The Heiress's Game

At seven o'clock the next morning, there was a knock on Gu Yunjin's door.

It wasn't a tentative tap, but three crisp taps, with a steady rhythm and moderate force.

This is how Wang Manyun knocks on the door—not too loud, not too soft, just loud enough for you to hear, but not too rude.

Gu Yunjin had lived in the Gu family for so many years that she could tell who it was just by the sound of knocking on the door, even with her eyes closed.

Gu Mingcheng knocked twice, Gu Mingyue knocked irregularly, and Gu Zhenxing didn't knock on the door but called out from downstairs.

Only Wang Manyun always hits the pendulum three times, with precision like a pendulum.

"Jin'er, are you awake?"

The voice came in, carrying just the right amount of concern.

Gu Yunjin sat up in bed and gathered her loose hair with her fingers.

"You're awake, Mom."

The door opened, and Wang Manyun stood in the doorway, already dressed in her outdoor outfit.

She wore a smoky gray silk shirt with a small pearl brooch at the collar, and her hair was neatly styled.

The makeup on her face was exquisite but not heavy; it was the kind of effortless effect that was achieved with a lot of effort.

She looked Gu Yunjin up and down, who was still sitting on the bed, her gaze shifting from his disheveled hair to his sleepy eyes, and her lips pursed slightly.

"Still jet-lagged? Look at the face."

Wang Manyun walked in and casually pulled open the curtains, letting in a flood of morning sunlight. Gu Yunjin squinted.

"But it's okay, I'll have Sister Zhou come up and put a face mask on you and do your makeup later. I guarantee you'll look ten times more energetic than you do now."

Today's occasion is not to be taken lightly. Mrs. Qian, Mrs. Sun, and Mrs. Li all brought their children, ostensibly to see the exhibition, but actually they all have other plans.

As she spoke, she walked to the door of the dressing room, opened the sliding door, and glanced at the clothes that Gu Yunjin had taken out of her suitcase. Her brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

"These clothes of yours—" Wang Manyun paused.

"They're all too plain. I don't care what you wear when you're studying abroad, but today is different."

I asked Sister Zhang to bring over the few items I picked out for you at Lane Crawford last time, so you can try them on first.

Gu Yunjin got off the bed, stepped barefoot onto the carpet, and obediently responded:

"Okay, I'll listen to Mom."

Wang Manyun's brows relaxed.

For the next two hours, Gu Yunjin was manipulated like a delicate doll.

Sister Zhou was Wang Manyun's personal beautician for many years. She was very skilled and her procedures were smooth and efficient, from cleansing to massage to applying a mask. While doing the procedure, she praised Gu Yunjin for her good foundation, fair skin, and excellent bone structure.

Wang Manyun stood to the side and watched for a while, then personally picked out an eyeshadow palette from the dressing table and handed it to Sister Zhou:

"Use this, earth tones, not too strong, just something that looks clean."

Gu Yunjin closed her eyes and felt the brush gently sweep across her eyelids, like the flutter of butterfly wings.

She recalled that before she went abroad at the age of fourteen, Wang Manyun had stood behind her in the same way, directing people to pack her luggage, choose her clothes, and take care of everything.

At that time, Wang Manyun had only been in the family for two years, and she was determined to be a good stepmother, taking meticulous care of her to an almost theatrical degree.

—She personally tested the temperature of the milk for breakfast, checked the stationery in her schoolbag in advance, and even packed her suitcase for studying abroad by herself.

Everyone in the Gu family says that Wang Manyun is a good person.

Gu Yunjin also said.

The makeup brush stopped at her cheekbone, and Sister Zhou was applying blush to her.

"The second young lady has such a beautiful face shape; just a little bit of makeup brings out her complexion."

Wang Manyun examined her stepdaughter's face in the mirror and nodded in satisfaction.

Gu Yunjin in the mirror gradually lost the traces of staying up all night. Her eyebrows and eyes were outlined more clearly, her skin tone was even and radiant, and her lips were covered with a layer of mauve lip gloss, understated yet exquisite.

