<h4>Chapter 238: Chapter 238 The Truth of the Matter</h4>


    They were indeed aware of Ling Xia’s situation, but they didn’t think it was a big deal.


    "I will get to the bottom of this." Gu Qixiao wasn’t someone to be trifled with. Upon discovering they had long known the truth, he didn’t hold back in the slightest.


    "Wait, we can still discuss this matter further." Ling Baiqian grew anxious, realizing that if Gu Qixiao persisted in being unreasonable, the truth about his daughter would inevitably spread far and wide.


    "Even if you don’t consider the friendship between the two of you as former ssmates, you should at least take into ount how long our two families have been working together. This matter absolutely cannot escte like this!" He appeared desperate, but his words wereced with threats aimed at Gu Qixiao.


    Seeing the expression on his face, Gu Qixiao immediately understood—they were starting to throw a tantrum.


    "So what you mean is, if I continue to pursue this matter, you’re nning to end your coboration with the Gu family?"


    That was indeed Ling Baiqian’s implication, though these words would never be openly admitted, as they could cause significant losses to his own family.


    "If that’s the case, then we might as well terminate our cooperation here and now." Gu Qixiao showed no intention of humoring them.


    At the beginning, the Ling family had indeed been a decent partner, but in recent years their performance had deteriorated year after year. Who knew what issues might arise if this continued?


    For this reason, Gu Qixiao was particrly decisive in handling the matter.


    "If you don’t want this partnership, then canceling it is just fine." His eyes held only frost as he spoke those words.


    Ling Baiqian was flustered upon hearing this. "What do you mean by this? After all these years of partnership between our families, is this your way of using us and discarding us once we’re no longer of value?"


    He felt utterly humiliated, convinced that Gu Qixiao was doing this on purpose.


    "When you were being so aggressive back then, why didn’t you tell me that you knew she had this type of illness?" Gu Qixiao wasn’t particrly bothered by other matters, but forcing a marriage while hiding the truth about her condition was something unforgivable.


    Sure enough, upon hearing Gu Qixiao’s words, their expressions grew increasingly guilty.


    Only Ling Xia still clung to the belief that Gu Qixiao would never treat her this way. "Xiao, I know the things you’re saying now are just words spoken in anger. I don’t care about any of it, but please don’t act so rashly, alright?"


    She seemed to be speaking with Gu Qixiao’s best interests at heart, but her past actions were far from kind.


    Gu Qixiao looked at her coldly. "What do you think?"


    The only person he ever had feelings for was one—Ling Xia was no one to him, just a woman lost in her own delusions.


    "Think over what I’ve said. I don’t have the time to argue with you all about this. I’m leaving for now. Whether to pursue this matter further will depend entirely on your attitude moving forward."


    As he departed, he didn’t spare Ling Xia even a nce, making it clear that he truly didn’t care about her.


    Ling Xia stood in stunned silence, watching his retreating figure, still struggling to process what had just happened.


    On the other hand, Gu Qixiao couldn’t be bothered to entangle himself further with these people. Instead, he headed straight to the Ji family.


    When Ji Yu saw that he appeared unscathed, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Gu Qixiao, I’m so d you’re okay."


    "What could possibly happen to me? My dad is very supportive of my decisions, and besides, what the Ling family did waspletely hical." His expression was full of disdain as he spoke about it.


    He simply couldn’t wrap his mind around the Ling family.


    How could anyone do something like that and still act so self-righteous about it?


    "Yu, if youe across anyone from their family in the future, you’d better be careful. If they try anything..."


    Then again, after some thought, it seemed unlikely that Ji Yu would let herself be easily bullied.


    Even so, out of habit, he still reminded Ji Yu to stay vignt and not let her guard down.


    Ji Yu had long since grown used to such reminders.


    "Still, given her situation, she might be better off seeking medical help."


    Her attitude toward the matter remained kind and forgiving.


    After all, you couldn’t handle someone battling mental illness with extreme measures.


    "That’s their family’s issue. I don’t know if they’re nning to take her to a hospital or not."


    Frankly, people like that were indeed frightening.


    However, Ji Yu hadn’t expected that this woman would appear before her so soon once again.


    This time, she seemed far less intense than before, almost normal on the surface. But Ji Yu, still haunted by the memory of her previous actions, instinctively tried to keep her distance.


    "You don’t need to be afraid of me. I’m very clear-headed now. I just want to ask—what would it take for you to leave Gu Qixiao?"


    There seemed to be an obsessive determination about her on this issue.


    Ji Yu found her behavior inexplicable, almost absurd. "We’re a legitimate couple. Who are you supposed to be?"


    "I..."


    Thinking of Gu Qixiao’s icy expression, she suddenly didn’t know what to call the rtionship between them. How could it havee to this?


    She had tried so hard to fight for Gu Qixiao, yet in the end, it had all turned out so terribly.


    "If you truly like him, then pursue him openly. Why resort to these kinds of tactics? Do you really think this is appropriate?"


    In the end, it only made things awkward for everyone, leaving no one’s heart unscathed.


    Her eyes reddened, and she looked at Ji Yu with a mixture of envy and resentment. "You don’t understand. You and the person you love are together, but I’m not. I’ve always been chasing after him, and yet this is how it ends for me."


    She had poured her all into trying to win his love, only for things to spiral into such a mess. How could she not feel heartbroken?


    "You have no idea how much I’ve sacrificed." She cried, appearing genuinely grief-stricken.


    At least, her current mental state seemed rtively stable.


    Ji Yu really couldn’t grasp what was going on with this woman.


    "So, what exactly are you jealous of? Do you think I didn’t struggle step by step to get to where I am? If I let love drag me down, who knows what I’d have be?"


    If the trials she and Gu Qixiao went through in their marriage had been ced on her, she might have died from frustration.


    Ji Yu never understood why some people allowed love to consume them sopletely.


    "The things you’ve done really make people exasperated. I just don’t get it."


    She hadn’t expected Ji Yu to say such things, and her expression froze. "It’s not like that. I’m not fixated on love—just on one person."


    No one else made her feel that way. Only he did.