After the family acknowledgment ceremony, Gu Qianran and Gu Lian naturally moved into the Li family mansion. When Gu Lian saw the hateful look in the male lead's mother's eyes, she instinctively shrank back.
"What are you shrinking for?" Gu Qianran, noticing Gu Lian's nervousness, nudged her. "You should have expected this the moment you decided to come here. A mistress and the legal wife under the same roof? Only someone like Li Junsheng, who enjoys playing the role of an old-style patriarch, would allow that. Now get inside. Do not pay her any mind. If you lose your nerve now, forget about getting any money out of Li Junsheng later."
Gu Lian frowned, wanting to correct Gu Qianran's choice of words, but in the end, she kept silent. After all, her comfortable days ahead still depended on this sharp-tongued daughter of hers.
Gu Qianran gave a satisfied nod. That was better. As long as Gu Lian did not cause trouble, Gu Qianran did not mind letting her earn some money. After all, both of them shared the same goal: to take advantage of that cheap excuse of a father.
As for Li Junsheng? Sorry, but in this Li family, aside from Li Junze, there was not a single good person. It was already the twenty-first century, under socialism, and they were still dreaming of three wives and four concubines?
Fine then. She would gladly gift them a wedding ring. Silver ones. The kind you wear on your wrists.
"Gu Lian, I'm going to see Li Junze." Gu Qianran said casually before heading downstairs.
Gu Lian paid no mind to Gu Qianran's usual rebelliousness. She raised her brows when she realized how eagerly Gu Qianran was going to meet the Li family's second young master, a knowing smile tugging at her lips.
Gu Qianran, oh Gu Qianran. Even in a wealthy household, you still have to cozy up to a man to climb the ladder. Just you wait. Once I win over Li Junsheng, the first thing I'll do is convince him to marry you off.
In Li Junze's room, Gu Qianran suddenly sneezed.
Li Junze looked at her with concern. "Gu Boss, are you alright?"
Gu Qianran waved her hand. "I'm fine. Let's get to business."
Li Junze, who was half a year younger than Gu Qianran, was still in his second year of junior high. For him, schoolwork was not heavy, which made it the perfect time to dabble in investments.
Gu Qianran began explaining investment techniques to him. Listening, Li Junze's blood boiled with excitement. He was ready to invest immediately, but Gu Qianran pulled him back.
"Your current account is monitored by Li Junsheng. Every move you make, he can see. If he finds out that you've suddenly become this smart, what do you think he'll do?"
Li Junze thought about it. "He'd probably put me into his company? Isn't that a good thing?"
Gu Qianran shot him a look. His problem was always failing to see the essence behind appearances. Was he truly so ready to obey her unconditionally, without an ounce of his own judgment?
She sighed and explained patiently. "First, if he drags you into the company, your studies will have to follow his plan. Do you want to study business management? Economics? Finance? Even I'd go bald from stress learning those. The company I introduced you to earlier was a medium-sized one, specifically to let you grow quietly without alerting Li Junsheng."
The thought horrified Li Junze. "Study finance? No way. I want to study art! Li Junsheng, that old thief, can dream if he thinks he'll control my life!"
"Too bad you still have to recognize the thief as your father," Gu Qianran tapped her slender fingers rhythmically on the table. "Second, if you enter his company, do you even know anything about finance?"
Li Junze shook his head.
"Exactly. Then how are you going to explain your sudden investment skills?" She paused, watching him. When she saw the hint of realization in his eyes, she felt a flicker of relief. So he was not entirely hopeless.
Then he said, "Well, then you just help me, problem solved!"
…Unteachable.
Gu Qianran nearly toppled over from sheer frustration. "That would mean I'm making money for the enemy! Are you out of your mind? Ever heard the saying 'do not water someone else's field'?" She was furious.
Li Junze rubbed his nose awkwardly. You actually treat your father like an outsider… "Then what should I do?" He was truly afraid now. The sight of Gu Qianran angry made him feel like she could kill him on the spot.
