Chapter 50

Just as he was about to praise his sister’s might, she chickened out the next second…

You Changhong rolled his eyes speechlessly, rolled around on the bed, and still reported the situation honestly to his sister. “Mom and Dad didn’t really react. It seems like they already knew about your affair with Sister Lihuan long ago.”

“What affair? That’s love!”

You Changqing defended the sincere relationship between her and Lihuan while also looking down on her brother’s poor choice of words.

“Fine, fine, love—love.”

You Changhong yielded to the oppressive force. “Are you coming home for lunch?”

“Yeah, wait for me, I’m heading back now.”

You Changqing hung up the phone, finally feeling relieved.

It was great that their parents didn’t oppose her and Lihuan being together. Now that she had their silent approval, she wouldn’t even need to make up excuses when staying over at Lihuan’s place in the future.

When You Changqing got home, she found both her parents there. She handed her backpack to the servant to hang up and walked over to sit beside them. “Mom, Dad, I’m back.”

“Good, good. Did you sleep well at the Shen family’s house last night?”

Yang Yingzhi was knitting a scarf while wearing her gold-rimmed glasses. It was her recent hobby. Even though her daughter had returned, she didn’t stop her work, casually asking while calmly undoing a wrongly stitched row.

You Changhong, sitting beside her, twitched his lips as he watched her movements. Mom, how long have you been knitting this scarf? It still hasn’t taken shape.

“Yeah, it was fine. I slept with Lihuan, no problem with recognizing the bed.”

You Changqing’s answer made You Zongzheng’s eyelids twitch. He shifted his gaze from the newspaper to his daughter’s face. “What, the Shen family doesn’t have guest rooms? They made you and Shen Lihuan sleep together?”

“Oh, Dad, what’s our relationship? There’s no need to sleep separately.”

You Changqing waved her hand nonchalantly. She and Lihuan would eventually share a bed every night anyway—this was just an early experience.

Seeing her indifferent expression, You Zongzheng deeply felt that his daughter was being stolen away. And judging by the situation, she was even the one actively running into it. At this rate, her moving out wasn’t far off.

As a father, why did he feel so miserable?

Yang Yingzhi finally put down her knitting needles and yarn, adjusted her glasses, and said, “Changqing, it’s normal for young people to want to stick together, but I must remind you, you’re only in your first year of high school. You still have two years before adulthood. Some things—if they shouldn’t be done, don’t do them.”

Kissing and hugging were fine, but anything beyond that would have to wait until they were adults.

You Changqing’s face immediately turned red. She yanked her brother, who was watching the drama unfold, into the conversation. “Mom, what are you even saying? Changhong is right here! Aren’t you worried about setting a bad example for him?”

The innocent bystander, You Changhong, blinked and cupped his face with an innocent look. “What are you guys talking about? I don’t understand.”

Yang Yingzhi patted his head and smiled. “Good boy, little kids should go play somewhere else.”

You Changhong puffed out his cheeks in frustration and lowered his head to message Ye Muyan. “Brother Ye, am I really a little kid?”

Ye Muyan replied almost instantly. “Of course not! Changhong, even though you’re young, you have a mature mind. Otherwise, how could you and I, who are ten years apart, have such great conversations?”

“Brother Ye, you have such good taste!”

You Changhong sent him several smug emojis, feeling quite pleased with himself.

Ye Muyan replied with a blushing emoji. Seeing that You Changhong had stopped replying, he set his phone down and continued eating lunch.

Now that he was in a good mood, You Changhong jumped back into the conversation between his mother and sister. “Sister is a cautious person, she wouldn’t act impulsively. Sister Lihuan cherishes her so much, she definitely wouldn’t force her into anything.”

“Exactly! Mom, don’t you trust me?”

You Changqing righteously defended herself, but deep inside, she felt a pang of regret. She still had to wait two whole years before she could get intimate with Lihuan. Just thinking about it was so miserable…

—

The news that Hu Zhiyuan’s trusted assistant had attempted to kidnap the eldest daughter of the Shen family and ended up in prison quickly spread throughout the entire Imperial Capital.

Most people were baffled when they heard about it. There had never been any known conflict between the Hu and Shen families—so why had Hu Zhiyuan targeted the Shen family’s eldest daughter?

Only Gu Qingrong, who had spoken with Hu Zhiyuan and knew he had also failed, was aware of the deeper story. In her fury, she smashed everything in her room.

She no longer dared to look at herself in the mirror. The tumors on her face were growing worse and worse. If it weren’t for the belief that getting the antidote would restore her original beauty, she would have already ended her own life.

But now, He Xi refused to help her, and Hu Zhiyuan was also powerless. Who else could she rely on?

Was she really going to have to live her whole life with this horrifying face?

No matter how scheming or resourceful she was, with a face like this, none of her tricks would be of any use.

Overcome with despair, Gu Qingrong stared at the scissors in her storage box. With trembling hands, she picked them up and stabbed them into the tumors. Even if she had to die, she refused to die with this face.

—

Meanwhile, Shen Lihuan, who had been reading a medical book, heard the sound of Gu worms flailing inside a bottle. She closed the book, took out a black porcelain bottle from the cabinet, and saw the Gu worms violently hitting the walls of the container as if they had been severely agitated.

Shen Lihuan raised an eyebrow and patiently waited for the bottle to settle down. After about ten minutes, the frantic movement inside finally ceased.

She took the bottle into the bathroom, opened the lid, and poured out its contents. A puddle of black, foul-smelling liquid oozed out. Shen Lihuan turned on the faucet and washed it away completely.

