There was a certain tragic air to her query.
Xu Mushen fell silent for a moment and then scoffed at himself for overthinking things.
How could someone audacious enough to champion the role of the other woman carry such sadness?
“Let me tell you too.” Xu Mushen began to speak slowly, word for word.
“Not letting go.”
He thought that his words would incite further outcry from the woman in the room, but to his surprise, it suddenly went quiet.
Had she given up, then?
As he was about to leave, he suddenly heard a commotion outside:
“Good heavens!”
“Miss Xu!”
“Be careful!”
Ominous shouts echoed in from the yard.
Xu Mushen’s eyes hardened at this and a sense of dread washed over him.
“Open the door!” He ordered in a deep voice.
The driver hurried to unlock the door.
Xu Mushen shoved it open, only to discover that the room was empty.
Yet, the window was wide open and the white curtains, caught in the night breeze, were gently swaying.
He hurried to the bedside to see the woman out the window hobbling, her leg dragging as she ran away, already out of the main gate.
Xu Mushen tightened his jaw and without a word, turned around to follow.
He got into the car and drove after her.
A mounting frustration clawed at him.
This woman, was she actually willing to risk her life just to meet with that man named Kim?
Pain shot through her leg in waves, but Xu Qiaoqiao had no time to focus on it.
As soon as she ran out the front gate, she hailed down a taxi, heading straight for the orphanage.
She was fervently praying under her breath.
Please let nothing happen to Sweet.
If anything happened, she could never forgive herself.
The feeling of remorse hit her heavily, her vision blurring, she wished she could sprout wings and fly there directly.
“Driver, please hurry,” she urged.
The taxi driver responded with a wry smile, “Ma’am, this is your eighth time asking.
I’m already going at top speed.”
Xu Qiaoqiao nodded, restless.
When the taxi finally arrived at the orphanage, she didn’t hesitate and jumped out, running straight towards the institution.
The taxi driver quickly chased after her, “Miss, you haven’t paid yet!”
Just as he finished, a thunderous roar sounded in the sky.
Immediately following, the sky erupted into a downpour.
Xu Qiaoqiao didn’t have time to find shelter from the rain; she simply kept running.
As she went past the front courtyard, she spotted a small shadow on the rooftop of the five-story building across.
A group of children huddled in the yard below.
A few others stood not far away from Sweet on the rooftop.
The sound of rain was too loud for Xu Qiaoqiao to make out what was being said, and the pain in her leg had by now gone numb.
With clenched teeth, she made her way towards Sweet on the rooftop.
As the rain washed over the rooftop, a torrent of water rushed through the drainage pipes with a loud echoing hum.
Xu Qiaoqiao was soaked to the bone.
Slowly, step by step, she finally approached Sweet.
Now up and close, she noticed, the little girl was sitting on the edge of the rooftop, her legs swaying freely mid-air.
Her small and frail body looked as if a gust of wind would blow her off the edge any minute.
Xu Qiaoqiao’s heart choked at the sight, and with apprehension she spoke up, “Sweet, Sister Chuchu is here.”
At the sound of her words, Tang Tiantian, who was until then unresponsive, finally reacted, and gradually turned her head.
In that moment she caught sight of Xu Qiaoqiao, her dull eyes lit up.
The rain was heavy.
But he could still see her open and close her mouth and heard her whisper diffidently,
“Sister Chuchu, did I do something wrong that they didn’t like me?”
Tears welled up in Xu Qiaoqiao’s eyes instantly.