The Heiress's Game

Hot water from the tap gushed into the bathtub, and steam slowly rose, enveloping the entire bathroom in a hazy mist.

Gu Yunjin put her hair up in a bun and casually tied it behind her head with a tortoiseshell hairpin. A few stray strands of hair clung to her neck, damp with moisture.

She reached out to test the water temperature, then slowly slid into the bathtub.

The moment the hot water reached her shoulders, she closed her eyes and let out a long breath.

The whole day of socializing is finally over.

From the art exhibition to the luncheon to the afternoon tea, she smiled countless times, bowed countless times, and greeted everyone with "Hello, Auntie" and "Hello, Sister" countless times.

Every word was perfectly timed, and every expression landed precisely where it should, like a delicate, wind-up toy.

On the way back in the afternoon, Wang Manyun rarely praised her, saying, "You did very well today," with a genuine sense of satisfaction in her tone.

Gu Yunjin rested the back of her head on the soft cushion at the edge of the bathtub, the hot water enveloping her body, slowly soaking away the day's fatigue from her very bones.

The bathroom was quiet, with only the occasional sound of dripping water and the faint hissing of rising steam.

With her eyes closed, images from long ago slowly surfaced in her mind.

more than ten years ago.

She remembers it clearly; she was thirteen years old.

My mother just passed away.

A lot happened that year.

Just after her mother's death anniversary, before the somber mood in the Gu family's old house had completely dissipated, Wang Manyun discovered she was pregnant.

Gu Zhenxing was very happy. When he announced the news at the dinner table, he drank a few more glasses of wine than usual, and his eyes and brows were full of joy.

Gu Mingcheng and Gu Mingyue raised their glasses to congratulate her, but Wang Manyun blushed and said that it hadn't even been three months yet, so they shouldn't make a fuss.

Gu Yunjin sat at the end of the table, slowly chewing a piece of stir-fried asparagus with her chopsticks.

Around the same time, the woman from Qingshui Bay also became pregnant.

Ning Limei told Yiyi the news one afternoon.

Ning Limei came again that day, bringing a box of handmade cookies and a bunch of gardenias picked from the courtyard of Qingshui Bay, saying she wanted to visit Jin'er.

During that period, Wang Manyun suffered from severe morning sickness and had to take care of Gu Yunjin as a stepmother, leaving her with no energy to deal with Ning Limei.

"Jin'er, your mother is watching over you from heaven."

Ning Limei sat on the edge of the bed, holding her hand, her voice as gentle as the March breeze.

"You have to take good care of yourself, okay?"

Thirteen-year-old Gu Yunjin lowered her head and remained silent.

Ning Limei sighed, pulled her into her arms, and hugged her like a wounded little animal.

"Do you know what?" Ning Limei's voice came from above, softly, as if she were telling a secret.

"Auntie is also pregnant with a baby. After the baby is born, how about letting him play with you? Then you won't be so lonely."

Gu Yunjin's body stiffened for a moment.

The word "也" is used very cleverly.

Ning Limei didn't say it explicitly, but Gu Yunjin understood.

Wang Manyun is pregnant, and Ning Limei is also pregnant.

Inside the Gu family compound, two women were pregnant with Gu Zhenxing's child at the same time, one inside the gate and the other outside.

The one inside the gate has the title of Mrs. Gu, while the one outside the gate has Gu Zhenxing's favoritism.

If Ning Limei gives birth to a son—

Gu Yunjin didn't think any further.

Or rather, she thought about it, but she didn't let anyone know.

That night, she lay on the small solid wood bed that her mother had personally chosen for her, staring at the ceiling all night long.

The next morning, Gu Yunjin made a decision.

She began to wait for the right opportunity.

The opportunity will arrive in a week.

That day, Wang Manyun suffered from severe morning sickness. She was pale from the moment she woke up in the morning, and she vomited everything she ate. She finally managed to get some sleep in the afternoon.

