At the same time, in the Gu family villa, Yu Lan looked at the trembling maid and yawned.

“Speak. You took leave the day before yesterday and left. Where did you go?”

The maid answered nervously, “I went back to my hometown to see my child.”

“Is that so?” Yu Lan said meaningfully. At that moment, the butler turned on the projector. What was shown was not something else, but footage of the maid going to the Gu family’s old residence.

“If I remember correctly, you all signed confidentiality agreements before coming to work here, didn’t you?”

The maid began to panic. The confidentiality agreement required compensation of one million yuan. She was just an ordinary maid. How could she have that much money? “Madam, it was the Old Madam who told me to do it. I had no choice!”

“In that case, pack your things and go to the old residence.”

“Huh?”

The maid did not expect there to be a way out. Forgetting to cry, she hurried to pack her things and left.

Tch. A nouveau riche pretending to be a phoenix. She knew clearly that after marriage, the master and madam always slept in separate rooms. If they could not have children in the future, she would definitely be kicked out of the Gu family sooner or later!

The butler, seeing her leave, expressed some disapproval. “Madam, isn’t this matter handled a bit inappropriately?”

“Don’t worry, the old residence won’t take her in.”

Yu Lan was indifferent. The maid thought she could find a better job, not knowing that no one would dare to hire a servant who betrayed their master. Moreover, if the old residence accepted her, wouldn’t that be admitting guilt?

She said to the butler, “Send the contract to Gu Yi in the evening. Let him handle his family’s affairs himself.”

After dealing with the maid, Yu Lan returned to her room and finally had time to draw a prize.

Because of previous lessons, this time she closed her eyes in advance. Only after the glittering feeling faded did she cautiously open her eyes. “What is it?”

System: [Congratulations to the host for drawing an E-rank prize: Strength Pill and Fragrant Essence Pill from the Cultivation Realm. The former grants the strength of an ox after consumption, and the latter gives the body a floral fragrance, lasting over a month.]

Hm? Two items?

System: [The host is lucky and drew a gift package.]

Yu Lan originally had no expectations but was surprised by the unexpected turn of events. Were these pills not better than that glowing water before?

For women, perfume was an important part of their presentation. A suitable fragrance could enhance a woman’s charm, making her appear noble and elegant, and even add a sense of allure in certain moments.

Yu Lan immediately had the system take out the Fragrant Essence Pill. It looked like a pearl-sized white pellet. She swallowed it with water.

“Is there a scent yet?”

She raised her hand to her nose. Her slender arm was smooth and fair. “Why can’t I smell anything?”

System: [Er, the instructions only said that the body would emit a fragrance after consumption. The intensity of the scent depends on individual physique, and there may be a triggering mechanism.]

Yu Lan became angry. “So it’s a scam again!”

System: [The system never lies. It’s the host who didn’t read the usage…#%%#%?]

The rest of the words suddenly stopped because Yu Lan had muted it again.

—

After the maid left the villa, she went straight to the old residence.

Unexpectedly, the old residence kicked her out.

The maid was dumbfounded. The money previously promised by Old Madam Gu had not been given, and now she had even lost her high-paying job with the Gu family. She finally began to regret it, but the damage was done. Everything was already too late.

The second branch of the Gu family had used various connections to try and get Gu Changshun out.

This incident, put bluntly, was illegal detention. But if downplayed, it was just a minor internal conflict within the family. It should have been easily resolved, yet for some reason, no one dared agree—no doubt due to something Gu Yi had said.

After being rejected once again, Lin Pingmei had no choice but to turn to Old Madam Gu.

But Old Madam Gu was already fed up. That younger brother-in-law had framed her own daughter-in-law and grandson, and even caused a scandal at the birthday banquet, leaving her unable to lift her head in front of all the old ladies. Did the Lin family really think she had grown senile?

“Sister-in-law, we’re one family. Even if the bones are broken, the tendons are still connected.”

“Heh. If he really saw us as family, Gu Changshun would not have done such things!”

“Changshun was only worried that Sui’an might fight for the Gu family’s assets in the future. Look at Xiao Yi, he’s getting older and still doesn’t have children. If Sui’an has some ideas…”

“Whether Sui’an has ideas or not, I don’t know. But Gu Changshun’s ideas, I know them very clearly.”

Old Madam Gu impatiently waved her hand. “It’s only been a little over ten days. If someone didn’t know better, they’d think he was sentenced to death. Go back.”

Leaving the old residence, Lin Pingmei’s expression darkened. Her daughter-in-law asked worriedly, “Mom, what should we do now?”

The person could not be released, but as for swallowing this humiliation, Lin Pingmei absolutely could not endure it. “Release the news. Get a few marketing accounts to stir up public opinion.”

Trying to keep things under wraps, were they? Then she would make sure everyone knew!

—

That evening, Yu Lan was bored at home. Thinking that Gu Sui’an would be moving back, and he would surely have a lot of luggage, she decided to go along to watch the excitement.

Before leaving, she spent half an hour picking out an outfit in the dressing room. In the end, she chose a short Chanel-style blouse paired with a long skirt.

Her hair was curled in big waves and casually draped behind her back, covering the shoulder blades that were just barely exposed.

Looking at the red-lipped, fair-toothed beauty in the mirror, Yu Lan was extremely satisfied.

The international high school had luxurious facilities and an excellent teaching staff. It was considered the best high school in City A.

By the time she arrived, the students had not yet been dismissed. After registering, Yu Lan entered the campus.

Elsewhere, the school leadership, having received the news, had already rushed over.

“President Gu, regarding your son’s matter, we have already…”

He suddenly stumbled over his words. Present, aside from the Gu family’s driver, was only a woman he didn’t recognize.

