I'll Give You Five Million to Leave My Son

But Gu Wenze soon calmed down.

Qiao Hua was definitely doing this to get his attention.

After a while, she would surely beg to move back in.

At that thought, Gu Wenze's expression softened a little. His tone suddenly turned casual. "You'd better not beg to move back in later."

He turned to leave, only to hear Qiao Hua's thoughts behind him.

[I can't wait to move out. Why would I ever come back?]

[Jiang Nan moving in to wait for you to come home would make more sense.]

Gu Wenze pressed his lips together, struggling to control his emotions. He couldn't help quickening his pace, trying to hide his irritation.

Late that night, Gu Wenze lay on his soft, spacious bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

In the past, Qiao Hua would cling to him the moment he lay down. Today, without her chattering beside him, something actually felt wrong.

Gu Wenze reassured himself that he had merely grown accustomed to having someone beside him, so it would take a little time to adjust.

He wanted nothing more than for Qiao Hua to stay away from him.

Gu Wenze forced down the strange feeling in his heart and closed his eyes to sleep, but his thoughts seemed to be pulled by something, drifting in an unknown direction.

By the time he woke again, it was already the next day.

Gu Wenze got up and went downstairs.

Sure enough, Qiao Hua hadn't prepared breakfast for him again.

He felt that suffocating tightness in his chest return.

Gu Wenze looked up toward the room on the second floor. The door was shut, and the person inside seemed to still be asleep.

His face tightened. Looking thunderous, he slammed the door on his way out.

Not long after Gu Wenze left, Qiao Hua woke in the spare bedroom.

She stretched and rolled around under the covers a few times.

Sure enough, she slept so much better without a man beside her.

Qiao Hua went downstairs barefoot to get some water. She faintly heard the door opening behind her and assumed Gu Wenze had returned, grumbling to herself.

[Why did that bastard come back again?]

[Seeing him first thing in the morning is such bad luck.]

"Qiao Hua."

An extremely displeased female voice suddenly came from behind her.

Qiao Hua paused mid-sip.

How had Gu Wenze's voice turned feminine after a night's sleep?

Qiao Hua turned around and unexpectedly found herself facing an elegant, refined woman.

The middle-aged woman wore an aqua qipao. Her thick hair was meticulously styled, and a lustrous pearl necklace adorned her neck, lending her the dignified air of a well-bred lady.

Qiao Hua asked in confusion, "Who are you?"

At those words, the middle-aged woman's expression soured.

"You don't even remember me?"

When the woman frowned, her features bore some resemblance to Gu Wenze's. Noticing this, Qiao Hua formed a bold guess.

Could this be Gu Wenze's mother?

Qiao Hua ventured hesitantly, "Mom?"

The middle-aged woman's brow furrowed even more deeply, a barely perceptible trace of disgust in her expression. "You may have married into the Gu Family, but I will never accept you. Give up on that idea."

[All right, that settles it. This is Gu Wenze's nasty mother.]

[She looks so gentle and beautiful. Why does everything out of her mouth sound so vile?]

[No wonder she meets such a bad end later.]

Where was that voice coming from?

Weng Fenghua looked around, but she and Qiao Hua were the only people in the house.

Could those be Qiao Hua's thoughts?

At that realization, Weng Fenghua began looking at Qiao Hua differently.

Qiao Hua noticed nothing and continued complaining inwardly.

[What are you staring at? I know you're here to pick on me again.]

[Don't these rich ladies have anything better to do? Can't they go shopping or get beauty treatments instead of making life difficult for a girlfriend who hasn't even married into the family yet?]

[Can't she think bigger? Like those rich wives on TV-throw a check at me and say, "I'll give you five million to leave my son." I'd take the money and get the hell out right away.]

In the original novel, Gu Wenze's mother had always disliked Qiao Hua and had urged him to divorce her several times.

In her eyes, Qiao Hua was a scheming, deceitful woman with an appalling family background. How could she possibly be worthy of her handsome, wealthy son?

So Weng Fenghua picked on Qiao Hua at every opportunity, frequently making her come over to serve tea and water to the other wealthy wives, ordering her around like a servant.

To win Weng Fenghua's approval, Qiao Hua endured everything, no matter how difficult she made things.

Yet even after all that, she still failed to gain Weng Fenghua's acceptance. After Qiao Hua eventually developed cancer, Weng Fenghua even sent her a message telling her to stop clinging to Gu Wenze.

Hearing Qiao Hua admit to loving money, Weng Fenghua felt as though she'd caught her red-handed. "So you've finally admitted it, you wicked woman!"

Qiao Hua was baffled. "What have I done that's wicked?"

Hadn't she been acting like a perfectly dutiful daughter-in-law?

She'd even called her Mom.

Weng Fenghua suddenly remembered that Qiao Hua didn't know she could hear her thoughts, and swallowed her next words.

Although she had no idea why she could suddenly hear Qiao Hua's thoughts, one thing was certain: this woman was after her son's money.

Weng Fenghua said, "I know you approached my son for his money. Let me tell you, don't ever dream of becoming part of the Gu Family."

[Who wants to be part of your family?]

[You're all doomed to die young. It won't be long before every last one of you is dead. I don't want to spend the rest of my life as a widow.]

Weng Fenghua's eyes widened.

What?

Everyone in her family would die?

Was something going to happen to her family?

Countless questions crowded Weng Fenghua's mind. She waited desperately for Qiao Hua to continue, but her thoughts abruptly stopped.

The suspense was driving Weng Fenghua mad.

Go on, then!

Weng Fenghua wanted to know what happened next, but she couldn't ask. All she could do was reassure herself that Qiao Hua was surely talking nonsense.

"You know Jiang Nan has returned to the country, don't you?"

Qiao Hua answered honestly, "I do."

Weng Fenghua turned the diamond ring on her index finger, its dazzling brilliance catching the light. "Although the Jiang Family went bankrupt, Jiang Nan's education and upbringing speak for themselves. Ordinary people can't compare to her."

Hearing the implication in Weng Fenghua's words, Qiao Hua asked bluntly, "Mrs. Weng, what are you trying to say?"

Weng Fenghua stopped beating around the bush. "Jiang Nan and Wenze were classmates in high school. They already had feelings for each other. If Jiang Nan hadn't gone abroad afterward, you would never have had a chance with my son."

"Neither your education nor your family background can compare to Jiang Nan's. What qualifies you to be his wife?"

"So I suggest you know your place and divorce my son as soon as possible. Stop wasting his best years."

Qiao Hua said calmly, "You should tell your son that. He's the one who won't let me move out. It's not that I refuse to leave."

To Weng Fenghua, those words sounded like a provocation. Her expression darkened. "Are you trying to tell me how much my son can't bear to be without you?"

[Do Gu Wenze and his mother both have trouble understanding plain language?]

[Gu Wenze is clearly the one refusing to let me leave. How did this turn into me clinging to him?]

[Forget it. Just put up with her. Gu Wenze's mother won't live much longer anyway.]

[She'll suffer a medical mishap during a cosmetic procedure. Not only will her face be ruined, but she'll eventually be unable to bear the blow and jump to her death.]

[And Jiang Nan, her favorite prospective daughter-in-law, knows perfectly well that there's something wrong with that clinic, yet won't warn her. Once she's dead, Jiang Nan will draw Gu Wenze into her tender embrace.]

Weng Fenghua jolted.

She-she would suffer a medical mishap?