Gu Qingtong heard these words, and all the thoughts in her mind seemed to explode in an instant. Her whole body trembled, and she could hardly face Yan Chi in front of her.
Reflexively, she sank into the water, burying her face in the bathtub, leaving only a pair of eyes, moistly gazing at Yan Chi.
She didn’t want to be enchanted, but Yan Chi always dressed reserved and conservative at events. Fans could only catch glimpses of her in a few movies, editing them into close-up shots.
Even though Yan Chi’s entire figure was slender, in those carefully edited clips, no matter what she did, it inexplicably gave people a unique feeling that made their faces blush and their hearts race.
Gu Qingtong had already watched these clips countless times, and she even secretly saved a copy on her phone, just like the street snaps of Yan Chi wearing gold-rimmed glasses that previously went viral overseas.
Gu Qingtong was an avid fan of this cool and aloof mature woman, and she couldn’t help but exclaim, “Ha ha, give me more of this good stuff!”
But exposing herself online was one thing; now seeing it firsthand in front of her was another matter…
Yan Chi must have noticed that her mind was filled with such useless thoughts!
As Gu Qingtong gurgled and bubbled in the water, her gaze drifted back uncontrollably while she was absent-minded.
She shouldn’t look!
But it was so tempting, it was black…
Because it was soaked in water, it appeared transparent, but the color that emerged was a meaningful black, with a shadow in the middle. It merged with the forbidden aura emanating from Yan Chi, faintly visible, sparking endless imagination.
Gu Qingtong suddenly remembered how she always ended up being taken advantage of by Yan Chi. And when faced with Yan Chi, she was either drunk or startled and embarrassed, like a little lamb being manipulated. So far, she hasn’t gained any advantages at all!
The mischievous part of her heart felt unbalanced. How could she always be on the losing end!
At this moment, she completely forgot about her princess-like behavior, where she indulged in her own enjoyment.
Yan Chi looked at her trembling and enduring expression, rare boldness rising within her. Amidst the misty steam, she gazed at Gu Qingtong’s eyes:
“Tongtong, I want to hear you say it looks good.”
Under such gentle persuasion, Gu Qingtong almost fell for it, obediently saying it looked good.
But when her gaze fell upon Yan Chi’s smiling eyes as she spoke, she suddenly snapped out of it. The word “good-looking” that was about to leave her lips got stuck in her throat, and she completely sealed off her heart, withdrawing her gaze, afraid to look at anything.
“I have a headache…my body hurts too. I need to rest my eyes!”
Grumbling, Gu Qingtong closed her eyes, blocking out Yan Chi’s sudden seductive intentions. She chose to pretend she didn’t recognize anything.
Yan Chi’s low laughter sounded close to her ears, mixed with the mist in the bathroom, becoming even more humid, as if it had also moistened her ears, itching and teasing her heart.
This made Gu Qingtong’s ears tremble uncontrollably, and the calm expression she had been trying hard to maintain showed a momentary panic.
Seeing her attempting to hide again, Yan Chi finally said, “Why hide? You still have a fever; I won’t touch you.”
Her slender eyelashes dropped slightly, covering the hint of charm in her eyes, but even so, it magnified the coolness and aloofness she exuded.
She continued to apply the ointment to her hand and carefully spread it around the red marks.
Although Gu Qingtong still felt pain, she didn’t dare to hide anymore after the previous lesson. She closed her eyes, gritted her teeth silently, and refrained from making any sound. Speaking of the ointment, it did sting at first, but after a moment, it was replaced by a soothing coolness, alleviating the swelling and pain of the red marks.
In addition, Yan Chi’s touch was indeed gentle and soft, and she even massaged the sore areas to provide some relief.
Feeling no sense of danger, Gu Qingtong didn’t stop Yan Chi from continuing to apply the ointment. Instead, she gradually relaxed.
