Chapter 26

Last time’s “human gift” had been so unexpected that even the stylist, Allen, hadn’t foreseen it.
Originally, Allen’s market focus was the circle of supermodels and art industry elites. He’d only attended the Xie family banquet that day because his superior had ordered him to.
He arrived in a rush, thinking, “Well, since I’m already here, I’ll just do a decent job and leave.” So, he gave Gu An’an a simple, foolproof look. He hadn’t studied her features carefully at all, yet somehow, that casual creation turned out to be the most stunning of all.
Unfortunately, Gu An’an had only appeared in the hall for a short while, the shoes were too hard to walk in so she’d spent most of the evening resting in the lounge. Very few photos of her made it out of the banquet, and none reached the fashion pages. Still, by chance, several socialites present had noticed her. Though no one praised her openly, many privately asked who her stylist was.
And so, word got around to Allen.
When he found out, he regretted not doing a better job, if only he’d made the look more refined! This time, he was determined to show off his full skillset and make Gu An’an the brightest star of the night.
“Hurry up!” the stylist barked, hands on his hips, and got to work.
Gu An’an’s natural features were already striking, her bone structure and figure made her ideal to style. Allen came in with the ambition to cement his reputation, paying meticulous attention to every strand of her hair.
When they finished, the styling team wanted to photograph her right then and there to sell the shots as a pictorial.
“Don’t you dare take your shoes off this time!” Allen warned, terrified his masterpiece would go to waste. “I picked ones you can actually walk in.”
Gu An’an was stunned, after getting all dolled up, she felt like she’d crossed species.
As she looked in the mirror, she couldn’t help thinking, No wonder there are no ugly women in high society. With a top stylist custom-designing your look, even a dog could be turned into a person.
“Please,” Allen pleaded, “walk around more this time, don’t hide in the lounge gaming all night. I’m fifth in the entire server, mid-lane mage king. I even know a handsome jungler who’s crazy good. Next time, I’ll get him to queue with us.”
“Can he help me reach King rank?”
“He can! Of course he can!” Allen clasped his hands together, practically bowing. “I’m begging you!”
The styling team had only been hired to work on the ladies, men weren’t their responsibility. The other women of the Xie family already had their own trusted stylists and came prepared, so Allen’s team was mainly there for Gu An’an.
“Okay!” Gu An’an chirped, raising her hand in agreement. She had the assistant take a few photos and posted them on her social feed.
Afterward, she tossed her phone aside, and once one makeup artist was left behind for touch-ups, the rest of the team departed.
The banquet started at eight, but since it was the old Mr. Xie’s birthday feast, an event of great importance in the upper echelons of Beijing, by seven, the entrance of the Xie Hotel was already packed with luxury cars. Most of the Xie family members had arrived.
When Gu An’an finished getting ready, she checked the time, still about twenty minutes to go.
This time, the banquet wasn’t held in the same hotel as before, but the layout was similar, and she knew her way around. She went downstairs for some fruit, then took the elevator to the top floor to find the old man.
She thought about what Xie Jinxing had said earlier regarding an engagement. She’d always assumed it was something the original Gu An’an had imagined, but it turned out to be real.
Gu An’an felt she absolutely needed to explain it to the old man.
She was grateful to the Xie family for taking care of her, but as for a marriage arrangement…that really wasn’t necessary.
Neither Lu Xingyu nor Xie Youjun were easy to deal with. Gu An’an was self-aware, she firmly believed in “no love, no trouble.” Her knees were naturally stiff; kneeling wasn’t even physically possible. Anyone who expected her to serve tea or bow (except for Xie Jinxing, he was a good boss who paid 200,000 yuan a month with full benefits without making her work; she loved that) would end up with their ancestors’ graves dug up by her, no question.
When the elevator reached the fourth floor, she ran into Xie Youjun.
Their eyes met through the opening doors. Gu An’an smiled and pressed “close”: “I’m in a hurry, you take the next one.”
The top floor had just two presidential suites, one for the father, one for the son.
Truly a pair of lifelong opposites.
When Gu An’an entered, Xie Jinxing was already there, sitting across from grandpa Xie. He had changed clothes, his hair slicked back neatly, showing his broad forehead and sharp, elegant brows. A little grooming had erased all traces of post-work fatigue.
