Liang Zhiwei’s slap left everyone stunned, as if the blow hadn’t landed on Gu Zhaoye alone. The entire room gaped at her, jaws practically hitting the floor.
The production crew was the first to reel in shock.
Holy shit—they’d been gossiping earlier, debating whether Liang Zhiwei or Gu Zhaoye was the interloper in this messy love triangle. But no one expected Liang Zhiwei to straight-up slap him!
This wasn’t the dramatic confrontation they’d imagined! Weren’t these two supposed to exchange tearful, heart-wrenching words? One with red-rimmed eyes, choking back sobs, the other coldly turning away, maybe even lighting a cigarette for maximum angst? What was this chaotic energy?!
Shen Yifeng was equally dumbfounded. He’d assumed this woman was some delicate, lovelorn figure in Gu Zhaoye’s life—but her temper… why did it remind him so much of Gu Zhaoping?
Ruan Nian was frozen in shock. When she finally snapped out of it, she shrieked and rushed to cradle Gu Zhaoye’s face. "Zhaoye! Are you okay? Did she hurt you?"
She was horrified. How could Liang Zhiwei just slap him? Where was the heartbreak? The devastation? The agonized longing?!
Even Gu Zhaoping was caught off guard. She’d never expected the usually mild-mannered Liang Zhiwei to strike first.
And she couldn’t help but feel a surge of pride.
Well done. She’d taught her well.
Behind them, Theodore’s eye twitched. Okay, sure, he’d nudged Liang Zhiwei forward to explain the situation—but this? Well. It worked.
Liang Zhiwei massaged her stinging palm, staring down at Gu Zhaoye’s shell-shocked expression, and felt a rush of pure, unadulterated satisfaction.
Sure, her hand hurt. But the humiliation etched on Gu Zhaoye’s face—and the sheer euphoria of it—made the pain trivial.
Could pain feel good? If someone had asked her that before, she’d have called them insane. Who’d willingly seek suffering? Wasn’t that just masochistic nonsense?
But now? Liang Zhiwei fully admitted it—sometimes pain was euphoric. Especially when it came from slapping the living daylights out of someone you despised, feeling their pride shatter beneath your palm.
In that moment, the sting wasn’t just physical. It was rebirth.
No more holding back.
She’d swallowed her pride too many times—for her career, for survival, enduring Gu Zhaoye’s tantrums, Ruan Nian’s endless provocations, the relentless misfortunes life hurled at her. But after nearly dying on that mountain? She was done.
Gu Zhaoping had set the perfect example. And now, Liang Zhiwei had all the confidence she needed.
She scoffed at Gu Zhaoye and Ruan Nian. "Why are you staring? Shouldn’t you be busy reflecting on your own mess?"
Ruan Nian trembled, voice quivering with outrage. "How could you—"
"How could I what? Slap him? Did you think I’d sob and declare we’re even now? Or beg him to admit he ever loved me? Please. I couldn’t care less."
Liang Zhiwei barked a laugh. "‘Even’? He owes me far more than that! I’m just getting started."
"Last time, I told you two to live happily ever after. Clearly, neither of you took me seriously. Did you assume I was secretly crying myself to sleep? Newsflash—I meant every word. Listen up, both of you."
Ruan Nian’s face twisted in fury. She’d never imagined Liang Zhiwei would speak like this!
"But you can’t just hit people—"
"He nearly got me killed! Why shouldn’t I slap him? Today’s the day I settle all scores!" Liang Zhiwei cut her off. "Should I thank him instead? For ditching me to tend to your scrapes, leaving me to die on that mountain? If you two want to play lovebirds, get a room. Nobody wants to watch this pathetic display. Or what—did you think we’re all your damn shippers?"
Liang Zhiwei’s lip curled in disgust. These two had treated her like a condom—useful when needed, discarded when inconvenient. The analogy was crude, but accurate. Though honestly, even thinking it made her nauseous.
Gu Zhaoye looked like he might combust, eyes burning into her.
