and strode quickly toward where Hua’s parents were standing. Hua’s mother had cried until her eyes were nearly blind, and had it not been for her husband supporting her, she would have collapsed long ago. The father, too, seemed to have aged significantly in just a few short hours.

There was no news; the person could not be retrieved from the water. Because the tide had been shifting, even the most skilled swimmers in the rescue team were helpless, forced to wait until the currents calmed before attempting another dive. But this back-and-forth was bound to consume precious time. It was winter, and for a young girl to be submerged in the sea for hours with no word—everyone knew what that implied.

Qing Qi had changed into clean clothes, but the time he had spent in the water over two hours ago left him unable to fully regain his warmth.

"You’ve been standing here for over two hours. Please, go back and warm up; you’ll ruin your health," Lin Huixi said, holding Qing Qi’s hand.

Qing Qi pushed her hand away, signaling that he was fine, unaware that to Ye Lanzhou, the interaction between the two was more painful than a knife twisting in his heart. His dear young friend had come out to play with them, so how could she have fallen into the sea?!

"Bang." Without a word, Ye Lanzhou grabbed Qing Qi by the collar, slammed him to the ground, and began raining punches down onto his face.

"What did you do?! Did you push her?!"

Although Hua Qianjiao’s reactions were sometimes slow, she was not so oblivious as to lack basic survival instincts. Besides, everything had been fine—why was it that everyone else was safe, and only his girl had met with disaster?

Qing Qi’s body was stiff, and fueled by the rage that had built up throughout the entire journey, Ye Lanzhou held back nothing. His ferocity was such that it looked as if he intended to beat him to death. After a few blows, stars danced before Qing Qi’s eyes.

Bystanders rushed to pull them apart. Hua’s parents watched Qing Qi being beaten without any reaction. Wen Zhixia stood beside them, offering a few words of quiet comfort; she had no intention of stepping in, even feeling that the blows Ye Lanzhou had landed were not enough.

Lin Huixi stepped in front of Qing Qi with a devoted, heartbroken expression. "If you want to hit someone, hit me! Qing Qi went into the sea to save her; he did his best."

"Do you think I won’t hit a woman? Get lost!" All decorum and gentlemanly grace were discarded by Ye Lanzhou at that moment. "If Jiao Jiao has really met with an accident, I will make you pay with your lives!"

The cold, lethal intensity in his eyes made Lin Huixi tremble uncontrollably.

Being threatened by another man while his own fiancée was missing left a foul look on Qing Qi’s face. However, the Ye family was a prominent and powerful household in Sifang City, and as the first-in-line heir, no one doubted the weight of Ye Lanzhou’s words. Threatened with his life in front of everyone, Qing Qi was in the wrong and could find no words to defend himself.

The search and rescue continued as time slipped away, second by agonizing second. Wen Zhixia stared at the water, her anxiety deepening. Why was there still no result?

When the rescue team returned empty-handed once more, it was already the middle of the night. Five full hours had passed, and the implications were self-evident. The rescue team members were disheartened; every time they surfaced, they no longer used words, simply shaking their heads.

Finally, Hua’s mother suffered a breakdown. She screamed Hua Qianjiao’s name and ran toward the sea. Sensing danger, Wen Zhixia rushed over and grabbed her tightly from behind. But the grieving mother, having lost all composure, threw her to the ground. Wen Zhixia’s hand was sliced open by a piece of broken shell on the beach, and blood began to flow instantly. She paid it no mind, instead gripping the mother’s clothes and using all her remaining strength to hold her back.

As calm as she was, her voice choked up several times: "Auntie, Jiao Jiao... she will be fine. Not being able to find her might actually be good news in itself."

If you cannot see... the body, you can hold onto the hope that she is still alive, can’t you?

The tears Hua’s mother had been holding back surged like the tide. She looked at Wen Zhixia’s face, which was strained into a comforting smile, and hugged her, wailing. She held Wen Zhixia tightly, calling out Hua Qianjiao’s name over and over.

