Pretending To Be Affectionate [Transmigration] - Chapter 40

Ling Yu wasn’t too far from Gu Qing, and in the dead of night, combined with Jiang Wei’s heart-wrenching wail from the phone just a few seconds ago, it was impossible to ignore.

Ling Yu was neither deaf nor blind, so she naturally heard it clearly.

She glanced at Gu Qing, hinting: “Li Juan is going to kill Jiang Wei?”

Gu Qing silently ended the call.

“That’s quite surprising,” Ling Yu smiled. “How do you plan to handle it? Call the police? Dial 120?”

For someone as sober and rational as Gu Qing, calling the police would definitely be her first choice.

The Kaihe Law Firm building had eighteen floors. In the freezing cold, snowy night, when the ground was slippery, Li Juan was using Jiang Wei’s life to threaten Gu Qing to go there.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Li Juan was following through on the threats she had made in the stairwell that day.

She wanted to make Gu Qing regret it!

Regret in every sense of the word.

But what was the point? Ling Yu didn’t understand what she was thinking. She clicked her tongue, silently cursing her for being an idiot.

Jiang Wei had committed the monstrous crime of rape, and his destiny was to face legal judgment, not Li Juan’s personal judgment.

No one had the right to judge others.

Legal judgment would at least ensure Jiang Wei received the punishment he deserved.

The alternative would only allow the bad guy to find a loophole and escape justice.

Gu Qing might not go. What about Li Juan?

If she killed Jiang Wei, she would be branded as a murderer.

The outcome of this case would only lead to frustration.

Ling Yu breathed out a cold puff of air and pressed down on her beret.

She wondered what she should do if Gu Qing chose to ignore it. She should probably go back, right?

Before Ling Yu could think further, a shadow passed beside her.

Gu Qing’s expression hadn’t changed. She reached into her pocket and tossed a set of car keys to Ling Yu: “You can drive, right? Take me back to the firm.”

Her tone was light, yet carried a hint of command.

Ling Yu thought, Who do you think you are, Big Sister?

Just three minutes ago, I drew a line between us. What do you eat that makes your mouth so big?

Ling Yu put her hands in her pockets, her foxy eyes tilted upward: “Why should I?”

Gu Qing had been drinking tonight, and the designated driver had already left.

It was late, and even if she called another designated driver, it would take too long for them to get here from the mountain foot.

A fleeting darkness passed through Gu Qing’s deep blue eyes.

She glanced at Ling Yu, and the atmosphere became tense.

Gu Qing frowned and looked at her wrist. She replied expressionlessly, “I’m not joking with you. It’s a matter of life and death. If you keep stalling, I don’t think you’d be happy with the Jiang Wei case ending tonight.”

The implication was that Li Juan was indeed going to kill Jiang Wei.

Ling Yu immediately realized the seriousness of the situation. Her eyes darkened. She picked up Gu Qing’s car keys.

She walked toward the Porsche without a word. After a few steps, she stiffly added: “Don’t get the wrong idea. This is the last time I’m helping you.”

Gu Qing paused. She pursed her lips and gave a displeased “mm.”

---

Ling Yu opened the car door, and her attention was immediately drawn to a basket of apples placed on the passenger seat.

The apples themselves weren’t shocking, but each one was wrapped in delicate wrapping paper inside the basket.

The wrapping paper had large, red words that read: “Safe and Sound, I Love You.” The bold, red words looked like a piece of dark humor.

Ling Yu glanced at it and casually looked away.

“That’s quite romantic…”

Ling Yu hadn’t finished her sentence. A frightening aura suddenly came from Gu Qing. She cut Ling Yu off, trying to cover it up: “Do you think I need something like romance?”

Ling Yu was confused: “I didn’t say you did. Why are you so quick to explain?”

Gu Qing’s fingers stiffened. She scanned Ling Yu back and forth, trying to see any sign of probing on her face, but found none.

She lowered her head, her long, curly hair covering half her face.

Ling Yu continued, fearless: “I was going to say, the person who sent you the apples is truly devoted. It’s quite romantic that you didn’t throw them in the trash. After all, someone like you…”

Ling Yu stopped there. She had her pride, too.

Since she wasn’t fawning over her anymore, she didn’t need to save face for Gu Qing, or spoil her.

Their eyes met, and the raw anger clashed.

