Volume 1, Chapter 156: Disgusting

Sheng Yuru never expected Chu Xingzhi to suddenly lay his cards on the table with her.

She knew that if she failed to keep Chu Xingzhi today, she would probably never have another chance in the future.

"Chu Xingzhi—"

Seeing Chu Xingzhi open the car door and about to get in, she rushed over and blocked him. "You can't leave!"

"Step aside!"

There was not a single expression on Chu Xingzhi's face. He was now desperately eager to find Song Qingyu, not wanting to waste even a single second.

"Are you ignoring the Chu Corporation? If I tell my uncle that you played me, neither my uncle nor my cousin will let you off!"

Chu Xingzhi was furious!

"Go ahead and tell them!"

He shoved Sheng Yuru aside, his expression dark and terrifying. "I am utterly sick of this. Besides making threats like this, what else are you capable of?"

"Xingzhi..."

Sheng Yuru burst into tears, terrified and panicked.

Everything had been fine just moments ago; how could he suddenly turn hostile without a second thought?

"I didn't mean to threaten you. I just want to be with you, I like you."

"Ha—"

Chu Xingzhi sneered, his gaze devoid of even a shred of warmth. "No threat? Then what do you call this?"

"I..."

"Every single minute and second spent with you makes me sick. Let me spell it out for you—even if the Chu Corporation goes bankrupt in the future, I will never be with you."

Chu Xingzhi pushed Sheng Yuru away ruthlessly, got into his car, and drove off without the slightest hesitation or pause.

"Xingzhi! Chu Xingzhi—"

Sheng Yuru chased after him for a few steps before tripping and falling to the ground, yet she couldn't make Chu Xingzhi stop his car or look back.

She cried her heart out, her mind replaying Chu Xingzhi's words over and over again.

Every single minute and second spent with her made him sick!

So, from beginning to end, he had never liked her.

So, everything had just been her own wishful thinking.

Chu Xingzhi drove at top speed for several kilometers. His heart was beating so wildly that the high heart-rate warning on his smartband began to beep insistently.

"Screech—"

He slammed on the accelerator and pulled the car over to the roadside.

The veins on his hands gripping the steering wheel bulged, trembling slightly.

A light of wild joy and excitement flashed in his eyes.

He couldn't help picking up his phone again to take a look. Both Meng Yucheng and his secretary had sent him photos via WeChat.

Different photos, yet they featured the exact same person.

The young man in the photos wore a gloomy expression, his aura icy and terrifying.

That was Gu Yuandong in his youth, his school uniform hanging loosely from his frame, looking arrogant and untamed.

If that person were scaled up proportionally, it would be Pei Jingmo's face.

Pei Jingmo was Gu Yuandong!

No wonder—

He had always believed he had never offended Gu Yuandong, yet Gu Yuandong had opposed him at every turn.

They were love rivals after all; how could Gu Yuandong possibly let him off?

Ha—

And look at that! The moment he got together with Sheng Yuru, Gu Yuandong had hypocritically offered to cooperate with him, purely because he thought Chu Xingzhi would no longer compete with him for Xiao Yu!

Xiao Yu!

His Xiao Yu had been deceived by a liar like Pei Jingmo!

With trembling hands, Chu Xingzhi fished a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, placed one between his lips, and clicked his lighter several times without managing to spark a flame.

After finally lighting the cigarette and smoking three in a row, he gradually grew calm.

Meng Yucheng's call suddenly came through.

"Holy crap, did I recognize the wrong person? Gu Yuandong is Pei Jingmo?"

"Yes! You didn't recognize the wrong person!"

"That explains everything! But how on earth did he end up marrying Song Qingyu?"

Realizing something, Meng Yucheng cursed out loud, "The last time we mistook Song Qingyu for Gu Yuandong's first love and sent her to him, we even blamed that private investigator for messing up. Could it be that the private investigator wasn't wrong after all?"

Chu Xingzhi stared coldly at the hazy, fog-shrouded sky, his face completely expressionless.

