Chapter 4

Xiao An softly closed the door.

"Miss..." she whispered, "I just saw Second Miss leaving your room. Did... did something happen between you two?"

In the dim lamplight, she saw her young lady sitting cross-legged on the bed, her face slightly flushed, her skirt somewhat rumpled.

Oh no, Miss was so angry her face was red... had they been fighting in there?

"It's nothing," Gu Nianxi said, her voice muffled. "Just... applying medicine..."

Xiao An was stunned. "Are you hurt, Miss?"

"Just a small scratch. Don't worry about it."

Gu Nianxi felt a bit restless inside.

Everything that had happened today had completely changed her impression of Bai Jin.

She had always believed Bai Jin had no heart.

She was the kind of person who never stopped for anyone, always charging toward her goals.

In her past life, Gu Nianxi had done so many terrible things to her; if even one of them had been done to Gu Nianxi herself, she would have held a grudge for a lifetime.

But Bai Jin remained perpetually indifferent, as if nothing Gu Nianxi did could ever matter to her, just as a person never notices what ants are doing beneath their feet.

That indifference had stabbed at Gu Nianxi's heart countless times, driving her mad with the urge to tear off that calm mask and make its owner realize that the love, attention, wealth, and status she enjoyed had all been stolen from someone else.

But today, Gu Nianxi suddenly discovered that Bai Jin... actually seemed pretty easy to get along with.

She carefully combed through her memories. In the month since Bai Jin had returned to the Gu family, the nasty things she'd done included, but were not limited to: deliberately giving the tailor wrong measurements for Bai Jin, so Bai Jin could only wear hand-me-downs from Gu Nianxi;

Begging Gu Hongzhuo and Jiang Man not to publicly announce Bai Jin's status as a Gu family daughter, while sending her minions to spread rumors that Bai Jin was an illegitimate child;

Knowing Bai Jin was lactose intolerant, she deliberately had the household cook prepare dairy-based breakfasts, forcing Bai Jin to eat the leftover dairy-free rolls Gu Nianxi had left;

Playing the loving sister in public while grabbing Bai Jin by the collar and threatening her behind closed doors;

And deliberately abandoning Bai Jin at a banquet.

Though only a month had passed, her transgressions were too numerous to list. Gu Nianxi thought that anyone facing a person who'd done all that wouldn't just refrain from revenge—reconciliation would be a pipe dream.

But today, she'd barely shown Bai Jin the slightest protective attitude, and Bai Jin had come to her room on her own initiative to apply medicine to her wounds...

The way she'd acted even gave Gu Nianxi the illusion that Bai Jin was trying to please her.

That thought made her shudder—please her? That Bai Jin?

It was absurd.

"Xiao An, what do you think of Bai Jin?" she asked.

"She's the bad person who came to split the family fortune with you, Miss."

Gu Nianxi choked on her simple reasoning. "That's not what I mean. I mean, setting aside her identity, what do you think of her as a person?"

"Hmm..." Xiao An thought carefully. "She's a quiet person."

"If I wanted to get along with her, do you think she'd accept me?"

Has Miss finally seen the light?

Xiao An nodded. "Of course she would!"

How could anyone bear to refuse Miss? Miss was so adorable... whoever refused her must be the one at fault.

*

The next day.

In the spacious conference room, a manager from Hongsheng Company spread out project proposals on the table with two representatives, for the two young ladies to choose from.

Gu Nianxi scanned the proposals one by one, skipping over the ones whose names she didn't remember, and settled on a project in the top left corner.

It was a resort project; the land had just been acquired by the Gu Group, most of it earmarked for development, with a small remaining parcel planned for the resort.

The Gu family had done similar projects before. The proposal before her was already polished to near perfection—essentially profitable with almost no risk. The only downside was the long timeline: anywhere from six months to a year before the project could come to fruition.

Gu Nianxi knew the project's actual profits far exceeded what the document showed. In the end, the resort had been transformed by Bai Jin into a brand-themed film park in partnership with a commercial IP, raking in massive returns. That project was the cornerstone of Bai Jin's business empire.

She listened impatiently as the manager introduced it.

This was just going through the motions. She didn't have any particular preference; eventually, Bai Jin would choose the resort project anyway.

As the manager's presentation dragged on, Gu Nianxi's mind began to wander.

After a while, she sensed Bai Jin's gaze settle on her.

Gu Nianxi was accustomed to being watched. The Gu family's only daughter drew attention wherever she appeared in the capital, and she was radiant enough to command it.

