The Heiress's Game

The following evening, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel.

The annual "Starlight Charity Night" in Dahai City was held in the banquet hall of this hotel. The organizer was a charity foundation led by Wang Manyun, so the Gu family could be considered as half the host.

Invitations were sent out, and most of the celebrities in Dahai City came. The red carpet stretched from the hotel entrance to the banquet hall, luxury cars parked one after another, and flashes of light went off constantly.

Gu Yunjin arrived neither too early nor too late.

Today she wore a misty blue off-the-shoulder tulle dress, with an extremely narrow waist and a skirt that draped down to her ankles, making her look like she was walking on clouds.

Her long hair was not tied up, but hung loosely over her shoulders. She wore only a pair of diamond stud earrings, and her whole demeanor was simple and elegant, making her stand out among the group of heavily made-up dresses.

Qian Yuewei arrived a step earlier than her, and as soon as she saw her, she took her arm and whispered in her ear as they walked inside:

"Let me tell you, I just saw Gu Mingyue at the door. She was wearing a champagne gold strapless dress, and the emerald necklace around her neck was as big as a pigeon's egg."

My dad said that chain alone is enough to buy a sea-view apartment in Repulse Bay. Your dad spoils her way too much.

"Her necklace seems to be a birthday gift from my dad. I'm glad she likes it." Gu Yunjin said calmly, without even pausing in her steps.

Qian Yuewei pursed her lips, but wisely didn't continue the topic.

She knew the subtle relationship between Gu Yunjin and Gu Mingyue—half-siblings, one pampered and cherished, the other unloved yet living a successful life.

Gu Yunjin never said a bad word about Gu Mingyue in public, but Qian Yuewei wasn't stupid.

The fact that Gu Yunjin was sent abroad at the age of fourteen while Gu Mingyue was raised by Gu Zhenxing speaks volumes.

The banquet was a Western-style buffet reception, with a dance floor in the center of the banquet hall, surrounded by round tables and sofas, and a terrace garden on the outer side.

There is a small ornamental pond in the garden, decorated with warm yellow string lights around the edge. The lights are reflected on the water, like a handful of scattered gold.

Gu Yunjin and Qian Yuewei, carrying champagne glasses, mingled among various acquaintances. Later, Qian Yuewei was called by Madam Qian to greet several elders, while Gu Yunjin went to the terrace alone to get some fresh air.

The evening breeze from Haicheng, carrying the humid heat of early summer, blew in from the garden. She leaned against the railing of the terrace, took a sip of champagne, and casually glanced at the crowd in the banquet hall.

She saw Wang Manyun standing among a group of ladies, chatting and laughing, and saw Gu Mingyue sitting on the sofa surrounded by several socialites.

She was listening to the person next to her with her head slightly tilted to the side, her posture dignified and aloof, truly befitting the "Number One Socialite of Dahai City".

Then she saw two familiar faces.

Liu Wanning and Fang Qingya.

These two are Gu Mingyue's close friends, or rather, Gu Mingyue's two little followers.

Liu Wanning's family is in the import and export trade, and Fang Qingya's family owns a chain of hotels. Both families' businesses rely heavily on the Gu family. Therefore, these two people have always been obedient and subservient to Gu Mingyue.

In the year and a half since Gu Yunjin returned to China, she has encountered them many times on various occasions. Each time, she would nod and exchange pleasantries politely, keeping to herself and not interfering with each other.

But tonight, both of their eyes seemed to keep drifting in her direction.

Gu Yunjin calmly withdrew her gaze and continued drinking her champagne.

She noticed that Liu Wanning and Fang Qingya wandered around the banquet hall a few times, seemingly waiting for some opportunity.

After a while, the two walked towards the terrace one after the other.

coming.

Gu Yunjin silently counted to three in her mind, then turned around, preparing to walk into the banquet hall, when Liu Wanning suddenly quickened her pace and brushed past her, taking two steps towards the decorative pool—

Then, with a "plop," water splashed everywhere.

"Ah—!" Liu Wanning screamed and fell into the pool, half of her body submerged in the water. Her dress was soaked through, her carefully styled curly hair was plastered to her face, and she looked utterly disheveled.

