Liang Zhiwei’s slap stunned everyone, as if Gu Zhaoye wasn’t the only one hit by it.
Everyone present stared at her dumbfounded, their mouths agape, big enough to fit a dozen eggs.
The production crew was the first to be shocked.
What the hell!
They had been gossiping earlier, trying to figure out the relationship between Liang Zhiwei and Gu Zhaoye—who was the interloper, who was the true love?
But they never expected Liang Zhiwei to just go up and slap him!
This wasn’t the vibe they imagined!
Shouldn’t the two of them be meeting with red-rimmed eyes, noses sniffling, sharing heartfelt thoughts, or maybe one coldly turning away in silence, perhaps even lighting a cigarette afterward?
This scene was all wrong!
Shen Yifeng was equally stunned.
He had thought this woman was some kind of confidante of Gu Zhaoye’s, but this temper…how was it so…so similar to Gu Zhaoping’s?
Ruan Nian was completely dumbfounded.
After snapping out of it, she let out a scream and rushed to touch Gu Zhaoye’s face: “Zhaoye, are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?”
She was genuinely terrified!
Even more, she couldn’t believe it.
Turning to look at Liang Zhiwei, how could she just hit Gu Zhaoye?
This reaction was beyond anything she had anticipated!
Where was the heartbreak?
The despair?
The pain?
Gu Zhaoping was also caught off guard, momentarily stunned.
Even she hadn’t expected Liang Zhiwei, who was usually so good-tempered, to just go for it like that.
She couldn’t help but feel a surge of admiration.
This was truly a masterclass, well done.
Theodore, standing behind, twitched his lips again.
Alright, he had pushed Liang Zhiwei out to explain the situation, but he hadn’t expected…uh, well, this was fine too.
Liang Zhiwei rubbed her palm, looking down at the incredulous Gu Zhaoye, feeling an indescribable satisfaction.
Though her hand stung a bit, the humiliation it brought to Gu Zhaoye and the lingering thrill it gave her far outweighed the insignificant pain.
Can pain feel good?
If someone had asked Liang Zhiwei this before, she’d have called them crazy.
Why seek pleasure in pain?
Was that some masochistic self-consolation?
But now, Liang Zhiwei admitted that sometimes pain really could feel good.
It’s when you slap the face of someone you despise, feeling their dignity shatter and the rush that comes with it.
In that moment, you even feel like you’ve rebuilt yourself through that pain.
No more enduring them!
In the past, for her career, to make ends meet, Liang Zhiwei had endured too many times.
She endured Gu Zhaoye’s madness, Ruan Nian’s constant provocations, and the endless string of misfortunes in her life.
But now, having nearly died on that mountain, she was done enduring.
Sister Zhaoping had set a great example and given her immense confidence.
She looked at Gu Zhaoye and Ruan Nian, sneering,
“Why are you staring at me? Shouldn’t the culprits be reflecting on themselves right now?”
Ruan Nian was still in disbelief, trembling with indignation as she questioned Liang Zhiwei: “How could you—”
“How could I what? How could I hit Gu Zhaoye? Did you think I’d cry and sob, saying something like ‘we’re even now’ or whatever? Or maybe you thought I’d demand to know if he ever loved me, why he abandoned me? Oh, sorry, I’m not curious at all. ‘Even’? He owes me far more than that! I haven’t even settled the score yet!”
Liang Zhiwei laughed: “Looks like neither of you took me seriously when I told you to live happily together last time! What, did you think I was holding back tears, forcing a smile, crying secretly behind your backs? Nope, I’m honest. I meant every word I said. So listen up, both of you.”
Ruan Nian’s face was ashen!
She stared at Liang Zhiwei in disbelief, never imagining she’d say such things!
“Then how could you hit someone—”
“He nearly got me killed, so why can’t I hit him? Today, I’m settling old and new scores!”
Liang Zhiwei cut her off.
“What else was I supposed to do? Thank him for being so busy tending to you that he forgot about me on the mountain, nearly getting me buried? I’m saying, if you two want to be lovey-dovey, get a room. Stop flaunting it in public. Who wants to see that? Are you assuming we’re all your shippers?”
Liang Zhiwei’s face showed disgust.
Sometimes she genuinely felt like these two lunatics were using her as a prop—putting her on when they needed her, tossing her aside when they didn’t.
Though it was a crude way to put it, she found the thought a bit too revolting.
Gu Zhaoye was in disbelief, staring at her as if he could burn holes through her with his eyes!
What was all this?
Was this something Liang Zhiwei would say?
Ruan Nian was even more incredulous, trembling as she stared at her for a long time before suddenly turning to the cameras and the passersby gradually raising their phones to record!
Her heart was gripped with panic—this was too terrifying.
How could Liang Zhiwei so unhesitatingly hit Gu Zhaoye?
And hadn’t she been spreading rumors that Liang Zhiwei was the third party?
This didn’t look like a third party at all!
“Liang Zhiwei, you…”
Gu Zhaoye’s low, angry voice picked up where Ruan Nian left off, gritting his teeth as he forced out a few words.
