GV – Chapter 63

Studying abroad, especially for the children of wealthy families, inevitably brings to mind sports cars, freedom, and prestigious international universities.

It seems to be more than just studying; it signifies a period of happy, indulgent youth.

But how could Shangguan Chong let Guo Siwan have it so easy? She had just extinguished the Shangguan family’s only heir. Not kicking her out of the house immediately was only out of consideration for her being his bloodline.

So, Guo Siwan was sent to study abroad in India.

And to a school that was chosen at random.

It just so happened that Shangguan Chong was going to India to find a master, so he arranged for Guo Siwan’s studies along the way. She might not learn any knowledge, but she would definitely learn a lesson.

Unless Guo Siwan could, by some stroke of luck, receive Gandhi’s true teachings in India, a pampered young lady suddenly thrust into a chaotic district with poor public safety, occasionally encountering creepy men with strange expressions, her allowance restricted to a tight budget, and unable to speak the language—Guo Siwan couldn’t understand the curry-flavored English of the locals at all. It was no surprise that Guo Siwan transformed from an ordinary, scheming girl who would stop at nothing into an exceptionally agitated villainess.

One afternoon, this agitated villainess managed to contact her mother after much effort.

The two were silent for a moment; this was their first conversation since their conflict.

Guo Siwan didn’t know whether her first words should be an apology or a complaint.

“Mom, are you okay?”

Forget it, I’ll just ask how she is.

Guo Yu knew how much her daughter had suffered, and her resentment toward Shangguan Chong deepened. However, she had never been the type of mother to show concern with words. Upon hearing the question, she simply said faintly, “I’m fine.”

“Try to adapt. You’ll be able to come back in two years at most.”

Guo Siwan’s vision went dark. Two years? She couldn’t even stand two months.

“Can’t it be sooner? I’m his biological daughter, after all.”

Thinking of the recent rumors circulating in A-City, Guo Yu considered for a moment before saying, “No. Right now, the company Shen Wei and the others started is thriving. Shangguan Chong might even have to defer to her. Coming back now would do more harm than good. You’d either be a target for Shangguan Chong or a target for Shen Wei and her partner. It’s better to hide abroad.”

Guo Siwan frowned in confusion. The company Shen Wei started?

Weren’t the companies she started just a joke? She was just squandering the inheritance Jin Yuan had worked so hard to leave her. She even invested in a company that claimed it would surpass Apple in three years, only to find out it was a banana plantation.

This incident had long become a well-known joke in A-City.

How had times changed so much now?

Guo Yu explained the value of Sheng Jing to her in detail, and also mentioned that she and Shen Wei were currently trying to collaborate.

Guo Siwan felt as if her brain had stopped working. She didn’t hear any of Guo Yu’s vaguely concerned words that followed. After hanging up, she stood stunned for several seconds, and then, suddenly, a string in her mind snapped.

She violently flipped over her lunch. Greasy steak and disgusting mashed potatoes rolled and spread across the yellowed tile floor.

Guo Siwan let out a cold laugh and poured her glass of water over it, trying to wash away the impact of the mess, but it only made it look even more disgusting.

She couldn’t help but pace back and forth in her small dorm room like a caged animal. Her neighbor, a student from some unknown town in India, scolded her for being too loud, saying she was disturbing others’ rest.

In that long sentence, Guo Siwan only understood the very first word.

Ah, this hateful country.

A vicious look appeared in Guo Siwan’s eyes. Days of repression and dissatisfaction erupted like a volcano. She lifted her leg and kicked the wall hard. White plaster dust fell from the ceiling as she screamed, “FUCK YOU!”

The girl next door let out a shriek and ran out to complain to the dorm administrator.

Guo Siwan leaned against the wall and slowly sank to the floor, grabbing her hair forcefully.

She had had enough.

Everything that belonged to the Shangguan family was being devoured by Shen Wei.

She realized something terrifying: if Shangguan Chong continued to despise her like this, she would be left with nothing in the end. She might never even be able to leave this country.

Two years—easy for them to say. She had been gone for less than three months, and Shen Wei had already climbed to a position she couldn’t reach.

If she really stayed here obediently for two years, that so-called true daughter who was recognized by a stroke of luck, and Shangguan Xianxian, that fake daughter who became the young lady of the Shangguan family by a stroke of luck, would possess everything she had schemed and strived for.

How could such a thing happen in this world? She had learned to please adults at eight, lie without batting an eye at ten, and frame others with meticulous planning at twelve. Sometimes she felt she was on the verge of becoming a second Shangguan Chong. Yet, because of one damn accident, all her efforts were drowned in curry-flavored English.

Oh, it wasn’t an accident. That would be an insult to accidents.

She was a doll in Shangguan Chong’s hands, to be manipulated as he pleased.

And now Shen Wei seemed to be escaping. How could that be allowed?

Guo Siwan couldn’t even accept her own mother having a place to rest, so how could she accept her rival soaring to the heavens?

The dorm administrator was knocking on the door. After ten more knocks, she would break in.

Guo Siwan glanced at the disgusting mess still sprawled on the floor and slowly calmed down. Without tidying her appearance, she skillfully squeezed out a couple of tears, opened the door, and said mournfully, “I’m so sorry. I got emotional and disturbed you. But I just learned that my father has a terminal illness, so I couldn’t control myself. I’m truly sorry for frightening you.”

The aggressive neighbor immediately looked ashamed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know. My condolences. Your father must need you with him right now.”

Guo Siwan wiped her eyes and revealed a sad yet strong smile. She nodded and said, “Yes, so I’ll be returning to China for a while to be with him.”

