Chapter 69: Are you saying that I, Wen Zhixia, can't live without you?

Ye Lanzhou chose to avert his eyes, leaving without hesitation. Yet just as he stepped out of the hospital room, he caught sight of Wen Zhixia approaching, and inwardly cursed his luck. He instinctively tried to step back, but Wen Zhixia’s gaze had already met his. With no way to retreat, he could only greet her calmly: “Miss Wen, Ping Sheng is inside.”

As he spoke, Ye Lanzhou subtly turned his face to the side, signaling to Gu Ping Sheng within the room.

Standing at the doorway, Ye Lanzhou waved at Wen Zhixia. “There was a car accident last night. He fractured a bone in his hand, but fortunately, it wasn’t too serious.”

Wen Zhixia nodded in response, her eyes drifting into the room, where besides Gu Ping Sheng, she also saw Zhao Fuhe.

“Miss Zhao came to visit a friend in the hospital. Upon learning about Ping Sheng’s accident, she stopped by to check on him,” Ye Lanzhou explained with a smile.

Wen Zhixia said nothing, but her gaze lingered on the insulated food container in Zhao Fuhe’s hand. “Junior Zhao, you even made soup for your friend?”

Zhao Fuhe stood up with a smile. “Because he’s someone very important to me, of course I had to make the soup myself. I’m not as clever as you, Senior Wen, so I can only manage these little domestic things. Please forgive me if you find it amusing.”

There was a hint of inexplicable pride in her words. Wen Zhixia’s eyes swept over her lightly. “Indeed.”

Those two indifferent words, a flat agreement, choked Zhao Fuhe—who had thought herself clever and dominating the conversation—into silence.

Zhao Fuhe’s smile stiffened, leaving her awkward, unsure whether to continue or stop.

“Since Mr. Gu is already in good hands here, and Tiandou has no one at home to care for her, I’ll leave you and your junior to catch up,” Ye Lanzhou said, having misunderstood the gravity of the accident due to a cryptic message and realizing now there was little cause for concern.

“Xia Xia.” As Wen Zhixia was about to leave, Gu Ping Sheng struggled out of bed.

“Senior, be careful, your arm—” Zhao Fuhe hurried to support him, then turned to Wen Zhixia with a reproachful tone. “Senior, how can you treat him like this? After all, he’s your husband. How could you be so heartless, not even sparing him a glance?”

Wen Zhixia watched the two of them—one supporting, one being supported—and laughed coldly. “So Mr. Gu is my husband? I thought he was yours, Junior Zhao.”

“If I had a husband like him, I’d never be as cold as you,” Zhao Fuhe replied, staring at her.

Gu Ping Sheng steadied himself and pushed Zhao Fuhe’s hand aside, frowning. “Go—”

“In that case, why not give him to you, Junior Zhao? That way, you two can stop flirting in secret, and I won’t have to worry about Mr. Gu’s health suffering from all the excitement,” Wen Zhixia said softly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Ye Lanzhou rubbed his nose as if he hadn’t heard a thing.

Gu Ping Sheng, about to ask Zhao Fuhe to leave, stopped short. His eyes turned icy as he looked at Wen Zhixia. “Do you know what you’re saying?!”

“My suggestion is worth considering, Mr. Gu,” Wen Zhixia replied with a faint smile.

There was a cold fury in Gu Ping Sheng’s expression. “Take back what you just said.”

Wen Zhixia’s lips curled with a mix of coldness and mockery, showing no sign of cooperating.

Zhao Fuhe took a hesitant step forward. “Senior, even if you misunderstand my relationship with him, you shouldn’t say things so hurtful. You—”

“Get out!” Gu Ping Sheng’s voice rang with anger.

At his outburst, Zhao Fuhe’s eyes flashed with delight, though she tried to maintain a calm facade. She sighed, “Senior, please don’t mind. He’s just upset. You should go home and rest. I’ll take good care of him—”

“Miss Zhao, I believe Ping Sheng is asking you to leave,” Ye Lanzhou “helpfully” reminded her.

Zhao Fuhe’s smile froze. She turned to see Gu Ping Sheng’s dark, stern face, leaving no doubt as to whom he wanted gone.

It felt like a resounding slap to the face, making it impossible for Zhao Fuhe to save face, no matter how hard she tried.

“Senior…”

Gu Ping Sheng stared at her coldly, saying nothing, but his meaning was abundantly clear.

