I Quit Being This Female Lead (GL) - Chapter 86

The clock had silently chimed six in the evening. The entire banquet hall was decorated with blue and white ribbons and balloons, along with tall crystal swans nestled together, making the atmosphere both warm and luxurious.

Mang Ke sat on a chair in the front row, listening to Xun’s mother anxiously discussing something with the maid. The older woman was clearly on edge, trembling uncontrollably, the veins on her wrist bulging from being clenched.

The warm air felt strangely cold. Many people in the banquet hall were already whispering. Mang Ke looked around and saw that a considerable number of relatives and friends had come, filling nearly all the seats.

Xun’s mother’s status and position were something many aspired to attain, so even though this engagement ceremony only invited people of influence, the turnout was still very large.

“Are you sure you’ve looked everywhere?” Xun’s mother asked, her eyes turning red with anxiety. “Did you search inside and out?!”

“We searched everywhere, Madam,” the maid was equally distressed. “I only went to the lounge to grab a bottle of water, and Miss was gone. I’m very worried, but I’m truly sorry…”

The maid, who was in her late thirties or early forties, started crying.

She knew Xun Fangyun’s importance to Xun’s mother; she was the beacon that had reignited her hope after years of disappointment. For that light to suddenly be extinguished was unbearable for anyone, especially Xun’s mother.

Seeing Xun’s mother covering her forehead and looking unwell, Mang Ke quickly got up and walked over to support her.

“Auntie,” Mang Ke helped Xun’s mother sit down on the chair and said, “She’s in a wheelchair, so she definitely couldn’t have gone far. The hotel security has also gone to check the surveillance footage. There will be clues soon.”

Xun’s mother pressed her temples, tightly closed her eyes, and clutched her chest in pain. She couldn’t lose her daughter again…

Mang Ke knew that Xun Fangyun was now capable of speaking and walking without any difficulty. Why she would disappear without a word at such a crucial time, Mang Ke couldn’t figure out.

Did she regret getting engaged to me?

Mang Ke thought with some disappointment, Maybe my attitude recently made her feel pressured, and she regretted it at the last minute?

No, Xun Fangyun isn’t the type of person who would run away on impulse.

Mang Ke looked up at Xun’s mother, who was deeply distraught. She sat beside her, reached out, and held her cold hand, offering comfort: “Auntie, Yunyun will be fine. She must have gone to do something important.”

Xun’s mother looked up at Mang Ke and couldn’t help but say, “Xiao Ke…”

Even though the person who suffers the most from a runaway bride is the one left behind at the engagement, Mang Ke was trying to comfort her elder.

“I lost my composure,” Xun’s mother grasped Mang Ke’s hand. “You’re right. Yunyun wouldn’t leave easily. Something… something must have happened to her.”

Just then, the assistant who had gone to retrieve the surveillance footage returned. He said to Xun’s mother, “We checked the surveillance. The camera in the dressing room corridor was deliberately damaged, so it didn’t capture who wheeled Miss away, and no nearby cameras picked anything up either.”

Xun’s mother frowned tightly: “Deliberately damaged?”

“Yes,” the person confirmed. “And it happened today. We speculate that Miss might have been…”

Even if the word ‘kidnapped’ wasn’t spoken, everyone present understood.

The disabled only daughter of a wealthy tycoon was having her engagement banquet, and then she was abducted from the backstage. They must be after ransom. Since Xun Fangyun was Xun’s mother’s only daughter and the inheritor of billions of assets, Xun’s mother would essentially have to comply with the kidnappers, provided they didn’t harm her.

Xun’s mother felt her vision darken and slumped back into the chair, clutching her chest and struggling to breathe. She felt like the surrounding sounds were roaring, tearing at her eardrums, making it unbearable.

Mang Ke looked at Xun’s mother worriedly, poured a glass of water, helped her drink it, and then held her hand to reassure her: “We still have a chance to find Yunyun. It’s only been half an hour; they definitely haven’t gotten far.”

“That’s right.”

Just then, a man in a suit emerged from the crowd. Mang Ke looked up and realized it was Nie Wentao, the one who had tried to slip her a note before.

He stood before everyone, dressed impeccably, and said seriously, “Only half an hour has passed. We can check the surrounding surveillance. There are so many cameras on the roads now. If someone really kidnapped Xun Fangyun, they must show up in the footage.”

Nie Wentao turned his head and his eyes instantly lit up as he looked at the elegantly dressed Mang Ke.

As the main character of the day, Mang Ke was naturally dressed beautifully. Her exquisite collarbone and slender figure made Nie Wentao’s throat feel dry.

Although Xun Fangyun was also beautiful, Mang Ke truly suited his taste.

Her well-behaved and lovely expression made one want to pin her to a bed and make her cry.

Mang Ke was somewhat confused by Nie Wentao’s revealing gaze. She hadn’t interacted much with outsiders and didn’t quite understand the meaning of that fleeting, sweeping look, but her intuition made her uncomfortable.

That look seemed to want to tear her apart, sending shivers down her spine.

Fortunately, the look only lasted for a moment. Nie Wentao quickly refocused on Xun’s mother and comforted her: “I’ve already sent people to search and contacted my friends to review the surveillance. I believe we will find my cousin’s trace very soon.”

