There are still five minutes until the hero escapes from marriage.

Wen Zhao held her phone as she slowly walked to the airplane window. She looked at the passing clouds outside with a smile on her face. “Sis, why are you asking this? I just called Mom yesterday and told her that Xianting and I have already arrived at Erhai.”

In the video call, Gu Ruoxian listened to Wen Zhao’s explanation but didn’t believe her. “Really? Are you really at Erhai?”

“Of course. But we just went out to play and had a little accident. Xianting accidentally got a scratch on his forehead. I’m at the hospital with him now, getting his wound dressed,” she lied smoothly. “The doctor is calling me. Sis, I have to go now. I’ll let Xianting call you back later.”

After speaking, she didn’t look at Gu Ruoxian’s expression or care about her reaction and directly ended the video call.

Gu Ruoxian, the eldest daughter of the Gu family, was twelve years older than Gu Xianting. Before his birth, she was completely groomed to be the heir, and she performed admirably. Unfortunately, everything came to a halt with Gu Xianting’s birth.

Although society claims that boys and girls are equal, whether in ordinary families or in so-called upper-class society, if a family has a boy, even if they provide the same resources to both the boy and the girl, the boy is always the one expected to inherit the family business.

Because of this, no matter how much she appeared to like her younger brother, she was always jealous of him deep down. 

This jealousy grew as Gu Xianting grew up, becoming more outstanding without showing any signs of being spoiled. It reached its peak.

That year, he was twelve years old, and she had already completed her studies ahead of time and returned to work at the Gu Corporation. After she joined the Corporation, no one took her seriously because everyone knew she was merely holding the position temporarily until Gu Xianting was old enough to join the company, at which point she would have to step down.

Driven by unwillingness and jealousy, she kidnapped him. Although he was later rescued, she was banished from the Gu Corporation’s power center and signed an agreement voluntarily renouncing her claim to the heir position, finally settling the matter.

Wen Zhao and the Gu family’s eldest daughter were not very familiar with each other, given their significant age difference. In her previous life, Wen Zhao didn’t understand why Gu Ruoxian harbored such malice towards her. 

Despite her outstanding appearance and capabilities, Gu Ruoxian favored Su Mengyao, who always seemed to cause trouble.

After being reborn, Wen Zhao began to understand. Compared to her, Su Mengyao was of no help to Gu Xianting and even hindered him. The more he wanted to be with Su Mengyao, the more he alienated himself from others. This increased Gu Ruoxian’s chances of securing the Gu Corporation’s heir position.

Indeed, she had never given up on competing for control of the Gu Corporation. She had just become smarter and more patient compared to her immature tactics from over a decade ago.

Logically, the enemy of an enemy should form an alliance. Unfortunately, the enemy of an enemy doesn’t always become a partner in interest.

In this life, Wen Zhao was determined not only to firmly grasp the Wen Corporation but also to secure the Gu Corporation!

Standing by the window as the plane began to descend slowly, she looked out at the vast ocean. She restrained herself from stepping back, forcing herself to suppress her inner fear. 

The experience of being thrown into the sea and swallowed by the water in her previous life had left some marks on her soul.

But she couldn’t afford to be afraid or have such an obvious weakness. She stared out the window, trying to recall some pleasant memories to dispel the fear.

Then, deep in her memory, she saw herself at ten years old with a twelve-year-old Gu Xianting.

It was summer vacation, and the weather was scorching. 

Her grandfather and his had arranged to go sea fishing together, and they decided to bring along the two children who were on vacation.

During this trip, Gu Xianting was kidnapped by a seemingly insignificant fishing boat. Wen Zhao was with him at the time, and the kidnappers, not wanting to leave any loose ends, took her along as well.

The two young children were thrown into the ship’s hold. Despite the dangerous situation, Wen Zhao seemed unfazed. She held Gu Xianting’s hand and tried to find a way out of the hold, eventually making their way onto the small deck.

They didn’t know where the boat was headed. The older Gu Xianting was very anxious, while the fearless Wen Zhao was excitedly planning their escape.

They were on the boat for three days. Gu Xianting seemed to lose hope early on, giving up resistance and lying there like a dead fish, refusing to eat or drink. 

Wen Zhao was different. Using flattery and charm, she started spinning grand tales to the desperados on the boat. The kidnappers didn’t truly believe her, but they were drifting on the sea and found amusement in her antics.

Regardless, she managed to obtain food and fresh water by playing cute and acting silly. She force-fed Gu Xianting, telling him that they would definitely be rescued.

