Chapter 126: Finally Sober

In the end, Bao Sihan left the choice to Gu Wenyan and would not oppose her.

So he simply patted Gu Wenyan's back and said softly, "Yanyan, I will support you. No matter what happens, you should know that my heart is always with you."

Gu Wenyan was deeply moved. Bao Sihan would always be her pillar of support—she had never doubted that.

After the Exhibition ended and they returned home, Gu Wenyan hadn't expected to see Gu Yeting sitting right in the living room, with Gu Mianmian there as well.

Gu Mianmian seemed to know she couldn't escape today's reckoning; her face was full of sorrow.

Gu Yeting spoke: "You're back."

"Mm."

Gu Wenyan had already eaten dinner with Bao Sihan before coming back. Today's Exhibition had been a great success—she had already obtained everything she wanted.

Meanwhile, Gu Mianmian had come away empty-handed from the Exhibition. Although she had thought she could win an award and gain a better reputation than Gu Wenyan, in the end she still failed.

Gu Yeting had no intention of forgiving Gu Mianmian for everything she had done so easily. In the past, he had been blind—he couldn't see everything his sister Gu Mianmian had done, nor did he know how deeply he had misunderstood his own biological sister.

Now, Gu Yeting had already recognized his mistake, and he absolutely would not forgive Gu Mianmian so easily again.

Gu Wenyan asked, "Do you need something?"

"Regarding what Mianmian said at the Exhibition today, I will demand that she apologize to you."

Gu Wenyan looked at Gu Mianmian, who stood off to the side with her head lowered, saying nothing.

She curled her lip disdainfully: "You tell Gu Mianmian to apologize, and she will? Why do I get the feeling she won't listen to you at all?"

"Those who do wrong should pay the price."

Gu Yeting stressed: "Whether Mianmian did it intentionally today or not, at this point she should know exactly what she did wrong, instead of stubbornly insisting she did nothing wrong and expecting that to make everything disappear."

Gu Yeting's attitude was very forceful. Usually, although he always came across as cynical and flippant, whenever he showed such a forceful attitude, he would appear exceptionally cold—a single glance from him could even make people feel extreme fear.

Gu Mianmian didn't dare look at him, but she was also unwilling to apologize, only defending herself: "Brother, I didn't mean to hurt Sister on purpose. I had my own considerations at the time… and I just felt I should step up and do something."

"Maybe it was because I was too impulsive, and because I didn't think it through for a moment, so I said the wrong thing. But I didn't deliberately mean to hurt Sister… I won't do something like this again now. I hope you can believe me."

Facing Gu Mianmian's insincere apology, Gu Yeting's expression remained icy. He turned to look at Gu Wenyan: "What do you think?"

"I don't have much to think about. She won't admit it anyway, so whatever I say now seems pointless."

Wang Ma appeared out of nowhere: "…Third Young Master, how can you think of Mianmian like that? I've already questioned her. She was indeed under a lot of pressure some time ago, which is why she did some wrong things."

"But now, she's already turned over a new leaf. She grew up right under your eyes, and we all know what a good girl she is. How could she keep making the same mistakes?"

Seeing Wang Ma appear, Gu Yeting's expression still wasn't pleasant: "Wang Ma, I know you dote on her, but this time, Mianmian really did do wrong. She should apologize and pay the price for it. Otherwise, we can't just keep indulging her."

Gu Wenyan hadn't expected Gu Yeting to be so insistent today. She had thought it would be like before—as long as Gu Mianmian played the victim, acted pitiful, and shed a few tears in front of him, he would immediately soften.

He wouldn't force Gu Mianmian to apologize to her. But the actual situation… was unexpected.

"Fine, Gu Mianmian never intended to apologize anyway. If you force her like this, she won't be sincere. What's the point?"

Gu Wenyan gave a light laugh and actually took a step back. Whether Gu Mianmian apologized today or not, in Gu Yeting's heart…

Gu Mianmian's impression had already dropped several notches. This had already achieved Gu Wenyan's goal, so she wouldn't press any harder.

She understood the principle of knowing when to advance and when to retreat.

As Gu Wenyan passed by Gu Yeting, she said in a voice only the two of them could hear: "I know you're feeling bad right now, but you finally got smart today."

Hearing that, Gu Yeting could understand everything else.

Gu Mianmian put on an extremely aggrieved act, silently weeping as she waited for her parents to come home.

Her pitiful appearance was truly moving. Even the other two young masters felt for a moment that she might have just been in an urgent situation, hadn't thought it through, and had spoken a bit impulsively.

Hurting Gu Wenyan had not been her intention.

Yet Gu Yeting was unusually clear-headed today. He didn't understand why he was so lucid himself.

Perhaps all the accumulated emotions from before had erupted at this moment. He understood very well that everything Gu Mianmian had done at the Exhibition today was deliberate.

It couldn't have been the careless mistake Gu Mianmian claimed.

Gu Mianmian had harbored the intention to hurt Gu Wenyan.

Gu Yeting could see that although his eldest and second brothers cared about Gu Wenyan, this time neither of them had seen through Gu Mianmian's hidden malice.

Gu Yeting said nothing more, but went to the back courtyard alone to drink in solitude.

He couldn't understand how his most beloved sister had become like this. What had gone wrong in between to make Gu Mianmian so unrecognizable?

To the point where he couldn't recognize her?

Or perhaps… he had never truly known Gu Mianmian.

"You're actually still not asleep at this hour."

Gu Wenyan suddenly appeared.

Gu Yeting saw her, and the smile at the corner of his mouth was somewhat bitter: "In your heart, I've always been a joke, haven't I."

Gu Wenyan raised an eyebrow: "Why do you say that?"

"Because you knew everything Mianmian did against you… but we didn't believe you, and were repeatedly deceived by her, thinking it was a careless mistake, thinking she never tried to hurt you."

"If we go by what you're saying, that's correct."

Gu Wenyan was blunt, reminding Gu Yeting clearly of how foolish they had been in her eyes, how they had been led around by Gu Mianmian while still acting like doting brothers.

The more they doted on this sister, the more pitifully they had been deceived.

"I finally understand this now… but it seems a little too late."

Gu Yeting narrowed his eyes: "Two sisters—one makes me feel I never really knew her; the other was hurt beyond recognition by me long ago."

"Perhaps in this lifetime, she can never forgive me again."

Gu Yeting tilted his head back and downed a glass of red wine in one go, showing just how bleak his emotions were.