His wife's pregnancy bump disappeared, and Mr. Huo was going crazy missing her.

After Gu Huilan escorted him to his room, he stayed at the villa that night.

Having not slept all night, coupled with excessive grief, I felt as if I had shed a layer of skin, and was extremely weak.

After Gu Huilan woke up, she verbally abused her and demanded that she pay for her daughter's life.

Qiao Mian endured all the beatings and scoldings, wishing she could hit harder, but even so, it was far less than the grief of losing Yu Hua, and even less than the guilt she felt towards her.

Every time I close my eyes, all I see is Yu Hua's gruesome and terrifying death.

The maid knocked on the door and called out, "Madam, we have a guest."

Gu Huilan smashed a glass against the door: "Get out! I'm not seeing you!"

The maid shuddered in fright and said cautiously, "But the man claimed to be Miss's fiancé..."

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Gu Huilan hurriedly got off the bed, walked to the mirror on the dressing table, and tidied her hair and groomed herself.

As he left, he glared fiercely at Qiao Mian and ordered the servants, "Keep an eye on her and don't let her leave even for a moment."

Gu Huilan walked briskly up and down the stairs, her gaze eagerly fixed on the man in the living room.

He sat casually, his long legs crossed, one hand resting on the armrest of the sofa, his fingers long and slender with strong knuckles, his powerful and imposing aura giving people a sense of aloofness and unapproachability.

I had long heard that the young master of the Huo family was handsome and dashing, and seeing him in person proved me right; he truly is an outstanding man.

It's a pity that her daughter, Huahua, wasn't blessed with good fortune...

Huo Yanbei seemed to hear the commotion upstairs. He slowly raised his head, nodded slightly, and stood up to signal Lu Chen beside him to place an exquisite box on the coffee table.

"Nice to meet you, a little courtesy."

Gu Huilan's eyes were fixed on the logo on the box.

These are world-renowned luxury jewelry brands, each piece a masterpiece crafted with ingenuity by designers and of considerable value.

As expected of a young master from a prestigious family, he is indeed very generous.

In a daze, she walked over uncontrollably: "Young Master Huo, you're too kind."

Huo Yanbei's gaze passed over Gu Huilan and headed towards the stairs: "Miss Yu isn't here?"

Gu Huilan felt as if a huge rock was pressing on her chest, making it hard to breathe, and she shook her head involuntarily.

Huo Yanbei's eyes were deep and unfathomable: "Madam Yu, what do you mean by this? You've schemed and plotted against me by all means, just so that I would personally come to meet Miss Yu today?"

Gu Huilan's face turned deathly pale in an instant, and she took a step back in alarm.

He actually found out it was her doing so quickly.

Huo Yanbei tossed a photo of Qiao Mian hastily leaving his room that morning onto the coffee table, a chilling smile playing on his lips: "Could it be that the woman I was intimate with last night wasn't Miss Yu?"

Gu Huilan's sharp nails dug deeply into the flesh of her palms, her eyes were bloodshot, and she said stiffly, "It's...it's my daughter."

Huo Yanbei's eyes sparkled, his gaze captivating. He traced the photograph with his fingertips. "Madam Yu, the price you and the entire Yu family cannot afford to scheme against me. Considering she is quite favored by me, I will not pursue this matter. My return to the country is set for the day after tomorrow. What are your thoughts, Madam Yu?"

Gu Huilan trembled slightly, her words faltering: "My daughter...she...she'll graduate in a month...when she graduates...I'll personally take her back to China..."

Now that things have come to this, she has no other choice.

She schemed against Huo Yanbei, ordering someone to tamper with his drink, intending for Yu Hua to take the room key to his room...

However, to her surprise, he actually sent someone to invite her. At that time, she was being escorted to the club by several wealthy ladies, and she was thinking about how to fight desperately at the gambling table. She pointed to the figure in a red dress on the deck in the distance.

Looking back now, the woman in the red dress she was pointing to must have been Qiao Mian.

Therefore, Qiao Mian was also the one who was brought to Huo Yanbei's room by mistake.

It's all because that little bitch Qiao Mian wore the exact same dress as Hua Hua.

Huo Yanbei didn't pursue the matter of her scheming, simply because he assumed her daughter was the woman he had been entangled with the previous night.

If he knew that Yu Hua was gone, and that the woman he slept with wasn't Yu Hua, then what feelings would he have left to cherish? And how would he deal with her?

She dared to scheme against Huo Yanbei simply because Yu Hua was her shield. She had long heard that Huo Yanbei was a ruthless person. Now that she was all alone and had no daughter to protect her, wouldn't she be killed?

Besides, she couldn't lose, she absolutely couldn't admit defeat.

Yu Hua was her hope for the rest of her life. She had worked hard to raise Yu Hua, hoping that she would marry into a prestigious family, return to the country in glory, and eventually win the Yu family's assets. She absolutely could not let Yu Hua's father, Yu Zhennan, and that bastard's children benefit from it!

******

Huo Yanbei returned to the car, lit a cigarette, and Bai Jingzong narrowed his charming eyes, "Confirmed?"

The man's dark eyes were deep and cold: "Isn't it only natural to sleep with your own fiancée?"

Bai Jingzong raised an eyebrow: "Heh! Looks like this little beauty is hiding her true colors! Tsk tsk! Even you, Young Master Huo, have a day when you're being played and deceived. I find it so satisfying to watch!"

"From now on, I should call her sister-in-law."

Bai Jingzong sneered, "Didn't you say you wouldn't marry a girl from the Yu family? You've really slapped yourself in the face."

Huo Yanbei narrowed his cold eyes slightly: "Before buying an item, don't look at how fancy the packaging is. First, look at the value of the item, and second, see if it suits your taste."

"I don't see any value in her. I don't want to end up buying a knock-off."

The man flicked his cigarette ash, his fingers pausing slightly. His long eyelashes concealed all emotion in his eyes, and his voice was so flat it was impossible to discern any feeling: "The value of counterfeit goods lies in the fact that you don't feel any pain when you discard them, isn't that right?"

Bai Jingzong's brow furrowed: "Don't fucking hurt yourself to death later!"

******

Gu Huilan glared at Qiao Mian, who was being forced to kneel on the ground by the maid: "Qiao Mian, you owe Huahua a debt you can never repay in your lifetime. People like you deserve to go to the eighteenth level of hell!"

Qiao Mian's face was ashen: "I indirectly caused Yu Hua's death. If you want me to pay with my life, I have no objection."

Gu Huilan squatted down and grabbed her hair tightly: "You think I don't want to kill you with one stroke? I wish I could skin you alive, tear you apart, and grind your bones to ashes!"

The withered hand traced the contours of her beautifully shaped face, and Gu Huilan's tears streamed down her face: "You have to admit, this face really does look a bit like my Huahua."

As he spoke, he suddenly hugged her, "Changxi, be my daughter from now on."

Qiao Mian's eyes widened slightly. "Auntie, what are you saying?"

Gu Huilan's eyes were sinister, but a soft smile appeared on her lips. "You owe Huahua a life, and you owe me a daughter. Shouldn't you repay that?"

Qiao Mian gently pushed her away, overwhelmed by a tide of guilt and deep self-reproach.