Early autumn, every breeze carried with it a touch of chill.
The Gu household's villa was adorned with flowers and balloons, achieving a balance of romance and nobility.
Jiang Yansheng brushed her long hair, retouched her make-up in front of the mirror, finally greeting the room with her heart-warming smile.
Donned in a backless light-colored dress which revealed the arresting curvature of her back, she looked pure and innocent. Yet, whispers swirled about her.
"Isn't that Miss Jiang, who recently divorced young master Gu? She dare attend Miss Gu's birthday banquet?"
"Dares not? She's already here."
"Having divorced once already, and with young Master Gu at that, who would dare marry her in the future..."
"Well, that remains to be seen..."
Half of the people were discussing her thunderclap of a marriage, while the rest gawked at her face with a trace of scrutiny and also desire.
Jiang Yansheng felt greatly annoyed. Raising an elegant eyebrow, a sharp coldness flashed in her amber eyes as she gave the room a sweeping look.
Suddenly, those who had dared whisper behind their hands went as quiet as a nest of quails.
Led respectfully by a servant to the main hall, Jiang Yansheng absentmindedly picked up a drink and swirled it around. Then, the star of this birthday party couldn't wait and came over, holding her dress.
"Yansheng sister, how come you're here...?" Dressed in a white dress, Gu Yiyi, with her curves in all the right places and skin as creamy as jade, looked like a small lotus princess.
The one flaw in this pretty picture was that this little princess was blind.
To be more precise, Gu Yiyi’s eyesight was gone, but her mind could not have been more agile.
Gu Yiyi has a hint of shyness on her face, lifted her head and whispered so softly, as if her breath were as fragrant as orchids. However, Jiang Yansheng wasn't even slightly amused. She grazed Gu Yiyi's arm and subtly took a step back without changing her expression.
The last time she got too close to this porcelain doll, Gu Yiyi had tripped over. Immediately, the surrounding people blamed Jiang Yansheng and unreasonably considered her to be ruthless, leaving her with no chance to defend herself.
She didn’t know if it was because of Mister Gu. It seemed that every time they met, Miss Gu always liked to make things difficult for her.
Even though she had already divorced Gu Rán three days ago, Gu Yiyi still desperately clung to her like a stubborn plaster.
"Today is your birthday. My dad asked me to bring you some gifts." She said and slammed a gift box onto the table. With an appropriately warm smile on her face, she seemed to truly wish Gu Yiyi a happy birthday, but only her eyes were full of coldness. "Now that I've brought the gift, I should leave."
Jiang Yansheng took off her black gloves, her elegant fingers gently tapped the table and she solemnly reminded, "And, even though I divorced Gu Rán three days ago, the paperwork isn’t finalized yet. I am still your sister-in-law, so stop calling me 'sister'. Anyone who doesn’t know would think you and your brother have an unusual relationship."
As Jiang Yansheng spoke, the crowd around them offering toasts were suddenly silent. So, even though her voice wasn't loud, every word she said clearly entered the ears of these people.
The Gu family had a noble status in Jing City. The guests were naturally the top elites. They were able to coolly continue their conversations after hearing what she said but their attention converged here, everyone listening in.
"Tsk!"
Suddenly, she heard a man's snort of laughter from behind Gu Yiyi. She lifted her eyes to see an elegant man with deep facial features, a broad body and black eyes lethargically leaning against the long table, the tailored suit on his body didn't have a single wrinkle.
They weren't very far apart, Jiang Yansheng smelled a faint scent of tobacco and mint in the air.
The man’s lips were tightly pressed. If she hadn't seen him laugh with her own eyes just now, she would have questioned her senses.
The moment their eyes met, Jiang Yansheng felt that the man looked strangely familiar, but the man's sharp cold eyes were too disturbing to look at for long. Seconds later, she averted her gaze.
"What... what are trying to say, sister-in-law?" Forced by Jiang Yansheng to correct her form of address, Gu Yiyi’s face turned dark. Even if she couldn’t see the reactions of others, she could feel the heat of numerous focused eyes.
Gu Yiyi’s lips were bitten almost to bleed, no words were forthcoming.
Jiang Yansheng, this woman, she even managed to make her lose face in public!
She really shouldn’t have allowed that marriage ceremony to take place right under her nose!
One unconscious hand crumpled the white dress at her side into a ball. Gu Yiyi slightly lifted her chin, her expressionless gray eyes bizarrely fixated on a room at the end of the second floor. After a while, she shifted her empty gaze back to Jiang Yansheng.
“What did I say?” Jiang Yansheng shrugged helplessly. “Gu Ran is the adopted son of the Gu family. He isn't directly related to you, but this doesn’t mean he’s not your brother!”
“Besides, this wedding was arranged quickly and hastily. Throughout, I never even once saw the groom. If not for my mother's dying wishes, do you think I care about your Gu family?” Jiang Yansheng leaned forward slightly, her graceful neck as elegant as a noble swan.
Gu Yiyi clenched her hand, her long nails digging deep into her palm, to the point of bleeding. She quickly strode forward, but the moment her fingers touched Jiang Yansheng’s clothes, they were brushed off lightly.
