Chapter 3

"Isn't that ringtone the special one you use for calls from Xu Yun'er? Aren't you going to pick it up?" Gu Qijue, who was driving, asked as he raised his head to look at his sister. He sounded a little careful. Gu Jiuci had always obeyed everything Xu Yun'er said. She would always fly into a great rage whenever her brother said anything negative about her friend. "I have no intention of picking it up." Gu Jiuci's lips arched into a sneer. She reached out to grab her phone, which was ringing incessantly and flung it out of the window. It was only when she was close to death in her past life that Gu Jiuci realized that Xu Yun'er had been able to track her phone's location long ago. As such, no matter where she went, Xu Yun'er was always able to appear at the opportune moment to make some special arrangements. She was truly foolish to treat Xu Yun'er as her own elder sister. She even allocated a unique ringtone for her. As Gu Qijue witnessed his sister's actions, his eyes were bulging out so far that they nearly popped out of their sockets. "Jiuci, you..." "Let's go home, second brother," Gu Jiuci replied very calmly in contrast. This shocked Gu Qijue even more. "We aren't circling back to the airport? You aren't going to elope with Jiang Yutang anymore?" Even though Gu Qijue hated Jiang Yutang very much, he was willing to accept whatever his sister liked and to help her with whatever she needed. Gu Jiuci looked at her second brother seriously. "We're not going to do that. I'm sorry for always getting into trouble and dragging you down with me, second brother. I'll never do that again," she said earnestly. Gu Qijue totally lost control of the steering wheel after his sister said this, and the car nearly veered into a tree. He stepped on the brakes and turned his head to gaze blankly at Gu Jiuci, looking extremely flattered. In the past, his sister always looked at him in disgust, no matter how well he treated her. "Have you been... possessed, Jiuci?" Gu Jiuci felt even worse when seeing her brother's flustered look. "I haven't been possessed. I've been such a scoundrel in the past... In the future, I'll definitely change for the better!" Gu Jiuci said, trying very hard not to choke up. "I'm sorry, second brother. I swear that I'll treat you well this lifetime around!" "You don't have to change anything, Jiuci. I'll be good to you, no matter what sort of person you are." Gu Qijue reached out his hand gently to rub the tip of her nose lightly before restarting the car's engine. "Where are we going now then? Are we really going to head home?" "We should head to Sinsa Studio. I want to get a makeover. I have an engagement banquet to attend tonight!" Gu Jiuci looked at the black powder on her second elder brother's finger and then at the rearview mirror. She saw herself with a full head of multi-colored messy hair and black gothic makeup. She was dressed in tattered fishnets and looked exactly like a punk rocker. In the past, Xu Yun'er told her that Jiang Yutang liked cool rock chicks, so she changed herself and dressed like this. She now realized that she had been a walking joke all this while. The car arrived at Sinsa Studio shortly after. It was a top-class makeup studio favored by rich, upper-class people in the imperial capital. Gu Jiuci used to be a regular at the studio. However, that stopped when she started listening to Xu Yun'er and began dressing herself up in the "avant-garde" style at home on her own. Instead, she gave her a gold member card to Xu Yun'er, who ended up looking like a true socialite. The lead stylist, Tiffany, immediately walked up to Gu Jiuci as she entered the main hall, looking surprised. "Miss Gu? You haven't been here in a long time!" "It's my engagement dinner tonight, Tiffany. I want to become the center of everyone's attraction. I know that creating a dignified and imposing style is your strong suit." Gu Jiuci smiled gently at Tiffany. "No problem, my dear. You shouldn't let a single bit of your natural beauty go to waste. Leave everything to me!" Tiffany smiled, looking especially grateful. In the past, her heart had ached when she saw Gu Jiuci making herself look ugly on purpose. She was extremely happy to see that the young lady had gotten over that phase. Gu Jiuci took a good, long bath to rid herself of the black reflective tattoos on her body. Her delicate, white skin was revealed, and her features were exquisite. Without the aid of any makeup, she was already stunning. She casually put on a nightgown and reappeared in front of Tiffany. The stylist stared in shock and was speechless for a long while. "Incredible! What a beauty! My dear, you're truly God's favored child!" the lead stylist, Tiffany, exclaimed repeatedly. She had taken care of countless celebrities and met many beautiful people, but so far, only Gu Jiuci's beauty had caught her in a spell. "Thank you." Gu Jiuci walked up to the full-length mirror and gazed at the "new" her in it. She was just 19, the age when a woman's beauty would begin to truly blossom. "I'm going to make all those people who harmed me in the past pay in this lifetime!" Romantic and elegant symphonic music meandered throughout the grand and luxurious European-style great hall of the Huo residence. On this very night, all of the top-level tycoons of the imperial capital were present to toast Old Master Huo on his birthday. In reality, everyone knew that the old man was using his birthday celebration as an excuse to announce the union of the Huo and Gu families. Everyone began gossiping when they noticed that the most important woman of the night had not