Chapter 48: In Your Eyes, I Am Also a Damned Bastard

Pei Wan asked, “Is the person who spoke about you angry?”

“Pei Wan.” Zhou Ci’s tone was clearly displeased, his voice rising a notch.

Though Pei Wan wore a calm expression, she felt a sting of grievance in her heart at Zhou Ci’s sharpness.

But only a few minutes later, Zhou Ci realized that Gu Shenshen, whom he had glimpsed not long ago, had vanished without a trace.

He promptly entrusted Pei Wan to several older women he knew, then slipped away himself.

Gu Shenshen had followed Jiang Susu outside.

After a short distance, Jiang Susu stopped, turned around with reddened eyes, and shot Gu Shenshen a venomous glare.

“Why are you following me?”

Gu Shenshen halted at a measured distance, her voice cool as she asked, “Who paid you to come here?”

Jiang Susu’s brows knit together, her gaze darting away for a moment. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. If your nouveau riche Gu family can attend, why can’t I?”

Gu Shenshen did not press the point. Her silent, unwavering gaze unsettled Jiang Susu, sending a chill down her spine.

Years ago, Gu Shenshen had been only seventeen or eighteen, yet she had forced Jiang Susu into an abortion and driven her out of Haicheng.

So young, yet already ruthless as a viper.

“Jiang Susu, if I see you again, I’ll see to it you’re ruined and disgraced.” Her tone was cool—not a warning, but a naked threat.

Jiang Susu gritted her teeth but dared not utter a single retort as she turned and walked away.

Gu Shenshen watched her receding figure for a long moment before finally turning around—only to find Zhou Ci standing before her.

Instinctively, she took a step back. She looked at him, lips curved in a faint smile. “What are you looking at?”

Zhou Ci narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing her as he stepped forward. “Why is she so afraid of you?”

Gu Shenshen’s lips quirked. “She used to be my father’s mistress. I taught her a lesson. I’m surprised she made it to the Mo family’s birthday banquet.”

Clearly, she must have found herself another powerful patron.

As Gu Shenshen retreated a step, Zhou Ci advanced, closing the distance until her back was pressed against the cold wall with nowhere left to go.

“What did you do to her? Why does she fear you so much?”

Zhou Ci could be rather perverse at times—when things were most heated between the sheets, he would abruptly pause to ask the most inexplicable questions. Now, as then, she had no idea what it was he wanted to uncover.

A faint smile lingered in Gu Shenshen’s eyes as she replied in a light, indifferent tone, “She was pregnant with a child she shouldn’t have had. I made her get rid of it.”

Zhou Ci’s face darkened as he pressed on, “The child was innocent. Why did you do it? Did your mother put you up to it?”

“It was nothing but the result of indulgence—a bastard, nothing more. Why would I let her give birth to it? My mother couldn’t have made me do anything.” She spoke each word deliberately, eyes fixed unflinchingly on Zhou Ci.

He stood rigidly before her, looming above, unmoving, but Gu Shenshen could sense the shift in his mood.

A flicker of unease touched her. She clenched her fist lightly.

“Ah Ci…” she murmured softly.

His breathing grew heavy as he lowered his head to meet her gaze. His eyes were rimmed with red, and in that instant, Gu Shenshen caught a glimpse of something broken within him.

“In your eyes… am I also just a damned bastard?” His voice was hoarse, like a wounded beast.

Pain stabbed through Gu Shenshen’s heart, sharp as a needle. She had forgotten about his status as an illegitimate child.

“Ah Ci, that’s not what I meant, I just…” She tried to explain, but the words faltered on her lips and she fell silent.