The vast Gu family mansion was empty. A woman in casual clothes stood with her back to another woman who had finished her makeup. She faced the window, staring into the dense, impenetrable darkness of the night, her eyes like a still pool of death. She looked at the reflection of the gritted, furious face in the glass and spoke softly: "Gu Yulan."
Gu Yulan's expression twisted into something almost monstrous. She let out a cold laugh. "The Gu family has fallen, and you won't even call me sister anymore?"
Gu Qianran remained completely composed. She watched the face disappear from the glass, her voice still icy. "You lost."
You lost. The three words pierced Gu Yulan's chest like a sharp sword. Ever since Gu Qianran had been acknowledged as a member of the family, she had navigated the treacherous currents of high society, ultimately defeating her cousin Gu Yulan and taking control of the company. Compared to her triumphant rise, Gu Yulan's defeat was absolute. Worse, this useless cousin now depended on her to survive.
Gu Yulan lunged forward, wrapping one arm around her. The intimate contact made Gu Qianran frown. She tried to push Gu Yulan away, but Gu Yulan held her fast. Madness burned in Gu Yulan's face as she trembled, drawing a Tang sword she had just taken from the bookshelf and pressed it against Gu Qianran's back. "I lost, but you, Gu Qianran, you little bastard, don't think you can win!" she hissed, pushing the blade slightly forward.
Gu Qianran's pupils widened. Blood flowed from her chest like a strange, winding creek across the floor. She curled her lips into a mocking smile. "Gu Yulan, you're stupid enough to attack me directly? You don't really think that my death would make everything in the Gu family yours, do you?"
Rage twisted into laughter. "I didn't expect you to have more patience than your mother. You even took the chance to kill me, using the sword my father gave me?" She emphasized the words "my father."
As expected, Gu Yulan heard those words and spiraled into hysteria. "That is my father! My father! Gu Qianran, it's all because of you. If it weren't for you, I would be a wealthy heiress now, I'd have everything!"
The cold tip of the sword was stained with bright red, pain clouding Gu Qianran's vision. Lin Yu, such a faithful Lin Yu—what did that trust get her? For fifty million, Lin Yu had given Gu Yulan the password to her room.
She fought demons and monsters, calculated heaven and earth, left nothing to chance, and in the end, she lost to the human heart.
Gu Qianran twisted her hand on the hilt, pushing the blade deeper. The Tang sword was finely crafted, a fact reflected in the wound it left. Her father had known she loved swords and had specially commissioned a good one for her. Yet this sword, given by her father, was now used by her cousin to try to kill her. Gu Qianran let out a sardonic laugh, her dark expression fleeting. Her lifelong principle had always been not to let her opponents have it easy. Clearly, Gu Yulan had crossed the line.
Gu Yulan stumbled forward from the momentum, and Gu Qianran seized the moment to slash her face with a ring, leaving deep blood lines. The diamond on the ring was set upside down, sharp and angular, much like Gu Qianran herself in a state of rage. The slash ruined Gu Yulan's once-proud face. The scars were so deep that even surgery could not save it.
"My face, my face!" Gu Yulan screamed in horror as her once-proud beauty was destroyed. Her blood flowed down her face, merging with the pool beneath Gu Qianran's feet, stirring not even a ripple.
Leaning on the table, Gu Qianran ignored the ever-growing blood around her and stared coldly at Gu Yulan. Her already icy beauty had turned a sickly pale from the blood loss, yet her face held a smile. "Gu Yulan, from the day I was brought back, I already knew I would win. I even set my will early, donating all my wealth to the state. Cough!" She coughed up a mouthful of blood, paused, and enjoyed the stunned expression on Gu Yulan's face before continuing. "As for you, you could have lived well, yet you insisted on revenge. You lost everything, and now your beauty is gone. I suppose a life of prison first, then fading into obscurity, suits you better.
People's greed can be cultivated. Gu Yulan, your ambition is so limited. Some things were never meant for you, why expect them?
Money can be warmed, but some hearts cannot."
With a hint of regret, Gu Qianran fell backward.
===
Author Note:
Ran Ran had been deeply hurt by human hearts in her previous life, which is why she cares for pure-hearted people like Bai Ziyuan.
Bai Ziyuan's affection for her is due to the care Gu Qianran gave.
In a sense, the two of them are mutual salvation.