After the Divorce, She Shines - Chapter 100
Chapter 100
Su Hua was absolutely floored by how cool Qin Shu was.
She was like a beautiful, sweet, and timely rain that arrived completely out of the blue.
This sudden move was more satisfying than slapping Gu Aoting across the face in public.
Sure enough, Gu Aoting was left speechless, doused by this timely rain.
He stared down at the divorce agreement, unable to utter a single word.
His face was clouded with a gloom darker than a thunderstorm in June.
Su Hua flashed a smile at Gu Beixian.
Her look said: Mom is amazing!
Gu Beixian curled his lips slightly and wrote in her palm: We planned this.
Su Hua understood then.
It turned out the mother and son had already anticipated Gu Aoting would pull a stunt like this and had prepared a countermeasure in advance.
However, having his biological father pull such a scene in front of everyone must have still been quite painful for him, right?
The disappointment in his eyes earlier had been real.
The sense of defeat radiating from him was so thick that even Su Hua could feel it.
Seeing Gu Aoting remain silent for so long, Qin Shu lost her patience.
She curled her index finger and rapped sharply on the table, her tone laced with faint mockery. “Chairman Gu, you’ve always been known for your swift and decisive actions. Why are you being so wishy-washy about signing a paper?”
Gu Aoting’s expression was dark.
Suddenly, he grabbed the divorce agreement and tore it in half.
Then he tore it into quarters, then eighths.
Finally, he shredded it until it couldn’t be torn any further.
He instructed the servant behind him, “Clean up this trash.”
“Yes, Chairman Gu.”
The servant obeyed, hurrying over with a trash can to collect the scraps of paper.
Qin Shu smirked. “What’s the use of tearing up a divorce agreement? You tear it today, and I can have my assistant print another one tomorrow. You tear it tomorrow, and I’ll still have it printed the day after. If you’re a man, sign the divorce papers quickly and stop dragging your feet.”
Gu Aoting didn’t even look at Qin Shu.
He stared straight ahead, expressionless, and said, “Fine, we can divorce, but you leave with nothing.”
Qin Shu let out a cold laugh. “Back then, my Qin family had assets worth tens of billions, all of which were swallowed up by you. We’ve been husband and wife for nearly thirty years, and you want me to leave with nothing? Are you even a man?”
Gu Aoting replied righteously, “You are only good at artistic creation, not management. If I hadn’t taken over your father’s assets, you would have lost everything long ago.”
Qin Shu glanced at Gu Beixian and said, “Not necessarily. I have a son, and he’s talented at it.”
“Beixian’s management skills were all taught by me personally.”
Qin Shu looked at him with a cold, detached gaze. “Since you’re being so stubborn, then I’ll see you in court.”
Seeing that Qin Shu was serious, Grandma Gu started to panic.
She hurriedly tried to persuade her, “Daughter-in-law, calm down. Don’t lower yourself to Aoting’s level.”
Qin Shu smiled. “Mom, you saw it yourself. He’s finding every possible way to torment my son. How can I tolerate this?”
Gu Aoting said with a cold face, “Don’t blame me. If you hadn’t been instigating things, the relationship between Beixian and me wouldn’t have become this strained.”
Qin Shu scoffed. “Gu Aoting, you should find some time to get your head checked. How is a woman like Chu Suosuo even remotely worthy of my son?”
Gu Aoting frowned. “I remember you used to always praise Suosuo for being well-behaved, sensible, gentle, and kind.”
Qin Shu lifted her chin. “She indeed used to be like that, but now? Look at what she’s done.”
“Whatever she did, it was all to win Beixian back. They had over a decade of history as childhood sweethearts. Beixian let go, but she hasn’t.”
Qin Shu’s eyes were icy. “Since you like her so much, why don’t you just marry her yourself? I’ll have someone deliver the divorce agreement to your office tomorrow. I’ll send it once every day until you sign it!”
Leaving those words behind, she turned and walked away.
Grandma Gu shouted after her, but couldn’t stop her.
Once Qin Shu left, Gu Aoting couldn’t stay seated either.
Before long, he left as well, taking Gu Lin with him.
The house finally became quiet.
However, what was supposed to be a nice dinner had been ruined.
The atmosphere was exceptionally cold.
Grandma Gu scooped a small bowl of bird’s nest soup and had a servant bring it to Su Hua. She said, “Hua’er, don’t mind that wretched son of mine. He’s just possessed by some ghost. He has such a good daughter-in-law like you but doesn’t know how to cherish you, insisting on making Beixian marry Chu Suosuo instead. What’s so good about that Chu Suosuo? She’s delicate and fake-it’s annoying just looking at her.”
