Page 652

Gu Xiaoxi had lain low within the Gu family for five days, finally coming to understand her popularity in this household.

Gu Hua was an absolute old fox; to him, his daughter, just like his ex-wife, meant nothing once she was dead.

If it weren’t for Bai Yaxuan’s insistence on marrying her, Gu Hua would probably have smothered such a fool in the cradle to save himself the embarrassment.

But in front of Bai Yaxuan, he had no choice but to pretend to treat her well.

He provided her with the best life, hired a few nannies, but completely neglected her. Even when she was sold off and found her way back, it was only when Bai Yaxuan brought her home that he bothered to exchange a few words.

Tian Mei, the Gu family matriarch, was actually forty-two years old.

She was smooth in all her dealings, and her greatest ambition was to marry her daughter Gu Yuxin off to Bai Yaxuan.

She squeezed Gu Xiaoxi out at every turn, even inciting the servants to set her up, creating scandals to ruin her reputation.

The goal was to make Bai Yaxuan give up marrying her.

And Gu Yuxin saw her as a thorn in her side.

Whenever they were out of other people’s sight, Gu Yuxin tried every means to bully her.

Gu Cheng, Gu Hua and Tian Mei’s eldest son, was twenty-two. Everyone knew that he was Gu Hua’s illegitimate son.

After the death of Gu Xiaoxi’s biological mother, Jiang Li, the mistress stepped up.

The illegitimate son was legitimized!

In essence, if it hadn’t been for Bai Yaxuan and Mi Xi’s thorough protection, this foolish Gu family miss would have probably turned to cold bones before she could be reborn.

Originally, Gu Xiaoxi had planned to fake her death and flee this family. The world was so large she could’ve wandered freely anywhere.

Later, she abandoned the idea.

Supposedly, her mother had left behind a vast fortune, as to its extent, it was roughly half the Gu Family Group’s wealth.

Country A was the most powerful nation in the world, and its third wealthiest tycoon was still ranked third on the global wealth list. This spoke volumes about the Gu family’s influence.

According to her mother’s will written before her death, upon reaching adulthood and marrying, she would inherit all her mother’s wealth.

Did this mean that her biological mother had anticipated Gu Hua’s affair long before, and this move was to protect her interests?

Furthermore, this will had been revealed by a lawyer on her twentieth birthday.

If it hadn’t been for this will, she doubted she would have ended up sold in such a remote black market.

Her marriage meant that half of the Gu family’s fortune would be divided, no wonder her father was so desperate to find her.

The larger the Gu family, the murkier the waters; the more challenging something was, the more she liked it.

Since she had taken over everything related to Gu Xiaoxi,

She would live this life flawlessly, never allowing those heartless scum to get off scot-free.

In the Gu family’s dining room, the dining table was eight meters long.

Ten people sat around it for dinner.

Gu Hua and Tian Mei sat at the head, followed by Gu Cheng, Gu Yuxin, Gu Shu, and Gu Yuhang. All were Tian Mei’s children.

Yet Gu Xiaoxi, this young lady, sat at the very end, next to Mi Xi.

Mi Xi was Gu Hua’s adopted son, or rather, a child adopted by Gu Xiaoxi’s biological mother and had grown up with Gu Xiaoxi, sharing a deep bond.

He was the person in this family whom she felt closest to.

Mi Xi’s solid standing in this family was entirely due to his intelligence and diligence, working tirelessly to manage the company and run errands for Gu Hua.

In this household, like her, he had no status to speak of, yet he was still called a child of the Gu family.

"I don’t want to eat this!" Gu Yuhang, seated to Gu Xiaoxi’s left and only ten years old, was spoiled rotten.

Disliking green peppers, he threw a tantrum upon spotting a shred of them in his bowl.

The atmosphere at the dining table was already tense, and with his outburst, Gu Hua instinctively glared at him.

Tian Mei hurriedly tried to soothe him, "Just put it on your plate, and don’t eat it if you don’t want to."

"Hmph!" Gu Yuhang, chided by both his parents, was upset. He picked out the green peppers with his fork and casually tossed them into the plate of Gu Xiaoxi sitting beside him.

At this moment, everyone’s gaze turned to Gu Xiaoxi.

Gu Xiaoxi had been sitting quietly throughout, eating properly without looking around frivolously.

She stared blankly at the additional green peppers in her plate. Instinctively, she looked around at the others.

Gu Hua continued to eat, pretending not to notice.

Tian Mei took up her glass and sipped from the red wine, equally ignoring the scene.

Gu Yuxin wore an expression as if watching a play, while the others clearly considered such events to be the norm.

Gu Xiaoxi gripped her knife and fork tightly and turned to look at Gu Yuhang. Are you really bullying people at just ten years old?

