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Gu Xiaoxi shrugged her shoulders... Quan Shaoqing was that kind of enigmatic man, utterly inscrutable to anyone.

The cocktail party had begun, and Gu Xiaoxi had rested enough already.

She changed into a light blue dress and headed towards the venue with Mi Xi.

By this time, all who were supposed to come had arrived.

Gu Yuxin was wearing a fiery red strapless gown with a train that clearly was quite expensive.

When Gu Xiaoxi entered, she too was astonished by Gu Yuxin’s dazzling attire.

Honestly, she had had very little interaction with Gu Yuxin since coming to this world.

At home, Gu Yuxin would dress nicely as well, but somehow she did not appear as stunningly beautiful as she did today.

Her face glowed with a red luster, her demeanor was graceful, and the red trailing dress made her look like a budding rose about to bloom. At the moment, numerous noble young men surrounded her, toasting and chatting in a harmonious atmosphere.

As Gu Xiaoxi walked in, everyone tacitly carried on with their own business, not a single person greeting her.

It was clear they were intentionally isolating her.

Mi Xi’s face turned sullen. Initially, Gu Xiaoxi hadn’t wanted to come, but he, with a mind to have her experience the event, had persuaded her to attend.

The current situation was clear to any discerning eye; these women had invited her with the intention of slighting her, which was quite infuriating.

Moreover, he couldn’t stand to see Gu Xiaoxi being mistreated.

Gu Xiaoxi seemed to understand Mi Xi’s thoughts and gently tugged at his sleeve, "It’s alright, if they are all inconsequential people, knowing them or not makes no difference."

She had long since figured out these women, including the three who had threatened suicide at home over Bai Yaxuan.

Li Jiani and Ren Yun had invited her, but it wasn’t really to have fun; it was probably to help those three women get their revenge.

Gu Xiaoxi held her glass of wine while two young men who knew Mi Xi came over to talk to him.

They were filled with curiosity towards Gu Xiaoxi.

"This is your younger sister?" the man inquired.

Mi Xi and these noble gentlemen weren’t really friends; after all, they looked down on him for not being Gu Hua’s biological son, and never paid him much attention.

Suddenly coming up to greet and shifting the topic to Gu Xiaoxi didn’t endear them to him at all.

"What can I do for you gentlemen?"

"I just heard she has taken over four percent of the Gu family’s shares, is that true?" the man asked again.

Mi Xi looked at Gu Xiaoxi, who merely nodded.

There was no need to hide it, as if she were to work, others would find out sooner or later. Even if Gu Hua wanted to keep it a secret, it wouldn’t be possible.

"Is there any problem with that? Before my mother passed away, she quietly left her shares to Xiao Xi through her lawyer. They would be inherited upon marriage, and the court has already approved it," Mi Xi said.

After Mi Xi spoke, the two men exchanged glances, their expressions turning gravely serious.

Then, their attitude toward Gu Xiaoxi softened considerably compared to before.

"We will all be part of the same circle in the future, Miss Gu. Please do look after us," the leading man said, his name was Chen Zhi. He was the Eldest Young Master from The First Ducal Mansion, Chen Lu’s biological brother.

He held several businesses that had numerous dealings with the Gu family.

Now that Gu Xiaoxi had acquired forty percent of the shares, she could very likely become the chairman of Gu’s in the future; naturally, they did not want to offend her.

"Of course! If there’s anything in the future, we can also talk to my brother.

I’ve transferred ten percent of the shares to his name, and he owns a part of the company as well," Gu Xiaoxi said with a warm and virtuous smile.

Her words were neither light nor heavy, yet they changed the expressions of many who were eavesdropping.

Although some nobles weren’t interested in the Gu family’s internal affairs or business, who wouldn’t like the wealthy?

If Gu Xiaoxi had taken forty percent of the shares, wouldn’t the entire Gu family belong to her?

And now she was sharing shares with Mi Xi...

Don’t underestimate the ten percent stake in the Gu family; in a large enterprise, all the shares put together might not be as valuable as that ten percent.

The women who were already envious of Gu Xiaoxi turned even more green with envy.

Even those with the best upbringing could not stay silent any longer.

The men who had been circling Gu Yuxin before, now swarmed around Gu Xiaoxi as quickly as bees.

"It was said before that Miss Gu was silly, but now it seems we don’t know who spread such rumors. In my view, Miss Gu is truly a dragon among humans."

"Indeed! And now, having married your husband, you also share a loving relationship. I heard you were ill a few days ago, and your husband stood by your bedside the whole time taking care of you, which shows how much he really cares about you."

"Sister Gu looks much more beautiful in person than on the newspapers; seeing is believing! May I offer you a toast?"

