TNSFC – Chapter 12

Que Yining had never been shy about showing off her physical assets, but this was indeed not a good occasion for it.

The wine stain looked particularly obvious on the sweater and was gradually spreading.

Gu Shanxue: “Thank you, I’ll take you to change your clothes.”

Que Yining nodded, covered the stain on her clothes with her hand, and walked away from the crowd.

Gu Shanxue glanced coldly at Gu Qianqian, who was standing behind her and trying to retreat, placed her wine glass on a nearby table, and followed Que Yining.

Gu Qianqian’s heart skipped a beat. She pinched her palm, telling herself not to show fear, but still didn’t dare to meet Gu Shanxue’s gaze and hurriedly moved to another spot.

Old Chen’s granddaughter’s zhuazhou ceremony was still ongoing. No one noticed the small incident that had occurred here, nor did anyone pay attention to the two people who quietly left the crowd.

Que Yining asked a servant stationed in the house for a guest room. After entering the room, she wiped the stain on herself with a tissue.

Que Yining: “It seems even my clothes underneath are soaked.”

Que Yining pulled down her clothes; the ones she was wearing today were very loose, revealing a stretch of snow-white, delicate skin and her beautiful collarbones.

Gu Shanxue was momentarily dazzled by the whiteness and apologized in a low voice: “Sorry, I didn’t expect her to do that suddenly.”

Gu Shanxue didn’t know how to assess Gu Qianqian’s actions. As long as Gu Qianqian still carried that name, she and the Gu family’s public image were one and the same. What Gu Qianqian did was only detrimental to the Gu family.

However, with Gu Qianqian’s intellect, how could she possibly think that far ahead? Coldness was hidden in Gu Shanxue’s eyes, but when her gaze fell on Que Yining, that trace of coolness quietly disappeared.

Que Yining: “It’s okay, it’s not your fault. Luckily, I happened to see it.”

Que Yining looked down at the state of her clothes and said, “But I think I’ll still have to trouble Miss Gu to find me a set of clothes. This area is quite wet, and these clothes definitely can’t be worn anymore.”

Gu Shanxue: “Okay, I’ll have someone send them over as soon as possible.”

Que Yining: “Then I’ll go into the bathroom to wash up a bit first. Sorry to trouble you to wait for me here.”

Gu Shanxue: “Of course.”

Gu Shanxue sent a message to someone and watched Que Yining walk into the bathroom.

Que Yining wanted to take a shower, but she still had makeup on her face, so she could only wet an unopened towel from the guest room and wipe the skin soaked by the wine.

She also hadn’t expected Gu Qianqian to do that. One could only say that the little bitch was brainless. Having someone so troublesome around was annoying just to look at, although it had also created this opportunity for her.

Que Yining dried herself off and walked out holding the two dirty pieces of clothing she had taken off, covering her front. But when she saw that Gu Shanxue was still the only one in the room, she pretended to inadvertently let her hand slip down and away.

Gu Shanxue sat on the sofa waiting. She was always polite and would only look at the triangular area of a person’s face above the nose. Perhaps due to the influence of Que Yining’s earlier words, Gu Shanxue’s gaze was immediately drawn to a certain place.

Que Yining bent down in front of Gu Shanxue, placed the dirty clothes on the armrest of the sofa, and seeing Gu Shanxue helplessly avert her gaze, she curved her lips into a smile.

Que Yining had ample assets; her entire being exuded a captivating femininity—a true stunner. Even if she just bent down and straightened up, doing nothing else, not even making eye contact with Gu Shanxue, Gu Shanxue could feel the undeniable charm emanating from her.

When Que Yining looked up, she suppressed her smile and put on an expression of helpless resignation: “They really couldn’t be worn anymore, so I had no choice but to come out like this.”

Although the room was centrally heated, Que Yining still shivered slightly.

Gu Shanxue took off her jacket and placed it in Que Yining’s hands: “Miss Que, wear mine for now. The clothes might take a little longer to arrive.”

Gu Shanxue’s clothes had a cool-toned fragrance. Que Yining put it on, barely covering her front.

Que Yining leaned back on the sofa, rested her chin on her hand, and looked at Gu Shanxue: “Calling each other so formally feels so distant. I helped you today, so I can be considered your friend, right? You can just call me Yining from now on.”

