Yet, Gu Qingshuang always believed she wasn’t truly a bad person. As Shen Lideng often said: when you’re just trying to survive, what choice do you have?
Gu Qingshuang let out a soft sigh. There was no point in dwelling on it now. She packed the items away, ready to leave.
Shen Lideng blocked her path. “Aren’t you going to ask what I want in return?”
Gu Qingshuang: “…”
Her face was as cold as ink. Between Ming Li’s divorce proposal and Shen Lideng’s interference, her mood had hit rock bottom. “What else do you want?”
“I’m joking,” Shen Lideng laughed. “Did you eat gunpowder today? Why such a temper?”
Gu Qingshuang didn’t answer and showed her the door.
On the way out of the hospital, Shen Lideng kept asking if she would reconsider her proposal. Two birds with one stone.
Gu Qingshuang snapped, “I’m not considering it. No, no, and no. How many more times do I have to refuse? Shen Lideng, weren’t you the one who cared most about your pride in front of me? Why have you thrown it away now?”
This was a rare loss of control for her. Her voice echoed through the underground parking garage.
The sudden volume made Gu Qingshuang’s ears ring, but she felt much better after shouting.
Shen Lideng was startled by the reaction but soon turned serious. “If pride could make my life better, I’d keep it. But do I even deserve to have pride now?”
“Why wouldn’t you? If you want to go abroad, Shen Chu will give you enough money to live comfortably,” Gu Qingshuang said. “You’re the one who refuses to leave.”
Shen Lideng stared at her intently, then smiled. “You really do understand Shen Chu.”
“I suppose,” Shen Lideng continued. “You’re both the type to only care for the new and forget the old.”
Gu Qingshuang looked at her, finding her increasingly unreasonable—even somewhat repulsive. She looked like… a certain version of Gu Xueqiang.
Gu Qingshuang didn’t dare think too deeply on that. She was already nursing a headache from thinking about Ming Li.
“That bracelet was a gift from your new wife, wasn’t it?” Shen Lideng said. “You didn’t answer me, but that’s the only answer that makes sense. Chun Liuyi had a falling out with you. Liu Siwang has been abroad so long she probably doesn’t believe in these things anymore—I heard she doesn’t even offer incense at her movie opening ceremonies. And your mother believes in herself more than she believes in God. Out of everyone around you, she’s the only one who would give you this.”
“Since you knew that, why did you touch my things?” Gu Qingshuang questioned with suppressed rage.
“Would you believe me if I said it was unintentional?” Shen Lideng suddenly burst out laughing. Once she was seen through, she stopped pretending. “Of course it was intentional.”
Shen Lideng continued, “I hate how you say you love me but act like a wooden block with no romance. And I hate that wife of yours from the contract marriage. Actually, I just hate you.”
She hated everyone who lived a happy life equally.
She was the rat in the gutter, hating every glimpse of human happiness. Such glimpses only served as a constant reminder of how wretched her own life was.
There was truth and lies mixed in her words.
In truth, Shen Lideng didn’t hate the days she spent with Gu Qingshuang. Gu Qingshuang had done everything a girlfriend should do; she was very qualified. As long as Shen Lideng asked for something and Gu Qingshuang could provide it, she did. Regardless of how much genuine affection was involved, it had been good.
Gu Qingshuang’s expectations of her had been low, too. That was why Shen Lideng could use her name to shamelessly cling to Shen Chu.
Call her crazy or sick—she never claimed to be a good person.
She liked Shen Chu. she loved Shen Chu. From the day she arrived at the Shen household, she had been dependent on her.
Gu Qingshuang was merely a pawn who had presented herself for use.
Over the years, while she had used Gu Qingshuang, she hadn’t exploited her for money or connections. Gu Qingshuang’s innocence often made her feel a twinge of guilt.
However, Shen Lideng would quickly suppress that guilt.
When the world was cruel to her, it never pulled its punches. And she was going to be a thorough villain.
Good people only saved the world and got praised. But bad people got what they wanted.
Shen Lideng tried to provoke a rebuttal with these words, but Gu Qingshuang only said calmly, “That is for the best.”
“Better that we stop seeing each other than live in mutual loathing,” Gu Qingshuang concluded.
Nothing went well for Gu Qingshuang after that meeting.
First, a company project ran into issues. she was so busy she didn’t even have time for lunch.
The busyness was a blessing in disguise; it kept her too occupied to think about Ming Li’s divorce. Whenever the thought did cross her mind—especially the mountain of trouble that would follow—she felt it was a thousand times more exhausting than work.
Gu Qingshuang hadn’t wanted to work at the Gu Group initially, but she had proven to be a fast learner. Reports that took others two hours, she could finish in thirty minutes.
The lessons she had taken since childhood hadn’t gone to waste; she truly had a talent for business.
She just didn’t like it.
She had especially disliked it ever since Gu Xueqiang and Gu Liufu had their falling out and the fight for the family estate began.
But after getting used to the routine, it wasn’t so bad. Aside from her dislike of discussing business at the dinner table with Gu Xueqiang, she had adapted well.
At dinner, Gu Xueqiang asked about the divorce again, wanting to know if she had made a decision.
Gu Qingshuang remained silent, prompting Gu Xueqiang to say, “You were so decisive when it came to getting married. Why are you so indecisive about the divorce?”
“If you want to offer advice, I hope you’ll use a better tone,” Gu Qingshuang said.
She had learned this approach at the office.
Because she was a doctor at the hospital and had been mentored by a top expert from the start, she had never experienced the dark side of workplace politics.
But at the company, starting as an anonymous clerk, she had been frequently reminded by colleagues that her tone was too stiff and her attitude was abrasive. A recent graduate had even taught her how to speak properly, undeterred by Gu Qingshuang’s cold face, simply because Gu Qingshuang had helped her grab lunch on her second day.
Gu Qingshuang hadn’t fully adopted the advice, but she had taken some of it to heart. Facing a situation where she didn’t want to argue, she gave Gu Xueqiang a preemptive warning.
Gu Xueqiang looked at her, the corner of her mouth curling slightly. “What advice could I possibly give you? You don’t seem to need it.”
“Then forget it,” Gu Qingshuang said. “I will try to communicate with Ming Li again.”
“And if she refuses to communicate?” Gu Xueqiang asked.
Gu Qingshuang paused. “Then there is no choice but to divorce.”
However, Gu Qingshuang felt the conditions Ming Li had proposed were too harsh on Ming Li herself. It showed just how determined she was to leave.
“Are you going to take back Xingwan?” Gu Qingshuang asked. “She’s used to running those projects, and it doesn’t interfere with the Gu Group’s main business…”
“Are you asking me to take it back, or are you asking me to give it to her?” Gu Xueqiang asked point-blank.
“Give it to her,” Gu Qingshuang replied.
Comparatively, Ming Li’s life was much harder.
“Then what’s your bargaining chip?” Gu Xueqiang asked.
Gu Qingshuang looked at her in shock. “You were the one who promised her the company in the first place.”
“But now I’m doing business with you,” Gu Xueqiang said. “Even between mother and daughter, accounts must be settled clearly. If you want to use my property to do someone a favor, you have to give me something in return, don’t you?”
Gu Qingshuang: “…”
![The Villain’s Arch-Nemesis is Back Again [Quick Transmigration]](https://i1.wp.com/dobytranslations.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/3.jpg?resize=151,215 "The Villain’s Arch-Nemesis is Back Again [Quick Transmigration]")