“What is it that you want to do, Miss Gu, in the presence of so many people...?”
Though she knew that Gu Yiyi couldn't see, it was still necessary to maintain face. Jiang Yansheng simply raised her eyebrows fleetingly, her patience not wavering, yet her aura sensibly cooling down.
The Gu family had its fair share of dirty secrets, ones that Gu Yiyi never publicly addressed.
But this was enough to make Jiang Yansheng sick to her stomach.
Since marrying into the Gu family, she couldn't even glimpse Gu Ran once, let alone this younger sister-in-law who would sob in front of her daily. She'd drop hints about a tragic love story; if Jiang didn't know these two were siblings, she would've mistook it as genuine!
“Since my sister-in-law is here…”
The woman’s elegant figure was reflected in Gu Yiyi’s pupils. She “glanced” again at the tightly closed door on the second floor. Frustrated by its silence, Gu Yiyi seemed a little annoyed.
Seemingly making a decision, Gu Yiyi bit her lip, picked up two already-poured drinks from the nearby table, and handed one to Jiang Yansheng. She gave a light smile while slightly lifting her chin in a provocative manner.
"Let’s not say I’m a poor host. Here, have a drink before you leave."
Jiang Yansheng lowered his head, a profound light flashing in his eyes.
Can he even drink what Gu Yiyi gave him? She really can't pretend to be the innocent one, not with that ungracious manner.
She had decided to cause a scene when she had come today.
"I drove here, so it wouldn't be convenient for me to drink. But, since it's Miss Gu's wish…”
With a smile, Jiang Yansheng accepted the wine glasst, met Gu Yiyi’s sightless eyes, and in front of everyone, tilted the glass and let all the wine spill onto the floor.
“Thanks for your hospitality.”
Sounds of shocked gasps echoed around the room – no one expected Jiang Yansheng to be bold enough to make such a public refusal.
“You...!” Gu Yiyi, although she could not see, she could hear. In her fury, she loosened her grip and dropped her own glass which instantly shattered on the floor with a loud ‘smack.’
The sound of sharp stiletto heels receded.
Jiang Yansheng just walked away without looking back!
Gu Yiyi's chest heaved with the sudden exertion of her anger. She didn't expect Jiang Yansheng to act so unreasonably! And the man she had been longing for wasn't showing up when she was losing face!
If it wasn't for Jiang Yansheng! If it wasn't for Jiang Yansheng, how could she be ridiculed openly like this?
Her face distorted into a derisive sneer for a split second before she summoned over a few respectful men in black suits.
When the guests saw Jiang Yansheng had already left, they all turned their heads, only the man who had just watched the scene at a close distance elegantly wiped his hands and disappeared without a trace in a short while.
When Jiang Yansheng arrived at the underground garage, he hadn't even had time to take out his key.
In the silent, desolate garage, apart from her own noises, sudden sporadic footsteps echoed.
A sense of unease increasingly enveloped Jiang Yansheng, and before she could even open her car door, she was besieged.
The man in a suit's face was emotionless, "I'm sorry, Miss Jiang."
The next second, her body was lifted off the ground, her wrists were ruthlessly seized, the force applied was so great that she gasped for cold air, her futile resistance was suppressed down by a stronger force.
"Is Gu Yiyi the one who sent you?" Jiang Yansheng calmly asked, while reaching subtly for her distant bag which contained a stun gun for emergency situations.
The man in the suit's face was as stern as a door, "No comment."
He kicked Gu Yiyi's bag even further away. In his hand, he held a delicate object, seemingly out of nowhere.
"Please don’t struggle in vain, Miss Jiang."
A chill ran down Jiang Yansheng’s spine, she lowly sobbed, "I am truly unfortunate. We were just one big family, how did my younger sister-in-law so suddenly send people out to harm me? She may be Miss Gu of the Gu Family, but my husband is the CEO of Gu Enterprises! If you dare to lay a finger on me now, be careful, or he will deal with you!"
The man in the suit remained unperturbed and did not take seriously the threats of Jiang Yansheng.
Only when he approached, did Jiang Yansheng got a clear view of what exactly he was holding.
It was a hypodermic needle!
What exactly was Gu Yiyi up to? Even if she wanted to poison and murder her, she shouldn't choose such a location! Could it be that she intended to force her into drug abuse?
Had this woman gone mad?
That stuff she simply couldn’t stand!
"Damn it, that bitch Gu Yiyi..."
Fuming with spite, she tried to break free from the coercive grasp, but the man's hands on her arm remained unwaveringly ironclad, holding her against the car door.
Jiang Yansheng could only watch helplessly as the contents of the syringe were surreptitiously pushed into her system.
Soon, her vision began to blur.
The chaotic footsteps around her incited a sense of dread. She was helpless, shackled, her sight indistinct. Only after biting her lips to the point of drawing blood did she regain a scrap of lucidity.
If it was indeed that substance, she might be killed by Gu Yiyi's malevolence!
"Jing Jianghai Banquet, Miss said to take her to room 1143, where Mr. Wang stays."
