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

Gu Yanshen held his phone, glancing around at his surroundings out of the corner of his eye.

He didn't know where those eyes were hidden, but he knew—someone was watching.

He reached into his pocket with his other hand, and the screen of his spare phone lit up in his palm. Without looking down or pausing, he simply typed a few words blindly with his thumb and pressed send in the instant he turned around.

The next second after sending the message, he put his spare phone back in his pocket.

Then he spoke.

His voice was as cold as the wind blowing from an ice cellar.

"she?"

He paused, his tone laced with a hint of impatient sarcasm.

"Why are you informing me?"

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

Gu Yanshen could hear his own heartbeat. One beat, two beats, three beats—each beat telling him: she was waiting.

But he couldn't let the other party detect any flaws in his statement.

"Who...who doesn't know that President Gu's darling is Lu Xiran?"

The person's voice was processed with a voice changer, making it sharp and piercing.

Gu Yanshen gave a cold laugh.

The laughter was soft, carrying just the right amount of contempt.

"Oh."

He turned around, took two steps toward the hall, his leather shoes clicking on the ground with unhurried ease.

"It seems you've become isolated from the world."

He paused.

"I've been divorced from her for a long time. About a year, I think?"

His tone was extremely sarcastic, as if he were telling a trivial joke.

His knuckles were white as he gripped the phone.

But his voice was so steady that it didn't have a single ripple.

Lu Xiran's eyelashes trembled slightly in the darkness.

She dared not move.

She kept her eyes closed, listening to the familiar voice continue speaking.

"I'm getting engaged today." Gu Yanshen's voice came through the receiver, tinged with a hint of impatience. "If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up."

"etc!"

The voice after using the voice changer was higher in pitch and sounded a bit rushed.

"No matter what, she's still your ex-wife."

Gu Yanshen stopped in his tracks.

He stood at the entrance of the hall, the light from the crystal chandelier pouring out and falling on him, but it couldn't penetrate the deep, impenetrable darkness in his eyes.

"You know she's just an ex-wife."

His voice was as cold as if it had been chilled to the bone.

"You'd better not waste my time."

He made a gesture as if to hang up the phone.

"etc!"

The man's voice became even more urgent.

"If you don't—"

"I said that."

Gu Yanshen interrupted him, speaking slowly and deliberately.

Don't waste my time.

There was a moment of silence on the other end.

Then the man spoke, his voice carrying a desperate, ruthless edge:

"I...I will kill her."

Gu Yanshen's hand holding the phone stiffened slightly.

Just like that.

Extremely fast, so fast that no one would notice.

The backup phone vibrated; it was a text message from Lin Chen: "[It's Su Lanzhi, don't worry]".

Then he laughed.

The laughter was very soft, as soft as if one were listening to a not-so-funny joke.

"what ever."

He said.

Help me solve a problem.

Lu Xiran's eyelashes trembled violently.

She heard it.

I heard every single word.

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

long time.

So long that Gu Yanshen thought the other party had already hung up.

Then the voice from the voice changer sounded again, this time with a hint of confusion and uncertainty:

"Why...why were you so cruel to her?"

Gu Yan took a deep breath.

He used all his strength to keep his voice damnably cold.

"So what?"

He paused.

"After the divorce, we'll be strangers."

He did not give the other person another chance to speak.

hang up the phone.

Su Lanzhi stood there, holding her phone, stunned.

She stared at the disconnected number on the screen, in disbelief.

"She lied to me!"

She slammed her phone to the ground, the screen shattered, and shards flew everywhere.

She turned around and looked at the huddled figure.

The girl was still unconscious, motionless, her face as pale as paper.

Su Lanzhi slowly approached.

I squatted down and looked at that young face.

"You're a pitiful person too."

She said softly.

"She's been fooled by a man like this, and she's still foolishly waiting..."

She suddenly didn't know what to say.

She had prepared everything—threats, negotiations, and bargaining. Someone told her that she believed Lu Xiran was Gu Yanshen's weakness, a bargaining chip to force him to submit.

But now?

The man said: Help me solve a problem.

Su Lan stood there blankly.

"What should I do with you?" she murmured to herself.

Su Lanzhi hurriedly cleaned up the mess.

My hands are still shaking.

She's still on probation and can't afford to make any more mistakes.

After confirming that no traces had been left, he opened the door and quickly left.

Lin Chen and Su Lanzhi's figures disappeared at the end of the corridor.

In the shadows outside the window, the person who had been lying in wait for a long time had already turned and left after receiving the message.

"Ranran. Ranran."

Lu Xiran slowly opened her eyes, her vision clearing from blurry to sharp. She paused for a second upon seeing Lin Chen's face, then lowered her gaze to the loose knot on her wrist.

"She's gone," Lin Chen said as he untied the rope.

Lu Xiran did not speak.

She just watched the ropes fall down, one loop after another, and looked at the faint red marks on her wrists.

"Can you walk?"

She nodded.

She stood up and walked towards the door. Lin Chen followed behind her.

She paused for a moment as she passed the banquet hall.

The door was half open.

Inside, the lights were bright, and the atmosphere was lively with clinking glasses. Crystal chandeliers sparkled, the champagne tower gleamed with an amber light, and elegantly dressed people moved about in a bustling crowd.

Her gaze pierced through the gap and landed on the crowd.

Gu Yanshen stood in the center, a champagne glass in his hand. He tilted his head slightly to listen to the people next to him, nodding occasionally, his face bearing a standard smile—polite, aloof, just right. Song Zhihe stood beside him, her champagne-colored dress shimmering under the lights, occasionally glancing up at him, her eyes filled with a halo of happiness.

He looked no different from any other social night.

It was as if that phone call from half an hour ago had never happened.

It was as if the phrase "solve the problem" was just an illusion for her.

Lu Xiran stood there, watching that scene.

Looked for a long time.

Then he looked away.

Keep going.

Step by step.

He took each step very steadily.

But something inside her was slowly sinking.

—It turns out that all the excuses she made for him over the past six months—that he must have had his reasons, that he must have been forced, that he must still care about her—were all so ridiculous.

The next day, Jin Qiqi gave birth to a boy, and both mother and child were safe.

Lu Xiran stayed at the hospital for three more days.

On the morning of the fourth day, she boarded a flight to Zurich.

Thirteen hours later, the plane landed.

She put down her luggage, sat on the edge of the bed, and took out her phone.

That name is still in my contacts.

"Gu Yanshen".

She stared at it for a long time.

After a while, the screen automatically turns off and then turns back on.

Delete contact.

She then opened WeChat.

— Delete chat history.

— Delete the dialog box.

—Delete a friend.

Alipay. Bank card.

—Delete all the places he once appeared in.

One by one, I select and delete the photos on my phone.

Cloud backup, all data wiped.

Completely clear it.

It's like uprooting a person from their life.

There was no trace left.