Gu Hong clenched his fists, his face dark with fury and humiliation. “Providing for this family isn’t just my responsibility—it’s yours too! Otherwise, why else would I have married you?”
Shu Juan glanced at him and said calmly, “Go to hell.”
Gu Hong: “You—!”
Shu Juan’s drastic transformation left Gu Hong struggling to adapt.
She used to be gentle, considerate, and sensible—now she was like a madwoman.
Gu Hong had originally planned to use her to get his promotion, then let her know that he had committed adultery and destroyed their marriage, so that he could keep her firmly under his thumb. Even if he wanted a divorce, the fault would be hers, and she wouldn’t have a word to say about it.
And she was still somewhat capable of earning money, so after the divorce, she’d still have to pay child support for Gu Qianqian.
Wasn’t that the best of both worlds?
But he never expected her to find out.
This crazy woman was simply unreasonable!
Gu Hong was furious beyond measure, raising his hand to strike her across the face.
Shu Juan didn’t flinch. “Go ahead, hit me. If you dare lay a finger on me today, I’ll call the police and make sure you’re ruined—your reputation destroyed and your career in shambles!”
Gu Hong’s hand stopped mid-air, veins bulging on his forehead.
Shu Juan remained perfectly composed. “You have parents, a son, a house, and a car. I’m an orphan with nothing to my name. The barefoot aren’t afraid of those wearing shoes—you have far more to lose than I do.
“Let’s see how the neighbors gossip about you, a wife-beater, and whether your company would still dare to keep you on!”
In the end, Gu Hong withdrew his hand, grinding his teeth in utter disappointment. “Shu Juan, what have you become! If you’d just been a little more sensible, we wouldn’t have ended up like this!”
Shu Juan sneered. “If I were any more sensible, you’d have eaten me alive, bones and all! Isn’t this fine now? If you won’t let me have a good life, then nobody gets one.”
No matter how much Zhou Hui and Gu Jianguo pressed her, Shu Juan refused to hand over any money for living expenses, forcing Gu Hong to cover them himself.
When Zhou Hui spent money given by Shu Juan, she never felt a pang of guilt. But now that she was using Gu Hong’s money, she started pinching pennies here and there.
After all, her son worked hard for his money, whereas Shu Juan’s money seemed to come out of thin air.
Shu Juan had no grand plan—she simply intended to grind this family down and repay everything she had suffered.
Divorce? That could wait until she’d had her fill of making their lives miserable!
As long as she refused to divorce, the woman outside would forever be the mistress!
Even if they divorced, the initiative would be in her hands—Gu Hong had no right to bring it up!
But unexpected things always came without warning.
A month or so later, Shu Juan’s period didn’t come, and she felt unwell. She went to the hospital for a check-up, and sure enough, she was pregnant.
She sat in the corridor, staring at the test report in her hands, lost in thought for a long time.
Just because of that one night, she was pregnant.
She didn’t even know who the father was.
She thought long and hard about whether to keep the child or not.
She couldn’t stay tangled up with Gu Hong’s family forever. Gu Qianqian hated her, and she didn’t want custody anyway. She was alone in this world, and in the end, the only thing that would truly belong to her would be this child.
Eventually, she got up and left the hospital.
That afternoon, Zhou Hui picked up Gu Qianqian and came home. She stormed in, and the sight of Shu Juan only made her angrier. She shrieked, “Those old biddies downstairs are gossiping that you’re pregnant with Hong’s second child! What’s going on! Our Hong wouldn’t touch you if you were the last woman on earth—why would he ever want a second child with you!”
Shu Juan said flatly, “It’s true. I really am pregnant with a second child.”
Zhou Hui needed a moment to process it, and when it sank in, it hit her like a thunderbolt. Trembling with rage, she cursed, “Truly a slut birthing a bastard!”
She immediately pulled out her phone and called Gu Hong, her hands shaking with fury. “Hong! You need to come home tonight!”
That evening, Gu Hong returned home. Before he could even ask what was going on, Zhou Hui—not bothering to shield Gu Qianqian from the conversation—laid into him directly. “Hong! This shameless woman got herself knocked up by some random man, and she’s going around telling everyone it’s your second child! Disgraceful, utterly shameless! Now all those gossiping old hags in the neighborhood know about it!”
Gu Jianguo sat in the living room with a grim face, smoking in silence.
Gu Hong, upon hearing this, exploded. He roared at Shu Juan, “What a filthy slut you are!”
Shu Juan remained unmoved.
Gu Hong commanded, “Get rid of that bastard tomorrow! If you don’t care about your reputation, we still care about ours!”