After being urged by Yu Lan several times, Gu Sui’an finally moved. He squatted down and groped around on the ground with his hand.

Yu Lan had not thrown it far. Very quickly, he felt a square-shaped phone. The faint light broke through the darkness, allowing the two of them to see each other.

Only then did Gu Sui’an realize how miserable Yu Lan looked.

The woman was lying over a pile of wood. Her pale face was smeared with a few grey streaks, making her look like a wild cat from the fields. The custom-made fishtail dress she wore had a large section of the skirt torn off, revealing her slender legs. In an instant, the elegance dropped, and she looked like a cheap, gaudy market product.

“You…”

“What are you staring at? Come over and help me up.”

Yu Lan’s voice had a sobbing tone. It hurt so much. If she had known, she wouldn’t have tried to be brave and come in alone. Now look, she hadn’t saved anyone and ended up getting herself hurt. This was just too miserable.

Gu Sui’an froze for a moment.

He had never encountered such a situation. In his memory, Yu Lan had always been arrogant and rude. When standing before him, her eyes were always looking down on him, just like the wicked stepmother in fairy tales.

Inside, he felt a bit lost and unsure.

After hesitating for a moment, he lifted his foot and walked over. Yu Lan grabbed onto the boy’s arm and got up from the ground. Under the light of the phone, she saw several long, thin cuts on her right leg.

No wonder it hurt so much.

Yu Lan sniffled, her eyes red and swollen from the physiological tears. A few teardrops clung to the ends of her eyelashes, on the verge of falling. She snatched the phone from Gu Sui’an’s hand, wanting to get a clearer look, but with a ding, the phone shut off due to a dead battery.

“…”

When a person is unlucky, even drinking water gets stuck in their teeth.

Just like that, the storeroom once again fell into darkness.

But this time, knowing someone was there, Yu Lan was not as tense as before. She reached out and tugged gently at the sleeve of the person beside her.

“Hey, why did you come here?”

In the darkness, Gu Sui’an pressed his dry lips together and said hoarsely, “Wasn’t it you who told me to come?”

“Why would I tell you to come to a place like this?”

Yu Lan widened her eyes. “Pitch black like this, what are we doing, throwing a dark-themed party?”

Gu Sui’an frowned. It was not her?

But he quickly denied this possibility himself. If it wasn’t, then why would Yu Lan be here?

The darkness intensified the anxiety and fear. Gu Sui’an covered his chest and opened his mouth silently, gasping for air in large gulps. He said mockingly, “You heard everything just now, didn’t you?”

Yu Lan looked confused. “What?”

Because of his experience in the previous life, Gu Sui’an had always been afraid of Yu Lan. But perhaps it was the darkness that hid the woman’s face. At this moment, his courage suddenly surged. “I am not a child of the Gu family, you must be happy!”

He used the most vicious and unpleasant words to try to tear off the woman’s mask.

Her hypocritical kindness, her calculating concern—he did not need any of it.

When Yu Lan heard Gu Sui’an’s accusation, she fell into a deep silence.

After transmigrating into the book, she had always thought that this stepson of hers was just a little emotionally awkward, but she didn’t know the root cause. Thinking about it now, it was clearly due to a lack of love and a sense of insecurity!

That old man only knew how to work and paid no attention to the child’s emotional well-being. Over time, it had nurtured the boy’s awkward personality.

So for once, Yu Lan felt a rare pang of sympathy. She softened her voice and used the gentlest tone to comfort him: “Don’t worry. Whether you are a child of the Gu family or not, you could never be my biological child anyway.”

Gu Sui’an: “…”

For a moment, the boy was actually struck by this strange logic.

After comforting the middle-schooler, Yu Lan began to analyze the situation by herself.

She was not in a hurry to get out. After all, it would not be long before the wonderful sound of sirens would ring through the Gu residence. “Now it seems someone really is trying to frame me. If I hadn’t been smart enough to come ahead of time, I definitely would’ve been falsely accused by you all.”

The more she talked, the angrier she got, and the pain in her leg worsened as well. However, after analyzing for a long while, the person next to her remained silent. Yu Lan could not help but call out, “Gu Sui’an?”

“…”

The only response was difficult and heavy breathing, brushing through the surrounding air again and again, like a trapped beast locked in a cage.

Yu Lan suddenly sensed something was wrong.

She reached out in the dark and grabbed the other’s wrist. As soon as she made contact, she felt a hand drenched in cold sweat, which surprised her slightly. The boy’s body was trembling nonstop. “Are you okay?”

“N-no, I’m fine.”

