My sister, whom I raised, has turned evil after faking her death for three years.

The moment the door to the Anyang Club was pushed open, Gu Lei stood at the doorway and remained silent for a moment.

Above was a huge crystal chandelier, underfoot was a corridor covered with rose petals, and the walls were wrapped with pink and white ribbons and balloons. Every few steps there was an exquisitely crafted floral archway.

She'd lived for over twenty years and had seen clubs before, but this was truly the first time she'd ever seen one decorated more extravagantly than a wedding venue.

She kept asking herself if this was the style of all high-end clubs nowadays, or if she had simply been out socializing for too long and had fallen behind the times in terms of aesthetics.

However, she wasn't here to admire the interior design today; these fancy things had nothing to do with her.

She straightened her cuffs and stepped inside. Then she saw Chengxuyan.

When she saw him at the banquet last time, although he made her feel a little uncomfortable, at least his suit was dark gray, his shirt was white, and he looked clean and presentable, with nothing particularly wrong with him.

But today… as she looked at the man in front of her, dressed in a pink suit, with a fuchsia bow tie and a white rose pinned to his chest that he didn’t know where he’d picked from, she felt her eye twitch involuntarily.

She had so much to say, but right now, all she wanted to do was slap him across the face.

She took a deep breath, suppressed the impulse, and repeatedly told herself, "You're here to gather information, not to beat people up," before finally managing to force a barely acceptable smile.

Of course, the program had no idea what she was thinking.

He only saw that the "Young Master Gu" he had been longing for not only arrived on time, but also stared at him ever since he entered the room, and had not looked away even now.

The little devil in his heart was already setting off fireworks; Jiang Ren's advice to take an unconventional approach was indeed true.

The previous times he took a composed approach, the other party wouldn't even give him a second glance. But today, he changed into this pink outfit, and the other party has been staring at him ever since he walked in.

He took a deep breath, suppressed his excitement, tried to appear calm and composed, and raised his hand in a gesture of invitation.

  

Gu Lei braced herself and followed him inside, her gaze seemingly casually sweeping across the entire hall.

Apart from a few staff members setting up a drinks bar in the corner, she didn't see the eldest son of the Jiang family.

Her heart sank slightly... If Jiang Ren wasn't there, her trip today would have been in vain.

Xiao He followed behind, secretly observing the surroundings as they walked, and the more he looked, the more something seemed off.

The ground was covered with rose petals, the walls were covered with pink and white balloons, and there was an expression on Mr. Gu's face that was even more complicated than if the project had fallen apart.

A bold idea slowly took shape in his mind. It was common knowledge throughout Beicheng that this young master Cheng had gynophobia. He had never been in a relationship and even had difficulty having normal social interactions with women.

Could it be that he's changed his sexual orientation and has feelings for President Gu?

Xiao He was startled by his own reasoning and broke out in a cold sweat. He quickly shook off the chaotic images in his mind and dared not think about it anymore.

The program invited her to sit down at the long table covered with a snow-white tablecloth, picked up a decanter and poured her a glass of red wine, deliberately making the movements elegant and composed.

Gu Lei watched as the glass of wine was pushed in front of her, and then looked at Cheng Puyan's face, which was trying hard to put on a dashing expression. But what she was thinking was... was his hand trembling? And the glass was a little too full. Had he never poured wine before?

She guessed right.

Cheng Xuyan hadn't poured drinks much before; in these kinds of situations, he was always the one having drinks poured for him.

He began to perform according to the script Jiang Ren had taught him, leaning back in his chair, one hand casually resting on the edge of the table, the other gently swirling a glass of red wine. He deliberately spoke in a lazy and casual tone, saying that he was really happy that Young Master Gu could come. He added that the weather in Ancheng had been nice these past few days and wondered if Young Master Gu had gone anywhere to stroll around.

He tried to make himself look like a playboy when he said this, but Gu Lei only thought he was a student reciting a text. The way he swirled the wine glass was too exaggerated, and she was always worried that the red wine would spill on her the next second.

But she came to gather information, not to find fault.

She gritted her teeth, swallowed back all the complaints she wanted to make, put on a polite smile, and chatted with him casually, using precise words and a gentle tone, giving him the utmost patience she could muster for a playboy.

After chatting for a while, she casually mentioned that she had seen Young Master Jiang and Young Master Cheng chatting happily at the last banquet, and thought she would see him today as well.

Without giving it much thought, Cheng Xuyan casually replied, "Oh, he went to pick up his sister. He should be back in a bit."

younger sister.

Gu Lei's fingers tightened slightly as she held the wine glass.

Given Jiang Ran's current power and style of doing things, she's definitely not the type who needs someone to pick her up when she goes out.

That's Jiang Yi, the eldest daughter of the Jiang family.