Coincidentally, the fever-reducing medicine began to take effect at this moment, and drowsiness prompted her to slowly fall asleep in the warm bath.
❖❖❖❖❖
When Gu Qingtong woke up, she was no longer in the bathtub but in a warm bed.
It seemed that Yan Chi had pulled her out of the water and carried her back to the bed.
Without thinking about anything else, Gu Qingtong was startled awake because of the unusual sensation of the red marks gradually appearing. She hadn’t anticipated that the ointment would have subsequent effects after the cooling sensation.
Indeed, there was no more pain, but everything became itchy, and every sensation was amplified, as if her skin was being nibbled away inch by inch.
The suffocating heat from the fever and the itching sensation were threatening to engulf Gu Qingtong’s consciousness.
It was only now that Gu Qingtong realized that pain was not the only thing she feared.
As she opened her eyes, she discovered that she had been crying in discomfort in her sleep, with tears filling her eyes.
When she tried to scratch the wounds, Gu Qingtong suddenly realized that her hands were restrained behind her. Panic-stricken, she twisted out of the blanket, only to find that her wrists were tied together with a ribbon. It was loosely tied, but skillfully prevented her hands from separating.
The faint red marks rubbed by the ribbon were even more conspicuous on her snow-white wrists, carrying an indescribable sense of unease.
Her initial reaction was so startled that she momentarily forgot about the discomfort on her body.
This…did Yan Chi tie this for her? Was there some strange restraint involved?!
Gu Qingtong recalled the embarrassing words she insisted on suppressing that day, and her whole body tensed up. Even when she came across such stimulating scenarios in fanfiction, she couldn’t bring herself to keep reading!
As her mind was in a state of confusion, not knowing how to untie the ribbon herself, she struggled there. Just then, there was a sound from the door. Yan Chi had returned, holding the medicine that was supposed to be taken every two hours.
Her shirt, which had gotten wet from the water, hadn’t been changed, but it seemed to have been dried with a hairdryer. However, at some point, the buttons on the neckline had been unfastened, revealing a fair and gracefully slender neckline.
When Yan Chi pushed open the door and entered, the sight of a woman without a blanket, twisted into a ball on the bed, came into view without any obstruction.
Gu Qingtong’s struggling movement came to a halt, and she raised her teary eyes, meeting Yan Chi’s gaze, biting her lip.
“You…” Yan Chi was also momentarily struck by the scene before finally speaking in a hoarse voice.
Her gaze followed Gu Qingtong’s and landed on her bound hands.
“Wu… What are you trying to do? Are you trying to do that… thing?” Discomfort and fear filled her teary eyes as she finally asked in one breath.
Yan Chi fell into an eerie silence for a moment.
“After the ointment takes effect, it can be uncomfortable. When you fall asleep, you tend to scratch the affected area with your hand. I was just holding you back from touching it earlier, and now I went to prepare the medicine, so I tied your hands to prevent that. Although I don’t know what you’re thinking… it shouldn’t be what you think it is.”
Gu Qingtong’s current appearance indeed made it easy for people to have wrong thoughts. Her hands forced behind her, lying on her side, and those randomly scattered red marks gave her a look of being mistreated and taken advantage of.
She was so scared that she couldn’t even cry, just let out a bewildered sound.
Upon careful consideration, she realized that it was just to prevent her from scratching the wound, just as Yan Chi had said.
While Gu Qingtong breathed a sigh of relief at this outcome, she instantly realized how her mind had been filled with strange thoughts ever since she started being with Yan Chi?!
Without hesitation, she immediately buried her cheek into the soft pillow, pretending to ignore what had happened, not even caring about the fact that she wasn’t covered by a blanket.
Yan Chi cleared her throat and had to put the medicine aside for now. She came over and untied the ribbon on her hand. It was a knot she had learned during her wilderness survival class, and although it was intentionally loose and wouldn’t tighten on the skin, due to Gu Qingtong’s struggling, there were two additional red marks.
