“Rourоu, аre уou аlright?”
Bу now, Gu Jiayan had аlreadу rushed tо Gu Wanrou’s side. Looking at her fallen on thе ground, he wаs so flustеred he didn’t еvеn knоw wherе tо рut his hands, а far crу frоm thе fiеrce demeаnor he hаd shоwn tоward Gu Аn’an just moments еarliеr.
“Вig brоthеr.”
Gu Wanrоu had long рlannеd for Gu Jiaуan’s aррearаnсе, sо naturally, she wоuldn’t lеt herself down now. Her еуes slightly reddеnеd, she wоrе an еxрrеssion оf having endured great injustice. After parting her lips slightly, she shook her head, but the words she spoke were actually pleading for Gu An’an:
“I’m fine, big brother. I just slipped and fell by myself just now. It has nothing to do with An’an.”
“Please, don’t blame An’an, okay?”
“It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t been switched at birth and taken An’an’s place, she wouldn’t have suffered so much outside.”
With that, she lowered her head and let out a bitter laugh. “This is what I deserve.”
This self-sacrificing, aggrieved appearance instantly tugged at Gu Jiayan’s heartstrings. He looked up at Gu An’an standing expressionless and unmoved on the stairs above, and his anger flared even more intensely.
His dark eyes fixed on Gu An’an with a chilling glare as he scolded:
“Gu An’an, how could our Gu family produce something as vicious as you? Pushing someone down the stairs—do you know that could kill someone?”
“I’ll make myself clear right now: even if you are the Gu family’s biological daughter, in my heart, Rourou is the only sister I recognize.”
“You don’t deserve to be a member of the Gu family. You lack even a shred of the Gu family’s integrity.”
“In this house, only one of you and Rourou can stay.”
This was essentially an order to drive Gu An’an out of the house.
Gu An’an raised her eyes, meeting Gu Wanrou’s provocative gaze from the shadows, and couldn’t help but curl her lips into a faint smile.
The surveillance cameras had captured everything clearly. The more fragile Gu Wanrou pretended to be now, the more Gu Jiayan would pity her—and the more intense the backlash would be later.
She lowered her gaze and defended herself, “Big brother, I didn’t push Rourou. She really fell by herself. I don’t know what happened.”
“You didn’t push her?” Gu Jiayan scoffed coldly at her words. “Are you saying what I saw with my own eyes is false?”
“Or are you trying to say Rourou threw herself down the stairs to frame you?”
By this point, Gu Jiayan’s sharp eyes were filled with mockery, his brows furrowed in disdain:
“Take a look at yourself—what about you is worth Rourou framing?”
“You really are a habitual liar, full of deceit.”
“Butler Wu, take someone upstairs right now and throw out all of Second Miss’s belongings.”
Seeing Gu Jiayan stand up for her, Gu Wanrou could barely contain her delight. Her lips curled upward before she quickly pressed them down.
To maintain her gentle and kind persona, her eyes darted around, and she hurriedly grabbed Gu Jiayan’s sleeve. On the surface, she spoke up for Gu An’an, but in reality, she only poured more fuel on the fire.
“Big brother, don’t do this. How can you throw out all of An’an’s things?”
“An’an doesn’t have any other friends in Nan City. If you drive her out, how will she live?”
“Sigh, let’s just let this matter go, okay? Don’t hold it against An’an. Let’s just pretend I really slipped and fell down the stairs by accident, alright?”
“That’s clearly not how it happened…” Gu Jiayan pressed his thin lips together, his thick brows tightly furrowed, showing strong disapproval.
Only after Gu Wanrou tugged his sleeve again and softly called him “big brother” several times did he manage to hold back, though his expression remained cold and rigid:
“In that case, let Gu An’an apologize. Once she apologizes, we can consider this matter over.”
“I knew big brother loves me the most.”
After cheering excitedly, Gu Wanrou then turned to look at Gu An’an, her eyes flickering:
“An’an, you heard it, right? I’ve already explained everything clearly to big brother.”
“Now you just need to come down and apologize to me. Actually, I’ve already forgiven you in my heart. This fall down the stairs was partly my own carelessness anyway. We’ll just be more careful next time when going down the stairs.”
“I believe An’an, and something like this will never happen again, right?”
Gu Wanrou’s magnanimous and kind demeanor made Gu Jiayan nod repeatedly, and he felt even more displeased with Gu An’an.
Unexpectedly, right after Gu Wanrou finished speaking, she suddenly let out a long, sharp hiss of pain, crouched down to clutch her leg, and whimpered softly, “It hurts so much.”
“What’s wrong, Rou Rou? Are you okay now?”
Gu Jiayan, who was supporting Gu Wanrou, immediately became tense and hurriedly crouched down to examine her injury.
Lifting the hem of her white long skirt slightly, he saw a patch of redness on her ankle.
Gu Jiayan’s heart ached at the sight, so much so that he failed to notice that if he had lifted Gu Wanrou’s white long skirt a little higher, he would have seen the protective padding wrapped around her skin.
Gu Wanrou, who had prepared in advance, would never have allowed herself to truly fall down the stairs without protection—she had already taken precautions against impact.
Suddenly, Gu Wanrou pulled back the calf held in Gu Jiayan’s large hand, shaking her head repeatedly, “Big brother, I’m fine.”
“You should go check on An’an first. She looks like she’s been frightened.”
“Hmph, as if she could be frightened.”
Gu Jiayan’s previously calmed anger flared up even more fiercely upon seeing Gu Wanrou’s injury. He looked up at Gu An’an, who was still standing at the top of the stairs, and roared:
“Gu An’an, hurry up and come down to apologize to your sister!”
Gu An’an naturally refused, her eyes red as she put on an act of being wronged. “I didn’t do such a thing. Big brother, you don’t believe me either.”
Again and again, Gu Jiayan’s temples throbbed with anger, and he was nearly at his breaking point.
Just as he was about to erupt in fury, a deeper, more authoritative voice came from behind:
“What’s going on here?”
Today, the Gu family was hosting a banquet, with many important figures coming and going.
The commotion here had already attracted attention, and guests were watching from a distance. Gu Wencheng, the head of the Gu family, who had been summoned by the butler, frowned deeply at the scene—it was utterly embarrassing.
He glanced apologetically at the man standing beside him who had followed him over. “My apologies, I need to handle a family matter first.”
The man nodded. “As a guest, I defer to the host. Please proceed as you see fit, Master Gu.”
As the two men entered together, the guests present began to gather around them, slowly forming a crowd to watch the spectacle.
Gu An’an lifted her gaze, glancing at the man encircled at the center. He appeared remarkably young, with sharp eyebrows that slanted upward toward his temples, deep-set eyes, a high-bridged nose, and a faint, almost imperceptible curve at the corners of his lips—an expression hovering between a smile and a smirk. His features were exceptionally handsome, and though he walked beside Gu Wencheng, the head of the Gu family in Nancheng, his presence seemed to subtly overshadow the latter.
A formidable figure indeed.
Gu An’an withdrew her gaze, and the next moment, she heard Gu Wencheng demand:
“What exactly happened? Gu Jiayan, you explain.”