LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 31
In the grand hall of the Gu family, the press conference was nearing its end. Wen Zhao maintained a smile throughout, her emotions stable as she answered the journalists’ questions. Gu Xianting also played his part perfectly, portraying himself as a reformed, repentant man.
Outside the Gu family’s main entrance, there was a large crowd of onlookers, including many locals and enthusiastic netizens who were following the incident closely.
“Oh, what is President Wen thinking! She believes a man’s nonsense like that? My sister is great, but she’s too soft-hearted and love-struck!”
“Exactly! He just made a mistake that all men make. It’s a new era, and people still buy into this kind of excuse?”
“This is definitely acting. I don’t believe it!”
“Oh, don’t be so serious. Rich people’s lives might just be a show anyway.”
In the crowd, someone suddenly became excited, “They’re coming out!”
A surge of people moved toward the Gu family’s main entrance.
A team of bodyguards in black suits did their job diligently, clearing the way and keeping the reporters and crowd at bay.
Wen Zhao appeared at the entrance of the Gu family, pushing Gu Xianting’s wheelchair.
“She’s so beautiful!” Someone in the crowd was struck by her stunning appearance, “Sister, look at me!”
Wen Zhao seemed to hear the voices, and slowly turned her head, her gaze landing on a particular spot, with a slight smile.
“Ahhh, she smiled at me!”
“No, she’s definitely smiling at me!”
“Damn, why am I not the one in her wheelchair? Sister, don’t push the wheelchair, push me!”
The crowd erupted in enthusiastic chatter, making the scene even more lively.
At that moment, Wen Zhao felt her phone vibrate. She discreetly took it out, glanced at it, and her brow furrowed slightly.
The message from the head of security read: The butler has escaped!
Her eyes turned cold for a moment, but she quickly resumed her previous expression and demeanor.
She pushed Gu Xianting forward, navigating through the gap cleared by the bodyguards.
Not far from the entrance, Su Mengyao was sprawled on the ground, surrounded by people who were trying to rip off her mask and kicking her several times amid the chaos.
“Look at her, so ordinary yet so shameless! Doesn’t she feel ashamed in front of President Wen?”
“Exactly! How dare she show up here! I heard that on President Wen’s wedding day, she also went to the wedding hall!”
“This woman has ill intentions. What is she trying to do? Disrupt things?”
“I think she’s trying to stage a wedding crash!”
“Hah, where does she get her confidence?”
Su Mengyao curled into a ball. Her carefully chosen outfit was now dirty and her meticulously styled hair was in disarray. She clutched her face, feeling utterly hopeless.
Lying on the ground, she could see Wen Zhao pushing Gu Xianting in her direction.
On the wheelchair, Gu Xianting maintained a constant smile, despite the scratches on his face, the bandage on his head, and the bruise on his cheek. His handsomeness remained intact.
And Wen Zhao, pushing him, was beautiful, composed, and elegant, wearing high-fashion attire with flawless makeup.
The people around them had eyes full of admiration, awe, and longing, as if these two were the center of the world, embodying all the beauty in existence.
Why?
She heard sharp insults and curses. She didn’t know whose hand had grabbed her arm tightly, finally pulling off her mask.
Then came the flashing cameras, the gasps, the mocking, and the harsh comments—so many biting words layered upon her.
“Shameless!”
“Homewrecker!”
“Die!”
“Why don’t you just commit suicide?”
Her breathing was rapid. Her appearance, which she had meticulously prepared for all morning, was now a mess.
“Such a shameless woman, seducing a married man! Ugh! She’s a disgrace to society!” A woman spat out with a deep grudge.
She couldn’t understand. If it weren’t for their husbands being unfaithful, how could any outsider succeed?
They were too afraid to face the stronger men, so they aimed all their firepower at her!
Why?
Why was she treated like this?
She stared at Gu Xianting in the crowd. Why wasn’t he coming to rescue her? Didn’t he promise?
He had promised her that she wouldn’t have to fear anything and that he would bear all the storms for her!
But this person, so close to her, why wasn’t he coming to save her?
“Oh, she’s still looking at someone’s husband!” Someone noticed where her gaze was directed and shouted, “Don’t you know you can’t touch other people’s things, no matter how good they are? Didn’t your family teach you that?”
Family? Teach?
Ha!
She only knew that if she didn’t fight, didn’t snatch, didn’t seize, she would have nothing!
Wen Zhao, pushing Gu Xianting, was getting closer. She had clearly noticed the commotion and frowned slightly, seeing the crowd was in an uproar.