Since when did Liang Zhiwei talk like this?!
Ruan Nian paled, finally noticing the cameras rolling, the bystanders filming on their phones. Panic clawed at her chest. This was a disaster. How could Liang Zhiwei hit Gu Zhaoye without hesitation? Didn’t that shatter the "other woman" narrative she’d spun?
"Liang Zhiwei, you—" Gu Zhaoye growled, fury lacing his voice, but she was already firing back:
"Oh, and let’s not forget—if you hadn’t bolted to Ruan Nian, you’d have drawn that card. You’d be the one stranded up there. I took the fall for you. So how about groveling in gratitude instead of standing there like I owe you an explanation? Unbelievable. Just how shameless can you get?"
"Save your excuses. We all know you’re here for Ruan Nian. We know you’d drop anything for her. Sure, fine—you’re biologically incapable of multitasking, of sparing a single thought for anyone else’s safety. But could you at least pretend to feel guilty? An apology might almost make you seem human."
Liang Zhiwei swept her bangs back, breathless from the tirade. Her perfect composure was ruined, but it was worth it. She glanced at Gu Zhaoye’s dumbstruck face, wrinkled her nose, and muttered, "Ugh. Disgusting."
Turning to Gu Zhaoping, she said, "I’m done. Your turn, Zhaoping-jie."
Gu Zhaoping's eyebrow twitched slightly.
She stared deeply at Liang Zhiwei, realizing she truly couldn't be underestimated.
This was another formidable force.
Slowly, she patted Liang Zhiwei's shoulder and nodded. "Not bad."
I underestimated you.
She turned back to Gu Zhaoye. "This is a matter of life and death. If I hadn’t cleaned up your mess, you’d have nowhere to run now. Neither Father nor the public would let you off."
Her tone was indifferent. "Do you still not grasp the severity of this? If not, I can make you understand a little better."
Gu Zhaoping began rolling up her sleeves again. Gu Zhaoye’s face paled! He didn’t even have time to dwell on Liang Zhiwei’s earlier verbal assault—which had nearly made him burst a blood vessel—before he desperately shouted, "I’ll apologize! I’ll apologize! I’m sorry, don’t hit me!!"
Gu Zhaoping paused mid-motion, her raised hand hovering before she gently lowered it.
Two seconds later, she lifted it again. "Just an apology?"
Gu Zhaoye’s entire body broke out in goosebumps, his reflexes kicking in as he frantically cried, "Compensation! I’ll compensate her! Whatever she wants, I’ll give it!"
Only then did Gu Zhaoping fully lower her hand. She nodded at Liang Zhiwei. "Name your terms."
Liang Zhiwei gasped, her eyes wide with disbelief and admiration.
Sister Zhaoping was so cool—she’d effortlessly made Gu Zhaoye submit again.
Backing the right person made everything feel effortless.
Since things had come this far, Liang Zhiwei saw no reason to hold back. If she timidly asked for a symbolic compensation now, it would only leave her resentful and disappoint Sister Zhaoping.
After Sister Zhaoping had gone to such lengths for her, Liang Zhiwei naturally had to claim what she deserved.
"You owe me for the years of my youth you wasted. And therapy fees—market rate, since every minute you spent harassing me would’ve cost money with a professional counselor."
Liang Zhiwei rattled off calculations without blinking. "I even got a nutritionist certification for this job—that’s on you. Today’s rescue costs are yours too. Oh, and Sister Zhaoping’s travel expenses, equipment damages, the production delay for the show, and the reputational harm to the resort. You’re covering all of it."
Money wasn’t the issue—Gu Zhaoye wouldn’t balk at the sum.
But itemizing it was a deeper humiliation.
His expression darkened further as he listened. Seriously? Was his apology only worth money? Did that mean his feelings were so cheap they didn’t even merit acknowledgment?
Were his emotions less valuable than cash?
Once Liang Zhiwei finished, Gu Zhaoping looked down at Gu Zhaoye. "Any objections?"
