Yin Shaoyuan soon returned with a bitter face, and even while eating he was absent-minded. Gu Xiqiao put away her phone after seeing his expression and said, “Alright, Tong Tong has also eaten, I’ll bring her to the hospital. If you’re busy, you can leave first.”
“I’ll take you both to the hospital first.” Even if he was beaten to death, he wouldn’t dare to leave Gu Xiaoqiao alone. If anything happened to her on his watch, Jiang Shuxuan would be forced to kill him.
He opened the door while he talked, intending to let the both of them leave first. However, when he glanced around outside and his gaze fell on a figure that was hidden near the doorway, the corner of his mouth quirked up. “Wait a while, I’ll be right there. Make sure you don’t leave!”
Having said that, Yin Shaoyuan didn’t give Gu Xiqiao a chance to respond as he closed the door, walking out to the figure who was hiding in the corner, pulling the person out. “Mom, what are you doing?”
Mrs. Yin looked embarrassed to be caught for a while, before straightening up, “I heard that you’ve found me a daughter-in-law and a cute granddaughter, so I came to see for myself.”
“F*ck, this… no, who’s been spilling these things to your ears?” Yin Shaoyuan’s face was flushed, with a helpless and stunned look. “What do you mean daughter-in-law and granddaughter! That’s my sister! She just graduated from school, what joke is this?!”
“What the f*ck…is that true?” Mrs. Yin’s eyes were wide with surprise. She knew that her son had always been fickle in regards to relationships, but when she heard the gossip she had been over the moon, rushing over. Who knew that the reality was such, that it felt like Yin Shaoyuan had poured a bucket of cold water over her. However, she continued to speak, “The last time you mentioned you’ve met a sister, this was talking about her?”
“That’s right.”
“When are you bringing her home?”
“Soon. Don’t look at me that way, nothing will happen between us. She belongs to Master Jiang, I wouldn’t dare to defile her with my hands.” Yin Shaoyuan hurried to add on as a reminder, seeing the calculative looks in his mother’s eyes as soon as he had said the previous words.
Hearing those words, Mrs. Yin slumped in defeat. She knew when to give up, especially when the difference was obvious. Even if you offered the entire Yin family up, no one would dare to touch anyone that belonged to Jiang Shuxuan.
“Then I’ll go and meet my daughter,” Mrs. Yin said with a slight furrow of brows, she had been wanting a daughter for a very long time.
“No, now’s not the right time.” Yin Shaoyuan said as he pulled out his phone. “I’ll call Dad if you still won’t leave, and tell him that you’ve been playing online games in my room the entire night.”
“…Unfilial son!” Mrs. Yin huffed, as she turned to reluctantly leave. “Remember to make time to bring her home!”
Yin Shaoyuan breathed a sigh of relief after she had gone out of sight, and returned to the private room that he had left the others in.
After sending Mu Jiatong back to the hospital, Gu Xiqiao requested that Yin Shaoyuan return first, as she would remain and accompany Mu Jiatong in the hospital. Yin Shaoyuan was hesitant, not feeling at ease to leave her alone, but he couldn’t manage to convince her, and could only nag at her for a while before getting into the car and leaving.
By the time Gu Xiqiao left the hospital, it was already evening. As she walked along the road, a notification came from the System suddenly.
[Beauty Qiao, there is a car following you from behind.]
‘I know.’ Gu Xiqiao’s five senses had been honed to be more sensitive, and she had felt herself being followed before the System had notified her.
[There isn’t any malicious intent coming from the owner of the car. Would you like me to run interference on your position, Beauty Qiao?]
‘There’s no need.” Gu Xiqiao said, stopping. She turned her body slowly as she waited for the car to catch up to her, a blank look on her face as she watched the black car approach. Her eyes were half closed, and her eyes were empty.
She knew who it was inside the car.
The car slowed to a stop beside her, and the window rolled down, revealing a slightly middle-aged man’s face. It was Gu Zuhui, the head of the Gu family!
Gu Xiqiao stared at him quietly, with no surprise on her face at the sight of him. After a short while, she got into the car.
