Chapter 77: White Lotus Self-Destruct

Gu Yunci ran out of Zhonglin Dasha, went straight back to the Gu Clan building, skipped the president's office and headed to the fifth‑floor administration center.

As soon as he entered, he looked for Bai Cixian.

A junior administrative officer led him to Bai Cixian's desk, saying, "This is the position the manager arranged for her."

Although she didn't have a private office, the work area was spacious, by a window, and the view outside the window included a park.

It could never compare with the independent large office on the seventh floor.

Bai Cixian grew up in the Meng family; the Meng family, while not one of Jiangcheng's top households, was still well‑off and pampered.

So being demoted, penalized, stripped of bonus and assigned to a marginal department would be unbearable for her.

He even forced her to publicly admit to Meng Shutang that she had framed her.

That was a socially mortifying act; from now on, people in the Gu Clan would keep away from Bai Cixian.

She would surely harbor resentment and blame all the guilt on Meng Shutang.

"Where is she?"

The junior administrative officer replied, "She went out during lunch break and never came back."

Gu Yunci nodded slightly and turned to run out.

He first went to a nook on the second underground level but didn't see Meng Shutang or Bai Cixian.

Then he went to the underground parking lot; before he could get close, he heard a commotion from afar.

This way.

Bai Cixian stood not far away, arms crossed over her chest, gave a slight mouth nod toward a slender figure, and smiled coldly, "Help me give her a good fixing, but don't cause anyone's death."

A few thugs blocked the road from the underground parking lot to the Gu Clan building, "You are Meng Shutang?"

Meng Shutang looked at their demeanor, expression slightly uneasy, "Who are you?"

The thugs stopped chatting, stepped forward, grabbed her arm and pushed her against the side wall.

Meng Shutang cried out in terror, "Who are you? Why are you doing this?"

"We take people's money, vent on them. If you want to blame, blame you for not coming back." After speaking, they shoved her a few times.

Her hair was messy, her cheeks flushed from tension, yet she remained composed, standing there, brandishing the bag in her hand, her aura not weak at all.

"Not bad, she's got some fight," one thug remarked, and the others began to pummel her with fists and kicks.

In the blink of an eye, she fell to the ground, her face bruised.

Gu Yunci recalled the incident four years ago when Bai Cixian framed Meng Shutang for pushing her, leaving a large cut on Meng Shutang's arm.

His heart tightened in pain, and he shouted sharply.

"Stop! If you dare touch her again, I'll kill you."

The thugs, having already been paid, fled the scene in a panic.

"Shutang…"

Gu Yunci ran to Meng Shutang's side, scooped her from the pool of blood into his arms; Meng Shutang had been hit on the head, felt dizzy, but when she finally came to, she recognized Gu Yunci's voice.

"I'll take you to the hospital."

He lifted her sideways, stood up, and prepared to leave.

Bai Cixian suddenly appeared, blocking his path.

"Brother Yunci, she was beaten like this, she must have done something immoral that made people resent her.

If you take care of her, you'll get implicated."

Saying that, she grabbed Gu Yunci's arm, "She is a disaster star; since her birth, her family has suffered many misfortunes.

When she turned ten, her grandfather was almost driven to death by anger; a few days after her fourteenth birthday, her mother became a vegetative patient.

She is an ill‑fated person; keep your distance, or you'll also be tainted by bad luck."

Gu Yunci didn't want to listen to her nonsense, "Did you hire someone to do this?"

Bai Cixian, frightened by his cold stare, froze and shook her head slightly, "It wasn't me; you can't attribute every bad thing to me because of her."

Gu Yunci was disgusted by her obviously malicious yet pretended to be pitiful and utterly innocent demeanor.

"Is that so?"

He looked at her and let out a snarl.

-Demoted!

-All bonus gone!

-Reassigned to a marginal post!

-Now Gu Yunci still protects Meng Shutang!

In an instant, all the grievances, resentment, and jealousy exploded.

