At 1:00 AM.
Xia Xing suddenly stumbled upon Lin Susu’s social media post.
“Thank you, Mr.
Gu, and little Ziting for the gift.
Ziting made this cup all by himself, you know.”
Xia Xing tapped on the photo.
A necklace and a handmade DIY mug came into view.
If she looked closely, she could even make out the words carved on the mug: “Happy Birthday, Mom.”
Xia Xing subconsciously glanced at the dining table.
The dinner had long gone cold, and the birthday cake still sat there, its candles unlit.
A self-deprecating smile touched the corners of her lips.
She remembered a breaking news alert that had popped up on her phone not long ago.
“Confirmed!
Gu Huaijin, the famously aloof and untouchable elite of Beijing, has actually been secretly married and has a five-year-old son!”
In the photo, a tall, handsome man and a slender, beautiful woman were holding hands with a five-year-old boy, strolling through an amusement park.
Lin Susu was smiling gently as she stroked Gu Ziting’s head, while Gu Huaijin gazed at her quietly, his eyes filled with an unprecedented focus and tenderness.
A handsome couple and a little boy who looked exactly like Gu Huaijin…
they truly looked like a happy family of three.
Today was her birthday.
It was also the fifth anniversary of her marriage to Gu Huaijin.
Yet, the one celebrating a birthday didn’t seem to be her, but rather Lin Susu.
Her husband and son had not only spent her birthday with Lin Susu, but they had also given away the gift that was meant for her.
Xia Xing wasn’t surprised at all.
She was already used to it.
Lin Susu was Gu Huaijin’s first love, suffering from a terminal illness with only a year left to live.Her dying wish was simply to see him one last time.
Gu Huaijin had told her that he wanted to do something for Lin Susu in her final days, and he hoped she could understand.
Xia Xing didn’t want to understand at all, but she knew she couldn’t stop him.
Because that was the first time Gu Huaijin had notified her with such a solemn expression.
Her heart felt as though a piece of it had been carved out, leaving behind an empty, aching void.
She didn’t know how long she had sat there in the dark.
Suddenly, the sound of the front door opening came from the entrance.
Gu Huaijin walked in, carrying Gu Ziting.
Seeing Xia Xing sitting in the dining room, Gu Huaijin clearly paused, momentarily stunned.
He seemed to have completely forgotten what day it was, looking at her in surprise.
“Why are you still awake?”
Xia Xing replied in a flat tone, “I have something I want to discuss with you.”
Gu Huaijin frowned slightly, looking down at Gu Ziting.
“Ziting, go upstairs and rest first.”
Rubbing his eyes and yawning, Gu Ziting walked past Xia Xing.
But as if struck by a sudden thought, the boy’s footsteps faltered.
“Mom, happy birthday.”
Gu Ziting tilted his head up, his beautiful eyes—a perfect mirror of Gu Huaijin’s—staring at her.
“Dad and I didn’t mean to forget your birthday.
It’s just that we have the rest of our lives to spend together as a family, but the pretty lady only has six months left.”
“You’re not going to be mad at us over something so small, are you, Mom?”
Xia Xing wasn’t sure which hurt more: being forgotten on her birthday, or being deliberately ignored despite them remembering perfectly well.
After Gu Ziting left, the air fell into a heavy silence.
Gu Huaijin was the first to speak, breaking the quiet.
“What did you want to talk about?”
The man wore a crisp white shirt and black slacks.
His features were strikingly handsome, his aura as crisp and cold as snow.
He was like a distant, unreachable moon in the night sky.
Cold.
Detached.Xia Xing took a deep breath.
“Gu Huaijin, let’s get a divorce.”
A faint ripple disturbed the surface of Gu Huaijin’s gaze, like a breeze sweeping across a lake.
But just as quickly, it vanished without a trace.
“Xia Xing, I didn’t forget your birthday.
I prepared a gift for you long ago.”
“A gift?”
Xia Xing let out a light, mocking laugh.
“Weren’t you the one who gave my mother’s necklace to Miss Lin?”
That necklace had been left to Xia Xing by her late mother.
She had lost it on the day she gave birth to Ziting.
Gu Huaijin had promised to find it for her.
He did find it, only to give it to Lin Susu.
Gu Huaijin’s expression remained indifferent, showing not a hint of embarrassment at being called out.
Only his deep, dark eyes seemed a shade darker than usual.
“I only lent that necklace to Susu.
She will return it to you in due time.”
“In due time?”
Xia Xing countered.
“You mean on the day she dies?”
“Xia Xing!”
A sharp, cold voice cut her off.
A flash of anger surfaced in the man’s deep brows, completely at odds with his usual aloof and indifferent demeanor.
“That’s enough.”
Enough.
Yes, she had definitely had enough.
She had had enough of a husband whose heart belonged to someone else, a son she couldn’t bond with, and a husband’s family that looked down on her.
Gu Huaijin said, “Susu only has six months left.
Even Ziting knows how to be tolerant, so why must you be so petty?”
In that moment, Xia Xing suddenly didn’t want to hold back anymore.
She heard her own cold voice say, “How much time she has left has nothing to do with me.
She isn’t anyone to me, so why should I tolerate her?”
Gu Huaijin seemed taken aback that his usually docile wife would say something so harsh.His eyes seemed to frost over with shattered ice.
“Xia Xing, I thought we had reached an understanding.”
Xia Xing smiled faintly.
“She wants to relive the romance of her first love, so I have to sit back and watch you two fall in love all over again?”
“She wants to experience what it feels like to be married, so you hand over the wedding I meticulously planned to Lin Susu?”
“You make me watch the three of you—holding Gu Ziting’s hand—step into the hall of marriage together.”
“She wants to see all the beautiful scenery in the world, so you take her on a trip around the globe.”
“If she wanted the moon from the sky, you would probably find a way to pluck it down for her, wouldn’t you?”
During their five years of secret marriage, they had never held a wedding.
Once, Gu Ziting suddenly asked what his mother looked like in a wedding dress.
Only then did Gu Huaijin decide to hold a belated ceremony, telling her she could have everything exactly the way she wanted.
She had spent half a year preparing for it, only for Lin Susu to snatch it away with a single sentence.
Gu Huaijin’s gaze turned completely ice-cold.
“Xia Xing, you’ve crossed a line.”
Crossed a line…
Xia Xing felt her chest tighten.
She closed her eyes in sheer disappointment.
Throughout their marriage, she had tried so hard to be a perfect wife and mother.
Yet no matter how hard she tried, Gu Huaijin had always been indifferent toward her.
She used to think he was just naturally cold and aloof.
Only when his white moonlight returned did she realize that this man, known to the world as a detached and ascetic Buddha-like figure, actually had a fiercely passionate side.
She picked up the divorce agreement she had prepared on the table.
“I’ve already signed it.
Sign it as soon as possible.
If she can become the true Mrs.
Gu before she passes, I’m sure she would be much happier.”
Gu Huaijin pressed his thin lips into a tight line, his handsome face covered in a layer of frost.
This was a clear sign of his extreme displeasure.
“What about Ziting?”
Xia Xing’s voice was barely a whisper.
“He belongs to the Gu family.”
Just as he was about to say something else, the phone in his pocket suddenly rang.
“Huaijin, something terrible happened!
Susu suddenly fainted and has been rushed to the emergency room!”