A BITTER LIFE

PART 31

Flashback last night

Gu Wei was startled when Eros suddenly stood up and knelt in front of him. "What are you doing?" Gu Wei asked in confusion, but instead of answering, Eros wrapped his arms around Gu Wei's waist while still kneeling.

"We slept together while Ebisu was pr@gnant with A-yuan," Eros stammered between his sobs, then knelt in front of Gu Wei, wrapping his arms around Gu Wei's waist. When Gu Wei heard what Eros said, he pressed his lips together to hold back his tears. It felt like cold water had been poured over him; he was frozen in his seat.

Yibo’s words played like a broken record in Gu Wei’s mind. "So, it was true," Gu Wei whispered, trying to pry Yibo's hands off his waist. "Let go of me," he demanded, but Yibo only tightened his grip.

[Gu Wei thoughts]
Suddenly, Gu Wei remembered something. Ever since he was kidnapped, Liying hadn’t shown herself to him. Every time she came, they would blindfold Ebisu. But Ebisu recognized Liying's scent, even though he forced himself to believe that his sister wouldn't do such a thing, he convinced himself that Liying was a good person and wouldn't hurt him.

One day, while Ebisu was being tortured, Liying arrived, and this time Ebisu’s eyes were uncovered. Zhan felt a glimmer of hope when he saw her sister, thinking she had come to rescue him. But his hope was crushed when he saw her pick up a hot iron. Ebisu shook his head, calling out to his sister.

"Jie, please don't do this to me, I beg you. I don't want to be here anymore. I want to go back to my family. Jie, what did I ever do to you to deserve this? How did we come to this point?" Ebisu cried, trembling as Liying slowly brought the hot iron closer.

Lying laughed when she heard Ebisu’s pleas. "Oh, my dear brother, you have no family to return to because they’re all mine now." Ebisu’s eyes widened. "What are you talking about? What do you mean my family is yours?" Ebisu asked, confused. "To make it clearer for you, your husband is mine now, and there’s something else I need to tell you. While you were pr@gnant, I slept with your husband." Ebisu shook his head.

"No, no, Eros would never do that. He loves me, and he wouldn't hurt me. You will never take my family away from me. My husband loves me, and he would never betray me," Ebisu said, screaming in pain as Liying pressed the hot iron against his arm. Gu Wei's thoughts were interrupted when he heard Eros' voice

"I didn't mean to. I was wrong, and it was wrong of me to blame you for everything that happened. I couldn’t accept what I had done, so I convinced myself that you were the one who ruined our relationship" Eros said, crying. "I am not Xiao Zhan," Gu Wei replied angrily, but Yibo ignored him. "I regret everything I did. She dr@gged me and blackmailed me, saying she would tell you everything. I was scared, so instead of blaming myself, I found a reason to put all the blame on you when I saw the picture of you kissing your new friend"" Eros explained, crying.

"How many times do I have to tell you that I am not Xiao Zhan? And even if I were, I would never forgive you. If you don’t let go of me, I will smash this glass over your head. You're a worthless person, and your reason is pathetic!" Gu Wei shouted.

"While I was in their hands, being tortured every day, I never lost hope. I fought to survive so I could return to you and our child, but all this happened because you couldn’t accept that you were the one who made a mistake. When I saw the picture of you with another woman, I didn’t immediately believe it. I waited for you to come home so I could ask if it was true. But because of your stupidity. My sister found a way to make me disappear from your life" Gu Wei thought.

"Wei², tell him everything, everything you've been through," Haoxuan said from the other line.

"I don't want to. I want him to suffer in finding out the truth. Every day I fought against their abuse to stay alive, to prove that my sister was wrong, that he wouldn't betray me. But this idiot..." Gu Wei said, not caring if Eros heard his words.

Gu Wei forced himself out of Yibo's embrace. "Forgive me," Yibo pleaded, but when Gu Wei finally freed himself from Yibo’s grasp, he ran outside. In his haste, he tripped and fell. "Because of my husband, who betrayed me and didn’t trust me, and because of my sister, who’s obsessed with my husband and willing to kill me to take my family away, I’ve gone through all of this" Gu Wei whispered as he struggled to get back on his feet.

