Gu Xuezhen had spent several days hesitating before finally coming to see Gu Yingying.

By now, she had learned about Shi Yating’s situation, about Qin Yusen, and had even secretly sent the Gu family’s driver to check on Gu Yingying’s villa. It was only after confirming that Gu Yingying had truly found her biological brother that she felt somewhat relieved.

Seeing Gu Yingying rush out excitedly and grab her hand, Gu Xuezhen felt a little uncomfortable—she wasn’t used to such enthusiasm from others.

“Xuezhen, you came to see me, didn’t you? I’m so happy!” Gu Yingying beamed. She only disliked Gu Xiao, not the female lead, Gu Xuezhen. In fact, in some ways, she actually liked her quite a bit.

“Mm… I sent a driver to your villa and found out you’re staying at the Qin family’s estate. How’s it going? Are you doing well?” Gu Xuezhen asked, though looking at Gu Yingying practically glowing with happiness, it was obvious she was living far better than she ever had in the Gu family.

“I’m great! I found my real brother—he’s amazing and spoils me so much! I live with him now, and every day is just so happy.” Gu Yingying eagerly shared everything that had happened. If possible, she genuinely wished for everyone in the world to be happy.

“That’s good to hear… Yingying, about what happened with Shi Yating the other day—I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I was representing the school in a competition at the time.” As soon as she spoke, Gu Xuezhen regretted it. Why was she apologizing? Why should she feel guilty? Just because this little fool didn’t know how to protect herself? But the moment she thought about Shi Yating nearly splashing juice on Gu Yingying, she couldn’t help but feel furious. She had been shocked when she heard about it after returning from the competition.

“It’s fine, it’s fine.” Gu Yingying grinned, lightly stroking Gu Xuezhen’s hand. Her beautiful peach blossom eyes were filled with joy.

“I knew you were at the competition, so I didn’t want to bother you. By the way, have you been taking the Rejuvenation Pills I gave you? Look at your hands—they’re so much smoother now! You have to remember to take them every day. When you run out, just ask me for more~”

Lately, Gu Xuezhen’s skin had become much fairer and softer, and the rough patches on her hands had started to fade. Her natural beauty, already striking with her sharp, fox-like eyes and bold features, was now even more dazzling. Her lips, even without lipstick, looked effortlessly rosy, making her beauty almost unreal.

“Mm, I’ve been taking them. Your pills really work.”

Talking about her skin, Gu Xuezhen smiled. But more than that, she felt something different—when Gu Yingying cared about her, it wasn’t like how her parents cautiously tried to please her. Yingying’s concern was sincere, equal, and unreserved. It felt… nice.

“But last time, you told me these pills were really expensive. Why haven’t I seen any charges on my card?” she asked. “I just got back from the competition and brought you a gift—I don’t know if you’ll like it.”

Gu Xuezhen didn’t even understand herself sometimes. While she was away for the competition, she happened to pass by a luxury shopping district. In the window of a high-end boutique, a pink diamond necklace had caught her eye. Just one glance, and she knew—it suited Gu Yingying perfectly. The soft cherry blossom hue had a gentle, almost ethereal warmth to it.

“As long as it’s from you, I’ll love it,” Gu Yingying said cheerfully. “And don’t worry about the money! You know my real brother is Qin Yusen—he’s crazy rich! He even gave me a black card~ Oh, and I’ll bring your card back to you tomorrow. But, Xuezhen, if you ever need money and don’t want to ask your parents, you can just tell me, okay?”

Gu Yingying understood. She had seen how stubborn and independent Gu Xuezhen was, how she always tried to hide her scars from her parents, determined to earn everything on her own.

But now, she had money! If Xuezhen wanted to do something, she could support her!

Looking at the girl in front of her, Gu Xuezhen couldn’t help but think—she really was a fool. But a fool who somehow made her heart ache in the softest way. No one had ever cared for her like this before. Even though they had once stood on opposite sides, at this moment, she felt that maybe… just maybe… they could be real sisters.

The kind that lasted a lifetime.

“Mm, got it. After school, don’t leave right away—I’ll bring your gift then, okay?”

It was still between classes, so she couldn’t bring the gift now. The two agreed to meet after school.

After Gu Xuezhen left, Gu Yingying happily returned to class, only for Song Ruoci to eye her curiously and ask,

“Yingying, now that you’ve found your real brother, are you still this close with the Gu family? And you’re even getting along so well with Gu Xuezhen? Doesn’t it feel awkward?”

After all, this whole situation had caused a huge stir at school. Back then, Gu Yingying had been coming to class every day with a cold expression, barely speaking to anyone. Everyone had assumed she had completely fallen out with the Gu family.

“What’s there to feel awkward about?” Gu Yingying replied cheerfully. “I’m not my parents’ biological child—Xuezhen is. She’s been through a lot, so it’s only natural for them to make it up to her. And I wasn’t raised by her adoptive parents, so it’s not like I have any grudges against the Gu family. Of course, we’re still on good terms!”

Gu Yingying had always believed that it was better to resolve conflicts than to hold onto them. She genuinely liked Gu Xuezhen.

To be precise, she admired the female lead’s resilience and determination—it was something she aspired to.