The music at the banquet started, and Gu Xiaoxi listened to the flattering remarks around her, wearing an indifferent smile on her face. Although she didn’t refuse any toasts, she merely pretended to drink, not really consuming much.

Even though she knew most of the people who spoke to her were insincere, she couldn’t help but greet them with a smile. High society was just that kind of complex circle.

Gu Yuxin stood to one side, with Wu Jingshan and Tian Qiaoqiao accompanying her. The three women glared at Gu Xiaoxi, almost wishing they could rush over and gouge a hole in her.

They were supposed to be the stars of the banquet, yet Gu Xiaoxi had stolen the limelight. Those men were nothing but opportunistic mad dogs.

"Gu Yuxin, what’s wrong with you? You’re prettier than her, so why don’t you have any tactics? Your crush got snatched away, and even your dad’s shares were taken by her. What’s left of the Gu family now?" Tian Qiaoqiao was filled with resentment.

Her father was a high official under Bai Yaxuan, and she wasn’t fond of Bai Yaxuan, but rather Mi Xi.

Gu Yuxin’s pathetic demeanor annoyed her. In other words, Tian Qiaoqiao couldn’t hope to befriend Mi Xi through her.

Now that Mi Xi owned ten percent of the Gu family shares, she had to consider who to befriend!

Gu Yuxin bit her lip, and her eyes suddenly reddened.

If she was to blame, it was because she didn’t have a mother as excellent as Gu Xiaoxi’s. Even though she’d been dead for so many years, she had left so many shares for her, which allowed her to deliver a stunning blow to the Gu family before her wedding.

If they had known she would divide the Gu family’s fortune, Gu Hua and Tian Mei would have strangled her in the cradle long ago, not letting her grow up safely.

But unfortunately, the will was only revealed two months before Gu Xiaoxi’s wedding.

All the efforts of her father over the years had merely dressed Gu Xiaoxi as a bride.

How could she not hate in her heart?

The banquet officially began, and once everyone had gathered, the so-called wild night took Gu Xiaoxi by surprise.

Hundreds of people gathered together, with all kinds of music blasting, and gambling tables, dance floors, and fine wines were available.

Gu Xiaoxi wasn’t interested in dancing, and since she couldn’t dance anyway, she declined the invitations.

She wasn’t good at drinking either; getting drunk could be troublesome.

Therefore, when Gu Yuxin invited her to join the gambling table, she smiled and accepted.

They started by playing a few rounds of mahjong. Gu Xiaoxi lost two games, and a small amount of money as well.

Afterward, everyone felt it wasn’t exciting enough and started playing poker instead.

This style of gambling was fast-paced, with wins and losses often hinging on a single thought.

Mi Xi, worried that Gu Xiaoxi was being swindled, said, "Better not play anymore!"

"It’s okay, everyone is very happy today. I’ll just accompany them," Gu Xiaoxi said, showing no intent to leave.

And Gu Yuxin and the others were certainly not going to let her go easily!

Around the gambling table, more than a dozen people gathered.

Everyone had their ulterior motives, each harbouring their own thoughts.

Since entering, Quan Shaoqing had been apathetic, drinking with a gentleman with whom he was somewhat acquainted, while keeping an eye on Gu Xiaoxi.

Gu Xiaoxi, looking like a na?ve rabbit, didn’t refuse whatever she was told, especially when it came to the obviously rigged game of gambling she was about to join.

In the first three games, Gu Xiaoxi lost millions.

Yet she acted as if nothing happened and continued gambling with everyone.

Soon, she lost tens of millions in one go...

In the next two hours, she lost fifty million more...

At this point, she began to show signs of exhaustion, and Mi Xi watching from the sidelines grew anxious.

If this continued, they were clearly harvesting money from her, and by dawn Gu Xiaoxi couldn’t tell how much she would have lost.

"How about we call it quits?" Mi Xi said nervously. At least the money lost now was negligible, but if the losses continued, that could become troublesome.

Gu Xiaoxi sat upright in the chair, obviously fatigued, her expression unreadable aside from the tiredness.

Gu Yuxin and Tian Qiaoqiao exchanged glances, certain that Gu Xiaoxi must be feeling anxious and uncomfortable on the inside.

Although she seemed calm, losing money was upsetting to anyone.

"Brother, keep an eye on things for me; I’m a little tired. I’ll go wash my face in the restroom and come back to play," Gu Xiaoxi stood up from the table.

Mi Xi looked at her worriedly, "How about we stop playing? You seem a bit tired."

"How can that be? I’ve lost..." Gu Xiaoxi only began to say this, but as though she was afraid others would hear, she hurriedly closed her mouth. She then walked toward the restroom.

Gu Yuxin and the others snickered, even more convinced that Gu Xiaoxi felt unresigned about her losses, hence her unwillingness to leave and her desire to recoup her money.