Chapter 43

“Three tumors with human faces?”

Gu Qinglan was stunned for a moment. As she imagined Gu Qingrong’s current appearance, she couldn’t help but shudder before bursting into laughter.

Gu Qingrong cared most about her face. Now that she had three tumors growing on it, she was probably so furious that one Buddha would ascend, and another would reincarnate—she likely didn’t even have the courage to step outside.

When it came to Gu Qingrong, Gu Qinglan was far from her usual gentle and accommodating self. Ever since her mother passed away and Gu Xiujin married Luo Jiangyue into the Gu family, she had gone from being the rightful eldest daughter of the Gu family to an unnecessary presence.

Luo Jiangyue and Gu Qingrong were both skilled at putting on an act, always pretending to be bullied in front of Gu Xiujin. And since he was biased toward this mother-daughter pair, he would always demand that Gu Qinglan apologize.

Gu Qingrong also had a habit of stealing her belongings. If Gu Qinglan refused to give them up, Gu Qingrong would destroy them and then run to Gu Xiujin, claiming that Gu Qinglan had done it on purpose. Even after Gu Qinglan got together with Jiashu, Gu Qingrong still tried to take him away from her.

Gu Qingrong could fight her for Gu Xiujin’s affection—Gu Qinglan didn’t care. She had long since stopped considering Gu Xiujin her father, resenting him for his infidelity with his wife’s student and for ultimately driving her mother to her death.

But Gu Qingrong trying to steal Jiashu? That was something she absolutely could not tolerate. Jiashu was the only person she cared about besides her mother, and she would never allow Gu Qingrong to take him away. Fortunately, Jiashu only loved her and completely disregarded Gu Qingrong.

Over the years, she had ceased to care about Gu Qingrong. However, learning that Gu Qingrong had become so ruthless as to want her entire family dead made her feel immensely satisfied at the woman’s current misfortune.

Shen Lihuan took a bite of her macaron, glanced at her mother with a faint smile, and lazily leaned against the back of the sofa.

Shen Jiashu patted Gu Qinglan’s back and gently reminded her, “Be careful not to choke.”

Gu Qinglan laughed until she had her fill, then cleared her throat and curiously asked Shen Lihuan, “My good daughter, when did you drug Gu Qingrong? Didn’t you only meet her once?”

“I did it during Chang Hong’s birthday banquet.” Shen Lihuan took a sip of her sago coconut milk drink, finding the macaron a bit too sweet.

“You had planned this in advance?” Shen Jiashu raised an eyebrow, unsurprised by the realization.

“Mhm. She dared to bully Mom and even tried to drug you, Dad.” Shen Lihuan nodded without hesitation.

Not to mention that Gu Qingrong had intended to kill their whole family. All she had done was return the favor—an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

“Good job! Saves us from having to see her running around all the time.” Gu Qinglan rested her chin on her hand, smiling in satisfaction.

“She already suspects it was you. I’m afraid she’ll retaliate in desperation.” Shen Jiashu was more cautious in his thinking. “I’ll assign a few more bodyguards to stay by your side.”

Shen Lihuan hummed in agreement. “If she wants to cause trouble for me, she’ll have to see if she even gets the chance.” She narrowed her eyes, her pink tongue lightly grazing her pearly white teeth. “I already suspected she was the one who bribed Gao Qiang to run us over. Now that I’ve ruined her face, she must hate me even more. I’m not afraid of her revenge. If she makes a move, we’ll just—catch the turtle in the jar.”

There hadn’t been enough evidence to prove Gu Qingrong’s involvement in the car accident, but that was fine. If she dared to attack Shen Lihuan now, they’d have solid proof against her. Attempted murder—whether she succeeded or not—was still a life sentence.

Shen Lihuan was simply waiting for Gu Qingrong to act.