Gu Qingtong had thought Yan Chi would take this opportunity to question her about what she had been thinking. But unexpectedly, Yan Chi not only remained silent but also untied the ribbon and covered her with the blanket.
Carefully lifting her head slightly from the pillow, Gu Qingtong secretly glanced at Yan Chi’s expression. Caught in the act of her little movement, Yan Chi naturally knew what she was worried about. She took advantage of this leverage and said: “Awake? It’s time to take the medicine.”
In the face of embarrassment, Gu Qingtong had no choice but to hold the blanket tightly and slowly sit up, reluctantly opening her mouth and saying: “Ah.”
Although she had been unwilling before, not allowing Yan Chi to take care of her, she had clearly become accustomed to Yan Chi feeding her medicine spoon by spoon.
Yan Chi looked at her, who was clearly afraid and slightly evading, but because she was the one feeding her and she mustered the courage to drink it, her obedient appearance softened her.
In the end, she received a piece of chocolate, and Gu Qingtong’s facial features, which had wrinkled from the bitterness, relaxed a bit.
The bitterness had subsided, but the itching and heat still burned within her.
Instinctively, Gu Qingtong was about to reach her hand to the bruised area on her neck where she had applied the ointment.
However, what Gu Qingtong didn’t expect was that Yan Chi invaded her space.
Their gazes met, and Yan Chi directly held her hand, which involuntarily moved to scratch her neck. Her gaze was profound as she said: “Be good, don’t scratch.”
Gu Qingtong shrunk her neck and replied: “I won’t scratch…”
Wanting to withdraw her hand, but the next moment, both of her hands were held by Yan Chi.
Yan Chi even directly lay down beside her, fully embracing her body, and said firmly: “I know you can’t resist it normally, so I have to help you.”
Why did her words sound so strange?
Gu Qingtong had a feeling that there was an underlying meaning behind her words, but with her already by her side, her coldness and dominance engulfed her, leaving her flustered. She closed her eyes pretending to sleep and didn’t know what to do for a moment.
As it turned out, Yan Chi was right.
For Gu Qingtong, the second half of the night was simply a nightmare.
In the late hours of the night, let alone resisting, the itching sensation brought Gu Qingtong to the brink of collapse.
She struggled in Yan Chi’s embrace, desperately wanting to pull out her hand to scratch and alleviate the discomfort. Her body broke out in waves of sweat, and she was trembling almost uncontrollably.
This medicine helps wounds heal faster without leaving scars. Yan Chi herself has a condition where wounds are difficult to heal, so she often uses it and knows that it can cause some itching. However, she didn’t expect the reaction to be so intense in Gu Qingtong.
“Be good, it will be better soon.”
She felt somewhat regretful and could only compensate through her actions. She held Gu Qingtong tighter, gently and assertively restraining her hand, preventing her from scratching.
Gu Qingtong knew that she couldn’t resolve it herself and placed her hope in Yan Chi by her side.
With a slightly teary voice, she pleaded: “Help me, help me relieve it, please, just like that day…”
The sound of her tender crying and the restless movements in her arms almost overwhelmed Yan Chi’s self-control. She didn’t refuse, but rather, she carefully and gently comforted her.
However, she didn’t anticipate Gu Qingtong’s next move. With her eyes flushed, she offered herself and said incoherently: “Big sister Yan, didn’t you say… you wanted to drink, to… to taste me… please, kiss it.”
Yan Chi’s hand clenched instantly, nails digging into her palm, forcing herself to calm down, to step back.
Finally, when she opened her eyes, there was a strong effort to suppress her emotions. “Tongtong, I’ll give you candy, resist the urge to scratch yourself.”
“Chocolate? It’s useless to eat that, wu wu.”
Gu Qingtong was repeatedly rejected, unable to understand why she was still being refused even after shamelessly begging Yan Chi. She felt extremely sad and cried out in protest.
