Chapter 24: The Truth Revealed Su Nian stood frozen, utterly stunned. She had never expected to see Shen Yuhuan on this plane. Her heart pounded wildly; her first instinct was to run, but the cabin door was already locked.

"Good Nian Nian, come sit," Shen Yuhuan said, tilting his head.

He gently swirled his wineglass, the vivid liquid sliding along the glass, dazzling to the eye. Seeing Su Nian remain motionless, he chuckled softly.

"Shall I carry you over?"

Su Nian shuffled forward slowly. The moment she reached him, he caught her hand and pulled her down into his lap. Unfamiliar masculine warmth enveloped her, making her uneasy.

"Don't do this."

"Look ahead,"

Shen Yuhuan reminded her with a smile. Directly in front of them, a large LCD screen lit up, displaying crystal-clear footage. Su Nian glanced over curiously, then froze. On the screen was Gu Yichen. She struggled slightly, but unable to break free from Shen Yuhuan's hold, she gave up.

"Live satellite feed," Shen Yuhuan murmured, his voice low and intimate.

He tapped Su Nian's red lips with his wineglass.

"The flight lasts three hours—perfect timing for you to enjoy a good show."

Su Nian's pupils contracted as she stared at Gu Yichen on the screen. She vaguely understood: that scoundrel was about to suffer terribly. Of all people, he had to provoke the extremely dangerous Shen Yuhuan. Unavoidably, a hint of schadenfreude stirred within Su Nian's heart. * "To the company,"

Gu Yichen ordered as he entered the car. A dull ache throbbed in his mind.

Suddenly, he remembered how, whenever he grew weary from work in the past, Su Nian would obediently approach as soon as he lay back on the sofa, gently massaging him. Occasionally, when he wasn't paying attention, she would even steal a kiss. But they were divorced now. Gu Yichen abruptly opened his eyes, fury flooding his gaze. Su Nian had succeeded! With a year of tender advances, she had made him accustomed to her presence. Her brief departure was meant to teach him that he couldn't live without her. His phone rang, its shrill tone piercing the quiet cabin, worsening his headache. He glanced at the screen, paused for several seconds, then answered.

"Mom."

"You and Nian Nian are divorced?" Xu Qing asked urgently.

Unable to reach Su Nian by phone, she couldn't help but worry that Su Nian might do something rash. Gu Yichen steadied himself and replied bluntly, "We're divorced."

"Not worth it."

He emphasized those three words. Xu Qing choked slightly, then asked helplessly, "Why did you change your mind? Did you misunderstand Nian Nian, thinking she suggested I force you into marriage by threatening suicide?"

Not long ago, she had received an anonymous message detailing the entire story behind Su Nian's divorce.

"No?"

Gu Yichen faltered, his heart suddenly tightening. If that wasn't the case, then why had Su Nian lied to him? Xu Qing remained silent for a long moment before sighing.

"Do you not know what kind of person Nian Nian is at all? Do you really think she would make such a suggestion?"

Now, she truly understood that Su Nian and Gu Yichen were incompatible. Xu Qing's rhetorical question left Gu Yichen speechless. Thunderous thoughts exploded in his mind, scattering his reasoning into chaos. With difficulty, he began, "Mom, Su Nian…"

He couldn't finish. The answer was obvious: Su Nian had devised a scheme, tricking him—who had stubbornly refused to divorce—into obtaining the divorce certificate with her. Did he hate her? Was he angry? Gu Yichen slammed his eyes shut. A panic rising from the depths of his heart swept through his entire body. Su Nian genuinely wanted a divorce. She truly intended to abandon him. This wasn't the playing-hard-to-get he had assumed.

"Don't blame Nian Nian either,"

Xu Qing advised softly. Hearing no response from her son for a long while, she inexplicably felt a touch of sorrow.

"Even if Nian Nian deliberately tricked you, the fact remains that you didn't trust her."

—And you believed her, but not me, right? Su Nian's words surged into Gu Yichen's mind. As if grasping the last straw, he retorted furiously, "Su Nian is so skilled at deception; she was never trustworthy to begin with!"

"On that snowy night, it was clearly Su Nian who abandoned him, yet you ran to compete with Shen Wanrou for credit, attempting to deceive him into trusting you."