Yu Lan frowned slightly. This reaction was clearly a symptom of claustrophobia, but he had just been locked in, and this time she was also present. It should not be this severe.

There was no time to think too much. The trembling in her hand grew even more intense. Yu Lan had heard that people with severe claustrophobia could collapse and become weak. If they already had heart conditions, it could even cause sudden heart strain, leading to death.

She could only comfort him: “Don’t be afraid. I’m here with you.”

“I-I’m not afraid.”

Gu Sui’an bit his lower lip.

The boy was unwilling to lose face in front of Yu Lan. Even if he felt palpitations and fear, even if it was like drowning and suffocating, he still forced himself to appear calm.

But Yu Lan knew that if they did not leave this place, Gu Sui’an’s symptoms would never go away.

Yet the door had been locked from the outside. How could they leave? Even just opening the window to let in a bit of light would help.

Wait, light?!

Yu Lan suddenly had a flash of inspiration and spoke to the system in her mind: “Quick, give me the prize I drew last time!”

System: [The liquid luminous water?]

“That’s right, I want to use it on Gu Sui’an!”

[Sent. Host, please check and receive.]

As soon as the voice fell, Yu Lan felt a glass bottle appear in her hand.

She immediately pulled off the cap without a second thought and splashed it in Gu Sui’an’s direction.

“Whoosh.”

Gu Sui’an was caught off guard and got splashed in the face with luminous water.

The cold sensation was like some kind of poison, causing his expression to change drastically.

The woman in front of him once again appeared terrifying. Just a moment ago, she was speaking softly to comfort him. Now she was laughing out loud.

Gu Sui’an felt stifled with resentment. “You…”

“Pfft—”

Yu Lan had been holding back for a long time, but the moment she opened her mouth, she could not hold it in any longer and completely lost control. “Hahahahahahahaha…”

She laughed so much that her eyes and brows were filled with joy. The boy was angry and confused, his eyebrows twisted like a knot.

“Ahem, take a look at yourself now.”

Yu Lan laughed so hard her stomach hurt. Finally feeling a twinge of conscience, she raised the black-screened phone in her hand and pointed it at Gu Sui’an.

Then, the boy saw a fluorescent green face.

How fluorescent? If one had to describe it, it was even greener than someone wearing a fake facial mask. His clothes and everything lit up the pitch-dark storeroom along with him.

He was now a giant glow stick.

Gu Sui’an: “…”

“Hahahahahahaha…”

After a while, the laughter still had not stopped. The boy’s voice carried a bit of helplessness. “Is it that funny?”

Yu Lan pressed down her raised eyebrows, like a curved crescent moon, and asked just one question: “Are you still scared now?”

Gu Sui’an was stunned and looked at her.

The fluorescent green light illuminated the woman’s dirty face, looking even stranger than a circus clown. But she had no idea at all and was still there laughing at others.

The anger in his heart suddenly disappeared and dispersed.

Gu Sui’an snorted, stubbornly saying, “I wasn’t scared in the first place.”

“Oh, I don’t know who was about to cry just now.”

“It wasn’t me anyway.”

Yu Lan laughed. She limped and hopped to the sealed window, then pressed her ear against it. “Just wait a little longer.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she let out a surprised sound, “Seems like they’ve already arrived.”

“What?”

“The police.”

–

Halfway through the Gu family’s banquet, the police suddenly arrived.

The guests were so frightened that they wanted to leave but were stopped by the police, and could only stand uneasily on one side of the hall.

Old Madam Gu, upon hearing the news, hurried downstairs. When she saw several people in uniform, her expression turned anxious. “Officers, what is going on?”

“We received a report that someone here is being held illegally.”

“Illegally detained?!”

Old Madam Gu nearly lost her breath. Second Uncle Gu’s expression darkened. “Our Gu family abides by the law. We are recognized every year as a model taxpayer. We absolutely do not engage in illegal activities!”

The police were also aware of the Gu family’s status and responded politely, “We have only received a report. This does not mean the Gu family has done anything wrong. We just need to carry out an inspection according to regulations.”

Since there was to be an inspection, the Gu family naturally could not obstruct it and could only temporarily move the guests to the garden.

Old Madam Gu was an elderly woman, and such a disturbance during her birthday banquet left her furious and dizzy with a headache. Gu Yao then asked the servants to take her back to her room to rest.

Due to the large number of officers deployed, the several-hundred-square-meter main house was quickly searched, and nothing suspicious was found.

The guests let out a sigh of relief. More or less, those who had come were involved in business with the Gu family. If something really happened to the Gu family, it would not be good for them either.

