While they waited, she and the kidnapper talked about family, children and marriage.
The kidnapper once had a happy family, with a virtuous wife and a bright young daughter.
To give his wife and daughter a better life, he invested in a project, only to be scammed out of every penny he owned.
He told Xia Xing that even if his debts were cleared, he would still end up in prison.
Yet he did not want his wife and daughter hounded by debt collectors; he longed to leave them a peaceful future.
Xia Xing’s heart was filled with a tangled mix of emotions.
Shouts from police and negotiators outside drifted in nonstop.
The kidnapper’s frantic mood gradually steadied.
“You know, rich folks don’t live such perfect happy lives either,” he said.
“If it weren’t for me, you’d be dead today.
All I lost is money, but you… could have lost your life.”
The kidnapper checked the time, stunned to see how much time had passed.
A flicker of pity crept into his gaze as he looked at her.
“Girl, thank you for talking with me for so long.
Compared to you, maybe I’m not doing so badly after all.
Forget it.
You can go…”
His move to release her was misread by the officers keeping a close watch on him.
A deafening crack of gunfire rang out, and the kidnapper crumpled to the ground.
Warm blood splattered across her face.
At that moment, Xia Xing’s mind went completely blank.
It was the first time she had watched a living human being die right before her eyes.
After the kidnapper was shot dead, police and medics rushed in to help her.
And in the end, Gu Huaijin never called her back.
When she was taken to the hospital for examinations, she ran into Lin Susu, who had just come out of the operating room.
It was then that Gu Huaijin remembered her call.
“You phoned me earlier, saying you’d been kidnapped?”
Zhuang Yi sneered beside him.
“Oh?
If you were kidnapped, how come you’re here?
This is just a cheap ploy to grab Ajin’s attention!
Ajin, look at her — where’s her injury?
Kidnapped?
Hahaha, she can’t even pull off a convincing act!”
At that moment, Lin Susu, who had just regained consciousness, spoke as well.
“Miss Xia, if it’s too troublesome for you to bring my medicinal soup, you don’t have to.
Please don’t play such dreadful jokes ever again!”
Zhuang Yi and Lin Susu took turns speaking, instantly dismissing her kidnapping ordeal as a deliberate stunt for his attention, nothing more than a joke.
And yet, Gu Huaijin could have verified the truth with just a little investigation and found out she really had been kidnapped.
But he did not.
All his focus rested on Lin Susu.
How could he spare a thought for whether she lived or died?
From that day onward, her heart slowly died. This story is hosted at novelping.com.
Even now, he still believed that desperate phone call had been nothing but her scheme to draw his gaze.
Xia Xing’s face was devoid of emotion.
“If you think I’m playing tricks, then meet me at the Civil Affairs Bureau at nine tomorrow morning.”
Xia Xing had brought up divorce time and again, and it filled Gu Huaijin with growing irritation.
Gu Huaijin said coldly, “Xia Xing, I have no time for your unreasonable tantrums.
Moreover, I detest women who use divorce as a threat.
These past weeks, you’ve picked on Susu repeatedly, and I’ve overlooked it.
You need to know when to stop.”
Xia Xing looked at his sharp, handsome features and let out a soft laugh.
“If you don’t want me to hurt your precious Susu, sign the divorce papers quickly.
Otherwise…” Her red lips parted gently.
“As long as you refuse to sign, I will make sure Lin Susu has no peace in the days ahead.”
A hint of impatience crossed the man’s striking brows.
The way he looked at her was as if he was staring at a quarrelsome shrew.
“Xia Xing, I have explained this countless times.
Susu and I are not what you imagine.
Can you stop being so suspicious?”
Xia Xing replied indifferently.
“What kind of relationship you share with Lin Susu means nothing to me.
I have already signed the divorce agreement.
When shall we go through the formalities?”
“Divorce?” A cold smirk tugged at Gu Huaijin’s thin lips.
“Xia Xing, for the past five years, you’ve been a full-time housewife with no job.
If you divorce me, what will you do out there?
I doubt you can even secure the most basic living expenses.”
“Besides, Ziting will never be yours.
Even if we go to court, with no job or income, you stand no chance of winning custody.
Xia Xing, a smart woman knows when to yield.
Push this too far, and it will only backfire.”
A cold emptiness settled deep in Xia Xing’s heart.
So all her years of devotion had earned her no gratitude at all.
Instead, they had become her weakness, a bargaining chip for others to hold over her.
Even Gu Ziting, whom she had raised from infancy, felt nothing but resentment toward her.
She truly had failed at life.
Xia Xing stared straight into Gu Huaijin’s eyes and spoke slowly, word by word.
“No job, no income?
Before I gave birth to Gu Ziting, I had a respectable job and earned a decent salary.”
“It was you people who said you did not trust leaving Ziting with outsiders like nannies, and asked me to quit my job to care for him.”
Gu Huaijin frowned.
“The salary you earned back then was insignificant.
It was better for you to stay home and focus on raising Ziting.”
Xia Xing clenched her fists.
Gu, who makes a fortune every day.
But what I earned was enough to support myself!”
“At the very least, I would not be mocked by your family as a leech.
Nor would your friends sneer at me nonstop, calling me a housewife who lives off you!”
How tragic.
She had sacrificed so much, giving up the career she loved for her family and child.
In the end, she was the one everyone looked down on.
Gu Huaijin’s brows drew tight.
“Xia Xing, do you care so much about what others think?
Besides, Ayi and the others meant no harm.”
No harm?
Lin Susu knew how to hide her malice.
But Zhuang Yi’s ill will was written plainly across his face.
And Gu Huaijin could still claim Zhuang Yi meant no harm.
Was he blind?
Xia Xing suddenly smiled faintly.
“Since you are so noble and unaffected by others’ opinions, why do you care so much about what I said to Lin Susu?”
“Besides, I hold no ill will toward Miss Lin.
Why is Mr.
Gu so furious?
I was merely joking with her.”
The expression on Gu Huaijin’s face faded.
“Xia Xing, are you determined to keep acting out like this?”
When pain cuts deep enough, you grow numb.
Those piercing words that once wounded her now barely stung.
Xia Xing’s eyes held a resolve he had never seen before.
“Gu Huaijin, I am set on this divorce!”
For a split second, Gu Huaijin was stunned, yet he quickly regained his composure.
“Remember what you’ve said today.
Don’t come crawling back to me in tears.”
Xia Xing let out a cold laugh.
“Rest assured, Mr.
Gu.
That day will never come.”
Gu Huaijin lowered his gaze to her, his voice deep and frigid.
“Mrs.
Gu, you ought to know better than to make such bold claims.
Leave yourself a fallback.”
Xia Xing tilted her head to meet Gu Huaijin’s eyes and smiled.
“You’re right.
But you will never, ever be my fallback.”