Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Also, didn’t you say this was your birthday gift from Father? But look at the auction date on the receipt! That’s my birthday! My first birthday! Why would Father buy this crown from an auction on my birthday and give it to you for your birthday afterwards?! Gu Yanran, you are a complete idiot, but do you think the rest of the world is as stupid as you?!” Gu Nianzhi blurted it out in one breath and was so angry, she panted slightly.
She could only be thankful that Father had also requested that the auction house keep his request for engraving confidential all those years ago. So even though Gu Yanran got her hands on the Christie’s auction receipt and purchase record as evidence, she didn’t know about the engraving at all. Otherwise, Gu Yanran would’ve never dared to publicly gift the pink diamond crown, even if she was forced at gunpoint.
Gu Yanran was completely dumbfounded by the image from the projector. She had coveted the pink diamond crown for many years and could finally officially claim it as her own. How many times had she played with it at home and how confident had she been that she had studied every inch of it—but she never thought there was a secret trap in there all along! Father, oh Father… You wracked your brain and only cared about Gu Nianzhi… Why didn’t you ever treat me this well?! A pitiful smile appeared on Gu Yanran’s face. Her entire body was ice cold and shaking. An unnamed hatred filled her eyes, completely wiping away all her previous gentle elegance.
Ye Xuan looked at the handwriting on the screen and was a bit shocked himself. He glanced at Gu Yanran, then Gu Nianzhi. In his heart he could feel something was wrong. He also knew about this pink diamond crown. When he was in boarding school in the United States and secretly chatted with Uncle Gu’s daughter anonymously online, she often mentioned this thing and said it was her first birthday present from her father that she really liked. She liked the pink diamond crown so much, yet somehow wanted to gift it to someone else. Ye Xuan couldn’t understand it at the moment either, even though Gu Yanran said it was for a greater benefit…
This was his first time seeing the receipt, and he finally knew the date on it was 18 years ago. That definitely wasn’t Gu Yanran’s first birthday. Gu Yanran and Tan Guiren were the same age, and both turned 25 this year, making them three years older than Ye Xuan. So who was the anonymous Miss Gu who chatted online with him for all those years?! Ye Xuan suddenly had a splitting headache and cradled his head as he retreated to hide in a dark corner. Gu Nianzhi’s quiet accusations echoed throughout the hall, and all the guests stood dumbfounded and stunned silent by the dramatic turn of events.
Prime Minister Tan also froze for a moment before politely reaching out his hand. “What is going on? Miss Gu Nianzhi, please return this pink diamond crown to me first. Can you and your sister sort out your affairs in private?” It was very embarrassing for them to hash this out in public.
Gu Nianzhi chuckled quietly with a shake of her head. “That won’t do. This is clearly something my father gifted to me. How can I give it to you? And don’t even say the word, ‘return.’ Mr. Prime Minister, aren’t you ashamed to say that?”
Now that Prime Minister Tan had broken his silence, he didn’t need to say the rest. The Prime Minister’s chief secretary immediately supported him. “Miss Gu Nianzhi, everyone clearly saw you cheat the crown away from Miss Tan. I don’t care what kind of dispute you have with your sister, but Miss Gu Yanran formally gifted this diamond crown to Miss Tan for her birthday. You wouldn’t be cheap enough to claim back a gift that was already accepted?”
Gu Nianzhi raised a brow with a smile. “Hmm? So you want to discuss ownership of an item with a lawyer? Ok, then I’ll tell you firstly that my father gifted this object to me, and I have the receipt and engraving as evidence. Gu Yanran has no right to dispose of something that doesn’t belong to her. In other words, she has no right to gift my things to others. Now she’s taken something that doesn’t belong to her, and that’s considered theft. Her giving it to you means it’s a stolen item. May I ask if your great office of the Prime Minister would really help a thief hide her stolen goods?” Gu Nianzhi paused to cradle the pink diamond crown tightly, then continued, “As for any exchange of interests between you people, ask her for it and not me for my things. I have nothing to do with you people. Mr. Prime Minister, can you be a bit less shameful?”
Prime Minister Tan was pale with anger from her words, so his polite face actually appeared a bit vicious. The Prime Minister’s chief secretary also flushed immediately, but Prime Minister Tan didn’t say anything, so he had to force himself to keep trying to get the crown back. Pushing the gold-rimmed glasses up his nose, the Prime Minister’s chief secretary kept repeating, “This was gifted to Miss Tan by Gu Yanran. You have no right to take it.”
