The abandoned daughter of the Lu family turns around and marries a celibate tycoon.

The safe door opened, revealing a thick stack of documents neatly arranged inside—every single account Gu Qiran had kept over the past three years, every instance of underhanded dealings, and every piece of evidence that could be brought to court.

He never took it out.

When Grandma was still alive, she held his hand and said, "Yanshen, no matter what, we're still family. Let's be forgiving, okay?"

He looked at the old man's gray hair and nodded.

He locked these materials away in the deepest part of his body and told himself—never mind.

Let bygones be bygones.

Besides, he has Ranran now, so things will be better for him in the future.

But how did they treat his Ranran?

They had someone poison Grandma, hiding the poison in her jewelry. At the height of her happiness, they took away the child from her body, a child he hadn't even had a chance to hold.

Gu Yanshen slammed the document heavily on the table.

The sound of the papers colliding was like a muffled thunderclap.

"Grandma said she hoped everyone in the Gu family would be well." His voice was flat, like a pronouncement of judgment, "But since they're courting death—"

He paused for a moment, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"...Then don't blame me for showing no mercy."

Lin Chen looked at him but didn't reply.

The night outside the window was as thick as ink, reflected in Gu Yanshen's eyes, an unyielding darkness.

He stood beside the lonely floor lamp, half his face hidden in shadow, like a demon who had finally decided to step down from his pedestal and take lives with his own hands.

But just then, he suddenly spoke, his voice suddenly becoming softer.

"If we listened to Grandma...we could go even faster..."

He lowered his eyes, looking at the stack of documents on the table as if he were looking at evidence of his own crimes.

"Does that mean I won't hurt her?"

These words were spoken too lightly. So lightly that it didn't sound like a question to Lin Chen, but rather a plea that was finally revealed, a plea so humble it was almost groveling.

He was asking for a "yes".

He begged someone to pardon him.

But no.

Lin Chen remained silent.

Only Gu Yanshen's suppressed, almost inaudible breathing could be heard in the office.

After a long while, he raised his head.

Those eyes were devoid of any warmth.

"Did you spread the news that Qin Xuru is my savior?"

Lin Chen's voice fell in the quiet office, like a pebble sinking into a deep pool.

"Yes."

"So many eyes are watching," he paused, his voice flat, as if stating something unrelated to himself, "your constant presence around her will inevitably spark all sorts of speculation."

"The arrangements at the orphanage are also complete," Gu Yanshen added.

Lin Chen remained silent for a few seconds.

"Are you really sure?" he finally spoke, his voice low. "Why choose this... way that will hurt us both?"

Gu Yanshen did not answer.

Lin Chen looked at him, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"...She's been waiting for you."

These words were like an extremely fine knife, precisely piercing a spot in Gu Yanshen's chest that hadn't yet fully scabbed over.

Gu Yanshen's shoulders trembled very slightly.

Then he heard his own voice, hoarse like sandpaper rubbing against wood:

"Lin Chen".

He paused.

"Is it only Su Lanzhi?"

"You know best what I've been through these past three years." His voice suddenly softened as he spoke, almost as if he were talking to himself. "Before, with Grandma around, I could at least catch my breath. Now…"

The face reflected in the windowpane lowered its eyelashes slightly.

"It's not just my dad and his two brothers. All those cousins, distant relatives who appeared out of nowhere... are waiting to get a piece of the pie."

"She shouldn't have gotten involved."

Lin Chen looked at him.

This man, who had fought his way out of the quagmire of the Gu family since he was twenty, now stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, his back to the city lights, like a trapped beast that had finally exhausted itself.

"...Don't regret it." Lin Chen sighed.

Gu Yanshen did not speak.

"I'll pick her up from the hospital tomorrow," Lin Chen said, looking at him. "Will she stay at my place?"

Gu Yanshen did not answer.

The face reflected in the windowpane had eyes so red they looked as if they had been sanded a thousand times.

But he ultimately didn't let that tear fall.

Lin Chen shook his head helplessly.

He knew that perhaps this was the only way for now.

The next day.

Lu Xiran sat in the back seat, her entire face hidden in a thick cashmere scarf, with only her eyes showing.

"Uncle," her voice was still weak, "where are we going?"

"My home."

Lu Xiran remained silent for a few seconds.

Then she chuckled very softly.

"He won't even let me go to his house anymore?"

But Lin Chen's hands gripping the steering wheel tightened slowly.

"slowly……"

Where is he?

Lin Chen remained silent.

In the rearview mirror, Lu Xiran was just looking at him.

There was no interrogation, no hysteria, just quiet waiting for an answer.

"He..." Lin Chen heard his own voice was dry, "...busy."

"What are you busy with?"

"..."

"Can't come up with an excuse anymore?"

There was no blame, no accusation, just a calm exposure of his clumsy lie.

Lin Chen suddenly felt like something was stuck in his throat.

"...Meeting," he said.

"Then I'll go to the company and wait for him."

"slowly--"

"Stop the car."

She reached for the car door handle, her knuckles turning white from the force.

"If you won't take me, I'll take a taxi myself."

She paused, then her voice suddenly choked.

"...He can't stay away from me forever."

Lin Chen looked at her in the rearview mirror.

Her eyes reddened, but no tears fell. She bit her lip tightly, like a little animal that refused to admit defeat.

Lin Chen closed his eyes.

"……good."

"I'll take you there."

Lu Xiran slowly leaned back in her seat and buried her face in her scarf again.

Her expression was no longer visible in the rearview mirror. All that could be seen was her hand gripping the seatbelt, which remained firmly in place.

The Gu Family Building.

As soon as Lu Xiran stepped out of the elevator, she was stopped by her secretary.

Lu Xiran sat down on the sofa outside the president's office.

There were no questions, no arguments.

She just sat there.

Lin Chen stood not far away and sent a message to Gu Yanshen:

"She's here. Outside your door."

The message has been read.

No reply.

ten minutes.

twenty minutes.

Forty minutes.

Lu Xiran just sat there, without saying a word or moving.

The secretary brought her water and placed it on the coffee table, but she didn't touch it.

Gu Yanshen stood in his office, looking at the surveillance screen on the wall.

On the screen, his girl sat on the black leather sofa, her scarf still wrapped around her, making her look like a small ball. Her head was down, so her expression was not visible; only her long hair and her fingertips tightly gripping her cuffs were visible.

She didn't cry.

She didn't even look at her phone.

She just sat there and waited.

Gu Yanshen looked at the screen.

Looking at her profile, the small whorl on the top of her head, and her thin shoulders that seemed to barely hold her clothes up.

He looked at the person he had sworn to protect for the rest of his life, who was now sitting alone outside the door, waiting for him to give her an answer.

All he could give her was silence.

On the screen, she raised her hand and gently pressed her stomach.

—She didn't eat lunch.

She's just been discharged from the hospital; she can't go hungry.

This thought was like a needle, piercing his heart.

Gu Yanshen closed his eyes.

Five seconds.

He opened his eyes and picked up the internal telephone on the table.

"Let her in."

The door opened very softly.

Gu Yanshen stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, his back to her.

— He didn't turn around.