“No, Tongtong, you’ll know once you’ve eaten it.”
Yan Chi led her hand towards the collar that had been undone before.
❖❖❖❖❖
The next day, in the afternoon.
Gu Qingtong’s mother, Lin Wan, returned to the villa, contrary to what Gu Qingtong had thought about her going abroad.
In reality, it was Gu Shuyu and his wife who had each gone out to enjoy themselves. Lin Wan had gone to City B with her plastic socialite sisters to watch a fashion show. She had returned on a flight in the morning and had just arrived home for lunch.
Recently, Lin Wan had acquired a precious pink diamond, and the socialite group had been clamoring to see it. After teasing their curiosity, Lin Wan finally brought the ladies to have afternoon tea.
As soon as she entered the house, she was startled to see two pairs of shoes at the entrance. Lin Wan had a vague suspicion that Gu Qingtong had returned with Yan Chi.
However, after casually looking around, she couldn’t find them anywhere.
Setting aside the fact that only the immediate families of the Gu and Yan households knew about the union between Gu Qingtong and Yan Chi, even the people Lin Wan had brought today… weren’t suitable to meet Yan Chi.
Thinking of this, she secretly glanced at Fan Ru beside her.
“What’s wrong? Has Qingtong returned?” Fan Ru asked with a perfectly tamed smile on her face.
Fan Ru was Yan Chi’s stepmother.
Originally, Lin Wan and Fan Ru were not familiar with each other. It was only because the initial engagement between Yan Song and Gu Qingtong had been arranged that Lin Wan and Fan Ru began to interact. Seeing that they were going to be in-laws in the future, Lin Wan and Fan Ru started getting acquainted.
Fan Ru also took this opportunity to integrate into Lin Wan’s plastic sisterhood circle. She was naturally smooth, and the other wives were willing to give Lin Wan face, so they accepted her.
However, later on, the engagement between Yan Song and Gu Qingtong was canceled. Both Fan Ru and Lin Wan cared about their reputations and never mentioned what had happened in front of outsiders. They simply stated that the cancellation of the engagement was not very appropriate. Their surface-level relationship continued until now.
Furthermore, because the projects of both the Gu and Yan families were still in the confidential preparation stage, the union between Yan Chi and Gu Qingtong had not been announced to outsiders for the time being.
Yan Song didn’t dare to reveal it, and even Fan Ru had no knowledge of Gu Qingtong and Yan Chi’s union.
Lin Wan could only smile: “That’s right, it seems like my Tongtong is at home, but she should still be sleeping. It’s nothing to worry about.”
As she spoke, she looked up at Gu Qingtong’s closed bedroom door, as if it was foreshadowing something.
The ladies were not concerned about this and urged Lin Wan to quickly show them the pink diamond.
By the time Gu Qingtong woke up, it was nearly 2 o’clock in the afternoon.
At this moment, she felt like she had finally unloaded a heavy burden. The fever symptoms had dissipated, and even the aches and red marks on her body had almost completely healed.
Recalling the symptoms she experienced after the effect of the medicine kicked in last night, she shivered all over her body, feeling a sense of terror. It was an experience she never wanted to go through again in her lifetime.
After checking her own condition, Gu Qingtong suddenly snapped back to reality. She looked at Yan Chi, who was embracing her, and found that she still seemed to be asleep.
Yan Chi had not slept at all since the night of the variety show filming. She had been continuously working for two days straight, and coupled with Gu Qingtong’s illness last night, it lasted until almost dawn before it finally ended.
Her body was already in poor condition, and at the moment, she was sleeping heavily, her complexion not looking too good.
Looking at her face, which was not as radiant as usual, Gu Qingtong couldn’t help but feel a surge of compassion.
She held her breath and didn’t move, so as not to wake Yan Chi by her side.
With nothing to do, Gu Qingtong’s gaze wandered around. As she looked down, suddenly, as if remembering something, her face turned bright red.