Gu Nianzhi finally couldn’t help rolling her eyes. “If you keep acting this way, I’ll have to go to court to sue your Prime Minister for forcible theft. Mister, do you want to have your Prime Minister also appear in court before your First Lady’s case even concludes?”
Tan Guiren quickly interjected when she heard this, “Fine, fine, just return the crown to Miss Gu Nianzhi since it’s hers, anyway. I don’t want it.” She spoke as she leaned against Prime Minister Tan and held his arm. “Daddy, I know you’re doing this for me, but more than anything, I don’t want you to get into trouble because of this.”
The Prime Minister was stony faced as he glared at Gu Nianzhi before stating evenly, “Ok, I’ll let this go on account of my daughter. I have no interest in whoever this belongs to, but I feel chilled to the bone for your sister, for whom you completely have no regard.”
Gu Yanran’s face recovered a bit of color when she heard Prime Minister Tan publicly speak up for her. Looking up, the bitterness flashed through her eyes, but she soon resumed her normal gentle elegance when she glanced at Gu Nianzhi. She sighed and said with pity, “Nianzhi, Sister forgives you. I know that you were kidnapped and held hostage by a psycho in Germany for two weeks and suffered… torture, that’s why you’ve become so extreme…”
“What?! She was kidnapped and held hostage by a psycho?!”
“I don’t believe it… These sisters are obviously tearing each other down. Also, Gu Yanran was proven to be a liar. How can we believe her again?”
Everyone muttered, and somehow, most people didn’t believe Gu Yanran. Ma Qiqi’s rage practically burned in her heart, and she lost all composure. She wanted nothing more than to viciously strangle Gu Yanran to death! Yin Shixiong quickly held her back and whispered, “We can’t react strongly to this incident. Wait and see how Nianzhi handles it.”
But Yin Shixiong was actually nervous, too. He secretly pressed a button according to Huo Shaoheng’s arrangement in order to release the “bomb” of the evening. He hoped this would help Gu Nianzhi solve this dilemma.
However, Gu Nianzhi was utterly unperturbed. Slowly walking over, she looked directly at Gu Yanran and moved closer step by step until she stood right in front of her to say sarcastically, “What’s this? You immediately imagine a little erotic novel as soon as you hear the word ‘kidnapping?’ Isn’t your character an elegant and unbesmirched female heiress? Why do you imagine all this junk in your head?”
“It’s not my imagination. Everyone is also thinking that…” Gu Yanran’s voice was still very gentle, but she looked at Gu Nianzhi with pure hatred.
“Everyone? Who’s everyone?” Gu Nianzhi shrugged, not bothered by Gu Yanran’s look at all. “Gu Yanran, you’re addicted to lying. I’m warning you, don’t mess with me again, or be careful lest I take everything from you!”
Gu Yanran clutched her chest in pain, and her face was full of disbelief. “Nianzhi, Niaznhi, you used to be such a wonderful girl! How did you end up like this?”
Gu Nianzhi was totally fed up with Gu Yanran, but what angered her the most was how she mentioned the incident in Germany. She immediately understood that Gu Yanran probably did more than beat her while she was down in the whole incident. It was very likely she was involved in the entire thing! Otherwise, how would she know that her disappearance had something to do with a certain “psycho?!”
Thinking about how Gu Yanran had not only encroached on the family fortune, stolen her home, and even plotted ways to kill her, Gu Nianzhi lost her last bit of kindness towards her. She stood in front of Gu Yanran and looked down at her condescendingly. She said calmly, “If that’s the case, then we’ll discuss everything clearly in front of all these people. You’ve always claimed to love me like your own biological sister, but all these various rumors damaging my reputation are coming from you. I didn’t fault you for it before because I cherished our sisterhood, but now you’re accustomed to lying?! You think lying a thousand times makes it reality?! You think I’ll always suffer in silence?!
“I’m telling you, you’ve made a big mistake! Weren’t you worried I would come back to the Gu family and split the fortune?! I truly never wanted it, but now that you’re dragging me into the gutter, wouldn’t it look like you’re setting about something without justification if I don’t fight for my share?! I’m formally suing you, Gu Yanran, and on Monday, I’ll request that the court equally divide family assets! And I mean equally—one less deposit, property, patent, or stock is not considered equal! Also, equal division of family assets is calculated from the year our parents got into the accident. You don’t know math, so I’ll explain it simply to you. Throughout all the years, all the frivolous spending, failed investments, gifts to curry favor—half of those are all mine, and you owe them to me. Gu Yanran, get ready to be fully exposed by me! We’ll see how much you’re worth in the end! Will prostituting yourself be enough to compensate for my share of the family fortune?!”