Gu Qianran calmed herself, her expression slipping back into that half-smile she usually wore. "If you want to invest, transfer the money to me. If Li Junsheng asks, just say you spent it on game credits. He won't bother about that."
Li Junze immediately understood. So after all that, the point was just for him to send the money over. Easy enough. No skill required. He just needed to pocket half the profits in the end.
Suddenly, he felt like he was about to win effortlessly. He was secretly delighted.
Meanwhile, Gu Lian's plan to get close to Li Junsheng met obstacle after obstacle. The male lead's mother, Liu Cuimei, guarded him fiercely and flatly declared, "Letting you mother and daughter live here is already generous. And you want to approach my husband? Forget it!"
Furious, Gu Lian slammed the door and stormed off.
Liu Cuimei sneered. Pathetic. And she thought she could compete with me? One day, I'll drive both of those wretches out!
Back in her room, the more Gu Lian thought about it, the angrier she became. Why should she suffer under both Liu Cuimei and Gu Qianran? How was she worse than them? Her gaze grew increasingly venomous. One day, when she gained power…
Gu Qianran returned to her room only to see Gu Lian's face twisted with venom. The corner of her eye twitched. Only in a brainless Mary Sue novel would such a woman—who wore her thoughts so plainly—have survived this long.
She waved a hand in front of Gu Lian's eyes, instantly setting her off. Gu Lian jumped up and screamed, pointing at her: "Gu Qianran! You shameless girl relying on men to climb up! Once I win Li Junsheng's trust, I'll marry you off to some old man for money!"
But instead of seeing Gu Qianran cower, as she expected, she saw Gu Qianran look at her with exasperation, as though she were the child here.
Thanks to Bai Ziyuan feeding her nonstop with the excuse "I can't be the only one getting fat," Gu Qianran had shot up in height. Even if Gu Lian jumped, she could not reach her head. Squinting, Gu Qianran looked dangerous. "There are too many flaws in your words. I won't bother listing them all."
"First, I have my reasons for seeing Li Junze. We're friends. Why does that concern you?" In fact, it was Li Junze who needed her.
"And second, it's the twenty-first century. Surely no one still wants to control their children's marriages, playing feudal patriarch? As for whatever you and Li Junsheng are plotting, that's your problem, not mine."
She fixed her gaze on Gu Lian, making Gu Lian's back turn cold, as though the recent days of Gu Qianran turning the tables and completely defying her were happening all over again.
Her lips curved into a faint, icy smile. "Gu Lian, I'm warning you one more time. I came here to make money, not to play palace intrigue with you. Keep yourself in check, or do not blame me. And didn't I tell you not to take your frustrations out on me? Or do you think running to Li Junsheng to tattle will solve me?"
She looked down at Gu Lian like a queen on her throne. "Gu Lian, keep your filthy little schemes to yourself. Do you think I'm easy to bully? Do you?"
Gu Lian stumbled back two steps, her face pale. How had she forgotten that Gu Qianran was no ordinary girl, but a walking curse for whoever crossed her?
Gu Qianran tapped her own face. "If you really want to disgust me, come, hit me right here. I'll take it."
She nearly laughed at Gu Lian's twitching fingers. With that brain of hers, no wonder she had been the meddling idiot who gave the original heroine bad advice in the past life.
"You can go ahead and strike me. After all, mothers disciplining their children, right?" Gu Qianran continued, "But the moment you lift a hand, I'll have a hundred ways to throw you off the sixth floor before Li Junsheng arrives."
Gu Lian immediately quieted. She believed Gu Qianran would do it.
But she still refused to give up. Now that she was in Li Junsheng's household, she wanted her dignity back. "Ungrateful wretch! I'll tell Li Junsheng! Apologize to me right now!"
