Gu Qianran clearly noticed Ji Tang's strange gaze. She looked at Ji Tang in puzzlement and asked, "What kind of expression is that supposed to be?"
Bai Ziyuan panicked, frantically giving Ji Tang meaningful glances. Ji Tang also panicked, quickly rearranged her face, and said, "Ah… well… I think Bai Ziyuan got tanned."
"Sorry, Xiao Bai, but for the sake of your lifelong happiness, you'll just have to temporarily be a quiet unlucky soul!"
Gu Qianran gave Bai Ziyuan a once-over. "Hmm, yeah, seems like it. Did you get carried away playing in the mountains and got sunburned? No worries, give it a couple of days and it will go back to normal. My little cutie has good skin." As she spoke, she calmly cast Ji Tang a glance, her eyes practically dripping with threat.
Bai Ziyuan's heart bubbled with joy. When she looked at Gu Qianran, all she could see written across her body was: Wife-spoiling maniac!
When Ji Tang looked at Gu Qianran, what she saw instead was: World-famous double standards!
The three of them joked around for a while, and soon the topic shifted. Bai Ziyuan, naturally, was extremely curious about Gu Qianran's experience of being acknowledged by her birth family. Gu Qianran gently stroked Bai Ziyuan's head, narrating the events in a soft, steady voice.
Behind the trees, Bai Zilu grew even more silent. With someone like Gu Qianran, her silly younger sister Bai Ziyuan was bound to be eaten up, bones and all, sooner or later.
The silly girl herself had no clue, still eagerly trying to rack up points on Gu Qianran's favorability scale. Gu Qianran, as usual, indulged her completely. The atmosphere was almost too harmonious.
If Ji Tang had not personally witnessed Gu Qianran's reinforced-concrete-straight-girl tendencies, she might really have believed the two were already together. Forget Bai Ziyuan for a second, what was with this overwhelming girlfriend-aura radiating off Gu Qianran? And yet Gu Qianran herself did not think anything was off?
So this is what it means to be straight. Ji Tang was speechless: I'm done, I'm done.
After the three finished filling in their school applications, they each went home. As Gu Qianran watched the Gu family's grand estate drawing closer, the background music of Plants vs. Zombies automatically started playing in her head.
When she reached the gates, Gu Qianran was suddenly blocked by a girl. Well, what do you know, zombies appear right on cue.
The girl looked down her nose at Gu Qianran and asked disdainfully, "Who are you? What are you doing at my house?"
Ah, that familiar mocking tone.
Gu Qianran was full of question marks. And who might this be? She vaguely recalled seeing this girl in the crowd during her acknowledgment ceremony. Then she thought, if she couldn't remember, it must not be an important character. After all, what main character maxes out their Taunt skill?
It was like how you know the generic zombies in Plants vs. Zombies are called "normal zombies," but could you name each individual one? Of course not. These faceless zombies show up only to get blasted by plants the moment they appear.
Gu Qianran had no intention of playing along. Those "pretend-to-be-weak-then-slaughter-everyone" plots were nothing but a waste of time. Why drag things out with a string of slaps and counter-slaps when one sentence could end it?
Heh, such scripts only exist in novels. In the real world, if the pig pretends to eat the tiger, the tiger is more likely to pull out a gun and say, "Times have changed, fool."
The girl, furious at being ignored, stomped her foot and shouted, "Stop right there! Do you know who I am? How dare you defy me! I am your father's younger brother's daughter! My name isn't even something you're worthy of knowing!"
Now this was a setup Gu Qianran loved to dismantle. She looked at the girl lazily and replied, "You are my father's what's-it's son's what's-it's? You're not my father, so what gives you the right to lecture me?" Opening move: establish legitimacy.
The girl sneered, her tone biting. "You? You don't even bear the surname Li! You're nothing but an illegitimate child's daughter, what do you have to be proud of? I'll tell you this, everything I, Li Ziming, have, you will never have!"
"Yes, yes, exactly. The things I don't have, you indeed have." Gu Qianran remained utterly calm. Block, reflect, and send the mockery right back.
Li Ziming was surprised at Gu Qianran's obedience. She had come today to put this arrogant bastard in her place, but seeing Gu Qianran submit so easily left her feeling oddly unsatisfied.
Convinced she had conquered Gu Qianran, Li Ziming's mood soared. She even took the time to magnanimously ask, "At least you know your place. Then tell me, what do I have that you can never possess?"
"You're sick." Gu Qianran stepped into the mansion without a backward glance. Fatal strike. Perfect. No room left for a comeback.
