Chapter 103: Wen Zhixia Is Guilty

Inside the hospital ward, Gu Pingsheng’s dark, fathomless eyes were fixed intently upon Wen Zhixia as she sat there, delicate and poised. He seemed to want to see right through her, his gaze swirling with suppressed, restrained emotions. At a time like this, he knew he shouldn't be angry with her anymore.

"Dean Zhang has finalized the diagnosis of your condition. We will argue for your innocence on the grounds that your illness caused a temporary loss of capacity. When the time comes, you only need to cooperate with him and—"

"The stocks of the Gu-Xia Group have plummeted, hitting a record low. They could hit the limit down at any moment. Are you sure you want to keep wasting time with me?" Wen Zhixia interrupted him.

The corporation was in turmoil; how could he remain so indifferent, coming here to coach her on what to pay attention to during the trial?

Gu Pingsheng raised his deep eyes slightly. "Are you worried about me?"

"I am worried about the Gu-Xia Group. After all, it contains my hard work." She didn't know where he got the idea that she was worried about him; it was a completely nonsensical thought.

"If the group is gone, we can build a new one. But if my wife is gone, will you ever come back?" he asked after a long silence.

Wen Zhixia did not answer this question; the answer had likely been clear for a long time. She wanted to leave, and with her temperament, once she left him, why would she ever return?

Gu Pingsheng looked at her, a smile lingering on his thin lips, though it did not reach his eyes and carried a hint of desolation. "That is why I will not let you go."

A kite held in the palm of one's hand—as long as the string remains unbroken, no matter how far it flies, it will eventually return. But if the string is severed, it is truly gone forever.

"What if I plead guilty at the trial?" Wen Zhixia asked, looking at him calmly.

Gu Pingsheng shook his head. "You won't."

How could anyone be willing to go to prison? He didn't believe it.

But Wen Zhixia replied, "I will. Whatever I set my mind to, I will achieve. Have you forgotten?"

Regardless of her delicate and indifferent exterior, she always harbored a rebellious spirit deep down. Otherwise, when no one around her supported her relationship with Gu Pingsheng, why would she have unhesitatingly abandoned her direct admission to a top-tier graduate program just to accompany him in his chaotic pursuit of an entrepreneurial dream?

Gu Pingsheng stared at her, his eyes narrowing. "Why?" he asked. "Why must you leave me?"

She spoke to him with a calm heart, without argument or raised voices. This was perhaps the most like a genuine conversation they had had since she first proposed divorce.

She said, "Because you disappointed me."

He had first lifted her to the heavens, only to wound her without blinking. She was tired, and she had gradually come to realize that the boy she had held in her heart, unable to let go, no longer existed. It was she who remained trapped in old memories, believing Gu Pingsheng would be good to her for a lifetime.

Gu Pingsheng lowered his eyes, his lashes veiling the expression in his gaze. His thin lips lost their color, pressed into a straight line. A bitter taste spread from the corners of his mouth. He said, "Wen Zhixia, you are a heartless woman."

He had said this many times before, but this time, he was unprecedentedly earnest.

Wen Zhixia thought that perhaps it was true. Because all she could rely on—and all she had ever relied on—was his affection. As long as he loved her with all his heart, she could fight by his side in the business world without hesitation, then retreat into the shadows, watching him transform from having nothing into the envied Mr. Gu.

But once a crisis appeared in their relationship and his feelings for her were no longer pure, she wanted to retreat, to protect herself. She was, in fact, a person with deep-seated insecurity. Otherwise, she wouldn't have waited so many years after Gu Pingsheng’s grand pursuit before finally nodding and agreeing to marry him.

She had needed to be absolutely certain that this man truly loved her and would never leave her before she dared to place her hand in his. Because once she committed, she was the type to throw her whole heart into it. She wouldn't care what others said; she simply trusted him. But when that balance was broken, when other women appeared by his side, and when she had traveled so far in such misery to find him, only to see him kissing another woman—her heart died.

She could ignore any idle gossip, but she still possessed the instinct for self-preservation.

He had broken his promise and even lied to her, saying he only loved her. Before, he was always by her side, but now, whenever she needed him, he was absent—likely with other women.

Gu Pingsheng left without signing the papers, nor did he give her a definitive answer. Yet, Wen Zhixia knew he would eventually sign. Considering it from every angle, their divorce was the best solution—for her, and for him as well.

It was just that Wen Zhixia felt a sense of regret. In her youth, she had truly believed they would walk through life together like that. Back then, he was good to her, and she was sincere to him.

The Hua family was at their wit's end; Hua's parents seemed to have aged ten years overnight. When they finally had a moment to spare, they heard about Wen Zhixia’s situation. They came to the hospital to ask if there was anything they could do to help.

Wen Zhixia shook her head gently, saying she was fine. Throughout the conversation, neither mentioned the name "Hua Qianjiao," yet everyone knew this was an insurmountable hurdle.

When they left, Hua’s mother finally couldn't hold back and embraced her, weeping bitterly. Seeing Wen Zhixia reminded her of Hua Qianjiao, who had always called her "Sister Wen," constantly following her around as if they were closer than biological sisters.

