Chapter 10

Gu Nianxi was found in the end.

She had grown up, and the flower bushes of her childhood could no longer hide her.

Gu Hongzhuo yanked her into the house in a fury. "You're asking for it! You're asking for it!"

Bai Jin watched Gu Nianxi.

Her hair was disheveled, her clothes scratched by thorns, her shoes caked with mud, and tear tracks still streaked her face—she looked like a flower drenched by a downpour: bedraggled, wilted... beautiful.

The kind of beautiful that made you want to hold her close and cherish her.

She was dragged over to the sofa. Gu Hongzhuo, frantic with anger and seeing her still stubbornly refusing to yield, raised his hand and struck.

Gu Nianxi closed her eyes. But the pain she expected never came. Instead, a warm barrier shielded her.

When she opened her eyes again, Bai Jin's black hair was right beside her face, and the hand Gu Hongzhuo had swung down had landed on Bai Jin's back with a sharp crack.

Everyone froze. Bai Jin squeezed Gu Nianxi's hand reassuringly, then turned around.

Gu Hongzhuo couldn't believe it. "What are you doing shielding that little wretch? Xiaojin, you—"

"Enough!" Jiang Man suddenly erupted. "What right do you have to raise your hand at a child?! If you hadn't lost the child back then, would all this mess have happened?"

With that, she ignored her husband and said to Bai Jin, "Xiaojin, come with Mama. Let's go talk over there, alright?"

Gu Hongzhuo deflated. His finger, still pointing at Gu Nianxi, trembled; his lips trembled too. But in the end, he said nothing more harsh. He plopped down onto the sofa and poured himself tea with shaking hands.

Bai Jin hadn't moved. She still stood in front of Gu Nianxi.

The light in Jiang Man's eyes slowly died out. She was silent for a while, then looked at Gu Nianxi, shielded behind Bai Jin, and said coldly:

"Fine, have it your way. Keep shielding that impostor who stirs up trouble in this house. She stole your identity, caused you nothing but grief, and now that you're back, you're willing to turn your back on us for her sake. I really do have two wonderful daughters!"

A flicker of guilt showed on Bai Jin's face. "Mom..."

But she still didn't move.

Seeing this, Jiang Man's heart ached, and her tone softened. "If you want to protect her, fine. But what she did today was utterly out of line. They didn't even want anything—just to see her—and she reacted so violently. It made all of us lose face. The Gu family isn't some minor household. You can make a scene at home all you want, but in front of outsiders, you have to keep up appearances."

"Your father hitting her today was wrong of him, but she provoked him. The Gu family values discipline. She made a mistake today; even if we don't hit her, she has to be punished. A period of confinement is the least of it. If you truly want to protect her, then make something of yourself academically and in your projects—"

Gu Nianxi sniffled and ran off.

She moved fast and urgently, with a streak of stubbornness, and Bai Jin couldn't grab her in time.

Gu Nianxi ran all the way up to the confinement room on the third floor and slammed the door shut with a heavy thud.

Jiang Man heard the noise and grew even more displeased. She shot a look at Butler Ye.

Butler Ye understood. He quietly withdrew, instructed a servant to lock the confinement room door.

Bai Jin's heart turned cold, but she gently pulled her hand free and wrapped it around Gu's mother's hand instead, murmuring soothing words.

Later, Gu's father and mother both left the Gu residence.

Both had social engagements. Both had lovers on the side. The number of nights they spent at home each year could be counted on one hand.

The vast Gu residence was usually left to Gu Nianxi alone.

Bai Jin couldn't quite say what she felt. Logically, after such an emotional storm, the intensity should have faded by now. But instead, she felt even more irritable. If someone put anything in her hands right now, she'd crush it.

She thought of her own parents.

Her father was a teacher, her mother a doctor. They had a small apartment on the outskirts of the capital.

Both were busy with their careers. Her father had it a bit better—he got holidays with his students.

They were both good people by any standard. They'd fallen in love early but married late, tying the knot in their thirties. After a year of trying for a child without success, they went to the hospital and found out her mother couldn't conceive.

