Lifting her head, Zhuang Nainai beamed at Su Mei. “I’m here to work, of course!”


  Casting a glance at the colleagues surrounding her, Su Mei motioned for Zhuang Nainai to follow her.

  Intrigued, Zhuang Nainai followed Su Mei into her office. Once the door closed on itself, Su Mei grabbed her by the arm. “Zhuang Nainai, don’t tell me that you don’t know about that issue?”


  Zhuang Nainai was stunned. “What issue?”


  Booting up her computer, Su Mei retrieved a post that read “Zhuang Nainai’s plagiarism” for her to see.

  Zhuang Nainai read the post, confused. But after understanding it, rage violently filled her heart.

  Gu Deshou…… was just so despicable!

  He had just pushed all of the blame onto her!

  Clenching her fists, she felt the ties of kinship deep in her heart slowly disappearing.

  She bit her lips as her whole body shook from anger.

  Su Mei looked at her, asking softly, “Nainai, the design drafts…… was it really you who gave the drafts to the Gu Corporation? Why did you do that? And…… I’ve never understood what kind of ties you have with the Gus……”


  What ties?

  How she wished she had nothing to do with them!

  Taking a deep breath, Zhuang Nainai nodded toward Su Mei. “Thank you.”


  Then she turned and left the room.

  Finding a quiet corner in the stairway, she took out her cell phone and made a call to Gu Deshou. Just as the line connected, without a chance to even say a word, Gu Deshou’s weary voice rang out first. “Nainai, I know, it’s us Gus who have let you down this time.”


  She would have been touched by words like these in the past, but she only found them laughable now.

  Her attitude was cold. “And then?”


  “I’ve already gotten someone to pick your mother up. But the doctor says that she’s still in a period of recovery, and he recommended that she stay for another week to fully recover before coming back.”


  All of Zhuang Nainai’s rage melted at the mention of this.

  Mother Zhuang was coming back.

  Her eyes a little wet, she grunted softly and then said, “Gu Deshou.”


  Stunned by the fact that she was calling him by his full name, Gu Deshou was surprised for a moment before replying, “Yes?”


  Enunciating each word clearly and individually, Zhuang Nainai spoke. “From now onwards, I don’t have a father anymore.”


  There was a long silence on the other end of the phone.

  Zhuang Nainai didn’t wait for him to respond. She simply hung up.

  And then lifted her head.

  The stairway she was in was rarely used, making it slightly cold. It was only October, but she suddenly felt as if she had just entered a bone-chilling winter.

  She felt differently toward Gu Deshou, especially when he had looked lovingly at Mother Zhuang and said, “She is the only one I love wholeheartedly in this life.” That had made her hold onto a little hope.

  And now……

  She, Zhuang Nainai, was fatherless from now on.

  Taking a deep breath, Zhuang Nainai repressed her emotions and tears. Composing herself, she opened the staircase door and walked out.

  But the moment she walked to the staircase landing, she heard several people talking among themselves.

  “Hey, did you guys see? Zhuang Nainai’s back at work! Didn’t she plagiarize TZ?”


  “What plagiarize — you mean steal? How dare she still show up? If it were me and something like this happened, I would even contemplate suicide!”


  Engrossed in conversation, they were unaware that, not too far away, Si Zhengting and Ji Chen were walking toward them……