The shoulder forcefully impacted the door panel, sending the body bouncing back. Gu Xiuyu watched the foam seeping through the door crack, his gaze fixed on the doorknob. He charged forward.
The door was kicked open, and Ye Ziyu turned to glare at Gu Xiuyu outside.
The atmosphere instantly cooled, the silence amplifying the sound of dripping water.
Seeing Ye Ziyu standing before him unharmed, Gu Xiuyu breathed a sigh of relief. "Be careful of the slippery floor."
The words of concern reached Ye Ziyu’s ears but offered no warmth; instead, they evoked disgust and loathing. Hatred made her want to lunge forward and tear off the mask of hypocrisy from his face.
She averted her gaze back to her reflection in the mirror, turned on the faucet, and picked up the brush beside her, scrubbing her arm vigorously in front of Gu Xiuyu.
The *swish-swish* sound was piercing and terrifying.
Gu Xiuyu watched Ye Ziyu, her eyes vacant, her left hand moving mechanically. His heart ached with a sharp pain.
Had his touch made her this disgusted?
Amidst the grating sound, Gu Xiuyu lunged forward, grabbing Ye Ziyu's arm. "Do you know what you're doing now?"
Her fair skin was now bruised and bloody, with tiny red spots appearing where the brush had scraped, a dense cluster that instilled panic.
Ye Ziyu lazily raised her eyes and glanced at his worried face. "Isn't all this your doing!"
"Ziyu," Gu Xiuyu once again put on a wronged expression. "Since we are already together, why not try to forget him and give me a chance?"
"Enough," Ye Ziyu yanked her arm free and stepped back a few paces. "Everything now is thanks to your unscrupulous methods. I will never give someone like you a chance."
She had considered complying with him, playing along to give Di Mingjue time to find her. But he had harbored ill intentions and resorted to forcing her. Her intention to comply was shattered the moment he forcefully kissed her, and it would never reappear.
Ye Ziyu's sharp eyes fixed on Gu Xiuyu's restless hand. She raised her arm, her gaze growing colder.
They remained locked in a stalemate. Gu Xiuyu didn't know how to change Ye Ziyu's opinion of him, nor could he ignore her current disgust.
*Knock, knock, knock…*
Gu Xiuyu and Ye Ziyu simultaneously looked towards the door.
The knocking continued for a long time, and Chen Yaping's voice echoed from outside.
"President Gu, there's a call for you downstairs."
Gu Xiuyu had left his phone on the sofa when he came up. The unanswered calls were like a death knell, ringing again and again.
"Wait for me," Gu Xiuyu said, turning around.
Even if he never returned, Ye Ziyu would not expect him to.
She lowered her head to look at the small red marks on her arm. Upon closer inspection, these red spots were beginning to ooze beads of blood.
These bloodstains, invisible unless viewed up close, were like the filth Gu Xiuyu had touched. Their flowing out made Ye Ziyu feel as though her soiled body was becoming clean.
She no longer picked up the brush in front of her. Like a walking corpse, her eyes vacant, she walked out of the bathroom.
Her gaze fell on the rumpled bed. Ye Ziyu hurried over and ripped off the bedsheet, placing it on the floor and stomping on it with force. Tearing it wasn't enough to appease her anger, so she reached out and pulled with all her might.
The bedsheet, under Ye Ziyu's furious assault, was as fragile as white paper. Watching it hang in strips by her feet brought her a surge of pleasure.
Ye Ziyu glanced towards the door and then stepped out of the room over the shredded fabric. Standing by the railing, she looked down at the living room below.
Apart from Chen Yaping, who was busy in the kitchen, Gu Xiuyu was nowhere to be seen.
What could have made him disappear so briefly?
Ye Ziyu felt it had something to do with her and quickly turned to go downstairs.
"Madam," Chen Yaping called out.
Her eyes darting left and right, Ye Ziyu saw Gu Xiuyu standing outside through the window.