Li Ziming froze at the doorway. She had just been cursed out by that bastard? Enraged, she was about to chase after Gu Qianran when she heard a booming loudspeaker blaring, "Li Ziming! Student Li Ziming!"
She paused and listened. They really were calling her. She turned toward the sound.
It came from a cobbled-together set of four speakers, like a makeshift school announcement system. From inside came a magnetic male voice: "Li Ziming from Class 2, Grade 3, your mother brought you some Wangzai goat milk!"
Only then did Li Ziming realize she had been tricked again. She glared toward the corner where Gu Qianran had disappeared, her eyes dark with venom.
Meanwhile, the two culprits were in a room, watching her through a telescope. Gu Qianran laughed so hard she almost fell over. "Wangzai goat milk! Li Junze, you're a genius! Hahahahahaha, give me a second to laugh this out…"
Li Junze was just as delighted. "I've disliked her for a long time. Didn't expect to finally help you out today. What can I say, every time I see her name, my brain automatically plays that commercial on loop…"
Gu Qianran added, "Back then, every time I saw that dumbass Li Junyao, my brain automatically played Coffin Dance."
They looked at each other and burst into knowing laughter.
Li Junze teased, "But Gu Qianran, how do you know so many memes? Weren't you always super busy in your last life?"
Gu Qianran rolled her eyes. "What, you think rich people can't watch Bilibili? I was a meme queen in my past life too, okay?"
Li Junze nodded approvingly. "Of course, of course. From the very first time we exchanged secret signals, you were smooth as hell."
With Bai Ziyuan's influence leading her astray, Gu Qianran was getting more and more unrestrained. She declared proudly, "Exactly, that's called quick thinking!"
Outside Gu Qianran's door, Li Junyao paced restlessly. He had deliberately sent Gu Lian away, only to discover Gu Qianran was not there. Ever since that competition, the girl he had been yearning for had cut off all contact. Finally finding a connection between that girl and Gu Qianran, how could he not seize the chance to dig for information?
After a long wait, Gu Qianran finally returned. Li Junyao rushed forward. "Gu Qianran, let's talk. Do you know Bai—"
"Talk your ass." Gu Qianran cut him off coldly. She had zero intention of showing a scumbag any kindness. Just days ago, she had seen this guy's ex-girlfriend drowning her sorrows in alcohol at a hotel. If he managed to tangle himself with her little cutie, all the effort she had put into healing that wounded heart would go to waste.
Besides, her little cutie already had someone she liked. This scumbag still had the nerve to meddle and ruin her beautiful first love? Shameless.
The more Gu Qianran thought about Bai Ziyuan possibly falling in love soon, the heavier her chest felt. She could not explain why, only that it hurt. Maybe it was possessiveness gnawing at her. She silently worked to calm herself.
Li Junyao was very patient, waiting outside Gu Qianran's room. With their parents never home and Gu Lian not returning anytime soon, he had plenty of time. Sooner or later, Gu Qianran had to come out to eat.
Yet before long, the aroma of food drifted out from behind the closed door. Li Junyao stared at the door in disbelief. "How are you eating in there?"
"With my mouth." Gu Qianran's muffled reply floated out, along with commentary like "so delicious," "the finest ingredients often need only the simplest cooking," and other foodie remarks.
Li Junyao's stomach growled. But he refused to give up. With the new semester about to begin, this might be his only chance to pry information about Bai Ziyuan. He asked the housekeeper to bring him food to the stairwell, where he sat on the floor like a beggar, eating his dinner.
Inside, Gu Qianran savored her takeout with glee. She had tied a rope to haul it up. Honestly, she had wanted to try this in her past life but never got the chance.
Tsk, the thrill of it. Especially knowing there was some guy outside sitting on the floor with his pitiful meal, the contrast made her takeout taste even better.
Wine in hand, fatty meat in mouth, and a convenient old monster to toy with, Gu Qianran felt this life's family drama was a whole different tier from the past. One word summed it up: bliss.
High on the thrill, she changed her WeChat nickname to a single letter: E.
"So this is the so-called male lead? I could take on ten of him."
===
Gu Qianran, a powerhouse actress who turned Scarlet Heart into a comedy.
Bai Ziyuan, the woman who turned a powerhouse actress into a wife-spoiling fanatic.
Bai Zilu: The Bai family will never produce a submissive! Never… Wuwuwu, President Ji's service feels so good! Some people are just destined to be bottoms.