Gu Zhaoye clenched his jaw so hard it ached. He could feel the entire ski resort watching him.
Even the crew now knew about his messy personal life and his dynamic with Gu Zhaoping. The leverage they had over him was incalculable.
But could he resist? No.
If Father got involved, it’d be even uglier—and more terrifying. Gu Zhaoping and the unhinged Gu Zhaosi were both here.
Shaking, Gu Zhaoye squeezed his eyes shut.
Through gritted teeth, he spat, "No objections."
"And the apology?"
Gu Zhaoye stiffened again before forcing himself to look up at Liang Zhiwei, his voice strained.
"...I’m sorry. My negligence hurt you. I’m just glad you’re okay."
Gu Zhaoping then turned to Ruan Nian. "What about you?"
Ruan Nian, lost in resentment and unease, startled. "Me?"
Why was she included? Did she have to apologize to Liang Zhiwei too?
"What did I even do wrong?"
She’d done nothing! She’d just gotten hurt, and Gu Zhaoye was helping her with first aid. How was that her fault? If anything, it proved how much he loved her!
But Gu Zhaoping’s gaze was piercing, as if she’d already seen through everything.
A chill ran down Ruan Nian’s spine. Did she know about the system?
Wait—hadn’t the system punished her by ejecting her from the show? So why was she still here? That punishment couldn’t have been meaningless.
Where had she gone after leaving?
"Do you really not know how you wronged Liang Zhiwei?" Gu Zhaoping asked coolly.
Ruan Nian clenched her teeth. She’d never admit it. Sure, she’d indirectly harmed Liang Zhiwei over the years, but the system was responsible—and the actual dirty work had been done by Li-jie. Ruan Nian was innocent.
If she stayed silent, what could Gu Zhaoping do?
Gu Zhaoping and Gu Zhaoye were siblings; their fights were family drama. But Ruan Nian was an outsider. Gu Zhaoping wouldn’t dare lay a hand on her.
She stubbornly kept her head down, refusing to speak.
"I gave you a chance," Gu Zhaoping said flatly before turning away.
Ruan Nian froze, baffled. What did that mean?
What came next?
Gu Zhaoye finally mustered the strength to stagger to his feet. Glancing at the growing crowd, he touched his bleeding cheek and stormed off without another word.
Ruan Nian hesitated, then hurried after him.
Gu Zhaosi moved to block them, but Gu Zhaoping said, "Let them go."
Reluctantly, Gu Zhaosi stepped back, watching them flee with disappointment.
Today had been satisfying—finally putting that pretentious jerk and his deranged girlfriend in their place. He’d have loved to see more, but Sister Zhaoping was done playing. What a shame.
As he turned back, Gu Zhaoping suddenly asked, "Earlier… you said you knew these people?"
The chaos had kept her from questioning the young man properly. Now, she finally had the chance.
Gu Zhaosi froze for a moment. Wait, what did that mean? He didn’t quite understand. Scratching his head, he tentatively asked, "I… don’t know them?"
Was his sister also implying that he should cut ties with Gu Zhaoye and Shen Yifeng?
A chill ran down Gu Zhaosi’s spine as he recalled his sister mentioning her "ex-fiancé." His brain kicked into overdrive.
Wait… was she planning to call off the engagement? That seemed highly possible!
He’d been away from home for too long—he never expected his sister to be this cool now!
Damn, she’s amazing!
Gu Zhaoping frowned at him.
This guy was weird. When he was cursing earlier, he seemed perfectly sane, not like someone having a mental breakdown. So why was he acting so familiar with her?
Gu Zhaoping didn’t look at him directly, but suddenly, her brows relaxed slightly as if she had caught onto something crucial.
Then, the man’s face before her began to blur, stretching and warping like threads pulled through space. Fragments of memory surged forward, piecing themselves together in her mind.
Fang Yining had mentioned, "You have a younger brother who studied abroad with Chu Yanze. His school isn’t far from here."
