The Heiress's Game

The news of the engagement between the Bai and Gu families stayed on the trending topics list all night, and Gu Mingyue's phone rang all night as well.

It wasn't a call from the media; the media wouldn't dare to contact her directly.

The messages were all from my fake girlfriends in the circle, one after another, congratulating me. Their words were full of probing and gloating.

She didn't reply to a single one.

The doorbell rang, and three familiar figures filed in.

Liu Wanning walked in front, followed closely by Fang Qingya. As soon as she entered the room, she started shouting, "Sister Mingyue, you saw it too, right? It was trending all night, and netizens were praising Gu Yunjin's photos to the skies."

We were so angry on the way here, what right does she have?!

He Shiyi was walking at the back, carrying a box of cheesecake that Gu Mingyue liked.

"Mingyue, are you alright?" Liu Wanning sat down on the sofa opposite her, carefully observing her complexion.

Gu Mingyue didn't say anything, but picked up her wine glass and took a sip.

Fang Qingya plopped down on the armrest of the sofa. "I just can't stand her attitude! Mingyue, just think about it, if Gu Yunjin really gets engaged, won't she be able to do whatever she wants in Dahai City?"

If we don't teach her a lesson now, we'll never have another chance!

I know a few friends who work in the media. On the day of the engagement party, we managed to sneak in and take some unflattering photos of her.

"What's the point of just taking ugly photos?" Liu Wanning chimed in, her tone carrying a fawning eager to take credit.

"If you ask me, we should just have someone sneak in and slip something into her cup when she's not looking, making her look bad on the spot, so the marriage can't even go through."

"Um... Sister Mingyue, actually I think it wouldn't be good to actually do this. It's not that we shouldn't help Sister Mingyue get revenge, it's just that doing it might cause more trouble," He Shiyi said softly.

Fang Qingya rolled her eyes at He Shiyi, "He Shiyi, whose side are you on?"

Don't worry, Mingyue, we've planned everything. We definitely won't be able to trace it back to you.

That's enough.

Gu Mingyue slammed the wine glass down on the coffee table, raised her eyes, and coldly swept her gaze over the two "strategists" in front of her.

"You guys read too many Tomato novels, don't you? Bringing medicine into an engagement party? What kind of place do you think that is? A roadside food stall?"

Liu Wanning opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

Fang Qingya's face flushed red as she argued, "We just wanted to help you—"

"Help me? You're trying to kill me."

Gu Mingyue stood up and looked down at them.

"This is the Gu family's home turf, not just any random hotel like those in those web dramas you watch."

Wang Manyun personally arranged the security for the engagement banquet. There were backup personnel at each post in the core area, and everyone's background information was checked.

"How do you plan to sneak in? By scaling the wall? By disguising yourself as a delivery person? Or by getting a fake work ID like in the TV dramas?"

Liu Wanning shrank her neck, her voice barely audible: "Then...then we can think of a way from the outside—"

"The periphery? You think the periphery is a vegetable market? There are three verification points from the parking lot to the banquet hall, each of which involves facial recognition and identity verification."

Let alone the temporary workers you hire, even if you yourself were standing at the door with the invitation.

Security personnel will repeatedly verify your identity with the staff inside using walkie-talkies, and after verification, they will also check your bags.

After bag inspection, I still need to go through the security gate. How does that work? Can you teach me how to do it?

"Even if you manage to sneak in and bring the medicine in, where do you plan to put it?"

Gu Yunjin's drinking water and food are all taken care of by special people. Do you think it's like last time when she just sat in the pool and that was it?

Liu Wanning opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a single word. Fang Qingya's face also flushed red, her fingers twisting the hem of her clothes, and her eyes were already a little red.

"Wasn't the lesson learned from the last charity gala enough?"

Gu Mingyue grew angrier the more she thought about it. How could she have such a stupid follower, a hundred times stupider than her?

"You two were forced into the pool and made to choke on water. In front of a room full of people, you admitted to framing her, making a fool of yourselves and becoming the laughingstock of the entire high society in Da Hai City."

Whose face did you think you lost that time? It was your own face, and it dragged me down with you.

I went through so much trouble to suppress this matter, and now you want to pull this on me again?

Stir up trouble at the engagement party—if you succeed, you won't be able to escape; if you fail, you'll be even more unable to escape.

At that time, not only will I be unable to protect you, but your own families will also suffer.

"Don't you all realize the significance of a marriage alliance between the Gu and Bai families?"

She turned her gaze to Liu Wanning, "My older brother has already warned me: think about your parents, do your two families still want to do business in Dahai City?"

Liu Wanning's shoulders visibly hunched.

Seeing the atmosphere had become extremely tense, He Shiyi quickly stood up to smooth things over, walked to Gu Mingyue's side, and gently took her arm:

"Mingyue, don't be angry. Wanning and Qingya were just worried about you, and they said the wrong thing in the heat of the moment. They didn't really mean to do that kind of thing."

Gu Mingyue glanced at He Shiyi but said nothing more.

"This matter ends here. If anyone mentions causing trouble at the engagement party again, they can forget about ever setting foot in my house again."

Fang Qingya bit her lip, not daring to make a sound. Liu Wanning looked down at her fingernails, her eyes still red, but she didn't dare to say another word.

