Chased by My Heartless Ex - Chapter 69

Zhou Siyu vanished without a trace, along with the reply she never sent.

Xu You hadn’t initially noticed anything unusual about Zhou Siyu. Given the current state of their relationship, neither was obligated to respond to the other’s messages, especially since they hadn’t done so before.

The next morning, she spotted Yu Yao moving sluggishly in the living room. After briefly recounting the events of the previous night and sharing some thoughts about the future, Xu You drove to the office as if nothing had happened, settling into her workstation to research character profiles.

YUYOO was planning to launch a new mobile game based on Investiture of the Gods, blending action, adventure, and role-playing elements. It would be similar to Otherworld: Mountains and Seas but with numerous innovations.

Xu You wasn’t responsible for programming or other game mechanics, so she focused entirely on the characters that would bear her signature. After skimming through the original novel, she tentatively settled on two figures.

The entire project hadn’t been announced yet, so the only people she could discuss it with were Zheng Ran and Zhou Siyu.

[Xu You: Su Daji and Nüwa, I want to design these two characters.]

She only sent the message to Zheng Ran. Discussing it with Zhou Siyu would likely lead them off-topic and wasn’t particularly productive. With Zheng Ran, it was straightforward and professional.

Zheng Ran must not have been busy, as he replied quickly. Once they had agreed on the general direction, he sent over the materials he had gathered during his preliminary work, and the conversation came to a halt.

But it didn’t stay that way for long.

[Zheng Ran, Special Assistant to the CEO: Miss Xu, have you been in contact with President Zhou today? She hasn’t come to the office since morning and isn’t answering her phone.]

The message popped up just as Xu You had started drafting character profiles. Her phone screen lit up, and the words “President Zhou” inexplicably stirred a wave of irritation within her.

If Zhou Siyu was missing, did that mean she was supposed to know where to find her?

Frowning, she moved her cursor to open their chat window, enlarging it as her hands hovered over the keyboard.

Perhaps sensing Xu You’s impatience or maybe Zhou Siyu had given prior instructions, Zheng Ran sent another message before she could reply.

[Zheng Ran, Special Assistant to the CEO: My apologies. I booked a hotel for President Zhou last night, and she’s been unreachable ever since. There’s a video conference scheduled for this afternoon, and she usually doesn’t disappear without notice. I was just worried, so I thought I’d ask you. Sorry to bother you.]

It was hard to stay angry at someone so polite. Zheng Ran’s respectful tone eased most of Xu You’s frustration. But when she noticed the timing of Zhou Siyu’s disappearance, her heart sank, and her fingers froze above the keyboard.

She had left Zhou Siyu safely at her doorstep. With 24-hour security in the residential complex, the chances of anything going wrong were slim. She couldn’t possibly be in danger.

Sitting in front of her computer, Xu You’s mind raced with conflicting thoughts. She tried to convince herself that she had done all she could, she had ensured Zhou Siyu got home safely. Whatever happened afterward was none of her business. But once doubt and guilt crept in, they seeped through every crack and filled her heart entirely.

This wasn’t good. She was starting to worry about Zhou Siyu.

Snapping back to reality, Xu You reached under the desk and pinched the soft flesh of her thigh through her velvet maxi skirt. She didn’t need to look to know it would leave a bruise. After this self-admonishment, she straightened up and began typing.

[Xu You: I dropped her off at her place last night and left. I can’t guarantee what happened after that. If you still can’t reach her, I suggest you check her home or contact the police.]

The official, indifferent reply appeared on the screen in two lines. Zheng Ran leaned back in his chair with a sigh. His boss’s path to reclaiming her position was long and arduous.

After sending the message, Xu You casually closed the dialog box and continued scrolling through the computer page. Holding a ballpoint pen, she jotted down key points in the notebook she always carried with her.