Among the crowd, Second Uncle Gu’s eyes flickered.

He stepped forward and said, “It seems someone made a false report. Sigh, wasting police resources is truly shameful. Officers, if you don’t mind, why not stay and have a meal before leaving?”

A police officer pointed in a direction and asked, “What is that area?”

“Oh, that is where the servants live.”

“Let’s go take a look.”

Second Uncle Gu hesitated. “Well… the servants’ quarters are all double occupancy. If someone were being illegally detained, it would definitely be noticed. Besides, most of that building consists of storage rooms.”

The police replied, “Just to be safe.”

The person who made the report could not be contacted. If the situation were real, it could involve a life.

Second Uncle Gu’s gaze fell beyond the crowd. After seeing something, he suddenly changed his tone. “Since that’s the case, let’s go over there.”

When the police found Gu Sui’an in the storage room, the luminous liquid on the boy’s body had not yet faded. Everyone was startled, and their first reaction was that they had seen a ghost.

“Oh my god!”

“What is that? How scary!”

Gu Sui’an remained silent.

Only when the police approached did they realize it was a boy about thirteen or fourteen years old. At this moment, he looked like he had just been pulled out of the water.

“Who is this?” a police officer asked loudly.

The Gu family members quickly stepped forward. Gu Yao had never expected that someone really had been detained at the old residence. She rushed through the crowd, and the moment she saw that it was Gu Sui’an who had been locked up, her heart sank.

She keenly realized that this matter was likely aimed at Gu Yi.

But there was no way to contain it. With so many people present, today’s incident would not remain a secret.

Sure enough, over there, Gu Changshun had already shouted the boy’s name in front of everyone, “Sui’an! Why are you here? Quickly tell Second Uncle who locked you in!”

The guests attending the banquet were in an uproar. What? This child was actually a member of the younger generation of the Gu family!

And the only ones who would call Gu Changshun Second Uncle were the children of the main branch, Gu Yi and Gu Yao. Gu Yao and her husband were child-free by choice and had been married for many years without having children.

As for Gu Yi, he had only gotten married a few months ago.

So, what was going on with this child?

Everyone looked at each other, as if they had just discovered some high-society scandal.

Gu Sui’an clutched his throat and coughed, unable to speak.

Gu Changshun looked around. His voice was loud and echoed through the corridor as the cold wind blew. “Where is my niece-in-law? She hasn’t been seen since just now. The villa’s maid said she abused her stepson. Could this incident be her doing as well?”

“Niece-in-law? That woman from the Yu family?”

“If that’s the case, then the boy who was locked up must be Gu Yi’s son!”

“Oh my god, no way. Isn’t President Gu supposed to be single? He actually has a son this big!”

“What’s so surprising about that? A man in his thirties, I don’t believe he can restrain his lower half. Seeing how the Gu family has kept this secret so tightly, maybe there’s more than one illegitimate child.”

…

Amidst the chaos, only one person had a different opinion.

Xu Zonglei: “A wealthy stepmother and stepson? That’s even more exciting!”

Gu Yao frowned and first had the servants “politely ask” the surrounding guests to leave, then whispered, “Second Uncle, there are too many people here. If there’s anything to say, let’s talk about it later.”

“No need to go back!”

Second Uncle Gu was a stubborn old man. He held Gu Sui’an’s hand with heartache, but the boy avoided him. The man’s movement froze for a moment, then he casually patted the teenager’s shoulder. “You don’t need to be afraid. Just tell the officers directly, was it that woman from the Yu family who locked you in here?”

Gu Changshun had planned well. He had originally just wanted to use this opportunity to stir up discord between the mother and son. He had not expected the police to come, but it did not affect his plan. He could also use the situation to cause a scene in front of everyone. This way, Gu Yi’s reputation at Feiyi would certainly suffer a heavy blow.

Gu Sui’an looked at him.

Second Uncle Gu smiled kindly. “Don’t be afraid.”

Gu Sui’an lowered his head and murmured like a mosquito, “It wasn’t.”

Second Uncle Gu was stunned and instinctively retorted, “How could it not be?!”

“Why would it be?”

As these words fell, another person walked out of the pitch-dark storage room. Under Gu Changshun’s shocked gaze, Yu Lan smiled more eerily than tonight’s moon. “Second Uncle, why are you falsely accusing me? I think you’re the real mastermind behind all this!”

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Author’s note:

Chapter 7: Regarding the male lead’s side from Xu Zonglei’s perspective, I made major revisions. I changed it so that netizens don’t know what the male lead looks like. Turns out I completely forgot about the synopsis while writing, hahaha.

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