But that didn't mean she enjoyed it.

Whether the looks were appreciative, longing, curious, or covetous, they all carried an invisible pressure that often wore on her.

Bai Jin's gaze, however, was different from everyone else's.

It matched her demeanor—warm, calm, unthreatening, with no ulterior motive layered beneath it. Being bathed in that gaze only made one feel at ease.

Was she bored by the presentation too?

A mischievous impulse stirred in Gu Nianxi. She suddenly turned her head, catching Bai Jin's gaze dead-on.

Bai Jin's irises were a light shade. The morning sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, catching in her eyes and blending that pale color into a caramel texture, reminding Gu Nianxi of a stunning canelé she'd had at an afternoon tea once.

Bai Jin met her gaze calmly, then looked away.

Gu Nianxi huffed inwardly. Boring.

The manager's lengthy speech came to an end just then.

He cleared his throat. "Young ladies, take your time considering which project you'd like. If you have any questions about any of them, feel free to ask your representatives—from now on, you'll be working with them jointly on the projects."

He sighed inwardly: neither of these two young ladies looked like promising talent—one was spacing out, and the other was staring at the one spacing out.

The eldest daughter was one thing, but the second daughter, whom Chairman Gu had asked him to look after specially, wasn't taking it seriously either. How was he supposed to explain this to the chairman?

Gu Nianxi looked at Bai Jin. "You pick first."

Bai Jin was definitely going to choose that project. Gu Nianxi's gaze swept across the table, deciding she'd grab whatever was left after Bai Jin made her choice.

Bai Jin lowered her eyes, glanced over the proposals on the table, and picked one up.

"I'll take this one."

Gu Nianxi froze.

Bai Jin hadn't chosen the resort project.

Bai Jin tucked away the ordinary project, then picked up the resort proposal and handed it to Gu Nianxi.

"Sister, this project is excellent. You should try this one."

Gu Nianxi took it automatically.

The manager smiled. "Since both young ladies have made their choices, we—"

"Wait." Gu Nianxi stopped him. "Uncle, could you all step out for a moment? We'd like to discuss it ourselves."

The manager thought, What's there to discuss? Second Miss already gave you the best project...

But since Gu Nianxi had spoken, he could only lead his people out.

In the now-empty conference room, only Gu Nianxi and Bai Jin remained.

Bai Jin kept her eyes lowered, as if she didn't understand what Gu Nianxi wanted to say.

Gu Nianxi crossed her arms, silent for a moment. "Why did you give me this project?"

This was clearly the most important project at the start of Bai Jin's career.

Bai Jin was too smart not to know the project's value.

Yet she'd simply handed it over...

Was she insane? Just because Gu Nianxi had shown her a bit of kindness yesterday?

Gu Nianxi couldn't untangle the feelings churning inside her. In the chaos of emotions, all she could grasp was her own irritation.

She chalked it up to feeling affronted by Bai Jin. For someone as shrewd as Bai Jin to give the project away meant either she suspected Gu Nianxi would sabotage it, or she was patronizing her out of pity—either way, it left a bad taste in Gu Nianxi's mouth.

Bai Jin looked up at Gu Nianxi.

Gu Nianxi was angry again.

Her cheeks were flushed, and her fury made her look vivid and radiant.

"Because just now, Sister kept looking at this project," she said slowly.

"Ha, so you gave it to me just like that?"

"No, it's not a gift," Bai Jin said. "It was always meant to be yours."

Her collar was seized by Gu Nianxi.

The scent of her perfume rushed into Bai Jin's nostrils, and her breath hitched.

"Bai Jin." The girl's eyes were dark and bright, her words blazing with fury. "Quit the act! You should know you're smarter than me, quicker on the uptake—you're the real daughter of the Gu family, aren't you! This project is meant for you; you're the one who can make the most of it!

"You know it's a good project, and you still give it to me—are you stupid? Or do you think I need your charity? I don't want it! Hmph, or do you think I'm trying to sabotage you? Even if I were, couldn't you just avoid the traps yourself?"

Gu Nianxi's words came fast and fierce, her voice sharp, but Bai Jin's gaze was fixed entirely on those moving red lips.

Gu Nianxi was too close.

Close enough that Bai Jin could see the lines on her lips, their vivid color, their full shape—making her unable to stop imagining: if she kissed them, then gently sucked, would that plump curve give way slightly between her teeth, and would its owner let out a few broken, muffled moans in the same breath?