His gaze swept toward her, his dark pupils deepening for an instant.
That sudden eye contact made Gu An’an’s heart skip; she didn’t even know where to step next.
The atmosphere between father and son was purely businesslike, not a trace of warmth. But when grandpa Xie saw Gu An’an dressed up so beautifully, his wrinkled face lit up in delight. “Our An’an looks so lovely! So radiant!”
When an old man calls you “radiant,” that means you look good.
Gu An’an glanced down at herself: a strapless, floor-length hourglass gown with a dark wide gauze ribbon wrapping her arms and tied into a huge bow behind her back. From the front it looked simple, but from the back it was like she had bloomed out of a flower’s heart, her slender neck and collarbones on full display.
The butterfly bones on her back lifted slightly as she held up her skirt, creating a delicate, youthful grace from her arms to her collarbone.
This dress, without the right figure, it would’ve been impossible to pull off.
Holding her skirt on both sides, Gu An’an shuffled forward and sat next to the old man. She had rehearsed how to decline the engagement, but now, faced with him in person, and that faintly tangible, almost physical gaze from behind her, she couldn’t get a single word out.
“So, An’an,” the old man smiled kindly, “what brings you to see Grandpa?”
Gu An’an sneaked a glance across the coffee table.
Xie Jinxing was looking down at his phone. When he noticed her glance, he lifted his head briefly to meet her eyes.
Startled, she quickly looked away. Her mental script went blank; after a long moment, she finally blurted, “Grandpa Xie, um… about the engagement between the Xie and Gu families…”
She truly didn’t know how to phrase it, it sounded like she was trying to buy herself out of a contract. This isn’t copyright law, for heaven’s sake!
Before she could find the right words, the old man froze slightly.
In truth, after hearing that Lu Xingyu had toyed with Gu An’an’s feelings for another girl, and knowing she didn’t like Xie Youjun either, the old man had already given up on the marriage idea. Madam Gu had never accepted his apology before her death, so the engagement had been entirely his own idea. He’d just wanted to secure a safe, stable future for Gu An’an, someone reliable to care for her.
If none of the Xie boys could do that, he planned to take her in as his god-granddaughter instead, letting her officially belong to the Xie family. If possible, he wanted to settle her future before his own passing.
He’d asked her to dress up tonight because he intended to announce that plan.
Hearing her mention the engagement now, he only asked mildly, “And how does An’an feel about it?”
How could she feel?
Before she could answer, Xie Jinxing put his phone down. “There’s no rush deciding on that. She’s only twenty, she should take her time and see what’s best for her.”
The room froze.
Even the air went still.
The old man opened his mouth, momentarily speechless, and turned to look at Gu An’an.
Relieved that Xie Jinxing had intervened, Gu An’an could finally breathe.
She glanced at him gratefully, wanting to praise him right there, Uncle’s the best! He’d said exactly what she hadn’t been able to. Even if the engagement couldn’t be canceled, a delay was a blessing.
Given Grandpa Xie’s decisive nature, she’d feared he might announce her marriage to Xie Youjun on the spot tonight.
“Yes, yes! Uncle’s right!” Gu An’an beamed. “Grandpa, I’m only twenty, I’m not in a hurry!”
The old man stayed silent for a long time.
He squinted at his son, who had returned to his phone, as though he said nothing, his eyes narrowed slightly.
Eventually, he only patted Gu An’an’s head and told her not to worry, she should just be happy. Grandpa would make sure her future was secure.
Gu An’an nodded sweetly, clinging to his arm a little before being shooed off to play.
Once she left, the old man tossed his walnut prayer balls onto the table and tilted his head toward his calm, unreadable son.
Xie Jinxing didn’t care, letting his father scrutinize him all he wanted.
Their eyes met after a while. The old man leaned back and said slowly, “Since when was there an engagement between the Xie and Gu families?”
Xie Jinxing clicked his screen off.
He looked up, completely unbothered. “Didn’t you want the girl to marry into the Xie family?”
“I did, but wanting it and there actually being an engagement are two different things,” the old man said sternly. “Besides, the girl doesn’t have to marry a Xie. As long as she finds a decent, kind man with a good family, that’s enough.”
Xie Jinxing didn’t reply.
