Chapter 13

After listening to Yun Gu, his second uncle and aunt didn’t scold him, just sighed in mock reproach. “Gu, you can't talk like that. Sure, Yi is just your eldest uncle’s adopted daughter, but she’s won over your eldest uncle and aunt completely. They treat her like their own, so as long as she’s with the Yun family, she’s your blood cousin. Don’t slip up around her, alright? She’s got a good heart, if she heard you talk about her this way, it would break her.”
Yun Gu had nothing more to say.
His parents could sell out anything for profit. They clearly looked down on that adopted girl, but always acted as though they actually cared, treating a girl with no blood ties like they adored her. They couldn't stand seeing someone outside the bloodline enjoying the Yun family’s life so openly, yet they still showered her with presents, afraid she might not be coddled enough.
And really, what else could you expect from parents willing to give away their own child as an offering for someone else to raise? If the recipient hadn’t found him unworthy, he’d probably be calling these two “uncle and aunt” now, just like the adopted girl.
Honestly, his parents probably would’ve liked that better anyway.
Once Yun Gu got in the car, his parents immediately started nagging again, just as expected.
“Little Gu, you ought to work harder at getting in your eldest uncle and aunt’s good graces. They’re still abroad, but you can spend more time with your cousins. Your cousin’s running the company now; the Yun Corporation is bound to be his in the end. There’s absolutely no harm in sucking up to him. And learn from Yi! She’s only the adopted daughter, but look at her, she’s got your uncle and aunt eating out of her hand, treated just like their real daughter, showered with every drop of affection. You've got something to learn from her, trust me.”
Yun Gu’s face was chill, his tone not bothering to hide his contempt. “If they love their daughter so much, how come after all these years they haven’t bothered to bring back their real daughter, and just let a fake one take over her place? Maybe it’s not that they can’t find her. Maybe they just don’t want to.”
This time, his parents dropped their fake gentleness and snapped, “Watch your mouth! Your eldest aunt’s barely been able to cope all these years because of her missing daughter, she’s been living abroad to recover, and your uncle has thrown away all company affairs just to search for that child. Not long ago, she told me if anyone brought her daughter back, she’d hand over everything she has. If that’s not true love, what is?”
In the profit-obsessed eyes of his second uncle and aunt, that was already the highest proof of parental devotion.
“We’d never do something that stupid, handing everything over to someone else. Only an idiot would. And really, it’s just a kid. You want another, you just have one! Your uncle and aunt are just too stubborn, that’s all.” Uncle said bluntly, not even bothering to hide it.
Yun Gu wasn’t the least bit surprised by his father’s take, and there wasn’t even a flicker of hurt. He’d always known his family was nothing like his uncle and aunt’s. His uncle and aunt would drop everything to find their daughter, even as the richest family in town, they’d cross oceans chasing the faintest hope, and in all these years, never had another child. Every ounce of love went to the girl who'd gone missing.
And sometimes Yun Gu thought: maybe, just maybe, his uncle and aunt doted on kids a bit too much. Even the baby swapped in as a substitute for their real daughter got nothing but the best, no one in the side branches dared slack off around the adopted girl. Once, when a distant cousin dared mock her, his aunt kicked that person out of the family, and banned them from seeing anyone in the Yun family ever again.
Even Yun Gu, sent over as “a gift” by his own parents, though never accepted, was allowed to come and go at the family main house as he pleased.
But did his uncle and aunt ever realize treating the adopted girl so well was also a kind of cruelty to their real daughter?
If that girl came back after suffering God-knows-what outside, only to find someone else living her life, enjoying every privilege that should have been hers, while her parents had spent years pampering the imposter, how could she not hold a grudge?
And this girl, the one who stole her life, wasn’t some self-effacing pushover. She was a poisoned apple disguised as sweet, the kind that, with just one bite, could kill the “Snow White” born to wear the crown.
But all this had nothing to do with Yun Gu. If anything, he was almost looking forward to seeing the fallout unfold.
Fake heiress, true heiress, neither earned an ounce of his sympathy.
One was vicious and manipulative, acting all high and mighty and lording it over him for years; the other he’d never even met, but from the day he was born, he’d been living in the shadow of this supposed “real” daughter.
His blank face stared back at him from the car window, while his parents carried on nagging about how he’d better keep sucking up to the eldest branch. For a moment, Yun Gu genuinely missed his days at school.
At least he didn’t have to deal with this pack of infuriating people and their drama.
