Chapter 13: A Spectacular Show on the Return Visit

It’s not easy to get caught unless the person who took someone else’s place is clearly unqualified — like if their education level was too low to reasonably be accepted into university. But in this case, Gu Wanrou actually did go to high school. Her college entrance exam score was only 20 points below the lowest admission line, and during her years at university, she studied diligently. So, no one ever found out.

But Qi Yuan never expected something like this to happen in her own family — and by someone like Gu Wanrou, who’d always seemed so close to her! She was completely shocked and furious.

“That Gu Si— No, I mean Gu Wanrou,” Qi Yuan corrected herself, “always seemed like a decent girl. Who would’ve thought she’d do something so disgusting behind the scenes!”

Thinking about how this girl she’d known and liked turned out to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing — someone who’d stolen her cousin’s identity and life — made Qi Yuan furious.

“Mom,” Shen Qingyan interrupted, “what’s most important now is that I want to help Siqing get justice. So I’ll need your help — first we need to get the academic records from the school.”

Seeing Shen Qingyan and Qi Yuan planning things out for her sake, Gu Siqing truly felt warmth in her heart.

“Don’t worry!” Qi Yuan now genuinely saw Gu Siqing as a lucky star for her family — not to mention being grateful that she gave her a pair of grandchildren. She adored her immensely. Knowing what Gu Siqing had been through, of course she’d step in to help.

She patted her chest confidently. “Leave this to me! I’ve got a good relationship with the school principal — getting a student’s file won’t be a problem.”

“Are you sure you can do it?” Qi Yuan hesitated. “Actually, no, let me handle the whole thing myself.”

Gu Siqing almost couldn’t hold back her laughter listening nearby.

Everyone says you should never ask a man if he’s capable… and even though this was his mom saying it…

“As long as we get the file, I’ll take care of the rest,” Shen Qingyan replied, his face dark. Even though his leg was injured, he was still upset his mom didn’t trust him.

Qi Yuan realized her mistake, coughed awkwardly, and said, “I didn’t mean it like that — I just don’t want my daughter-in-law to suffer, that’s all.”

Gu Siqing chuckled.

Shen Qingyan looked at her and his expression softened into a smile.

“Alright then,” Qi Yuan said, seeing how well the two were getting along. “I won’t disturb you two anymore. Tomorrow is your return visit to the bride’s home — do as you see fit.”

Qi Yuan only knew that Gu Wanrou was a bad person, but she didn’t know the whole story yet, so she didn’t want to get involved in the return visit plans. Her daughter-in-law was smart, so she just let them handle it themselves.

“Okay, Mom,” Gu Siqing responded.

Qi Yuan was already preparing to leave, but after a few steps, she glanced back at the children, clearly reluctant. She wanted to say something but eventually just shook her head.

Seeing the hesitation, Gu Siqing couldn’t help but laugh. She took Da Bao and Xiao Bao by the hand and walked over.

“Mom, we’re going back to my family tomorrow — can you help us look after the kids? Let them stay with you tonight.”

She didn’t want to bring the two little ones with her — there was bound to be conflict, and she didn’t want them caught up in it. They were still basking in happiness; no need to involve them in her past.

“Of course, of course!” Qi Yuan lit up with joy. “I’ll take them back with me now, and tomorrow afternoon we’ll either drop them off or you can come pick them up — whichever works.”

Gu Siqing smiled and saw her off. They were currently staying at a hotel, though not on the same floor.

Once Qi Yuan left, Gu Siqing pushed Shen Qingyan into her space and they returned to the room inside to rest.

The Next Day: The Return Visit

Gu Siqing hadn’t originally planned on returning home, but thinking about what she did on the wedding night, she really wanted to go back and see the aftermath.

Shen Qingyan planned to go with her — because it was time to start his plan.

Since they were going back just to enjoy the show, neither of them brought anything. All the gifts that ShenMengzhou and QiYuan had prepared were left in the hotel room. She never intended to bring them.

After a quick change, the two set off.

Gu Siqing pushed Shen Qingyan’s wheelchair to the compound where the Gu family lived.

As they arrived, they immediately heard whispers from the neighbors.

“They got robbed so clean — must’ve done something shady.”

“That’s what they get for bragging so much. The thief must’ve been thrilled — it was an easy target!”

“Exactly.”

…

Hearing all the gossip upon entering the courtyard, Gu Siqing felt quite satisfied.

She pushed the wheelchair all the way in. Some people noticed her and greeted her, their eyes drifting to Shen Qingyan in the wheelchair.

Both Gu Siqing and Shen Qingyan ignored the looks.

They went straight to the innermost room and knocked on the door.

Inside, GuDakai and BaiCuiyan immediately got up — they hadn’t gone to work today just to wait for Gu Siqing’s return.

As soon as the door opened, they saw Gu Siqing standing there pushing Shen Qingyan in a wheelchair.

Bai Cuiyan looked left and right, but didn’t see them carrying anything. She craned her neck out the door trying to see.

Gu Siqing pushed the wheelchair forward and said lightly, “Aunt Bai, what are you looking for?”

“It’s your return visit today, and you didn’t even…” Bai Cuiyan trailed off, pouting.

They were broke and hadn’t eaten anything good in days. She thought Gu Siqing would bring them some pastries, fruit, or meat at least — a standard return-visit gift.

But before she could finish, Gu Siqing stepped inside and looked around.

Surprised, she asked, “What happened here? Why is the house like this? Why is it so empty?”

Shen Qingyan looked around the house and noticed there were only two simple chairs, which made her feel a bit puzzled. Is this really the intended décor style? Because of his leg problems, he had never visited before—not even when the marriage was being arranged—so now that he was seeing it, he truly looked a bit stunned.

Gu Siqing, while pretending to be surprised, was practically laughing inside. She had thought they might have managed to buy the furniture back again, but it turned out—this was it? But on second thought, this bloodsucking family probably set things up to look this miserable on purpose, just waiting for her to return so they could play the pity card and continue taking advantage of her.

What a joke. She was no longer the timid, easily manipulated Gu Siqing of the past. They still wanted to profit off her? Dream on!

When Bai Cuiyan heard Gu Siqing’s words, she couldn’t care less about the traditional return-gift customs anymore. Her top priority now was to squeeze some benefits out of her. She immediately shut her eyes, forced out some tears, rushed over, and slapped her thigh as she cried, “Oh child, you have no idea! Our family has suffered a great disaster!”

“That very night we went to attend your wedding, we came back and found the house completely cleaned out by thieves—not even a single roll of toilet paper was left!”

Bai Cuiyan deliberately left the door wide open as she wailed pitifully, “We haven’t eaten or drunk anything for two days now, and we didn’t dare go looking for you—we didn’t want to burden you. We just waited for you to come back!”

“Child, you have to help us!”

While acting, Bai Cuiyan also winked at Gu Daikai, who stood to the side. They had to put on this sob story together to make it convincing. And it wasn’t exactly a lie—they had been robbed!

Even though they made some money by selling the bicycle, they still wanted to scam more. After all, Gu Siqing was now the daughter-in-law of the Shen family. The Shen family was rich—they’d even given a betrothal gift of 1888 yuan. With that kind of money, wouldn’t they be able to replace all the stolen furniture?