At the center of the storm, Xu Nansheng stood calm and composed in front of Gu Hongyu.
The slap carried significant force. The moment it landed, a clear, red handprint was left on Gu Hongyu’s face.
The latter raised his head, asking in sheer disbelief, “How dare you hit me? What right do you have…”
“Gu Hongyu, it was you who confessed publicly at fifteen and begged me to be with you. It was not me, Xu Nansheng, who shamelessly clung to you.”
“But—”
Slap!
Before Gu Hongyu could finish his retort, Xu Nansheng raised her hand and struck him across the other cheek.
“You were with me first and Liang Xueqing second. That makes her the third party who wrecked our relationship, not me.”
Having been slapped twice back-to-back, Gu Hongyu’s face flushed red with anger.
Seeing Xu Nansheng raise her hand once more, he hurriedly covered his stinging left cheek, only for Xu Nansheng to swing her hand around and backhand him across his right cheek.
As the third slap fell, even Gong Mieshuang, who was furious with her son, felt a pang of heartache and stepped forward to shield Gu Hongyu.
“Nansheng, let us talk things over nicely. Why resort to violence? One slap was enough; why must there be three?”
Every single slap had been so forceful. How could this young girl be so unreasonable, resorting to hitting people at every turn?
If not for the fact that you belong to the Xu family, I would never swallow this insult!
Although Gong Mieshuang did not voice her thoughts, all her heartache and disgust surfaced on her face instantly. Xu Jingze caught it and let out a light laugh.
“Madame Gu, wasn’t it you who said earlier that as long as my sister could vent her anger, it did not matter how she beat or scolded him? Why are you suddenly feeling heartbroken after just three slaps?
Didn’t you come here to apologize? Is this the attitude your Gu family brings to an apology?”
Logically speaking, they ought to give the Second Master of the Gu family some face, but Xu Jingze was truly furious inside.
His little princess had been toyed with by the Gu family over and over again.
Three slaps were nothing; he had not even started feeling bad about his sister hurting her hand yet, but the Gu family had rushed to pity this idiot’s face instead!
“But—”
Ignoring Gong Mieshuang, Xu Nansheng stared at Gu Hongyu with sharp, clear, and utterly disgusted eyes.
“You claimed I forced you into this engagement with threats. Yet the engagement banquet was scheduled by your family, and you were the ones who insisted I forgive you and give you another chance!
Gu Hongyu, you were the one who knelt and swore an oath to completely cut ties with Liang Xueqing and be properly with me. You were the one who made that vow, not me clinging to you and forcing myself onto you!”
The day of the car accident, upon witnessing Gu Hongyu’s blatant partiality, Xu Nansheng’s heart had died.
She had made it crystal clear to Gu Hongyu that since he chose Liang Xueqing, they should no longer have any entanglements. They would go their separate ways and become strangers.
Yet later, he had knelt before her in front of both families, swearing to break things off with Liang Xueqing completely, which was why she agreed to the engagement to give him one final chance.
Now, it had somehow turned into her clinging desperately and using the engagement to coerce him.
After speaking, Xu Nansheng raised her hand once more. Liang Xueqing rushed forward anxiously, pulling Gu Hongyu into her embrace.
“Nansheng, enough. Please stop hitting him.
He kept the promise he made to you; we really did separate briefly out of consideration for your feelings.
But both of us suffered too much during that time apart. Away from Hongyu, I even had thoughts of ending my life.
If you want to blame someone, blame me. Do not blame Hongyu anymore. No matter what, the two of you grew up together as childhood friends. Is it really necessary to take things this far?”
Slap!
Xu Nansheng’s raised hand swung down smoothly, landing heavily across Liang Xueqing’s face.
“Of course I blame you! I treated you like a sister, gave you diamonds, and provided you with everything you ate, wore, and used. Even your current job was given to you by me.
Liang Xueqing, you are the epitome of ingratitude. Even a venomous snake meeting you would have to kowtow three times and call you its founding ancestor!
I treated you so well, and what did you do? Behind my back, you hooked up with my boyfriend! If I don’t blame you, who should I blame?
What, you played the third party, so a temporary separation was only natural? Am I supposed to thank you both for taking my feelings into consideration?
Your little tricks only fool yourself. Did you really think everyone in the world is as foolish, wealthy, and brainless as Gu Hongyu?”
