Chu Sheng watched Qin Shu sitting there like an old monk in meditation, completely unruffled and indifferent. She let out a light laugh, her voice seductive: “Tingyan doesn’t love you. What he feels for you is nothing but obligation.”
Qin Shu crossed her legs and smiled casually: “He and I have a son.”
Chu Sheng’s fingers nearly crushed her cup.
“Qin Shu, marrying someone who doesn’t love you—don’t you feel like a pitiful creature?”
“A forced melon isn’t sweet!”
Qin Shu took a sip of coffee and said calmly: “A forced melon isn’t sweet, but it quenches thirst.”
He was her husband. Why should she have to give him up just because Gu Tingyan’s ex-girlfriend came back?
Qin Shu stood up to leave, her patience exhausted: “If you called me here just to say all this meaningless nonsense, then there was really no need.”
“Because Gu Tingyan is mine now.”
“He’s the biological father of my child.”
Chu Sheng let out a light laugh, her voice soft and sweet: “Yesterday Tingyan stayed by my side the entire night.”
“He always insists on handling my matters personally. He says he can’t rest easy leaving them to anyone else.”
Listening to all those details spilling from Chu Sheng’s mouth, Qin Shu only felt utterly disgusted.
Qin Shu’s figure paused slightly, her fingers clenching tightly. She turned back to look at her and sneered: “What? Are you planning to follow in your mother’s footsteps and be a shameless mistress?”
Chu Sheng’s expression shifted slightly at those words. She abruptly stood up and snapped at her: “Who are you calling a mistress?!”
The moment she stood, the keys on the table fell to the ground, landing right at Qin Shu’s feet—whether intentionally or not.
Chu Sheng saw the key and a smile curled at the corner of her lips. That was the wedding house Gu Tingyan had bought for her.
Chu Sheng smiled faintly: “Do you know the story behind this key?”
“It’s the villa Tingyan bought for me. It was originally meant to be our wedding home!”
Qin Shu paused, feeling uncomfortable inside. Her fingers turned white from gripping. Looking at Chu Sheng’s pretentious, show-off face, she sneered. The next second, without a hint of mercy, Qin Shu lifted her foot and kicked the key flying.
The key landed with a dong—flawlessly—into the trash can.
A waiter happened to be taking out the garbage at that moment. He tied the trash bag into a tight knot and tossed it into the garbage truck.
The garbage truck drove straight off.
Qin Shu craned her neck to watch it go, then said apologetically: “Looks like your wedding home just flew away.”
Chu Sheng: “…”
That evening, Gu Tingyan went to the hospital to check on Chu Sheng, then came back with a cold, piercing aura. He saw Qin Shu in black pajamas, leaning against the headboard reading a book.
Qin Shu had just finished showering. Her skin was supple and dewy, as if a pinch would release water. Her hand turned the pages, the hem of her shirt riding up to reveal a sliver of fair, tender flesh. Her slender waist was so delicate it could be encircled by one hand.
That waist—so slim, so soft.
She was holding a medical book. Ever since Gu Tingyan’s legs had become disabled, her bookshelf had gained several ancient texts on acupuncture and massage.
Gu Tingyan glanced at her long, fair legs, his gaze darkening slightly. The aggression in his demeanor receded a few notches as he said flatly: “You went to see her?”
Those legs—long and straight.
Legs he could play with for five years and never tire of.
Gu Tingyan loved how she became like a seductive spirit in bed, willingly extending her legs to hook around his waist.
Qin Shu didn’t even look up: “Mm.”
Gu Tingyan’s eyes were heavy and dark, his voice cold: “What did you say to her this time? You made her cry until her eyes were swollen.”
Qin Shu didn’t even bat an eyelid. She tossed the voice recorder from her bag toward him: “Listen for yourself.”
When dealing with petty people, you can’t afford to be too much of a gentleman.
After Gu Tingyan finished listening, his expression shifted slightly. The knuckles gripping the voice recorder turned white.
He looked up at Qin Shu, his eyes deep and unreadable, his voice like ice: “If she really gave you a billion, would you have planned to give me up to her?”
Qin Shu’s hand paused on the book. She looked up at him seriously and asked: “Do you want me to give you up to her, or not?”
Gu Tingyan stared at her for a long moment, then let out a cold snort and went into the bathroom.
Qin Shu waited until he could no longer hear her, then muttered quietly: “What a damn problem.”
The bathroom door opened, and steam from the hot water drifted into the bedroom. Qin Shu looked up briefly. The man walked out of the bathroom bare-chested, his damp hair dripping, water beads tracing from his collarbone down to his abdomen.
Gu Tingyan was drying his hair when he saw Qin Shu still reading. His hand paused: “Still reading?”
“Mm.”
Her gaze drifted lightly over that flawless body, then she continued reading.
The two lay on the same bed. Qin Shu turned off the small lamp and felt the mattress sink beside her as Gu Tingyan got into bed.
A pillow’s distance lay between them.
Tonight, neither was in the mood for intimacy.
Gu Tingyan moved closer, wrapping his arms tightly around her from behind, and said in a low voice: “Go to sleep.”
Qin Shu: “Mm.”
Qin Shu closed her eyes. As time passed, she gradually drifted off to sleep, her breathing growing shallower. But when the man got up, she still woke.
Qin Shu kept her eyes closed, not opening them. She heard Gu Tingyan pull open the door and step outside. From the balcony came the click of a lighter striking.
The man held a burning red cigarette between his fingers, smoking. His brows and eyes were as elegant as a painting.
Gu Tingyan lowered his eyes, his emotions inscrutable. The night wind blew through his cold hair tips, brushing past his handsome brows.
He lifted his gaze toward Qin Shu lying on the bed in the bedroom. He had been married to her for five years, and they had raised a son together.
Gu Tingyan furrowed his brows tightly, taking one drag after another of his cigarette.
Leaning against the railing, he smoked again and again, white smoke curling upward and obscuring his handsome features. Bitterness and restlessness surged through his heart, and a pile of cigarette butts accumulated at his feet.
In the group chat that had been quiet for a long time, messages kept popping up one after another. Jiang Xubai @-mentioned everyone: “Sheng Sheng is back!”
“Once she’s discharged from the hospital, let’s throw her a welcome party!”
“Everyone better show up!”
There were five people in the group: him, Chu Sheng, Jiang Xubai, Ji Yanli, and Lu Ziqian.
The five of them had grown up together since childhood, their bond running deep.
After Chu Sheng died, Gu Tingyan had gotten married almost immediately.
In the group, Jiang Xubai had cursed Gu Tingyan out thoroughly, saying he had wronged Chu Sheng.
Jiang Xubai @-mentioned Gu Tingyan alone, speaking with a sarcastic tone: “President Gu, your wife isn’t going to forbid you from going out, is she?”
At the hospital.
Chu Sheng also saw the messages in the group. She watched the message Jiang Xubai had sent, and Ji Yanli and Lu Ziqian had both replied.
Ji Yanli and Lu Ziqian: “Sure.”
But Gu Tingyan hadn’t surfaced yet. Her face grew paler and paler, until Jiang Xubai @-mentioned him alone.
Gu Tingyan said: “She’s not that petty.”
“Send the address.”
Jiang Xubai sneered: “Fine.”
With that, he sent over an address, setting the time for three days later.
After finishing his cigarette, Gu Tingyan didn’t return to the bedroom that night. He simply sat in the rocking chair on the balcony all night long.
And in the bedroom, Qin Shu lay in bed, equally unable to sleep a wink.
Author’s note: Babies~ I’m asking for votes and good reviews~ Thank you everyone, mwah mwah.