Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Before Qin Xing could give me an explanation, Gu Yushi came to me first.

I had no idea where she found my contact information, but she asked me to meet her at a café for a talk.

When I saw Gu Yushi again, she was still impeccably dressed, wearing a MaxMara coat and a Cartier pavé bracelet. Her eyeliner swept sharply upward, and her gaze was cold and piercing as it fixed on me.

Only the dark circles beneath her eyes still showed faintly, no matter how hard she had tried to cover them.

She looked me up and down a few times, then said with contempt, “I’ve seen plenty of women like you. Name your price. What will it take for you to leave him?”

I flicked the big waves of hair over my shoulder.

She still hadn’t recognized me.

But that wasn’t surprising. After what happened back then, I’d changed my name to avoid attention, had my naturally hooded eyelids cut into a fan shape, and over the years I’d finally had the money to dress myself properly. I no longer looked as shabby and poor as I once had. It was only normal that she didn’t recognize me.

After all, victims never forget the faces of those who hurt them, while the perpetrators may never have cared what their victims looked like in the first place.

I lowered my head and took a sip of tea, then smiled.

“You’re Miss Gu, right? I’ve heard about you. Qin Xing told me your engagement was just an arranged marriage between your families. He doesn’t have any real feelings for you.”

Sure enough, that sentence enraged her instantly. Gu Yushi’s face darkened.

“So you enjoy degrading yourself that much? You like being someone’s mistress?”

My smile didn’t change as I looked straight into her eyes.

“Maybe the one who isn’t loved is the real mistress. Don’t you think so, Miss Gu?”

Gu Yushi flew into a rage. She grabbed the cup on the table and poured it over my head. The scalding coffee made me go momentarily dazed, and I remembered the boiling water she had poured on me all those years ago.

Everyone around us turned to look, but Gu Yushi didn’t care about anyone’s stares. She grabbed my hair and raised her hand, about to slap me across the face.

I could practically imagine how hard that slap would land.

After all, slaps like that had followed me throughout my entire high school life. But this time, I caught her wrist. Under her stunned gaze, I slapped her hard across the face.

“You dare hit me?!”

It was probably the first time in her life she’d ever been hit. Gu Yushi froze for a moment before she finally reacted, and then came the fury. I backhanded her across the other cheek. After a crisp smack, she clutched her face, her eyes filled with disbelief.

“So what if I hit you?”

Still smiling, I propped myself against the table and leaned forward, pleasure flashing in my eyes.

“Not only am I going to hit you, I’m going to steal your man too. What can you do about it?”

Gu Yushi looked like she was about to go insane. She suddenly raised her hand to strike me, but before her arm could come down, someone grabbed it in midair.

She turned back. I looked past her at Qin Xing with reddened eyes and bit my lower lip.

I had never seen Qin Xing this angry before. Rage churned in his eyes.

“Didn’t I tell you this had nothing to do with her and that you weren’t to come looking for her?!”

“How does it have nothing to do with her?!” Qin Xing’s anger became the final straw that crushed Gu Yushi’s composure. She broke down and screamed, “If this bitch hadn’t seduced you, why would you insist on breaking off our engagement?!”

“Qin Xing, we’ve been together for so many years. You’ve only known her for a few months. Are our ten years really worth less than the two months you’ve spent with her?!”

“It has nothing to do with how many months it’s been,” Qin Xing said coldly. “We both know exactly what our engagement is. It’s nothing more than a business arrangement. I have never liked you.”

“But I like you!” Gu Yushi cried as she tried to lunge at me. The veins at her flushed temples throbbed. Her face, which had never been particularly beautiful but had at least been carefully made up, was now a complete mess from her tears and ruined makeup. All her dignity was gone. “It’s all your fault. It’s all because of you, you bitch. I’ll fucking kill you-”

She was used to throwing her weight around. Even now, she couldn’t be bothered to pretend otherwise. I backed away, crying, tears clinging to my perfectly placed lashes, threatening to fall.

Qin Xing finally lost his patience and yanked Gu Yushi away.

“Stop acting insane!”

Gu Yushi was pulled forward against the table. She looked at him in disbelief and heartbreak, her voice thick with tears.

“Qin Xing, how can you treat me like this? Do you even have a heart?”

But Qin Xing ignored her, even though she was on the verge of collapse. He hurried over and gripped my shoulders, looking me up and down.

“Are you all right? She didn’t do anything to you, did she?”

I shook my head, then lowered it and hugged him pitifully. Where he couldn’t see, I raised an eyebrow at Gu Yushi and curved my lips into a smile.

Gu Yushi gritted her teeth with hatred.

“Qin Xing, the Qin Family will never agree to you calling off the engagement!”

Holding me in his arms, Qin Xing looked at Gu Yushi and said flatly, “All the company shares are in my hands. I don’t need anyone’s approval.”

“Gu Yushi, I’ll say this one more time. This has nothing to do with Zhao Zhao. I was the one who fell for her. I was the one who pursued her. This is my final warning: don’t cause trouble for Zhao Zhao again. Otherwise, you know what I’m capable of.”

Gu Yushi’s face turned pale. Her mascara had been smeared beyond recognition by her tears. She bit her lip hard, then turned and shoved the door open, leaving in a miserable state.

Qin Xing was still comforting me. In his arms, I smiled as I slipped my phone into my pocket.

The moment Gu Yushi came to find me, I had messaged him.

I just hadn’t expected him to arrive so perfectly on time.

Men, when they don’t love someone, can truly be heartless. Truly cruel.

But I liked it.