Gu Qianran's tone was airy. "You're teaching me how to behave? Look at her, she's panicking, panicking, panicking! Go ahead, tell him. My public image is that of a simple fifteen-year-old girl. And you…"
Her deep eyes locked onto Gu Lian's.
"…are a shrew." If this woman insisted on challenging her, Gu Qianran was more than ready to explode on the spot.
Tsk. A few days without unleashing her sharp tongue and this woman thought she could step on her. She would not be blamed for getting sarcastic.
Ignoring Gu Lian's silent hysteria, she pulled out her phone and saw the usual daily WeChat photos from her little friend, brightening her mood immediately.
"Ran RanRan Ran, we're heading home today! Look at the scenery I took in the mountains, which one is the best?"
A stream of photos followed, each from a different angle, all stunningly shot, clearly from someone who had practiced photography.
Gu Qianran picked a selfie of Bai Ziyuan standing in a sea of flowers. Bai Ziyuan was clearly curious why she had chosen that one.
In good spirits, Gu Qianran teased her: "Because this one has you in it. You're the most beautiful scenery in my eyes." Indeed, the photo highlighted Bai Ziyuan's fair and delicate skin. It reminded Gu Qianran of that old saying: Ten miles of spring breeze are not as lovely as you.
Unexpectedly, the other side fell silent. Puzzled, Gu Qianran sent a question mark. Did Bai Ziyuan not like the joke? She was about to explain when another message arrived.
"But almost every photo has me in it. Why is this one the best?"
Gu Qianran could easily picture Bai Ziyuan's innocent, confused expression as she typed that.
She chuckled, fingers flying: "Because this one was the last one you took." Her lips curled into a mischievous grin. It was too good a chance not to tease her little friend.
"But I mixed up the order before sending them. How do you know this was the last?" Sure enough, Bai Ziyuan's mind went off in a different direction.
"Look at the flowers in the background. The earlier photos show them blooming in the morning, and later ones in the afternoon. I deduced it from that." In her past life, she had picked up many strange skills for survival. Now, they came in handy.
In an excellent mood, she sent a voice message: "Little cutie, do you know why the last photo is the most beautiful? Because you're becoming prettier every moment. And now, I'll send you an even better picture."
After sending it, she went downstairs to eat. Seeing Gu Lian and Liu Cuimei both wearing sour expressions lifted her mood even higher. Those two were still busy squabbling with each other. If they joined forces against her, they might have stood a tiny chance, but since they did not, Gu Qianran felt almost grateful. Double the idiots, double the fun.
Meanwhile, in the Bai household, the parents had gone out, leaving only Bai Ziyuan and her sister Bai Zilu. Curious, Bai Zilu opened the picture Gu Qianran had sent, only to find a pitch-black image, the phone screen clearly reflecting her own face.
Stand-in Bai Zilu fell silent. She had thought she could help her sister, but somehow she had ended up being charmed by her sister's crush? That girl was way too good at flirting! Thank goodness Bai Ziyuan had handed her the phone for help, otherwise the house would already be echoing with her squeals.
A few days ago, Bai Ziyuan had shown her Gu Qianran's picture in their graduation photo. Even unedited, Gu Qianran had been stunning.
Bai Zilu nudged her younger sister. Bai Ziyuan shot her a disdainful look. "What? Did you fix it yet?"
Tsk. As expected, all that sweetness only came out when Gu Qianran was involved.
With a sly grin, Bai Zilu leaned closer. "Hehe, Xiao Yuan, if you can't win your crush, why not hand her over to me?"
"I'll shut your filthy mouth!" Bai Zilu, delighted by her own joke, was immediately pummeled by an indignant Bai Ziyuan.
"Ow, seriously though, she's too good. Even I'm moved. Don't believe me? See for yourself." Rubbing her sore arm, Bai Zilu handed the phone back.
Bai Ziyuan ran into her room. A moment of silence followed, then the entire house filled with her shrieks.
Bai Zilu clutched her ears in agony. "Why did I have to open my big mouth!" Damn it!