Gu Qing looked like she wanted to eat Ling Yu alive.

Ling Yu smiled mockingly and raised her chin at Gu Qing: “Huh? It’s really not from someone else? Could it be that you’re sending them to someone? Couldn’t be.”

Gu Qing was speechless: “…”

She took a deep breath and suddenly laughed, giving Ling Yu a look as if she were a madwoman.

Her presence suddenly became overwhelming.

Ling Yu: “???”

She wants to fight without a word? Is she crazy?

Normally, Ling Yu would be happy to oblige, but was tonight the time for a fight?

“Excuse me,” Ling Yu stared at Gu Qing’s eyes impatiently: “Lawyer, you have less than thirty minutes to get to Kaihe Law Firm. Don’t forget your client is waiting for you to save his life.”

Gu Qing ignored this, propped her hand on Ling Yu’s thigh, and leaned in! Her head was bowed very low!

Ling Yu was stunned. All her senses focused on the cold fingers on her thigh. The woman was completely leaning over Ling Yu’s seat, and the shadow of half her body covered her.

Her chestnut-colored long curls slid down her shoulder, provocatively touching Ling Yu’s chest.

“What are you doing?”

Ling Yu’s voice was slightly distorted.

Gu Qing’s eyes darkened, and then she let out a cold laugh.

The smile was very telling, as if she was mocking Ling Yu’s indecent thoughts.

Then she reached out with her other hand, pulled the seatbelt from the left side of the driver’s seat, and “clicked” it into place.

“What can I do to you?” Gu Qing gave Ling Yu a look of disgust. Her phoenix eyes lifted, and she suddenly sat up straight.

“Stop wasting time talking nonsense. Drive!”

Ling Yu gritted her teeth: “…”

She stepped on the accelerator. Once the car entered the mountain road, the speed only increased.

Gu Qing, sitting in the passenger seat, was forced to grab the door handle.

The car “screeched” as it spun at high speed halfway up the mountain.

Gu Qing was tossed around with the car the entire time. The feeling was no different from getting rattled during sex.

“Don’t you know how to drive?”

Her face was terrible, completely black. She couldn’t even maintain her sarcastic expression.

When Ling Yu heard this, she pressed the accelerator even harder.

She offered a meager smile and, mimicking Gu Qing’s earlier tone, retorted: “Stop wasting time saying nonsense. Can’t you see I’m driving?”

Gu Qing glanced at the basket of apples in the back seat. Thinking of the designated driver’s words about “safety and good fortune,” she suddenly gave a terrifying smile.

But the smile didn’t fully form before the car’s sharp turn tossed her again.

Gu Qing always drove smoothly and had never experienced such a heart-pounding sensation.

Ling Yu saw that she was about to vomit and finally slowed down.

She looked straight ahead and said darkly, “Gu Qing.”

Gu Qing gave an “mm.”

Ling Yu chuckled dismissively: “A person’s humility has its limits. We’ve already broken ties… please take back your unwarranted malice. After all, I don’t owe you anything. On the contrary, you owe me the Jiang Wei case…”

Gu Qing only looked out the window. She instinctively pulled a lady’s cigarette from her pocket and put it in her mouth.

She didn’t light it, only showing her profile. The car lights shone on the pale skin of half her face, making her look paler than usual.

Ling Yu pulled her gaze back and closed her mouth, no longer speaking.

She had long wanted to openly scold her for her harsh words, but when she actually talked back, it wasn’t as satisfying as she had imagined…

---

The rooftop of Kaihe Law Firm required taking the stairs from the top floor of the fire escape.

Ling Yu followed Gu Qing, unhurriedly, keeping a three-meter distance. It was far enough not to be annoying and close enough not to seem too intimate.

When they reached the top floor, Gu Qing suddenly stopped.

Her phoenix eyes swept across the stairs. With a distance of several steps between them, her gaze showed a sense of condescending aggression.

Gu Qing warned her in an uncompromising tone: “Don’t follow me.”

Ling Yu put her hands in her pockets, wearing a careless smile: “No, I’m not comfortable with that.”

The woman’s cold gaze scraped across her face. Ling Yu felt a chill run down her spine.

The feeling was too familiar. The beautiful, cold woman standing against the light clearly meant: Get lost. I don’t need your concern.

Ling Yu laughed in anger: “Don’t misunderstand. I want to watch. If Li Juan unfortunately dies, at least I’ll know who the killer is.”