Gu Yunjin stood at the door of Wang Manyun's bedroom with a cup of warm honey water and knocked three times.

"Come in."

Wang Manyun leaned against the bed, her hair disheveled and her face sallow. When she saw Gu Yunjin enter, she forced a smile.

During that time, Wang Manyun was indeed good to her—although she wasn't her biological daughter, she did everything she could to make it seem like a favor, taking care of her every need, and occasionally even saying a few words on her behalf to Gu Zhenxing.

Wang Manyun needs the identity of a "good stepmother," and Gu Yunjin is her best prop.

"Auntie, have some honey water."

Gu Yunjin handed over the cup, then stood by the bed, clasped her hands in front of her, lowered her head, and remained silent.

Wang Manyun took the cup, took a sip, and glanced at her:

"What's wrong? What's the matter?"

Gu Yunjin bit her lower lip and shook her head.

Wang Manyun placed the cup on the bedside table and sat up a little straighter.

She was a shrewd person and could tell at a glance that something was on the child's mind. "Jin'er, tell Auntie what's wrong, don't keep it to yourself."

Gu Yunjin remained silent for a few seconds, then, as if she had made a great decision, took half a step forward and said in a low voice:

"Auntie, a woman came looking for me."

"What woman?"

"She said her surname was Ning, and she was my father's third child."

Gu Yunjin's voice was very soft, so soft that Wang Manyun had to lean forward slightly to hear it.

"She said she was also carrying her father's baby. She said... she said, 'Auntie, you're a bad person, you hurt my mother.'"

Wang Manyun's expression changed, and her hand unconsciously covered her still flat stomach.

"What else did she say?"

Gu Yunjin's eyes reddened, and her voice began to tremble:

"She said... she said her mother was harmed by her aunt, and she wants to avenge her mother."

She gave me a package and said that if I put it in my aunt's water, my aunt would get sick.

But she also said it was a tonic, it wouldn't kill anyone, it would just make her aunt feel a little uncomfortable.

She took a small paper packet out of her pocket.

Wang Manyun took it, opened it, and glanced at it.

The paper packet contained some white powder, but it was impossible to tell what it was.

Her hands began to tremble.

"Then why didn't you put it down?"

Gu Yunjin raised her head, tears welling up in her eyes, but she held them back from falling.

The thirteen-year-old girl stood by the bed, as thin as a bean sprout, with a pointed chin.

Its eyes were large and dark, containing something that was hard to describe.

"Because...because my aunt is good to me."

She said in a hoarse voice, "My aunt cooks for me, buys me clothes, and helps me with my homework at night."

And if this medicine is really good for the body, why didn't she give it to her aunt herself? Why did she make me put it in the container?

She paused for a moment, and then said something that even Wang Manyun hadn't expected.

"I don't think she's trying to harm my aunt."

"it's me."

Wang Manyun was stunned.

"If Auntie gets sick after taking this medicine, and Dad finds out I was the one who put it in her mouth, then..."

Gu Yunjin's voice was calmer than a child's, "I'll be sent away or locked up then."

"She told me that my mother was harmed by my aunt, which means she knew I wanted to avenge my mother."

"She wants me to do this for her, and then make me take the consequences."

The room remained quiet for a long time.

Looking at the girl who had just been lost, Wang Manyun realized for the first time that the child was much smarter than she had imagined.

It's not the kind of cleverness that's superficial; it's a different kind—the kind of cleverness that comes from spending too much time in the dark and being able to see through all the traps.

"You did the right thing."

Wang Manyun finally spoke, her voice somewhat hoarse.

"Don't tell anyone about this, especially your father. Your aunt will handle it."

Gu Yunjin nodded obediently, wiped her eyes, and turned to leave the bedroom.

She walked very slowly, her steps light, like a child who knew nothing.

The moment she closed the door, the expression on her face didn't change at all.

She walked through the corridor back to her room, sat on the edge of the bed, and looked at the asparagus fern on the windowsill, her gaze as calm as a stagnant pool.

