She wasn't worth lowering yourself for

Tan Ruiyu's expression changed, and she hurried to stop him. "Junxing, don't do anything rash. We can talk this through."

Gu Junxing took her wrist. "Don't worry. I won't let anyone bully you."

Tan Ruiyu forced a faint smile, but her palms were slick with sweat.

Go on, leave. Once Tan Ruiyu finds out the Gu family kicked you out, she'll decide you're no longer useful, dump you, and get together with another man.

The real tragedy comes later. After breaking up with Tan Ruiyu, you'll even contract syphilis. It'll be caught too late, and you'll die from it.

Poor thing. How pitiful.

Weng Fenghua swayed. Gu Wenze's brow shifted slightly, his dark eyes as unfathomable as the depths of the sea.

Only Gu Junxing refused to believe Qiao Hua's words.

Tan Ruiyu had given him her first time. How could she possibly be the sort of woman who slept around?

There had to be a limit to the lies that vicious woman Qiao Hua could tell!

Gu Junxing said, enunciating every word, "Mom, are you really refusing to let Ruiyu into our family?"

Weng Fenghua was adamant. "Over my dead body. She'll never marry into the Gu family."

Gu Junxing clenched his fists and said petulantly, "Fine. From today onward, pretend you don't have a son."

With that, Gu Junxing stormed off, pulling Tan Ruiyu along. Before leaving, he shot Qiao Hua a vicious glare.

Qiao Hua pretended not to notice.

Watching Gu Junxing's sulky retreat, Weng Fenghua trembled with anger. She told the butler, "Have his cards frozen, and take back his house and car. Let's see how long he lasts."

Qiao Hua couldn't help giving Weng Fenghua a mental thumbs-up.

Her mother-in-law had finally wised up for once.

At dinner, Weng Fenghua barely touched her food and kept sighing.

Gu Wenze comforted her in a low voice. "Mom, don't dwell on it. Junxing will come back once he comes to his senses."

Weng Fenghua couldn't help thinking of the mess between Gu Wenze and Jiang Nan, and she took her anger out on him. "You and your brother are exactly alike. You both like two-faced women. All they have to do is act pitiful, and you go soft."

Gu Wenze caught the implication in her words, his brow creasing almost imperceptibly. "Mom, Jiang Nan isn't like that."

"Of course she is," Weng Fenghua snapped. "Would a decent woman keep pestering a married man?"

Her words were harsh, and Gu Wenze frowned. "Jiang Nan and I are just friends. I look after her because that's what friends do."

"In fact, I'd like to ask you something. You used to like Jiang Nan so much. Why has your attitude toward her suddenly changed?"

Weng Fenghua looked a little uncomfortable. She couldn't exactly say she could hear Qiao Hua's thoughts and knew Jiang Nan was two-faced.

She gave him a vague answer. "Call it a woman's intuition."

Gu Wenze didn't believe that explanation and was about to press her when Weng Fenghua set down her chopsticks. "Forget it. I have no appetite. You and Qiao Hua take your time. Go for a walk nearby after dinner before heading home."

"And make some time for your wife. Stop fooling around with other people."

With that, Weng Fenghua got up and went upstairs.

Gu Wenze turned his gaze to Qiao Hua beside him. She was eating with gusto, completely unaffected by what had just happened.

Since Weng Fenghua usually preferred lighter food, the chef used little oil or salt, which suited the pregnant Qiao Hua perfectly.

Gu Wenze's gaze darkened, as though displeased by Qiao Hua's indifference. "You certainly have an appetite."

Qiao Hua paused and looked up at him. "Didn't you ask me to come back for dinner?"

Gu Wenze's eyes cooled, reflecting Qiao Hua's innocent face. "You must be pleased that Gu Junxing got kicked out."

He knew Qiao Hua and Gu Junxing had never gotten along. Now that Gu Junxing was gone, she was probably celebrating inside.

Qiao Hua said casually, "He wasn't kicked out because of me. What's there for me to celebrate?"

"Besides, I don't live with him. Whether he stays or goes makes no difference to me."

Gu Wenze studied her, seemingly trying to determine whether she meant what she said.