Even as the lingering stench stung her nose, she couldn’t help but smile.

Gu Qingrong was even more obsessed with her looks than she had expected—she had actually been willing to take a knife to her own tumors.

Originally, Shen Lihuan had planned to wait and see if Gu Qingrong could endure a full month with that terrifying face. If she had, Shen Lihuan was going to find an opportunity to poison her again.

But it seemed Gu Qingrong hadn’t even lasted a month before taking matters into her own hands.

That was ruthless. Someone who can be so cruel to themselves will only be even crueler to others. After drugging Gu Qingrong, she must have wished she could tear me to pieces. Unfortunately for her, she no longer has the chance to take revenge.

Shen Lihuan slowly and methodically rinsed the porcelain bottle clean, whispering, “Don’t blame me for being heartless. The moment you targeted my family, I had no intention of letting you go.”

The next morning, the servant who routinely delivered Gu Qingrong’s breakfast knocked on her door for a long time without receiving a response. Puzzled, he took out a key and unlocked the door. As soon as it opened, a thick stench of blood wafted out. The servant was nearly overwhelmed by the nauseating smell. Trembling, he pushed the door open further and stepped inside.

Gu Qingrong was slumped over her dressing table, a pair of blood-stained scissors in her hand. A large pool of blood had spread across the floor…

The servant collapsed to the ground in terror. It took him a long time to find his voice, and when he did, he let out a shrill, ear-piercing scream.

“Someone’s dead! Help! There’s a dead body!”

Not long after, news spread that Gu Qingrong, the young mistress of the He family, had died. Rumors swirled that when she passed, her face was a bloody, mangled mess, and she had died clutching a pair of scissors still stained with her own blood. It was as if she had deliberately destroyed her own face before succumbing to excessive blood loss.

The bizarre nature of her death sent chills down people’s spines. How ruthless must one be to mutilate their own face like that?

As for why Gu Qingrong had done it, speculation ran rampant. But most people believed she had been possessed.

Luo Jiangyue collapsed in tears over her daughter’s corpse, fainting several times from grief.

She had only ever had one son and one daughter in her life. Her son resented her for being a mistress and had distanced himself from her since childhood. Only her daughter, Gu Qingrong, had been close to her, had depended on her.

She had long since dismissed her son from her heart, pouring all her maternal love into her daughter. Yet now, she was forced to bury her child. Her poor daughter—she wasn’t even forty years old, and yet she had gone before her own mother.

Gu Xiujin was equally devastated. He had married twice and had only three children. His eldest daughter had severed ties with him, and his youngest son had moved out as soon as he came of age, only returning home for the holidays. Only his youngest daughter had remained close to him. She was the one he cherished the most, and now, she was gone—leaving him and Jiangyue behind to endure their grief.

Thinking of this, tears streamed down his aged face.

“This is all Shen Lihuan’s fault! If she hadn’t drugged our daughter, Qingrong wouldn’t have taken her own life! She valued her looks more than anything—how could she bear to live after seeing her face destroyed every day?!”

Luo Jiangyue sobbed into Gu Xiujin’s chest, her red, swollen eyes brimming with hatred for Shen Lihuan.

“She has to pay for this! I’ll make sure she joins my daughter in the grave!”

—

Shen Lihuan had no idea someone was plotting her death. She was preoccupied with a far more pressing concern—how to confess her feelings to Chang Qing.

Although they had kissed and touched, she had never formally expressed her love. Letting Chang Qing be with her just like that felt unfair to Chang Qing.

So she had made preparations in advance, planning to give Chang Qing a grand confession.

Chang Qing had no idea why Lihuan had mysteriously brought her to a restaurant. The usually bustling place was oddly quiet today, with only two or three other occupied tables.

After they finished their meal, Lihuan suddenly stood up and walked toward a violinist, taking the instrument from him before returning to Chang Qing’s side. She gazed at her with deep affection.

“Chang Qing, we’ve only known each other for a little over two months, but in that short time, I’ve fallen deeply in love with you. I know I’m not perfect—I have my flaws and bad habits—but I’m willing to become the perfect lover for you. This piece, Salut d’Amour, is for you. I hope our future will be as sweet as this melody.”

Chang Qing covered her mouth in surprise, her eyes sparkling with joy.

Lihuan had always been so slow on the uptake. Who would have thought that once she figured things out, she would act so decisively? And she even planned such a grand confession!

Though the gesture was a bit cliché, Chang Qing’s heart still burst into fireworks, leaving her dizzy as if she were drunk.

When the performance ended, Shen Lihuan held out a bouquet of eleven roses, then knelt on one knee before Chang Qing. With heartfelt sincerity, she asked,

“Chang Qing, will you be my girlfriend?”

Tears welled up in Chang Qing’s eyes. She nodded furiously, accepting the roses with a flushed face.

“I will!”

At that moment, the staff—who had been posing as other diners—stood up and showered them with rose petals, smiling as they cheered:

“Congratulations! Wishing you both a lifetime of love and happiness!”

“Thank you! Thank you so much!” Chang Qing looked at the petals swirling around them and tightly intertwined her fingers with Shen Lihuan’s.

Her heart was brimming with sweetness, like she had drunk a whole jar of honey.

She had thought she would have to wait a long time for Lihuan to finally come around. But happiness had arrived so much sooner than expected.

The heavens had truly blessed her, gifting her such a wonderful girlfriend in Shen Lihuan.