Chapter 105: If she wants to die, drain her blood until she is empty.

The old Xu family mansion.

“Sir, here are the case materials concerning Miss Wen,” Jin Mao said as he opened the email and placed the scanned documents before Xu Qichen.

Xu Qichen glanced at them silently and then set down the antique he had been polishing.

He flipped through the documents while listening to Jin Mao’s explanation and the sentencing details.

After a long moment, having finished the last page, he spoke: “He gave up Xiao Xia for the Gu Xia Group?”

Jin Mao hesitated before answering honestly, “It’s not exactly giving up. Gu Pingsheng seemed to be doing everything he could for Miss Wen, but... something unexpected happened.”

Xu Qichen’s lips moved slightly: “Everything he could…”

To do something “with all one’s remaining strength.”

“When can we visit the prison?” Xu Qichen asked.

“In two days,” Jin Mao replied.

Xu Qichen looked at him sharply.

Jin Mao knew this wasn’t the answer he wanted and explained, “Miss Wen just entered prison. The regulations there are strict, so…”

Two days was already the soonest possible. Under normal procedures at Sifang City Prison, it would take at least a week.

At Cheng Yaju.

When Zhao Fuhe was pushed in, soaked from the rain, Gu Pingsheng had just changed into the clothes he took from the car. Wearing cotton slippers, his damp short hair clung to his head as he stood by the living room’s glass window, watching the torrential downpour outside.

This was the fiercest rain since winter began in Sifang City, as if it wanted to overturn the entire city.

“Mm, mm mm…”

Zhao Fuhe had her mouth stuffed with something and struggled, but two bodyguards pressed her firmly to the ground.

Zhou Anbei approached first and reported, “President Gu, just as you suspected, this woman was about to flee by plane. Unfortunately, the sudden heavy rain caused all flights at the airport to be suspended.”

Otherwise, they might have had to contact senior airport officials to intervene.

Gu Pingsheng turned, his deep, narrow eyes heavy with gloom and coldness as he looked down at the woman on the floor.

Zhou Anbei suddenly tore off the tape from Zhao Fuhe’s mouth, pulling away a thin strand of hair with it.

Zhao Fuhe had no time to cry out from the brief pain; all her focus was on Gu Pingsheng before her.

He sat on the sofa, one leg propped up, beckoning her with a hand.

Though she could not fathom his thoughts, Zhao Fuhe knew she had crossed his bottom line today; otherwise, she wouldn’t have tried to escape before the trial was even over.

But this was a rare chance, the only opportunity to take revenge on Wen Zhixia. How could she give it up so easily?

Zhao Fuhe didn’t move. Zhou Anbei glanced at Gu Pingsheng and pushed her forward.

With a thud, Zhao Fuhe fell before Gu Pingsheng. As she looked up, her eyes met his dark, stormy gaze. Before she could rise, she tried to retreat, but a scream escaped her lips.

Gu Pingsheng suddenly stood, kicking her squarely in the chest, his foot pressing down on her fingers. His body bent forward as he leaned down. “Do you know what happens to those who ruin my affairs?”

“Senior, please, have mercy,” Zhao Fuhe pleaded, terrified by his ruthless, dark expression, as if he might kill her at any moment.

It wasn’t just any mercy. Just moments ago, Gu Pingsheng had received a call from Lawyer Xu: Wen Zhixia had given up on appealing and refused to see him.

Not that she refused to see Lawyer Xu, but refused to see Gu Pingsheng himself.

Her usually pliable nature was just a façade. If she said she wouldn’t see him before her release, then it was truly impossible.

She even told Lawyer Xu to tell him to “take care of himself.”

She was angry with him.

“Who gave you the audacity to do this? My lover? The woman carrying my child? You don’t deserve it! She’s not having the operation anymore; what use do you have now?” Gu Pingsheng’s foot pressed down heavily on her chest, the crushing weight and suffocating pressure making Zhao Fuhe realize just how close she was to death. “You want to die? Then bleed her dry.”

He kicked her aside like useless trash, his eyes burning red with murderous intent.

As he spoke, bodyguards behind him drew daggers that flashed coldly under the overhead light.

Zhao Fuhe, gasping, scrambled to escape but was grabbed by her hair from behind; her wrists were pinned to the floor. She watched in horror as the dagger-wielding bodyguards advanced. “No, no! Senior, please! I know I’m wrong! I really do!”

“I just love you too much! I don’t want to share your love with another woman! It’s because I love you!”

Even now, Zhao Fuhe tried to play the victim.

Hearing the word “love” from her lips only sullied it for Gu Pingsheng. Without money or status, would a woman like her ever talk about love?

“No, no, senior, ah!”

Zhao Fuhe’s screams pierced the rain-soaked night as a bodyguard slashed her wrist—a spot where she had previously pretended to slit her wrist to keep Gu Pingsheng from leaving.

But this cut was far deeper.

