Chapter 23: Jealousy

"And the Bo Family Head! The Bo Family Head is here too!"

"The Gu Family Daughter didn't come on her own? It seems her relationship with the Bo Family Head is no longer as broken as the rumors said—it appears to be very intimate and sweet now…"

The tall, imposing, noble and aloof, phoenix-eyed, thin-lipped handsome man in an ink-black suit standing beside Gu Wenyan—who else could it be but Bao Sihan?

The moment they stood together, they drew countless gazes!

No…

The hatred and jealousy in Gu Mianmian's eyes resurfaced.

Why on earth does Gu Wenyan's arrival have to be so stunning?!

Clearly, before… she had successfully made everyone look down on her and despise her!

But suddenly, everything changed—where exactly did things go wrong?

If only Gu Mianmian had appeared alone at this moment, she could have held her head even higher, brimming with disdain.

But of all things…

The man on Gu Wenyan's arm is the Bo Group Chairman at the height of his fame, the current Head of the Bo Family.

One word from Bao Sihan outweighs half the business world; a single stomp of his foot makes all of Jingcheng tremble.

Such a man now has a marriage engagement with Gu Wenyan, and their wedding is already being planned…

Gu Mianmian couldn't help but regret it—if only she hadn't approached Bao Sihan back then in Gu Wenyan's name!

Back then, she had heard that Bao Sihan was a difficult man, perverse and vicious, and figured that using him to deal with Gu Wenyan would solve everything once and for all—so she wrote love letters to Bao Sihan herself…

Now it's too late for regrets.

Gu Mianmian could only watch helplessly as Gu Wenyan, the last to arrive, basked in the halo of being the center of attention.

Those who had just been lavishing praise on her had now shifted their attention to Gu Wenyan.

"Miss Gu! I've long heard of Miss Gu's beauty and fame, and today I finally get to meet you—you truly carry the extraordinary bearing of the Gu family!"

"Bo Family Head, it's been a long time—you look full of vigor!"

"Looking at them now, the Bo Family Head and Miss Gu are truly a perfect match, a brilliant and well-suited couple…"

"It seems the marriage alliance between the Bo and Gu families will surely become a celebrated tale in our Jingcheng!"

While these people spoke, Gu Mianmian stood nearby listening. Though she still kept a smile on her face, in truth her teeth were nearly ground to dust.

She could only put on an innocent smile and say to her two brothers, "Let's go over and say something to sister too—I didn't expect sister to show up today…"

"I wonder if sister has some other arrangement, or perhaps she's here for that painting as well?"

Hearing this, a subtle shift crossed Gu Yefeng's expression.

Although Gu Wenyan had said he was free to bid on the painting, she had never promised that it would ultimately end up in his hands.

The painting would naturally go to the highest bidder; if anything went wrong at the event today…

"Brother, this Charity Foundation is yours—shall we go over and talk to sister too? Ask her not to cause trouble for second brother so he can win the painting…"

Gu Mianmian's gaze looked utterly pure: "If I go and plead with sister, maybe the chances will be even higher?"

"Plead with her?!" Gu Yeting said disdainfully, "She's the one who provided the painting, sure, but now anyone has the right to bid. I refuse to believe that the two of us brothers can't get this painting!"

Having successfully stirred things up and seeing plenty of displeasure toward Gu Wenyan on her two brothers' faces, Gu Mianmian grew even happier.

This was exactly what she wanted… to make them despise Gu Wenyan—only this way could her own status as the Gu Family Daughter be further highlighted!

Gu Mianmian also noticed that the people around them were whispering and discussing them, clearly eager to know what the relationship was really like between Gu Wenyan, the true Gu Family Daughter, and the Gu family.

They must all understand perfectly well that since Gu Wenyan arrived, the two young masters of the Gu family and Gu Mianmian, who had always been raised in the Gu household, had not taken the initiative to go up and greet her.

No pleasantries, no warmth—it was clear the relationship was not harmonious.

And Gu Wenyan had no intention of engaging with them either.

Gu Wenyan simply stood side by side with Bao Sihan, accepting the flattery and conversation of the crowd—these details alone revealed plenty, and corroborated many of the rumors circulating.

"Although this Gu Family Daughter has been brought back to the Gu family, she clearly doesn't have a stable relationship with them…"

"Yes, they look quite distant…"

"I think there are even some conflicts between them that are hard for outsiders to glimpse!"

Amid the whispers, the crowd wore varied expressions, but clearly there was something else that piqued their curiosity even more.

Tonight's auction.

"I wonder when Bai Lao created this ink wash landscape painting?"

"If it's an early work, the auction price might be a bit lower, but if it's a recent one… I think we'll all be fighting tooth and nail!"

"We're friends on ordinary days, but today I won't be polite with any of you—Bai Lao's works rarely appear, and even if it means fighting to the death, I'm going to fight for it once!"

"Ha, no matter what, I'm determined to win this painting now—if any of you are willing to show favor, I'd be endlessly grateful!"

"Dream on!"

Amid the lively chatter, everyone soon took their seats in the auction hall.

The first row was divided into left and right sides; the very center seat on the left was naturally reserved for the behind-the-scenes donor Gu Wenyan and the Head of the Bo Family, Bao Sihan.

On the other side sat the two young masters of the Gu family and Gu Mianmian.

The two sides exuded a fierce momentum, with invisible daggers flying between them.

But with the more important auction taking place, the crowd had no spare energy to keep prying into the nature of their relationship. m.

Before Bai Lao's ink wash landscape painting appeared, there were still some warm-up auction items.

Among them was a raw jade stone mined from Myanmar—the green of this jade was exceptionally translucent and beautiful, but the price was also quite high, with a starting bid of ten million.

Gu Mianmian gazed at the jade and murmured, "If it were made into a bracelet, it would probably be very pretty…"

"Like it?" The Third Young Master of the Gu family smiled with his peach blossom eyes, "If you like it, brother will bid and give it to you."

Gu Mianmian's face showed pleasant surprise: "Really? That would be too extravagant!"

Gu Yeting was generous and open-handed: "What's so extravagant about it? As long as you like it, no amount of money is extravagant."

Gu Mianmian was immensely pleased inside, yet still pretended to be reserved, putting on an act as she turned her head to glance at Gu Wenyan and said softly, "But Sister is still here…"

Gu Yeting crossed his arms, his face an expression of indifferent coldness: "Her being here has nothing to do with us."

Gu Mianmian could swear that Gu Wenyan had definitely heard it, and must be silently jealous of her in her heart, envying her!

Gu Mianmian deliberately turned her head again to ask Gu Yefeng, "Second Brother, what do you think? I feel this jade's starting bid is a bit high—maybe we should just forget about it?"

When facing Gu Mianmian, even Gu Yefeng's smile became as warm and gentle as jade: "It doesn't matter. As long as Mianmian likes it, your brothers won't care what it's worth."

The dignitaries and nobles seated behind them overheard this and began to flatter again: "The two young masters of the Gu Family truly dote on the Gu family's young lady to the extreme. I wonder which lucky man in the future will get to become the Gu family's son-in-law—he'll certainly face quite a test!"

Gu Mianmian's cheeks flushed red, and she revealed a shy smile: "Please don't joke around. I don't want to marry anyone right now—I just want to stay with my brothers."

Her performance here was far too exaggerated; Gu Wenyan gave a faint snort through her nose.