And that other person, though she sometimes had a razor-sharp tongue, at least what she said made sense, unlike this parental nonsense.
Honestly, he’d take her banter over his parents’ “advice” any day.
During break, Song Hanyue, trying her best to look nonchalant, strode up to Yun Zhuoqing and invited her, “I’m planning to study at the library tomorrow. You want to come with?”
Jiang Nuan, just passing by, couldn’t hide her shock. “Hanyue, you? At the library? Don’t you always complain it’s too crowded and refuse to go?”
Instantly exposed, Song Hanyue flushed and snapped, “I,I just suddenly want to, is that not allowed? Yun Zhuoqing, can you just say yes or no?”
“No.” Yun Zhuoqing replied, polite but firm.
Song Hanyue stared at her, disbelieving. “Wait, you’re not going? Why not?”
“Because the library’s always crowded,” Yun Zhuoqing said simply.
“….” Song Hanyue was speechless. She was pretty sure Yun Zhuoqing was just making excuses, but awkwardly enough, it was exactly how she herself felt. If she hadn’t wanted to ask Yun Zhuoqing to hang out, she wouldn’t set foot in that place either. So for the moment, Song Hanyue honestly couldn’t come up with a counterargument.
Frustrated, she slunk back, but Jiang Nuan, watching her failed attempt, zoomed over. “Hanyue, you want to go to the library with me then? I was going to go this weekend anyway.”
“Nope.” Hanyue replied glumly.
Jiang Nuan’s eyes grew huge. “Huh? Why? Didn’t you just say you wanted to go?”
“Because it’s crowded!” Hanyue said, full of conviction.
Matching Yun Zhuoqing’s excuse word for word, Song Hanyue even felt her back straighten a little, confidence unlocked.
Jiang Nuan muttered under her breath, “That’s… definitely not what you said earlier…”
All the while, Bai Jiajia, who had been quietly eavesdropping, glanced quickly at Yun Zhuoqing. She thought she knew the real reason Yun Zhuoqing wouldn’t go near the library.
They were both special-admission students; Song Hanyue, little princess that she was, would never get their situation. Hanyue could study in her family’s massive home office all weekend, but Bai Jiajia (and surely Yun Zhuoqing too) had to pick up part-time jobs just to make ends meet.
Realizing this gave Bai Jiajia a secret thrill. It was like she and Yun Zhuoqing now shared a private bond.
Ever since Jiang Nuan’s birthday party, Bai Jiajia hadn’t dared say a single word to Yun Zhuoqing. Usually, when she spotted her from a distance, she’d chicken out and hide. Only if there was truly no escape would she quietly mumble Yun Zhuoqing’s name.
Yun Zhuoqing had never sought her out, acting as though being thrown to Xiaoxue for her own selfish reasons had never happened. The mess of that day felt impossibly tangled, but Bai Jiajia knew she couldn’t plead innocence. She’d chosen to betray her gut and never received forgiveness, and ever since, it felt like a thorn stabbing in her chest, impossible to ignore, always ready to remind her with a pulse of guilt.
The pain always peaked when she saw Yun Zhuoqing.
More than anything, Bai Jiajia wanted to finally work up the courage to talk, to at least apologize face-to-face. But she’d never caught Yun Zhuoqing anywhere outside of class, and after class, she’d never seen her open the dorm door even once. The constant near-miss made Bai Jiajia unbearably discouraged.
Maybe... this weekend could be her chance, she thought.
Yun Zhuoqing certainly didn’t plan on hitting the library this weekend.
She hopped off the bus downtown and slipped into a café. The place had just opened for business, with a handful of customers scattered about. No one paid her arrival the slightest mind.
The server greeted her with a polite smile, “Can I get you something to drink?”
“I’m actually here to see your boss. Is he in?” Yun Zhuoqing said.
“Oh! You must be the person he’s been waiting for.” Realization lit up the server’s face, the smile growing even warmer. “He’s been here bright and early, waiting in the back all morning. Please, go on in.”
Yun Zhuoqing had just slipped through the door when someone else came in, a different server, this one instantly lighting up at the sight of the newcomer. “Jiajia, you’re here!”
Bai Jiajia, looking a bit distracted, gathered herself and smiled. “Hey Lin, I’m not late, am I?”
She pulled the café door shut and stared out at the streaming crowd, mind wandering, wondering where exactly Yun Zhuoqing was working her part-time job.