The blade sliced through her skin and artery. The intense pain made Zhao Fuhe collapse, sobbing, her face pale as she crawled to Gu Pingsheng, begging for mercy.

Before she could touch him, someone dragged her back, leaving a blood trail on the floor.

“You wanted to die, didn’t you?” Gu Pingsheng sneered. “You keep playing suicide games with me.”

Tears streaming, Zhao Fuhe shook her head: “No, no, I don’t want to die! Save me, please save me! I’ll donate bone marrow to Wen Zhixia. I’ll donate. I won’t ever do this again.”

Bone marrow donation?

“Six months ago, someone paid you two hundred thousand to donate bone marrow. You took the money but asked for thirty thousand more the next day, then raised the price to fifty thousand in a week…”

Hearing this, Zhao Fuhe’s eyes widened in terror. “How do you know? Could it be…”

“Half a month later, I bought you out of Junyue,” Gu Pingsheng said, lifting her chin with a finger. “You should be grateful you share similar eyes with her.”

At first, she took money without doing her job, draining Gu Pingsheng’s patience. But because of those eyes, he once showed leniency at Junyue Club. As long as she obeyed, he wouldn’t mistreat her.

At that time, Jiang Wanwan had already crossed a line and was sent away. Gu Pingsheng needed a woman for drinking and banquets—a socialite brought back from Junyue was perfect.

But Zhao Fuhe’s repeated appearances before Wen Zhixia, trying to steal her place, made Gu Pingsheng decide to eliminate her.

Yet—

“Senior, I know I was wrong. I really do. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die,” Zhao Fuhe wept, terrified of death. She was still young—she didn’t want to die.

Gu Pingsheng glanced at Zhou Anbei, who nodded and allowed the doctor to enter.

But the doctor did not move to treat her, clearly waiting for Gu Pingsheng’s orders.

Between life and death, Zhao Fuhe’s mind nearly shattered.

Gu Pingsheng sat coldly on the sofa.

“Did you tamper with the brakes on the madam’s car?” Zhou Anbei asked sternly.

Zhao Fuhe shook her head frantically. “No, no, it wasn’t me. I never did that.”

“If not you, then why did you so coincidentally produce surveillance footage in court?” Zhou Anbei challenged.

“Video?”

Zhao Fuhe’s mind blanked; she entered a panic state, unable to recall anything. She knelt, clutching her wrist and sobbing, muttering about the video and crying out for help.

Fear of death shattered her reason.

Zhou Anbei frowned. “President Gu?”

Leaning back, Gu Pingsheng’s eyes closed, his fingers tapping lightly on his knee.

Zhou Anbei understood and told the doctor to begin stitching Zhao Fuhe’s wound.

The doctor ordered two bodyguards to hold Zhao Fuhe down as he prepared to inject local anesthesia.

But Gu Pingsheng interrupted, his thin lips parting: “Suture directly.”

No anesthesia—just direct stitching.

The doctor hesitated, but Zhou Anbei nodded to proceed.

Without anesthesia, the pain was even more intense than the initial cut. Zhao Fuhe fainted midway and was doused with water to revive her.

The stitching took over half an hour, performed only by the doctor and an assistant.

Her screams echoed chillingly in the rainy night before her mouth was gagged again.

When the procedure ended, the doctor was drenched in sweat, and Zhao Fuhe looked like she had just been fished from the storm.

“What about the video?”

Zhao Fuhe, as if half her life had been stolen, eyes wide with terror, her voice hoarse from screaming, dared not scheme anymore: “I heard Secretary Li talking to someone about leaving her car in the neighborhood, and it got scratched... but the nearby surveillance cameras were broken, so there was no way to check what happened. Then I thought of the hospital’s surveillance…”

Zhou Anbei hadn’t expected such a reason, and that was why they lost the case.

“Eleven years ago, you appeared near Jinlong Building in Litai District. On that day, a woman nine months pregnant fell down the stairs. Three days later, your parents, who live on a fixed salary, suddenly received two hundred thousand yuan,” Gu Pingsheng’s eyes snapped open. “What did you see that day?”

Eleven years ago...

A flash of confusion crossed Zhao Fuhe’s eyes. “I... don’t know.”

Don’t know?

Gu Pingsheng’s cold lips twisted into a smile. “It’s alright. You have plenty of time to remember.” He stood. “Send her to the underground city. Since she likes men so much, don’t let her stop. When she remembers, bring her to me. Don’t let her die.”

Before Zhao Fuhe could plead, she was gagged and tied up again.

In the car.

The driver glanced twice at the bound Zhao Fuhe, watching through the swaying windshield wipers.

Gu Pingsheng rubbed his wedding ring. “Starting tomorrow, you don’t need to come anymore.”

The driver turned sharply. “President Gu?”

“I’ll arrange for you to work elsewhere, or if you want, accompany that woman in the underground city,” Gu Pingsheng said coldly.

The driver quickly declined.

Rain continued to fall outside, creating a curtain of water.