Wen Zhixia lifted her chin and looked out at the water, swallowing her tears. She believed—she believed that Hua Qianjiao was still alive.

Wen Zhixia’s current physical state meant she could not run about. By dawn, the toll of the exhaustion caused her to develop a fever and a nosebleed. Ye Lanzhou noticed her condition and finally remembered that she was a patient herself, insisting that she return by helicopter. Wen Zhixia knew that staying would not help and would only cause them extra trouble if she fell ill. After telling Ye Lanzhou to call her the moment there was any progress and saying goodbye to Hua’s parents, she departed.

When Wen Zhixia returned to the hospital, she saw Auntie Zhao looking anxious. She managed a weary smile, but before it could fully form, her vision went black. Seeing her swaying, Auntie Zhao quickly stepped forward to support her. When she held her hand, it felt like touching an icicle.

When Wen Zhixia woke up, the sun outside was already high in the sky. The winter sun seemed more pleasant than the summer’s—warm, not overly scorching, like a redeeming glow cast upon the desolate earth.

Zhou Anbei entered, seemingly to retrieve something, and was taken aback to find her awake. Their eyes met, and he froze for a fleeting second.

"Ma'am."

Unlike others in the corporation, Zhou Anbei did not call her "Young Manager Wen," but "Ma'am." He had never seen Wen Zhixia in the business world, so his address carried a sense of subordination: Mr. Gu’s wife.

Wen Zhixia nodded slightly, watching him pick up Gu Pingsheng’s coat. She realized then that Gu Pingsheng must have been here while she was asleep. Leaning against the hospital bed, Wen Zhixia asked casually, her tone light, "Did he drink a lot of alcohol last night?"

"Mr. Gu was at the hospital last night and did not drink," Zhou Anbei replied.

Wen Zhixia’s delicate, elegant brows lifted slightly.

Under her gaze, Zhou Anbei felt a powerful sense of pressure despite her seemingly harmless appearance. It made him realize the verbal trap he had just walked into. Gu Pingsheng had not been at the Provincial Hospital last night, and no one could have told Wen Zhixia whether he had been drinking. Her sudden question was merely a way to probe where Gu Pingsheng had actually been. If he had been at a hospital, but not the Provincial Hospital, then which one? Why would his wife be at one hospital while he went to another?

Zhou Anbei had never dealt with Wen Zhixia; he only knew she was a co-founder of the Gu-Xia Group. Yet, she seemed so harmless that people easily lowered their guard, and he had been led into a trap without even noticing. He felt a pang of regret.

"It was Zhao Fuhe." What had been a probe just moments ago was now a statement of certainty.

Zhou Anbei felt as if needles were pricking his back, and he hurriedly sought an excuse to leave. Wen Zhixia did not seem to need a confirmation from him; she had simply voiced her own deduction. She curled her lips into a faint, mocking smile. No wonder he had no time to answer her calls.

A husband who could not be found at a critical moment—she really didn't know if there was any point to their marriage.

Zhou Anbei’s phone rang, providing him with a convenient excuse to retreat. Wen Zhixia watched him leave with the coat, and after a few seconds, she threw off the covers and got out of bed.

Zhou Anbei handed the coat to Gu Pingsheng, who hung up the phone and slipped it on.

"Ma'am is awake," Zhou Anbei said.

Gu Pingsheng paused for a moment before his thin lips parted: "...How is her mood?"

Zhou Anbei recounted their conversation without holding anything back. Gu Pingsheng’s brows knit together, his sharp eyes fixed on him.

Zhou Anbei apologized, "I’m sorry, Mr. Gu, I..."

He truly hadn’t expected Wen Zhixia to trap him so effortlessly, but it was too late.

"Fall for it once, and be more vigilant next time. She is not like those other women." In his words, Zhou Anbei detected a hint of pride.