"You distrust Niannian, and you distrust me as well?"

Even Xu Qing, usually so gentle, spoke with anger creeping into her voice.

"Let me say this again: back then, it was I who meddled unnecessarily, forcing you to marry Niannian and pushing her straight into a pit of fire!"

This statement was somewhat exaggerated. After Su Xingye disappeared, Su Nian's status within the Su family had deteriorated significantly. Out of compassion for Su Nian and a desire to fulfill her romantic hopes, Xu Qing had orchestrated this marriage. Gu Yichen fell silent, saying nothing for a long while. Mother and son faced each other in tense standoff until he finally spoke wearily, "Mom, I'm hanging up."

The divorce certificate had already been obtained; what purpose remained in pursuing these matters further? The moment the call ended, Gu Yichen received a text message from an unknown number: "Mr. Gu, would you like to know the truth about that snowy night on Qihuang Mountain four years ago?"

A second message followed immediately, containing a geographical location. Gu Yichen paused briefly, his gaze sharpening instantly. His lips pressed into a thin line; his heartbeat quickened slightly, accompanied by an inexplicable sense of unease. The truth about that snowy night on Qihuang Mountain? What truth? The sole point of contention lay in determining whether Su Nian or Shen Wanrou was more trustworthy. Gu Yichen steadied his emotions, his eyes cold and sharp.

"Go to Jinrui Club."

Although he clearly understood that someone unseen had ensnared him within an elaborate net, he could not avoid stepping into this trap. If there truly was something suspicious about this matter, he bore both the responsibility to uncover the truth and the obligation to restore justice to Su Nian. Upon arriving at the club, escorted by a waiter, Gu Yichen entered a VIP suite. He glanced leftward, where a specially crafted one-way mirror offered a complete view into the adjacent room. Inside that room sat a burly man. Gu Yichen's eyes flickered slightly; he recognized this man as Shen Wanrou's bodyguard. Shen Wanrou pushed open the door and entered. Gu Yichen felt a jolt surge through his heart; beneath his sleeves, his hands clenched tightly into fists. He had already anticipated what would unfold next. Before him stood Shen Wanrou, normally graceful and refined, now wearing an icy expression, her brows and eyes fiercely sharp.

"What exactly do you want?"

"Miss Shen, don't rush. First, watch something."

The bodyguard, appearing somewhat helpless and resigned, pressed a remote control. On the television screen played a short video, digitally synthesized using only real human faces. The footage reconstructed the scene from that snowy night on Qixia Mountain: Su Nian stumbled desperately through the snow, falling into a hunter's trap. Her hands and face were cut and bleeding. After crawling out, utterly exhausted, she staggered across mountains and ridges until reaching another main road, where she finally flagged down several passing vehicles before collapsing unconscious, never noticing Shen Wanrou inside one of those cars.

"Enough!"

Shen Wanrou's complexion turned ugly.

"What do you intend to do? Betraying the Shen family—you should know the consequences!"

Having the events of that year displayed before her in such a manner filled her with extreme humiliation. The bodyguard sighed again.

"Miss, back then, it was your assistant, Xiao Chen, who took Miss Su to the hospital. It was Ah Wei who went to locate Mr. Gu according to the coordinates. I remember that throughout the entire incident, you remained silent. Only after Ah Wei recognized Mr. Gu did you step forward to claim credit falsely."

He had no desire to betray the Shen family, but betraying them meant merely losing his job. However, failing to follow that man's instructions… The bodyguard shuddered.

"Give me a sum of money, and I will leave here forever."

"Are you threatening me?"

Shen Wanrou's delicate eyebrows arched angrily. Yet she had no choice but to yield. Gu Yichen had drawn closer to her while distancing himself from Su Nian entirely because of that snowy night on Qihuang Mountain. Should he ever discover the truth… Shen Wanrou dared not imagine the consequences!

"Miss, don't you wish to marry Mr. Gu?"

The bodyguard smiled faintly.

"Your only bargaining chip for marrying Mr. Gu is the merit from that night. I believe it is worth fifty million."

Shen Wanrou ground her teeth, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and regained her composure.

"Within three days, I will gather the money."

