It was June, and the Gaokao had only just come to an end.
Guan Xuxu finished her discharge procedures alone and headed home. The moment she stepped through the front gates of the Guan Family villa, a suitcase slammed onto the floor with a heavy "clang" right at her feet.
A woman dressed in expensive, elegant clothes stood in the foyer, looking down at her. Her gaze swept over the girl's delicate features and skin as white as snow, a flicker of jealousy crossing her eyes, followed immediately by blatant disgust.
"I've already had someone pack your things. From today on, get out of this house and go back to your biological parents!"
Guan Xuxu didn't even glance at the suitcase. Her almond-shaped eyes looked coldly at the woman before her, Bai Shuqin the woman she had called "Mother" for seventeen years. The commotion at the door drew the attention of the others in the house, and soon, Mr. Guan emerged with his other two children.
Mr. Guan looked at the suitcase at Xuxu's feet and then at his wife, his tone slightly reproachful. "Shuqin, what are you doing? Xuxu is, after all, the daughter we raised for eighteen years."
"She's nothing but an ungrateful liability!" Bai Shuqin glared at Guan Xuxu. "I clearly told her to give the City Image Representative nomination to Ruirui, but she treated my words like wind passing her ears! If I hadn't gone out of my way to check the final list, I would still be in the dark! If she had even a shred of conscience, she wouldn't be stealing things from her own sister!"
Standing to the side, Guan Ruirui's eyes flashed with a hint of spite, but she quickly masked it with a look of grievance and sorrow. "Mom, don't be like that," she said softly. "The City Image Representative is a rare opportunity. It's normal that Sister wouldn't want to give it up. Maybe it's just that I wasn't good enough, otherwise I would have been chosen..."
"How are you not as good as her? Everything she has was given to her by our Guan Family," Bai Shuqin comforted her daughter tenderly.
Guan Xuxu watched the mother-daughter performance in silence. From childhood to adulthood, she had seen this act countless times. At this moment, her heart remained unruffled; she actually felt like laughing.
Four days ago, she had been sent flying over twenty meters by a car while saving Guan Ruirui. Everyone assumed she wouldn't survive. When Bai Shuqin and the rest of the Guan Family arrived at the scene, their first reaction wasn't to check her injuries, but to soothe Guan Ruirui, who was crying from the shock of the accident.
Xuxu had been lying on the ground in a daze, her limbs ice-cold. But what truly chilled her soul was the conversation between Mr. Guan and Bai Shuqin.
"The front of the car is totaled; she probably won't make it."
"Maybe it's for the best. If she dies, it means she successfully blocked the great calamity in Ruirui's fate. It makes all the years we spent raising her worth it…"
Guan Xuxu had always known she was merely a tool raised by the Guan Family to ward off misfortune for Guan Ruirui.
When she was small, she didn't understand why Bai Shuqin required her to provide twenty-four-hour care whenever Ruirui fell ill. Under her care, Ruirui would always recover quickly, while she herself would fall dangerously ill immediately afterward.
Later, she met her Master. Under his guidance, she learned that her and Ruirui's birth dates fell into a state of Qian-Kun Alignment within the laws of Yin-Yang Numerology.
Qian and Kun were two halves, and she was the "good" half.
The Guan Family kept her by Ruirui's side to use Xuxu's own fortune to fill the gaps in Ruirui's misfortune. Through this repeated process of warding off misfortune, Ruirui's destiny steadily improved, while Xuxu's life began to spiral toward decay and ruin.
If Guan Xuxu hadn't been prepared, she might have truly exhausted her fortune and died in that accident four days ago. It was also because of that accident that her biological father had unexpectedly found her.
"Are you finished? Once you're done, may I leave?"
Having personally heard that couple callously discuss her death, the last spark of hope Guan Xuxu held for the Guan Family had vanished. She felt no lingering attachment to this place.
"Xuxu, don't blame your mother. You were truly in the wrong this time." Mr. Guan stepped forward, his expression as stern as ever. "Since you've found your biological parents, then go back with them."
Guan Ruirui chimed in, her voice soft and timid. "Sister, don't be mad at Mom. She only did it for me."
She pulled an envelope from her side and handed it over, appearing thoughtful. "This is travel money prepared for you. Dad said your biological parents live in those deep mountains and the family is very poor. The internet isn't great there, so it's better to carry some cash."
Bai Shuqin snorted coldly. "Don't say we aren't mindful of our years together. This money is enough to last a whole year in the mountains. Our family has been good enough to you." She let out a mocking laugh.
"Once you go back, we probably won't see each other again. I hear there are plenty of old bachelors in those mountains who can't find wives. You can get married once you're back. Your grades were mediocre anyway; you definitely won't get into university."
Guan Xuxu looked at Bai Shuqin's malicious, "charitable" expression and cast a casual glance her way.
"Your forehead lines are quite deep it's a sign of excessive scheming and a buildup of karmic debt. Instead of worrying about me, you should use those few thousand dollars to buy some face masks. Though," she paused, deliberately adding, "it probably won't help much."
Guan Xuxu spoke with a straight face, but Bai Shuqin's expression turned instantly sharp. She screamed in rage, "You little bitch! Who gave you the nerve to speak to me like that!"
She raised her hand to slap Xuxu across the face.
Xuxu merely watched her with cold eyes, shifting her body slightly to let the blow miss entirely.
Bai Shuqin was incredulous. "You dare dodge..."
Seeing this, Guan Ruirui hurried forward to grab Xuxu. "Sister, don't make Mom angry. As long as you speak properly, Mom will forgive you."
It sounded kind, but she was actually pinning Xuxu's arms so she couldn't dodge the next strike.
Guan Xuxu raised her hand to push her away, but her gaze caught something out of the corner of her eye. Her movements froze as she saw the jade bracelet on Ruirui's wrist. In a flash, she lunged and grabbed Ruirui's wrist, questioning her coldly, "How did you get this bracelet?"
Ruirui had worn the bracelet today specifically to show it off. Seeing that Xuxu had finally noticed and was now grabbing her, she acted startled and cried out in pain. "Ow, it hurts..."
The moment Ruirui cried out, Bai Shuqin's face changed. She grabbed Xuxu's hand and wrenched it away, screeching, "Guan Xuxu! What do you think you're doing?!"
Guan Xuxu stared intensely at Guan Ruirui, her voice dropping an octave. "That was the bracelet Grandmother left for me."
"What 'your' bracelet?! That was left by the old lady for the daughter of the Guan Family. You aren't a Guan anymore, so of course it belongs to Ruirui!"
Guan Xuxu gritted her teeth. She let go of her suitcase and turned to look at Mr. Guan. "I can leave everything else behind, but I want the bracelet Grandmother left me."
If there was anything in the Guan Family she still cared for, it was Grandmother. Grandmother was the only person in this house who truly loved her. Even on her deathbed, her only concern was that Xuxu would suffer once she was gone.
That bracelet was the only memento she had left of her.
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