Her gaze was as cold as ice, and when Gu Yuhang’s eyes collided with hers, he instinctively flinched.

He thought his sister’s eyes were as beautiful as the stars, but their light seemed to hide blades. When he looked into them, he felt as if her gaze could wound him.

He jumped in fright and hastily closed his eyes, thinking it must have been an illusion.

By the time he opened his eyes again, Gu Xiaoxi had already returned her attention to her plate. At that moment, Mi Xi actually picked up his knife and fork, intending to take away the green pepper Gu Yuhang had flipped onto her plate.

"Mi Xi brother, if you keep protecting her like this, she’ll never grow up!" Gu Yuxin glared at Mi Xi, her eyes sharp, accusing him of meddling.

But Mi Xi just smiled gently, "It’s okay, Xiao Xi doesn’t like green peppers either. I happen to like them!"

As he was determined to take away the green pepper, Gu Xiaoxi suddenly reached out to stop him.

With a fork in hand, she flicked her wrist ever so slightly, and the green pepper traced a beautiful arc from her bowl, landing back in Gu Yuhang’s.

Her movement seemed casual, yet it was executed with such precision that it was exactly on the mark.

"If brother likes it, just have the kitchen make a dish of it. Eating leftovers from others is disgusting!" Gu Xiaoxi picked up a clean knife and fork without expression and cut a piece of meat to put in her mouth.

There was a brief silence in the dining room, and even Gu Hua lifted his head to look at her, everyone staring wide-eyed with unsettled souls.

Gu Xiaoxi was speaking?

No longer monosyllabic or some unintelligible words?

The thought that she wasn’t foolish suddenly spread among everyone.

Mi Xi was especially shocked as he looked at Gu Xiaoxi, "Xiao Xi, are you really all better now?"

"I’m better, aren’t you happy?" Gu Xiaoxi continued to eat her meal and gave Mi Xi a sweet smile.

Seeing the kaleidoscope of colors in her eyes, his heart felt like it was melting.

He had always sought doctors to treat her, hoping she would recover, and now his wish had come true.

"Happy, I’m very happy!" Mi Xi’s eyes reddened with excitement.

Aside from him, everyone else at the table looked at her as if they had seen a ghost, staring incredulously.

"Xiao Xi, when did you get better, why didn’t you tell your dad!" Gu Hua’s eyes darkened gradually, he couldn’t smile at that moment.

It was clear that Gu Xiaoxi had come prepared.

Her stunning maneuver just now was enough to prove that she hadn’t been foolish for quite some time.

Holding her wine glass, Gu Xiaoxi stood up and looked towards Gu Hua and Tian Mei with a smile, "I’m not foolish anymore, isn’t that disappointing for some people?

You thought selling me off would let you marry Bai Yaxuan and become the First Lady.

.. It seems that plan didn’t quite work out. Bai Yaxuan doesn’t like her."

"Gu Xiaoxi, don’t spout slander! You got lost and were kidnapped by someone, yet you’re here accusing us without shame," Gu Yuxin shouted flushed with agitation.

But Gu Xiaoxi just laughed coldly, "I didn’t mention you, what are you getting excited about? So quick to refute, could it be you who sold me off?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Yuxin’s eyes instantly reddened, and though her heart pounded like a drum, and she wished she could tear Gu Xiaoxi to pieces; she still put on an innocent face and turned to Gu Hua, "Dad! My sister isn’t foolish anymore, she didn’t tell us either.

I don’t know what her intentions are. Now she’s talking nonsense here. "

"As for the truth, you are naturally clearer about it than I am," Gu Xiaoxi said as she looked at everyone seated, raising the glass in her hand. Her smile radiant, she announced, "Starting today, I officially declare. I’m not a fool, not only am I not a fool. Everything you know, I know. The things you don’t know, I know them too! "

After her declaration, Gu Xiaoxi set the wine glass down on the table with a crisp sound, sending shivers down everyone’s spines.

"I didn’t enjoy this meal. Mi Xi brother, please take me out to eat!" Gu Xiaoxi smiled sweetly at him.

Mi Xi immediately stood up, his eyes full of affection as he looked at Gu Xiaoxi, and he bowed respectfully to Gu Hua, "Dad, I’m taking my sister out."

With that, under Gu Hua’s grim gaze, Gu Xiaoxi and Mi Xi left the dining room with confident strides.

On the way, Mi Xi linked arms with Gu Xiaoxi, excitedly looking at her profile. Seeing the lively light in her eyes, he felt as contented as a child who had eaten candy.

"I’m not foolish anymore, are you really that happy?" Gu Xiaoxi turned to look at him, fond of this gentle brother.

From now on, he would be her only family member.