Chapter 4: A Half-Sister from Another Father and Mother?

"This is Miss Ziran's room—you are not allowed inside!" Aunt Wang hurried over to grab Gu Ci's hand, but Gu Ci dodged her easily.

Her tone was sharp and acrid despite her forced effort to keep her voice down. "You should be grateful we're giving you a room at all. What more do you want? You're nothing but a mongrel from the countryside. Don't delude yourself into thinking you could ever replace Miss Ziran!"

"If I'm a mongrel, then what does that make her?" Gu Ci slammed shut the door to Gu Ziran's room, pointing downstairs at Chu Shixian. "A mongrel mother?"

The words hung in the air, and Aunt Wang's face twitched, turning a sickly green as she froze, not daring to utter another word.

With that, Gu Ci walked on.

After passing several more rooms, she found the Gu family's study.

The black solid wood desk, enormous bookshelves, and the genuine leather sofa were a welcome relief compared to the garishness of the previous rooms.

Gu Ci arched a brow and strode right in.

After what had just happened, Aunt Wang had only dared to follow Gu Ci at a cautious distance. But now, seeing her enter the master's study, she could not let it stand.

She rushed forward, voice tight with anxiety. "That's the master's study! You can't go in!"

Gu Ci ignored her.

Aunt Wang was fuming. "Have you no sense of boundaries at all? This is someone else's home, and that's the master's study! How can an outsider like you just—"

But with a bang, Gu Ci closed the door.

Aunt Wang had been moving too quickly and smacked straight into the door, her nose smarting painfully.

Her nose turned red, and she trembled all over, unsure whether from anger or pain.

The next moment, the study door opened again. The girl inside shot her an indifferent glance and said coolly, "Bring me a cup of honey lemon water. Warm."

Aunt Wang sneered, "You certainly aren't shy, are you?"

Typical of a country bumpkin—no sense at all, and now she was ordering her around as if she were someone important!

"My biological parents' home. Why should I be shy? Also, if it's not here in five minutes, I won't mind going downstairs to have a chat with my dear aunt." The words "dear aunt" dripped with biting sarcasm.

Aunt Wang was left speechless, unable to retort before the door closed again, mercilessly.

She glared at the study door, cursing under her breath for a long moment, but in the end, she had no choice but to stomp downstairs to prepare Gu Ci's honey lemon water.

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Originally, since Gu Ci hadn't caused a scene in front of Lady Bai, Chu Shixian ought to have been relieved.

Yet seeing Gu Ci leave without a backward glance left her chest tight and unsettled.

After seeing Lady Bai off, Chu Shixian slumped onto the sofa. The mere thought of Gu Ci left her irritable; she had little desire to go see her at once.

Meanwhile, Aunt Wang hovered nearby, hesitating. "Madam..."

Chu Shixian asked, "What is it?"

Aunt Wang's eyes darted. "There's no room prepared for Miss Gu Ci. I thought she could stay in another room for now, but Miss Gu Ci wouldn't have it—she insisted on going into the master's study..."

At these words, Chu Shixian's expression soured at once.

Gu Ziran, ever understanding, spoke up. "Mom, it's normal that big sister just got home and doesn't know it's not appropriate to enter someone else's room without asking."

But Chu Shixian's face only darkened further. The idea that this ill-mannered country girl was her own daughter was infuriating!

And Aunt Wang's words only added fuel to the fire.

"Miss, you're just too kind. I told Miss Gu Ci that was the master's study and she shouldn't go in, but she wouldn't listen. I reasoned with her, but she just scolded me..." Aunt Wang dabbed her eyes as she spoke.

No manners, and arrogant and unreasonable to boot!

"She's acting like she owns the place!" Chu Shixian slammed her hand on the table, leaped to her feet, and stormed toward the study.

Gu Ziran lowered her gaze and silently followed.

Chu Shixian entered to find Gu Ci lounging on the sofa, sucking a lollipop, idly playing on her phone.

Noting their arrival, Gu Ci barely lifted her gaze. "Aunt," she greeted.

The word "aunt" instantly detonated all the emotion Chu Shixian had been holding in. "Aunt? Gu Ci! I am your mother!"

She shot her a look of utter disgust, her voice sharp. "Entering your father's study without permission, bullying Aunt Wang—do you have any manners at all?"

"You’re right. I wasn’t raised by my parents," Gu Ci clapped her hands, her tone mocking. "Insulting oneself—how ruthless."

It dawned on Chu Shixian that the accusation of being "ill-mannered" was an insult to her as Gu Ci's mother. Her mind buzzed. "How did I end up raising someone like you..."

She bit back the rest of her words. "Get out here. And apologize to Aunt Wang!"

Gu Ci paid her no mind, dropping her gaze back to her phone.

Ignored, Chu Shixian felt her fury boiling over. She strode forward, snatched Gu Ci's phone, and threw it across the room. "I'm talking to you! Didn't you hear me?!"

Gu Ci looked at her phone lying on the floor, her eyes turning cold. "Pick it up."

"What did you say?" Chu Shixian was incredulous.

Gu Ci gave a cold laugh. "Pick it up yourself if you want. I'm your mother! Or do you think you can defy everything?"

Saying nothing more, Gu Ci hurled the cup on the table to the floor.

The glass shattered at the feet of Chu Shixian and Gu Ziran, both of whom recoiled in shock, letting out startled screams, their faces going pale.

Chu Shixian recovered enough to shriek, "Gu Ci, what are you doing!?"

The girl on the sofa merely grunted, lazily biting her lollipop. "Sorry. Bad temper."

After a beat, she added, "Perhaps I inherited it from you."

Chu Shixian clutched her chest, so enraged she nearly fainted—if not for Gu Ziran hurrying to support her, she might have collapsed then and there.

Gu Ziran stroked her mother's back, casting an admonishing look at Gu Ci. "Sister, why did you upset Mom like this? Hurry and apologize, tell her you know you were wrong."

But Gu Ci simply propped her chin in her hand, staring languidly at her phone lying on the floor.

Gu Ziran frowned slightly, took a deep breath, and instructed Aunt Wang to pick up Gu Ci's phone and return it to her.

Once the phone was in her hand, Gu Ci finally looked at Gu Ziran, her tone chilly and indifferent. "Who are you?"

"Sister, I’m your younger sister. My name is Gu Ziran," Gu Ziran replied with a gentle, gracious smile.

She tried to persuade her. "Sister, are you still upset about Mom introducing you as her niece earlier? Actually, she only said that for my sake. It's not easy for her, could you try to understand her?"

Gu Ci crossed her long legs, rolling up her sleeves, her delicate features tinged with a mocking arch of her brow. "If she did it for you, why should I be the one to understand her? What do I have to do with you?"

Hearing her daughter's considerate words and then seeing Gu Ci's flippant attitude, Chu Shixian's face darkened to the color of charcoal. "What do you mean, 'what do you have to do with her'? Ziran is your sister! Gu Ci, since you're back, can't you at least learn some sense from Ziran and behave?"

Gu Ci's eyes gleamed with a look that was half mocking, half icy. "Half-sister from another father and mother?"