"You stinking bitch! Why are you pretending to be a chaste heroine?"
As soon as Li Xiujun woke up, she was slapped hard in the face. She turned her head away, stars in her eyes, and stared blankly at the greasy man in front of her who was servile and shameless.
The man lay on top of her, his drunken mouth arched against her neck, his hands wandering around her waist through her clothes.
She tried her best to break free, but could not, and could only let the person on top of her do what he wanted. This feeling of helplessness and despair suddenly brought her back to the summer of more than ten years ago.
This day cut her beautiful life short.
She went from being the envied golden phoenix of a prospective college student to a slut despised and mocked by everyone. When she was found, her clothes were disheveled and her body was half naked, only one step away from this man.
The grandfather, who had always been strong, cried all night. He asked her if she wanted to marry this man or seek justice.
The man was sent to prison, her reputation was ruined, she couldn't go to college, and no one wanted to marry her.
Grandpa risked his reputation for her and went to find the Gu family in Beijing.
In the early years, the two families were equally powerful, and arranged marriages for their grandchildren. By then, the Gu family had regained its glory, becoming a prominent and influential family in Beijing. However, the Li family was left with only the grandparents and grandchildren, each relying on each other for survival, living a poor life in a small county town near Beijing.
In order to give her a chance to survive, Grandpa called the Gu family and asked them to fulfill the engagement.
Her story was no secret; the neighbors would find out if they asked around.
Several young descendants of the Gu family were unwilling to marry her. Some even said privately that she was a toad wanting to eat swan meat. With her own conditions, it was impossible for her to marry into the Gu family, not to mention that she had lost her virginity.
Only Gu Ming was different. He would smile at her, hold her hand and say that it was not her fault. He said that he was willing to marry her and give her a home.
Gu Ming, a man in his early twenties, was about 1.8 meters tall, handsome, and had a smile as warm as the winter sun. He reached out and pulled her out of the mud.
Li Xiujun regarded Gu Ming as her salvation, but she never thought that it was just a transition from one abyss to another deeper abyss.
After they got married, Gu Ming said that he didn't mind her, but he never touched her.
Before she died, she found out that Gu Ming married her because Grandpa Gu promised that he would give half of his family property to whoever was willing to marry her.
Gu Ming is not only after the family property, but also for the Li family's unique skills passed down from Li Xiujun.
The Li family's ancestors were well-established, leaders in the antiques world. In his youth, Grandpa Li was known as an eagle eye. He could tell, at a glance, whether an artifact was genuine or a forgery, regardless of dynasty or era. With just these eyes, he could acquire mountains of gold and silver.
Li Xiujun willingly stood behind Gu Ming and was at his beck and call.
In just a few years, with the help of the Gu family's influence and Li Xiujun's craftsmanship, Gu Ming became the number one person in the Beijing antique circle.
After Mr. Gu passed away, Li Xiujun's situation in the Gu family has been bad. Her mother-in-law disliked her and would poke her in the heart from time to time, saying that she was a slut and a hen that didn't lay eggs.
Under long-term suppression and humiliation, Li Xiujun was trembling with fear and submissiveness, and even dared not leave the house. Her only comfort was Gu Ming.
But in the end, even this life-saving straw broke.
She never forgot that scene until her death. Gu Ming and Su Wanru hugged each other tightly and kissed passionately. After the kiss, Gu Ming leaned close to Su Wanru's ear and said, "If it weren't for money, I would have divorced Li Xiujun long ago! That bitch is so dirty that I feel disgusted just by looking at her!"
At that moment, Li Xiujun clearly heard her heart breaking.
She rushed over and slapped Gu Ming, then returned to her bedroom and opened the jewelry box she had brought with her when she got married. It was empty. The jade longevity peach, the only thought her grandfather had left her, was gone.
The jewelry box was locked with a Luban lock, and no one could open it except her. She only told Gu Ming how to open the box.
Li Xiujun asked Gu Ming to return the jade longevity peach to her.
Gu Ming tore off the mask and revealed his true identity. He had already sold the jade longevity peach to pay off his debts.
"You'd better behave yourself and obey me, or I'll kick you out!"
Su Wanru, who was standing aside, pretended to be sincere.
"Xiujun, just give in to him. You're uneducated and unemployed, how are you going to survive on your own?"
Li Xiujun looked coldly at Su Wanru, her best friend whom she had known for nearly 20 years.
"I trusted you so much, but you destroyed my family."
Su Wanru sneered: "Do you still need me to destroy your family?"
Li Xiujun forced herself to restrain the tears from falling, turned around to leave, but was grabbed tightly as she reached the door.
"Where are you going?" Gu Ming's voice was gloomy.
"I'm going to seek justice from Uncle San!"
After Mr. Gu died, Third Uncle was the only one in the Gu family who treated her well. Third Uncle was the head of the family, and Gu Ming was very afraid of this young uncle.
This is also the reason why, even though he clearly looked down on Li Xiujun and was secretly hanging out with Su Wanru, he didn't dare to go too far.
"You're not allowed to go!"
Gu Ming grabbed her wrist and dragged her into the house. Li Xiujun refused to give in, and the two of them struggled to the terrace.
Su Wanru seized the opportunity and pushed Gu Ming from behind. Gu Ming failed to control his strength and pushed Li Xiujun off the terrace. He happened to hit the stone sculpture and blood flowed all over the floor. He died instantly.
The moment she was pushed off the terrace, Li Xiujun clearly heard Su Wanru say to her: "Actually, I arranged that night as well."
"My little Ruru, if you had been so obedient earlier, how could I bear to hit you?"
Zhang Lifeng's voice was sticky and he hurriedly unbuckled his belt.
In a flash, Li Xiujun connected the cause and effect together.
In his previous life, when Zhang Lifeng was imprisoned, he once said that he had recognized the wrong person and was not deliberately being a hooligan.
Now it seems that Zhang Lifeng mistook her for Su Wanru. And all this was deliberately arranged by Su Wanru!
While Zhang Lifeng was unbuckling his belt, Li Xiujun grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground and threw it at him.
"Look carefully, I'm not Su Wanru at all. If you don't want to go to jail, get up now!"
There was a faint sound of noisy footsteps outside.
Zhang Lifeng used the moonlight to see the person under him clearly. He was half sobered up by the fright and quickly got up from Li Xiujun.
Li Xiujun gathered her clothes and patiently explained, "Su Wanru has tricked both of us. She wants me to lose face and put you in jail."
Zhang Lifeng looked unconvinced, but the clear female voice coming from outside made him unable to disbelieve it.
"It was here that I saw Xiujun being dragged in by a gangster. Everyone, hurry up. It will be too late if you are any later."
Zhang Lifeng looked at Li Xiujun's khaki coat and spat on the ground.
That coat was a token of love he bought for Su Wanru! He was drunk, and it was dim at night, so he mistook the person for Su Wanru just by looking at the clothes!
"You little bitch, you have such a cruel heart!"
Li Xiujun sneered. She and Su Wanru took the first college entrance examination in the same year. She was admitted to the Archaeology Department of Peking University, while Su Wanru failed. Because of this, Su Wanru had been sulking with her for a long time.
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