Gu Xianting, sitting lower, made direct eye contact with her, whose eyes were filled with tentative hope and despair.
His pupils dilated, almost revealing his emotions, but he controlled himself!
He was extremely anxious. Why was she? What was she doing? Didn’t she realize her current situation? He wanted desperately to rush over, drive away those people, and hold her!
But he knew he couldn’t do anything now, or all his previous efforts would be in vain!
“Ah,” Wen Zhao said, her lips curling into a bright smile. She leaned closer to him and whispered softly, “It looks like Su Mengyao is over there, being bullied. What should we do? Do you want to save her?”
Gu Xianting’s hands gripped the wheelchair armrest tightly, but he restrained himself from showing any real emotion. “ZhaoZhao, I’m not the person I used to be. I despise her now. Let’s just ignore her and leave.”
“Really ignoring her?” Wen Zhao asked.
“Of course! Whether she lives or dies has nothing to do with us. Let’s go!” he answered firmly.
However, they couldn’t leave.
Because some troublemakers in the crowd dragged Su Mengyao from the ground and shoved her in front of Wen Zhao and Gu Xianting.
“President Gu, your true love is here!” someone in the crowd deliberately shouted.
Gu Xianting’s face turned ashen!
He was both furious and heartbroken, but he couldn’t show any sign of weakness!
Now, with so many media present, there was no way cameras wouldn’t be recording. As long as he showed any hint of unusual behavior, he would fall into an irredeemable situation. At that point, not only would he be unable to help Su Mengyao, but he himself would be in serious trouble!
Someone pushed her down hard, and she landed heavily at his wheelchair.
She looked up at him, her eyes full of tentative hope and despair, hoping this person would save her.
It was as if, in her desperation, she saw a thread of hope in the sky. Even though she knew the thread might snap with a single tug, she still wished that fate would show her a bit of favor at this moment.
However—
Gu Xianting coldly turned his head away, “I have nothing to do with her. Bodyguards, please take her away. She’s blocking the way for me and ZhaoZhao.”
Su Mengyao felt as if her brain had been struck by a hammer.
She looked at him in disbelief, reaching out to grab his leg. “Xianting, how can you say that? How can you treat me like this?”
“Get away! Don’t come looking for me again. I’m sorry for giving you the wrong impression before. As for the things I gave you, I won’t ask for them back. Consider them as compensation for your emotional distress,” he said, his heart twisted painfully. But he knew that this was the only way to end everything.
“Wow, this is really something.”
“What a show! This Mr. Gu is definitely no good. He said he took the wrong path before, but this mistress doesn’t look like a mistake.”
“Yeah, and he’s not even asking for the things he gave back. They’re considered joint assets, so he has no right to reclaim them!”
“Exactly, Ms. Wen, don’t leave a single penny for the mistress!”
Onlookers were thrilled by the drama, and the more Gu Xianting wanted to calm things down, the more they fueled the fire.
Wen Zhao’s gaze fell on the hand he had clenched tightly by his side.
The hand was clenched so tightly that the fingernails had pierced the palm, causing blood to drip down.
She coldly sneered inside while maintaining a charming smile on the outside. “Thank you all for your reminders. However, I respect Xianting’s wishes. Moreover, since I promised to trust him one more time, I will keep my word.”
Gu Xianting forced a warm smile and looked at her as if her words had moved him. “I didn’t consider it properly. Indeed, the things I gave away were jointly owned by Wen Zhao and me. Now, all my assets have been transferred to her name, including those gifts. Miss Su, I am truly sorry.”
Su Mengyao stared blankly at his lips moving. This mouth, which once spoke sweet words, could now utter such cold and heartless statements.
Why?
Why?
“Xianting, what do you mean?” Her body was trembling all over, but she seemed oblivious to it. Her anger reached its peak, and it was as if her thoughts and body had separated. “Are you drawing a line with me?”
“Miss Su, what we had was a mistake. Mistakes need to be corrected,” Gu Xianting said with a smile that felt so alien, as if he were facing a complete stranger, putting on a hypocritical and courteous smile.
“A mistake?” Was she just a mistake?
“Let’s go.” Wen Zhao glanced at the time. She wasn’t eager to linger, even though staying a bit longer would let her enjoy seeing Su Mengyao’s humiliation more.
But she had more important matters to attend to; her butler was acting out of line.
The bodyguards diligently followed their orders, grabbing Su Mengyao’s arms and dragging her aside.
“Gu Xianting! You can’t do this to me!” She struggled to get close, sensing that if he left now, she might never get close to him again for the rest of her life!
