Do you really think he can still come back?

Hearing Qiao Yanxin’s words, Gu Tingchu’s face was filled with utter disbelief.

The tears froze on his face, hovering on the verge of falling.

"Yan... Yanxin, you’re joking, right?"

Qiao Yanxin rubbed the bridge of her nose with a trace of fatigue. "I am serious. You need to understand that Qiao Yunzhou is my husband. We cannot go on like this anymore."

Gu Tingchu’s eyes welled up with tears. "How can you say such a thing now? Have you never loved me from the very beginning? Why are you able to make such a clean break with me so ruthlessly?!"

Qiao Yanxin let out a sigh that seemed laden with exhaustion. "Tingchu, will you stop making a scene? I have never loved you. The only person I have ever loved from start to finish is Yunzhou. Don't you understand that yet? From now on, I will not have any further involvement with you."

A bitter smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. Gu Tingchu stared straight at Qiao Yanxin in front of him. "Then what were all our memories together supposed to be? When we went to the island to play, went to the temple to pray, and tied the red strings under the marriage tree—have you forgotten all of that?"

"I'm sorry, I've forgotten all of it."

Qiao Yanxin answered as if it were only natural, her tone filled with absolute finality and coldness.

It seemed she truly wanted to draw a clear line between herself and Gu Tingchu.

Yet, hearing all this, my heart didn't stir with the slightest ripple; if anything, I felt a faint urge to laugh.

Qiao Yanxin was acting so decisive now, making a clean break without any lingering attachment, but if she hadn't given Gu Tingchu hope in the first place, how could he have stayed by her side for so long?

Gu Tingchu was no pathetic attachment-seeker; if Qiao Yanxin had rejected him outright, he wouldn't have insisted on clinging to her.

Besides, Qiao Yanxin clearly knew that the relationship between her and Gu Tingchu was inappropriate. Why hadn't she sensed that anything was amiss right up until the moment I died?

Now that I was dead, she had suddenly experienced a spiritual awakening.

Was it a genuine sudden realization, or was it simply that she had previously indulged in this kind of relationship and therefore allowed Gu Tingchu to cross boundaries with her?

Such a simple matter had dragged me along in a torturous tug-of-war with them for so long. Qiao Yanxin would rather accuse me every single time of being narrow-minded and petty than cut ties with Gu Tingchu.

She was starting to act cold toward Gu Tingchu now, but what about me in the past?

In her eyes, I had been nothing more than an absolute joke.

She didn't love anyone at all—neither me nor Gu Tingchu. The only person she ever truly loved was always herself.

No matter how Gu Tingchu treated me—and granted, the man was indeed a beast—he had always been genuinely devoted to Qiao Yanxin.

To Qiao Yanxin, his treatment could hardly be called anything less than good.

Gu Tingchu had racked his brains and used every trick in the book, believing that once I was dead, he could rightfully and openly stand by Qiao Yanxin's side. Yet, to his surprise, these few brief words from Qiao Yanxin sent him crashing right back to where he started.

"Yanxin, what on earth am I to you?"

Qiao Yanxin gazed quietly at Gu Tingchu's tear-streaked face. "Tingchu, I am in the wrong regarding this matter, but in my heart, I truly only ever regarded you as a younger brother."

"A younger brother."

Gu Tingchu let out a cold laugh. "A younger brother? You actually have the nerve to say you only saw me as a younger brother? Qiao Yanxin, why don't you go outside and see which decent person sleeps with their own younger brother?"

"Gu Tingchu!"

Rage surged within Qiao Yanxin. She raised her hand and struck Gu Tingchu across the face with a fierce slap.

*Slap!* The sound of the blow was exceptionally sharp, and for a moment, the room fell into a pin-drop silence.

When she saw the bright red handprint on Gu Tingchu's face, a flicker of heartache resurfaced in her eyes.

In the end, she could only turn away in disarray. "It was just that both of us were drunk and acted foolishly for a moment. Don't ever say such things again. Yunzhou would be angry if he heard them."

"Yunzhou, Yunzhou... Do you really think he's ever coming back?!"

*Gasps!*

I was struck with panic, staring at Gu Tingchu in absolute shock.

What did he mean by that?

My heart tightened. Viewed in this light, Gu Tingchu clearly knew something.

But would he really expose himself right in front of Qiao Yanxin?

He had gone to such lengths and schemed to kill me precisely so he could openly stand by Qiao Yanxin's side, yet at this final hurdle, he was choosing to blow his own cover?

I simply had to hear what else he could possibly spew from his mouth.

Nearby, Qiao Yanxin's expression twisted into one of extreme ugliness.

A chilling gaze shot toward Gu Tingchu. "What did you just say?! What on earth do you know? Tell me right now!"

Gu Tingchu, however, simply crossed his arms, wearing an air of leisurely self-assurance.

"I know you're desperate to find Brother Yunzhou, but all current signs indicate that he has been smuggled abroad. If I remember correctly, it's Myanmar, right? A place like Myanmar—even if I don't spell it out, you should know what kind of environment it is."

Gu Tingchu pushed his swollen cheek with his tongue. "Yanxin, you're not a child, and neither are we. A man—a handsome man—appearing in a place like that, do you have any idea what he will face? Don't tell me it'll be fine just because he's a man; do the people in a place like that care about gender?"

"Shut up!" The hand Qiao Yanxin kept at her side trembled incessantly. Whatever thought had crossed her mind, fine beads of sweat began to seep across her forehead.

"Don't talk nonsense. There's no evidence for any of this. Yunzhou has his own blessed destiny; you are not allowed to curse him like that!"

Hearing this, Gu Tingchu let out a sudden snort of laughter, mocking Qiao Yanxin's naivety.

"Yanxin, you're the president of the Qiao Corporation, after all. Since when did you become so naive? You must know what kind of fate awaits people trafficked to northern Myanmar, surely better than I do?"

"I told you to shut up!"

*Slap!*

Another heavy blow landed on Gu Tingchu's left cheek.

The crimson handprints on both sides of his face stood out with striking clarity.

Yet Gu Tingchu remained completely unperturbed, throwing his head back and laughing aloud as if utterly delighted.

"You won't let me talk about it, but I insist on saying it. Even if you managed to bring him back, do you care to guess what people would say then? The young master of the Qiao family was trafficked to northern Myanmar and subjected to God knows what kind of inhuman torture. Tsk tsk, just imagining that news makes it sound thrilling enough."

"Enough!" Qiao Yanxin bellowed. "Get out! Get out of here right now, you are not welcome!"

"Don't be like that, Yanxin."

Gu Tingchu sighed leisurely. "Do you really hate me? But weren't we quite happy when we were together before? Facts have proven that Qiao Yunzhou is not the only option for you."

Qiao Yanxin's complexion turned somewhat unsightly. "Before... before was simply a moment of foolish confusion on my part—"

Gu Tingchu scoffed, leaning in close to Qiao Yanxin's ear. "What you need is a husband who can further your career, not a husband with a stained and filthy past. Yanxin, you have to admit that a distinguished and successful man like me holds far more value for you."