Chapter 42: Catching an Adulterer

She paused for a moment, then gently touched the man's face and softly reminded him, "Knowing the law and breaking it makes the crime all the more serious." Zhou Ci sneered disdainfully, making Gu Shenshen's expression change.

"Zhou Ci..." Gu Shenshen's voice was now much softer, tinged with brokenness.

"If you still have so much to say, it seems you’re not tired enough," he retorted.

Inwardly, Gu Shenshen cursed his ancestors once more.

After a night of torment, Gu Shenshen was unable to get up early the next morning.

But she hadn't forgotten about Shen Qiqi.

"Where are you going?" Zhou Ci's voice sounded just as she finished dressing and was preparing to leave.

He stood by the window, but Gu Shenshen, focused on her own concerns, hadn't noticed him there.

His sudden voice startled her, making her footsteps falter. She was clearly taken aback.

"You're still here?"

Zhou Ci, dressed in a bathrobe and leaning slightly against the window, looked at her with a cold expression.

Did she still think she was living the life of a wealthy woman? How could she be so brazen?

"You said last night you’d come back to Haicheng with me today."

Gu Shenshen’s muddled mind finally retrieved the memory, and her face showed she remembered.

"I’ll check on Qiqi first."

Zhou Ci pressed his thin lips together, saying nothing, only looking at her. But his meaning was clear—he didn’t want her to go.

Yet Gu Shenshen seemed not to catch the look in his eyes. She turned and quickly left.

As she walked, she checked her watch and her phone. There hadn’t been any message or call from Shen Qiqi all night, and fear gnawed at her heart.

Theoretically, what she’d done was terribly unkind; if things went awry, Qiqi would be the one to suffer.

She knocked hurriedly at the door, so anxious she forgot there was a doorbell.

"Miss Gu, isn’t it rather rude to be knocking so early?" Zhou Yili opened the door, looking displeased.

Gu Shenshen glanced him up and down. He was still dressed the same as yesterday, and his demeanor seemed normal.

"So, where’s Qiqi? Is she alright?"

"The doctor came last night. Just some superficial injuries."

Gu Shenshen bit her lip, her gaze involuntarily sliding past Zhou Yili to peer inside. "If she’s okay, maybe you should leave now."

Her guilt was written all over her face, anxiety plain to see.

Zhou Yili looked at her with interest. "Someone who didn’t know better might think you were the one having an affair, you’re so nervous."

"Mr. Zhou, thank you for last night," Shen Qiqi’s gentle voice sounded from behind, and she stepped forward. "Shenshen’s right, you’d better go. It wouldn’t do to invite unnecessary trouble."

Zhou Yili turned to look at her. After a moment, he nodded. "Let me know when you’re back in Haicheng."

Shen Qiqi’s lips curved into a faint, gentle smile. "I will."

Gu Shenshen stepped aside, and in less than two minutes, Zhou Yili left the room.

Only then did she peer anxiously at Shen Qiqi. "He didn’t do anything to you last night, did he?"

"No," Shen Qiqi replied.

"I was too impulsive to call him. Thinking back, if Jiang Ling found out..."

"I know you were doing it for me," Shen Qiqi interrupted.

As she knew Shenshen well, unless she’d done something she regretted, Shenshen would never be so remorseful.

Gu Shenshen looked at her for a long moment. "It wasn’t entirely that..."

They hadn’t spoken more than a few words when, suddenly, Gu Shenshen was yanked forcefully aside.

"You shameless woman, where’s your lover?" Jiang Ling’s furious voice followed.

Gu Shenshen was pulled so roughly she stumbled and fell to the floor.

Before she could react, Jiang Ling had already slapped Shen Qiqi hard across the face.