Wen Zhao pushed his wheelchair and quickly made her way through the crowd, getting into the waiting stretch limousine.
“Gu Xianting!” Su Mengyao’s vision began to black out.
Why ignore her? Why abandon her? Why promise and then abandon her?
So simple—why can he just turn back and regret so easily?
What was she?
What did they think of her?!
She wanted to rush over and demand answers. Her desperate eyes turned into hatred, her eyes red, and her whole body was consumed by rage. “They’re lying! They’re all lying!”
“Enough already! Stop being so stubborn!” She was once again swallowed by the crowd. Her persistence had sparked many people’s discontent and hostility.
They seemed to view her as the third party who stole their lover/husband, beating her and wishing her dead.
She could only watch as the luxurious car drove away, disappearing into the sea of people and cars.
At the same time, someone had apparently cut her. She felt a sharp pain on her face, blood dripping from her temple and into her eyes, staining her vision completely red.
Why treat her like this?
Why was she the only one suffering so badly, while Gu Xianting could escape unscathed and remain detached?
May those who betrayed her, those who caused her this misery, all go to hell!
The limousine slowly drove away, finally merging into the crowd and disappearing from view.
Gu Xianting sat silently in the wheelchair, only then feeling the pain in his palm, but he dared not speak up.
He and Mengyao had such a tacit understanding. He believed she would understand his helplessness and realize he had no choice. Only when he was back at the pinnacle of power and wealth could he protect her and provide her with everything.
By then, people would only see her happiness and would not dare to mention her current disgrace.
“Xianting, why aren’t you speaking?” Wen Zhao asked.
Gu Xianting quickly came to his senses, instinctively showing her a smile. “Nothing, I was just thinking. What’s wrong?”
Wen Zhao stared at him for a while. When her deep, dark eyes fixed on someone, it felt as if she could see through their soul. Gu Xianting felt a chill run down his spine.
“I was just thinking, Xianting, you really are different from that person,” she said with a smile. “You love me, while that person loved Su Mengyao. I was worried you might be affected, feel soft towards her, or even… unknowingly fall for her.”
“How could that be!” He felt his entire body go cold. “ZhaoZhao, I could never soften towards her.”
“Mm, I believe you.” She said, “You did very well today, clearly drawing the line with her in public.”
She then noticed his injured hand, “Oh, how did you get hurt?”
“It’s nothing, just a minor scratch from before,” he said, his heart in his throat, fearing she would notice something unusual.
“How careless of you,” she said with concern. “I’m going to the company later, so I’ll have the bodyguard accompany you to the hospital.”
“It’s just a small injury; it’s nothing,” he said.
“That won’t do. I can’t rest easy if you go alone,” she said, looking into his eyes.
He had no choice but to accept her concern and kindness with a smile.
Fifteen minutes later, Wen Zhao was standing in the Lakeview Apartment.
She stood by the wide-open window, looking down from the eighth floor.
From this height, a jump could be fatal.
The bodyguard team leader stood there with a guilty expression, feeling utterly dejected.
First, Su Mengyao mysteriously disappeared from the basement, then the butler from the eighth floor vanished. Was he supposed to pray at a temple or carry some kind of talisman?
Her gaze noticed a faint footprint on the platform one floor below. “Go downstairs.”
The seventh-floor apartment was unoccupied, so the bodyguard had the property management open the door.
The apartment was still in its raw state, with a layer of dust on the floor showing a clear trail of footprints.
She followed the footprints to the window and looked up, realizing that her butler had escaped from here.
“BOSS, what should we do next? Should we block all the exits? I’ll send people out to search right away!” The bodyguard team leader, sweating profusely, regretted not tying up the butler more securely.
He realized he should never have untied him.
“First, check the surveillance footage,” Wen Zhao said.
In the property surveillance room, the security guard nervously pulled up the footage.
The footage showed the butler taking the elevator down from the seventh floor. The Lakeview Apartment was one of the upscale residential complexes in the city, with excellent security. The surveillance cameras covered almost every angle.
Wen Zhao followed the footage as the butler left the building, disappearing from view intermittently, as if he knew where the cameras were located. After some time, he reappeared from another angle.
Eventually, the he walked out of the complex gate and looked back towards the surveillance camera.
Although the image was blurry, Wen Zhao could clearly see his glance towards the camera.
He’s provoking her, as if saying, “So what if you forcibly brought me here? I can still escape if I want to.”
She couldn’t help but laugh out loud. The head of security stood by, hesitant to speak, suspecting that the BOSS was laughing out of anger.
