Chapter 159: He Doesn't Love You At All

Meng Shutang's whole body went rigid, her slender face paling a few shades, "How did you know about what happened seven years ago?"

Gu Yunci looked at her suddenly pallid face, his eyes filled with deep concern; he shed the flippant attitude he had just shown and, word by word, earnestly laid out the truth from back then before her.

"Because that day, the one who rescued you from that old boss's grasp was me."

In the dim light, Meng Shutang's heart jolted, and her already delicate, beautiful eyes suddenly widened.

That day, when that man grabbed her wrist and pulled her outward, she shouted for help, but no one answered; everyone just laughed.

It was only after she began to sob and scream desperately for help that a man appeared and saved her.

The man never spoke from start to finish, the private room remained dim, and she still doesn't know who her rescuer was.

Gu Yunci added calmly, "The person you kept thinking would protect you was sitting in the shadows among the crowd that day, watching coldly, never moving a muscle from start to finish."

Seven years ago, Meng Shutang, desperate to save the seriously ill Zhou Xingfan, was forced to work as a hostess in a private room of a high‑end Shang K.

Gu Jin Xing knew, but he chose to turn a blind eye.

At the time he was striving for a government‑sponsored assignment, and if news spread that his girlfriend was selling smiles at a Shang K, it would reflect poorly on him; he even had someone suppress the rumor.

At a certain business banquet, Gu Yunci entered that private room.

An old boss, a powerful investor, set his sights on Meng Shutang, and, emboldened by alcohol, made advances on her, even threatening to pay a high price to take her away.

Gu Jin Xing was sitting nearby at the time; if he had bravely stood up, he could have protected Meng Shutang.

But Gu Jin Xing didn't; he only clenched his fists and whispered to those around him that he didn't know Meng Shutang, tacitly allowing the old boss to take her out "to discuss business."

At the moment Meng Shutang was about to be dragged out of the private room in despair, Gu Yunci stepped forward.

At that time, Gu Jin Xing hadn't yet taken Meng Shutang home; he still didn't know they had confirmed their relationship.

The private room was dimly lit, and he didn't even recognize Meng Shutang; he simply couldn't stand the old boss's arrogance.

Once he realized she was Meng Shutang, he was moved by the fierce resolve in her eyes—her "I'd rather shatter like jade than surrender."

Gu Yunci crippled that old boss on the spot, snapping off an arm and throwing him out; afterward, he had Qin Zheng make a donation to Zhou Xingfan's medical expenses under another pretext.

After that, Meng Shutang never set foot in such a place again.

After recalling, he looked at Meng Shutang, "Once, I asked Jin Xing.

I asked him, knowing you were there and that someone was making things difficult for you that day, why didn't he step forward to protect you?"

Gu Jin Xing remained silent.

Gu Yunci gave a faint smile, "He's been like that since childhood—he only runs away when trouble arises."

Meng Shutang was startled, steadied herself by grabbing the nearby cabinet.

In that moment she realized she had once fallen into an abyss, and Gu Yunci was the one who caught her within it.

Because of this, Meng Shutang recalled another incident.

After the Shang K incident, she once heard Gu Jin Xing speaking in the Tushuguan with his dorm‑mate, "I didn't know she had become so depraved!"

I thought I had pulled her out of the mire, but who knew she would self‑destruct and not cherish herself at all.

Think about it—if she hadn't taken the initiative to flirt, with so many girls around, why would that old boss have set his eyes on her in the first place!"

His dorm‑mate also tried to console him, "Jin Xing, I think the Meng Shutang you love is only the perfect image you imagined; you two aren't compatible, break up!"

Gu Jin Xing gave a faint smile, "I'll see whether my brother wants to compete with me; if he doesn't, I'll break up."

The dorm‑mate replied, "What? You also love to go against your brother?"

The more your brother cares about something, the more you try to snatch it?"

She kept waiting for Gu Jin Xing to break up, but he never did; later, when he left on a government assignment, he never mentioned it.

"Do you remember? Before your engagement, you went to Qian Shui Wan to find him," Gu Yunci grasped Meng Shutang's hand and stared at her steadily.

Meng Shutang remembered that Gu Jin Xing never brought up a breakup, and the engagement day was fast approaching; she couldn't help herself, so after Gu Jin Xing returned from his government posting, she went to see him.

"I recall you mentioned breaking up, but then he held your hand and said the one he loves is you, the one struggling in the mire, scarred all over."

As he spoke, Gu Yunci let out a light snort, "Before you came, I had just talked with him; I confessed my feelings for you, saying I'd liked you for a long time, and because of his proximity I kept restraining and yielding."

"Because of the Shang K incident, I realized he never loved you, so I told him... 'You don't love her at all; you only got engaged to her to spite me, right? Tang Tang is a good girl, and you're going to ruin her like this!'"

Gu Jin Xing was taken aback, then let out a light snort, "My marriage is none of your business. The more you care about her, the more I want to marry her. If you have the guts, try snatching her at the engagement banquet the day after tomorrow!"

After saying that, he slammed the door and left.

On the day of the engagement banquet, Gu Jin Xing was perfunctory the whole time, his gaze drifting.

His attention was nowhere near Meng Shutang.

Meng Shutang, having overheard his conversation with his dorm‑mate, felt a multitude of anxieties and forced a smile.

But her family background was modest; when she proposed a breakup, Gu Jin Xing refused, and she couldn't sway anything.

Gu Yunci sat below, watching Gu Jin Xing's provocative glances drift toward Meng Shutang's tension and unease.

As someone who truly loved Meng Shutang, at that moment he could no longer stand by idly.

Meng Shutang looked at Gu Yunci, "We haven't divorced; back when we were at Qian Shui Wan, I heard Mother Zhang say that Jin Xing likes to compete with you for things."

"Why? What exactly is the feud between you two?"

Gu Yunci's indifferent, sharp eyes gradually clouded with moisture and a scarlet hue, "Twenty‑three years ago, after school I pushed open the villa's door and was struck by a chilling, wailing scream."

I looked up and saw Jin Xing holding my mother, the two of them tangled together,

Before I could say a word, my mother tumbled down the spiral staircase.

At that time Gu Yunci was only eight years old; he dropped his schoolbag and ran to embrace Chu Fu, who was lying in a pool of blood.

Meanwhile, Gu Jin Xing was frozen on the upper floor, his face full of terror.

Everyone concluded it was the panic after a matricide.

The accusations of "matricide" and "villainy" were all pinned on Gu Jin Xing.

"Back then, I was only eight, and I also believed what I saw was the truth."

For a while, I kept my distance from him. The rest of the family also harbored deep resentment toward Jin Xing, believing he was the one who caused Mom's death.

Slowly, our relationship grew distant. And he began to frantically snatch everything of mine—my schoolbag, clothes, pocket money...

He also caused trouble, opposing me; even if in the end I wanted to warm him, he was no longer the person I knew.