Once Zhao Fuhe left, unwillingly, Ye Lanzhou followed suit, giving the couple privacy to resolve things themselves.

Gu Ping Sheng moved closer, his presence oppressive. “Are you really going to turn against me over a child who hasn’t even been born yet?” he asked coldly. “In front of outsiders, what do you think you’ve made of me?”

Wen Zhixia lifted her gaze, staring at him for several seconds before looking down with a cold laugh. “Who’s the outsider here? Lately, I feel like I’m the one who doesn’t belong. Gu Ping Sheng, don’t you think there’s something wrong between us? That Zhao Fuhe—no…”

She paused, realizing she was falling into a trap. Shaking her head, she continued, “No, I can’t blame the cracks in our marriage on another woman and ignore the real issue. If you were truly blameless, no amount of temptation would matter. The root of the problem is between us. Our marriage is sick…”

“There are no cracks, no temptresses. Zhao Fuhe isn’t the issue between us. Our marriage and our lives are just the same as before,” he said in a low voice.

“If that were true, Zhao Fuhe wouldn’t have appeared, nor would Jiang Wanwan. Ping Sheng, I want to trust you. You’re the one I trust most, I’d believe anything you say, agree to anything you ask. But now I feel like a blind person, handing you my hand and following you anywhere, only to realize you’re leading me into an abyss, not a world of flowers and warmth.” Even in anger, Wen Zhixia remained gentle and soft-spoken, incapable of hysteria.

As a child, she’d witnessed countless fights between her parents—screaming, breaking things, even slapping each other in rage. From the day she got married, she’d promised herself never to repeat their mistakes.

Perhaps even her parents never realized how terrifying and traumatizing their actions were to a young child. Or perhaps, in the heat of the moment, they simply didn’t care.

Wen Zhixia never wanted to become that kind of person.

“There’s been no change between us—you can still trust me,” Gu Ping Sheng whispered, gently caressing her cheek, his gaze sharp and focused solely on her.

Wen Zhixia stepped back, putting distance between them, and shook her head. “It’s not the same. Before, there were no other women around you. You once promised, no matter how high you rose or how much you owned, there would never be a second woman by your side. Can you even count how many times Zhao Fuhe has appeared before me?”

She felt wronged, but she was used to understanding, always trying to maintain their marriage.

Gu Ping Sheng took a deep breath, his voice dry. “Xia Xia, I promised to always treat you well, and that will never change.”

She looked at him for a long moment, then suddenly smiled. “You won’t even accept our child, and now you have a new lover. Maybe you really are too tired to treat me well anymore. But do I even care? Am I supposed to believe I can’t live without you?”

Hadn’t she lived just fine before he came into her life?

Why did it now seem as if she were the one pressing relentlessly?

“I’m the one who can’t live without you,” Gu Ping Sheng said, reaching out to wipe away the tears at the corners of her eyes. “I love you, Xia Xia. Only you. Don’t be angry with me. I’ll give you an explanation—but not now.”

Had it not been for the glistening traces he wiped away, Wen Zhixia wouldn’t even have known she was crying.

She brushed his hand aside, her eyes wistful and silent as she looked at him, full of lonely resignation. “We both know that the emptier the promise, the more sincere it must sound to be believed.”

When they started their business, they had no connections, no background, no network, no market, and lacked even a mature supply chain. Seeking sponsorships, investments, or partners required not only practical considerations but also a masterful performance and flawless rhetoric.

Promises had to be delivered beautifully, or the fish would never bite.

Gu Ping Sheng watched her retreating figure, lost in thought.

During his two days in the hospital, both Li Yueting and Zhao Fuhe visited, but Wen Zhixia did not come to see him, not even once.

If not for the security personnel at Lanhu Manor telling him she hadn’t left, Gu Ping Sheng would have thought she’d moved out.

Hua Qianjiao heard from Ye Lanzhou about their unhappy encounter at the hospital. “Sister Wen, are you upset with Mr. Gu because of the baby?”

Wen Zhixia forced a tired smile. “Even you can sense that something’s wrong between us, but he insists nothing has changed.”

Hua Qianjiao rested her chin in her palm. “Brother Lanzhou says Mr. Gu loves you.”

“But he can love others, too,” Wen Zhixia replied.

Hua Qianjiao blinked. “But there’s only one heart—how could it hold anyone else?”

