Chapter 382: Chapter 382

The faces of the three men were so cold and stern that the atmosphere froze the entire venue.

After a moment, Yu Yuanshen was the first to express his disagreement, "It was our doing, but Mr. Bai, could it be..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Bai Qifan sneered, "But everything started because of her. President Yu, you insist on shielding her—is there something between you two that’s less clean than what society has unveiled, some unspeakable relationship?"

In an instant, Yu Yuanshen was speechless.

Looking at Bai Qifan, who appeared sinister and was prepared to hold nothing back, the aura of the three men became colder and thicker.

Meanwhile, Zhou Xiao, who had waited for a long time while enduring the torment of her reputation and the turbulence of her family’s stocks in the past days, was now listening to He Qimo’s ruthless words and witnessing Yu Yuanshen’s relentless protection of Gu Zixuan.

Finally, Zhou Xiao straightened her body and crossed her arms, looking at Gu Zixuan. She reined in the tremors within her heart and coldly laughed a desolate laugh, "Miss Gu, it’s finally time for a one-on-one confrontation between the two of us..."

In the air, Gu Zixuan felt the imminent provocation and understood the real purpose of Zhou Xiao bringing Bai Qifan to cause this scene, her eyelashes fluttering slightly.

Pausing briefly, Zhou Xiao began her speech.

Standing tall in her eight-centimeter high heels, she began walking circles in the quiet center of the venue, "As everyone knows, a few days ago, I, Zhou Xiao, was caught in quite a scandal in Rong City. Honestly, these matters shouldn’t be brought to the surface, especially considering that present are all kinds of dignitaries from Rong City, along with the madams. Usually, you all talk to me, Zhou Xiao, out of respect for my father. I understand this well; for my actions today, please excuse my abruptness."

Her gentle and polite demeanor, though not appreciated by some of the older presidents present, had to be considered given Zhou Xiao’s father’s position... and the Bai Family’s backing.

They could only symbolically curl their lips, suppressing their frowns, and said, "It’s alright, Miss Zhou, no need to be so formal. If it weren’t urgent, you wouldn’t have brought it up in this setting. Please finish it quickly."

This way, they were offending neither side, while still helping to exonerate Feng Chengjin and his people.

Zhou Xiao could hear it clearly.

Sarcastically, she thought, Feng Chengjin and his people are quite good at handling things. Even with her esteemed cousin taking such a stance, these old folks still secretly sided with Mrs. Feng. The influence of Rong City’s top tycoon is indeed formidable.

A deep and cold shade crossed her eyes.

But she didn’t mind, because today, achieving her purpose of speaking was all that mattered. In Feng Chengjin’s familiar circle, to destroy Gu Zixuan made her pain more real; isn’t it so?

In her heart, Zhou Xiao was trembling, burning with the desire to tear Gu Zixuan to pieces.

As she looked up, she concealed all her resentment, leaving only a charming and serene smile.

Calmly, she said, "Alright, then I’ll say it."

Gu Zixuan fluttered her eyelashes.

Zhou Xiao said, "As I mentioned earlier, these matters shouldn’t be laid out in public. But there’s no choice; as everyone can see, the person I need to confront happens to receive protection from three of Rong City’s most influential men, involved in real estate, finance, and internet commerce. With this layer of protection, it seems very difficult for me, Zhou Xiao, to clear my name here in Rong City. But no matter how difficult... there should be, and there is a proper measure of justice, right?"

Taking Gu Zixuan’s hand and looking at the rings they wore, Zhou Xiao said, "Clearly, you’re a scheming bitch trying to marry President Feng and maintain your spotless reputation as a miss, while throwing all the dirt onto your ex-husband. It was you who cheated first, yet in the end, you dragged the whole world to be buried with you, even at the cost of framing me to divert the attention of Rong City’s circle, just to marry quickly. Gu Zixuan, you really play the white lotus, don’t you?"

In an instant, Gu Zixuan fluttered her eyebrows.

He Qimo frowned, slightly annoyed, "Zhou Xiao, what nonsense are you talking about?"

"Is it nonsense!" Zhou Xiao got angry all of a sudden, her eyes slightly red, scolding, "Do you dare swear to the heavens you don’t love Gu Zixuan! Do you dare to stand before all of Rong City and declare that for the eight years of a hollow marriage, you chose to soak all night in cold water in the bathroom rather than touch her, because you were hopelessly in love, hoping she would return your sentiments? Can you say you didn’t end up with the reputation of a scumbag, cursed by thousands, with stocks plummeting, just because you kept sacrificing yourself for the love of her?"

In that moment, He Qimo was petrified.

The eyes of everyone in the venue fixed on him brought a flood of memories to his mind in an instant, his gaze desolate and vacant.

He couldn’t speak, and didn’t know what to say.

After a long silence, his eyelashes fluttered, and he managed to say, "Not in love..."

The two short words felt like a knife penetrating Gu Zixuan’s heart.

Zhou Xiao sneered, "Not in love? Heh, He Qimo, what are you incapable of doing for her now? It’s okay, you don’t admit it, I don’t mind. After all, regarding President Yu, I suspect there’s a lot he wants to say, right?"

In an instant, the gaze of the entire venue shifted back to Yu Yuanshen, who immediately felt his brows chill, understanding what Zhou Xiao intended to reveal. He turned his face slightly and said, "I don’t know what you want me to say?"

"Don’t know? Heh." Zhou Xiao let out a light chuckle, "President Yu, being the chivalrous protector for over a decade, watching the woman you had within reach run off with someone else, must have been very painful, right? You’ve loved Gu Zixuan, loved her from childhood, so much that you refused interaction with any socialite. Every holiday, you were surely at Rong City No.1 High School’s gate to pick her up after school. You gave her gifts; too many, and you feared her suspicion; too few, and it seemed insincere. You were anxious, careful, nurturing her to grow up, just waiting for the moment to confess. But unfortunately, she didn’t feel it; not only did she not feel it, she also let you miss the first, and then the second chance. Even more so, to fulfill her union with President Feng, you were willing to publicly acknowledge being just her big brother, cutting off your own path to romance. Such deep sentiments even move me; are you really going to tell everyone it wasn’t because you loved her?"

In the air, it seemed even the silence trembled slightly. Googlᴇ search ⓝovelFire.net

Yu Yuanshen lifted his wine glass, took a sip, and said, "...No."

Again, two short words felt like a second knife stabbing into Gu Zixuan’s heart.