They took it in stride. No child, no child. But as years passed and they saw how adorable their friends' and colleagues' children were, they decided to adopt—not for old-age care, just to lighten society's burden, as they put it.

In the orphanage, they'd taken one look at Bai Jin and chosen her. The child had no disabilities, was just quiet. She'd followed them home, fiercely independent, never needing to be worried over.

There were no rules in the Bai household. Her father liked a little drink and some TV. After Bai Jin arrived, he also picked up a hobby of teaching her things.

The house was always lively. They'd sit around one table, trading funny stories from school and the hospital. Often, her father and Bai Jin would finish dinner first, and her mother would come home late to eat a midnight snack heated just for her.

The Bai home wasn't even as big as one of the Gu kitchens, but it was full. Not like the Gu residence. Bai Jin had been here three months, and it just felt empty—big and empty. Standing in it, Gu Nianxi seemed even smaller.

Bai Jin walked up to the third floor and ran into Xiao An, who was coming down.

Xiao An looked furtive. When she saw Bai Jin, she jumped, hiding something in her apron. "S-Second Miss."

From that glimpse, Bai Jin had already seen what she was holding.

Sliced bread in a plastic bag, cut thin—just the right thickness to slide through a door crack.

Bai Jin nodded, pretending not to notice.

Xiao An let out a breath. But as she watched Bai Jin's retreating back, she felt a pang of worry. What if the Second Miss went to the confinement room door and said something awful to the young miss? The young miss had already suffered enough today.

She'd sneaked the bread slices to the young miss earlier, but the young miss hadn't eaten them. Xiao An was worried sick and didn't know what to do.

As Gu's mother had said, the Gu household was big on rules. Even when Gu Nianxi had thrown her weight around and ordered servants about, it was fine as long as she didn't break any rules—and the rules, of course, were whatever Gu's father and mother said they were.

If they wanted to confine Gu Nianxi, no one could plead her case.

Bai Jin had no intention of pleading. Instead, she went to find Butler Ye, and just like when she'd asked for the attic key, she asked him for the key to the confinement room.

Butler Ye looked troubled. "Second Miss, this was the Master's order..."

"I know," Bai Jin said. "Before coming here, I made a trip to the old residence."

Butler Ye was taken aback.

"To be formally accepted into the clan, one should first pay respects at the ancestral hall, then greet the elders," Bai Jin said. "But I didn't find any elders at the old residence. I asked Grandpa Ye, and only then learned that Grandfather passed away twenty years ago, and Grandmother nearly ten. The remaining kin have split off or scattered. I am the only bloodline of this generation of the Gu family."

The Grandpa Ye she mentioned was Butler Ye's own father, who served at the old residence.

"Uncle Ye, when my parents are here, of course they make the decisions at home," Bai Jin said calmly. "That's the rule. But rules are dead; people are alive. And the ones who make the rules are alive too."

She didn't finish her sentence, but Butler Ye understood her meaning.

—The masters of the Gu residence were not just Gu's father and mother. Bai Jin was also a master.

And when a master speaks, a servant can only obey.

Butler Ye sighed and took out the key, handing it to Bai Jin.

"Miss." His tone was respectful.

Bai Jin pocketed the key but didn't go straight to Gu Nianxi. First, she went to the kitchen to get some hot food, then found a lantern, and carried both upstairs.

Before she even reached the confinement room, she heard the sound of sobbing from inside.

The restlessness in her chest swelled. Bai Jin lightly bit her tongue and asked herself: just why was she so angry?

Was it because she wasn't the one who'd made Gu Nianxi cry?

She set down the tray and heard the sobbing from inside gradually fade.

"Bai Jin?" A weak voice came through the door.

Bai Jin's heart softened. She set down the tray. "It's me."

She unlocked the door. The clink of the lock echoed down the quiet hallway.

The confinement room had been converted from a storage room. It had no windows, no lights. When Bai Jin opened the door, the only light in the room came from the hallway behind her and the lantern in her hand.

By that light, she saw Gu Nianxi as she was now.

Damp strands of hair stuck to her cheeks. Her eyes were swollen red, her nose flushed, tear tracks covering her face. Maybe because she'd been in the dark too long, her eyes were unfocused, glazed over as they looked toward Bai Jin.