What did she do yesterday?!
Besides the initial incoherent pleas for Yan Chi’s help, it seemed like… she had taken advantage of Yan Chi?!
She quickly blinked her eyes several times to conceal her panic.
This time it wasn’t due to drunkenness. Gu Qingtong could almost recall everything, but the vivid memories made her toes curl involuntarily.
Was it a dream? It must have been a dream, right? Otherwise, how could she have done something so embarrassing?
However, the disheveled state beneath Yan Chi’s collar was like silent evidence, leaving Gu Qingtong’s mind blank.
Amidst her confusion, Yan Chi seemed to slowly awaken as well.
Yan Chi furrowed her eyebrows, and the moment she opened her eyes, her blurry gaze immediately fixed on Gu Qingtong. She spoke with concern: “Are you feeling better?”
Her voice was softer than usual, somewhat weak, with a hoarseness that comes from just waking up.
This unintentional display of vulnerability made Yan Chi’s inherent frailty even more pronounced, suppressing the coldness in her breath.
“I’m fine, but it seems like you… Is it because of me last night as well?”
Gu Qingtong’s eyes showed a hint of anxiety, filled with guilt.
She had said it herself, they definitely shouldn’t do such things! One kiss, one illness!
If she was like this, then Yan Chi must be the same, which explained her current fragility.
Clearly, Gu Qingtong had now associated that matter with falling ill.
Yan Chi followed Gu Qingtong’s gaze to her collar but showed no surprise on her face. She casually adjusted her collar to cover up the revealing view. “I’m fine,” she said.
However, Gu Qingtong couldn’t pretend that nothing had happened. She felt lost and said: “It’s… it’s all my fault.”
Perhaps it was due to being carried away by the moment, or maybe because of discomfort. In any case, she had kissed her… well, it was more than just a kiss.
“Tongtong, I felt very comfortable,” Yan Chi interrupted her self-blame. “Whatever you felt at that time, I felt the same way. I really liked it when Tongtong kissed me, whether it was on the forehead or anywhere else.”
As she spoke, the back of her hand touched Gu Qingtong’s forehead, confirming that her temperature had returned to normal.
These words instantly quieted Gu Qingtong. The blush on her face didn’t fade away, but she appeared revitalized and more composed.
Gu Qingtong took her time getting dressed. Both she and Yan Chi had sweated through the night, so they left the room one after the other to freshen up.
But as Gu Qingtong was about to step out of the room, she suddenly heard voices coming from downstairs. When she looked down, she realized that Lin Wan was hosting a tea gathering at home!
The wealthy ladies were sitting downstairs, and with a glance, they could see Gu Qingtong and Yan Chi.
Her smile instantly vanished, and instinctively, she let Yan Chi, who was following behind, enter the room first.
Just as she was about to run back to her room, one of the wealthy ladies downstairs caught her: “Isn’t that Qingtong?”
In an instant, everyone’s gaze landed on Gu Qingtong, who was only wearing pajamas.
Uncertain if they had seen Yan Chi behind her, Gu Qingtong was too scared to move. She just looked at everyone and said: “Morn… no, good afternoon, Aunties.”
Not seeing Gu Qingtong would have been fine, but as soon as the wealthy ladies encountered her, they immediately remembered the annulment of her engagement with Yan Song. They were now full of curiosity and eager to extract some inside information from Gu Qingtong, something that Lin Wan and Fan Ru were unwilling to share with them.
After all, these wealthy ladies were not genuine close friends. They especially enjoyed digging up gossip and small secrets about each other.
How could they let Gu Qingtong leave now that they had seen her?
They immediately got up one after another and went upstairs.
Gu Qingtong couldn’t leave this place at all. She couldn’t even close her own room door. She could only take a few steps back and barely block the doorway, shielding the view inside from their sight.
She became stiff and nervous, disregarding her appearance.