Bai Cixian, heartbroken, disregarding everything, shouted at Gu Yunci, "So what if it is?"

Gu Yunci gave her a cold glance; with that look, he would first take Meng Shutang to the hospital and return later to settle scores with her.

That look completely broke Bai Cixian's defenses.

She clutched him tightly, refusing to let him go.

"Brother Yunci, don't go, I'm the one who loves you most; Meng Shutang doesn't love you, she loves Lu Shenyang."

Gu Yunci pushed her away.

Bai Cixian trembled all over, and hurriedly grabbed Gu Yunci again.

"Are you so eager to take her away? I'm right here, can't you see?"

"We met first, so why does Meng Shutang get the advantage?"

"Gu Yunci, I went mad for you, miscarried for you, I may never be able to bear a child in this life!"

"I ended up like this because of her!"

Are you only protecting her right now? Have you ever thought about me?!

Gu Yunci halted his steps. "Bai Cixian, I warn you: if you dare lay a hand on her again, I'll make it so you can't stand up for the rest of your life."

Bai Cixian was stunned. "I can't understand," she sobbed, breaking down, a hysterical outburst. "On what grounds, Gu Yunci, you tell me—what exactly does she have?"

…I'm her half‑sister, and we're both daughters of the Meng family.

Why? She was away for four years and when she came back you couldn't let go. And when I left and returned, you step on me like this?

When Gu Yunci heard Bai Cixian say she was Meng Shutang's half‑sister, he froze in an instant, clutching Meng Shutang and stepping back half a step.

He seemed to have been struck hard; his steps wavered and his complexion turned ghost‑white in an instant.

In a flash, he suddenly understood why Meng Shutang had lately become so resentful of him!

His voice was hoarse, unable to utter a word.

Bai Cixian stared at him, also stunned. "Brother Yunci, what's wrong with you?"

Her eyes were full of tears, and her delicate makeup was smeared by crying.

"I'm sorry…"

The man's thin lips quivered, murmuring.

Bai Cixian thought he was apologizing, and she eagerly grabbed him. "I don't blame you; I've never blamed you, Brother Yunci."

But the next words were, "It's my stupidity, it's my blindness…"

Her slender fingers froze there, watching the man carry Meng Shutang away.

After only a few steps, they ran into Qin Zheng and his bodyguards.

The man stopped, turned his head, his gaze icy. "How she treated Tang Tang, she'll have to taste it tenfold."

Qin Zheng nodded.

From behind came the sounds of punches and kicks, along with Bai Cixian's anguished cries,

"Who are you, why are you hitting me?"

"Don't hit my face!"

…

Gu Yunci took Meng Shutang to the hospital; the surgeon quickly performed a full-body examination and arranged for her admission.

Two hours later, Meng Shutang woke up.

The man's eyes were blood‑red, his usually dignified demeanor now slightly disheveled; when he saw her awake, the tension in his shoulders eased a little.

His grip held her hand tightly in his palm, the fresh bruises prickling her delicate skin with a slight sting.

She slowly withdrew her hand, a dry throat pulling out a faint smile. "What are you doing?"

Gu Yunci felt his internal organs sinking, remorse blocking from his eyes down to his throat, choking him into a tremor. "…I just now learned she's your half‑sister."

Boom— the world seemed to freeze at that moment.

Meng Shutang stared at him blankly; she had always thought he knew everything, but in fact he knew nothing.

From beginning to end, he knew nothing.

All her grievances, struggles, and silence turned out to be a solo performance.

A massive sense of absurdity swept over her, crushing her breath.

"I always thought you knew everything, yet you deliberately used all this to take revenge on me."

"I don't know, I know nothing," the man explained, as his phone suddenly rang. He almost mechanically turned it off, but it rang again, apparently an urgent matter.

He didn't look, just pressed the answer button; on the line came Bai Lianyue's heart‑rending voice.

"Yunci! Come quickly, Tang Tang… she swallowed medicine and committed suicide."

"She now has only her last breath left; aunt is kneeling, begging you to come and see her one final time…"