Xu Cui muttered under her breath and got up to leave the dining room.
Gao Yuyue didn’t pay much attention, continuing her discussion with Shen You’an about staying over at her house tonight.
"Don’t you have any shame...?" Xu Cui’s barely restrained fury suddenly erupted.
Gao Yuyue froze for a moment, snapping her head upward.
The moment Xu Cui spoke, she realized her mistake and rushed to change her words: "You people from these scam companies, calling me every day—don’t you get tired of it? If this goes on, I’m calling the police."
As she finished speaking, she hung up the phone and even pulled out the cord.
Xu Cui turned around and was met with Gao Yuyue’s puzzled gaze: "Aunt Cui, what’s going on?"
Xu Cui forced a smile: "Just a scam call..."
"Aunt Cui, you always blink nonstop when you lie."
The smile on Xu Cui’s face froze, her eyelids trembling violently as she desperately tried not to blink.
"Miss... Miss, it really was a scam call."
Gao Yuyue walked straight over, reconnected the phone line, and redialed.
Xu Cui panicked. "Miss, don’t..."
The call went through, and the sultry, arrogant voice of a young woman drifted from the receiver: "You’re just a lowly maid of the Gao family, and you dare disrespect the future mistress of the Gao family? Who gave you the gall?"
Gao Yuyue’s pupils contracted sharply, her eyes instantly covered with an icy layer of shards, dense and sharp as pinpricks.
"Future mistress of the Gao family? Ha, you lunatic, spouting nonsense. You think you’re worthy?"
The other side fell silent for a moment, then quickly laughed. "You must be Gao Yuyue. Quite the temper on you, young lady. Let’s get acquainted—I’m Qing Hong, your father’s... lover."
Gao Yuyue’s breathing grew erratic. With a loud "smack," she slammed the receiver, sending it flying into an antique vase across the room, which shattered into pieces on the floor. Follow current novels on novｅlfire.net
Like someone possessed, Gao Yuyue started smashing all the vases on the antique shelf, stomping viciously on the telephone receiver. But the receiver was made of bronze, and it only caused her foot to ache sharply, prompting a hiss of pain.
"Miss, Miss, please don’t do this!" Xu Cui rushed over to embrace Gao Yuyue tightly.
"Maybe there’s been some misunderstanding. Please don’t be so angry."
Gao Yuyue took a deep breath and gritted her teeth as she hissed, "How long has she been calling the house?"
Xu Cui remained silent.
Gao Yuyue shot her a furious glare. "Speak."
Xu Cui sighed helplessly. "She called half a month ago, asking for Madam—I thought it was odd at the time and asked her who she was. She only said her name was Qing Hong. Madam happened to be in the shower, and I got caught up in other things and forgot to mention it to her. The next call was a week ago..."
Xu Cui’s face turned somewhat odd as she recalled. When she answered, there were sounds from the call that would make anyone blush, along with a very familiar male voice—normally dignified and restrained, yet entirely transformed.
Then came that woman, Qing Hong’s, teasing laughter, and afterward, the two discussed how to drive Madam out and install her as the mistress of the Gao family.
The man responded with insincere affirmations of "Sure, sure."
It was obvious to Xu Cui what was going on.
She immediately felt indignant on Madam’s behalf, but given Madam’s declining health lately, she’d hesitated to tell her, worried it would be too much for her to handle.
And then, tonight, she called again.
By now, Xu Cui had figured out the pattern—she always called at 8 PM on Friday nights, deliberately choosing the time when both Sir and Madam were home, along with their daughter.
Strike at the heart—that’s what this was.
But unexpectedly, the old lady of the Ren family had fallen ill, and Madam had to make a last-minute trip there, leaving her absence to skirt a full-blown confrontation tonight.
Who could’ve guessed that Madam wasn’t home, but Miss had brought a friend over instead, leaving Miss heartbroken and embarrassed, her friend witnessing the whole humiliating scene? This was truly...
"That shameless woman is beyond outrageous—I’ll kill her myself." Gao Yuyue’s face was suffused with malice.
After venting, she quickly regained her composure and addressed Xu Cui: "Mom mustn’t find out about this, no matter what happens."
"Miss, rest assured."
Gao Yuyue pulled out her phone and made a call.
Gao Yuyue walked to the window. "You have to help me..."
After hanging up, Gao Yuyue suddenly remembered Shen You’an was still there.
Under the light, Shen You’an sat at the dining table, his dish untouched. When he raised his eyes, the clear black-and-white orbs of his gaze quietly met hers.
Gao Yuyue’s nose stung, and she lowered her head in a hurry. "An’an, I’ll have the driver take you home."
Shen You’an stood up, walked over, and gently held Gao Yuyue’s hand. In a warm voice, he said, "I’ll go with you."
Gao Yuyue raised her head abruptly. "No... no, you can’t."
This was too humiliating—she couldn’t bear it.
"We’re friends, aren’t we?"
Unable to hold back any longer, Gao Yuyue broke down, collapsing onto Shen You’an’s shoulder and sobbing her heart out.
Her strength, all along, had merely been a facade—she was only sixteen, and this upheaval had pushed her to her limit.