Xia Xing turned her head to see Gu Ziting standing right behind Gu Huaijin.
Even as he spoke to her, his worried gaze remained fixed entirely on Lin Susu.
In the past, whenever Lin Susu experienced even the slightest disturbance, both Gu Huaijin and Gu Ziting would panic as if the sky were falling.
Once, the four of them had gone to a park together.
No one knew whether Lin Susu had fainted from the summer heat or if her illness had suddenly flared up.
All they knew was that she had inexplicably collapsed out of nowhere.
Gu Huaijin and Gu Ziting had rushed toward her at the exact same time.In his desperate haste, Gu Huaijin had even shoved Xia Xing to the ground.
Yet, not a single one of them had noticed.
The most ironic part was that, afterward, Gu Huaijin had seen the bandages on her injured hand and casually asked her how she had gotten hurt.
A frail, breathless voice interrupted Xia Xing’s memories.
“Ziting, I lost my balance on my own.
It has nothing to do with your mother.”
Lin Susu shook her head at Gu Ziting, tears spilling from the corners of her eyes as she looked utterly pitiful.
“It’s just my useless body…
always causing trouble…”
Gu Ziting pouted.
“But I saw you push Auntie Susu with my own eyes.
“With that, he turned to look at Xia Xing, his expression dead serious.
“Mom, you’ve taught me since I was little that I must admit my mistakes and apologize when I’m wrong.
As an adult…
you wouldn’t break your own word, would you?”
Xia Xing had spared no effort in nursing Gu Ziting’s health back to strength.
Yet, when it came to his daily education, she had barely had to lift a finger.
At merely five years old, Gu Ziting had already mastered three languages and possessed extraordinary eloquence.
Despite his young age, there were times when he could leave adults completely speechless.
Gu Huaijin’s mother had often remarked that Gu Ziting’s sharp intellect was a perfect reflection of Gu Huaijin’s own childhood.
And now, this brilliant child was using his intellect against his own mother, all to defend his pretty lady.
As an adult and Gu Ziting’s mother, she naturally had to set an example.
If she couldn’t practice what she preached, how could she ever expect her child to do so?
If she broke her word today, how would she ever educate him in the future?
Xia Xing gazed at the two figures—one tall, one small—crowding protectively around Lin Susu.
Suddenly, it felt as though they were the real family, and she was merely an outsider.
Although she had long since abandoned any expectations from this father-son pair, seeing Gu Ziting’s attitude still caused an unavoidable pang of pain in her heart.
She lowered her gaze to meet Gu Ziting’s eyes.
“You’re right.
I did tell you that you must apologize when you do something wrong.
But…”
Xia Xing paused, enunciating every single word clearly, “I haven’t done anything wrong.
Why should I apologize?”
If this were the past, Xia Xing would have undoubtedly compromised for Gu Ziting’s sake.
But today, she didn’t.
Gu Ziting blurted out defensively, “I clearly saw you push Auntie Susu!”
Xia Xing didn’t bother defending herself.
Instead, she offered a faint smile.
“Who says that just because I pushed her, it means I was in the wrong?”
“But Mom said hitting people is bad…”
Xia Xing’s voice remained calm and indifferent.
“I also told you that we must never bully others, but we must absolutely never allow ourselves to be bullied.
If someone keeps crossing your boundaries, then…
you must never show them mercy.”
Although Gu Ziting was smart, he was still only a five-year-old child.
He hadn’t expected his mother to say something like this.
For a moment, he froze, completely at a loss for words.
Just then, Jiang Panzhou’s voice rang out from the side.
“Ziting, you shouldn’t speak to your mother like that.”
Hearing Jiang Panzhou’s voice, both Gu Huaijin and Gu Ziting turned toward him, as if only just realizing he was there.
Gu Ziting stared in a daze.
“Uncle Jiang?”
Gu Huaijin, however, knitted his brows tightly.
“Why is it you?”