She put down her wine glass and quickly recalled all the rumors about this young lady in her mind: she was ignorant and incompetent, arrogant and domineering, and relied on the Jiang family's power in Beicheng to run rampant outside. It was said that she had burned a classmate's butt with a cigarette butt when they had a conflict in high school.

Although these are just rumors circulating within the industry, the person who spreads such rumors is probably not someone easy to get along with.

Moreover, this kind of ignorant and incompetent young lady is probably not very good-looking either.

She picked up her wine glass and took a sip, thinking: "It's alright, at least this young lady from the Jiang family shouldn't be as difficult to deal with as Jiang Ran."

Unless she's the kind of formidable person who sees through everything the moment she walks in, she shouldn't disrupt her plans.

She put down her wine glass and, while Cheng Xuyan was talking at length about a limited-edition red wine he had recently collected, excused herself to go to the restroom and got up from her seat.

As she turned the corner of the corridor, she waved to Xiao He, who had been waiting not far away.

Xiao He immediately jogged over and quickly instructed in a low voice that a person named Jiang Yi, the eldest daughter of the Jiang family, would be coming later. She didn't know if this person would disrupt the arrangements, and if things didn't go well, she should find an excuse to leave early so that this person wouldn't ruin the important matters.

Xiao He had obviously heard those rumors as well, nodding repeatedly with a solemn expression as if he had received some secret mission.

The way the two people stood in the corner of the corridor whispering and discussing their strategy looked just like they were planning a spy operation.

Just as they were discussing this, the clubhouse door was pushed open once again.

Jiang Yi followed Jiang Ren in and immediately saw Cheng Xuyan standing in the center of the hall, along with his dazzling pink suit.

She froze for a second, then burst into laughter, bending over with mirth. It took her a while to straighten up and wipe away the tears of laughter from her eyes. "Wait, Brother Yan, who picked out these clothes for you? They're so ugly!"

Cheng Xuyan blushed slightly, but she couldn't hide the smile on her lips. Her eyes unconsciously glanced at Jiang Ren beside her: "Xiao Yi, don't you think this dress looks good? Someone carefully picked it out for me."

"Really?" Jiang Yi followed his gaze to Jiang Ren, who was standing next to him with her arms crossed and expressionless. She didn't understand the meaning in his eyes at all. "How bad must this person's taste be? How blind must their eyes be to pick out such an outfit? Look at this color, it doesn't match your skin tone at all. And this bow tie, who wears fuchsia these days? That person must be colorblind in reincarnation, their aesthetic sense must have been chewed up by a dog."

She spoke with great enthusiasm, completely unaware that Jiang Ren's expression had shifted from cloudy to overcast and then to a downpour warning.

"Xiao Yi, who do you think picked out this outfit for your brother Yan?" Jiang Ren's voice suddenly drifted over from the side.

"How would I know? But anyone who can pick out clothes like this is definitely not a respectable person." Jiang Yi waved her hand, still immersed in her sharp fashion commentary.

Seeing Jiang Ren's face growing increasingly dark, Cheng Xuyan finally couldn't help but kindly remind her, "That person has quite a powerful background; I can't drive him."

"Can't open it? Why can't it open?" Jiang Yi finally turned around, his expression showing a hint of righteous indignation for his brother, and then met Jiang Ren's face, which was so black it could drip ink.

Her smile froze on her face as her mind raced, replaying her impassioned speech about "no taste," "having lost her sense of aesthetics," and "not being a decent person." Then she realized that all of that had been accurately directed at the young master beside her.

"Actually..." She swallowed, her expression undergoing a textbook-perfect transformation in a very short time, from righteous indignation to guilt to fawning, "Actually, I think the person who picked this dress has excellent taste. Look at this pink, it's not that gaudy pink, it's a pearlescent pink, understated yet luxurious and sophisticated, it's a perfect match for Brother Yan's temperament. Only that handsome, elegant, and aesthetically superb young master of the Jiang family could have such an eye."

Seeing how quickly she changed her mind, Cheng Xuyan finally let her go and asked her with a smile what she wanted to eat.

Jiang Yi quickly steered the conversation towards Jiang Ren, saying, "Let me order, it's hard for him to pick her up."

Jiang Ren chuckled coldly twice, her expression saying, "Now you know how to flatter me." "Didn't you just say that his taste was terrible? If his taste is bad, he can't afford to take responsibility if the food he makes doesn't suit this picky young lady's taste."

Jiang Yi clasped her hands together above her head, a little water welling up in her eyes. Her pitiful appearance was completely unrecognizable as the eloquent fashion critic she had just been.

Her pleading voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the quiet hall, and Gu Lei, who had just returned from around the corner of the corridor, heard it perfectly.

The voice was as clear and crisp as a wind chime being swayed by a spring breeze, with a slight upward inflection at the end, carrying a touch of playfulness and coquettish softness, which overlapped with the voice she listened to every night to fall asleep.

She paused involuntarily, then quickened her pace, walking towards the direction from which the sound came.