Guo Xiangling's hushed voice was filled with fury and resentment. "You knew all along, didn't you? Zhou Wan, I'm asking you, did you know all along!"

A self-mocking smile appeared on Zhou Wan's face. "Know about you and Lu Xixiao's father?"

"Zhou Wan!"

Her once docile and quiet daughter was showing her sharp claws for the first time. Beyond her shock, Guo Xiangling was furious, her anger almost setting her ablaze.

"How do you and Lu Xixiao know each other? What is your relationship!?"

When she had run into them on the road earlier, Guo Xiangling was surprised at first but thought perhaps they were just classmates—she found it hard to imagine someone as well-behaved as Zhou Wan getting into a relationship at this age.

But then she saw Lu Xixiao put his arm around her daughter's shoulder, the gesture intimate and natural, as he led her away.

Zhou Wan silently lowered her head, staring at a pattern on her quilt as coldness and hatred slowly filled her eyes.

Guo Xiangling continued to vent, "Zhou Wan, you've been an ungrateful brat since you were a child! You were only close to your dad when you were little. What, now that your dad is dead, you want to force me to be a widow for his sake!?"

"The biggest mistake of my life was marrying your father and giving birth to you! One was a useless good-for-nothing, and the other is a heartless monster!"

Zhou Wan's hands were ice-cold, and her whole body was trembling uncontrollably.

But when she spoke, her voice was extremely calm, just as Guo Xiangling had said—heartless.

"Mom," she called out softly.

"Don't call me Mom," Guo Xiangling said caustically. "How could I possibly deserve that title from you?"

So Zhou Wan stopped, saying faintly, "My relationship with Lu Xixiao, can't you tell what it is?"

This time, it was Guo Xiangling's turn to be silent.

Using Lu Xixiao's earlier, easily misunderstood gesture to her advantage, Zhou Wan smiled and said, "He likes me."

Zhou Wan narrowed her eyes, lifted her chin, and gripped the quilt tightly. "If his father finds out that Lu Xixiao's girlfriend is your daughter, who do you think he'll be angry at? His own son, or you?"

Guo Xiangling was so angry that both she and her voice were trembling. "Zhou Wan!"

"When that time comes, you might just have to crawl out of the Lu Family in disgrace."

Never in her life had Zhou Wan spoken in such a mocking tone.

She couldn't control her own viciousness, but deep down, she despised and loathed herself. In this state, she truly resembled Guo Xiangling.

Guo Xiangling: "What do you want to do?"

She closed her eyes and said, "Give me 300,000, and I'll keep my mouth shut."

"This is blackmail." The sound of high heels clicking rapidly on the floor came from the other end of the line, as if Guo Xiangling had moved elsewhere. She suppressed her voice and said hoarsely, "Zhou Wan, you're blackmailing me for 300,000. I can call the police right now and have you put in jail!"

Zhou Wan felt that she probably couldn't feel sad anymore.

Her own mother was threatening to have her put in jail, yet she could actually laugh.

"Have you forgotten? You're my mother. If you really call the police, how do you think they'll handle it?" Zhou Wan said. "Besides, aren't you afraid of this whole affair becoming public knowledge?"

Guo Xiangling was heartless, but when it came to true ruthlessness, she was no match for Zhou Wan.

She was like a wolf cub baring its fangs. Even if she was weak and alone, once she bit into someone's neck, she wouldn't let go even if beaten to death. At worst, they would both be ruined, perishing together.

After all, the barefooted are not afraid of those with shoes.

Guo Xiangling stopped shouting and cursing.

She was weighing her options.

Zhou Wan knew she was halfway to success.

Even though she was just a fox borrowing the tiger's might, using a misunderstanding created by Lu Xixiao himself.

She knew clearly in her heart that if the police were really called, she would be utterly defeated.

If Lu Xixiao found out she had approached him for this reason, he would never speak to her again. He loathed being betrayed.

And Guo Xiangling's predicament would naturally be resolved.

After a long time, Guo Xiangling said, "I only have 150,000. There's 50,000 in your dad's card, and I'll give you another 100,000."

Zhou Wan was silent.

Guo Xiangling gritted her teeth. "This is all I can give you. My life isn't as easy as you think. Lu Zhongyue is wary of me; it's impossible for me to ask him for that much money."

She was telling the truth.

Zhou Wan: "Transfer the remaining 150,000 to me within three months. Otherwise, three months from today, Lu Zhongyue will know everything."

Guo Xiangling suppressed a wave of nausea, her knuckles white from clenching her fists, before forcing out a single word: "Fine."

Zhou Wan hadn't planned on doing this today.

It had all happened too suddenly. She hadn't expected to run into Guo Xiangling today.

And she had been provoked to this point by her mother's outrageous words.

But this was fine too.

As long as Grandma could get her treatment, as long as Grandma was healthy, she and Guo Xiangling would go their separate ways from now on, and she would never interfere in her affairs again.

But, three months.

There were still three months.

In three months, would Lu Xixiao still be interested in her?

Zhou Wan was exhausted. She lay down on her bed, and before long, she received a transfer notification on her phone.

Amount received: 150,000.

She stared at the zeros that followed, counting them several times.

It was the first time Zhou Wan had so much money, but she couldn't feel happy at all.

This heavy sum of money was like evidence of a crime, leaving an irremovable brand on her.

Everything was irreversible now.

She had finally come to this step.

Greed, darkness, viciousness, hypocrisy, selfishness, deception.

She lay quietly on the bed, her arm across her eyes, as still as if she were asleep.

After a long time, Zhou Wan slowly curled up.

Her heart sank heavily.

She clenched her jaw until it ached, but she still couldn't hold back a sob. She buried her face in her quilt, her breathing ragged and chaotic, her knuckles deathly pale.

In the end, all her efforts were futile.

In that quiet, dark night, she broke down and wept.

Fate had led her, and she had finally fallen into a mire, her entire being soiled, stained black, blocking out all light.