He merely curved his lips faintly. That small, lazy motion carried a hint of the old arrogance he’d once hidden with age. Crossing one leg over the other, he rested a pale hand on his knee, fingers relaxed.
After a moment of silent tension, the old man asked, “You’ve taken a liking to her?”
“Not sure yet,” Xie Jinxing said.
He had never been interested in women. To him, all women fell into two categories: those who could work, and those who couldn’t.
“Not sure, and you dare tell people there’s an engagement? You tricked the poor girl!” The old man slammed his hand down, furious. He’d thought his son had matured after years in business, but he was still the same damn rascal. “You brat!”
He snatched up one of his walnuts and hurled it at him.
Xie Jinxing didn’t dodge. The walnut bounced off his chest, rolled across the floor, and disappeared under the sofa. He only checked his watch, it was 8:10.
He stood. “It’s time. I’ll go downstairs. And anyway…am I not better than the rest?”
The old man nearly choked on his anger, searching for the missing walnut.
But there’d only been two, and he’d already thrown them both. Grabbing his cane, he pointed it at his son. “Get out!”
Xie Jinxing nodded and left.
Once he was gone, the old man fumed: That wolf-hearted brat!
Downstairs, Xie Jinxing was quickly surrounded by guests. Though the birthday banquet was for the old man, the crowd’s attention was on him, the true power now lay in his hands, and many thought he was even more capable than his father.
As for the social scheming, that had nothing to do with Gu An’an.
She sat in a corner with a plate of mini cakes, looking for a quiet place to sit. She had promised Allen she’d walk around, but a girl had to eat first, if she fainted from low blood sugar later, how embarrassing would that be?
She finally found a secluded spot, but even then, every gaze in the room seemed to follow her.
That’s the downside of dressing too well, you stand out anywhere. Gu An’an expressionlessly stuffed a piece of cake into her mouth, chewed twice, then started looking for juice.
“Orange juice?” A young, unfamiliar man held out a glass.
Gu An’an looked up, blinked, and didn’t recognize him.
“Let me introduce myself. I’m Yue Yunhao, third son of Litong. He smiled confidently, certain she’d accept his offer. “And you are…?”
Gu An’an sucked on her finger idly and replied with zero ambition, “An orphan from the H City earthquake, currently living at the Xie family’s place. No parents.”
Yue Yunhao: “Oh.”
Gu An’an: “Mm.”
After a brief, awkward silence, Yue Yunhao set the juice down. “Well…you’ll need something to drink with your cake.”
“Thanks,” Gu An’an nodded. “I was just about to get some.”
Yue Yunhao: “Oh.”
Gu An’an: “Mm.”
“…”
Their eyes met again. Not even Nocturne No.13 playing in the background could save the awkwardness.
Yue Yunhao gestured behind him. “My friend’s waiting for me, you enjoy your cake.”
And with that, he left without looking back.
Expressionless, Gu An’an watched him disappear into the crowd, then popped another piece of cake into her mouth. She went to the drink station, grabbed a bottle of watermelon juice, gulped it down, and slipped out through a side door.
“Is that girl missing a few screws?” Liang Chengli muttered from the second floor, having seen it all.
Xie Jinxing swirled his wine glass lazily, gaze dropping from the balcony. “She only looks foolish. None of those rich kids are worth talking to anyway.”
Something in his tone made Liang Chengli raise an eyebrow. “Oh?”
Xie Jinxing ignored him.
Liang chuckled. “Well, well…looks like the iron tree’s blooming.”
Xie Jinxing: “…”
Outside the banquet hall was a vast man-made garden.
The Xie Hotel was high-end, its design commissioned from a world-renowned architect. Under the hum of sprinklers, the garden felt peaceful, a pocket of tranquility amid the noise.
Moths fluttered around the dim garden lights. Gu An’an found a swing seat and leaned back, dozing off.
Lu Xingyu stormed out of his mother’s lounge, anger written all over his face.
His uncle’s words earlier had cut deep, like a dull knife twisting in his chest. Though he didn’t want to admit it, Xie Jinxing had been right. He’d never once told Gu An’an he liked her, nor treated her well. Everyone thought he hated her, that clingy girl who followed him everywhere, as if she were born to be his little wife.