“Qingtong, you’ve grown up so much since the last time we saw you. The last we heard, you were still engaged to Yan Song. Speaking of which, that child Yan Song is quite talented at such a young age. We never expected that you two would call off the engagement.”
They chattered and asked Gu Qingtong directly, cutting to the chase about Yan Song.
Lin Wan and Fan Ru desperately made eye contact with Gu Qingtong, urging her not to reveal the truth. After all, they had the most prestige in the wealthy ladies’ circle.
Although Gu Qingtong was annoyed by them, she could only answer, hoping to get rid of them as soon as possible. “It didn’t work out, so we called it off. I have no connection with him anymore. Aunties, if you have any more questions, please don’t ask me.”
“Well, I always said those rumors were false. Our Qingtong is such a good girl. With her looks and family background, it’s impossible for Yan Song to find fault with her.”
One lady deliberately smiled and spoke, seemingly clarifying things for Gu Qingtong, but subtly mentioning the “rumors.”
“What rumors? Yan Song wouldn’t spread rumors about me, would he?”
Gu Qingtong was momentarily stunned but quickly understood. She asked directly.
She had already shown restraint by not revealing Yan Song’s scumbag behavior, considering the face of the Yan family. After all, it was the Yan family head who had taken the lead in arranging the marriage, but little did they know that their good intentions had backfired, causing trouble for Gu Qingtong.
Fan Ru quickly said: “How is that possible? Someone must have malicious intentions to sow discord between the Yan and Gu families and fabricate such rumors.”
The moment Fan Ru spoke, Yan Chi, who was standing behind the door, felt a sudden throb in her brow.
She recognized the voice. The person speaking was her stepmother.
Without saying anything, she continued to listen.
After carefully recalling, Gu Qingtong remembered that the person speaking seemed to be Yan Song’s mother. They had only crossed paths at family banquets before, and she didn’t even remember her name.
After all, even Yan Song himself wasn’t close to his parents, let alone Gu Qingtong, who didn’t take the previous engagement seriously at all.
Since it was Yan Song’s mother, she would undoubtedly speak in favor of that scumbag.
Gu Qingtong categorically classified her as someone she didn’t like and paid no attention to her explanation. She asked directly: “What are they saying about me? Tell me.”
She was a well-known rebellious heiress in the circle of rich second-generation individuals. The wealthy ladies initially wanted to know the gossip, with a hint of anticipation for a good show.
Seeing that Gu Qingtong was getting angry, they hesitated and were somewhat afraid to tell her about those rumors, unsure of how she would react after hearing them.
Finally, with Gu Qingtong’s cold and determined expression, she said with a strong will to survive: “It wasn’t me who said that. I never had such intentions, and I don’t believe the rumors. I heard it occasionally from my son’s unreliable friends… They said that the reason why Qingtong and Yan Song called off the engagement was because Qingtong has a volatile and temperamental personality. They even claimed that she resorted to domestic violence and physically assaulted him, piercing Yan Song’s hand and even dislocating his entire arm. At that time, Yan Song was indeed injured, and it seems like many people believed it.”
Someone added fuel to the fire, saying: “Oh, it seems that after Yan Song called off the engagement with Qingtong, he immediately got engaged to Miss Wu from the Wu family. The engagement ceremony is supposed to be this weekend.”
“Yes, after that news came out, those rumors became even more certain about Qingtong’s issues. They say that otherwise, he wouldn’t have let go of the excellent opportunity to marry into the Gu family and instead chose to be with the Wu family…”
Lin Wan’s face turned pale, and she said: “Nonsense! How could our Qingtong be that kind of person?!”
She cared about her reputation, but she had never heard of these rumors before. She never expected that after Yan Song made such a disgraceful scene, he would dare to spread rumors outside.