“Yes, it’s strange, isn’t it? There’s only one heart, yet he wants to crowd several people into it. Imagine how cramped it must be for the one who was there first.”

Hua Qianjiao tugged at her skirt, disappointed. “So Mr. Gu is just like Qing Qi.”

Wen Zhixia fell silent at that.

That night, in her sleep, Wen Zhixia dreamed.

The cicadas sang endlessly at No. 2 High School. During lunch break, students either continued studying or napped at their desks, and those discussing questions kept their voices low so as not to disturb anyone else.

Gu Ping Sheng’s seat was behind and to the left of Wen Zhixia, but every day at noon, he’d swap seats with her desk mate under the pretense of wanting to learn from the top student.

Her desk mate, a quiet and agreeable girl, caved after only a couple of requests.

At first, Wen Zhixia frowned whenever she saw Gu Ping Sheng. She disliked trouble, and he was always sporting fresh bruises, with a foul temper to boot. Though they were nothing alike, he constantly gravitated toward her.

He just happened to have a beautiful face, with especially captivating eyes that charmed many girls.

After lunch break, girls from other classes would find any excuse to loiter near their classroom, just to catch a glimpse of the handsome campus bad boy.

“Top student, sorry to bother you again this noon,” Gu Ping Sheng said as the bell rang, one hand in his pocket, school jacket over his shoulder, swaying into the classroom. He placed a practice book and a small fried chicken meal on her desk.

Back then, foreign-brand fried chicken was a luxury for many, especially for Wen Zhixia, who had never even tasted it.

She didn’t touch it, so Gu Ping Sheng grabbed her hand and dragged her to the rooftop, wolf to her rabbit, tempting her, “Have a taste?”

“School rules say we can’t leave the classroom during lunch. The teachers will check,” she replied.

“Don’t worry, they won’t find out. Your desk mate will cover for us,” he promised.

Wen Zhixia wanted nothing to do with him; she turned to leave, but he stuffed a chicken wing into her mouth, his eyes mischievous. “Now you’re an accomplice.”

His lips curled with deliberate arrogance, bullying her for being quiet and obedient. “You’re an accomplice now, little top student. If you walk away, I’ll tell the teachers you snuck out with me to eat.”

Wen Zhixia glared at him and kicked him in the leg. “Rascal.”

As she turned away, his voice drifted behind her, “By the way, I locked the door on our way in.”

Wen Zhixia’s face flushed with anger. She was a model student, well-liked by teachers and classmates, and had never been bullied like this before. But he was so shameless that she had no way to deal with him.

“I’ll let you out if you answer one question,” Gu Ping Sheng offered, knowing not to push too far. After all, this was the girl who’d captured his heart at first sight.

She nodded, and he handed her some fries—a peace offering.

Watching her quietly nibble on the fries, he felt a strange itch in his heart, like a cat scratching him.

“I asked the teacher to switch seats last Friday. Why didn’t you agree?” Because she was a top student, the teacher consulted her first, not wanting to disrupt her studies.

She finished chewing, then looked up, her cool, clear eyes contemplating how to spare his feelings.

Gu Ping Sheng watched her eyes roam his face, then hesitate and fall silent.

“Well, is it so hard to sit with me?” he demanded.

“You’re a poor student, you’ve got a bad temper, you’re always fighting, always getting called to the office, girls from other classes come looking for you, and you break school rules…” She listed his offenses with earnest seriousness, showing no sign of stopping.

Gu Ping Sheng’s face darkened. “So I’m just a delinquent in your eyes?”

Even though Wen Zhixia wasn’t skilled at social niceties yet, she knew when to stop. Seeing his anger, she pressed her lips together and said no more.

“Well? Why aren’t you finishing?” he growled, biting into a chicken wing as if he were biting her.

She took a step back, ready to bolt.

But he was quick, blocking her escape. “Hey—damn, are you a dog?”

Wen Zhixia, trusting her instincts, bit down on his arm—striking first.

He instinctively reached to grab her collar and shake her off—his usual move in a fight—but seeing her lowered lashes as she bit him, he stopped, letting her be.

After a long moment, he asked, “Had enough?”

She let go, leaving a vivid bite mark on his arm, even drawing blood. “You, you…”

“Enough of that. Go tell the teacher you agree to switch seats, or I’ll report you for bullying me,” Gu Ping Sheng threatened.