Que Yining didn’t mention how she would address Gu Shanxue. She didn’t intend to become overly familiar all at once; Gu Shanxue was clearly a person who kept her distance. Addressing her intimately before their relationship had reached that stage might be counterproductive.

Gu Shanxue: “Alright, Miss Que.”

Que Yining also knew it was impossible to change Gu Shanxue’s impression of her and open her heart with just this small favor, but at least the first step had been taken.

Que Yining waved her phone: “So, can I have your contact information?”

Gu Shanxue: “Of course.”

Gu Shanxue’s profile picture was a cat, which surprised Que Yining quite a bit.

She had thought that someone as cool and distant as Gu Shanxue would have a profile picture of scenery or a still life.

Que Yining: “Do you have a cat?”

Gu Shanxue: “Yes, I have one at home.”

That cat was adopted two months before Gu Shanxue’s mother passed away. After returning to the country, Gu Shanxue brought it back with her.

Que Yining: “I like cats too. Unfortunately, I haven’t found one that caught my eye yet. But your cat is very cute, very pretty.”

Que Yining almost said she had owned cats before, but she thought the original owner of her body probably hadn’t, as there were no traces of pets in her life.

Que Yining had raised dozens of cats, none of them bought; almost all were rescued from the streets. She had brought home more than ten cats over time. Before carrying out her final revenge, she had found adoptive homes for them.

Que Yining thought, she didn’t know how those little guys were doing now, but they should be doing well. The adoptive owners she found for them were all very loving.

Gu Shanxue’s cat was a tabby American Shorthair; it looked very beautiful. Que Yining praised it sincerely.

Gu Shanxue: “Thank you.”

As expected, Gu Shanxue didn’t say anything like, “I’ll invite you to see the cat next time,” which was within Que Yining’s expectations. However, she was very satisfied with the current situation; exchanging contact information was already a good gain for the day.

The two people in the room didn’t know that the zhuazhou ceremony outside had already ended.

Gu Shanxue brought back clothes for Que Yining. Que Yining had a figure that looked good in anything. She didn’t shy away from Gu Shanxue and put on the clothes in front of her.

It was Gu Shanxue who turned her back and put back on the jacket Que Yining had taken off.

Because Que Yining had worn it close to her skin, the jacket seemed to have absorbed a faint citrus scent with a hint of sweetness. When Gu Shanxue smelled it, she had the illusion of being enveloped by Que Yining’s aura.

They left the guest room one after the other, Que Yining carrying a bag with the dirty clothes. As they passed the entrance, they overheard guests talking.

Old Chen’s little granddaughter had picked a small jade gourd at the zhuazhou ceremony. It was placed there by Fu Wenjing.

Que Yining wasn’t very surprised by this. After all, he was the male lead of this book; any situation was normal.

But Que Yining didn’t know that the jade gourd held by Old Chen’s granddaughter, considered a gift from Fu Wenjing, actually had a connection to Gu Shanxue as well.

That small jade gourd was something Gu Shanxue had worn as a child to ward off evil spirits and protect her. However, during an exchange between the two families, Gu Shanxue’s mother had given it to the then-frail Fu Wenjing, creating a bond between them that neither remembered.

In the original novel, Gu Qianqian, not having been provoked by Que Yining’s “wild chicken versus phoenix” comparison, hadn’t bumped into Gu Shanxue. So, the Gu Shanxue in the original story naturally stayed at the zhuazhou ceremony, saw the jade gourd, which triggered memories, and established an initial friendship with Fu Wenjing.

But none of this existed anymore. Gu Shanxue, who had stayed in the room, didn’t see the jade and naturally didn’t have any nostalgic recollections about it at that moment.

Gu Shanxue, upon leaving the banquet hall, also heard about what happened from others, learning about the chosen jade gourd and its owner, Fu Wenjing.

But she merely left the banquet hall without any emotional reaction and didn’t think about it being something she had worn as a child. After all, she had already forgotten about it.

The plot officially derailed from this moment. And whether it was Que Yining, the person from outside the book, or Gu Shanxue and even Fu Wenjing, people within the book, none of them were aware of it.