“You’re trying to lure the snake out of its hole?” Shen Jiashu and his daughter were truly in sync. He immediately understood her intention. “I’ll have people monitor her movements at all times. But for your safety, bodyguards must stay with you. Otherwise, I won’t be at ease.”

“I will, Dad.” Shen Lihuan smiled. “I have plenty of ways to deal with Gu Qingrong. Why would I risk my life for her? I cherish my life.”

If she wanted to kill Gu Qingrong, she had countless methods. But she wouldn’t let her die so easily. She wanted to expose all of Gu Qingrong’s wicked deeds to the public, letting her experience the taste of being despised by everyone.

Their family had been living peacefully in Lan City, yet Gu Qingrong refused to let them be and even tried to kill them all. Since she disregarded others’ lives, she should enjoy the “thrill” of having her own fate controlled by someone else.

The drug Shen Lihuan had given Gu Qingrong was originally a prank powder used in the apocalypse, called Ghost Face Powder. Anyone affected by it would have to endure the tumors on their face for a month before they naturally disappeared, leaving no harm to the body.

But for Gu Qingrong, Shen Lihuan had made some adjustments. The tumors on her face wouldn’t just stay—they would continue to increase until the month was over. In other words, if Gu Qingrong currently had only three, she might wake up one morning to find even more had appeared.

That sight would certainly be interesting.

—

The next morning, Gu Qingrong woke up from her sleep feeling intense pain on her face. It was swollen, as if she had been brutally beaten.

Muttering to herself, she wondered what had happened, and as she got out of bed to look in the mirror—

The moment she saw her own reflection, her heart nearly stopped.

There were now two additional tumors with human faces on her cheekbones. Two pairs of emotionless eyes stared back at her through the mirror.

For someone with trypophobia, this sight alone would have been enough to make them vomit from sheer terror.

Gu Qingrong’s hands trembled in fear. The tumors on her face… were multiplying. There were only two more today, but what if they kept growing? Would her entire face become covered? Her whole body?

Just the thought of it made her feel hopeless. She collapsed onto the chair, her eyes vacant, staring into nothingness.

Suddenly, she sprang to her feet, her hands trembling as she picked up her phone and dialed a number. The call was quickly connected.

“Hello? Qingrong, you finally decided to contact me.”

Hearing this gentle voice, Gu Qingrong burst into tears. “Zhiyuan-ge, save me!”

“Qingrong, what happened? Don’t cry. Hearing you cry makes my heart ache. Tell me, who bullied you? Was it He Xi?”

On the other end, Hu Zhiyuan was pacing anxiously, clenching his fists and punching the wall. Qingrong had never cried so sorrowfully before—something must have happened, and it had to be He Xi’s fault.

He had always said He Xi was unreliable and warned Qingrong not to marry him. But she had still chosen He Xi over him, abandoning him in the end. If she had married him instead, he would never have let her shed a single tear.

“It’s not He Xi, Zhiyuan-ge. It’s Shen Lihuan! Shen Lihuan drugged me! What should I do? If my face is ruined, what’s the point of living? I might as well die and end it all!”

Gu Qingrong was sobbing so hard that she could barely breathe.

“Qingrong, don’t panic. There must be a way. Don’t say things like that.” The moment Hu Zhiyuan heard that her face was ruined, his heart ached unbearably. Qingrong cared about her face the most—if it was truly destroyed, she wouldn’t be able to accept herself.

“Zhiyuan-ge, you must help me! If you don’t, I have no one else to turn to. I hate her so much! Shen Lihuan destroyed my face! You have to get the antidote from her, or I won’t be able to go on living with this face!”

Although Gu Qingrong had chosen to marry He Xi, she had genuinely liked Hu Zhiyuan in the past. If not for his formidable mother, who had sworn to keep her out of the Hu family, and the fact that Hu Zhiyuan, like her, was an illegitimate child—something she couldn’t stand hearing people talk about—she would have married him.

After all, they had grown up together as childhood sweethearts.