"I knew it! That private investigator has followed me for many years and never made a mistake before. How could he have blundered on an investigation about Gu Yuandong? Gu Yuandong must have figured out our scheme long ago, played along with it, and deliberately made Song Qingyu misunderstand you."

Back then, he hadn't noticed any of it.

Now, thinking about it sent a chill down his spine.

"Even if they are the same person, you can't possibly fight someone as powerful as Pei Jingmo. You mustn't act rashly."

Right now, Chu Xingzhi's mind was consumed entirely by Song Qingyu. "He snatched Xiao Yu from me and deceived her. I will never allow Xiao Yu to be kept in the dark, treating him as her closest husband."

"Oh please, you and Song Qingyu are already finished. Even if Song Qingyu was tricked, that's her own problem. Stop meddling! Or could it be... you damn bastard are still harboring thoughts about Song Qingyu?"

Meng Yucheng was utterly speechless. Knowing it would come to this, why cheat in the first place!

"You better think this through carefully. Your rival in love is no ordinary man; he is Gu Yuandong, the Crown Prince of Beijing!"

Without another word, Chu Xingzhi hung up the phone.

No, he needed to calm down properly.

He had to devise a plan—one that wouldn't hurt Xiao Yu, yet would make her realize that Pei Jingmo was a fraud.

The Gu Family Old Residence.

After Sheng Yuru chased after the departing Chu Xingzhi, Gu Fengjiao followed her outside.

Seeing her daughter collapsed on the ground crying, Gu Fengjiao immediately helped her up. "What's wrong? Did Chu Xingzhi bully you?"

Sheng Yuru threw herself into Gu Fengjiao's arms. "Mom, I don't know what to do anymore."

"What do you mean, what to do? Break up with him, Mom will introduce you to a man much better than him."

"But I only like him!"

"Can liking someone put food on the table? You treat him like a treasure while he holds you in utter contempt. Why subject yourself to such humiliation?"

Sheng Yuru sniffled, feeling even more heartbroken and despairing.

Pei Jingmo knew nothing of the commotion outside. He was currently in Gu Chengde's room, having taken out the portrait of his late mother, Pei Shishi.

Gu Chengde strode into the room, and seeing his son wiping his beloved wife's portrait, he frowned and snatched the photo away from Pei Jingmo. "What kind of madness are you up to? Get out!"

Watching his father carefully place the portrait back into the cabinet, Pei Jingmo let out a cold laugh. "Why don't you dare leave my mother's picture out in the open? Are you afraid that if you treat her child poorly, she'll crawl out of her grave and blame you?"

Veins bulging in his eyes with rage, Gu Chengde roared, "What nonsense are you spewing?"

"Then why don't you dare face her?"

"I am not afraid to face her—"

"Then take her portrait out! Didn't you love her? How come you don't even have the courage to look at her?"

"Get the hell out of here!"

Pei Jingmo's lips curved into a sneer full of mockery. "Rest assured, I'll leave. But before I go, I need to tell you a few things."

Pei Jingmo removed the mask from his face. "Do you honestly think that by using Song Qingyu to threaten me, I would simply obey?"

Right in front of Gu Chengde, he threw the mask onto the floor and ground his heel into it fiercely. "You're right, Song Qingyu is indeed my vulnerability, but she is also my armor. You probably didn't know—Song Qingyu and I are already married. Legally registered on a marriage certificate kind of married."

Gu Chengde's already poor complexion turned even more ghastly. He raised a hand to strike him, only to have his wrist caught firmly in Pei Jingmo's grip.

"I still have to go home to see my wife tonight, so I can't let you hit me again."

Gu Chengde violently shook off Pei Jingmo's hand. "Do you think you can present me with a fait accompli and everything will just go your way?"

"Ha... Haha..."

Pei Jingmo let out a low laugh, gazing with heavy, dark eyes at the father who stood half a head shorter than him. "Dad, do you know why I've been obeying your every word all this time?"

A sudden sense of foreboding welled up inside Gu Chengde. "What have you done?"