Chapter 3: Tingyan and Qin Shu, to think they have become this intimate

As soon as the villa door opened, a pleasant piano melody drifted from within the empty villa.

Gu Tingyan lifted his feet and walked toward the piano room step by step; the closer he got to the room, the louder the piano music became.

No one knew of the existence of this villa, except for the deceased Chu Sheng and Gu Tingyan.

Even Qin Shu, who had been by his side for five years, did not know.

Gu Tingyan kicked open the door to the piano room; with a "bang," the door swung open, yet the piano music inside remained clear and melodious, unaffected in the slightest.

Gu Tingyan's tall and upright figure walked inside, and upon seeing the woman in white sitting by the piano, his pupils contracted violently.

The woman in white stopped playing the piano; she turned her head, looked at Gu Tingyan with a smile on her face, and the corners of her lips curled slightly: "Tingyan, I'm back."

Her gaze landed on the hickey on the man's neck, and her heart felt sour, her eyes dimming.

Tingyan and Qin Shu had actually become this intimate.

Gu Tingyan's brain crashed instantly; seeing the living Chu Sheng, his eyes were filled with astonishment. He stood rooted to the spot, staring at her blankly, not even daring to blink, fearing that the woman would disappear the next second.

"Sheng?"

The man murmured in a low voice, as if filled with deep affection and lingering attachment; the corners of his eyes turned red, and his fists hanging by his sides were tightly clenched.

It was already 11 o'clock at night when Qin Shu arrived home.

She put her shoes in the shoe cabinet and took a bath in the bathroom before she felt the exhaustion all over her body disappear.

She stayed in the bathtub for half an hour.

In a daze, she heard the sound of the door opening, which startled her awake.

She had almost fallen asleep in the bathtub!

"Qin Shu?" Gu Tingyan stood outside the door and knocked, his voice low: "Are you done washing?"

The sound of splashing water came from the bathroom.

"Right away." Qin Shu was slightly startled when she heard Gu Tingyan's voice.

She hadn't expected him to return so quickly.

Didn't he go to see Chu Sheng?

Old lovers meeting—did they return without even exchanging pleasantries?

Gu Tingyan knew she couldn't get out of a bath in under an hour; he sat on the sofa and lit a cigarette, the curling smoke making his handsome face appear even more cold, noble, and distant.

Qin Shu turned on the showerhead to rinse the foam off her body, then wrapped herself in a bath towel and walked out.

She opened the bathroom door and saw the man sitting on the sofa smoking, full of worries.

She raised her eyes and carefully sized up Gu Tingyan; this man always hid his emotions deep down, and if there was truly something wrong, he would cover it up.

Sure enough, upon hearing that Qin Shu had come out, Gu Tingyan restrained his expression, stood up with a calm and composed air, his eyes devoid of ripples.

Qin Shu pursed her lips, and a bit of sorrow grew in her heart.

Chu Sheng was back; what did he plan to do?

Would he divorce her?

If Gu Tingyan really wanted to divorce her, she could only wait for the day he brought out the divorce agreement.

"I'm done washing, you go ahead." Qin Shu lowered her eyes, took a towel to dry her hair, and then used a hairdryer to dry it.

At the beginning, Gu Tingyan's attitude toward her was polite yet distant, and the two of them almost slept in separate rooms.

Even after they had a child, it was much the same; even when forced into the same room, they slept separately.

It was only in the last two years that her relationship with Gu Tingyan had eased somewhat.

Qin Shu liked him, and now that the two of them were getting along harmoniously, she didn't want a divorce.

Gu Tingyan: "Okay."

Gu Tingyan took his clean pajamas and walked in; the "buzzing" sound of the hairdryer entered his mind, making his heart feel a bit calmer.

Qin Shu dried her hair and sat on the bed in a daze, feeling uneasy.

Gu Tingyan's phone on the table began to vibrate, and she shouted toward the bathroom: "Gu Tingyan, someone is calling you."

