Gu Yaoyang squeezed in just as the elevator doors were closing.
Xia Qingtian had no choice but to move her suitcase to the corner of the elevator to make space.
"Where are you going?" Gu Yaoyang's gaze shifted as he noticed Xia Qingtian's movement.
"Mr. Gu, aren't you a little too controlling of your artists?" Xia Qingtian turned her head away, avoiding his gaze.
"It's already so late; it's not safe for you to go out now," Gu Yaoyang said. "If you really want to move, you can do it tomorrow."
"Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Gu. I've already arranged for a driver to pick me up," Xia Qingtian replied, her voice muffled. "Please take care of your own matters, Mr. Gu, and don't disturb the peace late at night!"
Hearing Xia Qingtian's words, Gu Yaoyang knew he was in the wrong. He could only silently follow behind her. Only after she got into the car did he quietly note the license plate number and stand there watching the car drive away.
Sitting in the car, Xia Qingtian watched the figure outside the window grow smaller and smaller until it disappeared. Unbidden tears welled up in her eyes.
The fear of being deceived, manipulated, and ultimately meeting a tragic end in her past life had never completely dissipated.
In this life, she had thought she had found a good man.
She didn't care about his background or his family.
She admired his work ethic and believed in his character.
But it all turned out to be a joke.
Everything was fake.
His identity, his name, everything about him, was false.
Being deceived in her past life was her foolishness. She paid the price with ten years of imprisonment, eventually burned to death in a fire.
Being deceived in this life was still her foolishness, but she absolutely would not repeat the same mistake.
The door to her heart silently closed again. Xia Qingtian's eyes burned, tears threatening to fall, but she stubbornly refused to let them.
It wasn't worth it for someone who had lied to her.
Xia Qingtian clenched her fists by her side, holding back her tears with all her might.
"Did you have a fight with your boyfriend?" the driver asked, glancing at Xia Qingtian. "You're about the same age as my daughter. Let me give you some advice: talk things out properly. Don't keep brooding. It's bad for a woman's health to get angry. If you can't stand it, it's better to slap him than to make yourself sick!"
Xia Qingtian finally looked towards the driver's seat, seeing the driver, who looked about the same age as her father. The tears she had managed to hold back began to well up again. "Driver, I want to change the destination."
"Okay, you can change it on your phone. Where do you want to go?" the driver asked.
"I want to go home," Xia Qingtian said, pulling out her phone and speaking in a low voice.
"Home is good, nowhere is better than home," the driver said, glancing at his phone for the updated navigation and making a U-turn at the next intersection.
Meanwhile, Gu Yaoyang, watching the car he had marked on his computer screen in his study suddenly make a U-turn, frowned. He readjusted his map view, hesitating whether to send bodyguards to follow.
Just then, Gu Yaoyang's phone rang. Upon answering, he heard Li Mengxiao's voice: "Mr. Gu, Qingtian just called and said she wouldn't be staying at my place tonight. She's gone back to her own home."
"Alright, I understand," Gu Yaoyang said, looking back at the map and the marked car before hanging up Li Mengxiao's phone.
Holding her phone, Li Mengxiao felt a headache coming on.
See, the thing she worried about the most had happened. Mr. Gu had played too rough.
What should she do now?
At that moment, Li Mengxiao's phone vibrated. After opening it, she saw a photo sent by Ling Feng Han.
Following the doctor's recent advice, Ling Feng Han was cultivating personal hobbies outside of singing.
Recently, he had become obsessed with baking.
Remembering how Xia Qingtian had always praised Li Mengxiao's good cooking skills, Ling Feng Han had recently started seeking her advice and often sent her photos of the cookies he made.
Looking at the dark brown cookies, Li Mengxiao fell silent, trying to guess their flavor.
Soon, Ling Feng Han provided the correct answer.
"Matcha cream flavored cookies. I think I messed up again, qaq"
Li Mengxiao couldn't see any trace of matcha or cream, but she still consoled him with a wry smile, "The shapes are quite complete this time. Don't be discouraged, try again tomorrow!"
"Mhm! Hope I succeed tomorrow," Ling Feng Han leaned against the western bar, a faint smile on his face.
"You definitely will~ I'm looking forward to eating your cookies!" Li Mengxiao cheered him on with a "Let's go!" sticker.
"Let's go," Ling Feng Han replied with the same sticker before putting his phone away.
Actually, he didn't know what was happening. Although his cookies were terrible and he got a headache every time he made them, after chatting with Li Mengxiao for a while, Ling Feng Han felt his spirits lift and his mood improve significantly.
Especially when he imagined Li Mengxiao's round face showing a sweet smile on the other end of the phone, Ling Feng Han felt a warmth spread through his heart.
"This must be the charm of baking!" Ling Feng Han sighed and returned to his room, resolving to try again tomorrow.
Meanwhile, after confirming that Xia Qingtian had changed her route to the Xia family home, Gu Yaoyang called Xia Honglang in advance, saying only that someone in the building had been arguing and had frightened Xia Qingtian.
"This child, I've spoiled her a bit with her pampered upbringing. I'm truly sorry for causing trouble for Mr. Gu this late at night," Xia Honglang said apologetically.
"It's nothing, it's what I should do," Gu Yaoyang replied, not knowing what else to say. After a few pleasantries, he hung up the phone.
Xia Qingtian had arrived at the entrance of the Xia family home, but for a moment, she felt a bit embarrassed to enter.
After all, at this late hour, showing up unexpectedly might startle her father and Aunt Liu.
As Xia Qingtian lingered at the doorstep with her suitcase, she heard the gate creak open. Her father's figure appeared inside the gate. "What are you dawdling around the doorway for at this late hour?"
Seeing her father, Xia Qingtian pursed her lips. A sense of grievance mixed with dependence washed over her.
"Really," her father said, taking the suitcase from Xia Qingtian and walking inside.
Xia Qingtian immediately followed, linking her arm through her father's other arm and resting her head on his shoulder. She affectionately called out, "Dad~"
"You're all grown up, and you're still so clingy," her father tried to maintain a stern face, but his mouth couldn't help but curve upwards. The father and daughter entered the house side-by-side.
Knowing Xia Qingtian had returned, Xia Qingyu clattered down the stairs. She stopped abruptly at the top of the living room, took a deep breath, and said with a hint of pride, "Still remember to come back?"
Xia Shang also came out, flashing a somewhat eerie smile at Xia Qingtian. "Qingtian, you're back~"
Only the Xia family knew how truly happy Xia Shang was at that moment.