I tried on three outfits.

Finally, Wang Manyun made a decision on a moon-white, modified cheongsam dress with a small stand-up collar, three-quarter sleeves, and a skirt that reached mid-calf. The waistline was perfectly fitted, outlining Gu Yunjin's figure as graceful and dignified.

She wore a pair of beige low-heeled pointed shoes, two small pearl stud earrings, and nothing on her wrists.

—Wang Manyun’s original words were, “A young girl’s wrist is the best jewelry.”

Gu Yunjin turned around in front of the dressing mirror, her skirt swaying gently.

The person in the mirror is as beautiful as a painting.

"Alright."

Wang Manyun stood up from the sofa, looked her up and down, and finally showed her first real smile of the day. "Let's go, the car is waiting downstairs."

The art exhibition, held at the art museum in the east of the city, was organized by one of Wang Manyun's close friends and featured new works by several contemporary ink painters.

When Gu Yunjin arrived with Wang Manyun, a row of cars was already parked at the entrance, black, white, and silver-gray, reflecting a low-key yet expensive light in the sunlight.

A waiter in uniform opened the glass door, and a blast of cool air and a faint scent of sandalwood wafted out.

There were already more than a dozen ladies in the exhibition hall, scattered in twos and threes, holding champagne glasses and talking quietly to the paintings on the wall.

But Gu Yunjin noticed that when Wang Manyun took her arm and walked in, almost everyone's eyes turned to her—not to admire the painting.

Those gazes fell on her, like dragonflies skimming the water, one after another, with a subtle scrutiny.

Wang Manyun gently patted the back of her hand.

"take it easy."

Gu Yunjin lowered her head slightly, a shy smile playing on her lips.

Of course she wasn't nervous.

At fourteen, she wasn't nervous as she dragged her suitcase and searched for the exit at the airport with the caregiver sent by the Gu family.

He wasn't nervous when he debated international financial policies with classmates in three languages ​​at the age of eighteen, nor was he nervous when he presented his business model, later hailed as a "masterpiece," to his professor at the age of twenty-two.

But at this moment, she lowered her eyes, her eyelashes casting a small shadow on her cheeks, and her fingertips slightly gripping the hem of her skirt.

Like a well-behaved, naive little girl being taken to a social occasion for the first time.

Wang Manyun was very satisfied with her reaction.

"Mrs. Gu! You've finally arrived."

A middle-aged woman in a royal blue suit was the first to approach, holding a glass of champagne and smiling broadly.

"This must be your second young lady, right? Oh my, she looks beautiful in the photo, but she's ten times prettier in person."

"Mrs. Qian, you're praising her too much."

Wang Manyun smiled and responded, then stepped aside to let Gu Yunjin step forward. "Jin'er, this is your Aunt Qian. The Qian family and our Gu family have been friends for generations."

"Hello, Aunt Qian."

"Okay, okay, okay." Mrs. Qian said "okay" three times in a row, then turned and waved to someone not far away.

"Xinyan, come here, come here, and get to know the second younger sister of the Gu family."

A girl of similar age to Gu Yunjin walked over, wearing a pale yellow dress, with exquisite makeup, and a smile that revealed her neat teeth.

She is Qian Xinyan, the third daughter of the Qian family. She is twenty-four years old this year and just returned from New York last year. She currently works in the brand department of her family's company.

"So this is Miss Gu the Second."

Qian Xinyan held Gu Yunjin's hand, looked him up and down, and spoke with the warmth between peers.

"Your dress is so pretty! Where did you buy it? I want to buy one too."

"My mom picked it out for me," Gu Yunjin said with a smile, glancing back at Wang Manyun with a hint of girlish dependence in her eyes.

Wang Manyun felt extremely comforted by that glance.

Mrs. Qian also chimed in with a compliment: "Mrs. Gu has excellent taste; she really knows how to dress."

