Chapter 185: I Married You Out of Pity
Chu He saw that Gu Tianhao was angry. Her face turned pale, and her body trembled.
She had already shifted the blame onto Gu Qingcheng, but Gu Qingcheng didn’t back down; she exposed the schemes of both Gu Mei and Chu He herself.
Chu He had become the scapegoat for her daughter’s troubles.
However, she had only one daughter. No matter how foolish Gu Mei might be, as her mother, Chu He couldn’t allow her daughter to be bullied by Gu
Qingcheng.
“Honey, it’s my fault,” she said, pinching her thigh hard and forcing out two tears. “It’s all my fault. I didn’t supervise the kitchen properly, whether it was one dish or two, and I failed to educate our daughter, Xiao Mei.”
She looked at Gu Qingcheng and said, “Qingcheng, Xiao Mei didn’t mean to break the plate while eating. The plate fell on its own and disturbed your mood. You and Xiao Mei are sisters. I beg you not to be so hard on her. If you want to scold or punish her, do it to me. Please, don’t be like this… I beg you…”
Chu He’s voice was filled with tears. She was on the verge of wearing her misery on her face and almost kneeling to beg Gu Qingcheng. Anyone who witnessed her in such a pitiful state would surely sympathize with her, including her husband, Gu Tianhao.
Gu Tianhao, who had been glaring coldly at Chu He, softened when he saw her crying. He quickly comforted her, “Don’t cry. Qingcheng didn’t intend to make things difficult for you and Xiao Mei. Qin Chong and Qin Jun were the ones who ruined our meal. Please, don’t cry.”
Gu Qingcheng smiled coldly at Chu He’s performance.
“Enough with the theatrics,” she said with a sneer. “In any case, Gu Tianhao will believe you no matter how you act. He’s so gullible and easily manipulated by you.”
“You… How can you say that about your father?” Chu He relaxed a little when she realized that Gu Qingcheng hadn’t exposed Gu Mei’s scheme. She continued to play her part and cried even harder. “Qingcheng, your father also wishes for us to have a harmonious family. Please don’t be so confrontational…”
Gu Qingcheng looked at Chu He and then shifted her gaze to Gu Tianhao. “Coax your wife, and don’t forget about your precious daughter, Gu Mei. She needs your comfort the most.”
With that, she knew she had accomplished her goal and left the restaurant without looking back.
Chu He’s performance had been convincing, planting the seed of doubt in Gu Tianhao’s mind, just as she had done with Chu He herself. In the end, she had managed to capture Yuan Qiaolan, and this time, she had captured Gu Mei.
As she got into her car, Li Jing called her.
“Master, what’s wrong?”
Li Jing sounded anxious, “Ziyu’s competition is at 3 pm, and it’s already 12 pm. I can’t reach her on the phone. If she misses the competition, she’ll be disqualified. I wanted to inform you ahead of time, so you wouldn’t think I failed in my duty.”
Memories from her previous life flashed through Gu Qingcheng’s mind. In her previous life, she had been stabbed and sent to the ICU, but she had retained many memories afterward. The timeline of this life was messed up, and although she had saved herself, some events still mirrored her previous life. “I’ll make sure to take Ziyu to the competition venue at three o’clock sharp.”
With that, she hung up the phone. Originally planning to return to the villa, she now headed to find Ziyu instead.
Drawing on her memories from her previous life, she arrived at Ziyu’s house.
“How many times have I told you not to let Ziyu learn to dance? Those dancers are all just entertainers. No matter how much a girl goes to school and how well she dances, she’ll still need to get married in the end!”
“It’s so hard for me to earn a living at work! You just don’t understand me. You keep wasting your time on that dance competition. You should have signed her up for more suitable activities to learn how to please men, not dance! She’s been dancing for years, and aside from the generous scholarship from Royal Dance, it’s all been a waste!”
“I secured a big contract this time. Boss Zhang found out that his daughter, Ziyu, knows how to dance. He said that girls who dance have excellent figures. ‘Since you’ve mentioned it, I’ll definitely introduce my daughter to her. She’ll have a chat with Boss Zhang. The contract will surely be mine. Once the contract is finalized and the bonus is received, our lives will be so much better. Alright, enough, don’t cry. Get her ready. I’ll take her to meet Boss Zhang.”
“Hubby, our daughter is not an escort. Why should we introduce her to Boss Zhang? I beg you, don’t bring our daughter to meet Boss Zhang. Today, she’s participating in the Peach Lotus Cup competition. She loves dancing so much, and it’s her dream to participate in the Peach Lotus Cup. If she wins, the organizers of Royal Dance and the Peach Lotus Cup will reward her even more.
You… Ah…”
A woman’s scream interrupted her, and the man angrily cursed, “Are you f*cking crazy? How dare you defy me! I said I’ll introduce her to Boss Zhang. Why are you nagging? You’re just a divorced woman with a daughter. I married you out of pity back then. You have no right to criticize my decisions! Let me remind you, I’m counting on Ziyu to marry a wealthy boss and elevate our family’s status.”
“You’re so fond of dancing. When you were young, your family was poor, and you couldn’t learn. Now, you’re imposing your own preferences on Ziyu. Who do you think you are? You old hag, I’ll beat you to death!”
Gu Qingcheng entered Ziyu’s house and found the key Ziyu had left under the carpet to open the door. As she entered, she heard these words, and her anger flared up. She picked up a broom by the door and struck the abusive man.
Ziyu’s square-faced stepfather, short and overweight with a big belly, cried out in pain as Gu Qingcheng hit him with the broom.
“Ah… Who are you… Ah… That hurts, that hurts, that hurts… Help me…”
Gu Qingcheng used all her strength to strike the despicable man with the broom, causing him immense pain.
“Ah… Murder… The Royal Dance principal has killed someone…”
“He’s been abusing you. Didn’t you think of reporting him?” Gu Qingcheng scolded Ziyu’s mother angrily. “You’re such a pushover. Ziyu is in this miserable state because of a mother like you! Do you have any idea how talented your daughter is at dancing and how happy it makes her?”
“He loves me. He didn’t hit me on purpose. It’s just that he couldn’t control his temper,” Ziyu’s mother immediately cried and said. “Besides, he’s my husband. How could I hit my own husband?”
“Idiot! When he was hitting you, he didn’t consider you his wife. But when you hit him back, you still have to think of him as your husband? You’re pathetic!” Gu Qingcheng was furious. “I don’t pity his misfortune, but I’m angry that you didn’t stand up for yourself! What kind of woman are you?”
“Woo…” Ziyu’s mother cried even harder after being scolded by Gu Qingcheng.
“Just crying won’t solve anything. Where’s Ziyu?” Gu Qingcheng’s fiery temper couldn’t contain her anger. “Get up and lead me to your daughter!”
Ziyu’s mother was so shocked by Gu Qingcheng that she momentarily forgot to cry. She hurriedly got up but stopped after a few steps, looking at Gu Qingcheng with fear.
“Principal Gu, Ziyu is locked in the attic by my husband. I… I don’t have the key…”
“Hands up!” Suddenly, a group of people rushed in and looked at Gu Qingcheng.
“You’re the one who hit him. You’re under arrest.”
Gu Qingcheng was taken aback.. “Me? Arrest me?”