Qiao Hua let him stare. She wasn't the one who had made Gu Junxing run away from home, anyway.

An invisible tension hung in the air. After an indeterminate stretch of time, Gu Wenze looked away, got up, and left the dining room.

"Hey, I'm not full yet!"

Gu Wenze ignored her and walked off without looking back.

Qiao Hua hurriedly shoveled down a few more mouthfuls, then rushed after him without even wiping her mouth.

They stepped out of the villa, and Qiao Hua spotted a familiar figure standing by the entrance.

She raised an eyebrow and turned to look at Gu Wenze beside her.

Seeing Jiang Nan in front of him, Gu Wenze frowned. "What are you doing here?"

Jiang Nan's gaze swept over Qiao Hua's face before settling on Gu Wenze. "I heard Junxing was back in the country, so I came to see him."

In truth, after what had happened that afternoon, Jiang Nan had noticed Gu Wenze becoming somewhat cold toward her. Worried he had caught on to something, she had hurried over as soon as she received Gu Junxing's text saying he was back.

At the mention of Gu Junxing, Gu Wenze's eyes darkened. "He's gone out."

Jiang Nan looked disappointed. "What unfortunate timing. I even brought him a gift."

She held out the gift she had bought. "Could you give this to Junxing for me, then?"

Gu Wenze glanced at the brand logo on the gift bag in Jiang Nan's hand and took it from her. "Don't spend so much on expensive things again."

Jiang Nan smiled. "How could a gift for Junxing be a waste of money?"

Exactly. It's a gift for her future brother-in-law. How could she give him anything cheap?

Gu Wenze lifted his eyes slightly, fixing Qiao Hua with an almost tangible stare.

Qiao Hua mistook that look for annoyance at her being in the way and offered considerately, "Why don't I get in the car first and give you two some space to talk?"

Jiang Nan instinctively glanced at Gu Wenze. Seeing his displeased expression, her fingers stiffened, but she kept her voice calm. "Miss Qiao, Wenze and I really are..."

Qiao Hua interrupted airily, "I know. You're friends. Isn't it normal to give friends some space to talk?"

"Or do you think it isn't?"

Jiang Nan hadn't expected Qiao Hua to say that so calmly. She pressed her lips together. "That's not what I meant..."

"All right. Since you put it that way, sorry for the trouble. There is something I wanted to discuss with Wenze."

The little fake innocent will definitely say she didn't mean to do it this afternoon and only fought back because she'd been pushed too far.

Then Gu Wenze will think, 'My sweet, understanding first love. How could I blame her? It's only because Qiao Hua is always so arrogant and overbearing that Jiang Nan retaliated.'

Qiao Hua brought it all on herself.

Qiao Hua made an okay gesture and was about to turn away when Gu Wenze suddenly caught her wrist.

Qiao Hua looked utterly confused. "Huh?"

Gu Wenze looked at Qiao Hua, but his words were directed at Jiang Nan. "Whatever it is, tell me at the office tomorrow. I'm going home tonight."

Without looking at Jiang Nan's abruptly changed expression, Gu Wenze pulled Qiao Hua into the car.

Qiao Hua looked back at Jiang Nan, who was still standing there, and waved goodbye.

To Jiang Nan, however, the gesture was a provocation. She nearly ground her teeth to pieces, her fingers unconsciously digging into her clutch and leaving deep marks in the leather.

The car was quiet on the way home.

Qiao Hua glanced at Gu Wenze. Half his face was shrouded in darkness, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Gu Wenze actually didn't stay to talk to Jiang Nan today. That's not like him.

Or is he still angry about what happened this afternoon?

That can't be it. Jiang Nan only falsely accused me of something. Gu Wenze doesn't care about me, so why would he fall out with her over something so minor?

Could Gu Wenze be on his period? Is that why he's acting so strangely?

Listening to Qiao Hua's increasingly absurd thoughts, Gu Wenze felt his eyelid twitch. "I didn't stay to talk to Jiang Nan. You should be satisfied."

Qiao Hua belatedly let out a puzzled sound. "What did you say?"