And indeed, on the fourth day, the small fishing boat was surrounded by several large yachts.

No one knew that Wen Zhao had a children’s watch hidden on her. During her casual conversations with the desperados on the boat, she had gathered quite a bit of useful information. 

These conversations were transmitted in real-time, enabling the police to locate them successfully.

She suspected that Gu Ruoxian’s strong dislike for her might also be related to this incident. If Wen Zhao hadn’t intervened, Gu Xianting might have been trafficked to some unknown place, never to return to the Gu family and take over the heir position.

Thinking about it this way, she felt that it was only natural for Gu Ruoxian to dislike her. After all, she was so clever and resourceful.

Her tense body gradually relaxed. The vast and boundless ocean still held a power that made her tremble, but the nausea-inducing fear of approaching it had subsided.

Her destination was a small island in the South China Sea archipelago. She had bought this island for three billion yuan at an underground auction two years ago and had told no one about it.

Over the past two years, this deserted island had been transformed into a serene paradise. She had originally intended to surprise Gu Xianting with it. 

Unfortunately, in her previous life, she didn’t get to present this surprise. Instead, on their wedding day, he gave her a huge “surprise” of his own.

Unexpectedly, the small surprise she had prepared in her past life would come in handy in this life. The gift she had prepared must be accepted, whether the other party wanted it or not!

No one could betray or trample on her feelings. The effort she had put in would not be ignored this time.

As the plane slowly landed, Gu Xianting had not yet awakened. He was carried off by the bodyguards on a stretcher. Dr. Xia, the hired family doctor, naturally followed Wen Zhao and temporarily stayed on the island.

The island was vast, and in just two years, it was impossible to develop it completely. Currently, less than one-tenth of the area had been developed. This developed portion included a children’s playground, a Rain Listening House, a star-gazing platform, a small medical office, and a complex of one large and ten small villas.

Dr. Xia was given a small villa of his own. Unless notified, he could move freely around the island. As Wen Zhao’s husband, Gu Xianting naturally had to stay with her in the main villa.

She walked to the bedside where he had been placed, looking down at him. There was an abnormal flush on his face. When she touched his forehead with her cool hand, her brow furrowed slightly—he was feverish.

Dr. Xia had just sat down to enjoy the afternoon tea brought by the maid when he received Wen Zhao’s call. With no choice, the hardworking Dr. Xia put down his fork and grabbed his medical kit to make a house call.

“He’s running a fever, and it’s quite high,” Wen Zhao said, surprised by Gu Xianting’s fragility. Dr. Xia felt his forehead and took his temperature. It was 40.1°C— a high fever.

“It’s caused by an infection in the wound. I’ll give him an antipyretic injection and then an IV. Once the fever comes down, he should be fine.” His medical skills were naturally trustworthy, given he was hired by Wen Zhao.

After giving the antipyretic injection and setting up the IV drip, he checked Gu Xianting’s forehead wound and confirmed it hadn’t worsened.

Gu Ruoxian’s call came in when the IV bag was still half full. Wen Zhao sneered and let the phone ring for a while, waiting until it was about to disconnect automatically before casually answering it.

“Wen Zhao, why did you take so long to answer?” Gu Ruoxian’s voice was displeased. “Didn’t you say you would have Xianting call me back on video?”

“It’s very unfortunate, sister,” her tone was gentle and apologetic, but her face remained expressionless. “Xianting isn’t feeling well; he has a fever. Later, when he’s rested, I’ll have him contact you.”

“Wait!” She stopped her, who was about to hang up. “Which hotel are you staying at?”

“The photos I posted on Moments have a location tag, don’t they? We’re at the Tanyun Hotel.” Wen Zhao’s voice was surprised. “Why are you asking about this, sister?”

At that moment, outside the entrance of the Tanyun Hotel at Erhai, Gu Ruoxian took off her sunglasses, looking up at the hotel sign with a cold expression. “Are you sure? Are you sure you’re staying at this hotel?”

“Of course. Is there a problem? This hotel is quite nice. I recommend you stay here next time you visit Erhai,” Wen Zhao said sincerely.

“Is that so?” Gu Ruoxian stepped forward, entering the Hotel. She walked straight to the front desk. “Thank you for the recommendation, sister-in-law.”

After ending the call, she looked at the front desk staff, displaying a nearly perfect smile. “Hello, my brother and sister-in-law are staying at your hotel. I was just on the phone with them, and I want to give them a surprise. Could you please check which room they’re staying in?