Gu Huaijin felt a flicker of impatience and said coldly, “Enough.”
Zhuang Yi was about to say more when Lin Susu stopped him, shaking her head at him.
“All right, A Yi.
Today is Xingzhou’s birthday.
Let’s go inside.”
Seeing that Gu Huaijin’s expression had turned grim, Zhuang Yi dared not press the matter further.
…
Inside the private room, Yu Yan had wanted to call in a few male escorts, but Xia Xing insisted against it, so she had to give up regretfully.
“The male escorts here are top-tier, with amazing bodies!
Those eight-pack abs… wow, absolutely incredible.
If you touch them, you’ll know—they’re utterly addictive.”
Xia Xing said, “I’m planning to divorce Gu Huaijin.
We need to be extra careful during this period and not let them get hold of any evidence against me.
I don’t want anything to go wrong.”
Yu Yan nodded thoughtfully.
“You’re right.
We don’t want them to turn it around and frame us.”
Restless by nature, Yu Yan abandoned the idea of male escorts and started ordering songs to sing instead.
Some time later, Xia Xing’s phone vibrated.
She glanced at the caller ID and saw it was Jiang Panzhou.
She gestured to Yu Yan and stepped outside to answer the call.
Jiang Panzhou was calling to tell her about his plan to set up a studio.
His contract with the talent agency was due to expire soon, and since Xia Xing was thinking of making a comeback, Jiang Panzhou wanted to launch an independent studio.
Xia Xing agreed to the idea right away.
After hanging up, Xia Xing headed to the restroom.
When she came out, she ran into Lin Susu touching up her makeup at the sink.
Xia Xing shot her a glance, then looked away indifferently.
She turned on the faucet, washed her hands, and was about to leave when Lin Susu called out to her.
“Ms.
Xia.”
Xia Xing turned to face her.
“What can I do for you?”
Lin Susu smiled faintly and pulled something out of her handbag.
“Take a look at this, Ms.
Xia.”
In Lin Susu’s hand was an antique-style amulet. Find the original chapter at g.com.
Xia Xing’s brows twitched, and her breath caught for a moment.
Lin Susu smiled.
“Zi Ting told me this amulet was the one you knelt for an entire day and night at the temple to pray for, when he was ill.”
Xia Xing kept her tone flat.
“What are you trying to say, Ms.
Lin?”
Lin Susu shook the amulet in her hand.
“Zi Ting said his fever broke right after you brought this back.
So he gave it to me, hoping it would help me recover too.”
When Gu Ziting was three years old, he suddenly fell critically ill from a high fever.
Doctors tried everything, physical cooling and medication alike, yet his temperature would not come down.
They had already told the family to prepare for the worst, and Gu Ziting was taken back home.
Gu Huaijin’s sister, seeing how much the child was suffering, even suggested giving him a euthanasia injection so he could pass away without pain.
Xia Xing refused to give up on him, resorting to desperate measures.
Since modern medicine could do nothing, she turned to the gods and Buddha.
Whether it was mere coincidence or a genuine miracle, his fever began to subside the moment she returned with the amulet.
After that, Gu Ziting’s health gradually improved.
Back when Gu Ziting still clung to her, he had told her: “This amulet is what Mom prayed for me.
I will wear it every day and treasure it.”
She never imagined that one day this amulet would end up in Lin Susu’s possession.
Lin Susu lifted her hand and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, revealing an emerald jade bracelet on her wrist.
The lustrous green jade shimmered with a gentle glow.
Yet the soft hue felt strangely glaring to the eye.
Xia Xing’s pupils constricted sharply.
This bracelet was a Gu family heirloom, passed down to daughters-in-law.
But Mrs.
Gu, Gu Huaijin’s mother, had never approved of her and treated her coldly, so she had never received it.
Even after Xia Xing gave birth to Gu Ziting, Mrs.
Gu remained unfriendly.
Xia Xing knew Mrs.
Gu favored proper society ladies, and she did not even fully accept Lin Susu either.
According to Gu Huaijin’s sister, Mrs.
Gu had a hand in ending Gu Huaijin and Lin Susu’s relationship years ago.
Ironically, Gu Huaijin had then married her, someone even less satisfactory in their eyes.
No one in the Gu family thought she was good enough.
Even the servants mocked and scorned her, convinced she had trapped Gu Huaijin on purpose to marry into wealth.
Gu could not bear the sight of her.
She was banned from entering the old Gu residence for festivals and holidays.
Later, as Gu Ziting grew older, he bore a strong resemblance to Gu Huaijin and turned out bright and clever.
For the boy’s sake, Mrs.
Gu finally let her into the house.
She had given the heirloom jade bracelet to Gu Ziting, telling him to pass it on to his future wife.
Xia Xing once asked to see it, but Gu Ziting refused.
He had said solemnly, “Grandma says this bracelet is for my future wife.
If I lose or break it, I’ll never have a wife.”
At the time, Xia Xing had been amused by his precocious words.
Now, the memory felt bitterly ironic.
Lin Susu noticed her gaze and smiled faintly, her eyes glinting with provocation and triumph.
“Zi Ting gave me this bracelet too.
He said it’s the heirloom for Gu daughters-in-law.
He wouldn’t even let his mother borrow it.”
Xia Xing said nothing, watching her perform.
Sure enough, Lin Susu went on smiling.
“He gave this to me because he wants me to be his mother and become the Gu family’s daughter-in-law.”
“Oh, you probably don’t know.
There’s a parent-child activity this weekend.
Both father and mother have to attend.”
A parent-child activity?
Xia Xing suddenly remembered that Gu Huaijin had come home early for dinner a few days before.
While she was in the kitchen fetching soup, she had overheard Gu Ziting talking to Gu Huaijin about something.
She caught fragments of their conversation: “activity”, “Aunt Susu”.
The moment she came back into the room, Gu Ziting fell silent.
He had clearly not wanted her to hear.
At that time, the mere thought of Lin Susu made Xia Xing feel sick.
She had not wanted to ruin their rare family dinner, so she did not ask any questions.
So that was what they had been discussing.
Lin Susu’s voice pulled Xia Xing back from her thoughts.
“Zi Ting also said that all the other kids’ mothers are socialites, wealthy young ladies, or at minimum celebrities.
But his mother is just a housewife.
He thinks it’s embarrassing.”
She covered her mouth and chuckled, leaning in to whisper, “Do you know what he tells people about you?
He says you’re the Gu family’s maid, and that’s why you drop him off and pick him up from school every day.”