Fan Ru became flustered. She knew about these rumors, but since they were advantageous to Yan Song, she didn’t pay any attention to them. She never imagined that they would reach the ears of the main party involved. She hurriedly said: “Qingtong, don’t get agitated. I’ll ask Yan Song to find out who started these rumors. He’s getting engaged again this week, and you probably don’t want any more trouble between the two of you, right?”
Gu Qingtong didn’t even glance at her and only said to Lin Wan: “Mom, don’t interfere. I’ll handle it myself.”
Then she turned to the gossip-loving ladies and said: “Aunties, you were curious about the truth, right? Well, I’ll tell you. While Yan Song was engaged to me, he also had a true love affair outside. Although it was an arranged marriage, I’m not someone who can turn a blind eye. Once I found out, I immediately rejected the engagement. The scumbag couldn’t bear the thought of losing the major projects between the Gu and Yan families. He became desperate and came to the hospital to force me. If I hadn’t stabbed his hand with a knife, he would already be behind bars.”
“That’s the whole story between me and that scumbag. Is it clear now?”
Gu Qingtong, dressed in a pink pajama, had a youthful and innocent charm on her face without any makeup. However, her current demeanor was fierce. She quickly recounted the events, word by word.
The ladies of high society knew that something was fishy behind this, but they had no idea about all the twists and turns. They all stared wide-eyed, unable to speak.
Every word she said was the truth, and Fan Ru had no room for rebuttal. She could only endure the meaningful gazes from others.
“Please tell Yan Song that I will attend his engagement ceremony. There’s no need for you ladies to make a fuss. I will clarify everything myself and show the evidence to his fiancée.”
Gu Qingtong stared at Fan Ru and, without looking back, entered her own room, leaving a group of high-society ladies stunned.
“Did you already know?” Lin Wan also glared at Fan Ru with a cold expression. “Or perhaps, you were also involved in spreading the rumors?”
Fan Ru, knowing that Yan Song had once again angered the Gu family, had no choice but to distance herself from her relationship with Yan Song. “No, no, I really didn’t know. You have always kept my secret, how could I possibly do such a thing…”
Her words were an indirect admission to everything Gu Qingtong had just said. The ladies exchanged glances and understood each other’s thoughts.
They couldn’t believe that Yan Song, who appeared to be well-behaved, had actually done such despicable things.
“Regardless of whether you knew or not, we should no longer associate with each other. I can’t deal with people like you!” Lin Wan issued the order to expel Fan Ru.
Fan Ru desperately apologized and pleaded, but not only did Lin Wan ignore her, even the other ladies, who were supposedly her sisters, also ignored her.
She suddenly realized that the reason she had been able to navigate her way smoothly before was solely due to Lin Wan’s help, and no one actually respected her.
There was no other choice for her but to leave. As she turned around, her eyes contained a hint of resentment.
So what if she was just a clueless young lady? Apart from the family business, what did the Gu family have left? Who knows how many more years Gu Lao Ye has left to live. Just wait and see.
The immediate priority now was to stabilize Yan Song’s relationship with the Wu family and not let this hard-won alliance fail again.
As she pondered, she walked towards the outside. When she turned a corner, she saw a familiar compact Bentley parked in the temporary parking space outside the garden.
“Why does this car look familiar?”
Fan Ru suddenly remembered the person from the Yan family she feared the most, and she froze. It couldn’t be, could it?
Could it be that Yan Chi had come here for some reason?
With that in mind, Fan Ru paid no attention to the matter and left.
On the other side…
After Gu Qingtong returned to her room, Yan Chi walked out from behind the door.
The two of them silently faced each other until the high-society ladies outside dispersed.
Yan Chi pinched Gu Qingtong’s face. “Don’t be angry.”
Gu Qingtong pursed her lips and avoided eye contact. “I’m not angry. It’s just that they’re so annoying.”
Many times, starting from when she was a child and didn’t play with them, they would tell others that she liked to hit people and that she was a bad child. They even forbade new kids from playing with Gu Qingtong…
“You don’t need to go. I can handle them one by one,” Yan Chi said calmly.