appeared, even when the banquet was about to start. "It's such a pity that an incredibly eligible bachelor like Huo Mingche has to marry that demonic girl, Gu Jiuci!" "I heard that Gu Jiuci rejected the idea of marrying into the richest family in the imperial capital because of some wild man. What a dumb girl!" "Do you think that Huo Mingche would have married her if it wasn't for the marriage deal between the Huos and Gus? Don't tell me that she has eloped with that wild man?" "Hush! How dare you people gossip about Young Master Huo? Are you tired of living?" Someone warned the gossipers quietly, causing everyone else's expression to change. They turned in unison toward the majestic looking man on the platform of the second level. In the past, he had unemotionally stirred up a wave of bloodshed that swept through the entire imperial capital, causing many people to vanish into thin air. Not even the King of Hell could afford to offend Master Huo of Beijing. He was reclining emotionlessly on the chair and propping up his forehead with a hand. Each of his actions was regal in nature. He gazed occasionally at the huge clock on the wall, the coldness in his eyes gradually increasing. Zhan Ying, who was nearest to him, felt the chills so vividly that his teeth began to chatter. "It's three minutes to the start of the banquet. Why is that damned woman not here yet?" He dared not imagine how angry his master would become next. Blood would flow and corpses would line the street... The expressions of Huo Mingche's parents grew increasingly gloomy as time passed. "Ding! Ding! Ding!" The clock chimed on the hour, signaling the start of the banquet. Huo Mingche's expression instantly turned ice cold, and the air in the entire great hall seemed to have frozen. Zhan Ying was contemplating if it would be easier for him to take his own life right now. His master should not have given her a chance!! "Bam!" At this instant, the front doors were quickly pushed open from the outside. Everyone turned their gaze to the direction of the source of the sound, and all of the guests took in a breath of air as they went mouth agape after witnessing the stunning sight before their eyes. "Heavens! She's simply too beautiful!" "Whose daughter is that? Why haven't I seen her before? She's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen!" "Wait a second! Why does she look so familiar? Gu Jiuci! She's Gu Jiuci!" "What? How could she be Gu Jiuci?" Gu Jiuci wore a long, waist-hugging, strapless red dress that made her skin seem whiter than snow. She wore a fitting smile on her exquisite face and took in the stunned gazes of the other guests calmly. She seemed to be an angel that had descended from the heavens, and the most beautiful person in the world. Huo Mingche had stood up immediately the moment she appeared. She was the only thing that he was focusing on now, and the chilly air surrounding them immediately dissipated. Gu Jiuci's red dress was the reason for the presence of warmth in the invisible iceberg that was his heart. The expressions of Huo Mingche's parents turned much more amiable upon seeing her dressed in such a dignified and stylish manner. Her father, Gu Qingyuan, also heaved a sigh of relief. Gu Jiuci straightened herself and walked measuredly along the red carpet in the middle of the great hall, giving off an aura like a queen on an inspection tour. In her previous life, the only thing on her mind was to break up the engagement banquet after being seized back by Huo Mingche. To that effect, she wore a crass and revealing black skirt with fishnets and put on her ugliest makeup. She wrecked the banquet and disgraced both the Huos and the Gus. Up until now, Huo Mingche's parents were extremely disgusted with her. Even her own father was completely disappointed with her and thought that she was a totally lost cause. Instead, Xu Yun'er dressed herself up in a dignified and demure manner. She came well-prepared and took advantage of Gu Qingyuan's disappointment in his daughter to win his trust. He even recognized her as his goddaughter and she also became favored by Huo Mingche's mother. Gu Jiuci recalled that, as she was dying, Xu Yun'er even bragged to her that she was about to get engaged to Huo Mingche. "Xu Yun'er! I'm not going to give you any more chances in this lifetime!" Xu Yun'er, who was seated in a corner on the second-level terrace, was shaking in anger as she stared in Gu Jiuci's direction. "How could this be happening? Shouldn't Gu Jiuci be dressed messily and wreaking havoc on this banquet right now?" Why was she only able to garner a smattering of praise after spending so much effort to dress up, while Gu Jiuci was able to stun everyone by simply changing into another dress? Xu Yun'er's jealousy caused her to look malevolent, but no one was taking notice of her expressions. At the moment, the guests had subconsciously parted to create an aisle in the middle of the crowd. Everyone was fully focused on the young lady's movements. They were either infatuated with or shocked by her. Everyone could suddenly recall that the daughter of the Gus was already the most beautiful woman in the imperial capital when she was only 14! Gu Jiuci climbed up the stairs, her gaze unwavering. She nodded and paid her respects to Grandfather Huo, who was seated in the middle, as she arrived at the platform at the end of the stairs. "Grandpa Huo, I wish you an abundance of health and a long life!" she said, smiling sweetly. Gu Jiuci arched her eyebrows as she looked at the man who had been staring at her all the while. "Look... I'm here, just like I said I'd be!"