Chapter 10: Betrayal

Late at night.

Gu Sheng sat alone by the convenience store window.

Earlier, He Wenzhou had left her outside the gated community. She watched as his Jeep swiped the card and drove in. She spent a long time struggling to calm herself. When she finally decided to leave, she realized it was already past midnight and the bus had long stopped running.

Gu Sheng tried to hail a ride on her phone, but all she had was the 250 yuan He Wenzhou had given her earlier—far from enough to get back to the Zhao family home. Her leg ached, making it hard to walk quickly in the cold night, and even getting a hotel room was out of reach.

More than that, she truly didn’t want to return to the Zhao household.

So, through the long, endless night, Gu Sheng stood aimlessly in the freezing cold.

She didn’t know where to go. Ever since her prison sentence, all those who once circled around her had disappeared. Since she got her phone back upon release, not a single person had reached out.

Everyone was afraid of being entangled with someone who had a criminal record. Besides, she had offended the Wang family; no one wanted trouble.

She knew this world well—people flocked to power and influence. They only pretended to care because she had been raised by the Zhao family. Beneath the surface, few were sincere. It was normal for contacts to be severed.

She had no friends to turn to, no one to rely on.

Later, Gu Sheng’s face turned pale from the cold. She rubbed her hands, trying to warm them, and glanced around. She suddenly spotted a 24-hour convenience store across the street, its lights still on. Her eyes brightened, and she hurried inside to escape the chill.

Just one night; at dawn, she would take the bus away.

At two in the morning, the convenience store clerk was busy tidying up. The air was filled with the aroma of oden.

Gu Sheng sat in a corner, a bowl of cold instant noodles before her, her dull, vacant eyes gazing out at the lonely night. From where she sat, she could see the gate of the upscale community. Occasionally, a luxury car would enter.

The world of the wealthy.

Of course, He Wenzhou lived in one of those homes.

Her phone buzzed on the table. Gu Sheng looked down and saw a message from Jiang Qin.

It read: “Shengsheng, I’m sorry.”

Nothing more.

Gu Sheng’s eyes flickered.

Before leaving the Zhao residence that night—

She had received a terse message from He Wenzhou. If she couldn’t repay the money, she could work it off. Without waiting for her consent, he decisively sent the address of a club and demanded she arrive within half an hour.

His reason was that he disliked socializing but didn’t want to lose face, so he needed Gu Sheng to be the one to break the ice.

But if she didn’t come, her debt would double, with interest calculated at the highest rate.

Gu Sheng had no money and was in no position to argue. She hesitated briefly but, unable to bear being toyed with over owed money, she reluctantly agreed and texted back “I’m coming,” then hurriedly changed clothes and went downstairs.

Just as she passed through the living room, standing on the second-floor stairs, she overheard Jiang Qin arguing on the phone.

“What do you mean you want me to make her come back?” Jiang Qin’s voice was low but filled with fury. “Old Zhao, have some conscience. Shengsheng is a girl we raised ourselves. She’s been through so much. Now that she’s out of prison and won’t come home, where else does she have to go?”

Gu Sheng froze in the shadows.

No need to guess—the man on the other end was the head of the Zhao family, Zhao Cheng.

She stood silently on the stairs.

She knew her reputation was ruined by her time in prison. The Zhao family was at a crucial point in their business. Her return would undoubtedly cause trouble for Zhao Corporation.

She knew she shouldn’t come back, but at that moment, she hadn’t figured out where else to go. Especially with the matter of Zhao Qinglang, living under the same roof was bound to be awkward. In principle, she wasn’t planning to stay.

The Zhao family had adopted her; Jiang Qin had cared for her over a decade. She owed them gratitude and didn’t want to cause trouble.

Jiang Qin was usually gentle and rarely argued, but now, she was furious, trying to reason with someone over the phone, clearly risking a lot for Gu Sheng.

Gu Sheng felt a pang of pain and wanted to urge Jiang Qin not to argue with Zhao Cheng for her own health.

Yet—

“What about the Wang family?” Jiang Qin’s voice sharpened. “You know Shengsheng is innocent, but what about you? You watch a young girl take the fall. Zhao Cheng, this is ten years—ten years of a girl’s life!”

“Shengsheng’s life has been destroyed by our family!”

“And you? You turn around and cooperate with the Wang family!”

At this, Jiang Qin’s voice was full of bitter accusation. “Do you think I’m stupid? I know where that land came from—it was won by selling girls and losing all conscience!”

“Zhao Cheng, you’re not just inhuman, you want to control me too, don’t you?”

“You’re a man—how can your backbone be so weak?”

The Wang family?

Wang Xiao?

In the living room, Jiang Qin’s cries of resentment were impossible to suppress. In that instant, Gu Sheng understood everything.

So, the government project Zhao Qinglang boasted about was actually secured through the Wang family’s connections behind the scenes.

Gu Sheng thought, no wonder no one from the Zhao family had come to see her all year.

It wasn’t that they couldn’t—they simply didn’t want to.

Gu Sheng remained frozen on the stairs, clenching her fists tightly. Eventually, the housekeeper startled her by appearing suddenly.

“Second Miss?” The housekeeper looked up in surprise. “What are you doing standing here?”

The noise stopped Jiang Qin mid-argument. Gu Sheng said nothing and, saying she had something to do, hurried out.

Only then—

Gu Sheng looked at Jiang Qin’s apology message and hesitated before softly replying, “It’s okay.”

It really was okay.

She knew Jiang Qin had done her best.

What had happened was done and irreversible; this was the path she had chosen. Regret came too late.

Of course, Gu Sheng thought, He Wenzhou was right. She had taken the fall for others and deserved to be scorned by the industry.

She had no professional ethics.

A deep sadness welled up inside her. She opened her photo album and stared at the picture of a man. Her eyelids trembled as she whispered hoarsely, “Dad, I miss you so much...”

But the dead do not answer.

Gu Sheng couldn’t hold back. No sooner had she spoken than tears streamed down her face, as if all the dark clouds in her heart had burst. Her sobs blurred her vision of her loved ones.

Suddenly, footsteps approached beside her, and a small packet of tissues was thrown at her, landing right on her phone screen, obscuring the man’s stern face.

Gu Sheng was startled. She looked up through her tear-blurred eyes and was caught off guard by He Wenzhou’s scornful expression.

He crossed his arms, looking down at her, sneering, “Not coming home this late and sitting here crying like a ghost?”