"Stop pretending, Qiao Hua," Gu Wenze said coldly. "You used to cause trouble every time I was with Jiang Nan. Otherwise, Mom wouldn't have given me that warning today."

His mother had always had a good impression of Jiang Nan. Her sudden complete change of attitude had to be the result of Qiao Hua stirring things up behind his back.

Her tricks hadn't worked on him, so she had simply turned them on his mother.

"And don't get any ideas. I just didn't want to listen to Mom nagging. It wasn't for your sake," Gu Wenze added.

Qiao Hua gave an understanding "Oh."

That made sense.

Gu Wenze had probably worried his mother would see him lingering with Jiang Nan at the gate, which was why he had deliberately acted so cold toward her.

After all, the incident with Gu Junxing had only just happened. Weng Fenghua might lash out at Jiang Nan in her anger.

So, after all that, Gu Wenze had been protecting Jiang Nan.

What a moving love story.

When Qiao Hua said nothing more after that "Oh," a faint irritation crept into Gu Wenze's heart and refused to go away.

Once they returned to the villa, Gu Wenze went straight to the master bedroom and slammed the door.

Standing outside, Qiao Hua clicked her tongue twice and muttered, "If you wanted to talk, you should've talked. I even gave you an opening, but you wouldn't take it, and now you're sulking. No wonder it took you so long to win Jiang Nan over. You deserve to be single."

With that, Qiao Hua returned to the spare bedroom. As the door closed softly, the entire villa fell silent.

In the middle of the night, a ringing phone pierced the silence.

A strong hand reached out to switch on the bedside lamp. Gu Wenze picked up his phone from the nightstand, and his gaze sharpened slightly when he saw the caller ID.

As the phone kept ringing, Gu Wenze finally sat up, leaned against the headboard, and answered.

Jiang Nan's choked voice came through the phone. "Wenze..."

Gu Wenze's heart tightened. "What happened?"

Jiang Nan's voice trembled. "I came out to get some water and accidentally fell down the stairs. It hurts so much..."

Gu Wenze immediately threw back the covers and got out of bed. "Wait for me. Don't move. I'll be right there."

After hanging up, Gu Wenze grabbed his coat and left the room. His gaze happened to land on the spare bedroom diagonally opposite, and he paused before leaving the villa.

Arriving at Jiang Nan's home, Gu Wenze stood outside and rang the doorbell.

There was no answer for a long time.

Gu Wenze unlocked the door with his spare key and entered the living room. Jiang Nan sat on the floor in a white nightgown. The overhead light fell around her, its hazy glow making her look fragile. One hand supported her injured right leg, and her ankle was badly swollen.

Gu Wenze walked over and crouched in front of her. "Are you all right?"

Jiang Nan lifted her head, her eyes already rimmed red. "It hurts..."

She was, after all, the woman he had liked for so many years. Gu Wenze couldn't bring himself to be angry and said gently, "I've called the family doctor. He'll be here soon."

He helped Jiang Nan onto the sofa. Just as he stepped back to put some distance between them, she caught the hem of his shirt.

Jiang Nan looked up, her eyes misty. "Wenze, you're angry with me, aren't you?"

Gu Wenze said nothing.

Jiang Nan pressed her lower lip inward. "I admit I deliberately took off the necklace and gave it to Qiao Hua. But I just couldn't accept it. We knew each other first, so why does Qiao Hua keep forcing you to cut ties with me? We haven't done anything."

"And she used such disgusting means to force you to marry her back then. If it weren't for her, you wouldn't be so miserable now."

"I just felt it was unfair to you, so I wanted to teach her a lesson. I wasn't really trying to cause a misunderstanding between you two."

Tears traced clear trails down Jiang Nan's cheeks, her trembling voice full of hurt and remorse.

Gu Wenze remembered Jiang Nan in college. She had been so kind that she couldn't bear to step on an ant. She had often fed the campus strays and helped younger students struggling financially.

How could someone like that be a bad person?

In the end, Qiao Hua had gone too far.

Gu Wenze couldn't bring himself to speak harshly to Jiang Nan. His voice softened. "Don't do it again. She isn't worth lowering yourself to do something like that."