When Wen Yu returned to the office, Wang Wen saw her and asked, “Secretary Wen, you took the morning off?”
Wen Yu nodded. “Yeah. Something came up, so I took some time off.”
She noticed the documents on her desk, picked them up, and headed straight for Gu Huaizhi’s office. This would be her final half-day at work.
Wang Wen was just about to say something to her when she saw Wen Yu had already walked some distance away. She could only swallow her words.
Wen Yu arrived at the door of Gu Huaizhi’s office and was just about to knock.
Then she heard a woman’s voice from inside. That was when she realized the door wasn’t fully closed.
“Huaizhi, Yingying is back. It’s time for you to settle down now. Back then, you even broke that man’s leg because of her, and you ended up badly injured yourself.
“Yingying has recovered now. You two should make things official. Mom knows you’ve been waiting for her all these years.
“As for that Secretary Wen by your side, she was nothing more than a distraction for you. That’s why I never interfered. Now that she’s leaving, it’s actually for the best. Just don’t let Yingying know about her. Otherwise, she’ll be hurt…”
Wen Yu’s heart gradually turned cold.
She slowly lowered her hand, clenched it into a fist, and let it hang by her side.
She had no desire to hear another word. She turned around, took the documents, and returned to her desk.
When Wang Wen saw her come back, she didn’t ask any questions and simply lowered her head to continue with her own work.
Wen Yu sat at her desk, but she couldn’t take in a single word on the computer screen.
So, the woman he loved had finally returned.
That was good.
She couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.
Wasn’t she just Gu Huaizhi’s distraction?
He had always been perfectly clear-headed. She was the only fool who had fallen for him.
Her phone suddenly buzzed with a message from her mother. She said that with the hospital’s assistance, she had already boarded the plane and told Wen Yu to come over as soon as possible.
Wen Yu glanced at the time. It wouldn’t make much difference if she left a little early.
She simply took off her employee ID badge, called Su Qing over, and asked her to deliver the documents to the president’s office later.
She picked up her bag.
All of her personal belongings had already been cleared out in advance. There was nothing left for her to take.
Without another word, she walked out of the company.
When she returned to the apartment, everything that could be shipped had already been sent away. Only one suitcase remained.
She changed into another set of clothes and pulled her suitcase behind her.
When she reached the door, she looked around the apartment one last time.
Then she pulled her suitcase behind her and walked out without looking back.
Her flight wasn’t until tomorrow, so she planned to make do with a hotel near the airport for the night.
After checking in, she pulled her suitcase upstairs to the room she had reserved.
She lay on the bed for a while. It wasn’t until hunger finally hit her that she got up and went downstairs to the restaurant for dinner.
At eleven that night, Gu Huaizhi finally finished an international conference call.
He rubbed his aching temples and stood up, gazing at the brightly lit city through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
The office had long since emptied out.
He went down to the underground parking garage, got into the car, and instructed the driver to take him to Wen Yu’s apartment.
Once upstairs, he habitually opened the door.
Gu Huaizhi bent down to change his shoes. He reached toward the shoe cabinet beside him, intending to take out his slippers, but his hand grasped nothing.
He froze for a moment, then straightened and opened the cabinet.
More than half of it was empty.
The several pairs of shoes that belonged to Wen Yu and had always been neatly arranged inside were all gone.
Only a few pairs of his leather shoes and a pair of cotton slippers remained in the corner, making the cabinet look strangely empty.
Gu Huaizhi frowned slightly.
He changed into the slippers and walked toward the living room.
As always, the living room was clean and tidy.
Everything appeared exactly as it had before. Nothing seemed to have changed.
And yet, something was different.
He went into the kitchen to get a bottle of water.
When he opened the refrigerator, it was completely empty.
For some reason, a wave of irritation rose in his chest.
He quickly walked into the bedroom. The door was slightly ajar, and he pushed it open.
After turning on the light, he saw the large bed neatly made with fresh sheets and blankets. No one had slept in it.
He opened the walk-in closet.
There were still clothes inside, but Wen Yu’s everyday outfits were gone. Only the professional suits he had arranged for someone to send over remained.
The vanity was also empty of all her cosmetics and skincare products.
There was only a small note with several numbers written on it.
It was the password to the safe.
He entered the combination and opened it.
Inside were all the jewelry and gemstones he had given Wen Yu over the years.
Looking at those pieces, Gu Huaizhi finally realized that Wen Yu had really left.
The realization made him feel slightly uncomfortable.
Had she really been that eager to leave him?
She hadn’t even stayed one more night.
Irritated, he loosened his tie and tossed it onto the sofa.
Then he walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed.
He remembered that night at the hot spring resort when he had asked her whether she would miss him.
He remembered how calmly she had handed him her resignation and the transaction records.
Everything clearly showed that she had been serious.
She had decisively cut herself out of his life.
The feeling of losing control irritated him deeply.
He had always thought she was nothing more than a canary he kept in a gilded cage. Without him, she wouldn’t be able to survive.
When she had talked about leaving before, he had assumed she was merely testing him.
But now, everything in front of him was telling him the truth.
His canary had flown away without the slightest hesitation.
How dare she?
She had left without even saying goodbye.
The Next Morning
Wen Yu pulled her suitcase behind her, completed the check-in procedures, and boarded the flight to the island.
She looked down at the houses gradually shrinking beneath the plane until they were completely covered by the clouds.
Only then did Wen Yu truly feel that she had escaped the cage that had imprisoned her for five years.
She was free now.
The corners of her lips lifted into a smile.
She asked a flight attendant for a thin blanket, put on her eye mask, and drifted off to sleep.
After leaving Wen Yu’s apartment the night before, Gu Huaizhi returned to his own private villa.
He spent a restless night unable to sleep.
As soon as the sky began to lighten, he simply got up and went to the gym.
After working himself into a sweat, he returned to the bedroom and took a cold shower.
When he came back out, he put on his suit and once again became the impeccably composed president of the Gu Corporation.
After four hours in the air, Wen Yu finally arrived at the island airport.
The moment she stepped outside, a wave of heat washed over her.
The sunlight scorched the ground, and even the breeze carried warmth.
Wen Yu went straight to the hospital and first brought her mother out.
After completing the discharge procedures, she supported her mother outside and hailed a taxi.
Although Mrs. Wen’s face was still somewhat pale from her illness, when she looked up at the crystal-clear blue sky, a long-lost sense of ease appeared in her eyes.
“The air here is wonderful. It feels like I can breathe more easily already.”
Wen Yu smiled, hailed a taxi, and gave the driver their destination.
The car pulled away from the hospital and traveled along the coastal highway.
On one side were neat rows of white houses and lush palm trees. On the other stretched the endless blue sea.
The wind rustled the leaves, making them sway gracefully.
Everything was so beautiful and relaxed.
It was completely different from the fast-paced atmosphere of the imperial capital, where every second counted and everyone was always rushing somewhere.
Wen Yu gazed out the window, feeling a sense of peace she hadn’t experienced in five years.
The taxi stopped in front of a white villa with its own private courtyard.
The courtyard looked exactly like the pictures the real estate agent had sent her on her phone.
It wasn’t very large, but it was clean and well maintained.
Unknown vines climbed along the walls, covered in clusters of tiny white flowers.