Sheng Xia drove back to her parents’ home. Her father, Li Wenshan, and mother, Zheng Xiuzhen, were both at home.
Seeing Sheng Xia return suddenly, both were surprised. Zheng Xiuzhen chided, “You should have called ahead when coming back. We could have prepared your favorite dinner.”
“No need, I’m not here for dinner!” Sheng Xia was in a bad mood. With a stern face, she sat down and asked Li Wenshan, “Dad, did you ask Gu Cheng’an for money again?”
An awkward expression flashed across Li Wenshan’s face, and he immediately denied it, “I didn’t ask. Gu Cheng’an offered it to me himself.”
“If you didn’t ask, would Gu Cheng’an be crazy enough to give you 200 million out of the blue?” Sheng Xia was in a foul mood.
“He really offered it himself. My company ran into some trouble, and when I mentioned it to Gu Cheng’an, he gave me the money to help out.”
Sheng Xia didn’t believe such nonsense. Gu Cheng’an was the reincarnation of a miser. Given how much he despised her, it was impossible for him to offer money willingly.
Sheng Xia’s face darkened. “Dad, I came back today to make something clear to you and Mom! From now on, don’t ask Gu Cheng’an for money anymore. We already owe him a lot. Have you ever thought about how you’re going to repay him? Gu Cheng’an isn’t running a charity. When he asks for the money back, what will you use to repay him?”
“What’s gotten into you, child? Why are you saying such things? Gu Cheng’an is your husband. Why should we repay him?” Zheng Xiuzhen looked at Sheng Xia, utterly confused.
“What’s gotten into me? Am I okay? Haven’t you seen Gu Cheng’an’s scandals? Don’t you know why he married me? Don’t you know he doesn’t like me at all? Aren’t you afraid he’ll make me leave with nothing?”
Li Wenshan and Zheng Xiuzhen exchanged glances. Li Wenshan forced a smile and said, “Xia Xia, did you have a fight with Gu Cheng’an? Did he bully you?”
“Do Gu Cheng’an and I even need to fight? He’s been bullying me all along. Can’t you see that?”
Li Wenshan and Zheng Xiuzhen gasped. Li Wenshan said angrily, “This… he… how did Gu Cheng’an bully you? What kind of man bullies a woman? When the old master returns, I’ll go complain to him.”
“Mom, Dad, Gu Cheng’an doesn’t like me. Up until now… up until now, Gu Cheng’an hasn’t touched me. Think about what that means.”
Sheng Xia didn’t want to worry her parents, but given the current situation, she had no choice but to speak up.
Her father and mother were naturally inclined to take advantage of small favors, and their habit of constantly finding excuses to ask Gu Cheng’an for money had to change.
Sheng Xia had finally realized the truth. Given Gu Cheng’an’s current attitude toward her, she dared not even think about the possibility of receiving a billion-dollar alimony in a divorce.
Given Gu Cheng’an’s ruthlessness and cruelty toward her, it wouldn’t be surprising if he found an excuse to kick her out without a penny.
She didn’t want to live with a mountain of debt. It was better to nip the problem in the bud and eliminate all potential risks.
Otherwise, if she angered Gu Cheng’an in the future and he made her leave with nothing, where would she find the money to repay him?
Li Wenshan and Zheng Xiuzhen were stunned by Sheng Xia’s words. “You… you two haven’t even been together until now? Then why did you even get married?””It’s me who wants to marry him, not Gu Cheng’an who wants to marry me. Back then, when Gu Cheng’an refused to marry me, I signed a marriage agreement with him. He can divorce me anytime, anywhere, without bearing any costs, while if I make a mistake, I’ll leave with nothing and have to return all the money he gave before.”
“How could you be so foolish?” Li Wenshan stomped his feet in anger. “What kind of agreement is this? It’s so unfair. Xia Xia, why did you sign it?”
Zheng Xiuzhen also fumed, “Our Xia Xia is so beautiful. What’s wrong with marrying him? How dare Gu Cheng’an bully her like this?”
“Because he’s rich, and we’re poor! Because I shamelessly clung to him,” Sheng Xia said.