Over the next half hour, Wang Manyun led Gu Yunjin to get to know almost all the ladies in the exhibition hall.

Each time someone was introduced, Gu Yunjin would bow slightly, greet them with "Hello, Auntie," and then stand quietly beside Wang Manyun.

She laughs when she should laugh, nods when she should nod, and is extremely well-behaved.

After a while, several young ladies came over and pulled Gu Yunjin to go see the exhibition. Wang Manyun let go of her hand and smiled as she went.

Gu Yunjin was surrounded by several girls and walked away. Her moon-white skirt disappeared in a flash around the corner.

Wang Manyun watched her figure disappear behind the exhibition wall, the smile on her lips slowly fading, returning to a more relaxed and genuine expression.

"Your second young lady is really well raised."

The speaker was Mrs. Wu, Wang Manyun's true confidante. The two had known each other for over twenty years, since before Wang Manyun married into the Gu family.

Mrs. Wu was wearing a navy blue suit today, with an icy jadeite bracelet on her wrist. She habitually turned the bracelet as she spoke, and the emerald green light flowed across her wrist.

The two walked to the rest area in the corner of the exhibition hall and sat down on a two-seater sofa.

The waiter brought over two glasses of champagne. Mrs. Wu took one, sipped it, glanced in the direction Gu Yunjin had disappeared, and said in a low voice:

"Much less troublesome than your stepson, right?"

Wang Manyun held the champagne glass, but didn't drink it; she just swirled the corner of the glass around.

She chuckled softly.

"Gu Mingcheng? He's polite to me on the surface, but he's never really considered me a member of the Gu family."

Wang Manyun's voice was very soft, so soft that only Mrs. Wu, who was sitting next to her, could hear it.

"But that's not surprising. He was born to his first wife and isn't much younger than me. How could he possibly genuinely consider me his mother?"

I don't ask anything of him, just that he keeps appearances and doesn't cause me trouble in front of the old man.

"That's true." Mrs. Wu nodded.

"Gu Mingcheng is a very shrewd man, but he seems to treat Gu Yunjin quite well?"

"What are you going to do?" Wang Manyun covered her lips with the rim of her cup, her tone indifferent.

"That's because you didn't see his face at the dinner table last night. He was saying he'd let Jin'er get some experience at the company and give her a position as a deputy director."

In reality, that position was just an empty shell; it managed three people and handled only minor, peripheral projects. He was afraid that Jin'er would join the company and challenge his authority.

Mrs. Wu raised an eyebrow: "Then why are you urging me to find suitable families for Gu Yunjin and introduce her to blind dates?"

Wang Manyun put down the champagne glass.

What good would it do me for her to go to the company?

"If she gets a foothold in the company, with her education and intelligence, she could be a game-changer in the future."

"Mingcheng is wary of her, so why shouldn't I be? Mingxuan is still young. By the time he can join the company, how many places will be left on the Gu family's ship?"

"If there's one more person to share, there's one less piece of the pie. It's best if Gu Yunjin gets married; once she's married, she'll belong to another family."

Mrs. Wu slowly turned the bracelet, nodding thoughtfully.

The two remained silent for a while.

Mrs. Wu suddenly spoke up: "Speaking of which, have you heard?"

"What?"

"That one from Qingshui Bay."

Mrs. Wu lowered her voice even further.

"Her daughter, Ningville, is currently in Paris and posts pictures of Rolls-Royces and luxury watches every day on her social media accounts."

The group of young girls below were calling her "sister" one after another, treating her like she was someone important. Someone dug up that the car was a birthday present from Gu Zhenxing last year.

Wang Manyun sneered.

"Her daughter is a better actress than her."

She said, "The mother has played the role of someone who doesn't fight or compete for anything for 23 years, while the daughter has played the role of someone who lives a peaceful and quiet life. The mother and daughter are cut from the same mold."