The two of them hugged. Guo Siwan wrinkled her nose in disgust, but the moment they pulled apart, her sorrowful expression returned. The dorm administrator also came over and patted her shoulder, comforting her, “It’s okay, God will bless your father.”

“I hope so,” Guo Siwan said softly, lowering her lashes.

As long as God blesses me, that’s all that matters.

Guo Siwan packed her things and returned to the country overnight. She didn’t hide it from Shangguan Chong; she even hinted that her return was related to Shen Wei.

Shangguan Chong didn’t stop her and even unfroze her card.

Standing on the soil of A-City once again, a mocking smile spread across Guo Siwan’s lips.

She really understood Shangguan Chong quite well.

If Shangguan Chong wanted to use her to show goodwill to Shen Wei so badly, then she would gladly accept what he gave her.

Anyway, she had nothing left to lose and no hope of gaining anything, so she might as well go for something big.

Guo Siwan used Guo Yu’s connections to hire a group of kidnappers, waiting for the day Shen Wei and her team finished their meeting with the government to put on a wonderful show for her dear father.

Everything went smoothly, so smoothly it was as if she were destined for this. But when it was time to reap the rewards, she suddenly discovered there was an extra person.

Ah, Song Zhiqing. That works too.

I hear she’s very close with that Ye Yuhuan.

That Sheng Jing thing, wasn’t it Ye Yuhuan who pulled her into it? Tsk, she’s crying so miserably. I’d love to see Shangguan Xianxian cry this miserably.

Just as Shen Wei was rushing toward the location with her people, her phone suddenly rang. She thought it was Ye Yuhuan calling to chew her out again, but it was actually Guo Siwan.

Not even pretending anymore?

Shen Wei answered the call. “Guo Siwan, let them go. Otherwise, next time you won’t even make it to India.”

Guo Siwan’s lips curled. With her phone in one hand, she used the other to push Shangguan Xianxian next to Song Zhiqing.

“Well, you guessed it was me. I was hoping to keep you in suspense.”

“So smart.”

“But you’d better hurry over. I’m telling you, I’ve got a knife.”

Shen Wei cursed under her breath, hung up, and said to the driver, “Faster.”

Guo Siwan casually tossed the phone aside, turned to look at Song Zhiqing seriously, and asked, “Was that song you sang at the New Year’s gala written for Ye Yuhuan?”

Uh, miss, you’re kidnapping me right now?

Guo Siwan tapped her head. “Look at me, I forgot to take off your tape.”

After ripping the tape off ungently, a large patch of Song Zhiqing’s face turned red. Guo Siwan repeated her question.

Although she was scared to death, Song Zhiqing still thought Guo Siwan must be crazy.

“Yes.”

When you’re at someone’s mercy, you have to comply.

As summer approached, nourished by a whole spring of rain, even the usually dry air of A-City was pleasant. The surrounding plane trees deepened their green hues again and again, lending the long-abandoned place a kind of beauty that could only be appreciated by stepping inside.

The girl before her, dressed stylishly even as a kidnapper, tapped her chin in a moment of realization. “When I heard it, I thought you were singing to someone specific. I was right. I really envy you. I could never write a piece like that. My teacher says I’m too impetuous. My technique is barely passable, but I can’t convey emotion.”

If her hands weren’t tied to a pipe, Song Zhiqing really would have given her two hard slaps across the face.

Why are we discussing music at a time like this!

Song Zhiqing’s expressions had always been overly vivid, and this time was no exception. Seeing this, Guo Siwan smiled faintly. “Talking with you really helped me relax.”

“But you probably don’t want to talk. My apologies for bothering you.”

Then she slapped the tape back on Song Zhiqing’s mouth, just as ungently as before.

Just then, the sound of a car stopping was heard outside. Guo Siwan raised her knife, wiped some blood on Song Zhiqing’s clothes, and walked toward Shangguan Xianxian.

Shen Wei was already close. Driving at full speed, she entered the abandoned factory ten minutes later.

Before she went in, Guo Siwan had sent her a photo of a knife pressed against Shangguan Xianxian’s neck, with a message: Come in alone.

In a corner of the photo was a tightly bound Song Zhiqing.

The sack over her head had been pulled off, revealing her tear-streaked face—she was crying purely because Guo Siwan’s actions had just scared her.

If Ye Yuhuan had seen it, she would have been so heartbroken she might have built a bomb on the spot to blow Guo Siwan to bits. Shen Wei, however, just breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Song Zhiqing was still there, that was what mattered. She was truly afraid of Ye Yuhuan going berserk.

After ordering her bodyguards to spread out and find a chance to sneak in, Shen Wei strapped a dagger to her waist and stepped through the main entrance.

Leaving a fresh line of footprints in the thick dust, Shen Wei arrived at the place where Song Zhiqing and Shangguan Xianxian were being held. She looked up to see Guo Siwan bent over, holding a knife. A small trickle of blood was clearly visible on Shangguan Xianxian’s pale neck. Shen Wei gripped the dagger at her waist and approached them step by step.

When she was three meters away, Guo Siwan raised her empty hand, signaling for Shen Wei to stop.

“Guess why I asked you to come here.”

Just as Shen Wei opened her mouth, Guo Siwan cut her off. “Never mind, you’ll know soon enough.”

With a loud “bang,” a gunshot rang out, and Shen Wei fell to the ground.

A pool of crimson spread across the floor.

Guo Siwan’s expression was distant, as if reminiscing about something pleasant. “Let me tell you something. India doesn’t ban guns.”

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