In the original novel, Gu Zhaoye and Gu Zhaoping had a younger brother named… Gu Zhaosi.
But his role in the plot was minimal—so minor that even Gu Zhaoping had no impression of him. What was his purpose again? Clearly, his screen time was negligible.
Gu Zhaosi stared at his sister with earnest confusion, his gaze full of cautious probing. Then, he saw a hand reach toward him. His entire body tensed, and he nearly flinched away!
Was she about to slap him too?! He hadn’t done anything wrong!
But instead, the hand landed gently on his bangs.
Gu Zhaosi stiffened in shock, blinking dumbly at her, not daring to move a muscle.
Gu Zhaoping firmly brushed his hair aside, revealing his forehead and eyebrows. Now, the resemblance between them became clearer.
Without hesitation, she pinched his cheeks with her fingers, turning his face left and right. Gu Zhaosi was utterly bewildered but let her manhandle him, completely clueless about what was happening.
Gu Zhaoping glanced at the others—neither Shen Yifeng nor Chu Yanze seemed surprised by this man’s presence.
Logically, if he were just a random bystander, he wouldn’t have been allowed to stick around for so long.
Could it really be…? No way. Was this just a crazy coincidence?
Gu Zhaoping fell silent for a long moment, recalling how this man had reacted when she pushed up her snow goggles on the mountain earlier—his face lit up like he’d been struck by divine radiance.
Then he had hugged her leg like a devout worshipper, bawling, "Sis!"
…Seriously?
I’m actually your sister?
Gu Zhaosi’s cheeks were still squished, his head tilted to the side. He didn’t dare move, only peeking at her from the corner of his eye with a mix of confusion and fawning curiosity. "Wh-what’s wrong with me?"
Gu Zhaoping stayed quiet for a beat before suddenly calling out, "Gu Zhaosi?"
Gu Zhaosi: "Huh?! ⊙▽⊙"
For the first time, Gu Zhaoping saw a human face display such a vivid, emoji-like expression.
She fell silent. A long, deep silence.
So it really is you.
Guess I misjudged him.
She released his face and said flatly, "Never mind."
Gu Zhaosi, after a brief moment of confusion, felt as if he’d been granted amnesty. His sister had acknowledged him! She wasn’t pushing him away anymore—his performance must have worked!
Overcome with joy, he lunged forward and wrapped Gu Zhaoping in a crushing hug. "Sis! It’s all my fault! Please forgive me!"
Gu Zhaoping: "!"
She jolted in surprise—who just charges at people like that?!
Remembering his earlier antics, she closed her eyes, torn between exasperation and a headache.
Is this brother of mine a golden retriever?
Dumb and overly affectionate.
Unaware that his sister’s hand was clenched into a fist behind his back, Gu Zhaosi kept gushing, "I thought you’d disowned me! My bad, my bad—I should’ve reached out sooner!"
Finally releasing her, he gripped her shoulders, beaming. "Sis, how are you so good at skiing?!"
He scrutinized her up and down as if searching for signs of mutation. "If I’d known you were this skilled, I would’ve learned from you instead of wasting money on coaches! None of them could hold a candle to you!"
"Sis, do you love extreme sports? I had no idea! My bad, my bad—what kind of brother doesn’t even know his own sister’s hobbies? I’m the worst!"
Gu Zhaoping studied his ecstatic face calmly. Then it hit her—in the original novel, Gu Zhaosi’s role was essentially… a rich, clueless fool destined for ruin.
Later in the story, he’d tried to wrestle power from Gu Zhaoye, only to be outmaneuvered effortlessly. His shares were absorbed into Gu Zhaoye’s holdings, cementing the latter’s control over the Gu family.
This guy radiated pure, unfiltered idiocy.
Gu Zhaoping lifted her gaze. A giant, blood-red number seemed to float above his head: [3% Shares].
She closed her eyes again.
Her expression softened slightly.
"How many years since you’ve been home?" She patted the Shares’ shoulder.
Shares, flattered, stammered, "I’ll go back this year! I’m graduating soon!"