"Sister Mingyue," He Shiyi said softly, her tone gentle and sincere.

"Actually, you shouldn't take it too hard. It's her business that Gu Yunjin married well, and you're doing just as well."

After the engagement party, let's go on a shopping spree in Europe. We can wander around Paris and Milan as we please, buy dozens of bags, and all our anger will be gone.

Gu Mingyue looked at He Shiyi's gentle and kind face, and then she slowly nodded.

"Okay, let's go together then."

"Kobayashi, please see them off for me."

The personal assistant, Kobayashi, stepped forward and politely led the three of them toward the door.

Liu Wanning and Fang Qingya lowered their heads and quickly left the house. He Shiyi walked last, and when she reached the door, she turned back to look at the figure standing in front of the French window and sighed softly.

After dropping the three of them off, Kobayashi was tidying up the things on the coffee table.

"Xiao Lin."

Upon hearing this, the personal assistant, Kobayashi, straightened up: "Miss, is there anything else you need?"

Gu Mingyue turned around. "Wang Manyun came looking for you, right?"

Xiaolin's fingers clenched tightly on the edge of the tray for a moment, then returned to normal.

"And didn't my older brother and the others all tell you to keep a close eye on me, to follow me wherever I go, and to report to me immediately who I meet and what phone calls I make?"

The other shift assistants around me must have heard the same thing, right?

Xiao Linchen wasn't good at lying, and he knew there was no point in lying to Gu Mingyue.

Her fingers, which were holding the tray, turned slightly white, and her voice lowered: "Yes, and it's not just a few of us."

The driver, the housekeeper, and the security personnel on the perimeter all received messages.

There are also a few people I don't recognize who occasionally appear in places you frequent; they must have been arranged by the young master.

After listening, Gu Mingyue chuckled softly.

"Everything is arranged very well." She walked back to the sofa, sat down, and picked up the half-finished glass of red wine on the coffee table, swirling it around.

She stared at the wine stains on the wall as if she were looking at something very distant.

"Xiao Lin, do you know? More than anyone else, I hope Gu Yunjin will not get married."

I hope that tomorrow she'll be head over heels for some poor guy, become a hopelessly infatuated lover, marry him desperately, eat at roadside stalls, live in a rented room, sever all ties with the Gu family, and never be able to turn her life around.

She put the glass back on the coffee table. "But these are all just my fantasies."

The reality is that the Bai family is the Gu family's top-tier ally, and the marriage alliance is a strategic matter of utmost importance.

My older brother's attitude on this matter was even tougher than my father's; anyone who dared to touch this marriage was his enemy.

Although my father spoils me, he won't tolerate my recklessness when it comes to family interests. As for Wang Manyun, needless to say, the security system is specifically designed to protect her from me.

She leaned back on the sofa, looking up at the crystal chandelier on the ceiling.

"You know what? I actually miss the days before I got married."

Back then, my dad doted on me the most, and my older brother protected me in everything. Wherever I went, I was the center of attention.

I like to wear certain brands of clothes, and the next day I'll have three new pieces in my closet.

I told them I wanted to go to Paris for a fashion show, and that I didn't need to wait until the weekend; my plane was already waiting for me at the airport.

"Actually, in the first year or two after we got married, life wasn't so bad, since Zhao Zongheng didn't have any extramarital affairs."

He's been alright with me; the novelty is still there, and there are occasional little romantic gestures. I even thought that maybe we could slowly develop feelings for each other.

She picked up her wine glass, took a sip, and gazed out the window at a distant place:

"But what happened next? Day after day, the two of them became more and more like roommates."

I don't care what he does outside anymore, as long as he doesn't cause any trouble and end up trending on social media.

When he's home, we sit at opposite ends of the sofa. He plays on his phone, and I read my magazine. Sometimes we don't exchange more than three words all night.

This is the kind of marriage you envy—a complete mess, beyond repair.

She put down her wine glass, looked at Xiaolin, and said, "What's so good about marriage? If I could turn back time, I would never get married. If my father wanted me to have an arranged marriage, I would definitely fight to the death to resist."

Then she laughed first, a laugh that carried a hint of self-mockery and resignation.

"However, I also know myself—I have no power to resist an arranged marriage. With just one word from my father, I have no room to struggle."

She stood up and gently pushed the empty wine glass on the coffee table to the side.

"Could you pass on a message for me?"

"Tell my stepmother, tell my older brother—reassure them I won't do anything foolish."

"I know what this marriage means to the Gu family, and I also know my own limitations."

My stepmother and my dear sister are both more cunning than I am, and my older brother is cunning too. I'm powerless to sabotage things, and I don't want to humiliate myself any further.

She stood up and walked over to Kobayashi.

Xiaolin was half a head shorter than her, and at that moment he had his eyes downcast and his shoulders slightly hunched, as if he were waiting for a storm to break.

But Gu Mingyue simply reached out and gently patted her shoulder.

"Go ahead, call them. Tell them that Gu Mingyue will attend her sister's engagement party wearing her most beautiful dress and the most expensive jewelry, smiling and saying congratulations, raising a glass, and letting everyone see how sensible the eldest daughter of the Gu family is."

She turned and walked upstairs, stopping at the top of the stairs without looking back: "I'm tired, you should get some rest too."