Xu Nansheng stepped forward aggressively, grabbing Liang Xueqing by the hair and forcing her head back.
Seeing this, Gu Hongyu moved to step forward, but was blocked by Gu Beiyan, who suddenly stood up.
Her tone was haughty, carrying undisguised contempt, and her voice dropped very low.
“Liang Xueqing, crossing me is your biggest mistake. The person I plan to deal with is far beyond what Gu Hongyu can protect.”
The warning was delivered in a low register, and aside from Xu Nansheng and Liang Xueqing, only Gu Beiyan, who was blocking Gu Hongyu with his body, heard it clearly.
His well-defined brows arched slightly, and his thin lips curved into an imperceptible smirk.
With her eyes red from crying, Liang Xueqing looked as though she was about to stage another grand performance of fragility and pity, but Gu Beiyan cut off her emotions first.
“Alright, let us put an end to this matter here.”
Xu Lingyue chimed in at the right moment. “Matters of the heart cannot be forced. It has delayed Hongyu from pursuing his true love, and it has delayed our Nansheng even more. Let us never speak of this matter again.”
The unspoken implication was that if Gu Bochuan and Gong Mieshuang had not spent the past few days orchestrating the engagement, Nansheng would not have suffered such public humiliation yesterday.
Gu Bochuan wanted to say something, but with Gu Hongyu and Liang Xueqing clinging tightly to each other, any argument that Gu Hongyu still cared for Xu Nansheng lacked credibility. He swallowed his words in silence.
The next second, Xu Lingyue continued.
“From now on, our two families are completely even.”
Even.
Hearing that single word, the expressions of Gu Bochuan and Gong Mieshuang turned dark and terrifying. Yet, knowing they were in the wrong, they could not utter a single word of rebuttal.
Both of them knew very well that bringing up the life-saving grace of the past was no longer of any use.
This time, they had made the Xu family lose far too much face.
Furthermore, over the years, they had leveraged that life-saving grace to extract numerous benefits from the Xu family, which in turn had given their branch a solid footing in front of the eldest brother.
As they left the Xu residence, Gu Hongyu and Liang Xueqing looked relaxed, exchanging affectionate, lingering glances filled with the radiant joy of true love conquering all obstacles.
As expected, as long as one made up their mind, being with Qing’er was not such a difficult task after all.
Looking at the gentle white rabbit in his arms, tumultuous emotions surged in Gu Hongyu’s chest.
He felt heartbroken that she had suffered such grievances on his account, yet moved by her obedience, thoughtfulness, and tolerance.
After promising to make a clean break, he truly had broken up with Liang Xueqing for a brief period.
He hadn’t realized how deeply he cared until he saw Qing’er drenched in the pouring rain, hiding in a corner just to catch a glimpse of him. At that moment, Gu Hongyu’s heart had been utterly shattered.
To think there was someone in this world who loved him so deeply!
Recalling how Qing’er put on a brave front in front of him felt like someone carving flesh straight from his chest with a knife.
That day, when she ran a high fever of over forty degrees Celsius, she had not even told him. If he had not gone to return the scarf she knitted, he would never have known how much she had suffered during that time.
Determined not to let down Qing’er’s profound devotion, Gu Hongyu made a silent vow: if the entire world refused to let them be together, he would stand against the world and protect his love with his life!
Unlike Gu Hongyu’s sentimental musings, Gong Mieshuang lagged a step behind, a wild beast roaring furiously in her heart as she shot a gaze of piercing, intimidating coldness toward Liang Xueqing.
She had spent years guarding against every woman around Gu Bochuan, nipping all illegitimate children in the bud just to secure the Gu family’s estate for her son. Never in her wildest dreams had she expected her home to be stolen from under her nose by a woman like this.
She hated it. Her teeth were practically itching with hatred!
Back inside the main hall, Xu Nansheng listened to the final instructions of her parents and brother, who urged her to stay far away from Gu Hongyu in the future to avoid any further bad luck.
Years of affection were gone just like that. Seeing the truth now was far better than stepping into a trap only to realize too late that he was not a good match.
The next second, the housekeeper gently tapped her on the shoulder.
Xu Nansheng turned around. The housekeeper smiled and asked if there was any special food she would like prepared, while deftly slipping a small note into her palm.