Wen Zhixia held her, patting her gently, and whispered, "You can consider me your daughter. I will fulfill the duty of a child for you in Jiaojiao’s place."

Hua’s father was moved by her words, quietly wiping away his tears.

On the day of the trial, a large crowd of reporters and onlookers gathered early in the morning. The Song family’s elderly parents had already given interviews to several media outlets, and today they had even made a point of wearing new clothes.

Through the car window, Wen Zhixia watched the ring of reporters gathering around the van.

Since the incident occurred, not to mention Wen Zhixia, even Gu Pingsheng had not spoken a word about the details of the case in public. Employees of the Gu-Xia Group had long been issued a gag order; no one was willing to risk their job or legal consequences by saying things they shouldn't.

At this moment, the divorce agreement lay silently between the two of them. Neither spoke, but neither was willing to concede.

Wen Zhixia checked the time and rested her fingers on the car door.

"Xiaxia," Gu Pingsheng said quietly.

Wen Zhixia paused, not looking back, waiting for him to continue.

"Would you rather go to prison than be with me?" he asked in a hoarse voice.

Wen Zhixia closed her eyes and let out a soft "Yes."

As the fountain pen scratched against the paper behind her and the characters for "Gu Pingsheng" were etched onto the page, it was unclear whose relief it was, or whose heart had been left hollow.

He had signed it after all.

The reason was simply that he did not want her to go to prison.

As the final stroke was made, Wen Zhixia, with her back to him, kept her spine stiff and straight. When she was escorted out of the car by bodyguards, Attorney Xu, who was responsible for her defense, glanced at the divorce agreement out of professional habit. His eyes flickered the moment he saw it, and he immediately locked eyes with Gu Pingsheng’s cold, dark gaze.

Attorney Xu looked away at once.

Inside the courtroom, as the Song parents presented their case as plaintiffs, they wept to the judge, demanding severe punishment for the culprit to seek justice for their poor daughter. They choked through their words, repeating the same lines over and over. Perhaps onlookers might be moved by their plight, but the judge and jury had handled countless cases; they did not want to hear a tearful performance, as that was no better than watching television at home.

They required a description that was absolutely objective and rational, not merely a tearful plea.

Attorney Xu was not at all surprised by the situation, as the court required evidence, not emotional theatrics. When he presented Wen Zhixia’s medical records, the materials issued personally by the head of the provincial hospital, and evidence of the vehicle’s malicious tampering, the situation temporarily reached a state of equilibrium.

Gu Pingsheng sat in the first row of the gallery, his deep eyes calm. He had never doubted Attorney Xu’s defensive capabilities. As long as no accidents occurred, he felt that any outcome involving only financial compensation would be perfect. Money was something that could only be dismissed with indifference when one possessed enough of it.

Attorney Xu also demonstrated sufficient sincerity on behalf of the defendant, Wen Zhixia, stating her willingness to cover all medical and nutritional expenses and to provide additional compensation for the Song parents’ future support.

By this point, the court had already begun to lean in their favor; the jurors exchanged glances.

Everything seemed settled, but at this moment, the plaintiff’s lawyer suddenly stood up and claimed they had a witness who could testify that on the day of the incident, Wen Zhixia’s condition was not problematic, and that the collision was caused by her being in a bad mood.

And this so-called witness was—Zhao Fuhe.

When Zhao Fuhe appeared, Gu Pingsheng’s hand clenched tightly, and he stood up abruptly from his seat with a sudden motion.

Wen Zhixia also looked toward Zhao Fuhe.

Zhao Fuhe stood in the witness box, her eyes filled with a cruel, mocking glare as she looked at Wen Zhixia. She stated her identity to the court, and as she revealed that she was the object of Gu Pingsheng’s infidelity and that Wen Zhixia had argued with him repeatedly over this matter, whispers rippled through the gallery.

Gu Pingsheng was warned by a bailiff not to disrupt the proceedings and was ordered to sit down.

Zhao Fuhe began her testimony: "I am here today not to discuss the problems in our relationship, but this is crucial to what I am about to say. Wen Zhixia does indeed have an illness, and I am the blood bank that can help her recover. But when she found out that her treatment required my bone marrow, she and Gu Pingsheng had several arguments. The day of the accident was the day they had another dispute. Wen Zhixia left in a fit of anger while driving. She didn't hit those people because of her illness; she was just in a bad mood and used the car to vent… resulting in the grave injury of innocent people…"

"Wen Zhixia is guilty. And perhaps everyone doesn't know that she has never taken other people's lives seriously. She even once caused the death of my child. I am not here today to seek justice for myself; I just don't want to see this woman destroy a family and then try to settle it with money, continuing to remain above the law."

"Do you have any evidence to prove her condition was stable that day?" a juror asked.

Zhao Fuhe: "I have hospital surveillance footage here that can prove she was arguing with Gu Pingsheng at the time and then drove off in a rage. All of this shows that she was stable up until the moment she left. How could it be such a coincidence that as soon as she got on the road and hit someone, her illness flared up?"

Because of Zhao Fuhe’s sudden appearance, the situation took a sharp turn, and the balance that had been achieved began to tilt once again.

At Sifangcheng International Airport.

"Sir, the trial for Miss Wen has begun..."