"Mr. Gu is right; Zhixia is indeed different. And that is why... she will never pretend to be ignorant when she knows the truth. Once she realizes she has been betrayed in love, she can discard even a relationship that has lasted over a decade." Zhang Zhiyan’s voice suddenly rang out from behind them.

Gu Pingsheng turned around, their eyes locking, his narrow gaze narrowing further.

"Since you have no shortage of new lovers, Mr. Gu, why not set her free? How can you bear to watch a woman who once gave everything for you end up in such a miserable defeat?" Zhang Zhiyan asked.

Gu Pingsheng rubbed his thumb against his fingers, a chilling intensity radiating from him as his eyes remained icy. "A dog barking at a passing cart—what business is it of yours?"

Zhang Zhiyan stepped closer and whispered into his ear, "Have you forgotten? Zhixia once told me she loved me. Who would ever love someone like you? Not even your own flesh and blood—not your mother, nor your... father."

Zhang Zhiyan’s words were like a stone thrown into a still pond, instantly igniting Gu Pingsheng’s fury. He grabbed Zhang Zhiyan by the collar, his deep gaze menacing. "And so what? The more you love her, the more firmly I will keep her in my grasp. Even if there is no love left, she will bear my name for the rest of her life."

Zhang Zhiyan grabbed his collar in return. "Gu Pingsheng, when will you get over this paranoia? Zhixia is not your possession. Since you have a new lover, you should let her go."

"Let her go?" Gu Pingsheng scoffed with disdain. "The more you like her, the less I will ever let her go."

Zhang Zhiyan’s eyes narrowed in anger. "You are holding onto her just because I like her?!"

"We..."

"Mr. Gu." Zhou Anbei noticed Wen Zhixia standing nearby, pale, thin, and wrapped in her oversized hospital gown. He spoke up hurriedly, hoping to stop him from saying anything more in his rage.

But it was too late. Wen Zhixia had heard everything.

She did not leave because of the absurdity of their conversation; she only wanted to ask one thing: "Gu Pingsheng, you refuse to divorce because you don't want me to be with Zhang Zhiyan, is that it?"

Gu Pingsheng stiffened. He slowly let go of Zhang Zhiyan’s collar and met her eyes, which were filled with disappointment. A flicker of panic crossed his own. "No."

Wen Zhixia gave a mocking laugh, unsure if she was laughing at herself or at him.

"I called you several times last night," she said.

Gu Pingsheng’s fingers tightened. "I was at that moment..."

"You were too busy keeping another woman company to have time," she finished for him. She continued, "When Jiao Jiao met with an accident, you were the first person I thought of to help me."

Gu Pingsheng stepped forward, his deep eyes fixed intently on her. "I didn't know. If I had known..."

Wen Zhixia avoided his reaching hand and lifted her chin slightly. "But you didn't even pick up the phone. Who was it that said he would always answer my calls first, no matter what? When I needed you, why weren't you there?!"

She had shed her usual good temper, questioning him with all the grievances and dissatisfaction she had harbored. Gu Pingsheng had no answer for her, for he had indeed been with another woman.

His silence caused Wen Zhixia’s heart, which had already sunk to the bottom, to be completely submerged in gray.

His knuckles grazed her cheek, his expression one of compromise and concession. His thin lips parted, his voice raspy. "I may have done some things wrong, but you cannot doubt my heart toward you."

He cradled her face, telling her he loved her.

Wen Zhixia’s response was a slap across his face. She pushed his hands away and turned to leave.

She did not believe him anymore—not in him, and certainly not in the love he claimed to have.

Wen Zhixia clutched her chest, feeling as though she couldn't breathe. She walked toward the hospital exit, desperate for a breath of air, only to see Zhao Fuhe approaching.

Zhao Fuhe looked at Gu Pingsheng with longing, just like a wife waiting for her husband to return home. Wen Zhixia suddenly felt it was all incredibly laughable. How had she, completely unawares, become the "proper wife" who was now the third party standing in the way of two lovers?