Su Daji, birth and death dates unknown, a woman from the Su tribe, a native of the State of You Su (present-day Wen County, Jiaozuo City, Henan Province). Daughter of the feudal lord of the You Su clan, she was the favored consort of King Zhou of Shang, the last ruler of the Shang Dynasty… (1)

The smooth pen tip left rows of delicate, small characters on the pristine paper. As she read and took notes, Xu You’s thoughts gradually began to drift. She tried hard to focus on the task at hand.

Her concentration wavered and returned repeatedly until, pinching the bridge of her nose, she set down the pen in her right hand. The last line on the palm-sized sheet of paper had Zhou Siyu’s name written twice.

After all, it was a human life. The collaboration with the research institute hadn’t been finalized yet, and she was likely the last person to have seen Zhou Siyu. With her strong sense of morality, Xu You tore off the corner of the page bearing Zhou Siyu’s name, crumpled it into a ball, and tossed it into the trash bin by her feet. Biting her lip, she opened the chat window with Zhou Siyu.

The entire page of content was trivial. Recalling Zhou Siyu’s recent frenzy of posting on social media, Xu You didn’t rush to ask about her current situation. Instead, she clicked on Zhou Siyu’s profile picture and reset her social media visibility settings.

The contrast from yesterday to today was stark. Scrolling through the content from the previous day seemed endless, yet there was no update about last night’s dinner.

Had something really happened?

Xu You clicked back and, with the concern of a subordinate for her superior, asked:

[Xu You: President Zhou, are you alright? Assistant Zheng mentioned you didn’t come to the company today.]

Meanwhile, President Zhou, over ten kilometers away, lay sprawled on her bed. The screen of her phone on the nightstand lit up and dimmed repeatedly, vibrating incessantly. She paid it no mind until the distinctive notification tone she had set exclusively for Xu You’s messages finally made her slowly open her eyes. Dragging her heavy body, she reached in the direction of the phone.

After Xu You left last night, Zhou Siyu had stood at her doorstep for several minutes as if punishing herself. She was used to dressing lightly, and with no one to care for her, she paid little attention to her own well-being. The merciless cold wind showed no pity either, sweeping through her sleeves and seeping into her bones through every possible crevice.

When the security guard came to check on her, she went back inside but not into her home. Instead, she sat on the steps by the door, staring blankly at the double swing in the yard that she had built for Xu You.

When Xu You first moved in, their neighbors were a couple with a five-year-old child. Well-off, they spared no expense in giving their child the best of everything. The couple had set up a small playground in their yard, and the first time Xu You saw it, her gaze was glued to the swing.

She said her home in Shanghai also had a swing and asked, with a pleading look in her eyes, if they could install a small one in their yard.

How had Zhou Siyu responded?

It was something like, “Too childish. No.”

Later, after Xu You left, Zhou Siyu reminisced about their shared moments. When this memory surfaced, she immediately hired workers to install a double swing in the yard. On the day it was completed, she happened to glance at the neighbors’ yard, it was as empty as her heart.

Zhou Siyu sat alone on the steps for half an hour, braving the cold wind. She hadn’t even had the chance to show off her surprise to Xu You, who had already left without a trace of nostalgia.

Entering from outside, her throat was already swollen and red, and she involuntarily let out soft coughs with each breath. The last thing she saw was a message from Xu You. Summoning her last bit of strength, her vision blurred as she typed two words: “Thank you.”

The unique notification tone for Xu You’s messages chimed again, but Zhou Siyu was burning with such a high fever that even opening her eyes was a struggle, let alone moving her limbs.

Slowly, she cracked her eyes open. The intense fever had flushed her face an unhealthy shade of red, and her normally delicate double eyelids were now layered and puffy from discomfort. With each exhale, she released scorching, damp air, much like the steam rising from a boiling kettle.

Afraid that Xu You might need her urgently, Zhou Siyu mustered her focus and pulled her hand out from under the covers. Her phone felt both near and impossibly far. She shifted her body beneath the blanket, adopting a crawling posture as she inched her way toward the nightstand.

Yes, she was crawling.

Under normal circumstances, she would never resort to such a movement, but in that moment, she felt no embarrassment, only a growing sense of joy as she drew closer to her phone.

