Chapter 12: Outlaws Beyond the Law

Every word she uttered was laced with defiance and refusal to yield. At first, Zhou Ci was merely cold and indifferent, but now she had truly provoked his anger.

"Gu Shenshen, you really are despicable," he spat out between clenched teeth.

Biting back the pain that seemed to shatter her shoulder bones, Gu Shenshen laughed.

"You’re the one obsessed with sleeping with me. Who’s the despicable one here?" But the moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them. Too often, her lips moved faster than her mind could stop them. She only wanted to preserve her dignity, not to antagonize him.

Zhou Ci paused, his gaze turning even more sinister. In those icy eyes, there was no longer any trace of desire—only cruelty.

Their eyes met, and the temperature in the room seemed to plummet to freezing. Gu Shenshen found it hard to breathe. When Zhou Ci was silent, she found him most terrifying. To her, he was a man of unpredictable moods—she had learned this firsthand years ago.

Just then, Zhou Ci’s phone rang.

He released her at last, turning away to answer the call.

She had no idea who was on the other end or what was said. All she heard was his low, terse reply: "I’ll be right there." Without another glance at her, he opened the door and left.

Gu Shenshen still felt a dull ache along her spine as she stared blankly at the open doorway. Then, frustrated, she slapped herself lightly. "Why can’t I just keep my mouth shut?"

By the time she returned home, it was already the dead of night. The house was pitch black. She sat alone in the living room, slumped in despair against the sofa, her mind utterly blank.

She sat like that until dawn. When the family came downstairs, they finally noticed her.

"Mother waited up for you all night. Why didn’t you call?" Gu Yanran approached, her voice gentle yet admonishing.

Gu Shenshen took a breath, brushed her face with one hand, and then looked at Gu Yanran with cold detachment.

"I forgot."

Gu Yanran seemed about to say more, but Gu Shenshen had already stood up.

Yang Liqiong watched her approach, regarding her with indifference. "If you haven’t taken care of that trouble with Zhou Ci, don’t bother coming home again."

Remembering her rashness the night before, Gu Shenshen was silent for a long time. At last, she replied wearily, "I’ll handle it as soon as possible."

Clearly, Gu Yanran didn’t know what was passing between mother and daughter, but she didn’t press. It was obvious enough that Gu Shenshen had caused trouble, and dragged the Gu family into it. Otherwise, Yang Liqiong likely wouldn’t have wasted even a word on her.

Then Gu Shenshen checked her phone, only to see a news story that had broken earlier that morning. Zhou Ci had apparently beaten Jiang Ling so severely that he was hospitalized. And Jiang Ling wasn’t just anyone—he was Shen Qiqi’s husband.

The news left Gu Shenshen scouring several media outlets for the reason. Aside from the implication that it was a crime of passion, there was no other useful clue.

A crime of passion? It certainly wasn’t for her.

Staring at those words on her phone screen, she found her breakfast tasted like cardboard.

If he already cared for someone else, why treat her this way?

Later, when she finally got in touch with Shen Qiqi, she learned what had actually happened. Jiang Ling had set his sights on a girl and tried to force himself on her—unaware that she was one of Zhou Ci’s people. As soon as Zhou Ci got the call, he rushed over and beat Jiang Ling without hesitation.

Shen Qiqi spoke calmly, as if such things were nothing new.

Gu Shenshen was silent on the phone for a long while before she finally asked, "Do you know who the girl was?"

Shen Qiqi replied, "Do you care?"

Gu Shenshen unconsciously touched her face. "No, it’s just… there are still many unresolved things between Zhou Ci and me…"