Go look at Ning Limei's social media account. She spends all her time reading scriptures and drinking tea, acting like she has no desires or wants. The comments section calls her "Madam of Clearwater Bay," she really thinks she's someone important.

Mrs. Wu snorted: "What kind of Clearwater Bay Madam is she? To put it bluntly, she's just a mistress. She's been with Gu Zhenxing for twenty-three years and hasn't even gotten a proper title."

I've seen plenty of women like this. They pretend to be aloof, but they're greedier than anyone else. It's only because you're good-natured; if it were me, I would have—"

"What do you mean, 'already'?" Wang Manyun interrupted her, her tone indifferent.

"Make a scene? Making a scene is the stupidest thing to do. Su Wanning didn't make a scene back then, so why should I?"

Men are most susceptible to Ning Limei's act; the more you make a scene, the more sensible she seems. If she wants to act, let her act.

He acted for 23 years, from 28 to 51 years old, giving up the best years of his life, and what did he get in return?

A villa in Clearwater Bay and a car for my daughter.

She picked up her champagne glass, finally took a sip, and as the wine moistened her lips, a faint smile appeared in her eyes.

"Her greatest skill in life is making Gu Zhenxing believe that she doesn't love money."

Gu Zhenxing bought her a villa, which she refused three times, but when she finally accepted it, she donated the most expensive mahogany furniture to a temple.

A woman who asks for nothing is the one a man wants to give everything to.

She's been playing this trick for twenty-three years, and Gu Zhenxing still falls for it.

"She has been with Gu Zhenxing for more than ten years, never competing or fighting for anything, and never even mentioning her pregnancy."

"Because she's too smart. She knows that once she gets pregnant, Gu Zhenxing's guilt towards her will be lessened."

"When a woman who wants nothing suddenly wants a child, a man will start to wonder—did she really not want anything before, or was she just waiting for something bigger?"

"She still got pregnant later," Mrs. Wu said.

"Yes, more than ten years later."

She waited for more than ten years until Gu Zhenxing completely let down his guard before proposing that she wanted a child with him.

He didn't ask for it directly when he said it. It was on Gu Zhenxing's birthday, after he had a few drinks, and with red eyes, he said, "My biggest regret in this life is not having a child with you."

When Wang Manyun said this, she imitated Ning Limei's tone of voice, which was both on the verge of tears and forced to restrain herself, to a great extent, which made Mrs. Wu pause for a moment.

How do you know so much?

Wang Manyun did not answer the question, but simply picked up her teacup and took another sip.

Of course she knows it clearly.

She was at Gu Zhenxing's birthday party that year.

When Ning Limei said those words, she was standing three meters away, holding a glass of champagne, with a polite smile on her face, but her fingernails almost broke the stem of the glass.

So much happened that year, it was like a storm compressed into just a few months.

Ning Limei expressed her desire to have a child at the beginning of the year, and became pregnant by spring.

Meanwhile, not long after Su Wanning left, Gu Yunjin seemed to have lost her soul, neither speaking nor eating.

Every day I sit on the windowsill in my room, looking outside from morning till night, my eyes empty.

At that time, Wang Manyun was two months pregnant with Gu Mingxuan. She had severe morning sickness and was vomiting so much that she felt dizzy. She also had to take care of her husband's daughter left by his ex-wife.

It wasn't for any other reason than that she had only been married into the Gu family for less than two years at that time, and hadn't yet established herself firmly. Gu Mingcheng and Gu Mingyue already had a distance between them and her stepmother, so if something happened to Gu Yunjin, her situation in the Gu family would become even more precarious.

So she did everything impeccably—personally delivering meals to Gu Yunjin every day, talking to her, and even getting up at night to check if her blankets were properly covering her.

"I was there when Ning Limei was being coquettish and wanted to have a child, but that's all in the past now."

"Back then, in order to be a good stepmother, I accompanied Gu Yunjin every day, took her to see a psychologist, and stayed with her until she fell asleep before going back to my own room."

She paused here, a slight smile curving her lips, it was hard to tell whether it was self-deprecation or something else.

