Chapter 11: What Are You Doing?

Mrs. Wang stood in the guest room, throwing out Gu Ci’s belongings one by one.

She walked over to the vanity and picked up a box Gu Ci had left on the table. Curling her lip in disdain, she opened the box casually and found several bottles and jars inside, none bearing any brand labels. Each was marked with English words.

Having seen similar things in Chu Shixian and Gu Ziran’s rooms, Mrs. Wang could barely recognize a few of the terms: hydrating toner, face cream, essence. The rest were unclear to her.

With a critical expression, she selected a jar that seemed to indicate face cream, twisted it open, and scooped out a generous dollop, intending to apply it to her face to see what kind of rubbish Gu Ci used. But a sudden thought stopped her—if this stuff ruined her face, it would be a disaster. So instead, she smeared the cream onto her hand.

A faint, elegant fragrance wafted from the cream. Applied to her skin, it felt refreshing and smooth, not greasy in the slightest. Whether it was her imagination or not, she felt her skin becoming softer and more supple.

Mrs. Wang stroked the skin on her hand greedily, delighted yet somewhat hesitant. Not even the products used by Madame and Miss Ziran had such immediate effects. Could these unbranded items contain something harmful?

But… surely it wouldn’t matter if she only used it on her hands and feet?

Thinking of her cracked heels lately, her eyes gleamed. She slipped the jar into her pocket and began rummaging through Gu Ci’s box again.

Soon, she found another jar identical to the last. Just then, a cold, clear voice sounded from behind her.

“What are you doing?”

Mrs. Wang's heart skipped a beat. She hurriedly shoved the jar she had grabbed into her pocket and frantically closed Gu Ci’s box. However, guilt made her clumsy; the sudden voice startled her, and in her panic, she dropped the entire box. Bottles and jars shattered across the floor, filling the already messy room with chaos.

“Oh, so it’s Miss Gu Ci,” Mrs. Wang turned around and, seeing Gu Ci, her nerves eased. Quickly, she adopted a lecturing tone, full of complaint.

“Miss Gu Ci, why do you walk so quietly? Now look—everything’s fallen and smashed! You’re just fine, but I’m left to clean up this mess. What bad luck!”

Gu Ci’s lips curled into a faint smile, though her gaze grew icy. “Who gave you permission to enter my room without asking?”

Upon meeting Gu Ci’s cold eyes, Mrs. Wang instinctively felt a pang of guilt, but she still blustered, “Miss Gu Ci, don’t you know a good heart when you see one? I’m helping you pack and move your things!”

“No need,” Gu Ci replied tersely, pointing to the door. “Get out.”

Mrs. Wang sneered, her voice shrill and mocking. “So Miss Gu Ci still wants to stay in the guest room? It’s meant for guests—what are you, then? A pheasant dreaming of becoming a phoenix. Go, don’t make more trouble here!”

With that, Mrs. Wang impatiently tried to shove Gu Ci out. But Gu Ci sidestepped smoothly, twisted Mrs. Wang’s arm, and pulled her out of the room.

A flash of anger shot through Mrs. Wang’s eyes. She rolled her eyes and, feigning weakness, stumbled deliberately, falling heavily to the floor. Then she began wailing, slapping her thigh, “Oh! I’ve been bullied! Miss Gu Ci is bullying me!”

Gu Ziran, hearing the commotion, came out of her room. She hurried over to help Mrs. Wang up, then turned to Gu Ci with a reproachful look, “Sister, why did you push Mrs. Wang? She’s already old—how could you treat her like this?”

Chu Shixian arrived as well. “What’s happening?”

Mrs. Wang continued her lament, dabbing at her eyes. “Madame, Miss—Mrs. Wang can’t stay here any longer! I was just helping Miss Gu Ci move rooms, she walked in without a word, and I accidentally broke her bottles and jars. Then she laid hands on me!”

Chu Shixian was furious. “Gu Ci, I told Mrs. Wang to move your things. So? Are you going to hit me too?”

She ignored the mess in the room, glancing with disgust at the skincare products scattered across the floor. “It’s only some skincare! All this junk—do you really need to fuss over it?”

Gu Ziran chimed in, “That’s right, sister. Mrs. Wang didn’t do it on purpose; it’s just a few bottles. If you want, I can give you some of mine. Mrs. Wang is at an age where things aren’t easy—can’t you be more considerate?”

Compared to Gu Ci’s petty behavior, Chu Shixian felt even more certain she’d made the right choice not to claim Gu Ci as her daughter in front of Madame Bai.

Thinking this, she deliberately declared in front of Gu Ci, “Mrs. Wang, keep moving her things. I’d like to see if she dares to touch you while I’m here!”

“Yes, Madame,” Mrs. Wang replied triumphantly, shooting Gu Ci a smug glance and bumping her shoulder as she passed. “Move aside, I need to tidy up the room.”

Gu Ci gave a soft laugh.

She calmly undid a button, then, in a flash, appeared before Mrs. Wang and kicked her to the floor.

“Ah!” Mrs. Wang felt a cold, suffocating pressure descend upon her. Suddenly, she was kicked with brutal force! Her mind was clear, but her limbs seemed powerless, unable to resist as she toppled forward uncontrollably.

She let out a genuine scream this time.

Unlike her earlier feigned fall, this one hurt. Gu Ci withdrew her hand carelessly. “My things don’t need you to tidy.”

“And,” she added lightly, “this is what it means to lay hands.”

Her gaze fixed on Mrs. Wang. “Where is my suitcase?”

Meeting Gu Ci’s eyes, Mrs. Wang felt a chill seep into her bones; she couldn’t even muster a whimper, only shivered instinctively. “In the storage room.”

Chu Shixian shrieked, pulling Gu Ziran back several steps, her voice loud and trembling with wariness and fear, her expression twisted. “Gu Ci! What are you doing!”

Her face darkened further. “Do you still want to stay in the guest room?”

At that moment, Gu Changfeng came upstairs in slippers, frowning. “Enough. If she wants to stay, let her. It’s just a guest room—what’s worth arguing about?”

Chu Shixian was anxious, wanting to protest, but Gu Changfeng silenced her with a warning glare.

He turned to Gu Ci. “Gu Ci, behave yourself. Don’t make trouble over trivial matters.”

Gu Ci replied, “No need, I’ll move out right away.”

She turned and walked nonchalantly toward the other end of the corridor.

Chu Shixian looked somewhat mollified, glancing at Gu Ci in a patronizing manner. “I’ll take you shopping this weekend, buy you what you need, skincare included. Don’t use these embarrassing things, and don’t fight your sister for her things.”

“No need,” Gu Ci said, her steps unwavering.

Chu Shixian’s face soured again as Gu Ci opened the storage room and headed straight downstairs toward the front door.

Behind her, a silver suitcase followed silently.

Only then did Chu Shixian realize Gu Ci wasn’t moving out of the guest room, but out of the Gu family home altogether.

Her blood pressure soared; she raised her voice several degrees, hurrying downstairs, “Gu Ci, stop right there! Moving out? Where do you think you can go?”

“You wanted a room, I just prepared one for you today, and now you say you won’t stay? Are you doing this just to upset me?”

But Gu Ci ignored her completely, not pausing for a moment as she stepped out the door.

Chu Shixian hurried after her, complaining incessantly and trying to grab her by the sleeve.