But that wasn’t true. He never hated Gu An’an. He only hated the way she followed him around so selflessly.
Just now, he’d confronted his mother, thinking she’d understand when he said he didn’t mind being engaged to Gu An’an. But to his surprise, his mother despised the idea.
“Why?” Lu Xingyu demanded. “Didn’t you say she’s obedient? That she’s cute?”
“Cute doesn’t feed you,” Madam Xie said coldly. “She’s a good girl, but not suited for our family. The Shen family’s daughter is much better, she’s liked you since childhood. There’s no need to consider anyone else.”
Lu Xingyu rejected furiously, “Grandpa will agree to me and An’an’s marriage.”
“He won’t,” Madam Xie said flatly. “I already refused on your behalf.”
“Mom!”
“I’m doing this for your own good,” she insisted. “That girl isn’t right for you.”
Shaken and furious, Lu Xingyu stormed off, intent on finding his grandfather to set things straight. As he passed through the garden, he spotted Gu An’an asleep on a swing by the flower wall. It wasn’t cold that late August night, but her dress was thin.
Quietly, he took off his suit jacket and draped it over her shoulders.
Then he turned and went upstairs.
…
A few nights earlier, in a noisy bar alley in downtown Beijing,
Su Ruan supported Jiang Sen, who was limping and bleeding from half-healed wounds, helping him hide in a dark corner. At the other end of the alley, a gang of young men armed with steel pipes were hunting for someone.
Ever since Jiang Sen had started working for Lord Luo, he’d been getting hurt every few days.
Lord Luo was the local boss of the city’s East District, a street kingpin who no longer called his crew a “gang,” though the business was still the same. Ruthless and controlling, he managed everyone and everything on his turf. If anyone caused trouble, he sent his men to “take care of it.”
Jiang Sen was one of those men.
The rule was simple: if someone stirred chaos, the underlings reported it to Luo, and Luo sent enforcers to fix it, by beating them into submission.
Usually, it was quick and clean. Jiang Sen was efficient, ruthless, and precise. Every job earned him enough money to keep paying for his sister’s genetic illness treatments.
Sometimes, Luo needed to give certain people “face.” Then he and Jiang Sen would play good cop, bad cop, Jiang Sen beat them up first, Luo later came to smooth things over, collecting a “reconciliation fee.” If the client wanted Jiang Sen punished, Luo pretended to exile him for a few days. Together, they’d stage the whole thing.
But this time, something had changed. Someone had paid a high enough price to make Luo turn against him and agree to hand Jiang Sen over.
He hadn’t just lost the money. He’d been hiding out for days now.
No matter how sharp he was, he couldn’t stay hidden forever. Eventually, they’d find him. Fortunately, Luo still had a shred of decency, he hadn’t revealed where Jiang Sen’s sister lived.
Otherwise, no amount of skill would save him.
“Can you still hold on?” Su Ruan whispered, terrified, as she helped him walk. “I have a first-aid kit and a spare room at home. You can hide there for a while.”
Jiang Sen didn’t speak, his eyes half-open, ears buzzing continuously.
Earlier, a brat had ambushed him from behind, hitting his head with a steel pipe. He said, “No need. Just throw me into that alley up ahead.”
Su Ruan bit her lip, wanting to say something, but he ignored her completely.
Jiang Sen was always like this, cold as ice. No matter how much care she showed, it couldn’t touch his heart. If it weren’t for the fact that she lived in the same neighborhood, came from a poor family, and looked harmless, he probably wouldn’t even have bothered to speak to her.
“That won’t do,” Su Ruan said, gripping his clothes, her frail body trembling with effort. Despite being small and weak, she had a stubborn streak. “Since I saved you, I’ll see it through. Don’t feel too guilty, my mother is gravely ill in the hospital. Saving you is my way of earning merit for her.”
Jiang Sen wanted to respond, but the little girl seemed impervious. He sighed and let her have her way.
That was just Jiang Sen, stumbled and supported by Su Ruan, he was brought back home.
The moment they stepped inside, he passed out.
Su Ruan exerted every ounce of strength she had to carry him to his grandparents’ room.
His wounds hadn’t been properly treated before; now, one reopened and bled again. His black T-shirt was soaked through with blood, clinging to his abdomen. Looking down, Su Ruan noticed that her skirt had also been stained.
