Chapter 23: Kneeling on One Knee to Ask Her to Be His Girlfriend

Her eyes trembled for a moment before she hurriedly turned her head, intending to warn Gu Pingsheng.

With a screech, the car came to an abrupt halt. Driven by inertia, Wen Zhixia was thrown forward, her head colliding with the partition with a muffled thud.

Gu Pingsheng steadied himself and quickly checked on her. “Are you hurt?”

Bang, bang, bang.

Bang, bang, bang.

Zhao Fuhe rushed to the car window, pounding on it desperately. “Senior, please, I beg you, let my brother go.”

Wen Zhixia glanced outside, her gaze calm. “She’s here for you,” she said.

Gu Pingsheng’s eyes darkened at the sight of Zhao Fuhe. He lowered the window slightly.

Seeing him respond, Zhao Fuhe pleaded tearfully, “Senior, please let my brother go. He didn’t mean to cause trouble for Senior Wen; he was just trying to earn some money and became a hired hand. Please, I’m begging you, talk to the police and get him released.”

Wen Zhixia now understood the reason. Among the thugs Lin Huixian had called today, one was Zhao Fuhe’s brother.

Lin Huixian had been bailed out by Qing Qi, but knowing Gu Pingsheng’s character, he would never let those hired thugs off so easily.

The world, it seemed, was truly small.

“Senior Gu, I’ll do whatever you say. Just please, let my brother go.”

In the pouring rain, the pitiful woman’s soft, beseeching voice painted a scene that could easily move anyone’s heart.

The corner of Wen Zhixia’s mouth twitched. “Senior Gu, will you let him go?”

Her cool voice, uttering “Senior Gu,” made Gu Pingsheng, who was gripping the steering wheel, lower his gaze. He looked at Zhao Fuhe. “Move aside.”

Zhao Fuhe had stood in the rain for over ten minutes just to block their path; there was no way she would leave so easily. She clung to the car door. “Senior Wen, please, say something for us. My brother can’t go to prison. He didn’t hurt you; you can’t ruin his life like this! If my parents find out he’s in jail, they won’t be able to take it. If something happens to them, it’ll cost three lives.

If… if it’s because of what happened between me and Senior Gu, I’ll accept any scolding or punishment you give me. I just beg you not to blame my brother—he’s innocent.”

Drenched by the torrential rain, she was in such a sorry state she could barely keep her eyes open, while Wen Zhixia sat high and dry inside the car, listening to her pleas. The injustice burning in Zhao Fuhe’s heart reached its peak.

Why was it always Gu Pingsheng’s woman who dazzled so brightly, as she herself stood below, just like years ago, forced to watch?

Why was Wen Zhixia always the one he protected?

Listening to Zhao Fuhe’s words, Wen Zhixia curved her lips in a faint smile. “What happened between us? Why don’t you tell me your story, Junior? If, after hearing it, we’re truly like Ehuang and Nuying, sharing a husband as sisters, then naturally, I’ll let him go.”

Ehuang and Nuying, two queens who shared one king—her mocking words were laced with casual beauty.

Zhao Fuhe stammered, “I—”

“I would also like to know what happened between us,” Gu Pingsheng interrupted, his eyes narrowing coldly, a chilling threat in his gaze.

The words caught in Zhao Fuhe’s throat. She had a premonition that if she said anything she shouldn’t, Gu Pingsheng would never forgive her.

“Get out of the way!”

Gu Pingsheng stepped on the accelerator, splashing muddy water all over Zhao Fuhe. By the time she came to her senses, the Bugatti had already sped away.

She looked down at her bedraggled appearance and stomped the ground with a cry of frustration.

It had been the same back then. She had stood in the wings, watching Gu Pingsheng, radiant in his youth as he played guitar on stage, drawing screams from the girls below—only to kneel before the host, Wen Zhixia, and ask her to be his girlfriend.

Who wouldn’t envy Wen Zhixia in that moment?

Yet, the scene countless girls dreamed of, she alone had refused.

Backstage, Zhao Fuhe had found Gu Pingsheng, hugging his guitar in silent sorrow, and mustered her courage to confess to him.

But his eyes saw only Wen Zhixia, who happened to be walking by behind her. He didn’t spare Zhao Fuhe a single glance.

Wen Zhixia had been melodramatic enough to reject him on stage—so why did she have to appear here, too!

She had been left awkward and humiliated, standing there like a fool, bearing the victorious gaze Wen Zhixia cast her way.

Just like now, Wen Zhixia’s look held nothing but supreme disdain.

“Wen! Zhi! Xia!”

Lanhu Manor.

Gu Pingsheng took off his jacket and poured a glass of warm water, handing it to her. “Drink some water first. Later—”

Wen Zhixia glanced at him, neither accepting the glass nor speaking, and turned to head upstairs.

Gu Pingsheng’s arm remained outstretched. After she disappeared upstairs, he slammed the glass onto the table with a bang, water splashing out.