Chapter 27: From Now On, Call Her the Eldest Miss?

Gu Wenyan said softly, "Actually, it's not really, but it'll be a bit richer than many people imagine…"

"That's good." Bao Sihan's warm fingertips gently stroked the skin of Gu Wenyan's chin, carrying a faintly tingling sensation.

Gu Wenyan wanted to dodge a little, but being stared at by his soft, deep gaze, she lost the ability to react.

"You don't need to give me the painting. Something so precious should stay with you. Keep it for yourself, alright?"

"But… I'm not lacking one."

Bao Sihan's brow lifted slightly; this time he was genuinely a little surprised.

"So, is this a secret you can tell me?"

He was already quite certain this was a secret, because judging from the Gu Family's reaction, they didn't know—the child they hadn't taken to heart, even looked down upon… could produce something so shocking.

A single painting by Bai Lao was worth a fortune, and rarely available on the market, yet Gu Wenyan could so lightly suggest giving one away to him…

Gu Wenyan looked at Bao Sihan and said to him very seriously, "If you want to know, I can tell you."

"In that case, don't say it for now. I prefer finding out secrets myself—makes it all the more interesting, doesn't it?"

Perhaps because he knew Gu Wenyan had never told anyone else, Bao Sihan also didn't take the initiative to ask her.

A man as deep and inscrutable as him had probably long guessed something, yet what he gave Gu Wenyan was enough trust and freedom.

Something pricked at the tip of Gu Wenyan's heart, bringing a faintly sour feeling.

It had never appeared before; she didn't know how to describe it, but if she had to put it into words, it was probably some regret…

Regret that she hadn't trusted Bao Sihan enough back then; otherwise, now, they might already have been vastly different.

But regret was still regret. Now was an entirely new beginning. Gu Wenyan told herself there was no need to stay stuck in the past, unable to pull free.

What she ought to do most was look ahead, and walk forward.

Bao Sihan sent Gu Wenyan home, and she struck first, telling everyone about how Bao Sihan had bid on a fine jade stone at today's auction, planning to have it cut into a bracelet for her mother.

So that everyone in the house would know what had happened at today's auction, to prevent Gu Mianmian from trying to stir up trouble in the middle again later.

Ye Yiwen looked at Gu Wenyan with pleasant surprise and astonishment: "You mean, you specially got this for me?"

Gu Wenyan nodded lightly: "Yes, when I saw that jade stone I felt it would suit you very well, so I bought it… Conditions are limited this time, but if in the future I can find an Imperial Green with better water, I'll do my best to buy it."

A surge of complicated emotions welled up in Ye Yiwen's chest all at once, many words stuck in her heart, unable to come out.

As Gu Wenyan's mother, for many years in the past, she had never truly cared for her daughter.

Even though Ye Yiwen didn't think it was her fault—she had done it for the family's good, for many helpless reasons… what she owed Gu Wenyan, she still owed.

Seeing Gu Wenyan brought up many feelings of guilt from the past, so Ye Yiwen chose to handle her relationship with this daughter of hers through avoidance.

She also held toward Gu Wenyan a complicated view that outsiders would find hard to understand.

Therefore, even after bringing Gu Wenyan back from the countryside, she and her biological daughter were still not close, and even expressed dissatisfaction with many things Gu Wenyan did.

And openly favored Gu Mianmian, the adopted daughter with no blood relation…

Ye Yiwen had never thought before about what grievances and pain her daughter might have felt, but today, seeing that Gu Wenyan had actually thought to give this unqualified mother such a precious gift…

Beyond being moved, she felt even more guilt.

"Yan Yan…" Ye Yiwen's face was full of emotion. She gripped Gu Wenyan's hand, "How can you, this child of mine… how can you be so foolish? Having something so good, you should just keep it for yourself!"

Gu Wenyan pressed her lips together and said with a smile, "I just felt that jade stone suited you very well, so I wanted to give it to you. I didn't think that much about it."

"Besides, you are my mother. That fact will never change."

Ye Yiwen took a deep breath, gripping Gu Wenyan's hand tighter and tighter: "Silly child!"

Although the estrangement between mother and daughter was still there, although the unfamiliarity from so many years without being together still remained, at this moment…

A place in Ye Yiwen's heart clearly loosened a little, and grew soft, and she placed her biological daughter within it!

After the auction ended, Gu Yefeng made the most of the time to take Bai Lao's ink-splash landscape painting back to the Art Museum, to carry out the final preparations before its opening.

And Gu Yeting took Gu Mianmian out for late-night snacks and a drive, wanting to make up for Gu Mianmian's regret at not being able to bid on that jade stone today.

By the time they returned it was deep into the night; their mother and Gu Wenyan had already gone to sleep, so they didn't know Gu Wenyan had come home early, or what she had changed.

Although Gu Mianmian hadn't gotten what she wanted yesterday, she could see that Third Brother was growing more disgusted with Gu Wenyan, and that the grudge between Second Brother and Bao Sihan was thoroughly set…

With these preconditions, Gu Mianmian was very confident that the Gu Family and Gu Wenyan's relationship could never be reconciled!

Her own position as the precious daughter would absolutely not be threatened!

Gu Mianmian woke up in a very good mood, got dressed and ready, preparing to invite her mother out shopping, but when she finished and went downstairs, she asked the servant, "Where's Mama? Has she gotten up?"

The servant replied meekly, "Second Miss, Madam has already taken the Eldest Miss out."

In an instant, Gu Mianmian was as if struck by lightning, her whole body stiffened, her face alternating between green and white. Only after a long while did she come back to herself: "What… did you just call me?"

The servant also found it a bit hard to say. Looking up at Gu Mianmian's ugly expression, she opened her mouth with great difficulty: "This morning, before Madam took the Eldest Miss out, she told us… from now on, address her this way, it's more convenient."

The last four words were added by the servant herself.

The Gu Family's servants had essentially watched Gu Mianmian grow up, so naturally their hearts leaned toward the gentle, pure, kind her in their minds.

Although Gu Mianmian wasn't a biological child, Gu Mianmian was very good to all the servants, taking care of every one of them, so inwardly they all hoped even more that Gu Mianmian would receive the Gu Family's favor.

But Madam's orders, they had no power to refuse, and could only obediently comply.

Gu Mianmian's face went deathly pale, her body swayed, and in a trembling voice she asked, "So… where have they gone now?"

The servant shook her head and said, "Madam only said she was taking the Eldest Miss out, she didn't say specifically where, but she should probably be going shopping or something like that?"

Gu Mianmian gritted her teeth, her heart already shrouded in hatred and jealousy.