Her fingers brushed against the lacquered surface of the nightstand. Though the room was over twenty degrees Celsius, the nightstand felt icy cold.

Stretching her arm to reach for the phone, she moved a little too eagerly in her haste. Suddenly, her vision blurred, and she felt as though she were plummeting into an abyss, dizzy and disoriented. To make matters worse, just as her fingers grazed the phone, her body tilted from the dizziness, and the device fell with a dull thud onto the carpet.

A soft groan followed.

She collapsed, her determination to reply to Xu You’s message still burning in her mind as she sank into the soft bedding, falling into a deep, boundless sleep.

Xu You waited a few minutes. When Zhou Siyu still hadn’t replied, her anxiety began to spiral. Scrolling through her contacts, she found someone else she could reach out to. Masking her panic and worry, she initiated a conversation with Lu Ang, her tone as polite and distant as it had been with Zheng Ran.

Unfortunately, Lu Ang’s last encounter with Zhou Siyu had been after the two of them had parted ways, and they hadn’t been in touch since.

There was still a lunch break and the entire afternoon left before work ended. After her initial panic subsided, Xu You calmed herself and refocused on her tasks for the day. She reassured herself that since she had already reached out, whether it was Lu Ang or Zheng Ran, they would surely check on Zhou Siyu if they were concerned.

Repeating this to herself enough times, she almost managed to believe it.

At 5:30, as the second hand completed its final tick, Xu You abruptly snapped her laptop shut. She had already tossed her scattered belongings into her bag earlier. Shoving the computer into whatever space remained, she paid no mind to whether it fit properly or if her expensive leather bag was getting misshapen. Ignoring the curious stares around her, she grabbed her bag and rushed out of the office.

Her car unlocked, and she slid into the driver’s seat.

The company’s underground parking garage was eerily quiet, empty except for her. The silence was so profound it felt as though even her breathing would echo.

Xu You leaned forward, resting her head on the steering wheel with her eyes closed. Suddenly, her phone vibrated in her pocket. She bolted upright and unlocked it immediately.

[Yaoyao-jang: Are you coming back for dinner? Mai is cooking today. If you’re coming, I’ll make an extra dish you love.]

Xu You took a deep breath, the cold air filling her nostrils. The gloomy parking garage had yet to be touched by the warmth of spring.

Exhaling slowly, she typed a reply.

Forty minutes later, her sports car pulled into Yu Yao’s garage. Xu You walked into the house empty-handed.

Mai loved cooking and was exceptionally good at it. The moment Xu You stepped inside, Yu Yao’s voice called out from the semi-open kitchen, telling her to wash her hands and come eat, even though several walls separated them.

The three of them sat down to a table spread with four flavorful dishes and a soup, all appealing in aroma and appearance. Xu You smiled mechanically, making small talk with the couple while her eyes remained unfocused. She ate whatever her chopsticks picked up, barely registering the taste.

As keen and perceptive as Yu Yao, she noticed Xu You’s absentmindedness. She watched silently as Xu You picked up a pickled chili and popped it into her mouth, only speaking up when Xu You’s mouth was on fire and the corners of her eyes turned red, handing her a glass of iced milk at just the right moment.

“You’re troubled,” she said calmly.

Xu You’s eyes flickered briefly before she continued gulping down the milk to soothe the spiciness.

“It’s about Zhou Siyu, isn’t it?” Yu Yao continued.

The fire in her mouth extinguished by the cold milk, Xu You set down the glass and nodded.

After briefly recounting the events of the previous night and sharing the news of Zhou Siyu’s sudden disappearance that day, Mai tightened her grip on her chopsticks.

Yu Yao widened her eyes: “Go check on her. What if she’s dead?”

Zhou Siyu and death had both once been taboo topics for Xu You. Now, the former no longer was, but the latter remained. A nerve in Xu You twitched. She put down her chopsticks, rushed to the door, slipped on her shoes, and dashed to the garage, driving off in her car.

There was still so much resentment left unexpressed, Zhou Siyu couldn’t die like this!