She frowned irritably, then quickly composed herself and went to fetch water to clean him.
Jiang Sen remained unconscious for two full days.
That night, he developed a high fever, mumbling in his sleep. The words were jumbled and incoherent, but Su Ruan caught one recurring phrase: “Mom, Dad, don’t worry, I will take care of my little sister.” It dawned on her, Jiang Sen had a sister who was very important to him.
In previous attempts to manipulate Jiang Sen, Su Ruan hadn’t cared much. She hadn’t risked her own life, spending it freely to gain his favor on a cruise ship.
She even had him deal with Gu An’an on her behalf.
Although she had heard of Jiang Sen’s sister in another life, she had been too busy enjoying the pleasures of life with Lu Xingyu and the others to see her.
In this life, she didn’t have enough lifespan to waste frivolously, Su Ruan thought, maybe she could start with Jiang Sen’s sister.
The problem was, she didn’t know where his sister was…
Whether it was because Su Ruan’s home was so remote or just luck, ever since Jiang Sen hid at Su Ruan’s place, he had been free from the constant running and hiding. Apart from the door opening and closing of a mother-daughter pair across the street, no one came near.
Jiang Sen quietly stayed at Su Ruan’s for a few days. One day, while Su Ruan was at school, he quietly went to see his sister.
Since Jiang Sen had taken on his dangerous, “licking the knife” type of work, he had deliberately kept himself apart from his sister. He hid her in an inconspicuous orphanage in the capital city, providing for her through monthly donations to ensure she lived a better life.
When he arrived, his sister was playing in a sandbox. Sunlight glinted on the white, almost unnatural braids of the albino girl, who wore sunglasses and a small yellow hat, playing carefree.
Jiang Sen didn’t go in to speak to her, he came and left silently.
By the time he returned to Su’s house, Su Ruan had somehow come back.
She ran up to him and hugged him, crying, “I thought you were gone! I thought you’d never come back, sob sob sob…”
Su Ruan cried so hard and bitterly, as if he were someone incredibly important, refusing to let go.
Jiang Sen stood stiffly, letting her hug him. Goosebumps rose under his clothes, covering his body. He was extremely uncomfortable with physical contact, highly averse, because of bad experiences in his childhood due to being too beautiful. He remained wary of anyone getting close.
But Su Ruan was different.
She was harmless. He could have thrown her three meters away with a single flick of his hand.
Jiang Sen waited expressionlessly until she finished crying, then awkwardly explained, “Had some things to take care of, went out for a while.”
Su Ruan wasn’t soothed by this explanation. She cried even harder.
Sitting on the floor, sobbing, she wiped her tears, recounting the terror of supporting her mother’s medical bills alone, afraid that she might not survive. She lamented how difficult it was to study, juggling work and school, unable to learn properly. She kept talking about someone who was so hateful, constantly making her already difficult life even worse.
“Because she hates me, my family won’t hire me,” Su Ruan cried in broken sentences. “It’s already hard to find temporary work, and she made my family set restrictions, mocking me for being too short…”
She was crying over the fact that the Xie family didn’t hire waitresses under 1.6 meters tall.
Jiang Sen listened for a long time and finally understood. He couldn’t fix everything, but dealing with that person was easy. After all, he had been doing this kind of work since he was sixteen.
“What’s her name?” Jiang Sen’s voice was hoarse and rough, speaking had become difficult for him since he rarely talked.
Su Ruan paused her crying, lifted her head, and looked at him with a slightly dumbfounded expression.
“You tell me her name.”
Su Ruan seemed unsure, confused and timid. Sniffling, she said, “She…her name is Gu An’an.”
“Oh.”
Then, Jiang Sen, dressed as a waiter, appeared at this location.
The Xie family’s hotel. Security was excellent, but it couldn’t stop him.
Inside, a luxurious artificial garden clearly frequented by wealthy guests, Jiang Sen saw the person who had consistently made Su Ruan’s life miserable. She leaned back in a swing chair, sleeping in a lopsided posture. A costly suit jacket draped over her, sliding down her waist.
Perhaps too immersed in sleep, her hand had even slipped behind her to fidget.
A streetlamp’s hazy glow shone over her, ignoring the awkward gesture, the little girl looked like a vision from a dream.