The school leader did not know how to address the other party for a moment.

Yu Lan, understanding the situation, said, “My surname is Yu.”

“So it’s Miss Yu,” the school leader recalled. That President Gu had recently gotten married, and it was said that he had married a much younger wife, which had caused quite a stir online.

As teachers, they were well-informed. Naturally, they knew that the marriage was not as good as netizens claimed. After all, marrying into a family and immediately becoming a stepmother was not something an ordinary person could manage. “Student Gu’s class is about to end. Would you like to wait in the office for a while?”

Yu Lan glanced at her phone. There was still at least half an hour, so she agreed.

She did not forget to tell Xiao He, “Bring the things.”

“Alright.”

The school leader looked at the many bags and packages, thinking they were Miss Gu’s personal belongings. That was, until Yu Lan entered the office and handed one to each teacher.

“This won’t do, this won’t do!”

Yu Lan kept her smile. “It’s nothing valuable. These are newly launched products from Changyi. Thank you all for taking care of Gu Sui’an during this time.”

The teachers could not help but click their tongues.

Changyi’s new products were not cheap. They cost over ten thousand yuan. But to the Gu family, the entire company belonged to them, so strictly speaking, it really was not “valuable.”

“Miss Yu, you’re too kind.”

“Yes, this is just part of our job as teachers.”

“Student Gu has good grades. He puts our minds at ease.”

Yu Lan sighed. “That child has a kind nature. We’re also at ease, but sometimes, being too kind makes one easy to be bullied.”

The school leader’s eyes flickered. He had indeed heard about that incident. Originally, he had planned to downplay the matter, but now it seemed that it still had to be handled seriously.

“Please rest assured, our school will protect every student.”

…

After boosting Gu Sui’an’s reputation with the teachers, Yu Lan waited for the class bell to ring and then got up to say goodbye.

Meanwhile, back in the dormitory, Gu Sui’an also informed Wang Yilin that he was moving out.

The two were roommates, so whether emotionally or logically, he should inform the other party if he was withdrawing from the dormitory.

Wang Yilin was slightly surprised but did not say much.

Although they lived together, they were not very familiar. He had only vaguely heard that Gu Sui’an had a stepmother, which was why he had no choice but to move out and live in the dormitory.

Wang Yilin also came from a blended family, so he understood Gu Sui’an’s situation very well. Seeing the boy carrying large bags of luggage, he offered, “Let me help you.”

Gu Sui’an indeed could not manage alone, so he accepted the offer. “Thank you.”

The two boys carried their suitcases down the stairs. Halfway down, they suddenly saw the way ahead blocked. A group of high school students had gathered together, seemingly watching something.

“Huh, what’s going on?”

Wang Yilin was puzzled.

Gu Sui’an seemed to have spotted someone familiar and could not help but quicken his pace.

When he walked over, he happened to hear someone in the crowd asking, “Sister, you’re so pretty. Do you have a boyfriend?”

Gu Sui’an: “……”

He could hardly believe it. What were these people looking at? Could they not tell her age?

But that was not even the most outrageous part. He heard his stepmother, his father’s wife, reply with a dazzling smile, “No, I don’t.”

At that moment, Gu Sui’an seemed to see a vast green field growing over his father’s head.

Finally, when a high school student offered to buy Yu Lan a milk tea, the normally low-key boy could not bear it anymore. He put down his suitcase and walked forward. “Mom, are you here to pick me up?”

His voice was loud and clear, and the echo floated through the entire school gate.

The high school students instinctively echoed, “Mom?”

“……”

Yu Lan, suddenly promoted in rank, stood stiffly in place.

Thank you, dearest son.

The air instantly became heavy like concrete. Moments later, the high school students looked at each other, then turned and fled.

“Sister—oh no, Auntie, we just remembered we have something to do. We’ll get going!”

Seeing this, Gu Sui’an let out a sigh of relief.

Turning around, however, he met Yu Lan’s murderous gaze. “I’m so young. Who told you to call me Mom!”

Gu Sui’an pressed his lips together. He had never seen Yu Lan this angry before and did not know what to say for a moment. “But you really are my mom… uh, stepmom.”

Yu Lan: “……”

Ahhhh, she decided she would never speak to him again!

Back at home, the butler quickly noticed something unusual between the two.

At dinner, he instructed the maid to place their seats next to each other.

When Yu Lan came downstairs, she saw Gu Sui’an already sitting in his seat.

Actually, her anger had already subsided. From Gu Sui’an’s perspective, she truly was his stepmother. If he did not call her Mom, others would say he was being rude.

Forget it, forget it. What was she doing being angry with a little brat? If he apologized later, she would just let it go.

Thinking this, Yu Lan walked toward the dining table. Gu Sui’an had not yet noticed her. He was still looking seriously at his phone.

If one only looked at the boy’s expression, one might think he was solving some tough problem. Little would they know, the search history in the search box was—

How to coax an angry girl

What to do when an elder is angry

How to get along with a stepson or stepmother

Gu Sui’an treated these like solving Olympiad problems, carefully reading through netizens’ answers and memorizing them in his heart, planning to try them later. Just as he was about to exit, a news notification popped up at the top of his phone.

[Gu Family Secrets Exposed: Tycoon Has an Illegitimate Son, Abused by Stepmother, Miserable Beyond Words]

Clicking into it, the accompanying photo was clearly the one taken this afternoon when Yu Lan came to pick him up.

No one knew how the paparazzi had taken it, but from that angle, the two of them looked utterly hostile.

“What are you looking at?”

Yu Lan’s voice sounded overhead. Gu Sui’an’s hand shook, and he immediately flipped the phone over and placed it face down on the table. “Nothing. Let’s eat.”