Chapter 66 - Chapter 66: Failed to Sow Discord
Chapter 66: Failed to Sow Discord
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“You should take the bonus card,” Gu Ci considered and accepted the bank card. “Okay, thank you, Brother.”
“Are you getting used to living at Lu Zhiyuan’s place?”
Gu Ci nodded. “Brother, are you worried that Lu Zhiyuan might mistreat me?”
“Would he mistreat you?”
“No, he wouldn’t!” Gu Ci chuckled.
“There’s a rumor that Lu Zhiyuan dislikes you the most.”
“Brother, don’t pay attention to rumors. I don’t believe them,” Gu Ci replied.
“Are you two in a relationship?” Jiang Junlin got straight to the point.
Gu Ci smiled. “I’m still catching up.”
Jiang Junlin squinted his eyes. “Are you pursuing him?”
Gu Ci nodded. “Yes, he’s a bit difficult to win over.”
This aspect was a blind spot for Jiang Junlin. He didn’t want to teach his sister to pursue a man. He was as strict as the dean. “It doesn’t matter if you can’t win him over. You’re still young.”
“Brother, sister, what a coincidence to bump into you here.” Gu Chuyun arrived uninvited and changed the way she addressed Gu Ci. “Grandma wants me to come home for dinner tonight. Brother, I’ll ride with you in your car.”
Jiang Junlin’s expression darkened. He glanced at Gu Ci and felt a slight pang in his heart. He looked at Gu Chuyun coldly. “I’ve already said it before, the Jiang family doesn’t welcome you.”
Gu Chuyun felt wronged. “Grandma keeps urging me to come home for dinner.” She deliberately showed off in front of Gu Ci, letting her know that the old lady would never accept Gu Ci and would always love her, even if she wasn’t Jiang Mingyue’s daughter.
“Brother, what did you give sister?” She opened the velvet box and saw the Eye of Jupiter. Her expression changed. Jealousy and hatred gnawed at her heart, and her face turned gloomy.
Jiang Junlin had only given her gifts when they were young. Since he entered high school, he had become increasingly distant from her. He rarely even spoke to her, let alone gave her gifts.
But now, he was giving such an expensive gift to Gu Ci, someone he had never even met.
She had set her eyes on that necklace and was determined to have it. And now, it belonged to Gu Ci. Gu Chuyun’s heart filled with resentment and anger. Her good hand was injured because of Gu Ci. The Jiang family’s shares and even Lu Zhiyuan, whom she liked, all favored Gu Ci.
“How rude!” Jiang Junlin reprimanded her mercilessly. He took the necklace and closed the box. “Who allowed you to touch Cici’s belongings?”
Gu Chuyun looked at Jiang Junlin, tears welling up in her eyes. “Brother, why are you suddenly so cold to me? You used to dote on me. Is it because of Gu Ci and Lu Zhiyuan?”
Jiang Junlin slammed his cup on the table. “Gu Chuyun, what nonsense are you talking about?”
Gu Chuyun wiped away her tears, feeling wronged. “Hualan Bank is about to collaborate with the Gu Financial Group. That’s why you’re being nice to Gu Ci and purposefully ignoring me, isn’t it? If it were me living at Lu Zhiyuan’s place, would you still be so cold to me?”
Jiang Junlin was furious. He had dealt with people in the business world and had been involved in countless behind-the-scenes schemes. But he had never encountered such a clumsy and direct attempt to sow discord.
Gu Ci chuckled and sipped her fruit juice.
“What are you laughing at?” Gu Chuyun felt her smile was dripping with sarcasm.
Gu Ci replied, “It’s not like he’s your brother. Don’t overestimate yourself. Even if he approached me because of Lu Zhiyuan, I’m the one benefiting, not you.” “I’m not!” Jiang Junlin’s voice softened. “Cici, please don’t misunderstand.” “Brother, I’ve seen her sow discord and play the victim since we were young,” Gu Ci said. “I’ve been unlucky enough to be her sister. In those eighteen long years, I’ve been hurt by her countless times, so I’ve become immune to it.” She spoke calmly, as if she were narrating someone else’s story, but Jiang Junlin’s heart ached.
Gu Chuyun gritted her teeth. This trick had always worked against Gu Ci. But this time, she wouldn’t fall for it. “You… don’t you care?”
“That was in my previous life,” Gu Ci hinted. The biggest knot in her heart was that the people she cared about the most all liked Gu Chuyun and didn’t like her.
She was in the same class as Yang Sihang and Gu Chuyun in middle school. Everyone liked Yang Sihang. He excelled in academics, was good-looking, and talented in sports. He was the prince charming of all the girls who had just entered adolescence.
There was a period when Yang Sihang was particularly close to her and always sought her out. Gu Ci was very grateful to Yang Sihang during that time of isolation. They often went for milk tea after school and did homework together.
Yang Sihang often said that he shouldn’t be calculative with Gu Chuyun and should just live his own life. He brought a lot of happiness and comfort to Gu Ci during that time.
But one day, she discovered a love letter that Yang Sihang had written to Gu Chuyun. It turned out that Yang Sihang had approached her because of Gu Chuyun.
From that moment on, she realized that everything she cared about, whether it was friends, family, or even toys, would become Gu Chuyun’s. Gu Chuyun even tried to bring Zhou Jinjin into their scheme to isolate her.
As Gu Ci grew up, everything she cared about, except Zhou Jinjin, became Gu Chuyun’s.
That was her nightmare in her previous life.
Jiang Junlin had lost his patience. “Gu Chuyun, Cici is my only sister. Please leave and don’t disturb our reunion.”
Gu Chuyun’s eyes turned red, but Jiang Junlin remained indifferent. After she left, Jiang Junlin said, “If we had been more careful back then, this tragedy wouldn’t have happened.”
“It’s in the past,” Gu Ci said. “I don’t care anymore.”
“Cici, Grandma is stubborn. She doesn’t want to accept that her beloved granddaughter, whom she has doted on for more than ten years, is actually the daughter of her enemy. She’s deeply immersed in self-reproach and refuses to face reality. Give her some time.”
Gu Ci couldn’t be deceived anymore. But when she thought of Jiang Junlin, who was in a wheelchair in her previous life and had lost everything, her heart softened. “Okay, Brother, I’ll listen to you.”
After Jiang Junlin and Gu Ci went their separate ways, Lu Zhiyuan encountered them downstairs.
Lu Zhiyuan leaned against Jiang Junlin’s car, stretching his legs.
“President Jiang, you missed out on eighteen years of family. If you missed it, then let it be. Why force it? Your grandmother still cherishes Gu Chuyun like a treasure. Why are you looking for Gu Ci?”
Jiang Junlin’s expression turned cold. He looked at Lu Zhiyuan and felt a hint of disdain. There was something dark and… calm about him.
During the Lu family’s banquet, a socialite had fallen from the third floor after an argument and died instantly. Her brains and blood stained the ground red. Everyone was in a state of shock, some angry, some sad, some calling for help. But Lu Zhiyuan stood under the red, unaffected by it all. He had no connection to the incident. He was indifferent to the loss of a life. The cold night enveloped him as the phoenix flower fell onto his shoulder, pinched between his fingers. He uttered just one sentence, “The phoenix flower, dyed red with blood, seems even more beautiful..”