008: [Host, that’s very mean of you to say.]

Ling Yu: [If I don’t say that, will Gu Qing let me go up?]

Gu Qing’s gaze, which was fixed on Ling Yu, was laced with scrutiny. Her eyes moved from top to bottom, stripping Ling Yu bare like peeling an onion. Every pause carried a thoughtful weight.

Ling Yu was creeped out.

“What is it now?” Ling Yu’s voice was slightly lacking in confidence.

Gu Qing brushed aside her stray hair. The expression on her face was extremely calm.

“I used to wonder about your motives for approaching me,” Gu Qing said. She pulled a cigarette from her pocket, lifted it, and lit the cigarette right in front of Ling Yu.

She took a drag and then looked at Ling Yu’s dark eyes.

The smoke curled, enveloping Gu Qing’s face, making it hard to read her emotions.

But the bluish main artery in her neck was throbbing, betraying her less-than-pleasant mood.

“I think I understand a little bit tonight,” Gu Qing’s tone was very flat. She curled her lips maliciously at Ling Yu: “You got close to me because of the Jiang Wei case?”

Ling Yu didn’t say anything. She was furious.

She did have a motive, but it had nothing to do with the case. She wasn’t so morally bankrupt as to sell herself for a scumbag like Jiang Wei.

Gu Qing’s long eyelashes drooped. Her gaze was directed at the vast night, and her tone was dismissive: “Did I tell you that I’m not obligated to pay a ‘prostitution fee’ to a liar…”

“Ling Yu, a famous female player in Jiangcheng’s high-roller circle. It’s a pleasure.”

Gu Qing politely and properly extended a hand. Ling Yu’s face stiffened. She stared at the woman’s palm, feeling as if this hand had just slapped her hard across the face twice.

She was silent for a moment and then asked with raised eyelids, “When did you know?”

Gu Qing smiled sweetly: “I knew from the first day I met you. Watching you jump through hoops… was entertaining.”

While speaking, she leaned back, resting against the fire hydrant.

She gave her a flirtatious smile: “Don’t follow me. I told you a long time ago that you don’t seem willing to listen to me. The prostitution fee isn’t something you can use to threaten me. If you want to see Li Juan covered in blood… feel free to follow and try.”

It was the first time Ling Yu had seen Gu Qing smile so beautifully. The curve of her lips stretched wide. Her clear eyes were like a tree full of cluster amaryllis, blazing like fire.

Ling Yu frowned tightly.

In the next second, Gu Qing pulled open the rooftop door and closed it with a “thud.”

The woman’s slender figure, accompanied by the clicking of her heels, quickly disappeared from view.

Ling Yu was in a terrible mood. She stared at the door in front of her.

Her hand gripped the railing, but she didn’t move.

She knew everything. Ling Yu scoffed.

No wonder her gaze was always filled with such cold disgust.

A bucket of cold water seemed to be poured over her heart. Ling Yu had never imagined that her three months of effort were nothing more than a game to the other person.

She had thought their relationship was an equal one.

But it turned out she was just a source of amusement in the eyes of the cunning, almost supernatural Gu Qing.

The repeated “thud” of the closing door echoed in her ears. Ling Yu’s mind kept replaying the final warning look Gu Qing had given her.

She couldn’t gamble.

This was the one time she couldn’t be reckless.

The emotion faded from Ling Yu’s eyes. She stood still, unmoving.

008: [Host, are you going to follow?]

Ling Yu: [I don’t know.]

[…] 008: [Otherwise, reconsider. The female lead didn’t seem to be lying. If you go up there, what if she really lets Li Juan die?]

[You’re right.]

Ling Yu’s voice was very low.

She stood outside the door for a full ten minutes. When she heard a startled cry from the rooftop, Ling Yu expressionlessly pulled open the door to the rooftop.

---

The rooftop of Kaihe Law Firm was very large. Simply opening the door didn’t reveal Li Juan’s exact location.

The cold wind carried the voices of three people into her ears.

Ling Yu heard Li Juan’s hysterical scream.

“What did I do wrong? You are the ones who are wrong. I only accidentally witnessed that animal’s crime!”

“Why?”

Li Juan was crying loudly.

“Why are all of you forcing me? Ever since Shu Shu died, she appears in my dreams every night. She asks me why I didn’t save her!”