Even after saying that, she still felt a lingering sense of resentment.
She cast a sidelong glance at Gu Beixian and complained, “I truly don’t know how you put up with her in the past.”
Gu Beixian found himself caught in the crossfire.
Afraid of upsetting Su Hua, he carefully weighed his words before speaking. “I was studying abroad back then, so we rarely saw each other. We’d only meet occasionally during holidays, and she was very good at putting on a front.”
Grandma Gu clicked her tongue. “That’s true. She played the part perfectly in front of me too. Every day it was ‘Grandma’ this and ‘Grandma’ that; her little mouth was as sweet as honey. Back then, I thought she was quite likable.”
Gu Beixian reached out and pulled Su Hua closer by the shoulder. “Since marrying Su Hua, I’ve realized that a sweet heart is far more important.”
“Indeed.” Grandma Gu stared at Su Hua, momentarily lost in thought.
After a long silence, she sighed. “If only you were Chu Yanru’s daughter, Aoting wouldn’t be so opposed to your marriage.”
Gu Beixian said calmly, “Chu Yanru and Hua Qirou could never raise a daughter as good as Su Hua. If Aunt Qinwan were well, perhaps she could have.”
Grandma Gu said solemnly, “You should thank me. I was the one who picked such a good wife for you three years ago.”
Gu Beixian immediately replied, “Thank you, Grandma.”
The grandmother and grandson went back and forth, leaving Su Hua, the person they were talking about, unable to get a word in edgewise.
The group chatted for a while longer before continuing their meal.
After dinner, Grandma Gu took out a pair of mutton-fat white jade bracelets and slid them onto Su Hua’s wrists.
The bracelets were as translucent and white as congealed fat, delicate and moist, with almost no visible flaws to the naked eye. They felt exceptionally smooth, bright, and warm to the touch. One look was enough to tell they were incredibly precious.
Su Hua hurriedly tried to decline. “Grandma, I can’t accept these. They’re too valuable.”
As she spoke, she moved to take them off.
Grandma Gu pressed down on her wrist, preventing her from removing them. “These were passed down from my mother-in-law’s mother-in-law to her, and then to me. They are heirlooms of the Gu Family, centuries old. I originally intended to pass them to your mother, but seeing as she’s about to divorce Aoting, I’ll give them directly to you.”
Unable to refuse any further, Su Hua looked toward Gu Beixian.
Gu Beixian said, “If Grandma is giving them to you, just take them.”
Su Hua said honestly, “I have to work every day. If I wear such expensive bracelets, what if I accidentally chip or bump them?”
Gu Beixian had never met someone so practical.
He laughed and said, “The bracelets are for you to keep in your collection, to be passed down to the next generation later. You aren’t meant to wear them while you work. It’s no exaggeration to say that there aren’t many pieces that can rival these. It wouldn’t be overstating it to call them rare treasures.”
Unable to win the argument, Su Hua had no choice but to accept them.
Though the bracelets felt slightly cool against her skin, it was a smooth, pleasant coolness that soon warmed up. They were truly beautiful, accentuating her slender, fair wrists and instantly giving her an air of elegance.
No wonder Chu Suosuo always liked to deck herself out with jingling jewelry on her neck, ears, and wrists.
After the two left the old manor and returned home, Gu Beixian suddenly took Su Hua’s hand, interlacing his fingers with hers.
He used her phone to take a photo, gave it a quick edit, and immediately posted it to her Moments. He even added a caption: To hold your hand and grow old together.
Ever since marrying Gu Beixian three years ago, Su Hua had lived a largely secluded life with very little social interaction. Her contact list consisted of only family, her Master, and her clients. Consequently, she usually only posted work-related content. She had never done something like flaunting her relationship online.
Yet here was Gu Beixian, doing it for her and even using such poetic words.
Su Hua wanted to delete it, but Gu Beixian stopped her.
When Su Hua finished washing up in the bathroom and came out, she picked up her phone to check. Almost everyone she knew had liked the post.
The most recent like was from Gu Jinyao.
Staring at his name, Su Hua spaced out for a moment.
The character ‘Yao’ in his name reminded her too much of her Ay Yao-the twelve-year-old boy, Lu Yao, who had risked his life to save her.
That was a pain that would live in her heart forever, a wound that would never truly heal.