“Find him. You have three hours. If you don’t find him, resign yourself,”she said.
“Understood!” The head of security breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he might be fired for this mistake.
With renewed determination, the head of security set off with his team to review the surveillance footage.
Wen Zhao did not rush to leave. She had the property security replay the footage of the butler leaving the community.
It was indeed a provocation.
But where could he go?
He was kidnapped in the middle of the night, and he had none of his ID, credit cards, or phone on him. Where could he possibly go?
Returning to the Lakeside Apartment, Wen Zhao turned on the TV, which was tuned to a local channel in Li City, where the press conference was being broadcast.
Based on the timestamp from the surveillance footage, she and Gu Xianting had been answering media questions at that time.
She looked at the photo of the butler from the surveillance footage on her phone and murmured, “Why couldn’t you just be obedient? If you’re not, being brought back will come with consequences.”
At that moment, on a rundown street in Li City, the butler was walking out of a pawn shop. His wristwatch was gone, replaced by a black briefcase he was carrying. He went into a nearby phone repair shop, and ten minutes later, he emerged with a new phone.
Walking from the Lakeside Apartment to this street took him quite some time.
【Now, leave Li City immediately!】
In his mind, the mechanical voice claiming to be a system urged him.
“Is it because Wen Zhao has finally figured it out?” he did not immediately leave but walked a little further down the street and entered a clothing store.
When he came out again, he looked completely different. Dressed in a hoodie with its hood up, his face obscured, and with a slightly hunched posture, he now exuded a sense of dejection.
He was a stark contrast to the composed, polite butler he had been before!
“Has Wen Zhao made any progress?” he asked in a lazy, weary voice.
System: … it didn’t know.
He smirked sarcastically. “Is that all you can do, tell me where cameras are within a hundred meters? What else are you good for?”
He walked to the street corner and, using the money he got from pawning his watch, bought a second-hand car he could drive away immediately.
Time flashed back a few hours.
After he was confined in the Lakeside Apartment, the system started its relentless urging, instructing him to leave immediately.
The system even planned the route for him, jumping from the eighth floor to the seventh-floor rest platform, which was temporarily unoccupied. The butler followed the its instructions to leave the apartment.
He swiftly got into the car, turned it around, and drove onto the main road.
Meanwhile, another low-profile black sedan passed by in the opposite direction. A brief glimpse was enough for him to see that Su Mengyao seemed to be inside.
Inside the car, indeed, Su Mengyao was there, accompanied by Shen Han Feng.
“Yaoyao, you’ve finally given up on Gu Xianting,” he gazed deeply at her.
At this moment, Su Mengyao, wearing Shen Han Feng’s suit, had a white towel on her face, which was stained red with blood. “Yes, I’ve given up. Han Feng, I was so wrong.”
Her voice was very low and light, but the bitterness in it could not be concealed. “I will never look back again.”
He reached out, pulling her into his embrace. At that moment, his phone rang, and he glanced at it with a frown.
“Did I interrupt something?” She asked.
“No, nothing is more important than you,” he declined the call and put the phone back in his pocket.
“Han Feng, my face is ruined, and my reputation is destroyed. I have nothing now,” She choked up. “I’m so scared.”
“Don’t be afraid. How can you have nothing? You still have me. Rest assured, I will always be by your side,” he said, his eyes dark and unfathomable.
Yaoyao, you came to me first this time, so you must not go back on it.
“BOSS, we found him!” The head of security ran over, gasping for breath, sweat covering his forehead.
Wen Zhao took the tablet the head of security handed over and swiped through the screenshots of different time periods of the surveillance footage. “Good job. Don’t worry about being fired.”
The head of security was greatly relieved.
“I’ll personally go after the butler!” The head of security puffed up his chest.
“No need. I’ll handle it myself,” she said, grabbing the car keys.
The head of security watched as she confidently headed towards the car, feeling like the BOSS was going after her little runaway husband.
Realizing he had just imagined something ridiculous, he shuddered. The butler, who seemed to be so ordinary on the surface but was actually quite rebellious, was nothing like her little runaway husband.
Moreover, the BOSS was in love with Gu Xianting! She could even forgive him for cheating!
Wen Zhao, unaware of her security team’s wild thoughts, stepped on the gas, and the sports car zoomed off.
Based on the surveillance photos from the head of security, the butler was driving a second-hand car towards the Li City highway exit.
The butler’s counter-surveillance work was impressive. If not for her skilled head of security, she might have lost him by now.
At that moment, three kilometers from the Li City highway exit, the butler’s car stalled.
