She gently closed the bedroom door.
At the study, Su Wanqing stood outside for a moment before knocking. She flexed her fingers slightly, feeling a rare trace of nervousness.
“What is it?” A deep voice came from inside.
“I… I want to talk to you,” she said.
Based on the original plot development, the second male lead had not yet met the female lead. That meant some things needed to be handled proactively.
“Come in.”
Su Wanqing pushed the door open.
The study, like the bedroom, was dominated by cold tones. The temperature inside felt a few degrees lower than outside.
She rubbed her slightly chilled arms and sat across from Gu Hengzhi.
He was still looking at his computer. From the moment she entered, he hadn’t spared her a single glance. More than husband and wife, they felt like strangers.
“What do you want to talk about?” he asked flatly.
“I want to talk about Shimu,” Su Wanqing said directly.
A cold sneer escaped him. “What, did emotional abuse not satisfy you anymore? Now you’ve moved on to physical harm?”
Su Wanqing bit her lip. “I admit I used to be extreme, but I really want to love him properly now.”
He finally looked up at her, his gaze indifferent. “And what performance is this supposed to be?”
She understood why he didn’t believe her.
Even if her consciousness hadn’t been fully under her control before, everything had still been done through her body. In public, she had been a gentle mother; behind closed doors, a cruel one. That contradiction alone made her words unconvincing.
But that was before.
Now she had no other choice—she only wanted to be a good person.
“I know you don’t trust me,” she said steadily, “but I will prove it to you.”
She paused briefly, then continued.
“Our marriage was indeed unreasonable. Although I brought it upon myself, your role in it is also undeniable. And Shimu is innocent.”
“I know you don’t like him. So if we divorce, can you give up custody?”
She wasn’t entirely sure of his intentions. In the novel, this man was deeply calculating. He wouldn’t easily be manipulated.
And in the original storyline, they did eventually divorce—but custody became a bitter struggle between the Su family and Gu Hengzhi.
Gu Hengzhi raised an eyebrow. “And what gives you this confidence?”
Su Wanqing replied, “Then what if I say… I can divorce you anytime you want?”
In the original story, the villainess never agreed to divorce. Despite her disdain for him, she clung to the marriage—partly because of his wealth and power, partly because of her obsession with control. Later, driven mad by jealousy over the male leads competing for the heroine, she refused to let go, even going so far as to drug them in an attempt to ruin the heroine’s reputation.
Fortunately, the male lead intervened in time.
Gu Hengzhi’s gaze swept over her face. “What, did you already find Li Yuancheng to be your backup?”
Su Wanqing suppressed her irritation and met his eyes calmly.
“Gu Hengzhi, believe it or not—I don’t like Li Yuancheng. I’ve already submitted my resignation. I will not have any further contact with him.”
She continued, “Six months. After six months, I will divorce you. Shimu can choose who he wants to stay with—we won’t interfere.”
“If he doesn’t choose me, I’ll accept it. But if you want an immediate divorce, I agree—on one condition: custody goes to me.”
Gu Hengzhi leaned back leisurely, long legs crossed. The light in the study fell across his sharply handsome face.
“And why exactly do you think I’d play this game with you?”
Su Wanqing looked straight at him.
“Because you didn’t want this marriage in the first place. You were pressured into it, but no one can truly force you, Gu Hengzhi.”
“You refusing to divorce isn’t because of me—it’s because you’re still in conflict with the Gu family.”
Her voice was steady, almost certain.
“But you will divorce me within six months. In fact… you might not even need that long.”
Her gaze darkened slightly.
Because the female lead had already appeared.
And according to the timeline, it wouldn’t be long before Gu Hengzhi met the girl who once showed him kindness in childhood—and became completely obsessed with her.