Nie Wentao then looked up at Xun’s mother’s assistant and said, “Get the on-duty security guards to come to the backstage. We need to ask if any outsiders entered. The Xun family booked the entire floor today. If any strangers came in or out, the logs will show it. You handle the reception table and check them one by one with me.”

Xun’s mother’s assistant was also stunned by Nie Wentao’s command, only then remembering that he was in charge of reception and guest signatures. If there was a strange person, they could be identified from the log.

Nie Wentao then arranged for a few of his own relatives to pacify the restless guests. He picked up the microphone and even walked onto the stage, saying, “Thank you to all the guests who came today to attend my cousin’s engagement ceremony. Xun Fangyun is currently indisposed and remains backstage. As you know, she only recently recovered and is still adjusting. She will come out once she feels better. All guests can start the dinner now. Later, Xun Fangyun and her fiancée will come to toast everyone as an apology.”

His speech was smooth and sweet. After reassuring everyone, he immediately had the food served. Everyone had been hungry all afternoon, so their attention naturally shifted to the dining tables.

Watching Nie Wentao handle the arrangements so competently, Mang Ke turned to look at Xun’s mother, finding that she seemed quite satisfied with her ‘cousin’s’ arrangements, and her complexion had improved.

Mang Ke felt a little lost. She had never faced a situation like this. Did that mean she didn’t handle things well?

Xun Fangyun was going to take over Xun’s mother’s estate in the future. If Mang Ke remained so clueless, would she be embarrassing her family?

The more she thought about it, the sadder she felt. Mang Ke even began to wonder if Xun Fangyun truly didn’t want her…

Mang Ke lowered her head, staring at her toes. She wanted so badly to ask Xun Fangyun right now if this ‘runaway’ was truly an unforeseen accident, or if she was merely a person who was unwanted…

“What are you looking at?”

Nie Wentao sat down on the chair next to her, looking down and smiling: “My sister has been eccentric since childhood. I suspect she might not have been kidnapped at all, but simply ran away from the engagement.”

Mang Ke: “…”

“You know, she was in a coma from her teens until now, so her mind might still be like a young girl’s.” Nie Wentao narrowed his eyes, his gaze lingering on Mang Ke’s slender shoulder. He chuckled: “She probably dislikes being arranged by her family. So, if she really ran away, let me apologize to you on her behalf first.”

With that, Nie Wentao reached out and took Mang Ke’s hand, squeezing her palm hard.

Mang Ke stared at him, her light-colored eyes looking obedient and cute, which made Nie Wentao’s heart itch.

Such a beautiful little wife to be stuck with a disabled person. It was too great a loss, no matter how he looked at it.

“If you don’t want to marry her, you can consider me,” Nie Wentao leaned in and whispered into Mang Ke’s ear. “I will treat you well.”

Mang Ke was so startled that goosebumps broke out all over her body. She quickly withdrew her hand, stood up, and stepped back two paces, saying frantically, “I’m going to check on Auntie Xun.”

Leaving those words behind, Mang Ke picked up her skirt and hurried away. She felt that Xun’s mother was right—something was very wrong with Nie Wentao!

Having escaped the suffocating reception hall, Mang Ke walked past the corridor next to the dressing room and headed all the way out to the courtyard.

It was already completely dark outside, around six or seven in the evening during winter.

Mang Ke supported herself against the wall until she reached the steps, where she sat down, hugging her knees.

She felt cold, yet she didn’t want to go back. With so many people in that hall, were they laughing at her, mocking her as someone hired for ‘good luck’ who had been abandoned at her own engagement?

Mang Ke rested her chin on her knees. Her nose and shoulders were already red from the cold, and her breath dissipated in the air.

Where was Xun Fangyun?

Staring at her pink and white gown, Mang Ke noticed a patch of dirt on the hem that she hadn’t noticed before. She reached out to rub it, only to find that it didn’t brush off and only spread a little, making the originally exquisite sheer fabric seem glaringly flawed.

Forget it.

Mang Ke sighed, grasping the dirty patch with her hand and turning her face to the sky.

No one is looking anyway, so why bother keeping it so clean?

Mang Ke sat there on the steps, wondering if someone should be looking for her soon, or if Xun Fangyun had already returned. If she stayed here, would she be causing trouble?

The more she thought about it, the more convinced she became. Mang Ke decided to calm down for a bit and then go back. After all, she wasn’t a child anymore and shouldn’t cause trouble for others.

As she rose from the steps, Mang Ke felt her legs go numb and nearly tumbled down. Before she could react, she felt someone grab her hand from behind, and then she was pulled into a warm embrace.

Click—

The door to the corridor was opened and then quickly closed again. Mang Ke was afraid to look up. She kept her head down, staring at the white silk fabric in front of her, feeling as if none of this was real.

“Why are you out here alone in the cold wind?”

The person above her held Mang Ke, complaining with a sigh, “I was only late for a moment. Why do you look like you’re about to cry?”

Mang Ke looked up at Xun Fangyun, her eyes turning red as she was about to burst into tears, but Xun Fangyun pressed her head down and covered her mouth with a kiss.

“Shh.”

Pulling away from Mang Ke’s gentle lips, Xun Fangyun chuckled and asked her, “Do you want to watch a good show with me?”