It turned out he couldn't even bother with divorce; he hurried out to accompany Yin Luoxue.
A familiar stabbing pain swept through Gu Mian's heart, painful to the point of numbness.
In the two years after their marriage, she had often seen Yin Luoxue flaunting her affection on social media.
At that time, she felt conflicted, clearly distressed every time she saw it, yet unable to stop herself from looking.
And now, she had decided to give up such self-torture.
Gu Mian moved her fingers, deleting Li Tingshen and Yin Luoxue from her WeChat contacts one by one.
After preparing her bath, just as she put on her clothes, her cell phone suddenly rang.
It was a call from Li Tingshen.
Wasn't he accompanying Yin Luoxue? How could he have time to call her?
Gu Mian hesitated for a moment but answered, "Tingshen?"
"Did you delete Luoxue's WeChat?"
"Yes, what's wrong?"
"How dare you ask what's wrong?" Li Tingshen couldn't contain his anger, "Luoxue learned you were out of jail and wanted to greet you, but then she found out you deleted her. She thought you still hated her, recalling the scene where you pushed her down the stairs, she broke down! Gu Mian, can't you just settle down?"
His accusations and mockery twisted Gu Mian's heart like a knife. She endured the pain and said, "Tingshen, it's my right to delete her from WeChat."
"It is your right, of course, but she's a patient!" Li Tingshen emphasized, "And because you were in a wheelchair, she's particularly sensitive and fragile; shouldn't you consider her feelings a bit more?"
Gu Mian closed her eyes, a bitter smile on her lips, "Since your precious darling is so fragile, I should stay even further away from her to avoid being blamed for any little accident."
"Gu Mian, you..."
Gu Mian hung up directly and also blocked Li Tingshen's number.
She dressed and went downstairs, cooked herself a bowl of noodles, and then headed straight to the cemetery.
It was still drizzling rain. Protecting herself with an umbrella, Gu Mian stood at her grandmother's tombstone for a very long time.
When she returned to Yunyue Bay, it was already evening. Upon entering, she saw Li Tingshen sitting on the living room sofa.
Gu Mian was quite surprised. Usually, when he went to accompany Yin Luoxue, he stayed all day, only returning after coaxing her to sleep.
Gu Mian did not want to pry into his unusual behavior and ignored him, heading straight upstairs.
"Stop."
Behind her came the man's deep, cold voice.
Gu Mian stopped in her tracks.
The man got up and walked in front of her, his unfathomable eyes staring at her face, "Gu Mian, you've grown bold, daring to hang up on me and even block me?"
As Gu Mian stepped away, the man abruptly grabbed her wrist, "When I'm speaking to you, have you become deaf from your time in jail?"
Gu Mian's heart was deeply stabbed once more. She looked up at him, "Yes, I've been in jail, my life ruined forever. Aren't you all satisfied yet?"
Li Tingshen, seeing her swollen eyes, furrowed his brows, "Have you been crying? Did you go to the cemetery to see your grandmother?"
Gu Mian, holding back her tears, retorted, "I couldn't attend her vigil or funeral; do I need your permission to visit her now?"
Li Tingshen's eyes darkened slightly, "Gu Mian, on that day, insisting you go back to jail was because I feared you'd be too upset."
"Afraid I'd be upset?" Gu Mian outright laughed, her laugh desolate, "You can't even make the effort to lie properly, using such a poor excuse?"
She freed her hand from his grip, "Tingshen, I'm tired. Let's get a divorce."
...
Gu Mian returned to the master bedroom's walk-in closet and took out an old suitcase, beginning to pack her things.
The items given by the Li Family after the wedding she would not take any of them, so there wasn't much to pack.
"Gu Mian, have you had enough?" An impatient male voice came from behind. "Is it just because you spent a year in prison? Besides, I specifically instructed them not to let you suffer the slightest hardship while you were inside. What more do you want?"
Gu Mian, who was packing clothes, paused and turned to look at him, "You did instruct them, and my meals inside were different from the other prisoners—every meal consisted of either pig liver or spinach, all iron-rich foods, because I had to be ready to donate blood to Yin Luoxue at any time."
Li Tingshen frowned, "After all, you're still upset about Luoxue, Gu Mian. Asking you to donate blood to Luoxue was to save a life. You're medically trained and should possess the compassion of a healer. Moreover, I have compensated you."
"The compassion of a healer?" Gu Mian laughed outright, "Have you ever seen a doctor who donates blood to their patients to the point of death?"
"And about the compensation you mentioned, are you referring to these?"
Gu Mian raised her hand to point at a whole wall of bags—these bags were worth at least hundreds of millions and were the dream of many women.
"Buying me a bag each time I donated blood, and those were the ones left over from Yin Luoxue's selection, right?"
Each bag that came into her possession had been picked out by Yin Luoxue, who paid for all of them.
Yin Luoxue would first choose her favorite ones and then select an extravagant one from the leftovers for Gu Mian. Although they were expensive, none were practical for daily use.
She never asked for bags, but they all believed that exchanging a blood donation for a bag was a good deal for her, Gu Mian.
Gu Mian smiled lightly, "I won't take any of these bags with me, because from the beginning to end, I never thought of selling my own blood."
Li Tingshen pinched the bridge of his nose with his hand.
Since their marriage, Gu Mian had always been compliant, occasionally moody, but she had never defied him, nor had she ever spoken to him so decisively.
Li Tingshen clasped her shoulders with his hands, his tone softened somewhat, "I know you just got out of prison and are not in a good mood. Can we not fight anymore? Let's go have dinner, I have asked Mother Yang to cook your favorite dishes."
Gu Mian pushed his hand away and picked up her suitcase to walk out.
The next second, her body was suddenly lifted into the air, carried horizontally by the man.
Before Gu Mian could resist, she was placed onto the soft bed.
The man leaned over her, Gu Mian's hands easily caught and raised above her head.
The familiar male hormone scent enveloped her, Li Tingshen leaned down to kiss her ear, his deep voice tinged with a seductive sexiness, "Madam Li, can we stop being angry? Tonight, I'll make sure to please you, alright?"
Gu Mian's heartbeat suddenly accelerated!
In the past, whenever she was slightly angry, she quickly calmed down unable to withstand his teasing.
Likely finding it amusing, every time he saw her upset, he would pull her into making love.
He was extremely dominating in their intimate acts; every time Gu Mian ended up crying and begging for mercy, to which he indulgently agreed to everything she wanted.
The man's breathing grew heavier as he kissed her lips while undoing the buttons of her blouse.
Gu Mian suddenly reacted, desperately struggling to break free from his grasp, "No... I don't want to..."
"You don't want to?" Li Tingshen lifted his head, his eyes filled with amorous interest as he gazed at the girl beneath him. "Now, it is you saying you don't want to, but later you will be the one clinging to me wanting more... "
Gu Mian's face flushed to her ears, as if blood could drip from them.
The man smirked, lowering his head to kiss her neck, "This past year without you, I also suffered... I had to work overtime at least three hundred nights just to control myself... "
Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the night was shrouded with an unceasing rain drizzling down, yet the temperature in the room climbed higher and higher.
After three years of marriage, Li Tingshen had completely mastered Gu Mian's body, skillfully seducing her.
Gu Mian shivered, tensing her whole body; she tried to maintain her sanity to break free, but the man seemed resolute to drag her into ruin.
"Gu Mian, give in to me..."