Song Ruoci didn’t know how to respond to that, but nearby, Gu Qingrang overheard their conversation and couldn’t help but scoff internally. The Gu family, going against Gu Yingying? Please.

She was Qin Yusen’s biological sister. No matter how wealthy the Gu family was, could they compare to Jian’an Group? Could they match Qin Yusen?

Whether for emotional reasons or sheer practicality, the Gu family would never dare to fall out with Gu Yingying.

In fact, when push came to shove, they’d probably be scrambling to please her instead.

Everyone had their own thoughts, but Gu Yingying never bothered to dwell on them.

After school, she stayed in the classroom, waiting for Gu Xuezhen—and the gift she had brought.

“Open it when you get home. I have to go now. See you next week,” Gu Xuezhen said.

Lately, she had been incredibly busy. She had originally wanted to ask Yingying to go shopping together but, in the end, didn’t bring it up.

Gu Yingying nodded, watching as Xuezhen left before finally carrying her gift out of the school gates. As expected, she quickly spotted Driver Wang and got into the car to head home.

When she arrived, her brother was still working overtime. Wasting no time, she eagerly unwrapped Xuezhen’s gift—inside was a pink diamond necklace, shimmering beautifully under the light.

It was absolutely stunning.

Gu Yingying admired it for a long time, running her fingers over the delicate gemstone, reluctant to put it away. In the end, she carefully placed it back in the box.

She didn’t even have an outfit worthy of this necklace yet~

Seeing that the young miss had finished admiring her gift, Butler Zhang took the initiative to speak.

“Miss, the medicinal ingredients you requested have all been delivered. Would you like me to take you to see them?”

Though he didn’t quite understand why the young miss was so fond of such things, as a butler, it wasn’t his place to question. Besides, with how much his master doted on her, if she asked for the stars in the sky, he would probably find a way to bring them down.

“Great!” Gu Yingying’s eyes lit up. It had been days since she last refined medicine. Plus, her brother’s insomnia and Xuezhen’s scars—she had to get to work!

She followed Butler Zhang to a large warehouse behind the villa. Originally used for storage, it had now been completely cleared out for her exclusive use. Per her request, shelves were stocked with herbs and all the tools she liked to use.

At the center of it all was a massive bronze cauldron, standing over a meter tall. This was something she had specifically asked for, and Butler Zhang had gone through great lengths to have it custom-made from an antique market.

“Uncle Zhang, you can wait outside. I’ll handle things from here.”

The warehouse was filled with the strong, earthy scent of medicinal herbs—far from pleasant for the average person. Butler Zhang, of course, would never disobey his young miss, so he simply stepped outside to stand guard.

Inside, Gu Yingying carefully selected the herbs she needed and placed them into the cauldron. With this, her alchemy would be even smoother than before.

After placing the herbs into the cauldron, Gu Yingying began chanting the incantation of the Medicine Sect. Almost instantly, a soft pink mist drifted from her palm, swirling through the air before sinking into the massive bronze cauldron.

If someone were watching from directly above, they would see the pink mist enveloping the herbs inside, spiraling wildly as it fused the ingredients together, refining them with an almost hypnotic motion.

A few minutes later, Gu Yingying stopped channeling the pink mist and stepped forward to check the results. Inside the cauldron, small, pearl-like white pills had formed. Remembering that her brother liked mint, she had deliberately infused them with a refreshing minty scent.

Raising her hand, she summoned a red mist, which gently swept through the cauldron, lifting the newly-formed pills into the air before carefully placing them into white porcelain bottles lined up nearby. Medicine pills like these had to be stored in porcelain to preserve their potency.

Once everything was sealed, Gu Yingying picked up one of the bottles and took out a single pill. Holding it to her nose, she inhaled lightly—the cool fragrance of mint mixed with the faint aroma of medicinal herbs.

A satisfied smile appeared on her lips.

This batch was a success.

On the Anlan Continent, this type of pill was called Nightfall Pill—as the name suggested, it was meant to be taken at night. It was primarily used to treat insomnia, especially for those who had difficulty sleeping after experiencing their first kill. After all, Anlan was a land of bloodshed, and many who took a life for the first time were haunted by nightmares for a long time.

Gu Yingying herself had developed the Nightfall Pill after her first kill. Later, she had sold it through the Medicine Sect, and it had earned her quite a fortune.

“Once my brother takes this, he’ll definitely fall asleep.”

Smiling, she carefully sealed the porcelain bottles before moving on to the next batch of pills.

After refining a large supply of Nightfall Pills, she began working on a new formula—Scar-Removal Pills for Gu Xuezhen.

This was a far more challenging concoction. The ingredients required were incredibly rare, bordering on divine treasures. Fortunately, her brother was Qin Yusen—and the moment his beloved sister made a request, the necessary herbs were immediately delivered.

As she stared at the lingzhi mushroom inside the cauldron, Gu Yingying resumed her chant, channeling her magic once more. The ingredients inside were refined and fused together, until finally, a batch of deep reddish-brown pills emerged. Their potency was astonishing—Gu Xuezhen’s scars would be completely healed with just three doses.

Still, even though she now had a powerful older brother, she couldn’t rely on him forever.

She needed to refine more pills, make more money—if she could start selling them, that would be even better…

=^_^=