Chapter 11: Carrying Her Home

After sitting down by the roadside and calming her nerves, Gu Yao moved her arms and neck to check her body. Thankfully, everything was normal. She then glanced down, rolled up her pant leg, and noticed her ankle was slightly swollen—probably twisted in the rush to get out of the car earlier.

She exhaled deeply and looked toward a bodyguard. “My car was just serviced last week; there’s no way it broke down.”

Aside from a pale complexion, her emotions showed no sign of disturbance.

Gu Yao was unlike any woman they had ever met—her psychological resilience and ability to respond to danger were exceptional.

The bodyguard couldn’t help but admire her and hurriedly replied, “Someone has already gone to inspect it. It seems more likely that the car was tampered with.”

“Alright, I understand.” Gu Yao nodded, swept her loose hair back into a ponytail, and pulled out her phone. Her first call was to the insurance company to request a tow truck. After hanging up, she dialed 110 to report the incident.

Hidden from others’ view, her palm trembled continuously.

No one understood better than she did how perilous the accident had been. Although she had ultimately escaped unscathed, any slight misstep during the crisis could have ended very differently.

It was partly thanks to her mild paranoia—she often imagined dangerous scenarios and memorized countermeasures from the internet—that she reacted correctly when the brakes failed.

Even more fortunate was the location of the accident: not on a highway but on a narrow lane flanked by greenery and a wall, which helped slow the car. Otherwise, she might not have escaped so easily.

Who could be so malicious as to sabotage her vehicle? Since she had been riding in Su Yu’s car recently, her car had been parked at the hospital for the past few days instead of at home, making it more convenient for someone to interfere.

The image of Su Xingshui, whom she had encountered the day before at the Japanese restaurant, flashed through her mind, tightening her frown.

Half an hour later, police arrived, followed by insurance representatives an hour after that. Once the car was towed away, Gu Yao was informed that due to insufficient evidence, the case could not yet be filed.

She had anticipated as much and simply nodded in acknowledgment.

“Miss Gu, please get in the car,” a bodyguard respectfully opened the door.

Her ankle still throbbed faintly, so Gu Yao slowly settled into the seat. Once they entered the city, she suddenly said, “Can I borrow the car for a bit? I need to go somewhere.”

The driver hesitated. “Mr. Su instructed me to take you straight to the hospital.”

Gu Yao waved her hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about him. Pull over at the next intersection. You can take the other car home. I’ll go by myself.”

Her tone was resolute enough that the bodyguard dared not disobey. He put on his earpiece to make a call, then said, “Mr. Su asked you to wait for a moment.”

Without further conversation, the bodyguard drove on.

Not long after entering the city, a car approached from the opposite direction and stopped. The bodyguard got out, and Su Yu took the driver’s seat.

“Where to? I’ll take you,” he said, dressed in black with a serious expression.

“To Mingxi Hospital.” Gu Yao sighed, knowing he wouldn’t let her act alone.

“Alright.” Without another word, the man started the car.

They arrived at the hospital after ten o’clock at night. Following Gu Yao’s wishes, they headed directly to the surveillance room to investigate who had tampered with her car.

Just as Gu Yao opened the car door and stepped out, Su Yu suddenly bent down and lifted her into his arms.

“What are you doing? I can walk by myself,” she protested, struggling as she tried to get down.

But the man remained silent, striding forward with long, determined steps, clutching her arms tightly as if they were steel plates, making it impossible for her to break free no matter how hard she tried.

“Can’t you hear me? Put me down.” Gu Yao’s tone grew firmer. This was her workplace, and most people knew her; she didn’t want colleagues to see her in such a vulnerable state.

Su Yu ignored her. By the time they reached the outpatient hall, the lights illuminated his face, which had been shrouded in darkness until then.

Glancing sideways at him, Gu Yao swallowed the words she was about to say and fell silent.

Su Yu was unlike the man she had seen before. Though she was brave, she found herself momentarily stunned. Standing so close, she clearly sensed the bone-chilling coldness in his eyes.

Unlike most people who become hysterical when angry, there were some whose silence was far more terrifying.

From the moment she first saw Su Yu on the cruise ship, Gu Yao knew this man was not to be trifled with. Unlike the usual businessmen who spent years in offices and were either frail or overweight, he was tall, robust, skilled in combat, and exuded an aura more fitting for another line of work.

Yet she never imagined his anger would manifest with such an overwhelming presence. His once handsome eyes were clouded with darkness, his thin lips pressed tightly, and his face taut. A mere glance from him made her shiver.

“Doctor Gu, who is this—” A female emergency doctor who knew Gu Yao quietly turned away and mouthed a question.

“He’s a friend,” Gu Yao replied, sitting on the examination bed as the doctor checked her ankle. She smiled and asked, “How is it? Nothing serious, right?”

“Hm, just some swelling. A cold compress will help,” the doctor nodded. Just then, someone called her from outside, so she took the opportunity to leave.

Only the two of them remained in the medical room. Gu Yao looked up at the man standing before her and, unusually, offered a word of comfort: “See? I’m fine. Who are you scaring with that face?”

But the second half of her sentence slipped back into her usual tone.

“Am I that frightening?” Su Yu’s gaze fixed on her, questioning.

“Hm, didn’t you see? Even the doctor got scared off,” Gu Yao replied with a smirk.

“Really? I didn’t notice.” He pressed his hand to his forehead, closed his eyes briefly, then reopened them. Though his face remained expressionless, the menacing aura had lessened.

“Let’s go check the footage.” He bent down and carefully lifted her into his arms again. This time, Gu Yao said nothing. No matter how much she resisted, the result was the same. She might as well let him have his way—and it saved her from walking.

She had thought it would be simple, but when they finally reviewed the surveillance footage, Gu Yao realized how difficult it would be to identify the saboteur after nearly fifty hours of video spanning two days and nights, even at double speed.

Su Yu suggested copying the footage so more people could help watch, but Gu Yao was stubborn. She wanted to find this person herself and spent the entire night watching the videos in the surveillance room.

By dawn, exhaustion overcame her; her head slowly leaned back in the chair as she drifted off. In a hazy moment, someone wrapped a coat around her and carried her out.

When she awoke, she was already sitting in the car, night blanketing the world outside. Beside her, Su Yu drove quietly.

Weary, she didn’t speak, lazily stretching and yawning as she let him take her home.

But gradually, as she glanced out at the passing streets, a flicker of caution stirred within her.

“This isn’t the way to my house. Where are you taking me?”

Before she finished speaking, Su Yu stopped in front of an unfamiliar villa. Rolling down the window, he pressed a key, and the garage door slowly opened. He drove inside.

Then he got out, circled around to open the passenger door, and bent down as if to carry her out.

“Whatever game you’re playing, I’m not getting out of this car. You can try, but I’ll just call the police,” Gu Yao said, grabbing the door handle and raising an eyebrow, her body immobile.

The garage was dimly lit. Su Yu leaned against the car door, staring down at her for a moment before speaking slowly and clearly: “Listen, Gu Yao. This isn’t a discussion; it’s a notice. You can’t go back to your old home for now. Since Su Xingshui has set his sights on you, he won’t let this go. The only way I’ll feel secure is to keep you under my watchful eye.”

His face was grave, his tone unequivocal. They stood in the darkness, silently facing each other, neither willing to yield.