The people at the tables near the terrace in the banquet hall all turned their heads at once.

Fang Qingya rushed to the poolside almost simultaneously, reaching out to pull Liu Wanning up while shouting in a voice loud enough for everyone around to hear:

"Gu Yunjin! How could you push someone! Wan Ning was just passing by you, did you have to do that?!"

The shout was so powerful that it pierced through the noise of half the banquet hall, and even people in the sofa area in the distance stood up.

Fang Qingya pulled Liu Wanning out of the water. She stood by the pool, soaking wet, her lips pale and her body trembling slightly, whether from the cold or acting, it was hard to tell.

She looked at Gu Yunjin, her eyes reddening, tears welling up instantly, her voice trembling with sobs:

"Miss Gu, what have I done to offend you? I was just walking right past you, why did you push me?"

Fang Qingya immediately chimed in, "I saw it with my own eyes; it was she who pushed her."

As Wan Ning passed by, she reached out and pushed Wan Ning, causing Wan Ning to lose her balance and fall inside.

More and more people gathered to watch.

Several ladies nearby exchanged bewildered glances, one of them covering her mouth and whispering, "Isn't that the second young lady of the Gu family? Why would she push someone in a situation like this?"

"This water is quite deep; what if you slip and get hurt?"

"What grudge do you have to cause this scene at a charity gala?"

Some people's gazes shifted meaningfully between Gu Yunjin and Gu Mingyue in the distance—who didn't know that Liu Wanning and Fang Qingya were Gu Mingyue's people?

Ultimately, this matter is probably not that simple.

Whispers came in from all directions like a tide.

Gu Yunjin stood still, holding her champagne glass, her expression completely unchanged.

She watched Liu Wanning standing there crying, soaking wet, watched Fang Qingya pointing at her with righteous indignation, and watched the surprised, suspicious, or amused looks from the people around her. She had only one thought in her mind.

That's such an outdated method.

It's the kind of character who wouldn't survive even one episode if they were transported into a palace intrigue drama from a Tomato novel.

There are surveillance cameras around the pool. Can the angle of the fall into the water and the direction of the splash match the force analysis of the push?

Did you check beforehand if there were any witnesses nearby? What if someone filmed a video from another angle?

She was at least three steps away from Liu Wanning's "falling point." What did she use to push herself? Qigong?

Gu Yunjin sighed softly, just about to speak—

"What utter nonsense are you spouting!"

Qian Yuewei suddenly appeared out of nowhere, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on and its fur standing up. She blocked Gu Yunjin's way and started cursing at Fang Qingya.

"Fang Qingya, are you blind? Yun Jin pushed her."

Yun Jin was standing three steps away from the pool. Was her hand made of springs so long that it could stretch out?

Do you think this is a martial arts movie where you can fight a cow from a distance? I don't care if your Chinese was taught by a PE teacher, but your physics was taught by a PE teacher too?

"How do you push someone three steps away? Show me!"

Fang Qingya was stunned by her barrage of insults. Before she could retort, Qian Yuewei had already turned her gun on Liu Wanning.

"And you! You fell into a pool and cried like this, anyone who didn't know better would think you fell into the Pacific Ocean!"

What kind of melodramatic act are you putting on here? Go home and do it somewhere else. This charity gala isn't the place for you to debut as a short video creator!

Someone nearby couldn't help but chuckle softly, then quickly covered their mouth with their hand.

Liu Wanning's face flushed red and then turned pale, and her tears flowed even more fiercely, but this time it wasn't acting; she was genuinely angered by the scolding.

Fang Qingya's voice trembled with anger: "Qian Yuewei, stop making baseless accusations! I saw it with my own eyes—"

"You saw a ghost!" Qian Yuewei said, hands on her hips, her aura overwhelming.

"You two are always following Gu Mingyue around like lackeys, and today you come here to stage an accident. Do you think everyone can't tell who ordered you to do this?"

Everyone here is a shrewd person. Who are you trying to fool with this kindergarten-level framing?!