“I’m just so ordinary. What power do I have?”

“I’m not you. You’re a high-and-mighty lawyer. You can easily get leverage over me by offering a drink…”

Li Juan’s crying stopped abruptly. She suddenly burst out laughing.

“Isn’t it absurd? At first, I was stupid enough to think you liked me!” Li Juan: “How could I have thought that you were just the Jiang family’s lackey all along… Hahahahaha… I was wrong about you after all…”

Gu Qing stood there in silence, as if she were acknowledging it, or simply too lazy to respond to anyone.

When Ling Yu got closer, she saw that Jiang Wei’s hands and feet were tied with a thick rope, and Li Juan was standing on him.

Li Juan’s expression in the moonlight was twisted. She seemed to think of something and looked at Gu Qing with a final glimmer of hope: “I’ll ask you one thing: did you tamper with the voice recorder about me being a lesbian on the day of the first trial?”

Gu Qing didn’t hesitate. She cruelly shook her head: “It wasn’t me!”

Li Juan’s expression visibly became even more twisted.

She was holding a knife in her hand. She clenched the handle and made a motion to stab Jiang Wei in the groin.

“Since there’s no justice in this world, I’ll be the justice!”

Most people, seeing this situation, would have stepped forward to stop it.

Gu Qing remained completely still. She expressionlessly glanced at Li Juan.

“Fine,” Gu Qing crossed her arms: “If you’re going to do it, do it quickly.”

“Article 232 of the Criminal Law states: Intentional homicide is punishable by death, life imprisonment, or fixed-term imprisonment of ten years or more.”

Li Juan’s hand paused. A flicker of fear crossed her face.

Even though she had worked up the courage today, her original plan was only to force Gu Qing to agree to defend her.

But the other party was as hard as iron, maintaining her indifference to the very end.

Gu Qing lifted her eyelids, and her cold gaze swept over her.

“Do you think killing Jiang Wei today will leave me restless, sleepless, and filled with regret for the rest of my life?” Gu Qing gave a cold laugh.

“It won’t.”

“In the past two years, I have handled over three hundred and twenty criminal cases. I used all my abilities to help my clients in every lawsuit. From a lawyer’s perspective, bad people also need lawyers. I am just doing a job. Jiang Wei is my client, and you are an important witness in the case. You are no different from any of the people involved in the thousands of cases I’ve handled.”

Gu Qing narrated in a flat tone: “Your killing Jiang Wei tonight will have no impact on my future. The only impact is that Kaihe Law Firm will have one more homicide case.”

“That’s something Boss Li should worry about. I’m just an employee who can jump ship anytime. If this law firm fails, I can go to another one. You know my ability. Even if I don’t practice law, I have a minor in finance from graduate school.”

“I have a good intellect, and I’m a quick learner. I can play the stock market, start a company. It’s not out of the question. I won’t have to worry about food or clothing in the future, but you…”

Gu Qing’s tone changed: “You’ll either be constantly bullied in prison or die. Unfortunately, you won’t live to see my glory.”

This woman, Gu Qing, had a knack for completely destroying people’s mental state with just a few words.

Just like now, her face held the focused expression she used when dealing with witnesses in court.

Her tone was flat, yet it inexplicably made one believe that what she was saying was the truth.

The night wind lifted her long, flowing hair. The strands clung to her face.

This added a sense of wildness and disorder to her beautiful face.

Ling Yu suddenly paused. She had always thought Gu Qing was cold, but at this moment, she realized that Gu Qing also hid a calculative arrogance in her bones.

Gu Qing was different from any other woman. She was like a reverse thorn on a rose.

Her innate arrogance made her seem out of place and superior.

This had nothing to do with being cold; it was her natural personality.

She was definitely not a good person, but she couldn’t be definitively labeled as a bad person either.

Because she never committed crimes. She only danced repeatedly on the fine line of morality.

Anyone who didn’t get close to her would be safe, but those who tried to offend her would be completely torn apart by her reverse thorns.

Li Juan’s hand, which was gripping the knife, suddenly stopped. She was crying because of Gu Qing.

She was wailing, like a child.

Gu Qing reminded her: “You’re holding the knife incorrectly.”