…

In the monotony of Wen Zhixia’s quiet, uneventful school life, Gu Ping Sheng crashed in, heedless of boundaries, wrapping himself around her like a vine, as if he’d marked her as his from the very first glance.

No one dislikes being chosen with such certainty. Even someone as cool as Wen Zhixia was no exception.

She was awakened by the shrill vibration of her phone—a strange number. Half-asleep, she picked up, expecting a spam call, but instead heard Wang Haiqiong’s voice.

“Wen Zhixia, we’re leaving.” Wang Haiqiong, wrapped up in sunglasses, a mask, and a baseball cap, stood with Song Mingze in a wheelchair—an odd pair that drew stares at the airport.

“Safe travels.” Their relationship had never been close, so even parting was just a matter of courtesy.

Upon hearing her farewell, Wang Haiqiong paused, as if relieved of a burden. “Before I go, I owe you an apology. That video of you online a while back—it was me who leaked it. I’m sorry.”

Wen Zhixia opened her eyes fully now, staring at the ceiling. “I know.”

Wang Haiqiong was stunned. “You… yet you still…”

“Never mind. I’m sorry for what I did, and we probably won’t meet again. Thank you for your forgiveness. Goodbye.”

“Safe travels,” Wen Zhixia repeated.

If happiness is too hard to come by right now, if joy is fleeting, then let me wish you safety.

Wang Haiqiong stared at her phone in the busy airport for a long time, lost in thought.

“Who were you calling just now?” Song Mingze asked. “A close friend?”

Wang Haiqiong snapped out of it and pushed his wheelchair. “An enemy.”

He looked at her in surprise, then nodded. “Is it that Miss Wen you always mention?”

“Do I talk about her that much?”

“Ever since I woke up, you mention her more than anyone else—always as a rival who effortlessly steals your thunder, takes the projects meant for you, so cold and self-assured…”

Wang Haiqiong paused, then smiled wistfully. “I guess I’ve said a lot about her.”

She hadn’t realized it herself, but so much of her animosity stemmed from jealousy—and perhaps envy, too. She envied Wen Zhixia’s abilities and luck, but also the purity she herself lacked.

Now, with the past behind her—her beauty ruined, everything she’d clung to lost—she finally gained her freedom.

The plane took off, leaving Sifang City far behind.

Wen Zhixia opened her curtains and, by chance, saw a plane streak across the sky. She glanced at it and went to brush her teeth.

The toothbrush and toothpaste should have left her mouth minty, but instead there was a metallic taste.

She rinsed several times before the taste of blood from bleeding gums faded.

Wen Zhixia knew that early pregnancy could bring all sorts of symptoms, so she didn’t think much of it.

As she scrolled through her phone, she saw a post about a corporate chairman thrown out by his wife for cheating—the face was pixelated, but she instantly recognized Zheng Xuancheng.

After being thrown out by Qian Hongdan and left with nothing, Zheng Xuancheng tried to rebuild his fortunes, assuming his old connections would help him easily find investment.

Maybe he’d just gotten too used to riding Qian’s family coattails and forgotten how ruthless the business world could be. Without value, without the ability to generate value for others, why would anyone help you—or lend you money?

For your stupidity? Your disability? Or your ingratitude and betrayal?

After repeated failures, Zheng Xuancheng not only failed to borrow money but lost all dignity as well.

No one needed to target him—his life would be miserable enough from now on.

On yet another occasion when Zheng Xuancheng was thrown out and cursing his old friends as heartless bastards, he suddenly saw a pair of women’s high heels and a face almost entirely hidden behind large sunglasses and a hat. “Mr. Zheng, have you ever wondered who’s really responsible for your fall from grace?”

He squinted up at her. “Who are you?”

She laughed softly. “Who I am doesn’t matter. What matters is that I’m here to remind you: don’t blame the wrong person. Qian Hongdan didn’t turn on you out of nowhere—someone fueled the fire. First, she set you up to be caught cheating, then told her husband you’d insulted her, which led to your downfall. You offended her, so no one dares help you now, especially since her husband is still powerful.”

“You mean… Wen Zhixia.” Zheng Xuancheng gripped the wheels of his chair, teeth clenched.

“Whoever it is, you know better than I do. I just think it’s unfair that you’re the one everyone despises, while she’s safe and sound, building her happiness on your misery. Isn’t that unjust?”

Through her sunglasses, the woman watched his face grow twisted with rage, then placed a stack of cash on his lap and walked away.