Limping after her toward the helicopter, he suddenly paused. "Oh, right, Sis—is this your boyfriend’s chopper? Can I hitch a ride back with you guys?"
The others hadn’t dispersed yet. After being forced to spectate Gu Zhaoping’s scolding of Gu Zhaoye, they now watched the siblings reunite.
Shen Yifeng, in particular, hadn’t found a chance to slip away.
Hearing Gu Zhaosi’s bold question, his pupils constricted, his eyebrow twitched, and he immediately snapped his gaze back toward them!
Inside the helicopter, Theodore blinked.
This… was really Gu Zhaoping’s brother? And she just accepted him?
Gu Zhaosi?
He mulled it over, vaguely recalling the name. What were the odds?
Noticing the other person staring at him, Theodore couldn’t help but laugh. He looked at Gu Zhaosi, finding his personality quite amusing—at the very least, far more reassuring than someone like his younger brother Valentin, who was overly ambitious. He almost wished he had a younger brother like Gu Zhaosi.
Meeting Gu Zhaosi’s gaze, he said, “It’s my plane. Welcome.”
Yet he didn’t bother to deny the term “boyfriend” first.
That was… subtle. Too subtle.
The veins on Shen Yifeng’s arm bulged as he stared at them, unmoving, for a long moment. In his ears, it was as if he could hear the murmurs of the production crew—whispers that might as well have been hallucinations.
Were they saying… Did Gu Zhaoping just mention an ex-fiancé? Was there some connection between him and Gu Zhaoping?
So Gu Zhaoping had a fiancé before? But was the engagement called off?
Then what exactly was their relationship now? Why would Gu Zhaoye ask him to come rescue her? Was he someone important?
And what about the man accompanying Gu Zhaoping now?
In reality, none of these speculations had been voiced aloud. They were merely figments of his imagination. Yet they poured into his ears like boiling water, scalding him from the inside out.
The helicopter he had sent was meant to rescue Gu Zhaoping, but at this moment, it was utterly useless.
Gu Zhaoping herself had a rescue certification—she was the one saving others, not the one in need of saving.
What stung even more was that there was already another man by Gu Zhaoping’s side, one who had prepared a helicopter ahead of him, arriving faster, more efficiently.
And now, even in this moment, the man didn’t bother to deny the ambiguity of their exchange.
Shen Yifeng couldn’t hold back any longer. He took a step forward, his mouth moving before his mind could catch up. “Do you know about the young master of the Laroche family? He’s been pursuing Gu Zhaoping—and it’s been going quite well.”
The moment the words left his lips, Shen Yifeng froze, realizing just how impulsive he had been.
Gu Zhaoping suddenly turned to look at him.
A chill ran down Shen Yifeng’s spine, locking him in place.
Had he really just said that out loud, in front of everyone? Now they’d all look at him like he was some kind of freak. Here he was, Gu Zhaoping’s ex-fiancé, standing before another new man in her life, asking if he knew about yet another man. The humiliation was unbearable.
What was he even trying to prove?
But what he hadn’t expected was the man in the helicopter’s reaction.
The man paused, then lifted his gaze to meet Shen Yifeng’s.
His eyes were a deep blue, his brow sharp, his features undeniably handsome.
Shen Yifeng stared at him, and for a split second, he felt a strange familiarity—as if he’d seen those eyes before, eyes that hid ambition beneath their surface.
Yet what truly caught him off guard was the man’s reply.
With a slight nod, the man said, “I know.”
Shen Yifeng’s pupils constricted, every trace of expression vanishing from his face.
This man didn’t shy away from Gu Zhaoping’s presence, nor did he seem embarrassed or compelled to hide anything.
Instead, he looked down at Shen Yifeng with an air of arrogance, confidence—yet still laced with that infuriating mix of gentlemanly politeness and sincerity.
Calmly, deliberately, with a faint, unreadable smile but ice-cold resolve in his eyes, he said, “So what?”