Ning Limei never gave her any medicine.

Ning Limei never said anything like "Wang Manyun harmed Su Wanning".

All Ning Limei said to her was, "There's a little baby in my belly. It will be born and play with you."

That's it.

That packet of white powder was a mixture of various medicines wrapped together in paper and crumpled into a small packet.

She crafted those words word by word, refining them repeatedly during sleepless nights, with every detail meticulously calculated in her mind.

What does Ning Limei want?

She wanted a formal title, Gu Zhenxing's exclusive favor, and for the child in her womb to be the Gu family's choice.

Taking good care of Gu Yunjin is like adding another bargaining chip to Gu Zhenxing's heart.

What is Wang Manyun afraid of? She is afraid of Ning Limei.

She had only been Mrs. Gu for less than two years, her position was unstable, and she was pregnant with a child whose gender was still unknown.

If Ning Limei also gives birth, and if it's a son, the Gu family's dynamics will be completely altered.

What she feared most was Ning Limei using underhanded tactics.

What happens if you put these two things together?

The proverb "drive away wolves and devour tigers" means that if wolves and tigers are in the same cage, they will tear each other apart without the hunter's intervention.

She simply opened a door for them.

Things went even more smoothly than she had expected.

Ning Limei lost her baby at five months, and she can no longer have children.

When my mother was alive, there was a mistress standing between them who would never be able to have children.

Her only child in this life was Ningville.

Her only bargaining chip in this life is gone.

She may never know how her child died.

She may have doubted Wang Manyun, and she may have hated Wang Manyun.

But she would never have imagined what role the thirteen-year-old girl, who had just lost her mother and was being comforted in her arms, played in the whole affair.

Who would have thought?

Who would believe that a thirteen-year-old child, whose mother had just passed away, who was quiet all day and immersed in his own world of grief, could have such a deep and shrewd mind?

The water in the bathtub had gotten a little cold.

Gu Yunjin opened her eyes, reached out and turned on the hot water tap. A new stream of heat rushed in, and the water temperature rose again, washing over her collarbone.

In the misty air, she raised one hand and looked at her fingers.

Her joints were well-proportioned, her skin was fair, and her nails were neatly trimmed.

She put her hand back into the water, and a fine ripple spread across the surface.

After Ning Limei lost her child, Wang Manyun's attitude towards her underwent a subtle change.

The kindness she showed before was superficial, but the kindness she showed afterward carried a more genuine meaning—not out of gratitude, but because Wang Manyun realized that this stepdaughter could be used.

A knife that's already sharpened without needing any sharpening is a no-brainer.

Gu Yunjin knew how Wang Manyun viewed her. She didn't care.

The year her parents divorced, she learned one thing: in this family, no one would truly protect her.

After his mother died, his father's love was divided into many parts, none of which were complete.

Her older brother is wary of her, her stepmother uses her, and the man in Clearwater Bay treats her as a bargaining chip.

Everyone is calculating, everyone is weighing the options.

She also calculated and weighed the pros and cons.

However, she had one more thing than them—patience.

The faucet was still dripping, drop by drop, making a soft, pattering sound as it hit the water's surface.

Gu Yunjin leaned the back of her head back onto the cushion and closed her eyes.

Ningweier is showing off her Cullinan and Jaeger-LeCoultre watches in Paris, while Ning Limei is reading her Diamond Sutra and holding a tea ceremony in Clearwater Bay.

The mother and daughter lived peacefully in their little world, thinking that the next twenty-three years would pass by in this tranquil way.

Stable.

Gu Yunjin slowly clenched her fingers underwater, then released them.

Watching the ripples spread out in the water as my knuckles touched the porcelain wall of the bathtub, then bounced back, overlapped, canceled out, and finally returned to stillness.

There's another dinner party tomorrow. It was arranged by Gu Mingyue; that young master from the Chen family will be there.

She had to continue playing the role of the obedient and well-behaved second young lady of the Gu family, showing just the right amount of shy smile in front of everyone.