Gu Beichen set her down and strode to Su Mumu’s side. “Mumu.”
“Get a doctor in here!”
A moment later, a swarm of doctors arrived and surrounded Su Mumu. After Gu Beichen carried her back into the ward, he stepped out and looked at Jiang Yousheng with icy eyes. “I won’t pursue the matter with Lin Yang further. You can return to the company and continue working. It’s late; let Jiang Huai take you back.”
“President Gu, Miss Su is in a lot of pain. She keeps calling for you,” a nurse said, stepping out with an anxious expression.
Su Mumu was lying on the hospital bed, her face deathly pale; she truly looked to be suffering. Without further delay, he entered the ward to stay by her side.
“Secretary Jiang, President Gu asked me to see you home.” Jiang Huai had been standing nearby the entire time, clutching the car keys. “Miss Su’s situation is unique; President Gu can’t get away right now.”
The subtext was clear: Gu Beichen had no time to coddle her. She needed to be obedient and behave—otherwise, if she offended him further, she would truly be tossed out on the street. Jiang Huai’s words were a direct reflection of Gu Beichen’s stance. He himself showed her no warmth, his expression cold and his body language suggesting he didn’t particularly want to drive her at all.
Jiang Yousheng offered a polite, hollow smile and raised her phone. “I won’t trouble Special Assistant Jiang. I’ve already called a ride-share.”
“It’s hard to get a car at this hour. Besides, please don’t make things difficult for me, Secretary Jiang.” Jiang Huai’s expression grew even colder, blaming her for adding to his workload with her “drama.” “This is President Gu’s order.”
A kept woman with zero self-awareness, he thought.
Jiang Yousheng didn’t persist. She followed him into the Cullinan. Back at her place, she immediately rushed to take a shower. It was only when she stepped out that she noticed several missed calls, all from Jiang Li.
“Mom,” Jiang Yousheng said, wearing her nightgown and drying her hair with a towel as she returned the call. “I’ve been a bit busy lately.”
“Busy with what? I heard you haven’t even been to the office,” Jiang Li snapped. “Sheng Sheng, don’t you know how to be sensible and ambitious? If you keep this up, Beichen won’t want you anymore. That woman Su Mumu is back. I ran into Wu Man today, and from what she says, Su Mumu returned to the country this time to get engaged to Beichen.”
“Sheng Sheng, it’s not that I want to nag you, but you should never have divorced Beichen. It’s been a year, and you haven’t found a way to get him to remarry you.” Her tone grew increasingly high-pitched and sharp. “When are you going to grow up and help carry the burden for this family? Su Mumu knows how to capture a man’s heart—why are you so useless?”
Jiang Li used to be the wife of Haicheng’s wealthiest man, accustomed to a life of luxury and being fawned over wherever she went. Since the Jiang family’s bankruptcy, she was like a rat in a gutter, barely surviving in a decrepit, old apartment. Every time she encountered the socialites from her past, she was mocked and ridiculed.
She couldn’t handle the fall from grace, especially when facing Wu Man. They were former classmates who had always despised each other. Back then, she was Mrs. Jiang, and Wu Man was nothing but a mistress kept in the shadows. Now, Wu Man had officially entered the Su family as the mistress of the house, and thanks to her daughter, Gu Beichen took great care of the Su family business. The Sus had transformed from low-class parvenus into Haicheng’s new nobility. Wu Man took every opportunity to mock her, and it was driving Jiang Li to the brink of insanity.
“Mom, it’s impossible for Gu Beichen and me to remarry…” Jiang Yousheng felt a knot of irritation in her chest.
“Then how will you get the company back? Sheng Sheng, Tengsheng originally belonged to our Jiang family; it must be reclaimed.” Jiang Li prattled on incessantly. Her father, Jiang Mingsheng, chimed in with a few words about him being a “mere illegitimate son.”
Deep down, Jiang Mingsheng still looked down on Gu Beichen as a son-in-law. When she divorced, he had supported the decision. Now, both parents wanted her to find a way to remarry him and take back what belonged to the Jiangs.
“Mom…”
Jiang Li didn’t wait for her to speak before letting out a piercing shriek. “Shut up! If your brother were still here, I wouldn’t have to rely on you. If it weren’t for you, your brother wouldn’t have been lost!”
“Jiang Yousheng, you’re nothing but a jinx!”
Jiang Mingsheng coughed forcefully. “Stop it, Sheng Sheng is hurting too…”
“She’s hurting? Do you think I feel good? If she had any talent at all, how could she fail to even hold onto a man!” Jiang Li screamed.
Jiang Yousheng was already in tears. She had a fraternal twin brother who had snuck out to play with her when they were very young. He had gone astray and was lost. Since then, Jiang Li had resented her, constantly asking why it wasn’t her who disappeared instead of him. Her brother had been brilliant and sharp; if he hadn’t been lost, the Jiang family might not have fallen to this state.
Jiang Li’s voice was full of venom. “If your brother were here, the Jiang family wouldn’t have gone bankrupt. Jiang Yousheng, you truly are useless. If it weren’t for you, the company wouldn’t have failed and your brother wouldn’t be gone. It’s all your fault! I’m telling you, bring Gu Beichen back for dinner tomorrow. If you can’t even manage that, then don’t bother coming home. I’ll consider myself as having no daughter.”
With that, Jiang Li hung up the phone.