Meanwhile, Eros didn’t chase after Gu Wei; he just cried. "Every day I regret what I did. I married Liying to punish myself because I don’t love her. Seeing her every day is like a candle slowly burning out. My only mistake was not telling Zhan the truth, giving Liying the chance to do it again" Eros whispered. "I don't love her, and I never will," he added.

After Gu Wei passed through the gate, he lost consciousness. Fortunately, Jiyang and Haoxuan are nearby, so they quickly helped Gu Wei back to his house.

"This isn't easy. Call Lay to come home, and call his psychiatrist as well," Jiyang said as he fanned Gu Wei. "Tomorrow, I’ll meet with Liying alone," Jiyang said, and Haoxuan agreed.

End of Flashback.

The next morning Lay called Lara and Sebastian to let them know that they would be borrowing A-Yuan, as they had agreed earlier. They were the ones who would pick him up from the hospital. Lay felt relieved when they agreed. Since his flight was still later in the day, he asked Haoxuan to pick up A-Yuan.

Eros ran to the parking lot and headed towards his parents' mansion. A thought crossed his mind—his mother had mentioned something about Ebisu before, but he hadn't paid attention. His thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of his phone. When he saw who was calling, he quickly threw the phone onto the back seat and continued driving.

When Haoxuan arrived at the hospital, he found Sebastian, Lara, and A-Yuan waiting for him. "Good morning," he greeted them politely. "A-Yuan, you go with him," Lara said, surprising A-Yuan because he didn't recognize the man in front of him. "Don't worry, he's not a bad person. He's a friend of Uncle Lay and Uncle Superhero." A-Yuan smiled. "Okay, Grandma," he said and hugged Lara and Sebastian.

"Thank you, sir, ma'am. I'll bring him back later," Haoxuan said as he helped A-Yuan into the car. As they drove, Haoxuan couldn't help but speak up. "A-Yuan, the truth is, we brought you here because Uncle Superhero hasn't been leaving his room. We thought that since you're very close to him, maybe he'll come out if you talk to him." A-Yuan looked at Haoxuan with concern.

"Is there something wrong with him?" A-Yuan asked, worried. Haoxuan fell silent, unsure of what to say. Fortunately, they were close to Gu Wei's house. "We're here," he said with a smile. "A-Yuan, I know this might be too much for you right now, but whatever he says to you, let him explain." A-Yuan looked at Haoxuan curiously. "Let's go inside," Haoxuan urged. "This is tough—you never know what's going to happen next" Haoxuan thought. "But I think it's the right time for A-Yuan to learn the truth about who he really is," he added to himself.

Elsewhere, before Jiyang went to Liying's company, they had already discussed their plans to live here and start a business. As they became friends, Liying confided in him about her financial troubles, which pleased Jiyang. Now, Jiyang was outside Liying's company. Before getting out of his car, he took a deep breath. Expecting his arrival, Liying's secretary met him at the entrance and escorted him to Liying's office.

He was supposed to buy only 15% of the shares, but it turned out to be 20%. They agreed that when Liying had the money, she would buy back the shares from him, and Liying even thanked him. Jiyang secretly grinned. "In the next meeting, I'll introduce you to the shareholders," Liying said with a smile.

Flashback:

"When you buy the shares and join their meeting, get to know the shareholders. If necessary, I'll find something to blackmail them with, just so they sell their shares to me. Until I become the major shareholder of her company," Gu Wei said while smoking. "Everything you have, I will take from you," he added.

End of Flashback:

Jiyang smiled widely and hugged Liying. "Thanks, friend," he said.

Meanwhile, when Eros arrived at his parents' house, he found them and his sibling eating. They immediately became concerned when they saw Yibo's swollen eyes and asked what had happened. Yibo glanced at the kids, and his parents understood.

"Kids, are you done eating?" Cheng asked, noticing the situation.

Thank you for reading it 💚 ❤️ 😍