Bai Jin's heart gave a violent lurch. She was stunned by the fragility and beauty Gu Nianxi radiated in that moment. For a long while, she couldn't move, just stood there staring at Gu Nianxi.

Gu Nianxi pulled her sleeve over her eyes and rubbed.

She really couldn't see well. She'd cried too hard; her vision was still blurry. Whenever her emotions spiked, her tears wouldn't stop—a flaw she'd had since childhood. There was nothing she could do but endure it.

At least it was Bai Jin who'd opened the door. Gu Nianxi didn't want anyone to see her like this—not even Bai Jin. But she knew that Bai Jin, of all people, would never laugh at her.

With that thought, being seen by Bai Jin was better than being seen by anyone else.

"Bai Jin..." She made a weak sound, blinked, and saw a patch of light and the blur of a figure. Just like in her past life, she couldn't make out Bai Jin's expression. But she wasn't afraid, nor did she feel the old bitterness. She just blinked hard, trying to see more clearly.

The figure drew closer. Gu Nianxi heard a sigh, like a wisp of breath exhaled from deep in a chest. Then her damp hair was pushed back—dry, slender fingers smoothed her bangs, then sank deep into her hair. Another arm slid under her ribs and pulled her into a tight embrace.

Gu Nianxi was dazed by the hug.

Bai Jin held her firmly. Her hands were large, wrapping around Gu Nianxi's waist, drawing her in until she was nearly buried in Bai Jin's arms. Her head rested on Bai Jin's shoulder; so close, she could smell the clean scent of soap on Bai Jin's clothes.

Bai Jin's nose pressed against the side of her neck, her breath hot, making Gu Nianxi shiver. Bai Jin thought she was still upset, so she moved her hand from behind Gu Nianxi's head and gently patted her back.

Neither of them spoke. In the dim, silent room, the only sounds were their breathing.

Then the sobbing started again, unstoppable. Gu Nianxi's grief trembled through Bai Jin's chest. Her hot tears rolled down, soaking Bai Jin's shirt. The warmth rose from where they touched; both felt it sear, yet neither wanted to let go.

Gu Nianxi returned the hug in a childish way—she clutched the fabric at Bai Jin's back, pressed her face into her shoulder, and cried. It was a muffled, suppressed, bitter weeping, tears streaming down as if they'd never end.

She shook as she cried, and Bai Jin's heart ached along with her. She patted her back even more gently.

Bai Jin had a feeling that at this rate, Gu Nianxi would cry herself dry, cry her eyes out.

What she didn't know was that Gu Nianxi was thinking of Jiang Man again.

Maybe her memory was faulty, but she always remembered that Jiang Man had been good to her once.

She would pick her up from the ground when she was crying, pat her back softly, and soothe her—just like Bai Jin was doing now.

But that memory was wispy, with form but no substance. Gu Nianxi couldn't even be sure if Jiang Man had ever really done that. It was just a faint notion: if she suffered and cried again, eventually Jiang Man would be good to her again.

That was why she'd stayed up waiting for Jiang Man to come home that night, and why she'd insisted on making that call.

In hindsight, that embrace was probably just a childhood fantasy she'd mistaken for reality.

And what was an imagined embrace compared to real warmth? Bai Jin probably had no idea—she was the first person to ever hold Gu Nianxi while she cried.

At that thought, Gu Nianxi came back to herself a little. She noticed that Bai Jin's shoulder was soaked through with her tears. Feeling embarrassed, she explained.

"I-I can't control it. Ever since I was little, I'd cry at everything. When others laughed, I'd cry too. My tears just wouldn't stop. If you asked me why, I didn't know either. I'd just keep crying. Boohoo..."

In Bai Jin's mind, a picture formed: a tiny Gu Nianxi, tears streaming, alone and helpless.

A thought surfaced in her mind, surprising her:

If only she'd met Gu Nianxi sooner.

She lowered her gaze, burying the meaningless thought. "Cry, sis. I'm here with you."

And when she told Gu Nianxi to cry, she herself smiled.

"You're so good, Bai Jin." Gu Nianxi curved her lips slightly, her voice small. "I like you."