As Xia Xing’s senior fellow disciple and childhood friend, Gu Huaijin had met Jiang Panzhou many times and had heard Xia Xing mention him countless times.
Xia Xing had once told him that Jiang Panzhou had lost his parents at a young age and had been raised solely by his grandparents.
During middle school, his grandparents passed away one after the other, leaving Jiang Panzhou completely alone in the world.
By sheer coincidence, Xia Xing’s mother had discovered his musical talent and taken him in as her disciple.
But back then, Jiang Panzhou had been reclusive and melancholic, ignoring everyone who tried to approach him.
It had taken Xia Xing a full three years to finally break through his walls and earn his acceptance as a friend and junior sister.
Yet, for some inexplicable reason, Gu Huaijin had despised the man from the very first moment he laid eyes on him.
“You can meet your ex-girlfriend, so what’s so strange about Xing’er having dinner with her senior fellow disciple who grew up with her?”
Jiang Panzhou’s voice was completely devoid of emotion, yet every word struck like a blade, dripping with heavy sarcasm.
He had ruthlessly ripped away the fig leaf covering Gu Huaijin and Lin Susu’s shameful affair.
Gu Huaijin’s eyes darkened, his handsome face sinking into a terrifying scowl.
“Xia Xing, come back with me.”
Xia Xing rejected him indifferently.
“No.
My senior brother and I haven’t finished our meal.”
A chilling frost seeped into Gu Huaijin’s voice.
“Xia Xing, I’ll say this one last time.
Come back with me.”
Xia Xing knew this was the manifestation of his boiling rage.
If she refused to soften her stance now, it wouldn’t just end in a cold war.
He would use his methods to force her to her knees.
She would never forget that night, amidst the crashing thunder and pouring rain.
She had been soaked to the bone, kneeling wretchedly at his feet, weeping uncontrollably as she begged him to return Gu Ziting to her.
He had looked down at her from his lofty pedestal, asking coldly, “Do you know what you did wrong?”
Her tears had fallen like raindrops, splashing against the floor.
In the end, she had been forced to apologize for Lin Susu falling into the water.
He always seemed to have a way to break her.
Recalling this, a silent, self-deprecating smile touched Xia Xing’s lips.
Her red lips parted slightly as she exhaled a single word.
“No.”
Gu Huaijin’s gaze turned glacial, his thin lips pressing into a tight line.
“Xia Xing, you’d better think carefully about the consequences.”
“Whatever tricks you have, Mr.
Gu, bring them on.”
Her only weakness had always been Gu Ziting.
But now, she didn’t even want Gu Ziting anymore.
Gu Huaijin had absolutely nothing left to threaten her with.Xia Xing turned to Jiang Panzhou.
“Senior Brother, the air here is rather stifling.
Let’s go somewhere else to eat.”
Jiang Panzhou fell silent for a few seconds before nodding gently.
“Alright.”
Without sparing the three of them a single glance, Xia Xing picked up her bag from the table and prepared to leave.Behind her, Gu Ziting’s stubborn voice rang out.
“Mom, are you really not going to apologize to Auntie Susu?”
Xia Xing’s footsteps faltered for only a fraction of a second before she walked out without looking back.
Gu Huaijin stared at Xia Xing’s retreating figure, his eyes growing dark, cold, and impenetrable.
Gu Ziting also watched his mother’s departing silhouette, a hint of bewilderment crossing his pretty little face.
Why does Mom seem…
different somehow?
Noticing that both of their gazes were entirely fixed on Xia Xing, a profound, icy malice flashed in the depths of Lin Susu’s eyes.
Suddenly, she let out a soft, pained gasp.
“Ah!”
Instantly, Gu Huaijin and Gu Ziting’s attention was snapped back to her.
Lin Susu’s face was deathly pale, her body swaying unsteadily as if she were on the verge of collapsing.
Gu Huaijin’s expression shifted slightly as he swept Lin Susu into his arms in one swift motion.