But before he could finish, Liang Zhiwei swiftly fired back: “Oh, I forgot to mention—if you hadn’t been so busy running off to Ruan Nian and abandoning me, that card was supposed to be drawn by you! Which means you’d be the one in danger on the mountain right now. I took the fall for you, got it? Instead of groveling in gratitude, you have the audacity to stand here saying you have nothing to explain? My God, you’re making me laugh with how shameless you are. I really want to see how much lower you can go!”
“Don’t bother explaining. Do I need your explanation? Everyone knows you did it for Ruan Nian. Everything’s for Ruan Nian, so you can drop everything else. Yeah, we get it. It’s because you’re too incompetent to handle multiple things at once, too busy tending to Ruan Nian to spare a thought for the safety of other guests on the show. It’s just your natural defect, so we won’t dwell on it. But could you at least show a shred of guilt toward the person you nearly got killed? If you apologized, I might even respect you for having a bit of humanity!”
Liang Zhiwei brushed her bangs back.
After letting out such a long tirade, her styling was a mess.
Finally, she glanced at the utterly stunned Gu Zhaoye, rolling her eyes in disgust and letting out a “tch.”
Bad luck.
She turned to Gu Zhaoping and said,
“Sister Zhaoping, I’m done. It’s your turn to handle this.”
Gu Zhaoping’s brows twitched.
She looked at Liang Zhiwei deeply, realizing she was not to be underestimated.
This was a fierce one.
She slowly patted Liang Zhiwei’s shoulder, nodding.
“Well done.”
I underestimated you.
She turned to Gu Zhaoye: “This was a matter of life and death. If I hadn’t cleaned up your mess, you’d be done for by now. Neither the old man nor the public would let you off.”
She said calmly,
“Do you still not realize how serious this is? If not, I can make you realize it a bit more.”
Gu Zhaoping was about to take charge, and Gu Zhaoye’s face changed!
He didn’t even have time to process the barrage of insults from Liang Zhiwei that had left him nearly spitting blood.
He quickly shouted hoarsely,
“I’ll apologize! I’ll apologize! Don’t hit me!!”
Gu Zhaoping’s slightly raised hand paused, then slowly lowered.
Two seconds later, she raised it again: “Just an apology?”
Gu Zhaoye’s entire body broke out in goosebumps from reflex.
He shouted desperately,
“I’ll compensate! I’ll compensate! Whatever compensation you want, I’ll give it to her!”
Gu Zhaoping finally lowered her hand completely, nodding as she looked at Liang Zhiwei and said,
“Go ahead and make your demands.”
Liang Zhiwei let out a “Wow,” her eyes full of disbelief and admiration as she looked at her.
Sister Zhaoping was so cool, effortlessly making Gu Zhaoye submit like that.
Following the right person made everything so easy.
Since that was the case, Liang Zhiwei wouldn’t hold back.
If she hesitated now or only asked for some symbolic compensation, it would feel like a letdown, not just for herself but for Sister Zhaoping, who had gone to bat for her like this.
Since Sister Zhaoping had backed her up to this extent, Liang Zhiwei was determined to claim what she deserved.
“Compensation for the years of my youth you wasted, you’d better calculate that for me. And the psychological counseling fees for dealing with you two—do you know how much it costs to see a professional therapist for all the times you drove me crazy?”
Liang Zhiwei quickly started tallying, not even blinking as she listed,
“I also got a nutritionist certificate for this job, so that cost is on you. Today’s rescue expenses are definitely your responsibility too. Oh, and Sister Zhaoping’s travel expenses, equipment damage fees, the cost of delaying the production crew’s shooting for a day, and the reputational damage to the scenic area—you’re accountable for all of it.”
Money wasn’t the real issue; Gu Zhaoye wouldn’t care about the money.
But listing all these was an even greater humiliation for him.
His face grew uglier as he listened.
Wait, compensation for her youth was just about money?
Did that make him seem so cheap?
Not even a mention of emotions?
Were his feelings worth less than money?
Gu Zhaoping, after hearing her list, looked down at Gu Zhaoye and asked,
“Any objections?”
Gu Zhaoye clenched his jaw tightly, feeling the stares of everyone on the snowfield.
Even the production crew now knew about his personal emotional affairs and had seen the dynamic between him and Gu Zhaoping.
What kind of leverage this would give others in the future was anyone’s guess.
But could he resist?
No.
If the old man got involved, it would be even uglier and more terrifying.
With both Gu Zhaoping and the unhinged Gu Zhaosi here, he was cornered.
Gu Zhaoye closed his eyes tightly, trembling all over.
He gritted his teeth and spat out,
“No objections.”
“And the apology?”
Gu Zhaoye’s body stiffened again.
Finally, he raised his head, looked at Liang Zhiwei, and ground out through clenched teeth,
“…I’m sorry. It was my negligence that put you in danger. I’m just glad you’re okay.”
Gu Zhaoping turned to Ruan Nian.
“And you?”
Ruan Nian, caught in extreme reluctance and unease, froze, pointing at herself in panic and disbelief.
“Me?”