The two of them instinctively turned to look.
Gu Wenhe truly lived up to the original author’s description of him as an ice sculpture. Even with only half his face showing through the car window, he gave people the feeling that their very bones were being chilled.
He was indeed extremely handsome, with deep-set, sharply defined features and a pair of phoenix eyes as cold as frost.
Severity and cruelty radiated from him without the slightest concealment.
Compared with him, Shen Huan’s appearance was far gentler and more refined.
Lin Jiujiu could more or less guess why Gu Wenhe had never been able to outmaneuver Shen Huan.
Shen Huan’s wickedness and ruthlessness were hidden deep in his bones. At first glance, people would only think him noble and mild-mannered, never suspecting how vicious his methods were.
Gu Wenhe’s thoughts, on the other hand, were written all over his face.
He was shrewd, but his shrewdness was too straightforward.
Gu Wenhe could not be bothered to spare even half a glance at Lin Jiujiu. He got out of the car, walked around to the other side, and opened the door. His expression softened at once.
Only then did the two of them notice that there was a young woman in the passenger seat.
She must be the original story’s female protagonist, Chen Ran.
He Hui’s expression instantly darkened. She knitted her brows and said unhappily to Lin Jiujiu, “I told you tonight was just a family dinner. What is she doing here?”
Lin Jiujiu silently moved several steps away and turned her face aside.
I can’t hear anything. I can’t hear anything.
The male lead’s hatred level is already high enough. It can’t get any higher.
I still have to stay alive.
When He Hui saw that she wasn’t answering, she angrily pulled her back and linked arms with her, glaring furiously. “Jiujiu, don’t worry. Your aunt will never let you suffer the slightest bit of grievance!”
Lin Jiujiu’s arm hurt from the force of the tug. Grimacing, she leaned against He Hui. “Ow, it hurts…”
Gu Wenhe’s gaze happened to land on her face.
His expression immediately turned icy. He tucked Chen Ran behind him and said coolly, “Lin Jiujiu, what are you trying to do? Ranran is timid. Don’t frighten her.”
Lin Jiujiu: “???”
Her arm really did hurt.
Several faint red finger marks had already appeared on her fair, smooth skin.
And yet He Hui still held her tightly, as though staking her claim, and spoke even more sternly. “Gu Wenhe, how can you talk to Jiujiu like that just for some woman of unknown origins?”
“Mom! Ranran isn’t some woman of unknown origins!” Gu Wenhe frowned in displeasure. “She’s intelligent and well-mannered. She’s nothing like this overbearing, unreasonable young lady, Lin Jiujiu!”
Lin Jiujiu scrunched up her brows.
She hadn’t even said a word. How had she suddenly become an overbearing, unreasonable young lady?
How infuriating!
She puffed herself up and lifted her head, ready to argue, but her gaze instantly froze on the woman beside Gu Wenhe.
She was completely like a delicate white flower.
So beautiful.
So gentle.
I love her.
Lin Jiujiu immediately switched sides and nodded firmly. “I think you’re right.”
He Hui: “?”
Gu Wenhe: “?”
He drew his brows together in an irritated frown. “Lin Jiujiu, what kind of stunt are you pulling now? Ranran isn’t like you. She’s refined, reasonable, and considerate. Don’t frighten her.”
Lin Jiujiu felt a little wronged.
She raised her eyes and glanced at Gu Wenhe, her beautiful almond-shaped eyes concealing a hint of kittenish aggression. “Are you done? Shut up.”
She was afraid of Shen Huan because his methods were vile and devoid of humanity. He was willing to do anything.
But Gu Wenhe standing before her was different.
He prided himself on being above such things. He would neither dare nor be willing to openly lay a hand on Lin Jiujiu.
He would not dirty his own hands with her.
Gu Wenhe was stunned by her rebuke. The anger in his heart immediately intensified, and just as he was about to speak, the woman beside him said softly, her voice tinged with tears, “Wenhe, Auntie and Miss Lin don’t welcome me. I should leave for now.”