“Even if you’re going to kill someone, at least do it gracefully. The action must be quick and clean, or the person’s blood will splatter. Have you heard of pulse pressure? The moment the main artery is cut, the blood will spray out in a parallel direction to the flight path, covering you in blood…”

With every word Gu Qing said, Li Juan trembled a little more.

She looked at Gu Qing as if she were looking at a madwoman.

“You’re crazy,” Li Juan mumbled, her face covered in tears: “Don’t think I’m scared because of what you’re saying…”

Gu Qing sighed. Her face looked calm, but Ling Yu noticed that her knees were slightly bent.

This was a ready-to-run position.

Through the darkness, Gu Qing’s tone softened a little: “No, you’re not scared. I am. Murder is a frightening thing. When Jiang Wei killed Yan Shu, you were standing outside. You should fully understand how I feel looking at you now.”

Li Juan was stunned. As if she remembered something, her hand holding the blade suddenly loosened.

With a “clatter,” the knife fell to the ground.

Gu Qing stared into Li Juan’s eyes, showing no emotion that Li Juan had given up on murder.

Her tone was still unhurried. Following her usual rhythm, she asked: “Do you feel better now? Killing someone won’t threaten anyone. It will only earn you the title of a murderer for the rest of your life. Moreover, you might not even kill my client with one stab.”

Gu Qing was like a sharp blade, stabbing through Li Juan and popping her balloon of anger.

She said flatly: “The Jiang family has money. They can spend a lot of money to get him treatment. He will become a successful bad person, just like me. When you go to heaven to find Yan Shu, will you have the face to see her?”

“Wuwuwuwu.”

In the dark night, Li Juan cried heartbrokenly. She kept repeating: “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to.”

“Why? No one is willing to help me and my best friend.”

“Why are there animals like you in this world?”

…

Ling Yu stood aside, her gaze fixed on Gu Qing.

Gu Qing’s lower legs were still in a ready-to-run position, poised to sprint. Both her hands were hidden inside her sleeves, fingers clenched.

If you looked closely, Gu Qing wasn’t as composed as she appeared.

But this woman exhibited an extraordinary coldness in her words.

Cruelly pressing people into the mud.

Every word she spoke was true, but the harsh reality was emotionally devastating.

If Ling Yu had heard those words normally, she might have cursed her out.

However, Ling Yu had to admit that Gu Qing was successful.

Even though her words were as venomous as a snake’s, she always knew where to stab to convince people of their weakness.

Just like in the stairwell, Gu Qing only needed a few words to make Ling Yu’s scalp tingle, forcing her to stand outside the door and not dare to enter.

The change happened in the five seconds Ling Yu was distracted.

No one noticed that Jiang Wei had picked up the knife Li Juan had thrown away. He quickly cut the rope binding his hands and feet.

Just as Gu Qing slowly approached Li Juan and extended a hand to her.

Jiang Wei suddenly surged forward. He grabbed Li Juan’s hair from behind and rammed her head into the railing: “Die, you bitch!”

Gu Qing was nearby. She stepped between the two.

She grabbed Jiang Wei’s wrist and said coldly, “Stop causing trouble.”

Her slender fingers exerted force, digging directly into Jiang Wei’s wrist.

Jiang Wei screamed in pain. He gritted his teeth and said, “Gu Qing, don’t forget our deal… I have every reason to suspect you and this bitch…”

Jiang Wei hadn’t finished his sentence. The word “bitch” completely enraged the emotionally unstable Li Juan. Her face was cold and distorted as she pushed Jiang Wei downward.

The railing on the rooftop had been reported for repair a few days ago. The screws were loose. Jiang Wei was a man, and his strength was greater than Li Juan’s. He used his other hand for leverage, switched positions with Li Juan, and pushed Li Juan against the railing. With that force, the railing snapped with a “crack” and fell straight down.

Gu Qing reached out and grabbed Li Juan.

But Li Juan, in her panic, grabbed Gu Qing, and in an attempt to save herself, pulled Gu Qing down with her due to the force of the jump.

The accident came suddenly. As Gu Qing’s body fell, she calmly curved her lips.

Tomorrow, even without her presence, the Jiang family would immediately collapse. She had fulfilled her promise to Ling Yu and had even exceeded it.

Other than the drug trafficking list in Jiang Boquan’s hands, Gu Qing felt that she had arranged all her affairs properly.

She thought that her dying this way might not be a bad thing.

But a face suddenly appeared in her mind.