“Anyway, Mom and Dad, don’t ask Gu Cheng’an for money anymore, not a single cent. Gu Cheng’an probably has a woman he likes now. He’ll take the initiative to divorce me for the woman he loves. If he’s feeling generous then, he might not ask us to return the money he gave our family before. But if he’s not feeling generous, then we’re in trouble. We owe him over two billion. How are we supposed to pay that back?”
Li Wenshan’s expression turned grave, and Zheng Xiuzhen’s face darkened.
Although both of them liked taking advantage, they understood the seriousness of the situation.
After seeing Sheng Xia off, Li Wenshan sighed heavily. “I thought our Xia Xia had married a perfect husband. I thought we had latched onto a powerful connection. Who knew it would turn out like this? If we had known earlier, we shouldn’t have accepted so much betrothal money.”
“Exactly,” Zheng Xiuzhen grumbled. “It’s all because you insisted on running this lousy company. This company is a bottomless pit—no matter how much you pour into it, it’s never enough. If you hadn’t used Xia Xia’s betrothal money to fill the company’s holes, things wouldn’t have come to this.”
Li Wenshan also regretted it deeply. “If I had known it would be like this, I would have refused every penny from the Gu family. What kind of life is our Xia Xia living? To be bullied like this. Now we have to find a way to return the money. If all else fails, we’ll have to sell the company.”
Not long after Sheng Xia drove away from the Li family villa, Jing Ci called. “Young Madam, Mr. Gu has reserved a table at Orchid Club for dinner with you. Where are you? I’ll come pick you up.”
Slap her and then offer a sweet date? Did he think she was that easy to bully?
Sheng Xia replied irritably, “I’m busy. I’m having dinner at home tonight.”
“You’re at the Li family’s place? Young Madam, Mr. Gu specifically instructed me to bring you over. Could you perhaps postpone dinner at the Li family’s? After all, you can always go back there to eat anytime…”
Sheng Xia cut him off. “Assistant Jing, for me, having dinner with my parents is more important. Please let your Mr. Gu know. I don’t have time to go over. That’s it!”
With that, she hung up. Jing Ci rubbed his forehead. He had thought it would be a simple matter with the Young Madam, but it turned out completely different from what he expected.
Since Sheng Xia refused to come, he couldn’t force her. He had no choice but to report the situation truthfully to Gu Cheng’an.
Upon hearing from Jing Ci that Sheng Xia had returned to the Li family and was staying there for dinner instead of joining him, Gu Cheng’an’s expression darkened. Last time they had dinner, Sheng Xia left without even touching her chopsticks. This time, she outright refused him from the start.
Did he have no face to save?
Gu Cheng’an sneered coldly. “Prepare some gifts. I’m going to the Li family for dinner too!”
After leaving the Li family, Sheng Xia made plans to have dinner with Su Qiao. That evening, the two of them had hot pot.Both of them were spice lovers and carnivores, ordering several plates of fatty beef rolls, fatty lamb rolls, and tripe. Sheng Xia didn’t like vegetables, so her hotpot meals were mostly meat-based.
Eating the steaming, delicious hotpot made Sheng Xia feel a little better.
She told Su Qiao about selling flowers during the day, not forgetting to curse Gu Cheng’an as a sly old fox with no shame.
Su Qiao’s eyes widened in surprise: “Shen Jingze? You actually sold the flowers to Shen Jingze? No wonder Gu Cheng’an was upset. You could’ve sold them to anyone but Shen Jingze! Gu Cheng’an and Shen Jingze really, really don’t get along.”
Sheng Xia had no idea about this: “Shen Jingze and Gu Cheng’an have a grudge? What’s going on?”
“Yes, a huge grudge! They used to be very good friends, but they had a falling out later. Rumor has it, it was over a woman.”
Sheng Xia gasped. She had never known that Gu Cheng’an and Shen Jingze had turned against each other over a woman, and it wasn’t even mentioned in the book.
She immediately grew curious: “There’s such a story? Tell me what happened! Who was the woman they liked?”