Her pitiful appearance instantly aroused the man’s protective instincts.
Gu Wenhe domineeringly and forcefully pulled her into his arms and led her inside, shooting Lin Jiujiu a harsh, threatening glare as he said, “I’d like to see who dares not welcome you.”
Lin Jiujiu felt a little indignant at being glared at.
Hmph.
Why glare only at her and not Aunt He? Picking on the softest target, was he?
He Hui was practically furious beside her. She ground her teeth as she stared at their backs, then turned and reminded Lin Jiujiu, “Don’t worry. As long as I’m alive, you’ll be my daughter-in-law.”
Lin Jiujiu: “…”
She took He Hui’s hand and swung it back and forth, her voice softening as she coquettishly shook her head. “Auntie~ Actually, I don’t like Gu Wenhe anymore. Let’s just consider this engagement canceled, okay?”
The original owner had been a hopeless romantic.
All her misfortune had been caused by Gu Wenhe.
Being used, betrayed, and finally dragging Shen Huan to his death with her—all of it had been orchestrated by Gu Wenhe.
Therefore, only by severing these inexplicable ties could she survive by skirting the edges of the protagonists’ aura.
Looking at her soft and adorable face, He Hui’s agitated emotions finally calmed somewhat. She lovingly stroked Lin Jiujiu’s cheek and said, “Good girl, Jiujiu. It’s our Gu family’s fault for treating you badly. If you want to break off the engagement, that’s fine. But even if it isn’t you, it absolutely cannot be that girl Chen Ran. Her family is poor, and she looks weak, but she has plenty of schemes. Who knows how much trouble she’ll cause in the future?”
Persuading He Hui was no simple task.
Lin Jiujiu obediently rubbed her cheek against He Hui’s palm and quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
But getting her to stop trying to match them together was already an important first step.
By the time the two of them entered the house, Gu Wenhe and Chen Ran were already seated at the dining table.
Chen Ran hurriedly stood up, her eyes rimmed red as she called out, “Auntie, Miss Lin.”
She held both hands in front of her, looking timid and small.
Gu Wenhe immediately reached out and pressed her back into her seat, speaking coldly. “You don’t have to address them like that. Everyone is equal.”
Lin Jiujiu glanced at her and thought that the female lead’s character really hadn’t changed at all.
Insecure, beautiful, clever, and overflowing with saintly compassion.
She wasn’t pretending to be this sort of tea-like, pitiful woman.
She was genuinely timid.
A servant pulled out chairs for the two of them. As He Hui led Lin Jiujiu to her seat, she said sarcastically, “I wonder which young lady this is. The host hasn’t even taken her seat, and she’s already waiting at the table for dinner. What a lack of manners.”
The moment she said this, Chen Ran sprang to her feet again, tears glistening in the corners of her eyes. “Auntie, I’m sorry. Wenhe told me to sit here and wait.”
As Lin Jiujiu listened to them arguing, her gaze was inevitably drawn to the food on the table.
Steaming fish soup, braised pork in a rich, glossy sauce, and a large crab, fresh and sweet.
She silently reached out to take a crab, quietly transformed into a transparent bystander, and watched the show.
No one noticed her. Gu Wenhe was still displeased. “Ranran, sit down. Mom, if you have something to say, say it to me. Why are you taking it out on Ranran?”
He Hui: “Can’t I say she has no manners?”
Chen Ran: “Auntie, I’m sorry. I, I…”
Gu Wenhe: “Mom, can you stop targeting Ranran?”
He Hui: “I raised you for all these years, and now you’re speaking to your own mother like this over a woman?”
Gu Wenhe declared emphatically, “But Lin Jiujiu clearly has even worse manners!”
Lin Jiujiu, who had been happily cracking open her crab and enjoying the show, raised her head in confusion. Three pairs of eyes stared at her.
After a long moment, she said, aggrieved, “I’m hungry.”