Of course, there was also Shen Jiashu to consider. Back then, he was the heir of the Shen family, exceptionally handsome, and practically the dream lover of every young woman in the imperial capital. Not to mention, he was Gu Qinglan’s boyfriend. Gu Qingrong had always wanted to steal everything from Gu Qinglan, including her man. She had once believed she would marry Shen Jiashu.

Who would have thought Shen Jiashu would give up his position as heir for Gu Qinglan and even elope with her?

Gu Qingrong had become the laughingstock of the entire imperial capital. Everyone knew she was about to marry Shen Jiashu, only for him to run away with her sister.

Fortunately, Hu Zhiyuan had been by her side all along, sharing her pain and sorrow. Their relationship had grown increasingly ambiguous, and just when they were on the verge of crossing that line, Hu Zhiyuan’s mother had intervened again, firmly opposing their relationship.

Hu Zhiyuan was a filial son. Faced with his mother’s threats to end her life, he had no choice but to temporarily compromise and stop contacting Gu Qingrong. It was during this time that she met He Xi—a notorious playboy.

No one had expected Gu Qingrong to be so skilled at seduction that He Xi, for her sake, remained chaste and never set foot in any entertainment venue again.

Faced with a man who loved her, had status, and was incredibly handsome, Gu Qingrong didn’t hesitate for long before choosing He Xi over Hu Zhiyuan.

Hu Zhiyuan could only retreat in misery.

Yet, even after both had entered marriage, they still remained in contact. Whenever Gu Qingrong had a problem she couldn’t solve, she always turned to Hu Zhiyuan for help.

“Qingrong, don’t cry. Do you want to break my heart? I will help you. Even if it costs me my life, I will help you.”

Hu Zhiyuan couldn’t bear to hear Qingrong cry. Even though she was already a woman in her thirties, in his heart, she was still that girl who sweetly called him ‘Zhiyuan-ge.’

“Thank you, Zhiyuan-ge. If you really manage to get the antidote this time, I will fulfill all your wishes.”

Gu Qingrong’s words were syrupy sweet, but her eyes were cold and devoid of emotion.

“Qingrong, I promise you, I will get the antidote.”

Hu Zhiyuan made a gentle vow, completely unaware that behind him stood a woman who bore a five-point resemblance to Gu Qingrong. She stood stiffly, clutching a medical report in her hand, tears suddenly slipping down her face.

—

The bruises on You Changqing’s knees had completely disappeared by the third day. She eagerly returned to school, having missed Lihuan terribly after not seeing her all day yesterday.

“Changqing, you’re here! How’s your knee? Does it still feel sore?”

Shen Lihuan had been chatting with Cheng Ziqian and the others, but the moment she saw You Changqing, she immediately abandoned them and turned to check on her.

Cheng Ziqian was already used to Shen Lihuan’s “cold-heartedness.” If there ever came a day when her attention wasn’t entirely on Changqing, that would be the real surprise.

You Changqing happily set her bag down on the desk. “It’s all better now! Thanks to you massaging it for me, otherwise, I wouldn’t have healed so fast. Lihuan, you’re the best.”

She lifted her gaze, her bright, water-clear eyes looking straight at Shen Lihuan. Seeing her own reflection in those shining pupils, Shen Lihuan couldn’t help but smile and softly say, “We had planned to go out for a meal the day before yesterday, but it didn’t work out. Let’s try again today.”

“Okay! But this time, let’s not take the bus. I’ll have the driver take us.”

You Changqing nodded eagerly like a little chick pecking at rice, looking absolutely adorable. Shen Lihuan ruffled her hair. “Alright.”

Behind them, Cheng Ziqian watched their public display of affection and turned to Bo Wen’an. “Wen’an, I want my head patted too.”

Bo Wen’an stared at him for a few seconds, then reached out and ruffled his hair into a bird’s nest.

Cheng Ziqian: “…”

Did I get myself a fake boyfriend or what?