Chapter 521 - 456: Always Waiting for Her (3)
Chapter 521: Chapter 456: Always Waiting for Her (3)
"Yeah," Xiao Man replied casually, raising her spoon as if she were about to drink the soup.
Sun Yiming thought Xiao Man was just discussing the effects of some traditional Chinese medicine with Gongsun Ruxue. He assumed the scenario she described would never happen, and since the hot soup before him was still a delicacy, he lowered his head and started to drink it as well.
But Gongsun Ruxue’s undershirt was already soaked with sweat. Large, dense beads of perspiration trickled from her forehead and temples.
It wasn’t because of Xiao Man—it was because of Gu Shaojun.
Gu Shaojun’s Suppression continued to build, layer by layer. After hearing Xiao Man’s words, he understood everything. ’Gongsun Ruxue hid her aura to get close with ill intent, just as I suspected. She’s plotting against my girl. She already fed her that drug, and this dinner is her chance to harvest the "results"!’
When he thought about what could have happened during a thirty-minute coma if Xiao Man hadn’t been vigilant and had truly fallen for the trick, Gu Shaojun grew furious. Lightning seemed to flash in his eyes, and he wished he could just cripple Gongsun Ruxue then and there.
Gongsun Ruxue bit her lip, her expression a mask of pain and despair as she looked at Gu Shaojun. He was a man as handsome and dignified as a god, her ideal partner whom she’d fallen for at first sight. But right now, he radiated a frigid, severe aura. His gaze was so sharp it felt tangible, as if it could pierce her at any moment. He watched as his Suppression crushed her to the point where her very soul felt like it was about to shatter, yet he showed not a single trace of pity.
Amid her heartbreak and anguish, Gongsun Ruxue had a sudden moment of clarity. ’How could I ever have harbored fantasies about this man? He’s the eldest grandson of the Gu family!’
’The Gu family! Because of the Bai Family, the Gongsun Family and the Gu family are already enemies. No matter how much I adore him, we could never have a marriage alliance in this lifetime. It’s hopeless!’
Gongsun Ruxue felt as if she were suffocating. As she watched Xiao Man lift the spoon to her lips, the immense pressure on her body crashed down like a sledgehammer. It felt as if her organs would rupture at any second. Tears and sweat streamed down her face as the pain became unbearable. Using every last bit of her strength, she struggled to let out a wretched scream, "Manman! Don’t drink... the soup!"
Sun Yiming, completely oblivious to Gu Shaojun’s anger and Suppression, was genuinely hungry and had already taken two mouthfuls of soup. When he heard Gongsun Ruxue’s strange cry, he looked up and was stunned. ’What’s going on? How did the fairy-like Gongsun Ruxue become like this in the blink of an eye? She’s as pale and stiff as a corpse, her hair is plastered to her face with sweat, and she looks like she’s just been pulled out of the water. If she weren’t wearing thick winter clothes, her appearance would be... quite a sight!’
Sun Yiming was a gentleman; he couldn’t just stand by and watch a woman in such a wretched, painful state. He immediately stood up, took off his jacket, and draped it over Gongsun Ruxue. "Ruxue, you must be sick," he said urgently. "Just hang on, I’ll take you to the hospital right now!"
"Let’s not be so hasty," Xiao Man said to Sun Yiming. Her gaze shifted to Gongsun Ruxue as she asked calmly, "Why can’t I drink this soup? Ruxue, please explain clearly!"
Because she had stopped Xiao Man from drinking the soup, Gu Shaojun slightly retracted his pressure, allowing Gongsun Ruxue to finally catch her breath. Her face and neck were slick with moisture, making it impossible to distinguish tears from sweat. She closed her eyes, her lips twisting into a bitter smile. "Tang Manman, at Second Miss Sun’s birthday party, I added a little of that medicine you mentioned to the milk tea I gave you. You never drank it, did you? You deliberately led me into a trap today... Since you already knew and no harm was done, you could have just said something. Why go to all this trouble?"
Xiao Man sneered. "Say something? And you would have admitted it? At Second Miss Sun’s birthday party, you handed me that milk tea. I didn’t drink it; I just sniffed it and put it down. For one, I was suspicious. For two, I don’t like store-bought drinks, especially milk tea. So the drug you put in it never entered my system. Honestly, I was still trying to figure out how to confront you about it. Without the toxin in my body, I had no proof. If you denied it, I couldn’t do anything. But your plot against me was very real. Today, you’re the one who came to me, clearly meaning to do me harm. How does that become *me* luring *you* into a trap? Gongsun Ruxue, you take me for a fool but expect me to treat you like a sane person. The logic you’ve got is really one-of-a-kind!"
It was only then that understanding seemed to dawn on Sun Yiming. He glanced at Gu Shaojun, whose expression was grim and whose eyes held a brewing storm. A violent shiver ran down his spine. He turned to Xiao Man in terror. "Manman, are you saying that—that Gongsun Ruxue concocted that drug, gave it to you, and was planning to make you drink this mushroom soup today to activate it?"
Xiao Man nodded. "You just heard her admit it herself. It was at your sister Sun Meirong’s birthday party. You were there too. The cup of milk tea Gongsun Ruxue handed me had her special concoction in it! I didn’t drink it, but I had a feeling about it. I’ve been waiting for her to make her next move."