A face like a lotus flower, with foxy eyes.

They stared at her in defiance. Her dark eyes were sometimes arrogant and sometimes filled with rich, watery emotion.

“Sister Gu, don’t you want me anymore?”

Gu Qing was suddenly startled in the cold wind.

In the next second, her hand was tightly grasped by someone. The face that had flashed in her mind appeared in front of her, like a silent movie. They were both falling.

Gu Qing blinked, and then blinked again.

Confirming that the person in front of her was real and not an illusion, her pupils violently contracted.

She wanted to use all her strength to shake off the hand, but Ling Yu held her tightly.

The scene was exactly like the one years ago in the rain of gunfire, when Gu Hongwei had shielded her tightly in his broad chest.

No one knew that Gu Qing never wanted this kind of warmth.

Because it was only for a brief few seconds, and in the future, she would have to spend countless nights wearing down the endless pain and irritability in her heart.

Gu Qing knew very well that when a person had no power, they were not worthy to love anything.

Not even a dog or a cat.

Perhaps she truly was an ominous person. Everyone who got close to her died.

When Gu Hongwei died, she only felt a suffocating pressure in her chest.

But when Ling Yu was about to join her in hell, she only had one thought: to shake off her hand as much as possible.

“Why? Why do you have to taint me, making me add another heavy crime to my future years?”

Gu Qing licked her dry lips. Her eyes looked like they wanted to devour her: “Ling Yu, are you sick?”

The speed of the fall was fast. The howling wind screamed in her ears.

Ling Yu only managed to hear Gu Qing call her sick. She gave a cold laugh: “Just assume I’m sick.”

She just wanted to pull her back.

Ling Yu had completely understood Gu Qing tonight. She was a reverse thorn.

She didn’t allow anyone to get close, yet she still grabbed Li Juan at the last moment tonight.

Gu Qing was definitely not a good person, but she was by no means a bad person either.

In Ling Yu’s previous world, the lines between right and wrong were clear. But after meeting Gu Qing, she suddenly realized that Gu Qing couldn’t be judged by that standard.

As she fell, Ling Yu could clearly see the woman close her eyes in the moonlight, accepting her fate.

It was as if she was already tired of this world, filled with a sense of desolation.

So Ling Yu had rushed forward and grabbed her.

She didn’t even have time to react to why she had made that move.

Fortunately, as their bodies fell, the system’s prompt suddenly sounded.

[Congratulations, Host. The side character mission is 99.9999% complete.]

[Easter Egg Mission Generated: The host is required to attend the female lead’s graduation ceremony in two days and confess. Successful rejection will end the side character mission…]

[We’re about to die. Why are you giving me an Easter Egg Mission?] Ling Yu angrily snapped at the system, staring at Gu Qing’s eyes, which were filled with the desire to kill her.

008 laughed generously: [The system detected that the host and the female lead are both in danger and automatically activated the points exchange function. Inflatable mat exchange added: 1. Current points deficit: 10,000. Please continue to strive to complete the mission.]

Ling Yu had called the police ten minutes ago.

008 was truly cunning, insisting on taking credit for the points exchange.

Ling Yu could no longer argue with the system.

She and Gu Qing fell headfirst, plunging onto the inflatable mat.

Before Ling Yu could catch her breath, her neck was tightly strangled by Gu Qing.

The woman’s ice-blue eyes were filled with bloodshot veins. In the dead of night, she was like a beast that had broken free.

“Why did you ignore what I said?”

Ling Yu was stunned and let out a cough.

Gu Qing’s hand suddenly recoiled as if she had received an electric shock.

She no longer looked at her. She stood up, leaning against a pillar, and gave Ling Yu her final warning.

Gu Qing’s voice was slower than ever before, as if all her strength had been drained. She said hoarsely, “Don’t come near me… just assume I’m afraid of you, okay?”

Gu Qing’s tone was very light, cold, yet it sounded like a desperate plea.

Ling Yu stared at her suddenly hunched back. Her eyes narrowed. She felt an inexplicable sadness.

She was the filth that Gu Qing desperately wanted to discard. From the first time they met until now, that hadn’t changed.

Ling Yu forced a not-so-pleasant smile: “Fine.”

She said to the woman in the distance, her eyes full of exhaustion: “Goodbye, Gu Qing.”

This time, it was truly goodbye.