She shouted again, but there was only the sound of splashing water inside.

Qin Shu looked down and saw it was a string of unfamiliar numbers with no contact name, so she picked up the phone and answered: "Hello, hello, may I ask what this is regarding?"

"Where is Tingyan?"

Qin Shu felt the voice was somewhat familiar, but she hadn't heard Chu Sheng's voice in five years, so she couldn't identify it for a moment.

Qin Shu said: "He is inside taking a bath."

"Clack," the person on the other end hung up the phone.

As soon as Gu Tingyan came out, he saw Qin Shu holding his phone; he guessed that someone had called.

In the past, Qin Shu would also answer calls for him, and Gu Tingyan hadn't thought anything of it.

He asked: "Who called?"

Qin Shu said: "I don't know. I asked who it was, but she didn't say and just hung up."

Gu Tingyan took the phone over, and his WeChat vibrated incessantly.

It was sent by Chu Sheng's mother.

Jiang Chenxue: "Tingyan, Sheng knows about you being married."

"She also knows that you and Qin Shu have a four-year-old child."

Jiang Chenxue: "She couldn't get over it for a moment and committed suicide in the bathtub."

Gu Tingyan's pupils vibrated violently, and Qin Shu did not miss the panic and terror that flashed through his eyes.

Jiang Chenxue: "Can you come and see her?"

Gu Tingyan's heart sank abruptly; he raised his head and stared coldly at Qin Shu: "What exactly did you say to her?"

Qin Shu was stunned; she hadn't expected Gu Tingyan to be so furious. She took a deep breath and said: "She asked me what you were doing."

Qin Shu said, "I said, you are taking a bath."

"Then she hung up the phone."

Gu Tingyan's gaze was terrifyingly cold, his knuckles white as he gripped his phone: "Chu Sheng has committed suicide by slitting her wrists in the bathtub!"

Qin Shu was suddenly stunned, freezing right where she stood.

Gu Tingyan threw on his coat, walked out with a gloomy face, and slammed the door behind him.

Staring at his furious expression and departing back, Qin Shu felt a sour, painful ache in her nose, and the corners of her eyes turned slightly red.

She hadn't done it on purpose.

Hospital.

By the time Gu Tingyan arrived, Chu Sheng had already been taken into the emergency room and had not yet come out.

Jiang Chenxue and Chu Xuanming sat on the chairs in the hospital corridor, their faces filled with bitterness.

Chu Xuanming nodded slightly toward Gu Tingyan, his face full of regret.

If he hadn't married Qin Shu to Gu Tingyan back then, Sheng wouldn't have been so desperate after returning.

Chu Yu was crying uncontrollably nearby; looking up and seeing Gu Tingyan arrive, she threw herself into his arms and hugged his waist: "Brother-in-law, you're finally here."

Gu Tingyan raised his hand to pull her away and said coldly, "How is your sister's condition?"

Chu Yu wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes: "I don't know, she's still in emergency surgery."

She looked at Gu Tingyan with a wronged and pitiful expression: "Brother-in-law."

Gu Tingyan took a cigarette out of his pocket, wanting to smoke, but remembering he was in a hospital, he suppressed the urge.

Hearing Chu Yu call him that, he frowned slightly, his deep eyes looking at Chu Yu as he warned, "Don't call me that."

Chu Yu pursed her lips.

"You are my brother-in-law, after all."

"I didn't call you anything wrong."

"If it weren't for that car accident back then, the one you would have married is my sister."

"How would it ever have been the turn of that little bitch Qin Shu?"

Hearing her call Qin Shu a bitch, Gu Tingyan raised his eyes to look at her; his gaze was cold, icy and heartless, as if looking at a dead person.

Chu Yu shuddered all over, trembling as she shut her mouth.

She clenched her fists tightly, hating Qin Shu even more in her heart.

If it weren't for her stealing someone else's love back then, barging in, and taking advantage of the situation.