【I told you! Second-hand cars are unreliable!】
The system was almost going mad!
The butler didn’t bother to respond. He got out of the car and pulled out a toolbox from the trunk, starting to repair the car.
【You should be finding another car right now, not fixing this one. You should leave Li City immediately!】
The butler stepped on the gas, and the car successfully started moving again.
【You actually know how to fix cars?】
The system seemed to be in disbelief.
He casually replied, “What’s so surprising about that? Just pray I can pass the highway checkpoint and that Wen Zhao hasn’t notified the exits.”
The system was anxious.
Fortunately, everything went smoothly. He was not stopped and drove onto the highway.
Meanwhile, Wen Zhao, who had just received real-time surveillance footage from the highway, smirked with contempt.
She accelerated again, and the sports car quickly caught up with the butler.
So close that the system attached to the butler suddenly emitted a sharp alarm.
【The vicious female character Wen Zhao is catching up! She’s catching up! Hurry, hurry!】
The butler floored the accelerator, increasing his speed.
【It’s too late, turn off the road!】
The system calculated that with Wen Zhao’s car speed, catching up was just a matter of time. The only option now was to take a detour. If she drove past the exit, she wouldn’t be able to turn around!
The butler asked, “Are you sure? Following your advice has never ended well.”
System: Stop enjoying the misfortune! Are you even trying to disguise yourself?
“I’ve always followed your instructions. I never violated our agreement,” he said.
【Yes! You haven’t! Everything is my responsibility!】
The butler got the green light and, following the system’s instructions, turned off the highway at the next exit and took a series of turns onto a sparsely populated concrete road.
The system was somewhat relieved. Should be safe now, right?
But before the system could relax, the sound of a roaring engine came from behind.
The butler looked in the rearview mirror and saw the red sports car speeding toward him.
【Ahhhhhhh!】
The system was going crazy!
Why was this villainous Wen Zhao so relentless? She was just a butler, and he didn’t even know her name. Why couldn’t she just let go?
【Stop the car! Stop it!】
His car slowed down. He saw a small road he could turn onto and was about to adjust the car’s direction when, in the next second, a violent force hit his car from behind.
With a loud crash, Wen Zhao’s sports car slammed into the butler’s car’s rear end. The momentum from the impact sent the dilapidated second-hand car sliding forward a considerable distance before finally coming to a stop.
【Crazy, she’s absolutely crazy!】
She had used such violent means to force his car to stop!
Amidst the smoke and dust, she got out of the car, her eyes fiercely determined.
She kicked open the sports car door and walked straight to the butler’s car.
The butler, sitting inside, was hit hard by the impact, causing his forehead to bleed. He had been knocked against the steering wheel. The butler, though injured, still looked fierce and defiant.
Wen Zhao dragged the him out of the car, pulling him a few steps forward.
With a deafening roar, the car
exploded in a fiery blaze.
The shockwave threw both of them to the ground. Wen Zhao, with her chin cut on a stone, seemed not to feel any pain. “How can someone who isn’t afraid of living be afraid of dying?”
She grabbed the butler by the collar, her eyes cold and fierce, like a wolf fixated on its prey. “I said, I want it, and I will get it no matter what. Even if you refuse, you will have to comply!”
The butler’s gray eyes burned with fiery intensity. His forehead injury, far from diminishing his charm, added a wild edge to his demeanor. He suddenly smiled maliciously. “Then I’ll just refuse. What if I keep avoiding you? I’ll find an opportunity eventually. Didn’t I almost succeed this time?”
“A little short is still short,” she said. “You’ve seen how I treat my husband. You wouldn’t want me to treat you the same way, would you?”
His eyes grew sharp, and without warning, he reached for her. She nimbly dodged his attack.
“Still trying to run at this point?”she scoffed.
“Why not try?” his moves became increasingly fierce.
When the security team arrived, they saw the two fighters, neither willing to back down, seemingly intent on fighting to the death near the burning cars.
“I feel like BOSS and the butler’s moves are very similar,” the head of security scratched his head.
“Most martial arts are quite similar,” his subordinate said, getting out of the car. “Let’s go help BOSS!”
When the butler saw the security team arriving, he knew he wouldn’t be able to escape today.
In the end, he was once again tied up by the head of security, like a bundle of sticks.
“I’ve called people to handle the scene,” the head of security said. “BOSS, you can get in the car ahead. I’ll personally keep an eye on him and won’t let him escape.”
However, Wen Zhao got into the same car as the butler, smiling brightly at him. “No need. My butler will be closely watched by me.”