“Weren’t you originally planning to participate in the Yan family’s inheritance dispute? If you act now, others will know your true strength. Let me handle it myself. It’s okay, I know who started the rumors. From childhood to adulthood, that group of people has always ended up with me slapping them in the face.”
Gu Qingtong clearly remembered what Yan Chi had told her before, about being cautious around the Yan family due to the struggle for inheritance.
Yan Chi paused, suddenly realizing that she seemed to have this restrained and pitiful persona in front of Gu Qingtong.
“In that case, I’ll go with you. I also received an invitation.”
“But your relationship with them isn’t good, and your father and stepmother…”
Gu Qingtong cautiously asked Yan Chi: “I never saw you at the Yan family banquets before.”
Yan Chi seized on the key point. “So, you know I didn’t attend the family banquets?”
Gu Qingtong hadn’t expected herself to blurt out her unusually close attention to Yan Chi all this time.
“That’s because my friend Yan Yijia and that scumbag used to mention you. I’ve only seen you on TV, so I was curious… I just had a small expectation, but I was a bit disappointed not to see you in person,” she hurriedly explained to herself.
“In that case, I should have gone at that time.” Yan Chi looked at Gu Qingtong, her eyes filled with a smile.
So, even back then, she had been paying attention to her and was curious about her?
“You’ve attended family banquets with him before,” Yan Chi’s tone suddenly changed, sounding sour. It seemed like she was jealous that their previous engagement could be easily announced to everyone. “This time, it’s my turn to assert my sovereignty in front of the Yan family.”
Unable to refuse, Gu Qingtong reluctantly accepted the decision.
❖❖❖❖❖
After Yan Chi left that day, Gu Qingtong immediately conducted an investigation and realized that she had missed out on a great show in the circle of second-generation wealthy individuals. Yan Song had broken off their engagement and had been dumped by his rebound relationship.
At that time, Yan Song had planned to rely on Gu Qingtong’s enemies to make a comeback by playing the sympathy card, taking advantage of their dislike for Gu Qingtong. Surprisingly, his sweet words and deceiving appearance actually managed to trick someone into agreeing to an engagement with him. That unfortunate person was Wu Suwei, the only daughter of the Wu family. Gu Qingtong was quite familiar with her, and they had some old grievances. She was indeed a formidable opponent.
Although they were enemies, when Gu Qingtong thought about how Wu Suwei had been deceived by the scumbag, she decided to put aside their animosity and at least warn her.
While the Wu family may not be as prominent as the Gu and Yan families, Wu Suwei was the only daughter and had direct inheritance rights. The scumbag had clearly climbed up the social ladder. Just like in the original story, he was still a phoenix man. Previously, he relied on the Gu family, but now he had switched to the Wu family.
During that week, Gu Qingtong happened to have no engagements, so she had time to organize the photos and video evidence.
As she looked at them, Gu Qingtong felt herself being successfully disgusted once again.
Although it was basically meaningless to clarify things with those who disliked her, since they dared to spread such rumors, Gu Qingtong was determined to make them experience the feeling of social death within the entire Yan family and half of the elite society.
However, on the night before the engagement banquet, Gu Qingtong had a dream.
Like a premonition dream, similar to the plot revealed after the car accident, it was about the original story, and it precisely portrayed the scene of the engagement banquet. Yan Chi also attended the engagement banquet, just as she had mentioned.
All the members of the Yan family kept their distance from her. When they saw her passing by, they whispered among themselves:
“Why would she come to her own half-brother’s engagement banquet? Is she here for revenge?”
“Have you heard about her childhood? How could a child be like that? It’s truly terrifying!”
However, Yan Chi didn’t even spare a glance at those people. She remained as aloof and noble as ever, step by step, approaching herself, who was the protagonist of the engagement banquet in the original story.
“You shouldn’t be with him.”