“You’re not the first man she’s slept with, and you won’t be the last.”

“Yes, thank you, President Gu.”

At Lanhu County.

Aunt Zhao and Aunt Wang hurried over at the sound of footsteps but saw only Gu Pingsheng, no sign of Wen Zhixia.

Aunt Zhao cautiously asked, “President Gu, has madam... returned to the hospital?”

Since madam hadn’t had surgery and wasn’t well yet, had she gone straight back after the trial?

After all the turmoil, she should be resting well.

“What does madam want to eat tomorrow? Last time I saw that soup…”

Before she could finish, Gu Pingsheng had already gone upstairs and didn’t speak another word.

Aunt Wang shook her head at Aunt Zhao and sighed quietly.

Clearly, the situation was worsening toward the worst.

Two days later.

Xu Qichen emerged from the visitation room, Jin Mao draping an extra coat over his shoulders. Xu Qichen’s gaze passed over him toward Gu Pingsheng outside.

“I hear Gu Pingsheng has come two days in a row. The prison is willing to accommodate, but Miss Wen refuses to see him.”

As Jin Mao spoke, a prison guard approached Gu Pingsheng again. “The inmate says she has nothing to do with President Gu anymore. She said no need to come again. You owe each other nothing. Even if you come a hundred times, she won’t meet. Save your efforts.”

Gu Pingsheng listened quietly, his deep eyes dark as if not even the brightest noon sun could dispel the shadows within them.

She refused to see him.

No matter how many times he came.

Since Wen Zhixia’s imprisonment, the scandal hanging over the Gu Xia Group began to fade from public memory. It remained a company full of infinite potential, still the top choice for graduates.

As if nothing had changed, as if nothing had happened, only the group’s leader, President Gu, had not smiled once.

Two months later, news came from the prison.

Patient number 30987’s condition worsened and was rushed to emergency treatment. At that time, Gu Pingsheng was crossing three provinces attending a summit.

By the time he learned the news, three days had passed.

He did not even see her.

Wen Zhixia seemed to have vanished.

Despite leveraging multiple connections and methods, he could only find faint clues. Among them appeared the involvement of the Xu family from the capital.

From the first meeting ten years ago, Wen Zhixia had embarked on a grand hope. Ten years later, she returned disappointed.

In the first half-month after her disappearance, Gu Pingsheng frantically used all his resources to find her but found nothing.

One day, during a meeting, Gu Pingsheng suddenly collapsed without warning, frightening the executives. He was rushed to the hospital.

On the operating table, the surgical lights blazed. His eyelids fluttered, as if both open and closed.

In that hazy state, memories flashed back.

A studious girl with a ponytail clutching books squeezed onto a crowded bus, barely finding a place to stand.

As soon as she steadied herself, a boy with a bandage on his face smirked at her: “What a coincidence, little bookworm.”

She disliked being around him but lately saw him on every bus, always in a crowd.

“Want to sit?” he bent down to ask.

Wen Zhixia was tall among girls, but next to him she looked like a shorty. Whenever he spoke, he habitually leaned close.

She disliked such familiarity and tried to step back, but the crowd left no room. She scowled: “Speak properly.”

Just speak—why lean so close?

Gu Pingsheng’s unruly eyebrows rose. “Wen, don’t you know manners? Besides...” he said, “I’m just looking out for your neck so it doesn’t hurt. Good intentions unappreciated, little shorty.”

Wen Zhixia glared. “I’m 168cm! I’m not short!”

Among girls, she was definitely tall.

No one had ever called her short. It was like telling a top student she’s bad at studying—not an insult, but blatant nonsense.

“You, so young and already blind!” Wen said, offended.

Gu Pingsheng ground his teeth darkly. “You’re growing up and learning to curse? Where did you learn to ‘be kind’ from the teacher?”

Wen Zhixia pursed her lips and snorted through her nose, turning her head to show disdain.

Gu Pingsheng found her attitude amusing, not angry, but it tickled his heart oddly.

Suddenly, the vehicle braked sharply. Wen Zhixia lost balance and fell into a warm embrace. Gu Pingsheng held the handrail with one hand and protected her with the other.

“Hey, little bookworm, do you like me?”

Wen shook her head, meeting his smiling eyes, then shook harder in a panic, as if one more second would cause misunderstanding.

Gu Pingsheng’s face darkened. “What’s wrong? Is liking me so embarrassing?”

So many girls at school surrounded him daily. What was with her scared look?

Once the bus stabilized, Wen Zhixia freed herself and straightened her uniform. In a serious tone, she said, “I don’t like you. I know you like me.”

Gu Pingsheng was surprised: “Oh, the little bookworm can tell that already.”

“Who said I like you? You’re young, why so delusional?” He reached out and pinched her soft cheek like cotton candy.

Her face was delicate; a light pinch turned it red. She winced, trying to pull away, but he held firm.

Angrily, she grabbed his arm and bit down—her small white teeth left him in pain, but it left a mark on his heart forever.