The Heiress's Game

Liu Wanning and Fang Qingya were led to the VIP lounge upstairs by the hotel manager.

The two people were wrapped in white bathrobes provided by the hotel, their hair wet and plastered to their scalps, their makeup ruined beyond recognition, looking like survivors who had just been pulled from a shipwreck.

Their dresses were sent to be dried urgently, and their personal assistants ran around delivering spare underwear and cosmetics. The scene was chaotic and silent.

Fang Qingya sat on the sofa without saying a word, her lips still trembling;

Liu Wanning was silently shedding tears, her mascara leaving two gray-black lines on her cheeks.

After the two of them finally changed into the spare dresses sent by the hotel—neither of them fit quite well, and Fang Qingya's shoulder straps kept slipping down.

Liu Wanning's waist swayed loosely—as she pushed open the door to the lounge, preparing to slink away through the side door, she bumped into someone.

Gu Mingyue stood in the corridor.

"Are you all changed?" Gu Mingyue looked up at them.

Liu Wanning and Fang Qingya both shivered at the same time.

"Sister Mingyue..." Liu Wanning said timidly, her eyes reddening again.

"Let's go inside and talk." Gu Mingyue pushed open the door to the adjacent lounge, gestured with her chin, and waited for the two people to go back inside before following them in and closing the door behind her.

The lounge was silent for about three seconds.

Gu Mingyue stood at the door, leaning against the door panel, and looked the two people up and down.

"Tell me, what's the meaning of this whole thing you two are doing today? Are you trying to frame me?"

Liu Wanning suddenly raised her head, tears streaming down her face, and shook her head desperately:

"No, Sister Mingyue, how could we possibly frame you! We just wanted to help you get revenge!"

Who is Gu Yunjin? She's a worthless piece of trash who was abandoned abroad by Uncle Gu for over a decade.

"She's only been back for a few days and she dares to produce that kind of variety show to show off. We just can't stand her behavior and want to embarrass her in front of everyone—"

"Help me get revenge?"

Gu Mingyue took a deep breath and raised her fingers to press her temples.

"Liu Wanning, Fang Qingya, are your brains filled with water?"

"Did too much water get into your body when Gu Yunjin held you underwater and you haven't been able to get it out yet?"

Fang Qingya's face flushed red: "Sister Mingyue, we really did this for you—"

"For me?" Gu Mingyue interrupted her.

"Tonight's charity gala was spearheaded by my stepmother, Wang Manyun, and it's a home turf for my Gu family."

You framed the second young lady of the Gu family on the Gu family's home turf. And you two are my followers. Whose face do you think you've lost?

Is it Gu Yunjin's face, or my face, Gu Mingyue's face, or the face of the entire Gu family?

Liu Wanning opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

Gu Mingyue sneered and threw her handbag onto the sofa next to her.

"Gu Yunjin and I are just fake besties. Everyone in the entire Dahai City social circle who has eyes knows this."

But when have you ever seen me mess with her in public? When have you ever seen me embarrass her in front of outsiders?

It's not because I like her—I find her incredibly annoying—but we're bound by family values. If she loses face, I lose face, and if I lose face, she won't look good either. We both know this.

So no matter how much we fight in private, once we step outside the Gu family's door, we're just two harmonious sisters.

This is basic common sense for surviving in wealthy families; don't you even understand this?

Fang Qingya's face flushed red and then turned pale. Her lips moved a few times before she finally lowered her head.

Liu Wanning's tears fell even harder as she finally realized how stupid she had been for doing something today.

"Although I'm not as quick-witted as Gu Yunjin,"

Gu Mingyue's voice turned cold, "But I'm not as stupid as you are."

You guys are really something, taking the initiative to make decisions for me and using such a cheap trick that even villains in TV dramas wouldn't stoop to, to mess with my sister on my own turf?

Are you worried that the gossip magazine in Dahai City won't have a headline tomorrow?

"Those media outlets have said enough nasty things about me because of that bitch Chen Cui."

"Are you trying to add something extra to my dish?"

Liu Wanning burst into tears: "Sister Mingyue, I'm so sorry, we really didn't think of this."

We just saw you getting so angry with her and wanted to stand up for you... We were wrong, really wrong...

Gu Mingyue closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Just then, a very soft laugh came from outside the door.

The three people in the lounge froze simultaneously.

