Night Fire Lingering

Mingzhu stood on the podium, tears streaming down her face.

It's over, it's over!

Her honors, her life, are all over!

Everyone will laugh at her from now on!

Ji Chang walked over to Mingzhu to comfort her, her expression somewhat subtle: "Azhu, what's going on with your GPA?"

Mingzhu seemed not to hear Ji Chang's words, and suddenly looked at Ji Chang reproachfully: "Isn't Gu Yanci your son? Why doesn't your son listen to you? Why does he stand against you and bully me! Why can't you control your son!"

Her eyes were filled with madness. Ji Chang took a half step back in shock, staring at Mingzhu in disbelief, as if she were seeing her for the first time.

"You...you blame me?" Ji Chang felt hurt. "Mingzhu, I've gone to so much trouble for you, how could you...how could you say that to me?"

"But why didn't you control your son!"

Ji Chang's tears welled up instantly. She glanced at Gu Yanci, but his gaze didn't linger on her at all.

Ji Chang looked away, stubbornly holding back her tears.

She just can't control her ungrateful son, Gu Yanci!

"Wen Yan, it's all your fault, it's all your fault! You ruined me!" Mingzhu suddenly rushed towards Wen Yan, but was stopped by several teachers.

At the same time, Gu Yanci had already shielded Wen Yan behind him, his gaze cold as he looked at Mingzhu.

"Mingzhu, do you want to implicate your parents?" Gu Yanci warned.

"You...you're threatening me?" Mingzhu pointed at Wen Yan. "Cousin, I'm your blood relative. How can you threaten me for the sake of an outsider like Wen Yan?"

"A threat is one that only talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk," Gu Yanci said coldly.

He's the kind of person who says what he means and does what he says.

Haven't he dealt with those disobedient parasites in the Gu family enough?

As for outsiders, Wen Yan was never one.

Wen Yan was too lazy to explain; the reason Mingzhu ended up like this was not her fault at all.

Mingzhu glared at Wen Yan with disgust and said fiercely, "Wen Yan, let's see how long you can be so smug!"

Gu Yanci looked at the school leaders: "As Wen Yan's family member, I hope the college will give us a fair solution. As the donor of the school scholarship, I believe the school will give me a public answer."

This is forcing schools to stop downplaying the issue.

Mingzhu collapsed to the ground as if the sky had fallen. Seeing her distress, the teacher immediately contacted her parents to come and pick her up.

"Ms. Ji, would you prefer that we send someone to escort you, or—" The teacher in charge of reception didn't finish her sentence before looking at Gu Yanci and Wen Yan.

Their son and daughter-in-law are here.

"No need, I can leave by myself." Ji Chang took a deep breath to keep herself from losing her composure.

Gu Yanci walked over and called out "Mom" without any emotion.

"Mom." Wen Yan poured a cup of hot water for Ji Chang.

Ji Chang didn't answer, her gaze shifting back and forth between Wen Yan and Gu Yanci, and she sneered: "You two have really made something of yourselves, making me lose face!"

Wen Yan hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.

She was already being very lenient by not directly stating that Ji Chang's review process might have non-compliance issues.

"It's your own fault," Gu Yanci said bluntly.

Ji Chang was so angry she almost choked, so she clutched her chest and took a deep breath.

Wen Yan instinctively wanted to comfort her, but thinking of what Ji Chang had done this time, she held back.

Gu Yanci suddenly asked, "Why is the sapphire ring I gave you a few days ago on Wen Muzhi's hand?"

Ji Chang was stunned for a moment, then glanced at Wen Yan, "What sapphire ring? I don't remember."

Gu Yanci didn't speak, just looked at her with a silent mockery, as if to say: Keep pretending, keep pretending.

"You gave it to me, don't I have the right to do with it as I please?" Seeing that she couldn't fool him, Ji Chang turned the tables and said, "What, does your wife want it back?"

Wen Yan realized that Ji Chang was mocking her, but she didn't care at all.

Her focus was on the fact that the sapphire ring wasn't a gift from Gu Yanci to Wen Muzhi!

Wen Muzhi was deliberately lying to her and provoking her!

A silent blockage in Wen Yan's heart quietly dissipated, and she suddenly felt enlightened.

In the past, were there some things that Wen Muzhi did intentionally to make her misunderstand Gu Yanci?

"Aci, take me home." Ji Chang had composed herself and stood up to straighten her clothes.

"Zhou Qi is waiting outside." Gu Yanci asked Zhou Qi to escort Ji Chang.

Ji Chang retorted angrily, "You are my son. If you don't see me off, what are you going to do?"

At the end, he glanced at Wen Yan.

Wen Yan didn't want Gu Yanci to see her off, so she said, "Mom, take care of yourself. My car is parked outside. I'll be going now."

They didn't give anyone a chance to mention giving it to her.

Gu Yanci frowned as he watched Wen Yan leave.

Ji Chang silently curled the corners of her lips: "Aci, you see, she doesn't care about you at all, yet you're still going against me for her sake."

Gu Yanci withdrew his gaze and walked outside.

Although he didn't have much affection for Ji Chang, he would still try his best to fulfill his filial duties.

Gu Yan declined Zhou Qixian's offer to return to the company and personally drove Ji Chang back to the old house.

Looking at the beautiful campus of Imperial University, Ji Chang's eyes were filled with nostalgia and regret: "If Jing Zhou were still here, he would have already graduated with a doctorate from Imperial University."

Gu Jingzhou was admitted to a combined master's and doctoral program at Imperial University when he was 23 years old. In the same year, his condition deteriorated rapidly, and he passed away at the age of 24, dying young.

Gu Yanci unconsciously tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

"Are you and Wen Yan planning to get a divorce?" Ji Chang suddenly asked.

"prick--"

The Rolls-Royce Phantom braked suddenly on the asphalt road.

Ji Chang's body lurched forward, only to be pulled back by the seatbelt. Before she could ask what had happened, Gu Yanci's gaze fell upon her:

"I have no such plans."

Gu Yanci's gaze was so cold that, once the facade of self-discipline and propriety was torn away, he appeared exceptionally gloomy.

Ji Chang was startled, but quickly recovered: "Really? You don't have it, and neither does Wen Yan?"

Gu Yanci parked the car on the side of the road and asked, "Who said that?"

Ji Chang lived a secluded life, and she would never have known about these rumors unless someone deliberately told her about them.

"It doesn't matter who said it. It's better that you're divorced. I didn't agree with you two being together back then. You have plenty of good girls around you. If all else fails, I think Wen Muzhi would be fine too."

Gu Yanci understood, his gaze turning slightly cold.

It turns out that Wen Muzhi said it.

"Keep your contact with Wen Muzhi to a minimum," Gu Yanci said to Ji Chang.

Ji Chang frowned, puzzled: "Don't you like her?"

Gu Yanci placed one hand on the steering wheel and sneered, "Do you really not understand your son, or are you just pretending?"

Ji Chang's face instantly turned ugly, and her words came out like a curse: "I know you like Wen Yan, you like to compete with your brother for her, even with women! But Gu Yanci, Wen Yan doesn't have you in her heart!"