"After you take the money, if you ever dare show up before me again, or if I hear even a whisper of this," Shen Wanrou said with a smile, her eyes sharp and cutting,

"I will make sure you die a miserable death!"

The bodyguard froze momentarily.

"Don't worry, Miss. I promise I'll leave."

Gu Yichen watched, his expression shifting from shock to icy coldness, then finally to numbness. He had misunderstood Su Nian, neglected her for four years, and wounded her heart so deeply that she lost all hope and divorced him. What exactly had he been doing? Gu Yichen pressed his hand to his forehead, regret and remorse flooding his entire being, a dull ache engulfing him from head to toe. —You didn't believe me, did you? Yes, he hadn't believed Su Nian. If only, back then, he could have trusted her, given her even a sliver of faith, or acted fairly by investigating the matter instead of arrogantly jumping to conclusions—would things have turned out differently? Would Su Nian not have been so determined to divorce him? Amidst the chaotic storm raging in his mind, Gu Yichen勉强 managed to pull out his phone, his stiff fingers pressing each digit one by one.

That familiar phone number appeared on the screen. He wanted to call Su Nian, apologize to her, tell her he shouldn't have doubted her. What else? Yes, he regretted the divorce. Su Nian had loved him for eight years; she wouldn't forget him so easily. He still had a chance; he could still make amends! The specially crafted one-way glass split in two, slowly sliding apart to either side. Shen Wanrou glanced over suspiciously, her fierce expression instantly freezing on her face. A surge of panic rushed into her heart, and her complexion turned pale immediately.

"Yi… Yichen…"

She hastily masked her harsh demeanor, forcing a smile uglier than tears, her voice trembling as she asked, "W-when did you arrive?"

How could Gu Yichen be here? Shen Wanrou's heart raced wildly. She quickly glanced at the bodyguard; taking one look at his expression, she understood everything. Hatred filled her eyes.

"The number you have dialed is currently switched off…"

Gu Yichen tried calling several times, but couldn't reach Su Nian. Irritation and urgency colored his features. He hurriedly walked outward, desperate to find Su Nian, to hold her in his arms—only then could he soothe his restless, agitated heart. Shen Wanrou panicked.

"Yichen, you've misunderstood! Listen to my explanation!"

If she didn't stop Gu Yichen today and clarify everything, she feared their relationship would end right here. Gu Yichen glanced back. His gaze, cold and sharp as a blade, pierced straight through Shen Wanrou. Ice-cold, chilling, bloodthirsty. Shen Wanrou felt terror grip her heart; her beautiful face turned deathly pale. Though today was clearly a bright, sunny day, she felt chilled to the bone. How could this happen? Everything had seemed so promising; Su Nian couldn't bear it anymore and was demanding a divorce! Usually calm and composed, Gu Yichen practically burst out of the club, his retreating figure betraying a hint of panic. He called one person after another—Xu Qing, Tang Shi, even Su Nian's father. Everyone connected to Su Nian received his call. But no one knew anything. Su Nian seemed to have vanished without a trace. ※ Su Nian sighed softly, a strange sensation stirring within her heart.

Regardless, she had cleared her name and clarified the misunderstanding surrounding that snowy night on Qihuang Mountain—that was a good thing. As for that scumbag, let him regret forever for not cherishing her, for not trusting her! Feeling completely refreshed, Su Nian watched the satellite footage showing Gu Yichen's uncharacteristic loss of composure. A hint of satisfaction from revenge bloomed in her heart.

"He… does like me a little, doesn't he?"

As she watched, her tone grew complicated. Gu Yichen had previously refused the divorce, and now he was acting so distraught. Su Nian wasn't foolish; she could guess part of the truth. Shen Yuhuan chuckled lightly, his response ambiguous.

"Perhaps? Mr. Gu had better pray his love isn't too deep; otherwise, how will he endure what comes next?"

"What do you mean?"

Su Nian's heart skipped a beat.

"Little Nian-Nian, surely you don't think this was the revenge I designed for you?"

Shen Yuhuan smiled warmly and innocently.

"All of this was merely the groundwork."

Author: Shen Yuhuan: As the world's number one wanted criminal, I advocate an eye for an eye; disproportionate retaliation does not align with my style.