The door was pushed open a crack, and Gu Yunjin peeked in, revealing half of her face.

Her beautiful eyes curved into two crescent moons, a sweet and innocent smile graced her lips, and her tone was as soft as if she were sharing a piece of cake with her best friend:

"Oh dear, I didn't expect it really wasn't my eldest sister who did it."

Gu Mingyue's back visibly stiffened for a moment.

"Were you eavesdropping outside?" Gu Mingyue's voice rose half an octave.

"Just passing by," Gu Yunjin said as she pushed open the door, still holding the half-finished glass of champagne. Her misty blue gauze dress swayed gently with her steps.

"I originally wanted to come up and check if the two ladies had any aftereffects from being choked, and chat with them for a bit, but I didn't expect to hear the older sister scolding someone."

My older sister usually speaks very gently, it's rare to hear you so angry, so I stood there a little longer.

Gu Mingyue's lips twitched.

Looking at Gu Yunjin's bright smiling face, she used great self-control to refrain from rolling her eyes on the spot.

But the unspoken message in his eyes was clear: Don't give me that crap; you know exactly how long you've been listening outside the door.

Gu Yunjin didn't look at her again, but walked around her and went to Liu Wanning and Fang Qingya.

When the two women saw Gu Yunjin approaching, they shrank back like two frogs being stared at by a snake.

Liu Wanning instinctively covered her hair, while Fang Qingya shrank back into the corner of the sofa.

Both of their eyes were filled with fear—not the embarrassment of being humiliated in a social situation, but a real, physiological fear.

The feeling of being repeatedly pushed underwater and unable to breathe in the pool was still freshly etched into their muscle memory.

"Don't be nervous," Gu Yunjin said, sitting down on the sofa opposite them, crossing her legs, and placing her hands on her knees in an elegant and relaxed manner.

"I had a lot of fun today. I hope you had fun too."

Liu Wanning and Fang Qingya looked at each other, not understanding what she meant by those words.

Gu Yunjin looked at them with a smile, her tone as sweet as if she were handing out wedding candy.

"Next time you have this idea, be sure to keep going, and don't give up because of this little setback today."

My life is usually quite boring, so I'm always happy to have someone come to me to keep me company.

Next time, you can think of a more sophisticated method. I'll play along with you slowly, and I guarantee it will be even more fun than today.

She paused, tilted her head, and added in a light, airy tone, "Is it okay?"

The air in the lounge felt as if it had been sucked out.

Liu Wanning's face turned completely pale, her lips trembled for a long time, and she managed to force a smile that was more like a grimace:

"No, I won't do it again... I really won't..."

Fang Qingya shook her head vigorously, almost unable to speak coherently:

"We're not playing anymore, Miss Gu! We were blind today, we'll never dare to do it again..."

They were genuinely scared.

The woman in front of them was incredibly strong. Just now, by the pool, she could hold their heads underwater with one hand, and no matter how much they struggled, they couldn't break free.

For a moment, they truly believed that Gu Yunjin was really going to drown them in the pool.

Throughout that entire process, Gu Yunjin kept smiling.

This is what terrifies them the most.

Gu Yunjin nodded in satisfaction as she looked at the two people who were terrified, and stood up.

She walked to the door, then turned back to look at Gu Mingyue, blinked, and spoke in a light and sincere tone:

"Big sister, I heard what you said in the hallway today."

You said that although you find me incredibly annoying, you still have to maintain a respectable image for your family in public—that's what I think too.

"Then let's continue to maintain our 'plastic bestie' relationship, wouldn't that be great?"

Gu Mingyue looked at her expressionlessly.

She watched Gu Yunjin walk out of the lounge, listening to the sound of her high heels gradually fade away in the corridor.

Then he picked up his handbag from the sofa and turned to look at Liu Wanning and Fang Qingya, who were huddled together.

"You two, stay away from me from now on." She paused, as if considering her words, but ultimately gave up on any euphemistic expression.

"From now on, if you make decisions about my affairs on your own, I won't need her to do anything; I'll deal with you myself first."

After saying that, she walked out without looking back.

Only Liu Wanning and Fang Qingya remained in the lounge.

They glanced at each other and saw the same lingering fear on each other's faces.

Liu Wanning touched her still throbbing scalp, her voice trembling with tears, "Fang Qingya, what kind of people have we messed with...?"

Fang Qingya did not answer; her shoulders were still trembling slightly.