Chapter 49: The True and False Heiress

This… this was the quintessential plot of a true and false heiress! What, what should she do? If everything she suspected was true, then didn’t that mean… the manipulative girl before her was actually her father’s biological daughter?

And once her father came to his senses and brought this ‘little green tea’ home, then… her own life as an adopted daughter, as the esteemed Young Miss of the Gu family, which she had enjoyed for so many years, would surely be… over?

This…

Crucially, this wasn’t some unfounded worry. She had witnessed firsthand how dotingly her father had cared for the girl just now. If such a thing truly came to pass one day, she might not be directly cast out, but at the very least… she would lose a significant portion of her father’s affection.

‘No, absolutely not! I’ve already temporarily lost Ruoyu; if I lose Father as well… No!’

****

For a long while, Zhou Ruoyu silently watched her ex-girlfriend. A fine sheen of cold sweat broke out on Gu Xue’s forehead, and she stumbled back a few steps, leaning against the wall, taking deep, ragged breaths. It was clear… she was drenched in sweat, perhaps even flustered to the point of utter helplessness.

The black-haired loli’s lips twitched for a moment. ‘No way…’

‘I didn’t expect Gu Xue to be so guilty after I exposed her. She’s utterly panicked like this…’

It left Zhou Ruoyu somewhat speechless. Could it be… that Gu Xue had been deceiving herself all this time, and quite successfully at that?

‘Unbelievable.’

Zhou Ruoyu shook her head, intending to make a run for it. However, now that Gu Xue had regained her composure, how could she let her leave so easily? The moment Zhou Ruoyu turned, her ex-girlfriend grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back with a sharp tug!

‘Huff… huff…’

‘No, that’s not right! Calm down. What this person said… isn’t necessarily true.’

‘If Father truly had an illegitimate daughter, how could I not have noticed a single sign until now?’

‘Besides… even if it were true, the age doesn’t seem to match. The black-haired ‘little green tea’ looks… a bit young, like a ‘little potato,’ but she must be at least high school age or older.’

‘If this really were Father’s illegitimate daughter, then… how precocious would Father have had to be? Could it be… he was seduced by some older woman? Impossible, Father isn’t that kind of person!’

After a thorough internal analysis, Gu Xue pondered the situation and concluded that the possibility of an illegitimate daughter was simply too low. Then, could this black-haired ‘little green tea’ also be Father’s adopted daughter? A newly recognized goddaughter?

Of course, there was one possibility that Gu Xue found most acceptable: this black-haired ‘little green tea’ was simply spouting nonsense, that this was nothing but a complete lie. ‘Phew… all this talk of father-daughter relations, it’s all lies!’

Gu Xue abruptly shook her head, then wiped away the cold sweat from her forehead. A sliver of hope clinging to her, she anxiously pressed the question:

“No, that’s not right! First, tell me, what is your name?!”

‘Hiss…’

She had to admit, her ex-girlfriend’s question truly cut to the core. Zhou Ruoyu’s face instantly twisted in a bitter expression. ‘What… what should I do? I can’t possibly say my name is Zhou Ruoyu, can I?’

‘Oh dear…’

After a long moment, seeing her ex-girlfriend’s gaze grow increasingly fierce, Zhou Ruoyu quickly waved her hands, then stammered out:

“Uh… I, my name is… Liu Ruyan.”

‘Cough cough… There’s no other way. You bullied me, after all, my dear team leader. Take the fall for me!’ Zhou Ruoyu genuinely calculated this in her heart.

However, the Gu Xue before her immediately frowned. ‘Not surnamed Gu?’ She quickly confirmed:

“Liu Ruyan? Don’t lie to me… Don’t think I don’t know, in short videos… there are often female characters with that name, right?”

‘No, huh?’

Faced with Gu Xue’s counter-question, Zhou Ruoyu was utterly astonished. ‘No way… so you knew? You’ve heard of my title, Liu Ruyan, the Great Emperor who transcended love tribulations? Then why did you still… cough cough—’

‘Does she truly have no self-awareness whatsoever!’

Zhou Ruoyu suddenly wanted to roll her eyes at her ex-girlfriend. In the end, however, she managed to control herself. She merely sighed, then suddenly caught sight of a security guard approaching them from near the hospital entrance. Immediately, she felt a savior had arrived, and she decided to lay it all bare with Gu Xue:

“That’s my name! Believe it or not, I’m busy and don’t have time to continue chatting with you here. I’ve already told you about my relationship with Gu Jiachen. You have no right to interrogate me here, do you? Cough cough… Move aside, or I’ll call the security guard!”

With the security guard’s impending support, Zhou Ruoyu, who had been slightly intimidated by Gu Xue’s physique, suddenly found her courage. She confronted Gu Xue directly. Her ex-girlfriend bit her lip, and after a moment, she continued with a hint of displeasure:

“I don’t believe any of that! In any case… no matter who you are, Gu Jiachen will always be my father! You’d better keep your distance from him, stay far away, otherwise… I will absolutely make sure you suffer the consequences!”

As Gu Xue spoke, she suddenly pulled out an eyebrow razor from her backpack, pointing it directly at Zhou Ruoyu, her eyes wide with a pathological glare as she threatened her.

Zhou Ruoyu gasped sharply. ‘No… no no no… why did she suddenly pull out a knife? Is Gu Xue’s mental state really okay? This is too terrifying!’

However, moments later, noticing the security guard’s gaze constantly drifting towards them, Gu Xue put the blade away. She then looked at Zhou Ruoyu with cold eyes, muttering, “I will never let you take them away…”

The black-haired loli was now thoroughly enraged. So, this Gu Xue was actually quite proud of ‘doing a father’s work,’ and even wanted to forever recognize Gu Jiachen as her father. ‘Pah! Doesn’t she feel ashamed? I even had the lights off!’

“As if anyone cares about Gu Jiachen! I’m telling you, it… he was the one who pestered me, and I couldn’t do anything about it! Besides, you can rest assured, I never intended to vie for his favor with you, nor did I ever think of shaking your position as his ‘daughter.’ Do whatever you want, but don’t drag me into it, making it seem like I’m some rival of yours! I don’t care about your affairs at all!”

Faced with Zhou Ruoyu’s forcefully calm retort, Gu Xue was momentarily stunned. After a long pause, she frowned again, then pressed further:

“Easier said than done! Heh, little green tea, then let me ask you again, what is your relationship with Ruoyu? I’m telling you, Zhou Ruoyu is my boyfriend, and you’d better stay far away from him… otherwise… you can also wait to be retaliated against!”

“No… no, didn’t I already say it before? I don’t know anyone named Zhou Ruoyu. That house is just where I recently moved in.”

Faced with her ex-girlfriend’s repeated threats, Zhou Ruoyu’s temper flared up, instantly bringing back the feeling of their past arguments. Gu Xue immediately knitted her brows tightly, then shouted:

“Bullshit! Do you think I didn’t see the furnishings in the house? Nothing in that place has even been moved, and many furniture and appliances haven’t been taken away. You’re telling me Ruoyu ‘moved out’? Who moves house and doesn’t even take their belongings?!”

“Cough cough… Oh, well, this, about this…”

‘Hiss—’

Zhou Ruoyu, who had never expected Gu Xue to remember the layout of her home, immediately felt her momentum deflate. The black-haired loli couldn’t help but fall into distress. ‘This… how should I explain this?’