The reason the Gu family had taken her in, was completely under the instructions of the old man. They weren’t sure what was going on with the Yin family, suddenly deciding to suppress the Gu family in everything. Not only that, even the other two who were neutral had started to get in the way of them, driving them into a corner with no way out.
At this time, the old man suddenly remembered Gu Xiqiao. He knew that Gu Xiqiao was someone who held familial relationships close to her heart, and she would always return. He knew that she had a good relationship with the Yin family, but without her position as the second daughter, what else did she have?
Gu Zuhui thought that he had all these seen through and calculated.
Gu Xiqiao sat in the car, still having an indifferent expression on her face as she focused on nothing in particular. After thinking a while about it, she sent a text message to Jiang Shuxuan letting him know that she would be back late.
The car came to a stop outside the gates of the Gu Zuhui’s house, and as the lights outside the window passed in a blur, she recalled the feelings she had when she first stepped foot into this place. Anxious, uneasy, anticipation, and now—her heart just felt dead.
The farce should be over now.
Gu Zuhui greeted Gu Xiqiao with a smile and was courteous, remembering Master Gu’s words. He wore a kind expression, a smile on his face as words of concern poured out of his mouth like it didn’t cost any money to buy the words.
However, the girl beside him suddenly looked straight into his eyes, and it made him uncomfortable to meet her gaze, and he didn’t. It felt like she could see inside him, and everything inside his heart was bare for her to see. He felt that there was something different about his daughter, but he couldn’t put a finger on it, and chose to swallow his words and stay silent.
When they returned to Gu Manor, they greeted Gu Xiqiao with the same cheerfulness. Even Su Wan’er was all smiles, no matter how much resentment was in her heart towards Gu Xiqiao, she wouldn’t dare to show it on her face. The head of the Gu family was treating Gu Xiqiao like a treasure right now, and she didn’t dare to say anything about it. Her heart was bitter, but she swore silently that once Gu Xiqiao had outlived her usefulness, she would definitely take everything back, including interest!
“Since you’re home, you should stay in the future. It’s nothing great about staying outside, and there’s care for you at home too.” Master Gu said, implying that they would no longer pursue past affairs. She was still a lady of the Gu family, and still held her inheritance rights.
With familial love and her inheritance, Master Gu believed that Gu Xiqiao would be obedient and listen to his words.
Gu Xiqiao listened to the words spoken, and only raised her head when they were done speaking, her eyes still devoid of any emotions. In just a short month, she had been exercising a lot, and filled up quite a bit. She was slightly taller than before, a gorgeous body with beautiful curves. Her complexion was also better, her cheeks having a natural rosy hue which indicated she was healthy. Her skin was pale but not unnaturally so, and her beauty was really shining through and it was hard to not notice it.
“Do you recall how I came back with you?” Gu Xiqiao said as she looked into Master Gu’s eyes, with him recalling the memories back then. “You searched for me far and wide, and when you found me, you told me that I wasn’t an orphan, that I had family, and they were in N City.”
She paused, smiling without humor. “You said you wanted to bring me home to see my family, I used to place so much trust in you. For someone who knew from a young age that I was picked up from god knows where, and never knowing who my birth parents were, do you understand how much I yearned for the word ‘family’? I saw you all as my savior from that torture, and that was also the reason why I tried so hard to integrate myself into the family.”
“However, my biological father treats me like I am the biggest stain in his entire life! From the day I came into the Gu family, you have all sat on your high chair, telling me with words and actions that I’m not fit to even take on the family name and will never be part of this family in anything but name. That I am just an illegitimate daughter that should never have seen the light of day, the shame of the prestigious Gu family!”
Gu Xiqiao stood in the middle of the living room, she stood with her back rammed straight, and her eyes were cold with barely a hint of any emotion in them.
She was just standing there, but everyone else in the room felt the heavy atmosphere pressing on them like a mountain, rendering it hard to take their next breath each passing second.
Master Gu was staring at Gu Xiqiao, and had many times looked like he wanted to interrupt her spiel. However, even if he had opened his mouth, the words wouldn’t come out. It was as though his entire being was out of his control, and as he watched the girl who stood aloofly in front of him, his eyes narrowed slightly.