"Then Ning Limei came. During that time, because Gu Yunjin was not in good condition, Gu Zhenxing made an exception and let her come a few more times, meaning that she was gentle and might be able to comfort the child."

"Ning Limei did indeed try to comfort her."

Mrs. Wu gasped, "Such cunning and skill are truly characteristic of the Lady of Clearwater Bay."

"Ning Limei told Gu Yunjin that Su Wanning was harmed by me."

Wang Manyun's voice was so calm it didn't sound like she was talking about her own affairs.

"I don't remember the specifics of what was said, since it happened more than ten years ago."

"The gist of it is that Wang Manyun killed your mother, and you must avenge her. Then she gave Gu Yunjin a package."

"What is it?"

Abortion pills.

Mrs. Wu's wrist stopped; the jade bracelet was stuck between her thumb and forefinger, its emerald light frozen in place.

"She had a teenager drug me?" Mrs. Wu's voice trembled slightly.

"Is she crazy?"

"She's not crazy, she's very smart."

Wang Manyun raised the champagne glass to her eyes.

"Letting a child who has just lost his mother and is mentally disoriented do the dirty work, even if it happens, can be blamed on the child—what does the child wanting revenge for his mother have to do with Ning Limei?"

"When Gu Yunjin is sent away and I lose my baby, Ning Limei's baby will become the Gu family's only child. It's killing three birds with one stone."

"And then what happened?"

"Later—" Wang Manyun put down the cup, the bottom of which made a soft sound as it hit the marble tabletop.

"Gu Yunjin came to me with that packet of medicine. She was about thirteen years old then, so thin that a gust of wind could blow her over. She stood in front of me, handed me the packet, and said, 'Auntie, a woman asked me to put this in your drinking water. She said you harmed my mother.'"

Mrs. Wu was stunned.

"She didn't know what kind of medicine it was," Wang Manyun said.

"All she knew was that a woman—she didn't even know the woman's name was Ning Limei at the time—spoke to her and gave her a package. She felt something was wrong, so she came to find me."

"So you're nice to her because—"

"It's not because of that," Wang Manyun interrupted her, her tone returning to its usual calm.

"I'm nice to her because she's useful. An obedient stepdaughter is much easier to use than a stepdaughter who's always going against me."

Mrs. Wu looked at her old friend's profile and remained silent for a few seconds. Sure enough, only someone of this caliber could be Gu Zhenxing's third wife.

Wang Manyun continued speaking, her pace slightly faster than before, as if she didn't want to linger on the topic for too long.

"After I got the packet of medicine, I didn't say anything and gave it to my family."

"Although my father had retired, he had worked in the health system his whole life, so it was still convenient for him to check things. What happened next was simple—Ning Limei lost her baby."

"you--"

"I didn't do anything." Wang Manyun turned her face and looked directly into Mrs. Wu's eyes, her gaze frank and clear.

"She was already forty years old when she got pregnant, which is considered advanced maternal age and carries inherent risks."

"The fetus developed problems at five months and couldn't be saved. Gu Zhenxing had someone investigate, and they found nothing to do with me."

She spoke in a calm tone, as if she were reading an official document, each word falling precisely where it should be, not a word more, not a word less.

Mrs. Wu looked at her and slowly began to turn the bracelet on her wrist again.

"What happened to Ning Limei afterward?"

"And then? She never got pregnant again."

"The doctor said that the induced abortion damaged my body, and it will be difficult for me to have children in the future."

Wang Manyun picked up her champagne glass and finally took a steady sip.

"So in her life, she has Gu Zhenxing's doting love, a villa in Clearwater Bay, and fans on social media accounts who envy her."

But she could never enter the Gu family's home. Her daughter could never even touch the Gu family's assets.

She put down her cup, her gaze passing through the exhibition hall and landing on some unseen point in the distance.

"She thought that not competing was the greatest form of competition. But she forgot that if you don't compete, others won't wait for you."